Wow, once again the slack blogger returns to punish his readers ? I must admit, as my trip draws to an end my attentions have been focused on the great return and not so much on the blogging. Mother, I apologize for keeping you waiting for this next installment. Indeed it is a larger one than most….
When last we spoke, I had just arrived in Don Det, the sleepy ‘Mecca’ of 4000 Islands. This place was very nice and in many ways a turning point for my trip. Don Det is an island of laziness, so as you can imagine, I fit in rather well. My experience on the island was heightened by the accompaniment of some amigos and an amiga. Rick was able to join us for the duration and Juan and Emma, the two intrepid travelers I met in Phonsavan were able to join us as well. One solid thing I’ve learnt in this whole travel experience is that the people that travel with you, or that you meet even for one night, define the trip. Defining the enjoyment of a travel experience is based not so much where one goes (which is obviously important as well) but the people that one travels with, and I have been a very lucky man to meet so many sensational peeps.
Rick, Juan, Emma and myself truly enjoyed the Don Det vacuum. Days spent in the bungalow overlooking the river, swinging in hammocks, drinking beer and smoking. Life is good. We did manage a few little excursions such as a half assed fishing trip. Despite the fact that the outing was 3 hours shorter than what was promised, it was still a great time. Fishing the Mekong with bamboo poles, I even managed to catch a fresh water eel!! Apparently it is considered a rare delicacy and my boatman snapped it up for dinner with his family (I wasn’t going to keep it…). The down side to the fishing adventure was the sand fleas that became friends with my backside. Upon my return to the bungalow I was dismayed to find 30-40 VERY itchy bites on my bottom. Now, for most, this may sound funny, for me, this was almost an exercise in mental torture. GAWD, does it itch….I’m writing this 2.5 weeks after and there are STILL a couple remnants. I just hope that my flawless ass isn’t marred with scars after itching psychotically for a couple weeks.
Next to Don Det is another island, called Don Kong where we ventured to on bikes a few times. This neighboring island arbours two very enjoyable places. One is the waterfalls. Now, one might ask themselves, “what kind of waterfall can you find on an island with only 10 feet of elevation?”. The answer is a raging and towering torrent of water which cascades over a huge shelf (minimum 1 KM long) and reached highs of maybe 30 feet. Also remember this island isn’t in the ocean but in the middle of a river. Quite impressive if I might say so myself. The other sight is a great beach where we whiled away the afternoon drinking beer and seeing how far out into the strong pull of the Mekong we were bold enough to go. And it had a real sand beach equal to any on the coast I have ever been too. The nice thing was is that it seemed to be a locals area where few travelers went, so we had peace and quiet and good times!
Sadly, the silent call to keep moving registered in our brains and we set to planning our next stage of the trip. 4000 Islands is very close to the Cambodia border and is either a persons first or last stop (often anyways) when traveling between Laos and Cambodia. This was also true for us. Rick had decided to stay for an extra day, whereas Juan, Emma and myself decided to stay together and move on to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penn.
A little background info for those of you that haven’t heard much about Cambodia. Cambodia has had the roughest time of all in recent history, in an area of the world that hasn’t had it very good in the last while. The French raped the land and people during the colonial days and left very little after their withdrawal except for crumbling French mansions, decent coffee and good baguettes. After this, the Vietnam war destabilized the area and violence reigned. This was not to abate after the war but instead increased by hundreds of times. This was the time of the Khmer Rouge. In a country familiar with violence, this next phase would shake the society to the core and destroy the lives of millions. It is unknown truly how many perished during the time of the Killing Fields and the Pol Pot regime. Today the ghosts of this troubled time still haunt every facet of the Cambodian culture. The maimed and dispossessed wander the streets of Phnom Penn and Seim Reap begging for money, or selling their bodies; whether for the sex trade (which is rampant) or as human labour not far removed from slavery in many cases.
Due to this, many travelers fail to come and enjoy this beautiful country. Indeed, the only two people who recommended Cambodia to me out of dozens I had talked to were my brother (well done sir, I agree) and another bloke I met on a bus. Their excuses range from the misery of the people and the begging to the poor infrastructure. How wrong they were. No doubt, outside the two big cities, infrastructure (i.e. Roads) takes a back seat to simply feeding and rehabilitating a population. However, the people were fantastically hospitable and accommodating, the food was good and cheap and there is A LOT to do and see here. So for you travelers looking for a destination, DO NOT discount Cambodia. Alas, I entered the country with some trepidation and chose to only stay a week. It’s a decision that I will regret until I have the next opportunity to come back to Cambodia.
Juan, Emma and I arrived early evening in Phnom Penn and got quickly sorted on rooms and some food. Emma, being the well traveled girl she is had been here before and was very helpful in orienting us to the city. Sadly we only stayed three days here, but it was enough to hit the most important things to see (for us anyways). This was to witness the sad and troubling legacy of the murderous Pol Pot regime. Specifically we visited S-21 and the Killing Fields. For many of you, these are places which you have not visited, and I am afraid my weak ability to write simply cannot communicate the depth of horror, fear, cruelty and just downright evil that was let loose upon this beautiful land. The entire idea of the Khmer Rouge was to restart the greatness that once was Cambodia many centuries ago. It began with a policy of “Year Zero”, a resetting of the calendar to the beginning of the new empire, if you would. Next came the communist indoctrination which made Mao’s revolution seem like a PTA meeting. All the cities were evacuated of people who were subsequently moved to the farms and rural areas to work in the commune farms and collectives. Doctors? Doesn’t matter – you are now a farmer. Teachers? Doesn’t matter- you’re a farmer. But the horror hasn’t even begun at this point. Shortly after the cities evacuated, all military personnel were accounted for. They were all executed. Teachers and intellectuals – executed. People with glasses – executed. Foreigners – executed. Homosexuals and other ‘miscreants’ – executed. Real or imagined resistors – executed. All in all AT LEAST 1.5 million were snuffed out over a number of years, and the fact that they were doing this to their own people, I found even compounded this tragedy. The communist Vietnamese – the same army (NVA) that the Americans had been fighting for years came to the rescue of the people however and despite just emerging with a prolonged war with the US gave their lives in reclaiming the Cambodian country. Sadly, Pol Pot was never held accountable for his crimes and died in his sleep many years after the nightmare.
