SLOW MEKONG BOAT

I left Chang Mai in Northern Thailand and headed for Loas. First I had to take an eight hour bus journey to Huay Xai on the border of Thailand and Loas. It was very cramped but at least it was a fairly new bus. I got chatting to a few people including a lovely couple from Perth called Penny and Tony, so the journey passed quickly.


We were booked into a guesthouse overlooking the Mekong river. I was blown away by the view and it was nothing compared to the scenery I was going to experience along the slow boat journey over the next two days. They took our passports and said that they would sort the visas. No one really understood what was going on but we all just handed over the forms and passports.
Then we were given a meal and room for the night. Next day after breakfast we were given our packed lunches (spring rolls) then taken on buses to the riverside. Where we waited for ages to get our passports handed back with a Thai stamp. We then went onto longboats to be taken across the river.


Where we again had to fill in lots of forms and wait for ages to get our passports stamped by the Laos authorities and hand over thirty five dollars for the visa. They took small groups of us by taxi trucks to another cafe to hang around for another hour until everyone had been sorted. It was organised chaos.But it seemed to work. You just have to have faith that they do this everyday with lots of tourists and it works. I stocked up on plenty of water and of course a cushion! I had been told that you sit on hard wooden benches for eight hours.
It was a mad scramble to get a place on the boat and we were really packed in like sardines.But everyone was good natured so it was ok.
I sat near Penny and Tony from Perth and Dom and Norma from Canada sat further back.

I was lucky enough to get a bench to myself so I could sit lengthways which was a bonus!


Just before we set off we were given a pep talk by a local guy telling us when we get to the night stop the locals just make a grab for our rucksacks and bags and some go missing so we must take care!!! We thought it was funny.
Along the way we stopped at the rivers edge and lots of little children jumped onto the boat to sell us food and water. They seemed oblivious to the dangers of clambering down over the rocks. And they were very good persisstant sales people when they got on the boat.

TREKKING DAY TWO

I stayed up with the French and Spanish people until two in the morning getting quite drunk and singing songs around the campfire. It seemed like a good idea at the time! When we went to bed in the hut we all got a fit of the giggles and we just could not stop laughing for ages and some of the Japanese tourists who went to bed a lot earlier were not very amused with our infantile behaviour. And I am not proud to say it just made us all laugh even more and the Japanese man shouted at us to get out of the hut. We eventually settled down to sleep.It was really cold during the night, the temperature drops a lot. The next morning I got up at six thirty to see the sun rise. The Japanese man was by the campfire, which had been rebuilt by one of the villagers for us to wake up to. He was quite chatty so I just acted as if I was not associated with all the giggling the night before, I think I got away with it!! The guides made us a great breakfast of eggs, toast fruit and lots of tea and coffee. The sanitary facilities were limited but we all managed to clean our teeth and use the revoulting toilet.
We then said goodbye to the rest of the group who were doing a three day trekk and myself and two Swedish girls, headed off with a guide to walk two and a half hours to another waterfall.
It was a steep climb up the mountain side and down the otherside. I got quite scared on some sections of it.The path was less than two foot wide, with a sheer drop on one side. I just told myself not to look down. But I did have to hang onto the guide at one point because I froze with fear. Thankfully the Swedish girls were very patient. They were also a bit nervous. Eventually we reached the most amazing waterfall amongst the trees and this time we paddled in it.



We then walked to the Mae Mud village and the Shan tribe and we had lunch there.



We then got a truck ride to the Mae Wang stream to go bamboo rafting. We got soaked but it was fun



After that we headed for the elephant rides. I was in two minds all day about whether to do the ride or not. But I was assured they were kept in good conditions and the ride was out in the mountainside.So I agreed to do it. I wish I had followed my intuition. I am smiling here because this was taken at the start of the ride.

