Ok, so we are back in Bangkok after another overnight bus journey, from Chiang Mai. They turned on really loud shitty Thai pop music at about 05:20, what is wrong with these people?!
Yesterday was one of the most memorable days of the tour so far. We visited the Elephant Nature Park which is a really special and amazing place. It is one of many projects of a Thai lady called Lek, who has devoted her life to saving and caring for elephants. The park is basically a sanctuary for abused, mistreated and disabled elephants. We were there for the day but you can go and stay there for a few days at a time if you want.
The money that you pay to get in pays for the elephants food. They can eat up to 400kg of fresh fruit per day! There are currently 32 elephants there! There are other elephant camps you can go to which would have been cheaper, and you get to ride them and train them and the elephants perform tricks etc. However the elephants are not treated well and alot of the elephants at the place we went to have come from places like this.
When we arrived we got to feed the elephants their lunch, which was a massive bucket of fruit and veg each! Then we got to have our buffet lunch which was amazing! After this we met Lek who is an incredible woman. She has water buffalo, cats and dogs at the park too as she will do anything to help animals. She told us how a bear was on its way that they had rescued the night before!
Next we got to take the elephants down to the river and get in and wash them. It was the most amazing experince, we got so close to these brilliant creatures and it is something we will never forget. You don't get to ride the elephants here and they don't perform tricks but what we did was so special and it was for such a good cause. All the money raised here goes back into the park, for maintenance of the land and buildings and for food and medicine for the elephants. Everyone who works there is a volunteer. We spent the rest of the day feeding and washing the elephants some more and taking loads of photos with them!
Lek is also involved in raising awareness of the plight of Elephants in Asia and changing laws and people's attitudes. At the moment elephants are classed as livestock in Thailand and so have no more protection than cows or donkeys. In certain areas it is ok to take elephants into cities to basically beg from tourists. She also leases land from the government to take her elephantsto, to teach them to be wild again and forrage their own food. She is trying to make sure there is enough protected forrest and national parks to release elephants back to one day. She pours so much of her own money into this place and all the elephants they have rescued, they have basically had to buy from their owners, which is not cheap! Anything from $2,000-$20,000!
At the beginning of the twentieth century there were 100,000 elephants in Thailand. now there are around 5,000. Since logging was banned in 1989 it left a lot of elephants without work and so they were mainly used for tourism. The way they are trained is appalling, they are taken from their mothers and put in a tiny cage and beaten and abused for days in order to break their spirit and make them submissive to their handlers.
Please visit their website and sign the petitions below:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/street-begging-elephants/
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/against-elephant-abuse-in-thailand/
http://www.elephantnaturepark.org/
We are now back in Bankok and Mim has joined us again although still not sure she's 100%. We are going to visit the Grand Palace this weekend. Right now I think we are going to go for massages...
Hope everyone is ok. Congratulations to Mark and Vicky who have a new arrival called Ella Rose.
Mum it is Vodafone, which if you read back to the blog where I first asked you, I did specify. However I did get your text and have, eventually, been able to successfully top up my phone. Thank you. Vivien I would take you up on your offer, but I'm rather fond of my knee caps.
Food has been good, although we have lined the pockets of a certain red-headed clown called Ronald...
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Earning our stripes.
We are back in our hotel in Chiang Mai, its almost 1700. We are very tired.
Yesterday morning, we left the hotel first thing to drive out to our village for the homestay. On the way we stopped at a cave that the Burmese used over 300 years ago as a temple that has loads of Buddha images inside. We arrived at one village, but that was not the one we were staying at, no, our one was an hour and a half's walk away! About 5 minutes in, it started raining. Real rain. Walking for one and a half hours through the jungle in heavy rain: Awesome. Also all the bridges over the streams had been washed away, but we made it in the end.
The tribe we were staying with was a Lasi tribe. The other main ones are Karen and Hmong. The karen tribe people are the ones who wear brass rings round their neck to stretch it and protect themselves from tiger bites! (Although it doesn't elongate their necks, it just pushes down their collar and shoulder bones.) You can go and see the "long neck" tribes but it isn't very ethical. They originate from Burma and sought asylum in Thailand when they were being persecuted by their government. They were granted asylum but are forced to live in a walled village where they are basically a zoo attraction.
Our tribe people were very friendly. They made us dinner and sold us some local handicrafts. We invested in a set of gutties and whiled away the evening shooting cans. Our tour guide Sunny is a wicked shot with the gutty and can hit a moving chicken at 30 yards!
We all slept on the floor in one big hut under mozzy nets. It was very difficult to sleep with the insects, birds and monkeys all fighting to be heard over one another! Its noisier than Bangkok!
This morning after breakfast we met our first elephants!!! We rode on them for an hour through the jungle. It was really cool, but prtty bumpy. Our elephant seemed more interested in stealing corn from fields than sticking to the path, there were a couple of times we thought we were going to get thrown off!
After this we went on the Bamboo rafts down the river. this was alot safer than the tubing. It went pretty fast, but our driver waspretty good. I also had a shot of steering and I thought I was a natural. Charlotte's face said different! The scariest part was going down the waterfall...
On the way back to Chiang Mai we made a couple of amazing stops. The first was a butterfly and orchid farm, it was OK, butterflies and orchids you know.
Next we stopped at the King Cobra show. This is a place where they keep all manner of snakes and take poison from the poisonous ones to make anti-venom. We got to hold a little python and the people that work there seem to think its funny to creep up behind people and grab their legs when looking at snakes!
They also do a show, enhanced by bizzarre commentary which is quite funny actually. "Don wurree ladee and gentah mun, onlee free pee-pole die yestuday" The show itself was quite cool but mainly consisted of the guys narrowly avoiding being bitten and pretending to throw snakes into the crowd or pretending to get cobras to bite people. They put one snake to sleep by turning it on its back and put it alarmingly near my crotch. At onepoint they threw a bit of rope from one of the cages into the crowd which resulted in much screaming.
The last stop was the best yet! We stopped at a place called Tiger Kingdom, where they have a breeding programme for Tigers. It is very big and very clean and the tigers are well cared for and fed and clean. They are geared towards conservation as opposed to being like a zoo. The best bit is, you get to go in with the tigers!!! We went in with the smallest tigers and the biggest tigers. We got loads of ace pictures cuddling in with the tigers, who were sleepy but were very friendly when they were awake. We both had a great time.
Tomorrow we are going to an Elephant park where we will get to see them being trained and get to wash and feed them! It is illegal to use elephants for logging now, so around 20% are used in farming and the rest are used for tourism. It is quite sad but this seems to be a nice place that we are going to tomorrow.
Hope everyone is ok and you're not missing us too much.
Mum you put your card in a cash machine, it will ask you withdraw cash, display balance, mobile top-up etc. You just put in my mobile number twice, when prompted and it does it automatically. Thanks.
Yesterday morning, we left the hotel first thing to drive out to our village for the homestay. On the way we stopped at a cave that the Burmese used over 300 years ago as a temple that has loads of Buddha images inside. We arrived at one village, but that was not the one we were staying at, no, our one was an hour and a half's walk away! About 5 minutes in, it started raining. Real rain. Walking for one and a half hours through the jungle in heavy rain: Awesome. Also all the bridges over the streams had been washed away, but we made it in the end.
The tribe we were staying with was a Lasi tribe. The other main ones are Karen and Hmong. The karen tribe people are the ones who wear brass rings round their neck to stretch it and protect themselves from tiger bites! (Although it doesn't elongate their necks, it just pushes down their collar and shoulder bones.) You can go and see the "long neck" tribes but it isn't very ethical. They originate from Burma and sought asylum in Thailand when they were being persecuted by their government. They were granted asylum but are forced to live in a walled village where they are basically a zoo attraction.
Our tribe people were very friendly. They made us dinner and sold us some local handicrafts. We invested in a set of gutties and whiled away the evening shooting cans. Our tour guide Sunny is a wicked shot with the gutty and can hit a moving chicken at 30 yards!
We all slept on the floor in one big hut under mozzy nets. It was very difficult to sleep with the insects, birds and monkeys all fighting to be heard over one another! Its noisier than Bangkok!
This morning after breakfast we met our first elephants!!! We rode on them for an hour through the jungle. It was really cool, but prtty bumpy. Our elephant seemed more interested in stealing corn from fields than sticking to the path, there were a couple of times we thought we were going to get thrown off!
After this we went on the Bamboo rafts down the river. this was alot safer than the tubing. It went pretty fast, but our driver waspretty good. I also had a shot of steering and I thought I was a natural. Charlotte's face said different! The scariest part was going down the waterfall...
On the way back to Chiang Mai we made a couple of amazing stops. The first was a butterfly and orchid farm, it was OK, butterflies and orchids you know.
Next we stopped at the King Cobra show. This is a place where they keep all manner of snakes and take poison from the poisonous ones to make anti-venom. We got to hold a little python and the people that work there seem to think its funny to creep up behind people and grab their legs when looking at snakes!
They also do a show, enhanced by bizzarre commentary which is quite funny actually. "Don wurree ladee and gentah mun, onlee free pee-pole die yestuday" The show itself was quite cool but mainly consisted of the guys narrowly avoiding being bitten and pretending to throw snakes into the crowd or pretending to get cobras to bite people. They put one snake to sleep by turning it on its back and put it alarmingly near my crotch. At onepoint they threw a bit of rope from one of the cages into the crowd which resulted in much screaming.
