Progress (or lack of?) in Indonesian travels

Today I make my second-to-last stop before heading home...


I am flying to Bandung this afternoon to visit my sister Lia and her family (AFS exchange 1995). Once again I am flying; as New Year holiday time in Indonesia apparently results in trains and buses being almost completely booked (and the queues to enquire prohibitively long and tiresome!)


I have now been reunited with my bag (which will hopefully be filled with clean clothes - assuming they make it back from the laudromat this morning...)


So far, I have spent 6 days in Indonesia, and failed (rather spectacularly) to do anything of much 'touristic' value.
- Dawn at Bromo didn't happen
- Most of the Surabaya city 'attractions' were closed
- Yogyakarta is home to the Sultan's palace (didn't go) and a short drive to the most visited tourist site in Indonesia: The Borobudur is the largest Buddhist monument in the world, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World... and I haven't manage to get there!


Despite failing to do the things I thought I 'should' do/see, despite my sequence of travel disasters (lost luggage, lost ATM card - cash flow headache) and despite discovering that everywhere is 'Penuh' (Full) at New Year in Yogyakarta, I have had a really good time! - Or maybe it's because of those things that I've had such fun... rather than rushing about and seeing the sights, I have hung out with some fun people, and conversed with the locals in my incredibly limited Bahasa (Indonesian). 


It has been quite strange to travel in a country where I can manage to pick up a few phrases - my language skills are rather poor; and I haven't managed much more than 'Hello', 'Thank You' and the essential food-related vocab in any other country.  Typically, the reaction to my language attemps has been surprise and approval... though I do sometimes have to stop the enthusiastic replies: "maaf - bahasa sedikit sedikit saja" (sorry - only a little Indonesian).


I have been surprised at how few Western tourists are around.  The crowds I have encountered have been largely Indonesian tourists - so once again, I've been stared at and photographed on numerous occasions. I've found the Indonesian people some of the friendliest I've encountered during my travels (other travellers I have met agree with this assessment).


The primary reason for heading this way was always to catch up with Lia (after 17 years!), so I'm not too worried about the things I have 'missed'... I will just have to come back: 


- Providing material for dreaming about the next adventures, even as I face the realities of heading home!

Cambodian Whirlwind

With very little time between departing from the south of Laos and needing to be in Vietnam (to meet up with my parents), I managed a very quick excursion into Cambodia - I figured I couldn’t claim to have done a legitimate tour of South East Asia without seeing Angkor Wat, and I was interested to visit Phnom Penh also.

The Joy of Travel!

Once again, I was anticipating a ‘VIP’ bus trip: A ferry from Don Khone, bus to the Cambodian border, and then onwards to Phnom Penh.  The journey promised to be long, and who knew what style of transport would await?!

The first surprise was when the ferry actually arrived on-time for my 8am pick-up… I was basically ready (just clipping up my bag when the girl came to get me), but I had been looking forward to at least half an hour of relaxation in my hammock (based on the theory of ‘Lao time’ being at least 30minutes late). 

It was a very quick trip to ‘mainland’ at Ban Nakasang, where I joined a large group of other foreign travellers, milling around waiting for a bus.  There was a guy offering to take care of your Cambodia visa (I think his rate was $30).  I figured (a) I could do it myself – and there was no value in ‘saving time’, since the bus would have to wait for me anyway, and (b) the actual visa fee was supposed to be just $20…

Another short journey took us to the border, where we had to alight, pick up our bags, and then proceed through on-foot.  The border process was lengthy and bureaucratic, with multiple opportunities for money-making (I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from Laos/Cambodia?!) 

·         The first step was to EXIT Laos: queue up, and pay $2 for a stamp. 

·         Next, was the health quarantine tent: fill in a form, declare I am healthy, lady points some infra-red gun at my head (no clue if it actually did anything?!), hand over another $1 and get a stamp on my form.  As far as I could tell, no-one actually looked at this form at the Visa office, though they claimed I wouldn’t get a visa without this stamp. 

·         Then, on to the visa office, another form, another $23, but at least I got an official document in my passport for the cash! 

·         Finally, another checkpoint, another form, and my passport was stamped for entry into Cambodia (cost $2)! 

·         I staggered (under the weight of my pack you understand) over to join the other travellers waiting in a small patch of shade next to a line of food & drink stalls.  All up, the border process had cost me $28, making the $30 option to have it done for me less costly – BUT, then I would have missed all the fun; experiencing the insane process I’d just been through!  A couple of the other travellers actually argued with the officials about several of the charges – and managed to avoid some of the costs.  I couldn’t really be bothered with this, and just handed over the cash I was asked for; however, I understand there is some principal here: it’s not clear how many of the costs were real officially sanctioned fees, and how much were opportunistic additions.

We all assumed that after the border crossing we would board a bus, and carry-on… More fools Us!  We were now told we had to wait at the Cambodia border for THREE HOURS for another group of travellers to arrive – We were NOT happy!  Eventually, the other group did arrive (as it turned out, had been sold tickets to leave Si Phan Don at 10am – rather than the 8am trip I’d booked), and we left after ‘just’ two hours waiting around – although not before we ascertained there were not enough seats on the bus.  After a lot apparent confusion (and some stress on our part as bags were moved  in and out of the bus luggage storage), a small group of people were filled into a mini van, and the other ‘extras’ were provided with plastic kiddie-chairs (or sat on the floor) in the aisle.

The remainder of the bus trip was mostly uneventful; just very LONG (our scheduled 7pm arrival in Phnom Penh clearly wasn’t going to happen – in the end I think it was around 10pm).  We stopped a couple of times for food / toilet breaks, and I got my first introduction to the Cambodian dual-currency (US$/Cambodia Riel); more on that later.

When we finally arrived in PP the ‘bus stop’ was a piece of road apparently miles from anywhere… with a waiting group of Tuk Tuk drivers ready to capitalise on us ‘stranded’ tourists.  I had already booked a hostel, which was unfortunately a little further away than where the other travellers wanted to go, however I decided to share at least as far as the central riverside area.  With three others, I got my first glimpse of PP city at night: along the riverfront is lined with hotels and restaurants, lots of lights, and seemingly bustling late at night.  We dropped the first couple at a hotel, and then tried to find a place for Sayo (the third passenger in our Tuk Tuk).  Her first choice was fully booked, and (needing somewhere) we agreed to let the Tuk Tuk driver take us to his ‘cheap good place’… Probably a mistake, but sometimes you get desperate late at night… the hotel wasn’t far from the main strip, but was down a quieter, not very appealing street.  Sayo looked, and said ‘no’.  At this point, I tried to negotiate to be taken to the place I’d booked: I was fully aware that we’d have to pay more, but in actual fact, the Tuk Tuk driver just became difficult – he demanded a price way above what was reasonable, then told us that it was too far and he didn’t want to go there late at night – “you get another driver”!  We did eventually manage to get him to take us back to the main road, paid him off, and got another Tuk Tuk (for a slightly more reasonable price, and with a driver with a more pleasant demeanour!)  Hoping for a place for Sayo as well, we arrived at the ‘Mad Monkey’: the dorm rooms were all full (apart from the one I’d already booked), but there was a private room available – so, as seems to be the way with travel, I ended up sharing a bed with a girl I’d met about 30 minutes prior.

