Goodbye SE Asia-150 days

This morning I went to Tesco by motor bike taxi.
The driver took his 3 year old son along with us who simply stood between his legs and spent the whole time babbling away.
I was smiling all the way there at how normal this sort of thing has become.

The past couple of days have been lovely and hot and I have been by the pool all day chatting with various people.
So many people I talk to have been on mega trips, I spoke to a couple this morning who left UK 6 months ago and have been to South America (which I must say sounds fab from every one who has been there)  and then got married last month on a beach in S Thailand (before the rains).

I saw all the photos including the ones of her hen night spent on Phi Phi island, oh what fun they had.
They now plan to spend a year in Australia.

There are so many others on really long trips, its so nice to meet and speak with people who have been to the same countries I have or give me ideas of where to go next, or where I have missed this time and would like to see next time.

Before she left, Niki and I spent time chatting about travel and she has now been bitten by the bug, she hopes to be able to travel for 4 months next year.

As she left she said she was going home to a flat with a tv, 'a box in a box' is how she described it, hmmm, not far off how regular life is.
It got me thinking about my experiences here in SE Asia and what an amazing time I have had...

It all started in Thailand, the beginning of an adventure, the end of a friendship.
It was an organised trip with a varied itinerary with the highlight being my 4 days in the elephant village.

Then on to Cambodia, the start of my solo travels.
This included a trip to Phnom Penh, the place of mass torture and genocide.

And the magnificent Angkor Wat temple complex seeped in history, a truly awesome place to visit.
Another massive highlight.
The nearby villages with the glorious countryside and rich green rice paddies.
The beautiful children running barefoot and barely dressed with happy smiling faces.

Being constantly amused by the many different things being transported on a moped or bicycle.
And of course going to the beach  and meeting the lovely Frans on Christmas eve and spending Christmas and new year together, I couldn't have wished for a better time.

We then went back to Thailand, and spent 2 weeks going north to Chiang Mai and then to Kanchanaburi (where I am now)
Then on to Vietnam, arriving in the crazy Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) trying to cross the roads in between 3 million mopeds.
Every one of them beeping their horns!

The wonderful Mekong Delta trip to include the floating market and witness family life on the river boats was a great experience.
Then onto Phu Quoc island where we spent the local new year celebrations.

Back to HCMC to begin the long journey north by 'sleeper bus' they were a story of their own, people and luggage crammed in wherever there was a gap, the isles taken with boxes, sleeping bodies and plastic stools for others to sit on.
And while on the buses, the constant sound of cheesy disco mobile ring tones that always took an age to be answered, followed by  very loud conversations.

There were some very varied and interesting towns along the way, but it was not one of my favourite countries.
By the time we reached Hanoi in the north it was useasonally cold and so I made my exit.

Within an hour I was in Laos, the contrast was great.

The sky was blue, the town was beautiful and clean and the people smiled, and there were no honking of horns, bliss.
I was joined by Frans 4 days later who, never to be deterred had continued the journey north and then crossed the boarder overland.
It was then that I had my one and only bout of food poisoning but it more than made up for it.
I had the squits for 6 days.

We continued on by very iffy 'VIP' buses through beautiful countryside to other towns.
I exited across the boarder half way down the country and took an overnight train to Bangkok.
Once again Mr intrepid continued on and went right to the southern tip of Laos, meeting up with me on Ko Tao 6 days later.

The plan had been that we would meet on an island and spent 3 or 4 weeks island hopping, ending up in Langkowi, Malaysia.

However, Mother nature had other ideas, we were caught up in some of the worst rains the country has ever seen, causing all sorts of problems.
We were marooned on Ko Tao for a week and it was then we made the decision to go our separate ways.
The roads south were all but impassable, the islands were mopping up after the floods and generally it was not the beautiful scene it should have been.
And so, I said goodbye to someone and something very special.
And once more found myself a single traveller.

This last week has been one of reflection, I have had time on my own, I wonder if solo travel is so called as it can be so lonely or you can be so loving it.
At the moment I am feeling more lonely than loving it as I miss Frans.

Some of the many things about my travels to SE Asia I am am leaving behind are:

Eating every meal outside for 5 months.

Not using a hairdryer, an iron or make up.

Only wearing long sleeves, shoes and socks for 3 days out of the entire trip.

Cornettos for 30p, bungalows right on the beach for $15, nearly all my meals for under 2pds, the most expensive one was a fiver!

Rice paddies, wandering through night markets, haggling for everything and getting stuff for up to half the original price asked.
Geckos, beautiful butterflies and sandy beaches.

Endless blue skies and sunshine for the first 4 months, never having to consider what to wear, a t-shirt and shorts is the every day attire.

Hand washing in the sink at night and it all being dry by the morning.

Thai green curry, rice and noodles on every menu and chilli sauce available with every meal

Mosquitoes and putting on repellent every night-and still being bitten!