The last stop was the best yet! We stopped at a place called Tiger Kingdom, where they have a breeding programme for Tigers. It is very big and very clean and the tigers are well cared for and fed and clean. They are geared towards conservation as opposed to being like a zoo. The best bit is, you get to go in with the tigers!!! We went in with the smallest tigers and the biggest tigers. We got loads of ace pictures cuddling in with the tigers, who were sleepy but were very friendly when they were awake. We both had a great time.
Tomorrow we are going to an Elephant park where we will get to see them being trained and get to wash and feed them! It is illegal to use elephants for logging now, so around 20% are used in farming and the rest are used for tourism. It is quite sad but this seems to be a nice place that we are going to tomorrow.
Hope everyone is ok and you're not missing us too much.
Mum you put your card in a cash machine, it will ask you withdraw cash, display balance, mobile top-up etc. You just put in my mobile number twice, when prompted and it does it automatically. Thanks.
Monday, 27 September 2010
My Oh Mai!
We're in Chiang Mai and it is very safe here indeed. So far anyway...
Yesterday was a pretty epic travel day. We left our hotel in Luang Prabang at 7am in a tuk-tuk. We were taken to a jetty where we boarded two luxurious yachts. I say luxurious yachts, but if you can imagine a gondola with a speed boat engine, you're half way there. We were in for a bumpy ride. I don't know what the first clue was that it would be bumpy, the mandatory life vest or the optional crash helmet. Seriously, we were wearing crash helmets!
Its not as bad as it sounds, we were only in the boats for about 6 hours. Charlotte felt right at home in her life vest. We had a couple of stops and at one of them we went to a little village where hilltribe people live and got to wander round and see puppies and piglets. We were like animals in a zoo as alot of the people have never seen white people before. They got a fright when Charlotte started screaming and chasing them, shouting "I am the white devil!"
That last bit didn't happen.
Or did it..?
After our 6 hour cruise up the Mekong river we met Sunny at the Thai border. He is a local tour guide who would have been joining us at this stage anyway, but is now more or less filling in for Mim. She should be joining us later this week in Chiang Mai or when we get to Bangkok. Asuming all goes well!
Last night we stayed in the middle of no where in a little guest house outside a town called Chiang Saen. It was so quiet, we were surrounded by trees and fields and hills. It was a welcome change to hear insects and animals as opposed to car horns and music.
This morning we left for Chiang Mai. En route we stopped at the golden triangle, which is where Thailand, Laos and Burma all meet. This is part of a famous Opium smuggling route. As gambling is illegal in Thailand, there are casinos on the Laos and Burma sides of the Mekong. After this we visited the Opium House, which is an Opium Museum. Opium production, trafficking and possesion is illegal in Thailand, however, if you want to know how to grow, harvest, prepare, cook and smoke opium, this is the place to come to for a step by step guide. We all got free samples at the end...
After this we stopped at a Temple like no other we have seen so far. It is called the White Temple and as its name suggest, it is white. An artist, who seems to be Thailand's answer to Dali decided to build this and pay for it himself. It is quite traditional but with a really modern twist. Inside the temple all of the walls are painted with crazy pictures. One wall is a massive face with all sorts of things making it up, superheroes, petrol pumps, Star Wars, Weapons, the Twin Towers, skulls, buddha, an aztec pyramid and a volcano. Its pretty mad. Even the no smoking sign outside is a skull with lots of hands holding cigarette packets!
Eventually we arrived at the Smile House Hotel in Chiang Mai, its quite nice, although our room smells of damp. This Evening Sunny took us to the Night Market for dinner which was pretty awesome and cost like 2 quid for both of our meals! I also got new flip-flops, as my others broke, and new sunglasses to replace the ones I lost to Poseidon.
After this came one of the highlights so far (for me at least, although Charlotte really really really enjoyed it!). We went to see Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing. It was amazing. In thai Boxing knees, elbows, punches and kicks are legal, headbutts are not. Its pretty much anything goes. The first fight was a wee bit off-putting as the combatants were like 13 years old. However in the latter fights they were much older. There is a great atmosphere as there is a band who play along to the fights and the music gets quicker and louder as the fights get more exciting. At halftime there was a four-way blindfold match. It was pretty immoral but highly entertaining none the less.
We are now back at the hotel about to turn in for the evening. Tomorrow we are away for a two day trekto stay with a hill tribe. This also includes an Elephant ride and a shot of bamboo rafting, which we are assured is very safe! Probably won't be back online till Wednesday evening or Thursday. If anyone wants to top up my phone it would be much appreciated. Its on Vodafone and you can do it at a cash machine. Cheers. Love you all, hope everyone is ok!
Yesterday was a pretty epic travel day. We left our hotel in Luang Prabang at 7am in a tuk-tuk. We were taken to a jetty where we boarded two luxurious yachts. I say luxurious yachts, but if you can imagine a gondola with a speed boat engine, you're half way there. We were in for a bumpy ride. I don't know what the first clue was that it would be bumpy, the mandatory life vest or the optional crash helmet. Seriously, we were wearing crash helmets!
Its not as bad as it sounds, we were only in the boats for about 6 hours. Charlotte felt right at home in her life vest. We had a couple of stops and at one of them we went to a little village where hilltribe people live and got to wander round and see puppies and piglets. We were like animals in a zoo as alot of the people have never seen white people before. They got a fright when Charlotte started screaming and chasing them, shouting "I am the white devil!"
That last bit didn't happen.
Or did it..?
After our 6 hour cruise up the Mekong river we met Sunny at the Thai border. He is a local tour guide who would have been joining us at this stage anyway, but is now more or less filling in for Mim. She should be joining us later this week in Chiang Mai or when we get to Bangkok. Asuming all goes well!
Last night we stayed in the middle of no where in a little guest house outside a town called Chiang Saen. It was so quiet, we were surrounded by trees and fields and hills. It was a welcome change to hear insects and animals as opposed to car horns and music.
This morning we left for Chiang Mai. En route we stopped at the golden triangle, which is where Thailand, Laos and Burma all meet. This is part of a famous Opium smuggling route. As gambling is illegal in Thailand, there are casinos on the Laos and Burma sides of the Mekong. After this we visited the Opium House, which is an Opium Museum. Opium production, trafficking and possesion is illegal in Thailand, however, if you want to know how to grow, harvest, prepare, cook and smoke opium, this is the place to come to for a step by step guide. We all got free samples at the end...
After this we stopped at a Temple like no other we have seen so far. It is called the White Temple and as its name suggest, it is white. An artist, who seems to be Thailand's answer to Dali decided to build this and pay for it himself. It is quite traditional but with a really modern twist. Inside the temple all of the walls are painted with crazy pictures. One wall is a massive face with all sorts of things making it up, superheroes, petrol pumps, Star Wars, Weapons, the Twin Towers, skulls, buddha, an aztec pyramid and a volcano. Its pretty mad. Even the no smoking sign outside is a skull with lots of hands holding cigarette packets!
Eventually we arrived at the Smile House Hotel in Chiang Mai, its quite nice, although our room smells of damp. This Evening Sunny took us to the Night Market for dinner which was pretty awesome and cost like 2 quid for both of our meals! I also got new flip-flops, as my others broke, and new sunglasses to replace the ones I lost to Poseidon.
After this came one of the highlights so far (for me at least, although Charlotte really really really enjoyed it!). We went to see Muay Thai, or Thai Boxing. It was amazing. In thai Boxing knees, elbows, punches and kicks are legal, headbutts are not. Its pretty much anything goes. The first fight was a wee bit off-putting as the combatants were like 13 years old. However in the latter fights they were much older. There is a great atmosphere as there is a band who play along to the fights and the music gets quicker and louder as the fights get more exciting. At halftime there was a four-way blindfold match. It was pretty immoral but highly entertaining none the less.
We are now back at the hotel about to turn in for the evening. Tomorrow we are away for a two day trekto stay with a hill tribe. This also includes an Elephant ride and a shot of bamboo rafting, which we are assured is very safe! Probably won't be back online till Wednesday evening or Thursday. If anyone wants to top up my phone it would be much appreciated. Its on Vodafone and you can do it at a cash machine. Cheers. Love you all, hope everyone is ok!
Friday, 24 September 2010
Tubes!
We are now in Luang Prabang in Laos after a nightmare drive from Vang Vieng, more on that later.
We arrived in Vang Vieng on Wednesday after a public bus journey that was accentuated by a flat tyre. Only an hour into the drive we pulled into the side of the road as one of the tyres has blown out. After standing around for an hour in the sun we were finally able to get going again... on a five minute drive up the road to the nearest garage, to fix the other tyre! What had happened was, when they took off the flat, the spare was a good 10 inches bigger in diameter than the other tyre whichsits alongside it! So it was taken to a garage to be properly repaired! Finally we were on our way again and three short hours later we arrived in Vang Vieng.
Not much to Vang Vieng. During the Vietnam war it was used as an airstrip by the Americans. Now it is three streets with tourist shops and tat and bars. It is all geared up for kayaking and tubing, which is where you float down the river on an innertube. Apart from that there is basically nothing else to do.