The oddest thing I found in Cambodia was the way it operated on a dual currency system.  The local currency is the ‘Riel”, but a lot of things are priced in US dollars.  There is a standard, simple conversion of $1 = 4000 Riel.  Services and items may be priced in US$ (accommodation, most restaurant food, and imported grocery items) or in Riel (local food stalls), or both.  Either, or a combination, is accepted as payment; for instance, for a bill of $1.50 you could pay $1 + 2000 Riel, or pay $2 and get 2000 Riel as change.  Often, the ATM machines ONLY dispense US$ - but this isn’t a problem, since this is always accepted, and it is possible to get the local currency as change through various transactions.  The locals are very adept mathematicians (or at least, they are expert in their ‘4x table’) and can easily convert between currencies.

Phnom Penh: The Charming City

PP gets mixed reviews from travellers: some like it, some really REALLY don’t.  So, I was interested to see how I would find it.  I didn’t spend long there, but I am in the positive camp.  The area where my hostel was located was very leafy and green – the British International School was just around the corner, and the houses, restaurants and bars appeared to cater for both the tourist and expat communities.  I met a couple of expats living in PP (who loved it), and I understand that there are a lot of Westerners there.  I heard on several occasions, that the rate of change in PP has been exponential in the last few years: high rise buildings that were not there 5-10 years ago are now dotted around.  However, that’s one of the things I liked about PP: it didn’t’ feel particularly built-up.  This feel was aided by the many green spaces (mediums between roads, in the middle of roundabouts, and green squares.  The paved walk along the waterfront was nice, and the road was lined with cafes and restaurants with bright lights and river views.  There was a banner hanging across one of the main streets which claimed “Phnom Penh: The Charming City”, and I think they might have some right to make that claim.

Our first day in PP, Sayo and I decided we’d try to do the main sites of interest: the Killing Fields, S21 (the Khmer Rouge prison), the central markets, and the Royal Palace.  Securing the services of a Tuk Tuk driver for the day, we headed out of the central city area.  En-route, our driver stopped and procured a couple of face masks for us – this was very much appreciated in the busy, dusty streets (they worked much better than the usual scarf around the face method).

The killing fields were a real experience.  It’s not one of those things that you can say was ‘enjoyable’, but it was very well presented.  The location itself is now a tranquil park-like area, with a central monument, and a pleasant lake around the back.  There are park benches to sit on, and the whole area is surrounded by rice paddy fields.  So, there isn’t a lot to see – only a very few reminders of what occurred there, and even those wouldn’t be immediately evident.  However, with the entry fee we were given an audio guide: at each point around the park there was a description of the buildings that once stood there (and the disturbing functions that they performed).  Even more poignant however, were the accounts from the survivors guards – stories of atrocities witnessed, and the ongoing pain felt by those who survived.  It was very well done.  Also disturbing, was the information that ‘you might see bits of bone or cloth along the path – these surface with the rains’.

One of the additional ‘benefits’ of listening to the audio guide was that all the visitors were very quiet – making it feel like a more respectful place.  Although I’ve read a little about the Khmer Rouge (I recommend the book “First they killed my father”), listening to the stories in the location where they occurred was different - it is unbelievable what humans can do to other humans.    

Our next stop was S21 – the old school that was converted into a Khmer Rouge prison.  From the outside, it looks very much like a school anywhere: 3-storey block buildings, arranged around a central courtyard / gardens.  The only real give-away is the barbed wire on the outside of the outer corridors.  Inside, there are rooms and rooms containing photographs of the victims (many of them were so young), there are a couple of paintings of prison scenes, and several display rooms with information about some of the remaining Khmer Rouge leadership who are on-trial with the International courts.  Some of the rooms had been converted into cell-blocks (divided by wooden partitions or bricked walls); they were very narrow, and claustrophobic.  The day was hot, it was past- lunch time, and I think we were both exhausted (physically and mentally).  Without the audio, I did find that S21 had less impact; but it was still worth seeing.

At S21, Sayo and I bumped into Hannah (with whom we’d shared the Tuk Tuk into town the night before), so together we headed to the central markets for a rest and sustenance stop.  The markets didn’t seem the most interesting I’ve seen; the main building is an impressive Art Deco style structure, and inside are numerous jewellery counters, surrounded on the outside by the usual souvenir scarves etc.  However, we found plenty of things to sample in the food section, and managed a very tasty lunch spread.

The final stop for the day was supposed to be the Royal Palace… ‘Supposed to be’ because we went, only to discover that we were apparently ‘improperly dressed’.  We were each wearing sleeveless tops, but had a scarf/sarong to wear as a wrap to cover our shoulders – this was apparently not acceptable.  I found this very bizarre; everywhere else I have been, a wrap is absolutely legitimate fashion for ensuring modestly – but not so the PP Royal Palace: other travellers beware!!  (The Lonely Planet only mentions that shoulders must be covered).  The up-side was that we avoided ‘another palace / another temple’, saved $6.50, and instead enjoyed a very pleasant walk along the waterfront, stopped for a drink looking out at the river, and then managed to fit in a pedicure before dinner!

I’d originally intended to stay two full days in PP, but with time running out before my flight to Vietnam, and with the promise of company (Hannah and Andy) for the journey to Siem Reap, I decided to head out the next day.