S-21 (Tuol Sleng) was the facility located in Phnom Penn where interrogation and re-education was conducted. In this former high school over 17,000 were murdered after intense torture sessions. Only 12 people were known to survive and these were located in the prison during the liberation. Here is a good link if interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum
After S-21, the three of us went to the Killing Fields. This place was one of dozens (maybe hundreds) of locations where Cambodians were brought for one purpose – execution. They would end up digging vats pits. These pits were to be their own grave. We went to the central fields, located just outside Phnom Penn. The horror of this time is symbolized in a memorial tower about 6 stories in height. Inside of this tower are thousands of human skulls stacked on shelf after shelf. Even more poignant was the descriptions on each shelf – Adolescent females, blunt trauma. Adult males, gunshot. Children, Blunt trauma. Ect, ect……..Being raised in North America and being insulated from such atrocity, this was a lot to absorb. Needless to say it was a rather somber day. On a brighter note, the city was celebrating the biggest festival of the year – the end of the rainy season. Boat races, floats along the river, tons of people and a festival mood pervaded the city. It provided an interesting contrast to our days adventure.
Soon, we decided that it was time to go again. Juan, Emma and I were to head next to the famed Seim Reap and its temples (most notably Angkor Wat). After a relatively short bus ride of 6 hours, we arrived and got fixed up in a nice hotel run by a Spaniard, and Italian and a French national. Seim Reap, to me was the better of the two cities. It was vibrant, fun and cheap. We were to remain here for the next 5 days. The next day, we started our temple exploration with some of the far off temples. Many know Seim Reap only for the Angkor Wat temple, but in reality there are dozens of these sites which have been discovered, with many likely to be still out there somewhere, in the smoky jungles of Cambodia. For those that know me, they know I love architecture and history particularly. Therefore the temples were a match made in heaven. Some of the temples were nothing more than ruins, some nearly whole and intact. Bearing in mind the age of these it is very remarkable that the carvings and sophistication of the layout could have been done when it was. Even today, such artistry is nearly unheard of, let alone on the scale of what was presented before me. I will not sum up every temple here, but photos can be found on my Facebook (already posted). There are some nice shots in there, if I may say so myself. Sadly, this is where I should have continued to travel throughout Cambodia, instead it was time to catch a flight to Chiang Mai via Bangkok. Also I parted ways with Emma and Juan at this juncture in time. Such great people. I have been sooooooo lucky to find people that I have to share my travels. Mazzie and Luc, Emma and Juan. Top shelf baby.
Chiang Mai was good as well, but short. I was to spend only 4 days here and due to a stomach issue which had plagued me for the last week or so, I was reduced on my activities. The highlight of Chiang Mai for me was a fellow Canuck named Blake. Blake I had never met before, yet we share a common friend back home in the form of the one and only Tara. Knowing I was coming up she suggested I stop by the Lost Hut bar, of which Blake is the proprietor. Blake proved to be one of those ideal Canadians whose friendliness and easy manner make for quick friends and good times. I truly recommend any travelers in this area to pop by and introduce themselves.
In addition to my stomach bug and heavy drinking, I also managed to get out and about a little bit. I even happened to encounter the chief of police on the street and we got to talking. He was waiting for an appointment with a corporate executive (read: bribe – maybe I’m just cynical) but he was really cool. I had to laugh a bit as when he went to draw me a map leading to a particular shop he not only showed me his gun in the bottom of his satchel, but tossed the bag (and his gun) to me to hold while he actually drew the map. I cant seem to see that happening back home!!!
I also went on a fantastic (but way to expensive) zip line tour through the jungle canopies of northern Thailand. 32 individual lines (some 300 meters long, 120 meters high), 40 something different platforms, sky bridges (think Indy Jones swaying bridges over chasms), and 4 abseiling stations where they drop you, face down, up to 40 meters while the Thai fellow at the top laughs his ass of as you scream like a 6 year old girl. Excellent time!!
Sadly all this is the wind down to my adventure, and with my time being short, I prepared to head out to the last country that I will be visiting: Taiwan. Now, you may ask, Taiwan?? Indeed its not generally the first destination that pops up on the backpacking circuit. What made this a destination for me was two of my good friends, Kristy and Lawrence. I figured I was in the neighborhood so I thought Id pop by for a coffee.
I haven’t actually seen too much of Taiwan in the three days I have been here as truly I couldn’t be arsed. My time here is for visiting friends, resting before my trip home and to begin to digest the trip mentally. And its bloody cold, at 17 degC. Winter is going to be a rather painful affair this year me thinks.
So. My next installment will be after I return home in 3 days, back to the real world and hustle and bustle. Family and friends. I must say that I am ready to go home and have had a great adventure. Chat soon my friends.
The trail of leisure and good food continues! When last I wrote I was in Luang Prabang, and have since covered a bit more territory. My decisions on travel seem to be happening with less and less focus – which is a positive (if not fun) way of doing things I think. Sooooo, instead of heading down to Vientiane or 4000 Islands I bumped on over to the east to a place called Phonsavan. Into itself Phonsavan is a rather small and non-descript place. It however, has some serious history and is known for a few things I particular that I was able to see.
