2013 SE Asia
South East Asia!
After a few chats and some info grabbing from Stu Meikle, I booked flights to Bangkok via Dubai and set off in mid January….in snow
The flights were pretty uneventful and I arrived safe and sound and met at the airport by Stu who had left a month or so previously and was leaving for home that same day! …we got the train into town and I booked into the NASA Vegas hotel, then we set off into Bangkok centre, using the canal boats for transport – which was fun!
We had a good walk around so I could get my bearings, then we had something to eat, a thai massage and a couple of beers in one of the red light areas (where I also had my nipple tweaked by a ladyboy!) quite an introduction to Thailand! Lol
Then it was back to the hotel for Stu to shower and ten head off to the airport and back to the UK and an early night for me.
The next 4 days consisted of me being VERY happy traipsing around Bangkok, using canal boats, river boats, buses, taxi’s, tuk-tuks and moped “taxi’s” and of course lots of walking.
I think I must have seen almost all the sights there were in Bangkok: including (of course) the national museum, grand palace, Wat Arun, Jim Robinson’s house, Marble Temple, Kings’ house, Lucky Buddha – and every other buddha statue I think! …
Ive kinda glossed over the temples and things – but believe me: the grand palace and the VAST array of temples and temple complexes on almost every street corner are AMAZING! …in size, decoration, grandeur and …tranquility too – despite being mobbed by a gazillion tourists. The Grand palace is akin to a Disney spectacle: the gold and jewel encrusted buildings with their guarding statues and immaculate gardens are absolutely unbelievable! I spent many a happy hour sitting at the back of temples watching the monks and priests going about their business, or watching the great unwashed come in to give offerings and receive blessings/prayers. Met too! …I was blessed (I think) by a ‘priest’ who then tied a string bracelet around my wrist
I Took a long meandering trip to find the Ton Buri train station which was not where I thought it was and it didn’t help that the ferry boats no longer stop at one landing so I ended up getting off at the wrong one! Hey ho…. once I got there I found that I didn’t have to book a ticket anyhoo!
so, back to town again (moped ride) and more pineapple pieces to eat. This time I walked around all manner of places that didnt eem to be on the tourist map and werent populated by tourists at all ..which was nice ….it meant the coffee shops were all empty 😉
As I couldnt get a place booked on the Chaing Mai sleeper train, I decided to wing it a bit and left Bangkok for Kanchanaburri – the home of the ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ the train ride was fun …chatting to an american guy and a couple of english girls, then they all left at kanchanaburri station, but the guard fella told me to stay on to the next stop for my lodgings. When I arrived at the next station I was amazed to find that this was actually the Bridge on the River Kwai!! ..and again the guard stopped me from getting off at the platform and instead, waited till the train pulled away and stopped it actually on the bridge – in amongst tourists – to let me get off actually there on the bridge!!! what a fabulous welcome to the place!!!!
The bridge is almost completely rebuilt, but there are still two spans which are original.
Eventually I took a moped ‘backer’ to my place of residence: a raft house on the river!!! …bluddy amazing!!! …incredibly basic room made of bamboo and floating 5m from the river bank – thethered and with a rickety bridge to get me ashore …but MAN! …how KEWL!!!!!
that night I went into town to try and find the yankee and english girls but failed 🙁 …I did however find lots of food in the market… nom nom and then a dutch girl who I had a nice chat and a good few beers with 🙂
Next day I travelled by bus to the Erewan waterfalls …an hours bus trip and then a great walk thru trees and up a hillside covered in the bluest pools and most amazing waterfalls. Seriously a fabulous place! (apart from the russian tourists who are a complete nightmare!) 5 hours of heaven is a fitting description of that place!
Next day I was leaving and after packing before sun-up, I asked the oldest guy in the world, who spoke very little english but did seem to run the raft house hostel how to get back to the station etc. He was the nicest most helpful guy in the world and even came after me as I walked off to give me a backer on his scooter to the station!
