Till death do us part

I had to take a picture of these two. Apparently, not even death could separate them. This sculptures are in Nong Khai, across the Mekong from Vientiane in northeast Thailand. There is a park full of very large Indu-Thai sculptures. Here's one of an elephant riding a mouse.

Vientiane

My visit to vientiane was very short, only 6 hours. Even though it is the biggest city in Laos, it is small. I got to all the major sites before returning to Bangkok by train. The monument on the left is the simbol of Laos and some times appears on their flag. The one on the right resembles the Arch of the Triumph in Paris. I read it was built bought by the US to build a new runway at the airport. I don't think planes can land here.





There is a temple in Vientiane that has more than 6800 Buddhas - I didn't count :)

Luang Phabang

Luang Phabang (or Luang Prabang) is the former capital of kingdom of Laos. It's a beautiful place, and peaceful even though it's the second largest city in Laos. It has maybe around 50,000 inhabitats. It's lay out is typical of Laosian cities, with neighborhoods centered around ancient temples. The french influence is also very apparent, specially around the old part of the city. This place is probably the no. 1 tourist destination in Laos. It is also been designated as a world heritage site by the UNESCO. Even today, this is a pretty remote city. I read that in colonial times, it could take longer to reach Luang Prabang from french Vietnam than to reach Vietnam from France. The Mekong is not navigable all year.
Here, I spent a day visiting the old palace, temples, and the market. I also went to a theatre showing traditional Laosian dances which are very similar to Thai dances - not a surprise.

On-my second day, I went to a nearby village where I found hand-made textiles (mostly of cotton and silk). I got there by bicycle after taking a wrong turn and riding 14 Km more than I needed.


Something else I saw a lot of on the streets was gambling. Poeple play cards, or another game that looks like dominoes, but the chips have what looks like chinese characters on them. They have large stacks of kip (laosian currency) in front of them. In a walk through a small market full of chinese goods, I found 3 groups of gamblers.

From Luang Phabang, I took a bus to Vientiane on a good road. The 380 Km took only 11 hours. That's an average of 35 Kph ( = 22 mph). The road is just very windy. It was ok though. I wouldn't want to arrive in Vientiane at 3 am.

Pak Beng

Pak Beng was a nice place to rest on the way to Luang Phabang. This "town" on the banks of the Mekong river is very small. I found the hotel I alreay mentioned, and had dinner. It only took 15 minutes to see the whole place.

The views of the river are beautiful. I also had my firts encounter with Laosian "decoration". Laos has had more bombs dropped on it, per capita, than any other country. Unexploded ordinance is apparently still common in areas near Vietnam. Nevertheless, even this far people use bombs for decoration. Notice the bomb that is used as a welcome sign for this restaurant.

Hotel charges

How much should a clean room with a nice view of the Mekong river cost?
This is the view from my room...

This is my clean bed with the mosquito net over it...

The bathroom was clean, too.

You can get all this, plus a bonus pet mouse, for 25,000 kip ( = 100 bhat = $2.50). This is officially the second cheapest hotel I have ever stayed in (in 1992, I found a similar room with a view of the Hunza valley in northern Pakistan for less than $1).

Visit to Laos - getting to Luang Phabang

After rafting, I continued north to Chian Mai, a major city in northern Thailand with an awesome night market. There, I visited some temples, and got sick for a day. The north of Thailand gets hilly, and the scenery is beautiful, but I have already seen enough places like this. I was not in a picture-taking mood, but had a good time.

From Chian Mai, I continued on to the Laos border. It was time for another visa run. To get into Laos, I took a ferry across the Mekong River into the little town of Huay Xai (sounds "Huay Sai" - thank the French for the wierd translitteration of Laosian script. Even the name of the capital, Vientiane, should actually be pronounced something like Wien Chang). Anyway, Huay Xai is a very tiny place. In the picture, you can see half the town. I arrived in the early afternoon (having spent the morning in Chian Khong, on the Thai side of the border) to find that the few buses and boats I could take into more interesting parts had already left. I was stuck here until the next morning.

I had two choices. One, a 2 day boat ride to Luang Phabang (nice city in northern Laos - see following posts), or two, a 24 hour bus ride. The catch is that 150 Km take 24 hours in the dry season. We're in the wet season, and there's no guarantee the trip can be completed in 24 hours. It coud take 2 or 3 days, or longer if it rained a lot. (Overland trips in northern Laos are slow going because the terrain is mountanous and the roads very windy. Another 130 Km bus trip normally takes 6 to 8 hours!).


So, I opted for the 2 day boat trip. The seats were unconfortable, but the scenery made up for it. I could see villages on the sides of the river where people dress and live in traditional ways. The first day ended in a little place (town?) called Pak Beng. One the second day, the scenery was just as beautiful. The clouds and rain were nice to watch, but I was tired, so I couldn't wait to arrive. The trip was certainly worthwile, but 2 days was plenty for me.