But by the end I was literally in tears. It was horrible. The animals were just treated so badly. They took us round this preset route for an hour. And once you start on it there is no going back .So I was stuck on this elephant. Frightened to death I might add, as it was very high up and I just did not feel secure. The poor animal had to negotiate very steep hills along narrow paths and it all felt so wrong. I will never ride an elephant again. When I go to Laos I am going to see if there are any elephant sanctuary,s that I can go to to help out to make up for the fact I fell for the tourist publicity and went on the ride.
But saying that the two day trekk on the whole was great. Ever muscle in my body ached and I was glad that I was not doing the three day trekk when I got back to my hotel.

TREKKING DAY ONE

I had so much fun doing the cookery course I decided to sign up for something else. A two day trekk into the mountains. Staying overnight in one of the mountain villages.

We set off early, stopped at a market to buy food for the trip, then headed off by truck to the Doi Inthanon National Park. we trekked through woodland to the Mae Wang waterfalls.

we had lunch here and chilled out, but noone actually took the plunge to swim, except the guide.We then walked for a while to meet up with another guide who took us by truck a lot further up the mountain. We stopped off at an old temple.There was the most enourmous Buddha statue perched right at the top of the mountain.


The views were amazing.


I sat there for about fifteen minutes just taking in the beauty of it.It would have been Jonathan's birthday and all day I had this sadness inside of me thinking about him and this gave me time to reflect on things. (He was my eldest brother who died from lung cancer last June)
We then drove on for another fifteen minutes. Then it was time to start walking again for about two and a half hours in the blazing sun though a wonderful evergreen jungle landscape,through bamboo forest, lianas, rhododendrons and lots of other vegitation. There were also lots of beautiful birds along the way. We eventually ended up at a Karen Hill tribe village, our overnight stop.

They came out with lots of trinkets to sell to us and they were all so friendly.


There life style is a million miles away from mine. They have pigs, cows and chickens under their houses. They have open fires going in the wooden huts to cook on. They have piles of chopped wood for everyone to use. We are allowed to wander around the village and see just how they all live. The women are married from the age of 14 or 15. If they are not married by the time they are 25 they stay single for the rest of their lives.
And from what we could see it seemed to be the women who did most of the work around the place. They weaved lovely scarves on looms under their houses.

We were to sleep in a big hut.

the flooring was made from strips of bamboo. It took me a while before I really belived that it could take all our weight. And there was no privacy we were packed in like sardines.

The guides made a campfire for us and they also cooked a lovely meal. We sat around drinking and singing songs until really late. The stars were amazing. I was still thinking a lot about Jonathan when one of the guides started playing 'Wish you were here' by Pink Floyde! this was one of Jonathan's favourite songs. I just could not believe the co-incidence. It made me cry a little, but it also made me happy I felt that I had connnected with him on his birthday. I know it sounds corny but it it truely how I felt and it gave me a good feeling.

THAI COOKERY COURSE

I decided to spend some time in chang Mai after the heat and hustle of Bangkok. The guest house I stayed in on the first night was horrible. I was over the entertainers, which had I not been so tired would have been hilarious to listen to. They were two Thai guys who were singing cover versions of English songs with a thick Thai accent!!! and they just managed to miss the notes.I am sure Peter Kay would have made a hilarious sketch out of their act. But I was very tired and wanted to sleep. I went down to see if I could move rooms but they said it would finish soon so I stayed put,but at midnight they were still bashing out their tunes. The room I was in was filthy and poky. So I decided I was going to ask for my money back for the next night and find somewhere else to stay.
So At eight the next morning I was at the front desk with my rucksac on my back saying that I did not like the room and wanted to move and could I have my money back. I did not expect them to give it to me to be honest, but to my surpise and delight they just handed it over and off I went. I found the Chang Mai hotel with a swimming pool and fantastic room for less than three pounds more.
I then booked onto a Thai cookery course for the next day.
The course started with a trip to the local market in the morning to check out the ingredients.



The chef explained what all the herbs and spices were and how they are used in Thai cookery. He even told us what we could buy in England if the ingredients we saw there were not available to buy.


He showed us the difference between good and bad rice (The longer the grain the better the rice). So now being experts on what ingredients to buy we headed for the classroom. There were eleven in our class and we all had our own cooking stations.