We decided to go tubing as it seemed like a bit of a laugh. It wasn't. ' nuff said... It was ok at first, the scenery is amazing its all limestone mountains and jungle by the river and its pretty impressive with all the hills rising up into the clouds. There are several bars dotted along the river and we, sensibly, only stopped at one of them and had one drink. It was after this our adventure went down hill.
So there we were merrily bobbing along the river, when it started to get a bit faster, out of nowhere a big half submerged tree trunk loomed ahead. We couldn't avoid it and ended up on top of it. This was ok, till we tried to move and both ended up in the river! We both got dragged under, I felt Charlotte and managed to push her away from the log and she floated free with the two tubes, luckily she was also wearing a life-jacket. I got sucked under and pinned against the tree for a wee while, but managed to wriggle free and pop my heid back above water and breathe actual air with actual oxygen in it! We both got a bit of a fright but are ok. I am now sans watch and sunglasses, I managed to rescue my flip-flops! Unfortunately, our camera was in a "dry" bag and got, well, wet. It is currently recuperating inside a bag of rice. Luckily the video camera takes still photos.
It was quite the harrowing experience.
The next day things went from bad to worse. Luckily it was only worse for other people and not us! We left our hotel in Vang Vieng at 8am by private mini-van for a 6-ish hour drive to Luang Prabang. The song "long and winding road" comes to mind because not only was this road long, it also wound! It also went up and down and had a surface similar to the moon's! The scenery was awesome though, but people's mind's were elsewhere.
Charlotte and Katrina were both sick several times, which added to everyone's enjoyment of the journey. Our tour leader, Mim, had also been feeling unwell and as she has been anaemic in the past, it was put down to this or just a bit of flu. If only. At one of our rest stops, about halfway through the trip she fainted. As soon as we got to Luang Prabang she had to go to Hospital where she was diagnosed with Dengue Fever. This is similar to malaria, only there is no cure, other than bed rest and drinking lots of fluids. She was in hospital over night and has spent today in bed in the hotel. Nothing like a night in hospital in a third world country to boost your spirits! She is going to stay here and rest up and meet us in Chiang Mai in a couple of days.
Today was better. We got up before dawn to walk into town to see the monks receiving alms from the local people. This is where buddhist monks all walk a circuit around the town and the people of the town get up early to give them all of their food for the day. Luang Prabang is one of the few places left where this is still done daily as a tradition. It does still happen in other places but apparently its a bit of a circus put on for the tourists. It is quite a sight to see hundreds of orange clad, shaven headed men walking the streets at sunrise and to see the amount of local people who turn out to give the monks food.
We also went to a temple on top of a hill this morning, which was a long and sweaty climb, but it gave us an awesom view of the town. We also went to another temple called Wat Xien Thong. This afternoon we went by tuk-tuk to Kuong Si Waterfall. It was massive and you could swim in some of the pools nearby. However visibility was about 3 inches and there were all sorts of foot nibbling fish, so we gave that part a miss. Nearby was a bear sanctuary, as there is still a huge illegal animal trade in most of Asia, so they had Asiatic Black Bears that had been rescued and were in a huge enclosure. They are also building a similar thing for tigers.
This evening we went to the night market, ate some street food and bought some presents. We are back to Thailand tomorrow. The reason we haven't updated in a couple of days is, in the last town we had to pay for internet by the minute and yesterday we were busy dealing with drama queens and malingerers.
Don't worry about us after our traumatic near death experience, we are absolutely fine. Hope everyone at home is ok! Speak soon!
We arrived in Vang Vieng on Wednesday after a public bus journey that was accentuated by a flat tyre. Only an hour into the drive we pulled into the side of the road as one of the tyres has blown out. After standing around for an hour in the sun we were finally able to get going again... on a five minute drive up the road to the nearest garage, to fix the other tyre! What had happened was, when they took off the flat, the spare was a good 10 inches bigger in diameter than the other tyre whichsits alongside it! So it was taken to a garage to be properly repaired! Finally we were on our way again and three short hours later we arrived in Vang Vieng.
Not much to Vang Vieng. During the Vietnam war it was used as an airstrip by the Americans. Now it is three streets with tourist shops and tat and bars. It is all geared up for kayaking and tubing, which is where you float down the river on an innertube. Apart from that there is basically nothing else to do.
We decided to go tubing as it seemed like a bit of a laugh. It wasn't. ' nuff said... It was ok at first, the scenery is amazing its all limestone mountains and jungle by the river and its pretty impressive with all the hills rising up into the clouds. There are several bars dotted along the river and we, sensibly, only stopped at one of them and had one drink. It was after this our adventure went down hill.
So there we were merrily bobbing along the river, when it started to get a bit faster, out of nowhere a big half submerged tree trunk loomed ahead. We couldn't avoid it and ended up on top of it. This was ok, till we tried to move and both ended up in the river! We both got dragged under, I felt Charlotte and managed to push her away from the log and she floated free with the two tubes, luckily she was also wearing a life-jacket. I got sucked under and pinned against the tree for a wee while, but managed to wriggle free and pop my heid back above water and breathe actual air with actual oxygen in it! We both got a bit of a fright but are ok. I am now sans watch and sunglasses, I managed to rescue my flip-flops! Unfortunately, our camera was in a "dry" bag and got, well, wet. It is currently recuperating inside a bag of rice. Luckily the video camera takes still photos.
It was quite the harrowing experience.
The next day things went from bad to worse. Luckily it was only worse for other people and not us! We left our hotel in Vang Vieng at 8am by private mini-van for a 6-ish hour drive to Luang Prabang. The song "long and winding road" comes to mind because not only was this road long, it also wound! It also went up and down and had a surface similar to the moon's! The scenery was awesome though, but people's mind's were elsewhere.
Charlotte and Katrina were both sick several times, which added to everyone's enjoyment of the journey. Our tour leader, Mim, had also been feeling unwell and as she has been anaemic in the past, it was put down to this or just a bit of flu. If only. At one of our rest stops, about halfway through the trip she fainted. As soon as we got to Luang Prabang she had to go to Hospital where she was diagnosed with Dengue Fever. This is similar to malaria, only there is no cure, other than bed rest and drinking lots of fluids. She was in hospital over night and has spent today in bed in the hotel. Nothing like a night in hospital in a third world country to boost your spirits! She is going to stay here and rest up and meet us in Chiang Mai in a couple of days.
Today was better. We got up before dawn to walk into town to see the monks receiving alms from the local people. This is where buddhist monks all walk a circuit around the town and the people of the town get up early to give them all of their food for the day. Luang Prabang is one of the few places left where this is still done daily as a tradition. It does still happen in other places but apparently its a bit of a circus put on for the tourists. It is quite a sight to see hundreds of orange clad, shaven headed men walking the streets at sunrise and to see the amount of local people who turn out to give the monks food.
We also went to a temple on top of a hill this morning, which was a long and sweaty climb, but it gave us an awesom view of the town. We also went to another temple called Wat Xien Thong. This afternoon we went by tuk-tuk to Kuong Si Waterfall. It was massive and you could swim in some of the pools nearby. However visibility was about 3 inches and there were all sorts of foot nibbling fish, so we gave that part a miss. Nearby was a bear sanctuary, as there is still a huge illegal animal trade in most of Asia, so they had Asiatic Black Bears that had been rescued and were in a huge enclosure. They are also building a similar thing for tigers.
This evening we went to the night market, ate some street food and bought some presents. We are back to Thailand tomorrow. The reason we haven't updated in a couple of days is, in the last town we had to pay for internet by the minute and yesterday we were busy dealing with drama queens and malingerers.
Don't worry about us after our traumatic near death experience, we are absolutely fine. Hope everyone at home is ok! Speak soon!
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Laos for now
We have arrived in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Its a welcome change of pace from Bangkok. Its still a little bit busy, but the streets are wider, there aen't as many tourists and nobody seems to be in a rush to do anything. Our hotel is pretty French looking, as are alot of the buildings here.
The overnight train from Bangkok wasn't too bad and the beds were alot comfier than those on the Vietnamese sleeper trains. We got to the border at about 9:30 this morning after having 5 people and all of our luggage crammed into one tuk-tuk. The price is worked out by how many people they take, so they squeeze in as many as possible! Going through the border was nice and quick and easy and the people were actually very helpful. Our passports are filling up nicely with stamps and visas now!
When we arrived we went to change money and got over 1,000,000 kip for $140! We went to a very western style cafe for lunch and it was pretty good, I had the biggest ever ham sandwich on focaccia bread and Charlotte had a cream cheese bagel.
We went and hired bikes and went for a cycle round to see some of the sights as we are only here for a day before going to Vang Vieng tomorrow. We saw the victory arch, which is a similar idea to the arc de triomphe. The story behind it is, when the French left they gave the Laotian government a whole load of concrete to build an airport, but they decide to build a bigger arch than the French had instead, just to spite them. We climbed up the top and got some good photos of the city.
Next we took a cycle out to see some temples and a big gold stupa which was pretty impressive. We then cycled back to the hotel to rest up and escape from the heat! Apparently there is a bowling alley round the corner from the hotel so we are going bowling tonight! Very cultural!