In the morning, we’d arranged to meet Hannah for breakfast – a plan that ended in a frustrating few hours, when Sayo and I failed to find the agreed café, and then attempted to ring Hannah’s hostel to make contact (how did we EVER function without mobile phones?!)  We did make eventual contact, and I was able to book onto the same Siem Reap – bound bus.  Sayo and I then decided check out the Russian markets .  I can’t tell you much about it – we did a quick wander through, and then discovered the food section (surprise!)  One of them stalls claimed to have the ‘best iced coffee in PP’, and the very friendly proprietor told us he’d been making the drink for 31 years!  It was very good J

Siem Reap

The bus to Siem Reap was probably one of the better journeys I’ve done in recent times: A minivan, which, while at maximum capacity was reasonably comfortable (and I was even able to write some of my blog!)  On this occasion, we’d booked ahead with the Okay 1 Villa & Guest House (the sister residence of the guest house Hannah and Andy had stayed with at PP).  It was fantastic to arrive at the ‘bus stop’ (another random street corner – with no obvious bus-stop like features or facilities), and be met by the free pick-up service!  Even more fantastic, was arriving at the guest house, it was more like a small resort-hotel (complete with roof-top swimming pool and bar) – it wasn’t super flash, but compared to some of the more basic accommodation I’d been in recently, it was a palace!  There was some confusion with the rooms: the guest house in PP had told us there were a range of price options, but it appeared that the cheaper guest house rooms were fully booked.  This left the villa rooms, which I believe were more expensive.  However, with Hannah on the case (polite but firm!), we managed to secure a couple of very nice rooms – at amazing value.

The Temples

Clearly, the number one reason people visit Siem Reap is to see temples.  Angkor Wat, and the town of Angkor Thom are the famous ones, but there are many others of varying eras and styles. 

Having visited the temples of Bagan in Myanmar, I’d ‘kind of visualised something similar around Siem Reap.  So, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t really appreciate Angkor; finding myself to be experiencing a certain degree of ‘temple fatigue’!  I was assured that what I would find in Siem Reap was quite different – and this proved to be very much the case. 

·         Many of the temples around Siem Reap (Angkor Wat in particular) are really enormous complexes comprising concentric walled compounds; the central area of which houses the main temple.  In contrast, the temples in Bagan seemed mostly to be one single structure (of differing scales, but essentially quite compact).  I now understood why the guidebooks suggest allowing 1-2 hours each for some of the main temples!

·         The temples of Cambodia are spread out over a much wider area than Bagan (I didn’t visit the farthest out, as they were several hours drive).  This meant that, although it is possible to cycle around Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, alternative transport (Tuk Tuk) is required for the rest.  Even Angkor is several kilometres (along a fairly busy road) from Siem Reap town.

·         Angkor is very picturesque, on account of it being in the middle of the jungle: the roads that I rode through (in my Tuk Tuk) were lined with trees, and many of the temples were accessed down pleasant paths of greenery.  (Often, these pleasant walks were accompanied by an incredibly loud chorus of high pitched cicada noise – sometimes the volume and pitch was actually a little painful: those little insects sure can make a racket!)  The ‘flip-side of this, is that (unlike Bagan) you can’t see from one temple to the next – so you don’t get the panoramic views of temples dotted around the landscape. 

·         As with Bagan, there are the famous sun-rise and sun-set spots; but unfortunately, the days I was there were not really clear enough for any dramatic displays of light.

So, essentially what I found was that you can’t really compare the two places.  Yes, Siem Reap and Bagan are both home to thousands of old temples and ruins, but that is where the similarities end!

I had three days in Siem Reap, and spent the first two dedicated to some serious temple check-list completion.  By day three, I decided I couldn’t do anymore; so I had a relaxed and enjoyable day checking out the town itself.

I bought an illustrated guide book of the temples on my first day.  This purchase was an experience in itself, as I didn’t know where any book shops were, so went to the old market in Siem Reap (hundreds of stalls selling tourist paraphernalia).  None seemed to sell books, but all the vendors greeted me with “what do you need / how can I help you?” so eventually I asked one lady where could I find a book… Not a problem: she could get for me (of course) - just wait a few minutes.  I duly waited, and in a short time she was back with a selection of options for me.  In the meantime, I’d also been befriended by the lady at the next stall with the nice scarves… I selected a book (and a few scarves), and attempted to bargain a little.  I didn’t feel in a strong position: I needed a book, and I couldn’t afford to waste more time looking elsewhere!  Finally, I made my purchase (it wasn’t too expensive), and was on my way J

I spent the next two days in varying states of bafflement while trying to follow the written guide’s tours around the complexes:

·         For a start, the headings were usually based on compass directions, and I found great difficulty determining where was North-South-East and West.  This was very frustrating, as I think I’m usually not too bad with this, but I really did struggle – trying to check the sun direction.  (Dad has since pointed out to me that, (1) Cambodia is Northern hemisphere, so the sun would be in the south at midday – which while I am aware of in theory, isn’t instinctive for me, but (2) actually it’s nearly on the equator, so in the middle of the day the sun is just directly overhead – not north or south).

·         The directions just became more complex from there: “at the south-facing side of the north-wall of the third gate, turn left 50 metres and look to your right; high up above the lintel you will see a very fine example of  dancing apsara (goddess)”…  I admit; I did make that specific example up… but they were (nearly) that obtuse.

·         Regardless of that, the book was still worth having, as it gave me at least some idea of what I was looking at.

Day ONE

On my first day of sightseeing I met my Tuk Tuk driver, who was very lovely, but spoke basically no English: so while we smiled and gestured to each other for the next two days, communication was somewhat limited!

I started with the Roluos group (one of the oldest groups, dating from the 9^th century – older than Angkor).  The guidebooks suggested seeing these first in order to get an appreciation of the progression of architectural styles – probably a little lost on me; but it seemed as logical an itinerary as any!  I visited Preah Ko and Bakong, skipping the third temple in the group (Lolei) to save time.  Bakong is a five-terraced pyramid in the ‘mountain temple’ style… the first of MANY sets of stairs I would have to climb!

At some of the temples, the stairs were near vertical; reaching the top felt like an achievement!

In the afternoon, I visited the temples of the ‘Grand Circuit’- a well-worn path of temples outside of the walls of Angkor Thom:

·         Preah Khan is a large and somewhat crumbling complex, being partially overgrown by trees – similar to the more famous ‘Ta Prohm’ (the Indiana Jones one) – but a little less overcrowded.  The areas within the walls were cool and the surrounding trees very pleasant.  I quite liked this one!

·         Neak Pean was accessed along a long wooden boardway between mangroves (or at least, trees growing out of the water!): very picturesque.  The actual ‘temple’ was a bit underwhelming: it is situated in the middle of a pond, with four smaller ponds around it.  I thought this sounded interesting, but in actual fact it’s hard to get a good perspective on it, as you are not allowed any further than a fence along one side of the pools – the postcard images from above look more impressive.

·         Ta Som is a smaller temple, with the most impressive feature being the east gopura (entrance); which is almost wholly enveloped and supported by a huge tree.  There was also a cute girl selling souvenir postcards; I asked how many languages she could speak and she said TEN!  (Although only for counting: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10)

·       I finished the day at Pre Rup: a temple-mountain which is a favourite spot for ‘viewing sunset into the jungles and rice paddies of the Cambodian countryside’. 