1. The Plain of Jars: This odd archeological quirk is the manifested in all the “Jars” across a number of plains throughout this particular province of Laos. Indeed, these are man made, but nobody seems precisely sure what they were used for. The two top theories are jar used to brew Lao Lao (whisky – and my personal favorite theory…..mmmmm), or more morbid is the theory that they were funeral jars. My money is on the whisky! The area has also thankfully, been de-mined and has tidy little strips that you can walk along. Just in case you forget not to wander away, little plaques on the ground remind you to stay away.
2. Speaking of the mines, the second thing this area is dubiously known for is the most bombed area in the most bombed country of the world. In this area, unexploded ordinance is a real thing and a persistent killer and maimer. I visited some little museums and educational places that were on the main strip and it was astounding the array of weapons that litter this area. The most heavily bombed country title only accounts for bombs dropped. It doesn’t count land mines, mortars and other ‘small arms’ that go bang. The volume of metal is actually sufficient to support a local economy in scrap metal to China. Understandably, there are many fatalities and injuries due to these practices. Crazy.
Most of the bombing occurred during the Vietnam war when American (as well as Vietnamese, French and Chinese) planes would either bomb targets along the border where VC/NVA would regroup and stage attacks. Or they would simply drop their munitions on the way back to get better mileage. The biggest issue are the bomblets. Many dozens are contained in one bomb which are in turn released in mid drop to scatter these with great effect. It is estimated that 30% didn’t explode upon landing. The local Laos call these “Bombies”.
Aside from the education and sights, I also met a very cool couple in the way of Juan (Spain) and Emma (mmm…..British, Indonesian, and lived in the US). They came with me to the Jars as well. After dinner and drinks we were getting on quite well. As chance would have however they were leaving the next day (as was I) and we parted ways. It was not the last time to cross paths however, as on the way to Vientiane I realized that I had lost their contact info. I really particularly wanted to stay in touch with these two as Juan is just a great spirit and good company, and Emma is fascinating as she covers war time journalism amongst other things and has great stories of being imbedded in Iraq and Afghanistan. So knowing that they were headed to Vangvieng I simply hopped off there as my bus passed through. This I rationalized wasn’t an issue as the bus I was going to catch in VT I could catch here as well! I’d chance it and see if I came across them. Shortly after starting my hunt for breakfast the next day I found them ? we chatted a while and I decided Id stay a few days and go tubing with Juan and Emma. I must admit to being rather happy about this as my last time through Vangveing wasn’t as great as I was bored and sick.
I was to be pleasantly surprised by the difference this time round. Much of the same young, ft. Lauderdale style party crowd were there still, but I guess that’s common. We floated the river and had a great afternoon. The next day was chill and the day after we went our ways again. Juan and Emma gong to the capital, Vientiane, and myself down to 4000 Islands, and arduous 18 hour bus ride. Barf.
So here I am, on 4000 Islands!! The ride down was shit, no two ways about it. When I booked and heard VIP Express sleeper bus, I had certain guessing as what to expect. Instead I drove to Vientiane in a mini van, from Vientiane ( after a long transfer including switching bus stations) to Pakse (again switching busses and killing a bit of time) then onto a mini bus again for the trip to the islands. After having no sleep for two days this was trying on y patience but, all went well. I did however make another mistake when I chose to go to the big island, Don Khoung, and apparently the only one with electricity.
Yeah. No. The island was very small, and albeit relaxing and friendly, not what Rick ( a Brit I met on the way down) and I were thinking. Next day we took a boat to an island where im writing this too you today, an island named Don Det! Yes it has electricity, which isn’t a show stopper, but it has people!! Something that the other didn’t. So, should be here for a few days. Oh, and Juan and Emma are coming here too, so I’m happy to be seeing them again..!
Yes, welcome to the land of laziness, where whatever you do needs a couple of hours premeditation on a hammock with a Beer Lao. So laz……After arriving from Bangkok on a 14 hour bus, I decended into Veintianne just in time for the boat festival!!! I had met a couple of dudes on the bus which joined me for some fine french food and carousing. One turned out to be an ass, the other, a German named Falk proved to be a solid dude who I will be seeing again as I come back through northern Thailand (Changmai and area).
Its very apparent that Laos and Thailand are worlds apart. Although I have yet to experience some of the nasty transportation that I was told to expect, Laos is certainly not receiving the same type of income as the Thai’s. From a travellers perspective (the locals may think otherwise) this was really refreshing. Sometimes in Thailand it feels like somebody is holding your hand the whole way - you couldnt get lost even if you tried!! Maybe it now that I am on my own again that I feel refreshed. The travelling with Luc and Maz was great! but it feels quite different to be on your own. And its a big reason why I wanted this trip anyway.
I didnt stay too long in Veintianne but it was still longer than I had expected. At 4 days you would typically run out of things to do, but this river festival was really cool. Not only was there boat races from teams all around asia (and one from Australia Im told), the streets were packed and a true festival air abounded!! The city has about 200,000 residents - all of whom I am sure were there!! It was simply wall to wall humanity! They had bumper cars and bars blaring music at levels even the deaf would wince at as well as a great street side market. One thing that I liked was that it was tailored for the Laos people, and not to cater to the tourists, a rare phenomenon. But as my time drew near, I said my goodbyes to Falk with promises to meet up again, and headed by bus to the backpacker haunt of Vang Vieng.