The nautical star has each of its points divided in half down the middle and is half black and half red. Charlotte is very sensible and did not get a tattoo. Shona and Andrew didn't waste any time on the puppy front did they? Say happy Birthday to Nana for me. We have sent some postcards so hopefully they'll be reaching you all soon.
Hope everyone is doing well. Speak to you soon.
The overnight train from Bangkok wasn't too bad and the beds were alot comfier than those on the Vietnamese sleeper trains. We got to the border at about 9:30 this morning after having 5 people and all of our luggage crammed into one tuk-tuk. The price is worked out by how many people they take, so they squeeze in as many as possible! Going through the border was nice and quick and easy and the people were actually very helpful. Our passports are filling up nicely with stamps and visas now!
When we arrived we went to change money and got over 1,000,000 kip for $140! We went to a very western style cafe for lunch and it was pretty good, I had the biggest ever ham sandwich on focaccia bread and Charlotte had a cream cheese bagel.
We went and hired bikes and went for a cycle round to see some of the sights as we are only here for a day before going to Vang Vieng tomorrow. We saw the victory arch, which is a similar idea to the arc de triomphe. The story behind it is, when the French left they gave the Laotian government a whole load of concrete to build an airport, but they decide to build a bigger arch than the French had instead, just to spite them. We climbed up the top and got some good photos of the city.
Next we took a cycle out to see some temples and a big gold stupa which was pretty impressive. We then cycled back to the hotel to rest up and escape from the heat! Apparently there is a bowling alley round the corner from the hotel so we are going bowling tonight! Very cultural!
The nautical star has each of its points divided in half down the middle and is half black and half red. Charlotte is very sensible and did not get a tattoo. Shona and Andrew didn't waste any time on the puppy front did they? Say happy Birthday to Nana for me. We have sent some postcards so hopefully they'll be reaching you all soon.
Hope everyone is doing well. Speak to you soon.
Monday, 20 September 2010
To a Laos
Quick update:
We are still in Bangkok, we leave to go to Laos tonight by overnight train. We are currently sheltering from the horrific rain. The thunder storms here are pretty epic. It rains for one or two hours in the middle of every day.
We haven't done loads during our time in Bangkok, partly because we've had 4 nights here so we haven't had to rush about cramming everything in and partly because we come back in about a week and a half.
On Friday evening after we had arrived we went out for a few drinks on Khaosan Road, which is the main bar/shopping street in the backpacker district of Bangkok. There are loads of neon lights, it is really busy and you are bombarded by people from all angles trying to get your business.
On Saturday morning we took a boat in the morning along the river to China Town. It was amazing. There is street after street and alley after alley of stalls selling literally anything! The alleys are barely wide enough for to people on foot to pass by each other and they still allow motorcycles to fly up and down them! But if you want to buy anything from dried fish to halloween outfits then China Town seems to be the place to go!
In the afternoon Charlotte went for a facial and a foot massage while I wandered around in the rain. She enjoyed it and was very relaxed afterwards and it only cost 15 pounds!
In the evening we went out for a meal in the swanky end of Bangkok. We went to a restaurant called Condoms and Cabbages. It is an NGO which promotes safe sex and sexual health as that is a huge problem in Thailand. It was a little bit more pricey but the food was amazing! Everything in the restaurant is made out of condoms, from flowers to lamp shades and table decorations. They are unused obviously. In the evening everyone went out for a few drinks and some Shisha. It was apple flavoured and very relaxing.
Yesterday we went for some street food for breakfast. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was super cheap. Unfortunately we won't be going back as when we were sitting eating we witnessed mummy rat carrying baby rat in her mouth and Charlotte wasn't too impressed. We then went shopping to get Charlotte some Aladin pants as she keeps ripping all of her shorts, usually in the crotch or backside region.
After this we went to a tattoo studio. Don't worry it is very clean, it was recommended by our tour leader and we watched the guy set up and get clean needles out. Charlotte got a swastika tattooed on her forehead. Only joking! She got my name on her bum cheek. I got a nautical star on my shoulder and Katrina (dog bite victim, remember) got a Bhuddist symbol that means long life on her wrist. Jess (the other Canadian) got her lip pierced on a whim. It was very productive.
In the evening we went to the Hotel Asia, again in super-posh area to see a Ladyboy show. Charlotte enjoyed it. It was a sort of Cabaret style show with dancing and miming by men dressed as women and men who were men but are now supposedly women. Charlotte assures me the dancing was fantastic. The words mincing and fairy spring to mind. There was a slight wardrobe malfunction as one of the post-oppers boobs fell from his(her) costume. The show had to go on and (s)he just continued as though nothing had happened. Awkward. Still I got a free Gin and Tonic so I suppose I can't complain.
This morning we took another boat down the river, this time to visit Wat Phr Chetuphon, or Wat Pho as it seems to also get called. It is one of many bhuddist temples in the city. Inside they have a massive gold reclining Bhudda. Its about 30 metres long and maybe ten high. It was pretty spectacular. On the walk back I was accosted by a big fat thai woman who seems to sell seeds to tourists to feed the pigeons. As she approached and I tried to avoid her but she used her fatness to block my path and started trying to put bags of bird food in my hands and even just poured one over my hand and onto the ground. As I tried to leave I was surrounded by more thai woman who were shouting at me to pay for the bird food. It was pretty funny. I told them no and walked off. Chancers.
We now have a few hours to kill before our train to Laos this evening.
Hope everyone is well. Love to everyone.
P.S. Charlotte does not agree with the way Euan has written the paragraph referring to the ladyboys! They are shes.
We are still in Bangkok, we leave to go to Laos tonight by overnight train. We are currently sheltering from the horrific rain. The thunder storms here are pretty epic. It rains for one or two hours in the middle of every day.
We haven't done loads during our time in Bangkok, partly because we've had 4 nights here so we haven't had to rush about cramming everything in and partly because we come back in about a week and a half.
On Friday evening after we had arrived we went out for a few drinks on Khaosan Road, which is the main bar/shopping street in the backpacker district of Bangkok. There are loads of neon lights, it is really busy and you are bombarded by people from all angles trying to get your business.
On Saturday morning we took a boat in the morning along the river to China Town. It was amazing. There is street after street and alley after alley of stalls selling literally anything! The alleys are barely wide enough for to people on foot to pass by each other and they still allow motorcycles to fly up and down them! But if you want to buy anything from dried fish to halloween outfits then China Town seems to be the place to go!
In the afternoon Charlotte went for a facial and a foot massage while I wandered around in the rain. She enjoyed it and was very relaxed afterwards and it only cost 15 pounds!
In the evening we went out for a meal in the swanky end of Bangkok. We went to a restaurant called Condoms and Cabbages. It is an NGO which promotes safe sex and sexual health as that is a huge problem in Thailand. It was a little bit more pricey but the food was amazing! Everything in the restaurant is made out of condoms, from flowers to lamp shades and table decorations. They are unused obviously. In the evening everyone went out for a few drinks and some Shisha. It was apple flavoured and very relaxing.
Yesterday we went for some street food for breakfast. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was super cheap. Unfortunately we won't be going back as when we were sitting eating we witnessed mummy rat carrying baby rat in her mouth and Charlotte wasn't too impressed. We then went shopping to get Charlotte some Aladin pants as she keeps ripping all of her shorts, usually in the crotch or backside region.
After this we went to a tattoo studio. Don't worry it is very clean, it was recommended by our tour leader and we watched the guy set up and get clean needles out. Charlotte got a swastika tattooed on her forehead. Only joking! She got my name on her bum cheek. I got a nautical star on my shoulder and Katrina (dog bite victim, remember) got a Bhuddist symbol that means long life on her wrist. Jess (the other Canadian) got her lip pierced on a whim. It was very productive.
In the evening we went to the Hotel Asia, again in super-posh area to see a Ladyboy show. Charlotte enjoyed it. It was a sort of Cabaret style show with dancing and miming by men dressed as women and men who were men but are now supposedly women. Charlotte assures me the dancing was fantastic. The words mincing and fairy spring to mind. There was a slight wardrobe malfunction as one of the post-oppers boobs fell from his(her) costume. The show had to go on and (s)he just continued as though nothing had happened. Awkward. Still I got a free Gin and Tonic so I suppose I can't complain.
This morning we took another boat down the river, this time to visit Wat Phr Chetuphon, or Wat Pho as it seems to also get called. It is one of many bhuddist temples in the city. Inside they have a massive gold reclining Bhudda. Its about 30 metres long and maybe ten high. It was pretty spectacular. On the walk back I was accosted by a big fat thai woman who seems to sell seeds to tourists to feed the pigeons. As she approached and I tried to avoid her but she used her fatness to block my path and started trying to put bags of bird food in my hands and even just poured one over my hand and onto the ground. As I tried to leave I was surrounded by more thai woman who were shouting at me to pay for the bird food. It was pretty funny. I told them no and walked off. Chancers.
We now have a few hours to kill before our train to Laos this evening.
Hope everyone is well. Love to everyone.
P.S. Charlotte does not agree with the way Euan has written the paragraph referring to the ladyboys! They are shes.
