Aymi’s Adventures

Arriving in Luang Prabang was quite a shock to the system, it was so quiet and there were no tuk tuk drivers waiting at the airport, hassling us to take us into town. I never thought I would say this, but I actually missed them, I was at a loss of how to get into town!

Luang Prebang itself is really pretty, with candles and small nightlights dotted everywhere, streets lined with vendors selling everything from fruit to fried bats, lamp shades, slippers, trousers, jewelry, everything you can imagine. Wandered around the whole villiage visiting various temples and the Royal Palace Museum which had actually changed it’s name to the National museum (which confused me a little). Then took a tuk tuk to a beautiful waterfall with Gil & Cat, we never even thought to take swimmers, which was silly as the water was so clear and refreshing (as I found out when I slipped in and bashed my toe up – again!!!).

From there I took the 4 hour bus to Vang Vieng (which took over 6 hours) and wandered around for a while before an interesting night out with a Dutch girl named Mika, and Irish dance DJ??, some very drunk people (not me for once) and jacket potato’s cooked on a fire in the bar we were at. The next day I took a kayaking tour starting in Vang Vieng and finishing in Vientiane with 3 hours of Kayaking down the Nam Lik river inbetween.

The first 2 hours in the taxi van (like a pick up truck but smaller and with a roof but open sides) had 10 of us plus all our backpacks and paddles squished into the back, 7 double kayaks on the roof, 3 people in the front and 2 people hanging off the back – climbing onto the kayaks on the roof when they got bored of standing! The Kayaking itself was ace, although the rapids were a bit dissapointing, it was only level 1-2 though and I did start with level 4 in Ecuador! We stopped in a beautiful spot by the side of the river for lunch where they cooked us kebabs and sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves served with a bread roll, it is the best meal I have had since being here – they dont really have any traditional dish of their own, unlike Thailand and Cambodia whose foods were amazing. Then we stopped for a bit of cliff jumping, which I chickened out of and just went for a swim instead.

The only word that can describe the last 2 hour bus journey into Vientiane is “dusty” and even that you cannot imagine. There was a little more space this time as it was a different truck, all the bags were on the roof and there was only 11 of us and the driver, the other guides went back with the Kayak truck. The narrow, bumpy, dry red dirt road really did not mix well with my contact lenses, or my lungs for that matter, I dont know how they cope with it. Most of us sat with Sarongs over our heads for the first hour just trying to breathe. By the time we got out we all had fantastic tans – the amount of dust stuck to our arms and legs was disgusting and everytime you tried to brush it off you just rubbed it in even more! I still havent washed my clothes from it, but dread to think how much dust is wrapped up in my top.

Vientiane pretty much sums up most of the capital cities I have been to, dirty, unfriendly and unhelpful. I thought it might be different in Asia as I liked Pnomh Penh and Bangkok so much, but it actually reminds me of all the capital cities in Central America with the exception of Panama City, which I hated so much. There is nothing majorly wrong with it here and no one has tried to pull any scams or anything, but I wouldnt be suprised if they did. The accommodation is also a lot more expensive for much worse rooms. I mean US$8 for my own room with AC, hot water (a luxury I am not used to anymore), cable TV and a fridge – (sounds ridiculous doesnt it), but when your used to paying US$3 and getting a much nicer room in a friendly guesthouse with really nice helpfull staff, without the needless AC, TV, fridge and hot water it makes you kinda annoyed.

I met back up with Gil & Cat here and visited Xiengkuane Buddah Park, which was kinda creepy with all the giant buddah statues everywhere, it felt almost like a weird graveyard, I felt like the buddah’s were watching me, but it was pretty cool to see. Also went to some Stupa that i’ve forgotten the name of and the Mini Arch De Triumph (also forgotten the correct name of), which did look similar, but didn’t have the same problem of not being able to get anywhere near the real one because of the traffic!  The best thing about Vientiane was discovering all the delicious French style deli cafe’s where I had some amazing sandwiches and cakes – not very Asian I know, but definately the best food i’ve found in Laos.