I chose this one, on the basis that the more famous Phnom Bakeng sounded awful (from the descriptions I’d read online it would be highly overcrowded).  I met a guy at Pre Rup who had ‘attempted’ to get to Phnom Bakeng the day before – he said they arrived well before sunset, and already there was a queue of people about 100-deep trying to climb the stairs to the top terraces; it sounded like the entire area was packed with thousands of people – I was glad I didn’t go. 

Pre Rup is also a well-known sunset spot, so was pretty crowded in itself.  I managed to find myself a spot where I wouldn’t have anyone in front of me… to do this; I had to perch on a ledge in front of a statue (slightly precarious, and not completely comfortable!)  The sunset was a non-event: lots of cloud, and no sun… the people viewing was more interesting: the terrace below me was packed with tourists and hawkers – selling all kinds of crappy souvenirs (does anyone buy these things?)  A group of young guys beside me suggested the vendors would be more profitable selling beers… the next thing I know, their request was met with cold beer delivered up to them by an enterprising young woman!

Day TWO

On day 2, I left early (5am) to join the masses for sunrise at Angkor Wat.  There are pools of water in front of the main temple complex, and the best view is from the left hand side pool, behind the water, (so that you can watch the sunrise, and see the temple reflected in the water).  With so many other people jostling for a spot I literally stood in the muddy edges of the water in order to avoid being crowded out.  As expected, there was a coffee delivery enterprise available: hot, strong and sweet - much needed at that time of the morning!  The sunrise wasn’t the most spectacular – the sky gradually lightened, but I didn’t really see the sun, however I thought the colours were quite pretty, as were the reflections in the water.

After sunrise I did a quick walk through Angkor Wat; it was really quiet at that time of the morning, cool and rather pleasant.  The whole complex is rather large, and a bit hard to take in (particularly after such an early start, and before breakfast!) so I decided to depart, and come back later in the day.

Breakfast was at one of the highly-overpriced food stalls within Angkor Thom.  There are many options, but I was directed to the one owned by the sister of my Tuk Tuk driver (I figured they’d all be similar, so didn’t argue the point!)

After breakfast, I started on the itinerary of the day: Angkor Thom and the little circuit.  To be honest, with the early start and the heat I really struggled throughout the day, and didn’t enjoy all of it as much as I perhaps should have.  The crowds were far worse than my first day (this is the most popular route, with the most famous of the temples), and the hawkers were more prevalent (I didn’t find them unpleasant, but it was occasionally hard to keep a friendly demeanour when I just wanted to be left alone for a bit!)

·         Bayon, the famous one with all the giant stone faces.  The walls of the temple are covered in quite amazing carvings (though I probably spent too long looking at these, and got carving-fatigue!)  There were masses of people, and I spent a rather long time watching various tourists get their photographs taken with a group of very bored looking performers in traditional Cambodian dance dress (a couple of them were barely able to crack a smile for the photos!)

·         Royal Enclosure & Phimeanakas – Terrace of the Elephants – Terrace of the Leper King Impressive carvings, but I think In may have been feeling a little hot and tired…

·         Ta Keo: I was feeling very tired at this point and considered going back to the hotel to rest (but decided I didn’t really have time).  So this temple was my ‘last stop before a well-deserved lunch break’!  Actually, it was probably worth going just to ascend the ridiculously steep stairs… my thighs must have been getting a workout from all the temples requiring energetic ascents!

My lunch ‘break’ at one of the many restaurants outside Ta Prohm was not completely relaxing.  I was really tired, and just wanted to sit back, rest and write a few postcards: but it was not to be!  I was firstly approached at my table by several hawkers.  When I made it clear that I wasn’t buying they stopped trying to sell, and instead three of the kids became fascinated with my writing… because they use the Khmer alphabet (script), so my writing was very different!  The three of them were almost on top of me, as they leaned over to get a better look!

·         Ta Prohm is the famous Tomb Raider temple: crumbling buildings overgrown by strangler fig trees.  It is quite an amazing sight.  Although the ruins are fantastic, there are many places where the temple is not so much crumbling, as already crumbled (into massive piles of stone block and rubble).  In some places, there were heavy duty wires holding the walls into places, and many danger signs, alerting of restricted areas where collapse is evident.  The authorities have started doing restoration work around the temple, which means that some of the trees have been cleared, and wooden boardwalks have been put in: so who knows what it will look like in a few years (hopefully they can retain some of the ‘captured by the forest’ feel).

Being one of the most famous temples, this place was overrun with tour groups.  Particularly annoying, were the large Asian groups hogging all of the ‘best photo spots’, talking loudly, and generally distracting from any sense of peace or awe!  Although it was amazing, I think I preferred Preah Khan the day before.

·         Angkor Wat – Again!  I returned to Angkor at the end of the day; in theory to explore properly.  I did spend some time admiring the bas relief scenes of ‘various mythological stories and historic events’ (impressive).  But I didn’t allow myself enough time inside the main complex: and arrived only to find that they closed off the top levels well before sun down!  So, I can say I’ve been to Angkor Wat… but I never reached the top!  Overall, I found Angkor Wat more impressive from a distance – the famous silhouette against the lightening sky in the morning.  It was just too big to really appreciate from inside.

I stayed for sunset, but it was again another non-event, so I headed home to collapse in my room!

Siem Reap town

I made a couple of excursions into the centre of Siem Reap town… it seemed a nice compact centre, with a similar offering and feel to many of the other SE Asian tourist towns I’ve visited – They all have a mind-blowing selection of cafes, restaurants and bars catering to all tastes, have generally been beautified more than your average Asian city, and (the obvious giveaway) are filled with tourists.  Siem Reap isn’t as pretty as Luang Prabang or Hoi An, but it’s not a bad place to hang out for a day or so (while recovering from temple exhaustion).  The night market is small, but nice to browse, and the street-side eating establishments multiply in the evening. 

I enjoyed a Khmer BBQ one evening; where I cooked my own food at the table: the noodles and vegetables were cooked in a broth, and the meat was grilled directly on the heated pan.  As a bonus, I was sitting next to a couple of English women who had established a charity to help kids from orphanages find a vocation (something that was apparently missing previously, leading to problems when the kids reached an age where they need to leave the orphanage, but had nowhere to go).  They now worked with a range of other charities I think trying to assist setting up programs, and provide some form of integration.

Around Siem Reap, there were a lot of ‘good cause’ shops, selling some quite nice handicrafts.  There was also evidence of some of the outcomes of the war: I bought a book from an itinerant book vendor who had lost both of his arms due to a land mine explosion – there were several others like him, selling books, art and so on.  So while it was very easy to eat my ‘Lonely Planet recommended tasting platter from Angkor Palm restaurant’ or indulge in a fruit smoothie there were reminders that life for many has been irreversibly changed by (relatively recent) history.