As you can see I paid attention to everthing the teacher said. I loved the cooking but do not think I am a natural.We had little people who came and gave us the ingredients we needed for each dish and cleared away the dirty plates for us. And I have to say that is my kind of cooking, having someone to do all the fetching and carrying for me.And the washing up.

We cooked spicey soup, Pad Thai (noodle dish), Green Curry. He told us that Green Curry was hotter than the red curry. (all this time I thought that red must be hotter and I have been getting the green curry.)We cooked crispy spring rolls and finally Sweet Rice and mango. Then we all sat down to taste the fruits of our labours. There was too much to eat, but it tasted great. We got a cookery book and a certificate. I had a great day! And when I get back to England at the end of the year I will be cooking Thai for everyone.


I know the picture above looks like car crash cooking! We had to add an egg to the wok but keep the other ingredients away from it with a massive metal spoon,but mine got all jumbled up and looked a bit of a mess. But it tasted good!! and practice makes perfect! Rome wasn't built in a day!!

CHANG MAI SLEEPER TRAIN

Another day! another Buddha!! I went to visit 'Wat Pho'. It's the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok and houses the country's largest reclining Buddha. It is the biggest collection of Buddha images in the country.The reclining Buddha is 46m long and 15m high.
It was really interesting going round. Not least because I am reading a book called Buddhism explained and it explains the significance of variouse Buddha statues and their poses. So I understand what the images are supposed to be depicting. Rather than wandering round aimlessly thinking ,'that is beautiful', but not being really sure where it fits into the Buddhist beliefs.
The overnight sleeper train to chang Mai in Northern Thailand was booked up days in advance so I had to wait for a few more days in Bangkok than I originally planned for. I used the time to explore the khoa San area, it is very popular with tourists and it has lots of stalls and shops selling everything from CD's to fake ID's , including press passes , which amused me. I resisted the temptation to buy things. But I did keep thinking how much Sammie would have loved the things on sale. It is a very eclectic atmosphere. I love people watching so I sat for ages in the cafes watching the young and old travellers go about their business.

On the last day my train was due to leave at ten o clock at night so I left my rucksac at the station and wandered around the shopping area. I bumped into Renske and Paul, the couple from Holland I had got to know in Phnom Penh. It was really good to see them again and we went for something to eat and a drink. It was there last day in Bangkok too. They were due to fly back home that night.

I picked my rucksac up from the train station. I noticed that the zip was open on one of the sections but thought nothing of it. Only to discover in Chang Mai later that some bugger had taken my travel towel!hey ho! I boarded the train in plenty of time because I was nervous about the sleeping arrangements. I had never been on a sleeper train before. I need'nt have worried. I loved it. I was in the second class air conditioned compartment with about thirty other people. We all had our own bunks with little curtains round.

I secured my rucksac with a lock to the rack alongside my bottom bunk. There were also plenty of sinks and toilets at the end of the carriageway to clean your teeth and toilets. I changed into my pyjamas, put my earplugs in and settled down for the night! (It left on time at ten o clock and it is due into Chang Mai at one o clock the following afternoon) I could not believe how comfortable it was.

BANGKOK

This time round in Bangkok I did not feel nearly so nervous as I did when I arrived here at the start of my trip, at the beginning of December last year. Now I was eager to explore areas that I had missed out on last time round. I decided to use the river Taxi boats to get around more. Luckily when I found the first pier there was an Irish and Australian girl who told me the do's and don't of what boat to get and where to get off. So That made it much easier to find my bearings.





First I visited Wat Traimit.The temple of the golden Buddha. It is a 3m tall.5.5-tonne, solid gold Buddha image. It really is impressive.


I then got lost for about an hour walking round in circles trying to find the skytrain! Eventually I did find it. I went to visit Jim Thompson,s house.

He was an American entrepreneur who successfully promoted Thai silk to western markets. After a long career in Thailand he mysteriously disappeared in 1967 in Malaysia after going out for a walk. No one knows what happened to him . But his nephew gave the house to the Thai government and it is now a beautiful museum.It is a mixture of a traditional Thai house and western influences.