Friday, 17 September 2010
Little Orphan Annie
Yesterday we had a pretty packed day. In the morning we went to some other temple (name escapes me at the moment, Charlotte informs me it begins with a "B") It was similar to those at Angkor Wat, only it is slightly older and a lot more ruined. It was cool as you could explore it yourself and climb through all the rubble! We had local tour guides who told us that every other building was a library, I think they were at it.
In the afternoon we went to Tonle Sap lake and saw a floating village. They have floating houses, shops, a school and a basketball court!!! They also had a crocodile farm and lots of children wandering round with snakes trying to get $1 to have your photo taken with them.
On the way back to Siem Reap from the lake we stopped at an orphanage and went in and met some of the kids. It was quite emotional. The orphanage gets no money from the government and relies entirely on sponsors, volunteers and donations. They find it difficult to get sponsors as there is alot of corruption in Cambodia which makes people reluctant to part with their money. The organisation gives the kids three meals a day, a roof over their head, and transport to and from school. Things we all take for granted. They also teach the kids English, an essential skill in this part of the world, give them some vocational training and teach them traditional Khmer dance and music.
The kids put on a Khmer dance show each night which is free to members of the public. Because there are so many kids, each individual only performs once or twice a week. We came back in the evening to see their show, it was very good and afterwards we got a chance to talk to and play with the kids and we made a small donation to the organisation (ACODO). Charlotte had a few conversations with them where as I was a big white climbing frame and punchbag.
We went out for dinner and a few drinks afterwards, really big buckets here, we even got free t-shirts at one of the bars.
This morning we travelled by bus to Bangkok and one of our party got held up at immigration for a while as the last time she was here she didn't get her passport stamped on exiting the country. Thankfully it all worked out and the customs people realised it had been their mistake. We are in Bangkok now, seems cool so far, a bit mental though. We might go and see a lady boy show but no ping-pong shows!!!
Hope everyone is ok, please leave comments if you read this!!!!!
In the afternoon we went to Tonle Sap lake and saw a floating village. They have floating houses, shops, a school and a basketball court!!! They also had a crocodile farm and lots of children wandering round with snakes trying to get $1 to have your photo taken with them.
On the way back to Siem Reap from the lake we stopped at an orphanage and went in and met some of the kids. It was quite emotional. The orphanage gets no money from the government and relies entirely on sponsors, volunteers and donations. They find it difficult to get sponsors as there is alot of corruption in Cambodia which makes people reluctant to part with their money. The organisation gives the kids three meals a day, a roof over their head, and transport to and from school. Things we all take for granted. They also teach the kids English, an essential skill in this part of the world, give them some vocational training and teach them traditional Khmer dance and music.
The kids put on a Khmer dance show each night which is free to members of the public. Because there are so many kids, each individual only performs once or twice a week. We came back in the evening to see their show, it was very good and afterwards we got a chance to talk to and play with the kids and we made a small donation to the organisation (ACODO). Charlotte had a few conversations with them where as I was a big white climbing frame and punchbag.
We went out for dinner and a few drinks afterwards, really big buckets here, we even got free t-shirts at one of the bars.
This morning we travelled by bus to Bangkok and one of our party got held up at immigration for a while as the last time she was here she didn't get her passport stamped on exiting the country. Thankfully it all worked out and the customs people realised it had been their mistake. We are in Bangkok now, seems cool so far, a bit mental though. We might go and see a lady boy show but no ping-pong shows!!!
Hope everyone is ok, please leave comments if you read this!!!!!
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Some Picys!
Group at top of Ti Top in Halong Bay, boat vender in Halong bay, dragonfruit, squid, Euan at pottery place.
Angkor what?
After a tiring day of travelling on Tuesday we got to relax in style with a Dr Fish foot massage. We spent seven hours travelling by bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. To make matters worse, at the first toilet stop, the rest area seemed only to sell bugs to eat and more tarantulas. They even had people walking around with live ones in order to tempt you to by one. Needless to say we stayed on the bus here!
On arrival in Siem Reap we weren't overly impressed, it seemed really dirty and we werew bombarded with offers from Tuk-tuk drivers trying to get business. However as we got closer into the centre, it seems much nicer. There is a street called Pub Street and an awesome night market. We went out for dinner, Charlotte had a mushroom pizza and I tried snake! It was OK.
After dinner we went into the market and had a Dr Fish foot massage. This is where you put your feet into a tank of hundreds of fish and they eat all the dead skin! Its quite tickly but somewhat relaxing.
This morning we got up at 04:30, in order to be at Angkor wat for sunrise. Angkor wat is a huge temple built in the 10th century and it is very impressive. It is surrounded by a few temple complexes that were built and used througout the 10th 11th and 12th centuries. We went to one temple called Angkor Thom which is overgrown by trees and their roots and looks very nice. This is also where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed.
The temples are all stunning, some of them are bigger than others. Some of them are bhuddist and some Hindu. All of them are very intricately carved. Other notable sights today were a snake (wild), monkeys (wild(ish)), a tarantula (wild this time) and an elephant (not wild).
We got home from the Angkor complex just after lunch time and werew both in serious need of a shower! It is very hard to describe how much one sweats during a whole morning of wandering around looking at temples. I could probably have filled a 2 litre bottle by wringing out my t-shirt!
Tomorrow we are going to see some more temples, Tonle Sap lake and an orphanage before leaving for Bangkok the following day.
Take it easy everyone.
Try not to buy aany more dogs.
On arrival in Siem Reap we weren't overly impressed, it seemed really dirty and we werew bombarded with offers from Tuk-tuk drivers trying to get business. However as we got closer into the centre, it seems much nicer. There is a street called Pub Street and an awesome night market. We went out for dinner, Charlotte had a mushroom pizza and I tried snake! It was OK.
After dinner we went into the market and had a Dr Fish foot massage. This is where you put your feet into a tank of hundreds of fish and they eat all the dead skin! Its quite tickly but somewhat relaxing.
This morning we got up at 04:30, in order to be at Angkor wat for sunrise. Angkor wat is a huge temple built in the 10th century and it is very impressive. It is surrounded by a few temple complexes that were built and used througout the 10th 11th and 12th centuries. We went to one temple called Angkor Thom which is overgrown by trees and their roots and looks very nice. This is also where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed.
The temples are all stunning, some of them are bigger than others. Some of them are bhuddist and some Hindu. All of them are very intricately carved. Other notable sights today were a snake (wild), monkeys (wild(ish)), a tarantula (wild this time) and an elephant (not wild).
We got home from the Angkor complex just after lunch time and werew both in serious need of a shower! It is very hard to describe how much one sweats during a whole morning of wandering around looking at temples. I could probably have filled a 2 litre bottle by wringing out my t-shirt!
Tomorrow we are going to see some more temples, Tonle Sap lake and an orphanage before leaving for Bangkok the following day.
Take it easy everyone.
Try not to buy aany more dogs.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Its fizzy, its ginger, its Phnom-Penh-al!
We arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, yesterday. Its a bit of a change of pace from Vietnam. More cars and less motorbikes although still pretty busy. The buildings are alot different too. In Vietnam you have to pay land tax, depending on how much land your property takes up, so the buildings all tend to be long and thin and very tall, whereas here the buildings are alot more normal and you can definitely see the French influence.
Yesterday we went to the Foreign Corresponants Club and had drinks on the roof-top terrace, very nice! Plus all drinks were half price between 17:00 and 19:00! We then went to a charity restaurant for tea. They take former street children and train them up and give them skills and jobs working in the restaurant, so it was a very good cause. We all tried a local delicacy for starter... fried tarantula!!! Boak! The legs were alright, they just tasted of crispy friedness but the rest was disgusting. We got fed the old ït just tastes like chicken"line. Bull shit.
This morning we got up early and went to S21 (Tuol Sleng Prison) which was converted into a prison from a high school in 1975 by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge government. The prison was only open for less than 4 years, during which time over 17,000 people were killed there (this was not including children and babies, of which it is estimated about 4,000 were murdered). It was pretty horrible but moving at the same time. Our guide there lost several relatives during this period. Some of the rooms and buildings are kept just as they were when the prison was abandoned, and there are lots of weapons, shackles and bloodstains to plainly illustrate exactly what went on here. It was definitely worth seeing, but not something to do lightly.
After this, we went out to the killing fields at Chuong Ek. This was also pretty harrowing. At this one "killing field" there are 129 mass graves, each containing between 100 and 450 bodies. There are 348 known killing field sites in Cambodia and they reckon there are many more which were kept secret. While the prison documented all of its prisoners, there were not many records kept by the Khmer Rouge, so it is estimated that anywhere between 2 and 4 million people died or were killed during their reign. In context, the population of Cambodia in 1975 was around 7 million. Until a few years ago landmines were the number one killer in the country as Pol Pot decided it would be a good idea to plant millions of mines in the country side and near the borders in order to protect the country from outsiders (Or keep people in?). It is thought that it will take well over 100 years to clear the remaining mines.
At the killing fields there is a Stupa with some of the skulls of the Khmer Rouge's victims as a memorial to the people affected by their attrocities. It was a very sad day.
Tomorrow we are taking a 6 hour bus ride to Siem Reap. When we are there we will get to go to Angkor Wat, the largest religiou monument in the world!
Hope eveyone is well. Hi Nana!
Any names for pup yet? Here are some suggestions: Nam, Cam, Ho Chi Minh, Bullit, Apollo and Rocky. Was this a considered purchase and what prompted it?