At the station I had a while to wait, so befriended an old fella there, bought him a coffee and he introduced me to one of his friends who ran a stall at the station …they sat with me and laughed and carried on till the train arrived (despite them not speaking english and me not exactly fluent in Thai!) Back in Bangkok, I checked -just before getting on my daytime train – that the sleeper was full (as I’d been told a few days before) …nope, there were LOTS of spaces!!! so I sold my daytime ticket back and got a sleeper bed 🙂
quite a nice trip on the train – chatting to a swiss girl and eating supplied soup and sarnie, then the guard/attendant fella comes along and makes the bed for you 🙂 I had a great sleep ….deffo the best way to get to Chiang Mai!!
I booked into my hostel at Chaing Mai and then explored the old walled town for the rest of the day (finding the CHEAPEST and best place to eat at a roadside cafe …deeeeeeelish!
The next day I booked a 2 day trek into the mountains (very touristy) and joined Nadine, Emma, Rishi and his cousin Amir and Stas (russian) and met our guide ‘JJ Jungle’. First stop was an ellie camp where we paired up to ride an ellie for around a mile or so …very touristy, but I enjoyed it 🙂 then I fed the ellies some nana’s I had for snacks. Then we had a good walk into ‘jungle’ with JJ showing us some of the local flora and tricks (including making and throwing a spear) That night we stayed in a hut on the edge of a village and JJ made us a curry thingee and we had a couple of beers.
Next day we had another long walk to a great waterfall where we played for a while (great natural rock slide into the pool at the bottom 🙂 ) then me, Nadine and Rishi left to get a raft trip back to civilisation. Nadine and I decided to head to Pai the next day on a scooter, so we hired one that night. I googled the trip to Pai and got varying distances but all less than 50km…. we headed out at sun-up but only in T shirts …BIG mistake! ..it was freezing! ..pertickly as we had to cross some mountains!! and it was truly bitter on the tops!… we eventually found a cafe and stopped for a very cold coffee. After that it wasn’t so bad to Pai. Sadly Pai wasn’t as interesting as we thought it would be – its kid of a hippy town apparently …just seemed like most other towns to us!.. got a nice curry meal tho 😉 and some passport photos. Then it was back on the scoot for a very quick ride back across the mountains to Chaing Mai.
We (me and Nadine) had decided to travel together for a while, so back at CM we booked an overnight bus to the Laos border. We quickly packed our stuff and joined the bus (meeting a very funny and confused french canadian girl on the bus too 🙂 ) the bus trip was a bit boring, but eventually we ended up at Chiang Kong ..and the worst hotel Ive been to since Malawi!!! hey ho … brekkie in the morning and eventually we paid for a boat trip along the Mekong river to Luang Prabang (meeting Lea and Matt – a french couple – during the confusion)
Much confusion at the Laos side of the border (across the river), but eventually we got on a boat and the trip started. The boats are really quite nice with coach style seating and beers and food available. The scenery was fabulous as we meandered along the river – taking too many photos as usual
. That evening we stopped at Pak Beng and stayed in a canny little hostel/ hotel thing. Had a VERY average meal that night – actually I didnt even GET a meal!! service was so poor! But was a canny night with some of the peeps off the boat .
Brekkie the next morning and we were off again in the next leg…to Luang Prabang. Same MO …lots of photos, fabulous scenery and good craic on the boat (and snacks we’d bought ashore -including the tiniest but nicest nana’s in the world! )
In Luag Prabang we (me, Nadine, Matt and Lea) all travelled to the same hostel and got booked in easy enuff …nice enuff place. Then we (me and Nad) headed out for a great meal (cheap, again 😉 ) then a walk to the night market which is fabulous! : so many stalls selling trinkets and hangings and embroidery and stuff! ..I bought a bracelet….