During the tour I got chatting to a really nice chap called Mark who was a solicitor from Devon, who like me was doing a mature gap year and revaluating life,s priorities. We arranged to meet for a meal later in the evening. We had a good time and he showed me around the riverside park area of Bangkok where people gather to chill out on an evening. He was heading to Cambodia, but took the soft option of flying!!! I did not let him live it down!
When I was in Bangkok last time it was the King's birthday and everyone was celebrating. Sadly this time round his sister has died and the whole country is in mourning.


There are shrines everywhere and things are adorned with white and black ribbons.The television programmes are all about Crown princess's life. It is incredible just how much the nation loves its royal family.

CAMBODIA TO THAILAND

Lucas and I met up with Katharine and Emma at Butterfly house for a meal after visiting all the temples. We were just chilling when we heard an almighty noise and the tree behind up just collapsed on top of where we were sitting. Instinctively I began running and it missed me by inches.It landed on the table where we had been sitting.All we could do was laugh, but we were shaken up a lot. Other dinners came over to see what all the commotion was and they could not believe what they saw. Even the waiters came over.Not to see how we were, but to laugh and then they scurried off again.We took this photo to celebrate our lucky escape!You can see the offending tree bent over in the background.

The next day I decided to get the bus out of Cambodia to Bangkok. Not least because there were rats in the place I was staying and you could hear them in the night scratching on the walls. I only paid eight dollars so I suppose you get what you pay for!! I had been told the bus trip was a rough journey. But I thought it cannot be that bad. If only I had listened !!!!It was horrendous. The road is not made, it is literally a dirt track for most of the way. Apparently the airline pays the government not to finish it so that more people use planes.
I got up at six but the bus was late in picking me up from the hotel. They just kept saying "no problem, no problem it will come" and just when I had given up hope it did arrive. But it was not roadworthy! I was squashed into the front seat with another tourist and the back was already packed with people.How it made it to the bus terminal I will never know. But that should have been an indication as to the quality of the company I had booked with.
The bus at the terminal did not look any better. It was ancient! There were also lots more waiting to get on it. I could not work out how they would fit us all on with the luggage. Well it was a lesson in packing sardines into a tin!! They put all the luggage on first ,INSIDE the bus! then they invited us to pack outselves in among the suitcases! and rucksacs. And if that was not enough they bought on a few red plastic chairs to put in the isle for some local fellas to sit on! and another one stood by the bus door.



We were all looking at one another with anxious expressions.Then one German lady said "look the driver wants to get back safely to his family so he is not going to take risks" and with that we all settled down to the journey.


It was like being on a bus with square wheels! we were bounced all over the place on the seven hour journey to the border with Thailand. It was really hot and dusty and there was no room to move. But saying that it was fascinating seeing the small villages and rice fields along the way. There is so much poverty and corruption in Cambodia. It is heartbreaking to see how some people live. It really does make one realise how lucky we are in our lives.

I thought we were packed in tightly but when we got to the Thai border I was amazed to see how much they had packed onto lorries.The back wheels on this one were literally buckling under the weight. I dread to think how it managed on the potholed road in Cambodia. All the tourists were taking pictures of it!


When we got to the Thai border I was just so thrilled to get there in one piece I hopped off the bus and made my way through passport control(which took ages with us standing in the heat with all our luggage!)it was not until I was in Thailand that I realised that I had left my fleece jacket on the bus and there was no chance of getting it back. The irony was I had been lugging it about in the hot areas of Thailand because I needed it now when I go trekking. I will have to get another in the Chang Mai markets.
The bus to Bangkok was luxury compared to the Cambodian one. There were only 20 of us on a 40 seater coach with airconditioning. It took five hours to Bangkok and I slept a lot of the way. I had been recommended a guesthouse, but when I got there at nearly ten o clock at night it was full. The old lady who ran it was so apologetic that it was full. And she took pity on me and took me to another place to get a room and stayed until she saw that I had a place to sleep.