Yesterday we went to the Foreign Corresponants Club and had drinks on the roof-top terrace, very nice! Plus all drinks were half price between 17:00 and 19:00! We then went to a charity restaurant for tea. They take former street children and train them up and give them skills and jobs working in the restaurant, so it was a very good cause. We all tried a local delicacy for starter... fried tarantula!!! Boak! The legs were alright, they just tasted of crispy friedness but the rest was disgusting. We got fed the old ït just tastes like chicken"line. Bull shit.
This morning we got up early and went to S21 (Tuol Sleng Prison) which was converted into a prison from a high school in 1975 by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge government. The prison was only open for less than 4 years, during which time over 17,000 people were killed there (this was not including children and babies, of which it is estimated about 4,000 were murdered). It was pretty horrible but moving at the same time. Our guide there lost several relatives during this period. Some of the rooms and buildings are kept just as they were when the prison was abandoned, and there are lots of weapons, shackles and bloodstains to plainly illustrate exactly what went on here. It was definitely worth seeing, but not something to do lightly.
After this, we went out to the killing fields at Chuong Ek. This was also pretty harrowing. At this one "killing field" there are 129 mass graves, each containing between 100 and 450 bodies. There are 348 known killing field sites in Cambodia and they reckon there are many more which were kept secret. While the prison documented all of its prisoners, there were not many records kept by the Khmer Rouge, so it is estimated that anywhere between 2 and 4 million people died or were killed during their reign. In context, the population of Cambodia in 1975 was around 7 million. Until a few years ago landmines were the number one killer in the country as Pol Pot decided it would be a good idea to plant millions of mines in the country side and near the borders in order to protect the country from outsiders (Or keep people in?). It is thought that it will take well over 100 years to clear the remaining mines.
At the killing fields there is a Stupa with some of the skulls of the Khmer Rouge's victims as a memorial to the people affected by their attrocities. It was a very sad day.
Tomorrow we are taking a 6 hour bus ride to Siem Reap. When we are there we will get to go to Angkor Wat, the largest religiou monument in the world!
Hope eveyone is well. Hi Nana!
Any names for pup yet? Here are some suggestions: Nam, Cam, Ho Chi Minh, Bullit, Apollo and Rocky. Was this a considered purchase and what prompted it?
Saturday, 11 September 2010
There's a snake in my juice
We have just had the best couple of dáys.
It started off on Friday morning when we got a bus from our hotel in Saigon to a place called Vinh Long. Vinh Long is a town on the banks of the Mekong river. From there we got a boat and set sail down the river and its many tributaries.
In the morning we visited a few places along the river to see some of the local industries. We saw tiles, bricks and pottery being made and it was interesting to see how esential the river is to these people's lives. We stopped for lunch and had Elephant-ear fish! Its ugly looking, but delicious!
We spent the rest of the đay travelling up the river and making a couple òf mỏre awesome stops. At one we had cinammon rice wine and snake wine, which is rice wine with a snake fermenting in it! At our next stop they brought out a 10 ft python which we all got to hold! It was âmazing. We were also "treated" to some local singing and dancing.
We finally made it to our homestay where we got to stay in a traditional house under mozzy nets We also had quite a mesy evening with Nam, our local guide, and the rést òf the group on the banana whisky. It should be pointed out that in between saying "love you long time" "lỏe" and "you're a ladyboy" Nam cheats at drinking games.
All in all it was a fantastic day and a real once in a lifetime experience.
Today we visited the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. It ứa really interesting, although a tad one sided and there were some really grisly exhibits on display, the worst being a deformed foetus courtesy of agent orange.
Tomorrow our holiday moves to Cambodia, I feel a song coming on...
Anyway take care guys, we'll speak to you soon. You stay classy San Diego.
It started off on Friday morning when we got a bus from our hotel in Saigon to a place called Vinh Long. Vinh Long is a town on the banks of the Mekong river. From there we got a boat and set sail down the river and its many tributaries.
In the morning we visited a few places along the river to see some of the local industries. We saw tiles, bricks and pottery being made and it was interesting to see how esential the river is to these people's lives. We stopped for lunch and had Elephant-ear fish! Its ugly looking, but delicious!
We spent the rest of the đay travelling up the river and making a couple òf mỏre awesome stops. At one we had cinammon rice wine and snake wine, which is rice wine with a snake fermenting in it! At our next stop they brought out a 10 ft python which we all got to hold! It was âmazing. We were also "treated" to some local singing and dancing.
We finally made it to our homestay where we got to stay in a traditional house under mozzy nets We also had quite a mesy evening with Nam, our local guide, and the rést òf the group on the banana whisky. It should be pointed out that in between saying "love you long time" "lỏe" and "you're a ladyboy" Nam cheats at drinking games.
All in all it was a fantastic day and a real once in a lifetime experience.
Today we visited the War Remnants Museum in Saigon. It ứa really interesting, although a tad one sided and there were some really grisly exhibits on display, the worst being a deformed foetus courtesy of agent orange.
Tomorrow our holiday moves to Cambodia, I feel a song coming on...
Anyway take care guys, we'll speak to you soon. You stay classy San Diego.
Filling in the gaps!
I'm just explaining a few things that Euan didn't experience and he forgot to mention due to his self inflicted hangover!!!!!!
We will start with the title of the last blog update 'Punched in the head en route to Saigon'. As Euan was so terribly ill, I think he must have forgotten to explain this incident! We had to wait 40 minutes for our night train on Wednesday night as it was running late. Euan was still feeling awful and had a plastic bag in case of vomiting, he was sitting down with the other rows of locals with his head in his hands. A vietnamese lady who worked there approached him and started massaging his head, neck and shoulders. People in our group began to stare as some of them had just paid to get a massage earlier that day! When I looked around I noticed that the whole train station had was staring as well some finding this quite amusing! I found this hilarious because not only did I notice that Euan was tensing up, feeling a bit awkward this lady seemed to be battering his poor wee head! After this, again his head back in his hands still drawing attention to himself the Vietnamese lady was over again with menthol oil attacking my poor man again however at the end of this brutal attack he was left with three bruises; one on either side of his temple and another above his nose where she had been nipping his skin! Lucky git got two free indian head massages!
As the invalid was still dehydrated by Thursday he couldn't make it to Cu Chi Tunnels which we were both disappointed about as he was looking forward to this, however I studied these tunnels and filmed everything I could and learnt absolutely everything about them. It was really amazing, I had no idea what they were. I thought that they were used for smuggling things back and forth to Cambodia! They in fact were a village called Cu Chi that had to move underground to hide from the Americans. It showed you the traps they made and the way they lived in these tunnels which was very clever! We got the opportunity to go down to the tunnels which we had to crawl and walk bent over! These tunnels had been doubled the size for tourists! It was dark, clausterphobic and very hot. I chose to get out 3/4 through the tunnel because it got smaller and you had to lie on your back and wriggle backwards! I really don't know how people could live like this!
Hope everyone is well and we miss everyone. Love to all xxx
We will start with the title of the last blog update 'Punched in the head en route to Saigon'. As Euan was so terribly ill, I think he must have forgotten to explain this incident! We had to wait 40 minutes for our night train on Wednesday night as it was running late. Euan was still feeling awful and had a plastic bag in case of vomiting, he was sitting down with the other rows of locals with his head in his hands. A vietnamese lady who worked there approached him and started massaging his head, neck and shoulders. People in our group began to stare as some of them had just paid to get a massage earlier that day! When I looked around I noticed that the whole train station had was staring as well some finding this quite amusing! I found this hilarious because not only did I notice that Euan was tensing up, feeling a bit awkward this lady seemed to be battering his poor wee head! After this, again his head back in his hands still drawing attention to himself the Vietnamese lady was over again with menthol oil attacking my poor man again however at the end of this brutal attack he was left with three bruises; one on either side of his temple and another above his nose where she had been nipping his skin! Lucky git got two free indian head massages!
As the invalid was still dehydrated by Thursday he couldn't make it to Cu Chi Tunnels which we were both disappointed about as he was looking forward to this, however I studied these tunnels and filmed everything I could and learnt absolutely everything about them. It was really amazing, I had no idea what they were. I thought that they were used for smuggling things back and forth to Cambodia! They in fact were a village called Cu Chi that had to move underground to hide from the Americans. It showed you the traps they made and the way they lived in these tunnels which was very clever! We got the opportunity to go down to the tunnels which we had to crawl and walk bent over! These tunnels had been doubled the size for tourists! It was dark, clausterphobic and very hot. I chose to get out 3/4 through the tunnel because it got smaller and you had to lie on your back and wriggle backwards! I really don't know how people could live like this!
Hope everyone is well and we miss everyone. Love to all xxx
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Punched in the head en route to Saigon
On Tuesday night we went out and sampled Nha Trang's local "delicacy", the Bucket. Big mistake! The bucket consists of Vietnamese vodka, Vietnamese Red Bull and assorted other stuff served up in a bucket.
We woke up on Wednesday morning with splitting head aches and me with a flip-flop full of blood! Apparently I mangled the end of my toe on the walk home! After a brief attempt at eating lunch, and a trip to puke in the bathroom I decided I had to get outside.