Rafting in Pisanulok

A couple of weeks ago, I started traveling north from Bangkok into northern Thailand. The first stop was in Pisanulok, where Weena and I went rafting. The river looked desceptively calm. Several of the rapids were sufficiently scary to make the trip exciting. Here, they take boats through rapids where beginners would never go in the States.
Unlike my previous rafting trips, the water was not cold. It was fun to go in for a swim.
The tricky part was following the guide's instructions in Thai - rowing forward vs. backward, right vs. left, etc. I just had to learn a few more words - which I have since forgotten.

(In the photos, I am on the rear left and Weena on the rear right)

More pictures from Cambodia

When I went to Cambodia last month, I took a boat ride from the temples at Ankor to a little city called Battambang. It was interesting to see the villages, some floating on the river, and the people and how they travel. The boat with all the people was part of a 3 boat caravan apparently going to a wedding. Some people were singing and partying on the first boat.
The big tower on the other picture is a contraption used for fishing.



Later, on a motorbike ride to Pailin, I came across signs of the former Kmer Rouge prescense in this area. The number 2 and no. 3 former leaders still leave around here.

Koh Tao

I have finally made it to the islands in southern Thailand. There are many, and the beaches are beautiful. I spent 5 days in Koh Tao (Koh = island), which attracts scuba divers from around the world. There are beautiful reefs and abundant marine life. Whale-sharks are seen in this area.
What did I do here? I signed up for a scuba diving class, and I am now certified! It was fun even though I actually had to study and take an exam. I managed some underwater photos with a cheap disposable camera. I hope to do a little more diving before I leave.

Petchaburi

bout 2 hours south of Bangkok, there's a city (and a province) by this name. There are many caves in the limestone outcrops of the Indochina peninsula (and in various others parts of southeast Asia). In Petchaburi, Buddhist monks have done quite a good job converting some of these caves in temples with dozens or hundreds of Buddha statues in them. There was little else to see or do. Few tourists come here, so it was a good place to get away from the vendors and tour operators that abound at the major sites - a relaxing place.

Theater in Bangkok

On my visits to Bangkok, I have gotten to see a couple of shows that I would highly recommend. One is a puppet show. This is a uniquely Thai art form and nothing like I imagined. The puppets, representing characters from the Ramakian (traditional Thai story derived from Hindu tradition) are controlled by 3 people each. They reenact scenes from the ancient stories. They also have an audience participation part which is quite funny. Who thought a puppet show could be so entertaining.

Another show worth seing is Siam Niramit. Is a large, modern production that is simply outstanding. The show takes one on a journey through Thai history, traditions and festivals. The customs, music and lights are spectacular.

So, these are the kinds of things I do in Bangkok when I pass through.

Visa run - a second visit to Cambodia

Coming into Thailand, I get a 30 day visa. At the end of June, I had to leave Thailand and reenter to get another 30 days, so I went on a short trip into Cambodia again. I visited Siam Reap and Battambang again but went to sites I missed on my first visit in May.

Near Siam Reap, I went to a floating village on Tonle Sap lake. Houses on stilts are moved when the lake rises. They don't actually float. Fishing is a major part of how these people make a living. Many children here work pretty hard. It's too bad they have almost no opportunities to get ahead in life because many are quite bright and learn several languages (English, French, Spanish German, etc) to speak with foreigners. On the shores of the lake, the water rises as much as 10 meters, so houses are pretty high up. When I visited, the water was still fairly low, so we had to ride the motorbike through what my driver called "a little bad" road. I'd hate to see this road when it's really bad :) Nevertheless, we made it to the villages and back to Siam Reap. In the city, some prices, including food and drinks are quite cheap. The sign on the photo is in dollars. Yes, there is $0.25 cent beer! (many prices are posted in US dollars throughout Cambodia).

I went to Battambang only on my way to Pailin, a border town formerly known for it's production of precious stones. The quarries have since been depleted. This is the region were the Kmer Rouge started their revolution. The number 2 and 3 Kmer Rouge leaders still leave here. There houses are known to everyone. They are hated, so apparently they rarely leave. There are still many mines in some areas. My plan was to spend a day here, but after about 1 hour, I had seen the whole town, so I went on to the border. The only hotel with available rooms had no water, so I crossed into Thailand hoping to somehow make it to a nearby town for the night. I was very lucky. At the immigration, just as I finished the paperwork (and got my new 30 day visa), a man was leaving in his private car. There was no public transport in sight, so I asked him for a ride. It turned out he was going to Chantaburi, where I would have to go on my way back to Bangkok the next day. So, this was perfect. He spoke little English, and I speak only a few phrases in Thai, but I managed to ask him to drop me at any hotel in Chantaburi (he had his wife do a little translating for us on the cell phone). Well, he first went to his house to pick up his wife. They then drove me around until they found me a hotel - a very nice place at a great price. It seems I got a discount because the wife said I was her brother. People in Thailand are known for being very friendly, and that makes traveling here much more enjoyable.