And so I had to leave…

To get to Hanoi (to meet Mum and Dad) I had yet another crazy routing: Late flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok – Overnight at an airport hotel – Early flight to Hanoi.

‘Reason’: When originally planning my SE Asian travels, I intended to do a ‘loop’ around Thailand-Laos-Cambodia and back to Thailand.  Then, fly to Hanoi about 4 days ahead of Mum and Dad, in order to visit Sapa (Northern Vietnam – which we wouldn’t have time for).  Of course, what happened is that I ran out of time, and had to reschedule all my flights… but it was still cheaper to get to Hanoi via Bangkok (rather than the very expensive direct options). 

As a result, I made it to Hanoi (on about 4 hours sleep), and needed a few hours of midday siesta before I could brave the motorcycle-madness on the streets… but that’s a story for another blog entry J

Merry Christmas All!

I can’t believe that the year is nearly over, and thus, my travel adventures must also come to an end: I return to Melbourne on 8-January.

I’ve had an amazing year; seen some incredible places, done some really fun things, and eaten lots of really good food! 

Back in March, I was slightly nervous about heading out on my own; imaging that it could be a very lonely experience.  Instead, over the past 10 months I have been overwhelmed by the friendliness and kindness of the wonderful people I have met (whom I hope will remain life-long friends).  Your generosity has been amazing, and I can’t begin to thank you for making my travels such a fantastic experience.

My travel blog still requires a bit of ‘catch-up’ (I am working on it…!), but to re-cap I have managed a very ‘interesting’ (some may suggest illogical) path around:

Australia (Melbourne) – Hong Kong – Nepal – Hong Kong – Turkey – Greece – Italy – Ireland – London (UK) – Portugal – Seville (Spain) – Morocco – London – Scotland (including Shetland & Orkney) – Lakes District (UK) – London – Thailand – Myanmar – Thailand – Laos – Cambodia – Vietnam –

I now have just two weeks left, and will try to visit my sister Lia in Indonesia (she came to live with our family on an AFS exchange program… and it’s been more than 15 years since we’ve seen each other – a lot to catch up on!)

For the past couple of weeks, I have been travelling around Vietnam with Mum and Dad.  We are now in Saigon, where they appear to have embraced Christmas as a warm-up to their big party at Tet (New Year)…

Christmas Eve was absolutely INSANE:  Mum, Dad and I walked up to the Notre Dame cathedral - the streets were at a stand-still... people and motorbikes everywhere!  There were people out on the streets and filling all the bars until well into the early hours (by which time we were back in our hotel room, being 'serenaded' by Christmas carols from the street below).

This morning, mum got creative; and brought up a Christmas tree image on our in-room computer, we arranged our single gift (from the hotel), and I played ‘Snoopy’s Christmas’ via YouTube - Dad thought this might just be the silliest Christmas ever!!!

(Actually, I was very spoilt, and although we weren’t supposed to be doing Christmas gifts, Mum and Dad have given me a beautiful cook book ‘Taste of Vietnam’ – I can’t wait to get back home to try recreating some of the things I’ve tasted).

I truly know that I am ‘travelling’, as I started the day doing my washing in the hotel bath, rather than going for my usual Christmas Day run (which was vetoed on the basis that running around the streets here would be like playing dodgems with the motorbikes, not my idea of a fun time!)

Each time I have moved on in my travels it has been really hard to say goodbye to the new friends I have had to leave behind.  And so, as I look forward to going home to see all my old friends, I also hope one-day to cross paths with the rest of you (if you are ever heading in the direction of Melbourne you know who to call!).

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Christmas wherever you are.

Much love,

Laura xxx

Searching for the X-Factor in Laos

And so, I left Thailand (for the second time), to cross into Laos.  I had high expectations: I’d met numerous people for whom Laos was their favourite South East Asian destination.

For the first week, I think I was searching for what it is that makes Laos top other people’s lists.  After 11 days (again – really too short), I’m not sure that I found that ‘X-factor’ … It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it; in fact, I had a wonderful time:

·      The people are friendly, and are often keen to practice their English (English seems to be fairly widely taught in the cities, especially in the monastery schools).

·         The countryside is very pretty.  Around the southern region the features include some impressive waterfalls (they definitely beat the Victoria-Australia attempts hands-down!)

·         The food has been generally fabulous: a lot of similarities with some of the familiar Thai-food, but also some new delights (the French influence has left a legacy of pretty good baguettes – usually filled with pate/pork and fresh herbs: much better than the typical Asian bread!)

·         The architecture in some of the cities (in particular Luang Prabang) is lovely: a mixture of traditional Lao and French-colonial.  Also, there are no ‘big cities’ (Vientiane is just over 200,000), so they have a relaxed small-town feel.

·         It’s a very easy country to travel around; having a well-established tourist circuit.  While this can sometimes make travel less ‘eventful’ it is good when trying to cover a lot of the country in a short time!

·         I’ve met lots of other travellers, and haven’t had to eat too many dinners on my own (my least favourite part of solo-travel).

Arrival

I travelled into Laos on a (aforementioned ‘easy/boring’) VIP transfer package organised through my hostel in Chiang Mai.  This transfer included transport from Chiang Mai, across the border into Laos, accommodation for the first night, and then travel on the slow boat down-river to Luang Prabang.  While this might not have been an adventurous way to negotiate the transportation it was still an effective introduction into Lao-culture and ‘Lao-time’:

·         On the Thai-side, the transfer was fairly straightforward: pick-up from hostel (it was about 30 minutes late, but that seemed to be ‘par for the course’), drive to Chiang Khong (a few bumpy stretches of road, but otherwise comfortable).  Delivery to the border and a very short longboat ride across the Mekong to Huay Xai in Laos.

·         On the Laos side I had to fill in my Visa on Arrival forms.  It was all very straightforward – but the process seemed a bit messy: once you’d handed over your passport you simply had to loiter around the window until you were called back to receive the completed Visa and pay your money.  I’d opted for the border transfer in the afternoon, so there weren’t many people around… however I understand that it can be quite busy in the morning; in which case, I imagine it could feel a bit chaotic.

·         After entering Laos, we’d all been told that there would be someone waiting for us to take us to our pre-booked accommodation… there were about ten of us milling around wondering where exactly we were supposed to go…  After about 10 minutes, a woman swept past, waved a hand, and we all dutifully followed her in a Pied Piper-like fashion.  Myself and two others were dropped at a guest house, and told “I’ll be back at 8:30am – maybe”, and that was it - (Maybe?! – I would have liked a little more information!)