Vang Vieng was for me not all it should have been. When leavig Vienitanne (yes, I have not real idea how to spell this and, yes, I have spelt it 3 different ways here so far) I started to come down with a cold, most likely due to havig a room with AC. Because, sweet lord thunderin Jesus I sweat out here. It can be 12 midnight, and I will be pouring buckets. Walking into a near frozen roon in this state isnt so good for the system. So Vang Vieng was pretty chill for me as I just relaxed and enjoyed life on the riverside. It is a town most known for its tubing, mushroom shakes, opium and, oddly enough, pub after pub that plays the Friends TV series (dont ask - I really dont understand this one). But I was a lame ass. Not only was I sick, but unfortunately the crowd really wasnt thew sort Id normally bond with. It seemed as if the Brits let al their rich spoiled kids out for a holiday in Laos….these kids were off their rocker. Throwing trash about, getting so intoxicated they would pick fights with the local Laos (who are very laid back peeps and NOT used to that type of confrontation). I met a few different couples who said the same thing. Maybe I just had bad timing on this one. Sad, I had really high hopes for this location (excuse the pun hahaha)….and no mother - I didnt do any opium!
Many people stay here for a week plus, but as soon as I was feeling better I busted out and headed to my next stop on the Laos circuit - Luang Prabang, the old capital.
Luang Prabang has been very enjoyable so far, in the three days Ive been here. Met up with some real cool cats in the way of Jeff and Kyle from the States, and Or from Isreal. All about my age and mind set we’ve got on quite well and enjoyed some great french cuisine, wandering and climbing bazzillion stair to get to temples. Yesterday was a real treat as we drove an hour out of town to a national park with cascading waterfalls that you can swim in. The water was blessedly cold, the scenery breathtaking!! One of the falls pools had a large rope swing on it which we flung ourselves off of - many olympians would be happy at our gracefull acrobatic displays, Im sure 
We spent much of the day here, loving life, and Laos. Sadly on the way back we saw a very cute black puppy dog get run over by a truck. Needless to say it put a damper on our enthusiasm for a while. I also got my leg burned quite nicely by the tail pipe of a scooter. Guru Schmiemann says: Let skin and hot metal exist in peace - away from each other. Ouch, but it looks kinda cool and all bubbly and stuff! Ya!
Totady, Im relaxing - Laos style. Beer, massage, books and blog update. I really must apologize to all the peeps reading this, as you all know Im not much of a writer, and its truely pretty half assed. But I have a hammock. And beer. Nuff said!!
Later all, much love from Maximus the Wanderer
Well the truant blogger returns with another post!!! This will be my last from Thailand, Land of Laziness…..and beer. And beaches. And diving. And SCUBA…and,and,and……
Thailand has been a great experience for me. I have always been partial to the beach life and Thailand delivered! In some ways, I really saw very little of the country (leaving lots to see for next time, and there will certainly be a next time), but in other ways I accomplished what I wanted to. Due to my diving, I spent 2 weeks out of 4 on Ko Tao alone, the brilliant little quiet island north of Ko Phangnan (famed for the Full Moon parties). The other 2 weeks were spent in either Bangkok or Ko Samui, with three days on Ko Phangnan, hitting up the Full Moon party.
Since my last post, Luc and I visited Ko Samui, which was good, but we missed diving and the Ko Tao atmosphere. So we returned to get our advanced diving certification. This was a real treat. Not only do we get the certification itself, allowing us to sport dive anywhere in the world (*some restrictions apply) but the course itself was an adventure and nothing less. The course consists of 5 dives tailored to achieve certain skill sets.
Dive 1: Deep dive. This is, well, what it sounds like and we descended for the first time pass 18 meters to 30 meters. Doesn’t sound like much, unless you are underwater! As you dive deeper the water changes the colours of things around you – reds become purples etc – and of course the pressure and general feeling of submersion are all different too. Very cool.
Dive 2: Navigation dive. This dive focused on teaching us the skills and importance of finding your way under water. Using a compass and techniques designed to track your movements (counting kicks ect.) we were able to navigate a large box area. That said when Luc and I disappeared during our free swim to try our new skills, we realized a. its not that easy and b. communicating a route not planned on the surface can be very challenging.
Dive 3: Buoyancy control. We learned some critical skills to minimize energy expenditure (read: air use) by maximizing the use of air in our lungs and vests (which can be inflated as necessary). We played some fun games underwater like hanging vertically with our head down, and in a controlled manner, knock over a dive weight with our regulators (which mean we need to hang upside down about 3 inches off the sand without bashing our faces in).
Dive 4: Night dive. Also pretty self explanatory. For this we wait until sunset and dive as soon as it is dark. It is a radically different world under the sea at night. Same as the jungles, the hunters come out! We saw 2 meter long barracuda hunting rabbit fish. This was real neat as we helped the hunt. They have learned over time to hunt with the divers and use the torch light to their advantage. Our dive master would swim in front with two lights. One on the barracuda, the other searching ahead for rabbit fish. The barracuda would then charge ahead and try and snap up the fish. Sadly (maybe not for the fish) our barracudas were rather useless hunters and failed to get any of the fish ? Perhaps a bit morbid, but it would have been a great experience to see. Our DM said that you can usually hear the snapping of the jaws and bones on a successful hunt, and sometimes the cuda only gets the back end, with the front of the fish still swimming on as if nothing happened. Oh well.
Dive 5: Naturalist/photography dive. This was real fun as well. Luc and I were the only 2 in our group who choose to do the photography bit, which we thought odd as you can keep all your photos!! Basically Luc and I were able to swim freely on our own for the first time and just see what there was to see. We dove deep and shallow, poking our head into nooks and crannies. Hovering above amenities to see nemo (clown) fish and all the wonders of the underworld!
After we write the exam, and PRESTO, we are certified advanced divers. I really look forward to doing some dives not only in future travel destinations but in Canada as well.