We spent the rest of the afternoon lying in the shade on the beach and trying to recover! Charlotte had perked up by mid-afternoon, but I was still pretty rough. I believe its not a hangover because its still going on now (Thursday evening) I am dizzy, my stomach hurts and I have been making several quick dashes to the bathroom!
On Wednesday night we caught the night train from Nha Trang to Saigon and arrived at around 4am, luckily there were a couple of rooms ready in the hotel so we could all pile into them. I attempted breakfast having eaten nothing all day Wednesday but had to leave as the smell of other people's food was making me want to barf. I had to retire for the day. Charlotte went on a trip with the rest of the group to the Cu Chi tunnels and I am super-pissed off that I missed it as this was one of the things I was looking forward to most! Luckily Charlotte took loads of ace photos and filmed most of the day, so I have been able to experience some of it!
I couldn't go out for tea as whenever i stood up I was so dizzy I was nearly falling over, but Charlotte brought me back some veggie rice and I finally managed to eat something!
Tomorrow we are leaving at 8am to go to the Mekong Delta, where we are doing a homestay where we will be staying in a house with some local people! We will get to sample some real home made rice wine too!
I'm starting to feel much better having eaten and I am drinking plenty of water. Charlotte has been an absolute star looking after me. Hope everyone at home is well!
We woke up on Wednesday morning with splitting head aches and me with a flip-flop full of blood! Apparently I mangled the end of my toe on the walk home! After a brief attempt at eating lunch, and a trip to puke in the bathroom I decided I had to get outside.
We spent the rest of the afternoon lying in the shade on the beach and trying to recover! Charlotte had perked up by mid-afternoon, but I was still pretty rough. I believe its not a hangover because its still going on now (Thursday evening) I am dizzy, my stomach hurts and I have been making several quick dashes to the bathroom!
On Wednesday night we caught the night train from Nha Trang to Saigon and arrived at around 4am, luckily there were a couple of rooms ready in the hotel so we could all pile into them. I attempted breakfast having eaten nothing all day Wednesday but had to leave as the smell of other people's food was making me want to barf. I had to retire for the day. Charlotte went on a trip with the rest of the group to the Cu Chi tunnels and I am super-pissed off that I missed it as this was one of the things I was looking forward to most! Luckily Charlotte took loads of ace photos and filmed most of the day, so I have been able to experience some of it!
I couldn't go out for tea as whenever i stood up I was so dizzy I was nearly falling over, but Charlotte brought me back some veggie rice and I finally managed to eat something!
Tomorrow we are leaving at 8am to go to the Mekong Delta, where we are doing a homestay where we will be staying in a house with some local people! We will get to sample some real home made rice wine too!
I'm starting to feel much better having eaten and I am drinking plenty of water. Charlotte has been an absolute star looking after me. Hope everyone at home is well!
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Nightbus to Nha Trang
The further South we travel, the hotter it gets!
We spent our last day in Hoi An yesterday doing a cooking course where we learned how to make a couple of different types of spring rolls and some sort of fish in a lemongrass and chilli sauce. Then after learning how to cook it we got to eat it and it was awesome!
After our cooking class we cycled out to the amazing Cau Dai beach near Hoi An, where we had a refreshing dip in the sea. Unfortunately that was as good as it got because in the evening we had to board a nightbus bound for Nha Trang. Charlotte managed to sleep pretty well, but I think I got about 20 minutes kip! It was a weird bus with 3 aisles of bunk beds, but they weren't proper beds and obviously weren't designed with big fat westerners in mind! I couldn't even fit both my feet in!
We arrived at Nha Trang at about 6am and its pretty nice, although its just basically a big beach resort. After breakfast we headed out to a spa in Nha Trang where they have mud baths and pools heated by hot springs. We got to lie in the mud pools for about 20 minutes before letting it dry in the sun and then rinsing it off. Then we went into one of the hot spring pools, had a further shower under a waterfall and then a final swim in a hot swimming pool. It was pretty relaxing.
We spent this afternoon walking across Nha Trang to see a massive white Bhudda that sits on top of the hill. One of the monks who was talking to us patted my belly while pointing at the Bhudda statue. Cheeky fucker. Nha Trang is pretty busy and dodging the traffic is fun. There seems to be alot of poor people in this area and as we walked across town there were alot more people begging.
Going to try and put more pics up now... don't hold your breath.
Take care,
Euan and Charlotte
We spent our last day in Hoi An yesterday doing a cooking course where we learned how to make a couple of different types of spring rolls and some sort of fish in a lemongrass and chilli sauce. Then after learning how to cook it we got to eat it and it was awesome!
After our cooking class we cycled out to the amazing Cau Dai beach near Hoi An, where we had a refreshing dip in the sea. Unfortunately that was as good as it got because in the evening we had to board a nightbus bound for Nha Trang. Charlotte managed to sleep pretty well, but I think I got about 20 minutes kip! It was a weird bus with 3 aisles of bunk beds, but they weren't proper beds and obviously weren't designed with big fat westerners in mind! I couldn't even fit both my feet in!
We arrived at Nha Trang at about 6am and its pretty nice, although its just basically a big beach resort. After breakfast we headed out to a spa in Nha Trang where they have mud baths and pools heated by hot springs. We got to lie in the mud pools for about 20 minutes before letting it dry in the sun and then rinsing it off. Then we went into one of the hot spring pools, had a further shower under a waterfall and then a final swim in a hot swimming pool. It was pretty relaxing.
We spent this afternoon walking across Nha Trang to see a massive white Bhudda that sits on top of the hill. One of the monks who was talking to us patted my belly while pointing at the Bhudda statue. Cheeky fucker. Nha Trang is pretty busy and dodging the traffic is fun. There seems to be alot of poor people in this area and as we walked across town there were alot more people begging.
Going to try and put more pics up now... don't hold your breath.
Take care,
Euan and Charlotte
Sunday, 5 September 2010
More Photos!!!
These pictures are rain in Hoi An, Charlotte rolling her own spring rolls, our tour leader Mim attacking her fish, some old Vietnamese people fishing and some dragons!
Hoi An
Craziness.
We left Hue at 08:00, I'd had Shrimp noodle soup for breakfast and it was all up by 08:30! But better out than in as they say! I felt much better by the time I'd puked and was on the beer by 10:30 am so I can't complain. We stopped off on the Hai-Van pass on the way to Hoi An. It was all going fine until Katrina, one of the Canadian girls in our group got bitten by a dog! Thankfully she is OK, but everyone was pretty worried and she had to go to Hospital to get a few injections and anti-biotics. Luckily Nurse Charlotte was on hand to tend to the patient!
It was good to arrive in Hoi An at about midday and there is a noticable change of pace here. There are over 300 tailors in the town and everyone is so friendly and there are no cars allowed in the centre of town and bikes only at night time!
We spent yesterday looking at some of the tailors and got to see some silkworms and the whole process of the silk being spun then woven. Then Charlotte decided that she needed to get a pair of shoes made, so she got measured up and picked her design, one guy in our group is getting a suit tailored and a couple of the girls are getting dresses.
Today we hired out a boat for a couple of hours and went up the river to one of the islands, there were men repairing their boats, cattle and geese wandering around and men carving massive bhuddas out of wood. Our boat driver also took us to a house in a back street where they had a still and were making rice wine. Blows your head off at 11am!
We then spent the afternoon doing a walking tour of the town which was very nice, we saw a japanese covered bridge that was used for trading hundreds of years ago and some houses, including one that has been lived in by the same family for hundreds of years, which was really awesome. You just go in and the guy that owns it shows you around. There are loads of photos of his great Grandfather who was the captain of the Vietnam football team and his grandfather who was the foreign minister in Ho Chi Minh's government. He also gave us some herbal medicine concoction which he claims was non-alcoholic, but I'm not convinced!
Tomorrow we have the day in Hoi An, before catching a night bus to Nha-Trang. Can't be any worse than the night train... hopefully!
If you leave a comment, leave your name!
Stunning is not a gay word.
See yous soon, I'm going to attempt to put some photos up...
We left Hue at 08:00, I'd had Shrimp noodle soup for breakfast and it was all up by 08:30! But better out than in as they say! I felt much better by the time I'd puked and was on the beer by 10:30 am so I can't complain. We stopped off on the Hai-Van pass on the way to Hoi An. It was all going fine until Katrina, one of the Canadian girls in our group got bitten by a dog! Thankfully she is OK, but everyone was pretty worried and she had to go to Hospital to get a few injections and anti-biotics. Luckily Nurse Charlotte was on hand to tend to the patient!
It was good to arrive in Hoi An at about midday and there is a noticable change of pace here. There are over 300 tailors in the town and everyone is so friendly and there are no cars allowed in the centre of town and bikes only at night time!
We spent yesterday looking at some of the tailors and got to see some silkworms and the whole process of the silk being spun then woven. Then Charlotte decided that she needed to get a pair of shoes made, so she got measured up and picked her design, one guy in our group is getting a suit tailored and a couple of the girls are getting dresses.
Today we hired out a boat for a couple of hours and went up the river to one of the islands, there were men repairing their boats, cattle and geese wandering around and men carving massive bhuddas out of wood. Our boat driver also took us to a house in a back street where they had a still and were making rice wine. Blows your head off at 11am!