Huay Xai was not a particularly inspiring town – it has one dusty main road lined with small shops all selling the same things (supplies for the 2-day slow boat ride to Luang Prabang), guesthouses, and a few restaurants. 

When I say ‘supplies’ for the journey I am referring to sandwiches, fruit, snacks, drinks.  Also, cushions for the boat in a range of horrendous toddler-oriented designs.  There were also bottles of Lao whiskey with snakes/scorpions inside the bottle (I later discovered these are everywhere in Lao – I am unsure whether anyone actually drinks them *Perish the thought!)   According to the two guys in my hostel there were also other substances on offer to make the journey more enjoyable (I missed out on this proposition).

Huay Xai felt a lot poorer than where I had come from in Thailand – I later read in the Lonely Planet that Laos is one of the 20 poorest countries globally (though checking on the internet it seems that it may have lifted slightly - though not significantly - up the rankings).  My guesthouse for the night was fine, and I found myself eating dinner at one of the tourist-oriented restaurants in town (which meant I had company, joining another couple who had been on the bus with me from Chiang Mai). 

 

·         The next morning, we three were waiting outside, not entirely sure what to do: should we get breakfast? (We thought it was included).  After pestering the guest house owners with 1001 questions, he rang ‘our lady’ – she was ‘coming soon’…   We did indeed get breakfast dropped off to us – and were again told “I’ll be back about 10am” (What time does the ferry leave – who knew?)  Further waiting, and another 30minutes past the promised time, and someone came back to take us 100m down the road to another office.  More milling around (with a larger group of people).  Then onto a vehicle for a short drive.  Another stop.  More milling.  We had to hand over our passports.  Eventually tickets received, we trooped down to the ferry…

·         I had read many things online and in the guide books about what time the ferry was scheduled to leave: 8am/ 9am/ 11am/ 12noon/ when it was full (or possibly over-full)… In the end, I think we left around 11:30 – and I think the departure time is essentially ‘whenever the agency-booked passengers are all aboard’.

The slow boat

The boat itself was a pleasant surprise.  I’d read that you must bring your own cushion (which I dutifully did) – so I was envisaging sitting on the deck of the boat, or on hard seats for two days.  In fact, there were padded seats: they appeared to have been sawn out of the front of a random selection of old cars.  I’d also read that they sometimes overfilled the boat, and the overflow passengers would be forced to sit in the (hot, noisy, smelly) engine room.  Again, this was not the case; we even had allocated seat numbers – though these were generally taken to be a ‘suggestion’ – rather than a rule).

As a way to travel, the two days on the boat was quite pleasant.  It was a smooth journey (much more comfortable than a bumpy bus journey) and a nice companionable environment.  I did hear stories from other people about the loud bunch of young English backpackers, who played loud music, rowdy drinking games, and were generally a bit over-much to co-inhabit with!  Our boat was pretty tame: there were a few cans of Beer Lao consumed, and reasonably quiet games to pass the time.

At the end of the first day, the slow boat stops overnight at Pak Beng.  The guidebooks make this place sound like a ‘necessary evil’ in the journey – just a place to rest your head, in an range of not-very-desirable accommodation options, before escaping back to the boat the next day.  So; I wasn’t expecting much. 

There are lots of stories about accommodation scams in Pak Beng – so the advice is NOT to book in advance.  This results in a scrum of 80-100 tourists alighting the boat, to be accosted with touts from every place in town holding boards showing pictures of their ‘nice / cheap rooms’… The few I glanced at all looked the same: washed out colour images of generic rooms – I had no idea how to select a place.  Feeling a little unsure and alone, I opted for the approach of ‘walk past the first offerings, in the hopes that those at the back might have something better on offer’ so I scrambled on up the bank.

(My experience of Lao ferry piers is that they are all designed the same way – or rather, there is no design – Such that you have to negotiate across unsteady boats or floating platforms, scramble up steep slopes of mud, sand or gravel, and generally cover the most difficult and treacherous path.  This is all while saddled with a heavy pack, and probably wearing unsuitable shoes like jandals – decreasing my already questionable stability.)

As it turned out, by complete coincidence my accommodation approach kind-of worked: one woman was standing rather quietly – rather than hassling for business.  Her accommodation looked to be superior to some of the others (the price was higher to match!)  She did drop the initial price for me, and, - proving that I am a hopeless budget traveller – I decided take the offer.  (When I say ‘higher price’ I paid 300Baht, $10, compared to the 200Baht a lot of the other places were offering; cheaper obviously if you had a roommate to share with).  The place I ended up in was new, and one of the nicest rooms I have stayed in: a thatched bungalow, built out on the side of the hill overlooking the river, a modern, clean bathroom (hot water) and large bed.  It really was a pity I was only there for one night (although, as I discovered, Pak Beng gets quite cold at night, and the thatched walls were not exactly sealed – it was actually freezing, and I had to raid the cupboard for extra blankets). 

At night, the town of Pak Beng was quite pleasant.  It was small, and lined with restaurants, cafes (and one bar), all catering to the influx of overnight travellers off the boats each day.  I met Joe (Austrian) and Martin (German) and we enjoyed a pleasant dinner, followed by a failed attempt at dessert when the electricity failed (thus apparently preventing the ability of the kitchen to cook without any light).  Joe was heading in a different direction the next day, but Martin and I shared the boat on to Luang Prabang and another few meals before our paths took us in different directions around the country.

 

Luang Prabang: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Luang Prabang was an architectural delight: traditional wooden buildings, old French colonial architecture, ornate temples (a lot in a very small area), and lots of inviting looking cafes, restaurants and wine bars.  It was especially attractive at night, when all the buildings were lit with colourful lanterns, and many of the trees festooned in fairy lights.  There was a busy night market filled with handicrafts, and a market food-street packed with bargain seeking travellers, loading their plates with cheap all-you-can-eat buffet food and BBQ’d meat.  All-in-all, it is a very attractive, comfortable town, and it was easy to see why it is such a popular place to spend a few days (or more).

 

The activity highlight for me in Luang Prabang was doing (another) cooking class.  I hadn’t intended to do one in Laos – having already done so in Chiang Mai, and fully intending to in Vietnam.  However, one afternoon I stopped for lunch at Tamarind restaurant – choosing a sample platter of Laos ‘bites’.  The food was fantastic: and actually very different from my expectations (showcasing different flavours and a different style of eating compared to what I’d encountered in Thailand).  It was so good, I went inside and signed up for their cooking class the next day… And I am so glad I did.  I think there were ten of us, and I always find it fun hanging out with people who are as fixated on their food as me.  First up, we went to the local market – I always enjoy this bit, as there are so many weird and different things available. 