After Ko Tao, Luc and I returned to Bangkok for our last 5 days in Thailand. This was rather bitter sweet for Luc decided (again) that he would be heading to Nepal to do the Annapurna circuit. This was something originally on my itinerary but that I dropped in favour to do the rest of my upcoming travel. Specifically to tackle at the same time I will go to India – date TBD. I have experienced this once now when Maz left Luc and I to travel to Shanghai, Korea and Japan, and it really does suck in some ways. When you travel with people this closely for even one month, let alone 2 or 3 months, you become rather good friends. You stay together and eat together, go through all the hard times and difficult ones, as well as enjoy those moments when you see something truly special.
In other ways, it is a positive experience too. As you find yourself once again traveling on your wit and personality, you make those strides in your life that I was looking to achieve. Me? I leave today for Laos – on a 17 hour bus ride. Yeah, that’s right, 17 hours. Good thing I like to read ? Laos will be a real seat of the pants adventure. I have read absolutely zip all about Laos as I have been focused on China (primarily) and Thailand. Maz has been a great source of info though and has offered many good suggestions on where to go……thanks Maz!
So if I survive the bus ride, I will find myself in Vientiane……from there? Dunno…..adventure baby!!
Well Thailand has certainly floated this guys boat. After the trip in China (which really was good, but exhausting) Thailand has been exactly what the doctor ordered. It is technically the rainy season here, but I’d be hard pressed to call it that. A couple drizzles during the day for 10 minutes seems more of a refreshing thing to me than a turn off.
Luc and I arrived in Bangkok about a week ago now and it has been non-stop enjoyment ever since. Bangkok itself, as soon as we stepped of the plane, gave us grins we just couldn’t erase. The airport was beautiful, it was a warm early evening and they have palm trees. A good start for some travel weary blokes. We got checked in at a spare but clean little hotel off of Kosan Road, the tourista hotspot filled with cheap food stalls (and good!) and as many weird ass and cool clothes you could shake a stick at. Going for a wander we eventually fell into a routine of having a beer or cocktail at each decent bar we passed. Well apparently there are a lot of these bars and before long Luc and I were smashed and were trying to speak German to some….well, Germans, and new friends were made ? I still don’t really know how we managed to find our way home that night, but we fell asleep with those stupid grins still on our face. The new day also had us enjoying the day. Although we slept too late to see the Grand Palace (for now…) we caught one of the many tuk tuks that roam the city. OK. We had this guy for like 4 HOURS of driving us to temples and other cool places around Bangkok for the remarkable price of 0.75$ That’s right. Seventy five CENTS. Four hours. Crazy. But we also did another thing on this trip which was too drop by the government TAT office to arrange some help in booking parts of our trip. We knew that they were providing some special services to travelers as the peak season was off and they wanted to boost tourism. Well we got quite the surprise and left the building with the next 30 days booked to all the places we wanted (transportation and lodging and diving course included here) for the prices of 1200 CND……that’s right for one month of travel and all we had to do was pay for food and booze. Considering this was only day 2, needless to say we were quite impressed with Thailand so far.
The other thing we did at the office was book some ring side seats for the Thursday Muay Thai kickboxing down the road……and what a great show!! By ringside, we were right next to the ring and eventually got a photo with the victor of the prime fight of the night. Between good food, good beer and good company, I must say the night worked out great!!!
The next day, however, would prove to be a bit of a gong show. Most everybody has heard of the legendary Full Moon Parties held at Ko Phangan in mid-east Thailand. Well the girl who helped us book the trip the day before said it was on the Saturday. On this, she was wrong – it is today!!!! Holy crap Luc! We need to get our asses down there!! So running around we booked a flight 3 hours before it left for Ko Samui and then promptly went back to pack and make a hasty departure…….we fought the Bangkok rush hour (nothing to trifle with I assure you) and made it just in time to board our flight. Now, this was only half the solution as once we arrived we needed to catch a ferry to the proper island. But no worries, Thailand’s a paradise for travelers and everything was super simple. Soon, we were on a speedboat headed strait to the beach where 20,000 partiers were getting down until the sun comes up ?
The Full Moon party was an interesting and brilliant time. Honestly I didn’t walk the whole promenade of clubs blaring every form of dance music, instead I found some great drum and bass, psytrance and house in three clubs all next to each other. We danced and were merry. There was two snafus which we were about to run head on with each other shortly however. One: We had no place to stay that night as we had come a day early. 2: I seemed to lose Luc at some point. Thank god for cell phones however. I ended up going back to Ko Samui on the speedboat to get some sleep at 8 am and arrived back at the island about 1pm, looking for Luc. I picked up the gear and gave my hombre a phone call and heard his relieved voice on the other end. He had managed to check into our schedule hotel with no problems and we had a happy reunion over beers and laughs. The night wasn’t fun for all the people we met however. We ran across a couple of German girls whom we had met in Bangkok, and one of them had been dosed with (what we think was) Rufinol….no fun. Thankfully she was with her friends all night, but it goes to show some of the dodgy stuff that can happen at this party. I understand that this is actually a rather common occurrence.
Either way, all was good in the end and Luc and I enjoyed lazy days on Ko Phangan. The island really is geared to the party and outside of the hiking (which Luc decided to take up) there was pleasant relaxing and good food. And beer. And fruit shakes, yum ?
After a few days we moved to our next island for what was to become so far the highlight of my Thai trip – Ko Tao and diving! Upon arrival to Ko Tao we were sun burnt and pumped! We checked into our hotel and knew that this island would be a defining point of the trip. The relaxed and chill atmosphere and cool staff all added upto a great time, we were sure. And it didn’t disappoint! We find ourselves in a beautiful little bay next to about 4-5 other hotels all specializing in the diving. The big party area of the island is on the other side of the island which is just fine by us, as the peeps here have all the option of partying our style or going to the party strip. Divers we were to also learn, know how to party. Diving lifestyle is about good times and good friends – precisely what we’re down with.