Next day we had a good walk around including the temple on the hill (seeing the ‘buddha’ footprint) the national museum and photo gallery. Then we took a van ride to some waterfalls (yes, more waterfalls) had my first coconut, 
swam in the pools and had a great day generally 🙂 Back at LP we ate in the night food market getting a great buffet for 10,000Kip (nothing 😉 ) 
Next day was more walking around and then a meal with Matt & Lea and then we went to Utopia bar …the kewlest bar in the country 🙂 sitting on hippy roll mats drinking beer and listening to all manner of nationalities chatting away with some great music in the background – great night B|
Heading north next: to Nongh Hoiw where despite the rain we had a great time (ignoring the bus ride)
visiting the caves where the Laos hid during the US air strikes (during the Vietnam war) 
…with Nad suffering a war wound in the process …damned barbed wire 😉 
and drinking the weird Laos coffee – tasted almost like hot chocolate and VERY sweet 
Next day was another bus trip on a packed and uncomfortable little bus to Luang Nam Tha. We were looking forward to this place as its quite far north and supposed to be less touristy but very scenic. We shared a tuk tuk with a Swiss fella who now lives in Laos, so he gave us some info on places to go. WE stayed in a nice hotel and had a canny meal that night. Next day it was back onto a scooter for a trip around to see the temples and the local waterfall. All good until we stopped for lunch/tea and sat in a nice place while the heavens opened outside! …torrential rain and thunderstorm! … 
we gave up on any ideas about going trekking 🙁 so went to the bus station to book a ticket to Vang Vieng ..running out of fuel in the scoot about 30m short of the petrol station lol.
16 hours on a bus to Vang Vieng!!! ..at least it was a proper coach style bus ….and the roads werent too bad after the first couple of hours….. 
though the music on the bus WAS! …shocking and loud right up to 01:30 am!!! 
Eventually arived in the dark with drunks everywhere and it raining 🙁 a tuk tuk driver tried to rip us off, but I gave him a hard time and didnt pay him at all in the end 😉
We eventually got sorted in the Banana Bungalows 
…great little wooden shack beside the river and with great views of the surrounding mountains. Next day we rose to a couple of hot air balloons sailing right over us, almost within touching distance! I did a deal with the owner and got a better ensuite room for the same price 🙂 Lots of great eateries here …so we found one we liked and ate a lot of curries and sticky pancakes there 🙂 ..and some beers and milkshakes, sitting on short benches with amazing view. I did a walk up the local viewpoint which was quite a stiff walk …and a lot of fun …with great views. 
We bumped into Matt and Lea again! ..so had more beers with them. We hired a scoot again and did a trip to the blue lagoon …fabulous proper blue water and the BIG cave …lovely big cave …we managed to get lost in! Lol After that I ordered a visa for Vietnam (giving away my passport to some random in the prodcess! and booked a bus to the 4 thousand Islands. 
I couldnt sleep that night so went for a midnight walk along the Mekong …was lush sitting in the dark, watching the stars and listening to the bars close and people go home.
Last brekkie with Matt & Lea and we were off to VV 🙂 we had one bus to Vientaine, then swapped to a Disney bus (?)
to Pakse. Was a canny laugh on the bus …it was a sleeper again – and with a free meal too 🙂 unfortunately, in the morning we hit a buffalo and her calf and the bus suffered a puncture. As we waited for the repair, we realised that both the buff had died of injuries 🙁 We had to swap buses to finish the journey.
At Pakse, we had missed our transfer bus, so jumped on another bus to take us to the Mekong (again) at the river, we got on a slow boat to take us to Don Khon – our destination. 
We walked along the river a little till we found somewhere that looked cheap enough 😉 …it was – $5 for the night, but it was a tiny little basic room with a cold water shower out the back. The good news was that we had hammocks out the front on the verandah overhanging the river. 
Very scenic with bamboo trees, kids playing in the canoe boats etc. we had brekkie in another nice little restaurant with the low seats on platforms (great way to eat!) then went for a walkaround 
finding a ruined school building, an old bridge and a great beach area. The next day we hired cycles and toured around the area, finding more scenic areas and an old choo choo train which used to run over the old bridge we’d previously found. We also had a great coffee at the bamboo bar and a walk along the waterfalls across the Mekong – there’s a fault line here more or less at the border to Cambodia so there are stunning cataracts as the level of the riverbed changed by 20m or so.
We also had a sunset riverboat cruise out into te delta area, passing the busier resort where the ‘young folk’ go….. among the great sights has to be the peeps playing in the river on a sandy beach …..and the water buffalo lying in the water between them!
Last day of me and Nad together and she was off to catch a bus and continue with her trip (heading eventually to Oz) I had a walk along the river (meeting the french candaian chick and some guys from Leeds we met on the ‘crash bus’)
CAMBODIA!