·         A few years ago, I remember watching Luke Nguyen (Australian/Vietnamese chef) on his tour of Vietnam show.  He was eating an egg, containing an unhatched chick “I get the crunch of the beak… Oh, there is a feather” – It made me cringe at the time, and it’s not something I’m keen to try… These fertilised eggs were on sale all through the Luang Prabang market, with a number coding system – I am not sure if this relates to the development state of the chick, but “3” is apparently good.

·         There were many bowls of bright-red squares of congealed blood (for making sausages).

·         A woman was smoking a rat over a fire: it was the whole animal, but appeared to have been almost completely dried.  Our chef asked who wanted to cook rat later – Daniel said he would – though we all assumed that the chef was joking…

After the market, we were driven out of town, to the most gorgeous setting: a series of thatch-roofed open huts, in a tropical garden setting, with ornamental pools.  Our work benches, charcoal fires, and dining table were all set-up under these, and the view as we worked (and ate) was pretty special.

The selection of dishes we prepared was a little different compared to the Thai cooking in Chiang Mai.  A couple of the dishes were a little more intricate (stuffing minced chicken into a lemongrass stem was rather fiddly – I think I ‘failed’ this one!) and when we got to the Luang Prabang stew the dried rat was produced (alternate options were pork or buffalo)!   All the food we created was tasty, and dining at the end was very enjoyable.  Daniel is a professional blogger, and performed a very amusing monologue onto video before tasting his rat stew: “the smell is making me nauseous, here goes… actually it’s not too bad – would anyone else like to try?” (Overwhelming silence ensued).  Ok – so I didn’t want to perform to the camera; but actually, I did try the rat… It didn’t smell bad (poetic hyperbole was being utilised), and the taste wasn’t terrible either: it had a more distinctly ‘animal’ flavour than other meats (I’d compare it to the animal-flavour in goats cheese compared to cow cheese).  I wouldn’t say that it was my pick of the meats (and in fact, there was relatively little meat on the bone), but it was ok.

The other highlight for me in Luang Prabang was assisting some of the young guys who were learning English.  I spent about 2 hours one evening talking to one of the staff at my guest house.  This was a part time job for him; he was studying English at university and had an oral presentation to give in a few days – he practised on me, and we talked about different ways to construct sentences (I hope I was of some help!)  Another day, I went to ‘Big Brother Mouse’; an organisation that publishes books in Lao and English to distribute throughout the country.  They also host a 2-hour session every morning during which foreigners can come and volunteer their time to help with English language.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was ultimately paired with two guys who had been attending these sessions for some time… they had pretty good English, and just wanted practice.  Basically, we just spent 2 hours chatting about nothing-in-particular (I was somewhat challenged by their questions on grammar and spelling!)

VIP? Travel

From Luang Prabang, I took an overnight ‘VIP’ bus to Vientiane (a journey of about 11 hours).  As-always in Asia, the bus wasn’t exactly what was advertised (I think the pictures may have been taken when the bus was about 10 years younger…) Nevertheless, it was ok: just a standard bus – not new, but not in total disrepair either. 

Once we were all on-board we set off - only to stop about five minutes in, after hearing what sounded like breaking glass… I have no idea if the noise was inside or outside, I never discovered the cause, and though it didn’t seem like a great start we set off again after a few minutes.  Not so long after, the driver apparently decided we needed some music to accompany our attempts at sleep.  Now, I don’t object to music per-se… not even Asian-pop if that’s what it has to be… but this was being played at such a volume that (not only was it impossible to tune out) it was actually painful.  The bus was predominantly filled with Western foreigners, and I think we were all like “Are you serious? / You have to be joking?… this is (sort of) amusing in a when will it be over? kind-of way”.  Next thing we know, there was yelling from an Asian woman on the bus – it didn’t sound like a very civil discussion – but the music was stopped! 

The remainder of the journey wasn’t so eventful: I did wonder initially if we would ever make it to our destination – the bus seemed to be crawling at a snail-pace along the dark, narrow, winding roads (I admit, slow progression was probably infinitely more desirable than a breakneck pace through these roads).  At about 1am we stopped for ‘dinner’ (the halfway point) – and all of us bleary eyed travellers piled off for our bowl of noddle soup (it was pretty good, even if it was a weird time to be eating).  I did sleep for a good portion of the way, and arrived in Vientiane feeling remarkably good.

Where I didn’t go

I should say – that most travellers en route from Luang Prabang to Vientiane stop at Vang Vieng.  I did not.  In fact, I was very resolute that I was completely AVOIDING the place.  Vang Vieng is where all the backpackers go tubing; in a fashion that sounds like a series of nightclubs on the water: loud music, drinks, and then further floating downriver to the next such place.  I’m afraid that I really couldn’t think of anything worse than that scene – so I avoided the location completely.  I did speak to a few other travellers before, (and several more since) who say that it is a beautiful part of the country.  It is possible to enjoy the scenery, go kayaking, and generally enjoy the region without going anywhere near the party-crowd.  Having said that, I had limited time in Laos, and couldn’t go everywhere – so I don’t have any regrets about my decision (other than wishing for more time!)

The Capital city

The streets of Vientiane had a distinctly French feel (more so than Luang Prabang) – in the architecture, the landscaping, fountain squares – but even more so in the sheer number of French restaurants and wine bars.  The city also has its very own Arc de Triumphe monument: the Patuxai monument sits in the middle of a roundabout (with rather a lot least traffic volume than the Paris equivalent).  I wouldn’t say it is an exciting city – there is not a lot to ‘do’ or ‘see’ – but it is pleasant, and had a very small-town feel.  This surprised me, until I looked up the stats and found that the population is only just over 750,000.  If this is the biggest city, in a country of around 7 million people, the population is truly spread out throughout the countryside.

 

Another bus journey

My next bus journey was from Vientiane to Pakse; another 10-11 hours, but this time on a sleeper bus.  I’d seen pictures, but wasn’t getting my hopes up after the last experience!  After pick-up from my guest house, I arrived at the bus station to at least 20 different buses of different sizes, and different levels of Over-The-Top external décor… some of the buses were fully decked with glowing neon lights – like some kind of nightclub on wheels (I wanted to travel on one of THOSE!)  I got my wish… “King of Bus” (my company) had glowing neon lights illuminating the rear end, an electronic WELCOME positioned in the front windscreen and around half a dozen fluffy stuffed toys hanging in the front to complete the look.  Inside, the berths were quite comfortable; raised platforms, with soft mattresses, pillows, blankets, space to place your shoes and bags.  However, two seats were one mattress – about the width of a king single bed – I was sharing with a (typically tiny) Asian lady, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be any bigger… I could just stretch out from end-to-end, and I spent the night trying not to move too much for fear of disturbing (or squashing) my neighbour.  I was the window side, so every time I wanted to get up (which was a few, as I was restless), I had to perform a series of acrobatics to climb over my bed buddy!  I think I slept better on the standard bus seats on the LP-Vientiane bus!