The majority of our time here so far has been dedicated to the PADI SCUBA course. I tell you one thing, that breathing underwater is a rather bizarre experience. We went through exercise in the pool such as removing and clearing our masks, generating neutral buoyancy and the all important perfection of blowing bubble rings. I like to think I make a rather good bubble ring BTW ? After the pool we traveled to various places around the island getting in actual dives combined with practical skills. In the process we swam reefs and sand flats soaking in not only salt water, but the beautiful underwater world. At times you think you are part of the series Blue Planet. The numbers of fish are staggering, and their diversity in shape, size and colour are really something to take in. After 5 diving sessions, and a test, Luc and I are now certified open water SCUBA divers!! This really is only the first certification out of maybe 10, but it has got us keen on the sport. Now….only to find somewhere good to dive in Canada!!
So after my laziness…..this brings us up to date. I miss all of you and look forward to getting home nonetheless…..still I have Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam to hit up…..Nepal is dropped sadly for a number of reason (will visit when I go to India) and Taiwan is in the air too (maybe too much like China for my liking)…..stay tuned cool cats!!!
Maximus
Lijiang and Tiger Leaping Gorge were incredible and the last ‘big’ things we were to do in China. Luc is still sick at this point. We hoped he was getting better but Dudley, the nasty bug, was hanging on tenaciously. With no time left in Lijiang we packed our stuff and headed to Dali, the laid back ex-hippie Mecca of China.
The bus ride was once again AOK, a testament that we were indeed back into ‘real’ China. The western Sichuan provinces truly are a world apart from the China we have all grown up to believe exists. The communist thought of one for all does not apply here. Even the one child policy is ignored here.
Arriving in Dali we checked into a real great guest house for cheap cheap, and promptly went for some western food, which we would eat until we left. A guy can only eat so many noodles and dumpling! Dali was a real neat place but, frankly, we did absolutely nothing. We did however have an interesting adventure to a Chinese hospital. I assure you, it is a place where when even bleeding to death, you do not want to go.
After navigating around for 15 minutes before we could even find somebody to speak to, a nurse took us to a doctor. Leading us through corridors with motorcycles parked in the building, walls coated in blood (seriously) and which haven’t seen paint (or washing) for years. The large rags soaked in blood were the big one that got me – maybe I just don’t understand…..
The doctor was quite helpful though and each of us armed with our trusty phrasebooks we were able to communicate the problem. Shortly we had prescriptions in hand and got our goods from the pharmacy. But the fun was only half over. Because Luc had been so sick we required and IV – well 3 different ones – and then we got to chill out in the filthiest 3 bed room you have ever seen (we got pics!). The walls were black with grime. The bed that they wanted him to use was unmade and recently vacated – we refused to use it and instead sat on stools for 3.5 hours while Luc got his drip. But it worked and Luc was already feeling better after hydrating. And he was armed with a fistful of pills to finally kill Dudley. Then we gorged again on some yummie yummie western food. Yum.
Before we knew it we were headed to Kunming for a one night stay. This was really bittersweet for us as Maz was yet to stay in China as Luc and I headed into Thailand. As I’ve mentioned, we had all become very good friends after traveling over a 1 month period together. But I suppose that’s traveling for you. I do look forward to a time when we can all hook back up and have a good ripper of a party. Maybe in Canada? Who knows……
So with a mix of sadness and anticipation of our next part of the journey, Luc and I boarded a Thai Airways flight for the warm waters and tropical beaches of Thailand.
China, looking back, is hard to quantify as a traveling destination. Thinking about it I believe that I had a good time, but it was less about China than the people that I met. Whether it was good people at the hostels or met on the road, or locals on a one on one basis (particularly the kids) I found I liked them all. The country itself is, frankly, disgusting more often than not. From the old men and women blowing snot rockets in restaurants (or anywhere else for that matter) and spitting phlegm after a big loud snort to get it ready to the inconsiderate smoking (and I’m a smoker and it was too much for me!!)…..the honking and people screaming into cell phones…..it was just draining after 2 months and I find myself REALLLLLLY looking forward to leaving China. But it’s the experience I wanted at the end of the day. I wanted something to challenge myself and in turn grow as a person. I think I have done this, but time will tell ?
And the adventure goes on…..
Well hello cool cats, here’s the update!
So we made into Lijiang just fine. Compared to the bus rides that got us around western Sichuan, it was a cake walk, only 5 hours. And I love Lijiang!!
It is albeit a very tourist oriented city, but the atmosphere here is really nice. And they have clean bathrooms, something which counts for alot in China. A guy I met here (Rory) and I came up with a coffee book idea of the worst bathrooms in China, but we figured it might be too much of a niche market to be practical - so we shelved it.
We had spent two days here gearing up for the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge hike about two hours outside of town. It is a 2 day hike through beautiful scenery next to the raging Yangtse river. And boy oh boy, am I out of shape. It actually has me rethinking the wisdom of the Annapurna trek in Nepal (300km, 21 days). Thank god Luc was deadly ill with a tenatious stomach bug and we took an extra day at the Halfway Guesthouse. I needed it. I’m sure Luc would rather skip the stomach bug though The guesthouse was actually a big highlight on the trip for me as it not only is clean with good, cheap food, but it has the best bathroom in China!!! If you can imagine a bathroom with one wall missing looking out over a most majestic mountain while you do your business!!! Amazing So the extra day we had I spent blowing through a book and a half while sitting in the presence of the mountain. Exceptional.
The next day we had a short hike out through even more spectacular territory and we are now back into Lijiang. Today has been a slack one too as Luc is still recovering and I need to manage some of the 13GB of photos I have taken since Xi’An. (more pics to be posted soon)…..