Gillian Cat and I arrived in Phnomn Penh very tired and weary. Its amazing how much a cold can affect you in this heat. Although to be fair the last 2 nights I have only had 4 hours sleep in total and had to leave at ridiculous o-clock in the morning. So after the scary tuk tuk ride from the airport and unfriendly Cambodian faces staring at us with a mixture of curiosity and fear, we were pleased that the staff at the Sunday guesthouse were really friendly and we fell into bed for a few hours.

After catching up on some Zeds we went for a walk to Boeng Kak, the riverside – or at least we tried. My map-reading skills took us past independence monument and various other things of interest leaving us at the wrong side of town!! A tuk tuk ride later and we got there just after sunset, missing the whole objective of the evening! Oh well, we did get taken home on motorbikes which was quite fun – there were 3 on a bike and the little one said roll over….! The Cambodians manage to fit a family of 4 on a bike with a baby and a dog as carry on luggage, and 8 year olds seem to ride scooters to school!!

Considering Phnomh Penh is the capital city here, and I normally hate capital cities, this just isnt the case here. I now realise that the look of fear in the Cambodians eyes was probably because we all looked so terrible after the lack of sleep and early mornings. They are the friendliest people I have ever met, nothing is too much trouble. Even the fact that you dice with your life every time you try and cross the road, I love it – sure beats road rage which just doesnt exist here, unbelievable considering all the traffic.

The Tuol Sleng museum (or S 21) was tear-jurking and sombering. So much so that words cannot describe it, as for photos, it just didnt feel right to be taking pictures of a sight where so much horror and torture has happened. It amazes me that such genocide can take place and so few people in Western Societies even hear about it – mainly because of the American involvement which will always be kept quiet (or tried to).

The Russian Markets were nice, but I wasnt really in the mood for shopping after Tuol Sleng, so we headed to the riverside, took a boat tour for an hour and then got refused entry to the Royal Palace, I mean I know im a traveller and my clothes ain’t the best, but come on – how rude!!!

Arrived in Battambang after a 7 hour bumpy sweaty bus journey, got taken on motorbikes – with all our cases to the Royal Hotel, again staff just cannot do enough for you. I Went for a ride along the riverside with a guy from the hotel to see how typical Cambodians live, felt like a celebrity as everyone was waving and shouting hi as we rode past. Stopped at a farm for some fruit tasting, which soon ended in tasting home-made rice wine and home grown marijuana. Well it would be seen as rude to refuse, and it is legal over here, they even have happy herb pizza places, not tried them yet though!

Another 7 hour journey, this time crammed like sardines onto the top of a “speedboat” (probably the slowest boat I have ever been on) took us to Siem Reap. The sun was relentless from 7am to 2pm and although I put on sunscreen continuously I still looked like a lobster. The hotel obviously knew more than us when they gave us krama’s (scarves worn by Cambodians as an affirmation of identity), they definately provided some respite from the sun, if not enough!

Watched the Sunset over Angkor Wat to get us in the mood for the next long hot day travelling around all the different Angkor temples on a tuk tuk, starting at 5am to get back to Angkor Wat for sunrise.  It was pretty spectacular feeling wandering around the temples knowing that in its day this was one of the biggest empires in the world boasting a population of 1 million people when London only had 50,000 inhibitants. 

The next day we visited the floating villiage and an apsara traditional Cambodian dance and buffet dinner.  The food was amazing, the dancing reminded me mainly of what I have seen before in Thailand which shows how much Cambodia has been influences by Thailand in the past. 

So now we are still stuck in Siem Reap waiting until we can get a flight up to Laos.  I wish I could stay here longer and explore East Cambodia, but I will definately be back.  We have also successfully managed to avoid eating the national dish of duck embryo’s – we think!

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