Then it was my turn to leave – heading back to the mainland and on a bus to the Cambodian border …. where I handed over my passport and $30 to another random! Chatted to frenchie canadian again and waited for an age in some border shops while our visas arrived. – and watched a charlie chaplin movie on an old TV!
Then we were off again thru the border and heading to Kompong Cham. At KC, it was dark when I arrived and I just wanted somewhere to sleep so paid $3 for the crappiest room ever woith the worst bathroom ever! Next morning I checked the location of a nice hotel and walked over the new – impressive- bridge and off to where I thought it might be …. it wasnt. 
I eventually asked for directions, but no-one spoke english or knew the name of the hotel I was looking for. As I walked off from asking, the fella caught me up on his scooter and beckoned for me to get on ….he then took me and my bliidy big rucksack back over the bridge and into the centre of town, straight to my hotel! …what a nice guy! … the hotel was FAB! …VERY impressive room and hotel WITH WiFi!! for $10 (hey, I’m worth it) 
I then hired a scoot and tripped off to the market for some crazy street food 
and then back over that bridge again and tried to climb the old lighthouse …except I bottled it…metal staircase as far too shakey – as was I! Lol
I really enjoyed KC had a nice feel to it: there’s a bamboo bridge that I think is rebuilt each year …very scenic! ….had a nice ride over it,
drank more coconut, visited lots of temples and ate loads of street food. Its also Cambodian new year so there were hordes of scoots with 5 and 6 peeps on them all around the streets! ..great night for sightseeing!
Enough of that its time to go to Siem Reap. I arrived on the bus and got settled into my guest house/hostel then hired a cycle and trotted off to the temples.
AMAZING! …the temple complex aaround Siem Reap are incredible! ..amazing architecture, so different to anything else ..and so intricate in detail carvings on EVERY surface! …truly an incredible place Even the gate entrances to the area are immense and imposing. 
Next day was same again but touring more of the temples almost littered around …including the Lara Croft temple of doom with its trees erupting thru ancient walls.
Coincidence: I sat at brekkie at the hostel thingy chatting to a frenchy type fella who tells me he works in Whitehorse, Yukon,Canada …we eventually realised that we worked for the same person: Jackie of the Hart to Hart farm! …what a small world!
More temples and more ‘Jack Fruit milkshakes’ (my new fave) and I found ‘pub street’ where all the young folk (and some oldies) go to get hammered and eat actually really good Cambodian food (a tuk tuk ride, 3 x beers, fa chicken caesar salad and a Temple Bar t shirt for £9.50! – I also bumped into some elderly yank folk that I met at the Laos border (feels like a lifetime ago)
Enough of temples…lets go to Phohm Penn
Pnohm Penn is a proper city with asian markets and old ruined and rough buildings and a very wide section of the Mekong river – but I REALLY like it! … had a great walk around and coffee/brekkie in some riverfront restaurants. I hired a scooter which gave me the craziest ride of my life: no-one takes ANY notice of any roadsigns, or ettiquette …it is complete mayhem and madness on the city roads …COMPLETE madness!!! …but fun 😉 Eventually that night I sat in the night food market and ate all manner of foods the cook cooked to roder in front of me on a market satll … then I sat on a rush mat amid loads of locals and tourists alike! …. great way to eat. Then off to the restaurant bars to have a beer. 
I got chatting to a french girl/lady – Nadia fro mPAris …who eventually told me she had fallen for the ‘niece going to your country would you talk to her” scam ….ending in her playing cards for BIG money – she lost $2000!! ..and they were going to pick her up in the morning for more! I told her I would pick her up in the morning and make sure nowt bad happened. As it happened they saw me talking to her and drove off without stopping that morning. I rode my scoot to Cheung Ek …the infamous ‘killing fields” genocidal centre. What a place …you can still see bone shards and clothing gradually coming out of the ground as the rains wash the soil away – incredibly sad place 🙁 Then I went to the Khmer Rouge prison in the centre of town. Again, a very sad place – how people can do these things to each other is beyond me! 
The rest of my time in PP was a blur of temples, palaces, coffee and salads ..and a nice night with Nadia and her friends.