 

Bolaven Plateau

I arrived into Pakse at 7am, and headed straight to a couple of travel agencies.  Pakse is close to the Bolaven plateau: an area of scenic bush, ‘countless’ waterless (so says Wiki!), hill tribe villages and coffee and tea plantations.  I was interested in doing a trek for 1-2 days, but I was unable to find any groups that I could join (and while it would have been possible to arrange a guide on my own, it would have been more expensive and less fun)…  So, instead I signed up for a day trip around the region (including all the aforementioned ‘key sights’).  Just after 8am, (and still feeling a little hot and smelly from the bus journey) I was on-board a minibus with 10 other travellers.

I usually have mixed feelings about day trips – and this one was no exception.  It was a good way to see a little of the region in a short time, and it was fun being with a group of companions, but of course you only get a superficial appreciation of the region.  The coffee and tea plantations we saw were not particularly exciting, but the three waterfalls we went to were all worthwhile stops in picturesque locations.  The hill tribe village felt remarkably ‘real’ considering they had a big bunch of foreigners trooping through, taking pictures.

 

At the end of the day tour, I agreed to join forces with two of the others for a morning trip to Wat Phu, a ruined temple complex on a hill upriver from Pakse (to be fair, it could be downriver...)  I hadn’t intended to visit this site (I’ve seen just about enough temples, and still had Angkor Wat to come).  But I was told that it was in a picturesque location, with good views of the surrounding area.  Also, Nok and I would then travel onwards together to my next intended stop; Si Phan Don (Four Thousands Islands). 

At Wat Phu, initially, you reach two ruined pavilions.  It was hot, in full sun, and I was really not excited.  However, you then climb up some very steep steps, and reach a cool oasis; hidden in the trees from below.  There is a small temple complex, some rock carvings, and a Buddha footprint.  But mostly, it was just a beautiful small plateau up the hill, shaded with palms and Jacaranda trees, with flowering hibiscus adding a splash of colour.  It was a really nice place to sit and relax.  There was a group of young monks, and one came to talk with me; he spoke good English –he once had a teacher from New Zealand!

 

After leaving Wat Phu, Nok and I were dropped at the ‘bus stop’ to catch the local bus to Ban Nakasang for the Four Thousand Islands.  The ‘bus stop’ was a road intersection; meaning we would be required to flag down the bus.  I wouldn’t have attempted this without Nok, but I was lucky: Nok hails from Thailand, and can therefore understand Lao, and read some of the Lao alphabet (apparently they are not exactly the same, but similar).  According to the locals, the buses should come through every hour – we must have just missed one, because I think we waited the full hour.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from a ‘local bus’; I was assuming some small, overcrowded beat-up bus.  Actually, the vehicle we took was a pick-up (truck with bench seating down each side of the trailer, and fully canopied).  It wasn’t particularly crowded, though we did have to fold our legs around boxes of floor tiles, bags full of clothing, a few watermelons and a number of 20L paint pails.  There were five bags containing (live) small fish hanging from the rear of the front cabin.  So, it wasn’t actually a bad journey; plenty of fresh air, and though my legs did start to cramp after a few hours some of the passengers did alight, giving us a chance to move around.  My only concern was whether the ferries would still be running out to the islands (it was getting dark).  Again, things all went pretty smoothly; we walked down to the pier, got straight onto a boat, and motored the short distance out to the island of Don Det under a spectacular setting sun.

 

Si Phan Don (Four Thousand) Islands

I spent two days on the islands (the first night on Don Det, then I moved for two nights on Don Khone - a neighbouring island, joined to Don Det by a bridge). 

The first morning, Nok and I hired bicycles to see the Somphamit waterfalls on Don Khone.  The falls were quite impressive, but the rural scenery was even more pleasant; rice fields, buffalo, geese, small villages, and local people going about their morning tasks.  Nok had to leave mid-morning, but I continued to explore around Don Khone (much larger than Don Det, with narrow, bumpy tracks through the trees and between the fields).  In the afternoon, I fell asleep in my hammock on my porch, before checking out sunset from the bridge.  I then managed my first real ‘injury’ of my trip: stumbling down the stairs, twisting one ankle, and taking a rather large area of skin of the big toe on the other foot… Feeling very sorry for myself, (particularly since I had no one to provide me with sympathy) I retired home to tend to my wounds.

On my second day I went on a kayaking tour.  I found myself in a group with another two travellers whom I had met a few days before in Pakse.  Esther and I acquired ourselves a double kayak, and enjoyed the scenery, and the chance to do something a bit more physically active (it was by no means difficult waters, but at the end of the day I was rather tired).  We saw the Irrawaddy dolphins as they surfaced and dived (albeit briefly, and from a bit of a distance), and finished up at the Khone Phapheng waterfalls; the biggest in South East Asia (we didn’t quite extend ourselves to kayaking this section!)  Even by Lao standards, the tour organisation was TERRIBLE!  It took about two hours to get going in the morning (you’d have thought that a daily tour operation would have equipment arrangements down to a smooth operation?), there was no explanation or instruction from the guides, and for some weird reason they insisted on hanging out the back of the group for the first kayaking section – meaning Esther and I actually overshot a stop at one point – and had to drift until the others caught us up.  Fortunately, being out on the water was lovely (though hot in the sun), so overall, the day was enjoyable.

As far as islands go, Si Phan Don is a scenic area.  I did find it weird being on an island without a beach (there are a couple of places where swimming is possible, but not many).  The north end of Don Det is a veritable backpacker’s ghetto of cheap guesthouses, restaurants and travel agencies (it felt very much like Khao San road on the beach – without the beach!).  I didn’t like it very much – though it wasn’t overly busy.  Don Khone was quieter, with more local people, a school, and rural life, however, it was less practical for ‘activity-based’ holidays (I was charged a premium to transfer me to Don Det for the kayaking).  In between, the South-East side of Don Det looked a little less-ghetto, more quiet bungalows (I didn’t stay around there, but it looked pleasant). 

 

The X-factor?

So, as I said… I think Laos is lovely.  I just don’t know that it would stand out as the number one destination…  But the more I think about it, the more I think that Lao does make a good ‘package’.  There is something for everyone, and although I would probably pick other countries for certain aspects (Thailand for food and beaches, Myanmar for people), Lao does deliver all that you could want in a small area.  I would love to go back and see more – particularly outside of the city areas (although I say that about everywhere I go).