Tommorow we head to a city called Dali, a chilled out city where old ladies sell reefer on the street corner and hippies from around the world lounge while overlooking a lake. Then its off to Kunming, a major metropolis where Luc and I catch a ride to Bangkok and sadly say goodbye to Miss Marrianne, our travel partner in crime for the last month. We have all become solid friends. Luc has been able to get the job in Chengdu and been allowed to finish off his travels. He will be joining me for a month in Thailand and a month in Nepal. Ace.
Although I’ve really enjoyed China, I’m actually happy to be heading to new countries. China is not a mentally relaxing place to travel (or sanitary, by any standards) and I’m rather burnt out. So, beaches, SCUBA and kayaking here i come!!! I may also try some climbing with Luc while in Thailand…..woot!!
Later all!!!
Well what an interesting experience - skyburial. We arrived at the skyburial site as the lama from the monastary was blessing the ground on which it was to happen by tossing barley and uttering his mantras. We then waited for some time while the body was to be brought from the monastary. I tell you, the vultures sure know when it’s party time and they arrived by the dozen. Having seen many eagles living where I do in Canada, these birds are no comparison, they are HUGE! We tried sneaking up on some for photos but they were too wiley to get really close, we did manage to get some ok shots though 
Eventually the body arrived with a group of Tibetans and ‘the butcher’ (for lack of other word) and the funeral rites began…..first they removed the hair and head of the old man then proceded to make incisions and cuts to strip the flesh and muscle. Then it was the birds turn and they descend upon the body in a writhing mass of feather and bloodly beak. Within five minute the skeleton was stripped bare and the butcher stepped in again for the final phase of the procedure.
Gathering the bones he smashes the skeleton with the back of an axe and mixed this with barley. When finished he had a barley flesh ball which the birds get to ravage….once again very quickly. It is quite strange to see birds fighting over strechy, human things in squaks and flapping feathers. While this all sounds quite gruesome it was strangely tolerable for those that were watching and is a rite that is very special to the Tibetans. We were very lucky to be able to see such a event. The Tibetans were also seemingly ok with having us there but quite honestly we felt a bit awkward. Except for the jackass Japanese guy that insisted on taking photos it was all good. Please note: no photos of this event - for many reasons.
The group of us then walked back to town for some lunch and discussion as well as planning how to get to our next destination which is Zhongdian aka Shangrila (no really, that’s what it is called).
The rest of the time in Litang was good but I think we were all ready to head out. Sharing a minivan with a couple from the states (Leah and Jeremy) and an Aussie family (Tony, Liz and Isabella) we made the relatively short journey to Daocheng, a back water stop over point on he way to Shangrila.
This short trip was filled with fantastic scenery and good company.
Daocheng however was a pretty crappy stop point (doubly as we didn’t have any money and no ATMs there), all getting us ready for the even crappier ride to Shangrila - which would take 11.5 hours over roads I might take my 4×4 over, not an overloaded bus with bad brakes. The 1000m drops would have been my first clue to have a tip top vehicle. But we made it and managed to settle in a hostel in the old quarter (and get an ATM!!!!)
Funny thing about this town is that it too was a backwater just a few years ago and the old quarter isn’t old at all but rather a recreation of an old Tibetan village. This is all in a effort to vitalize the area and capitalize on tourism by whoring out the minority culture (pardon the crudeness but only way to put it). Nonetheless it really is pretty cool and the locals are prospering because of it. Last night we all had dinner together and ate pizza and pasta and food that made us happy and went our ways. We may see Tony, Liz and Isabella again as they are heading to Lijiang, our next destination.
So today I’m lazy and not really wanting to do much except for laundry, blogs and some sight seeing….blah. I am feeling better though and getting over the cough and cold that has plagued me for weeks.
A couple things:
Rosivy, thanks for your comments it’s very nice to hear from home! And yes Pattison did describe it very well! There were a few differences it the procedure as I think he described a monk or lama rites, where the bones are placed on chortens instead of being crushed. Amazing stuff though to once again see with your own eyes what you have only read about in books.
-Facebook is still unavailable to me peoples, sorry for any delay in getting back to you all! I will be in Thailand in a couple weeks and have access then!
- Dave! Sounds fan freaking tastic! If you can meet me in Vietnam I can work around dates. My scheduling went out the window in the first couple weeks of travelling so let me know when is good for you.
- Thanks Kim, I’ll let you know all about it when I get back!!
Later all!!
Ok…. Because I’m not puking my guts out anymore I feel upto finishing this blog! I have already cleared the town of Kangding, really only a stop over point, after a couple low points in the bustling and otherwise uninspiring city.
We did have one great moment here at the monastary next to our (poor excuse for a) hostel. While wandering the grounds the monks invited us to sit with them, which of course we were happy to do. They really enjoyed it too and one aspiring young monk got his english text to try some new words. They then invited us to lunch with them in the dining hall-very cool. They eat very well by the way. Later Luc met Maz and I after a day and we were happy to hear that he had already secured an interview to teach English in Chengdu. Sadly it meant that this would likely be the last night he would be joining us. This was a double whammy for me. As Luc and I were to travel to Thailand and Nepal together, I was also to meet Gavin (Xi’an) in Changmai Thailand. Sadly he contacted me after spending 3 days in hospital and mentioned that he had to fly back to UK to get treatment for a nasty bug…..once again a good lesson on being dynamic hope you get better soon m8t!! Truely it’s karmic payback for splitting with him in Xi’an and going to Lhasa with Adam, with the plan of meeting up soon. Life rolls on the road….
So. It also happened to be Maz’s birthday while we were all together so a dinner and walk in town was called for. It was great until 4:30 in the morning (we catching a bus a 6:30am) when my stomach decided to revolt. I think it was the yak blood sausage we ate, but who knows, really? Either way I was a freaking hurting unit and decided that I best stay another night in this retched town. That morning Luc left to return to Chengdu and Maz carried on to Litang, our next destination - the wild west of Tibet as it is known.