I then booked a bus trip to Vietnam, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)…taking a great cambodian massage before I left.
I met a dutch guy (Martijn) on the bus to Saigon …who told me about a great holiday island I could go to ..more of that later.
At PP I got a taxi to my hotel which was pretty cheap and also quite nice. Spent the next day having a great time walking the city streets and drinking strong coffee in a variety of coffee shops including one in a park with a group of ladies practising some kind of martial art/dance/keep fit thing with swords! I also visited the American War museum – my first lesson: only us westerners call it the Vietnam war…..the museum has some great war machinery in the grounds outside and a whole lot of propaganda inside …but hey! – I do believe we are the masters of both ‘in your face’ and subliminal propaganda so, who’s to say who’s worse?
A great night market meal of bbq kidneys, rice and beer and I was tucked up in bed ready for the fun and guns of the Cu Chi tunnels!
I took a bus from the city centre and hoped the driver understood what I wanted …eventually another passenger who spoke a little english told me it was time to get off and another Viet guy beckoned for me to follow him 🙂 we walked a ways with virtually no conversation tho it was kinda nice in a strange way ..eventually we got in to the main entrance, padi our dues and then he was led away while I had to sit and watch the ultimate I crap propaganda – an ancient b&w video of the struggle against the american invaders! ..”kill the americans” was displayed or shouted at every opportunity! … finally it finished and a uniformed fella took me on a guided trip thru the bush to show me the tunnels, traps and trenches dug by ‘charlie’ it was quite enlightening seeing how they did it and how small the tunnels are (the normal tourist area has been opened up to allow the “fat americans” thru, apparently)
had a nice chat with the guide over yet another pineapple (my staple diet nowadays, it seems) talking about the war quite openly and guiding and UK life – he told me a lot about it lol
once Id finished, I bought a couple of AK47 memento rounds for Tucker back home and then headed to the range 🙂 … where I paid to shoot the crap out of some targets with an AK47 and then an M60 machine gun on ‘auto’ LUSH!!! that thing makes one hell of a noise!
I finished the day off back in Saigon at Crazy Buffalo bar having a couple of beers and watching the flashing lights 🙂
Final day in Saigon was spent walking about and visiting the saddest zoo in the world: everything looked crazy: asian ellies dancing to and fro, leopards pacing back and forwards, a completely bald and sored lion lying in a fitful sleep, the only good part was watching as the staff opened a divider to allow a male and female tiger together …she wasnt happy lol Finally I took a trip up the highest building in SE Asia and bought a pair of rip-off BEATS headphones 🙂 …and bought a flight to Con Dao island (thanks Martijn!!!)
Con Dao island was historically a prison island: first by the french, then the americans, and finally by the Viet. Its a sleepy place thats trying to grow up and join in the money game …thankfully its not winning at the moment. That means theres not a lot going on! 🙂 not many restaurants, one coffee shop and a couple of bars …but long empty beaches, jungley walks over mountains and lots of empty hotels.
I got sorted in one and after unpacking went for a walk along the town beach …lovely beach with lots of small ‘junk’ fishing boats parked up ..and a gazillion of the worst biting sand flies ve ever known! ..MAN they HURT!!! the day ended with a meal by myself and then a good sleep. Next day and the heavens had opened ….strong strong winds and torrential rain 🙁 …I stayed in most of the day. After hiring a scooter, I visited one of the islands prison buildings (with infamous ‘tiger cages’ where the guards walk along the grilled open top cells and poured anything they wanted on the unfortunates below A ride around the island showed there were prison buildings of one sort or another all over the place :/
The island did have some beautiful sights tho … the fishing boats are incredibly photogenic and a visit to the fishing port and eating Banh Mi (spicy brekkie sandwich) turned me into a bit of a spectacle I think – lots of people walking behind me and wanting their photos taken ..lot of fishermen posing on their boats … lorra fun to be had! 🙂
Back in ton I changed to a cheaper hotel (actually part of the taxi driver’s house!) really nice tho 🙂 then I found I couldnt get OFF the island! ..the weatehr was too bad for the ferry (which apparently isnt for tourists anyhoo and the plane is booked for weeks!!! seems the island IS a prison again!
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