We then spent the afternoon doing a walking tour of the town which was very nice, we saw a japanese covered bridge that was used for trading hundreds of years ago and some houses, including one that has been lived in by the same family for hundreds of years, which was really awesome. You just go in and the guy that owns it shows you around. There are loads of photos of his great Grandfather who was the captain of the Vietnam football team and his grandfather who was the foreign minister in Ho Chi Minh's government. He also gave us some herbal medicine concoction which he claims was non-alcoholic, but I'm not convinced!
Tomorrow we have the day in Hoi An, before catching a night bus to Nha-Trang. Can't be any worse than the night train... hopefully!
If you leave a comment, leave your name!
Stunning is not a gay word.
See yous soon, I'm going to attempt to put some photos up...
Friday, 3 September 2010
We've come a long Hue
Wow, what a day!
We boarded the night train from Hanoi at 19:00 last night and were in for a hellish 13 hour journey. There were 4 people to a cabin and once all the bags were in there wasn't much room for anything else! We had two Canadians from Canadia in our room, Jess and Katrina. Luckily they volunteered to take the top bunk so we didn't need to clamber our way up (although Charlotte did have a go and there may be a video of it)
We didn't get much sleep on the train and I watched the sun come up over the paddy fields at 05:00 and saw all the Vietnamese with their ducks and buffalo tending to their fields. It was stunning!
We arrived in Hue around 08:30 this morning and got a taxi to our hotel and went for breakfast. Charlotte had a Jam baguette and I had Pho Tom which is pork noodle soup. This set us up nicely for a tiring day...
We hired bikes and went with Jess, Katrina, Denise (Kiwi) and John (paddy) to see the tomb of Tu Duc who was some king some time ago. It was a 7 km ride to get there and we had fun negotiating the traffic, although thankfully its not quite as busy as Hanoi and the roads are a bit wider. On the way back we saw ladies making incense and pointy hats. Charlotte had a shot of rolling her own incense sticks, she was a natural!!!
We then went to the Imperial Citadel in the centre of Hue which is a big walled palace type complex. It is very old but alot of it was destroyed by the French in the 40s and the Americans in the 60s so it is being carefully restored. We fed some huge koi carp in the citadel and they were slithereing over one another to get the food and going a bit mental. We also saw a couple of Elephants, but they were chained up and looked quite sad.
After that we negotiated our way on bike back to the hotel (Phuoc An - DMZ Hotel) and returned the bikes. We have just had a refreshing shower and will be going out for a bite to eat at Friendly Cafe soon. We are getting a bus at 8am tomorrow to Hoi-An, which will take about 4 hours and then who knows what our day will hold.
Keep us updated with any comments!
We boarded the night train from Hanoi at 19:00 last night and were in for a hellish 13 hour journey. There were 4 people to a cabin and once all the bags were in there wasn't much room for anything else! We had two Canadians from Canadia in our room, Jess and Katrina. Luckily they volunteered to take the top bunk so we didn't need to clamber our way up (although Charlotte did have a go and there may be a video of it)
We didn't get much sleep on the train and I watched the sun come up over the paddy fields at 05:00 and saw all the Vietnamese with their ducks and buffalo tending to their fields. It was stunning!
We arrived in Hue around 08:30 this morning and got a taxi to our hotel and went for breakfast. Charlotte had a Jam baguette and I had Pho Tom which is pork noodle soup. This set us up nicely for a tiring day...
We hired bikes and went with Jess, Katrina, Denise (Kiwi) and John (paddy) to see the tomb of Tu Duc who was some king some time ago. It was a 7 km ride to get there and we had fun negotiating the traffic, although thankfully its not quite as busy as Hanoi and the roads are a bit wider. On the way back we saw ladies making incense and pointy hats. Charlotte had a shot of rolling her own incense sticks, she was a natural!!!
We then went to the Imperial Citadel in the centre of Hue which is a big walled palace type complex. It is very old but alot of it was destroyed by the French in the 40s and the Americans in the 60s so it is being carefully restored. We fed some huge koi carp in the citadel and they were slithereing over one another to get the food and going a bit mental. We also saw a couple of Elephants, but they were chained up and looked quite sad.
After that we negotiated our way on bike back to the hotel (Phuoc An - DMZ Hotel) and returned the bikes. We have just had a refreshing shower and will be going out for a bite to eat at Friendly Cafe soon. We are getting a bus at 8am tomorrow to Hoi-An, which will take about 4 hours and then who knows what our day will hold.
Keep us updated with any comments!
Thursday, 2 September 2010
Uncle Ho
What a busy day we have had!
We got up at 05:30 and walked from our hotel to Hoan Kiem Lake where all the inhabitants of Hanoi do their morning exercise. From prison weights to 90 year old women doing tai chi! We also bumped into two of our fellow travellers alongside the locals as they had been out all night and decided in their still-drunk state to join in with the tai chi.
After breakfast we took a taxi out to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. It is Vietnam day or something, so its a public holiday and it was packed (or Hoachin man)! It took us 2 hours to see the dead guy.
Then we went to see the Army museum. It was quite good lots of tanks and planes and helicopters. It is obviously a museum to instill national pride because everything on display had a plaque that told you how many Americans said weapon killed/shot down!
We went out for some lunch which was awesome, followed by some bia hoi on the street, watching the world go by.
It has been another scorching hot day and we have to catch an over night train to Hue.
Take care everyone.
We got up at 05:30 and walked from our hotel to Hoan Kiem Lake where all the inhabitants of Hanoi do their morning exercise. From prison weights to 90 year old women doing tai chi! We also bumped into two of our fellow travellers alongside the locals as they had been out all night and decided in their still-drunk state to join in with the tai chi.
After breakfast we took a taxi out to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. It is Vietnam day or something, so its a public holiday and it was packed (or Hoachin man)! It took us 2 hours to see the dead guy.
Then we went to see the Army museum. It was quite good lots of tanks and planes and helicopters. It is obviously a museum to instill national pride because everything on display had a plaque that told you how many Americans said weapon killed/shot down!
We went out for some lunch which was awesome, followed by some bia hoi on the street, watching the world go by.
It has been another scorching hot day and we have to catch an over night train to Hue.
Take care everyone.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Hanoi to Halong bay and back again
Just arrived at the hotel back in Hanoi, it is very hectic compared to the relaxed tranquility of Halong Bay.
We got up early on Tuesday morning to get the minibus to Halong City. The road was very bumpy, but the views were spectacular. Gabby wouldn't be able to manage it without puking every ten minutes!
There are ten people in our group and we had a junk boat to ourselves! When we got on the junk boat we had lunch, where they kept bringing more and more plates of food. Squid, octopus, prawns, fish, Vegetables, rice etc. Then we went to a cave where there were lots of stalactites and stalagmites, it was 25 cents to get in and it was pretty spectacular. We then spent a while jumping off the roof of our junk boat into the sea which was VERY refreshing as it had been a hot day. HOT.
After that we hired kayaks and took them into a secluded cove where apparently there are monkeys but we didn't see any! We saw plenty of Sea eagles though.
After that we had dinner which was similar to lunch, only lots more! We were up at 7 am this morning for breakfast, before a walk up one of the hills to a pagoda on the top. It was so so hot, about 35 celcius at 8:30 am! The views from the top were spectacular but then we had to walk all the way down again. It was great to have a refreshing swim when we got to the bottom. Seemingly there are about 420 steps, although some people say 300 and some people say 700. It felt like 7000!
Next we were back on the boat for more food and to sail back to Halong City. On the drive back to Hanoi we stopped at a shop where they sold "health" drink with jin-seng, lemongrass and... lizards, snakes and scorpions in the bottle!
We are back in bustling Hanoi and we are going to see a water puppet show tonight followed by some local food.
Hope you haven't forgotten us already!!!
We got up early on Tuesday morning to get the minibus to Halong City. The road was very bumpy, but the views were spectacular. Gabby wouldn't be able to manage it without puking every ten minutes!
There are ten people in our group and we had a junk boat to ourselves! When we got on the junk boat we had lunch, where they kept bringing more and more plates of food. Squid, octopus, prawns, fish, Vegetables, rice etc. Then we went to a cave where there were lots of stalactites and stalagmites, it was 25 cents to get in and it was pretty spectacular. We then spent a while jumping off the roof of our junk boat into the sea which was VERY refreshing as it had been a hot day. HOT.
After that we hired kayaks and took them into a secluded cove where apparently there are monkeys but we didn't see any! We saw plenty of Sea eagles though.
After that we had dinner which was similar to lunch, only lots more! We were up at 7 am this morning for breakfast, before a walk up one of the hills to a pagoda on the top. It was so so hot, about 35 celcius at 8:30 am! The views from the top were spectacular but then we had to walk all the way down again. It was great to have a refreshing swim when we got to the bottom. Seemingly there are about 420 steps, although some people say 300 and some people say 700. It felt like 7000!
Next we were back on the boat for more food and to sail back to Halong City. On the drive back to Hanoi we stopped at a shop where they sold "health" drink with jin-seng, lemongrass and... lizards, snakes and scorpions in the bottle!
We are back in bustling Hanoi and we are going to see a water puppet show tonight followed by some local food.
Hope you haven't forgotten us already!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)