Me? I vomited until the afternoon and then managed a walk down to the bus station to get my ticket to Litang. The rest of the day was spent in blissfull sleep and rest.
The bus to Litang into itself wasn’t as bad as I had heard. I had nightmare stories of roads washed out and long waits. In the end it was an uneventful 7 hour ride which sat just fine with me. I got sorted with a room and met up with Maz. Already the town was inspiring my curiousity and respect. A note about Litang - the entire area was shut down to travellers and has only recently reopened. During the riots in ‘08 some people were killed and the riots were considered quite serious. This area is mostly Tibetan unlike many other areas where they have been diluted. And these are tough cats too. Most are nomad khampa and are rugged and tough, riding into town with long black hair billowing under their cowboy hats on screaming motorcycles.
Due to the strong Tibetan population here there is a great monastary which we visited today and it was free unlike the disneyesque ones elsewhere. The Tibetan people are so cool :).
Another thing Litang is famous for is the skyburial rites. Although quite gruesome by western standards this is a millenium old tradition of rites of the dead. The bodies are dissected at which point the vultures come to remove the meat. The brains are mashed and mixed with barley flour and the bones crushed. The remains are then given back to the family. Tomorrow morning I’ll see if I have the stomach for this…..update to follow…..
Due to my imposed vacation from blogging, I have many small adventures to share since Lhasa I have met some cool cats; Maz (aussie) and Luc (Canadian).
After arriving back in Chengdu from Lhasa I was really wiped but happy to see Adam again at the hostel before he left for Shanghai and then home in Melbourne. As with everything on this trip things just kind of clicked into place when I met Maz and Luc. Night one included my first foray into Chengdu nightlife: Club 88. Awesome! We wandered the floor for a while taking in the club and it wasn’t long before we were dragged to a table and were recipients of the unbeatable Chinese hospitality. We were wrecked. Interesting note too….they don’t serve beer at most nightclubs as you order a bottle for your table which they mix with a variety of tea and juice. So tasty. We had so much fun we went to the club next door the following night! Club Babi was more a hip hop bar but fun nonetheless ensued - a high point being went the well built Luc had his shirt ripped of and thrown into the crowd. The people went wild! Hahahahaaha, too funny.
The day after Babi we decided to do the horse trek tour (my trip to Dege now canceled due to time) in Songpan…this was to be to best time so far in China.
Part 1: the bus ride from hell. Well “stopped again” was the most common thought of the trip. But a little leinancy is required here. Some may recall the earthquake last year that devastated a region of China last year. Well this was it. More that 70000 died in it….. The housing here is much different than back home. Also it is plagued by floods and landslides… The latter of which evidence was everywhere and made things even a bit unnerving as you park under a rock overhang with fallen boulders strewn about. And park we did. After the first hour in we stopped for an hour for reasons unknown and had frequent stops due to the one way nature of the road. Seeing vehicles come head on on a one way is quite the exciting time. I assure you.
We did however reach Songpan after 12.5 hours ( supposed to be 8, and only 355km away!). We checked in and prepared for the Songpan horse trek to Ice Mountain. At 8:30 the next morning we departed for was was to be a bum numbing, yet very rewarding experience. As the horses ride through town into the mountains, carrying our gear and our swaying carcasses a smile crossed my face.
We rode into the hills towards the mountains passing villages only accessable by horse or brave motorcyclists, we got higher and higher. We reached our camp after 7 hours and were happy to have a bite and get to know the other people in the group. There was Martain the Brit from Japan, David and Miriella from Spain, and Beata from Poland. We bonded quickly and set off on a hike. Luc climbed a rock face (more or less) while we followed up the valley. It was great and we saw many interesting plants and flowers that I had never seen before, the horses that had been set loose to forage found us on the way down the valley and gave many good photo ops. But back to camp for the days next ride. In pouring rain. Nonetheless, with the horses sans packs, we crossed through some beautiful territory and terrain before the way became too treacherous and we turned back before we saw the famed ice mountain. Nobody complained though as we were soaked and freezing. This however prompted a stop in a local Tibetan house and had a fire to warm our bones and dry our clothes. And tea. God we drank so much tea!
By the time we returned to camp we were starved (but picked up some beer at a camp) and gorged on the vegetarian meal (all meals were vegetarian). Some beer food and baijo later we were contentedly snoozing for our ride back into Songpan the next day. 800am we were off on a bum splitting trip down the mountains. Once again we passed through many fantastic sights, one special one was a village with some small kids posing for the cameras. Some wore cabbage leave masks or had a real mask. Very funny. By lunch time we were back and headed for Emmas Kitchen and the neighboring Tibetan massage. By 900 we were in heaven.
We decided to stay an extra day in Songpan and enjoy the sights, mainly because we were really exhausted :). We climbed the big hill on the outskirts in order to get to a gatehouse. Next to it was a small Tibetan village which we walked through. The people here are super nice and we had many waves and exchanged nice hellos with all the kids that would wave.
I am glad for this as it balanced out the ride home the next day. Due to road repair and avalanche control we spent one time parked for about 3 hours. This time the trip to 13 hours. Gack.
So back to Sims Guesthouse again, we all love it - great place, and decompressed after the bus ride with some beers and an early sleep. Which brings us to today! We did absolutely nothing and rested, I have picked up quite the cold and cough after getting rained on during the horse trip. Also we are going to a place called Kangding tommorow as a stop on the way to Litang, another Tibetan city in western Sichuan. Will write soon, and hopefully something more interesting than the verbatim approach I am taking right now, miss you all…..