Relentless heat and forever sweating, buying copious bottles of water and paying for the Internet (as little as 20p per hour to 2.50 an hour)

I have loved having company almost every day and night and meeting total strangers and hearing amazing travel stories.
(Sorry to all the friends who said I would enjoy being alone, I don't, I much prefer to have company.)

Book swaps at the guest houses, in essence you only have to begin your travels with one book, this can be swapped for another along the way.
I have read around 15 booksandFrans must have exceeded 20.
I did buy a couple of the copied books from the street kids but Frans never did.

Good, cheap roadside food at all hours of the day and night, the smell of tiger balm.
Palm trees, coconut and banana trees.

Ladies that will wash and dry your laundry in a day for around 40p kg.

One hour massage for 3-4 pds, pedicures on the beach

Only needing to set the alarm or know the time if I was going on an early morning trip, the rest of the time it didn't matter, often not even knowing what day it was.
No work stress and never meeting anyone with any either.

Workmen with pneumatic drills wearing flip flops, small children on mopeds with no crash helmets.
Babies as young as 4 months old  in a basket on the front of a push bike.

Squatting over a hole in the floor and having Frans carry an emergency supply of tissues.
The lady boys in Thailand (many of whom work in 7 ELEVEN) many others are prostitutes, and the seemingly total acceptance of it. Indeed Asia is a non macho culture.

People- mainly men, sleeping anywhere and every where, in their tuk tuks, on the side of the roads, in hammocks, camp beds in their shops, I have even seen them asleep on motorbikes with their legs dangling over the handle bars.

This guy was asleep in the luggage store of a coach

The ease of travel, every town having endless amounts of travel agents and roadside stalls selling onward journey tickets by air, land and sea.

Internet cafes in abundance, some free in the guest houses, others full of travelers or in less touristy areas full of rowdy young boys on computer games.

The list is endless but each one holds a memory, and many a smile.

I have been reminded of the wonders of travel, the freedom, the beauty and meeting like minded people.

I have spent every day for 5 months experiencing or seeing something new.

South east Asia is a truly amazing place, would I come back? -  absolutely!
Will I come back some day?- you bet!

I will definitely be dusting off my rucksack once more i the near future in search of more amazing places and experiences.

Lisa's Travels will continue.....











.

Kanchanaburi again!

I spent last night in a room that was so hot I could barely sleep despite having the over head fan full on all night.
It was cooler on the street when I went out for breakfast.
I got the mini van at 10am to Kanchanaburi, it took a little over 2 hours.
I got chatting to a girl who has just been in Oz for 3 months and a couple of guys who are out here for 5 weeks (one Spanish and one from Manchester)
We all checked into a cheap and cheerful guest house, only 3pds for a double room.
It was really hot so the girl Bee,and myself sat in the shade and chatted.
I had forgotten how cheap everything is here as its not very touristy, its quite nice to spend my last few days being reminded.
Tomorrow I am going to use a swimming pool at a hotel just down the road and get there early to bag an umbrella, its really warming up now. Little wonder they call it 'silly season' it would drive you crazy.
Tonight I will join the others for some refreshments, it's nice to have met them as it can feel lonely especially as I have been used to having some one around for over 3 months.

Last 5 days

Due to the unforeseen weather, my plans to stay down the south of Thailand visiting a few of the islands had to be shelved.
As with thousands of others, my only thoughts were to get back onto mainland and go north.
Hence there are lots of people here re planning their trips.
I am on my last week and really don't want to stay in Bangkok for the duration.
I have pondered for a couple of days as to where to go.
I don't really want to go to another beach resort as the ones near here are expensive and if the sun doesn't shine it will be a bit boring.
So, I have decided to get a bus to Kanchanaburi tomorrow and stay there for the last few days.
I went there with Frans a couple of months ago and its a nice chilled out place with cheap places to stay.
There is a national park nearby to visit for a day and I can hire a bicycle.
It has been ok staying here as Niki and I have spent a couple of days mooching about.
Yesterday we walked through a lovely park and then to see the reclining Buddha.
It is getting so hot and humid now you find yourself heading for anywhere with air con.
Niki leaves at 6pm tonight for the UK so I have checked into a basic twin room for 410 bht (about 9pds) which is a lot for one person, and it only has a fan, no a/c
The rooms are priced per room and not per person so its half the price when there are 2 of you, and much nicer. Come back Frans!
I spoke to him on Skype a couple of days ago and he said it took him 16 hours to travel by bus to Phuket due tothe terrible flooding, it should have only taken 7hrs.
He really is an intrepid traveller, he lets nothing get in the way of his plans.
See you in the next town

Update

We awoke yesterday morning to the sounds of the supply boat being unloaded.

There were swarms of local shopkeepers and restaurant owners filling their trucks with fresh fruit and veg, crates of beer, water and many other products..
It would have taken all day as the boat was massive.
We left at 9am, it took 12 hours to get from Ko Tao island back to Bangkok.
It was nice to be back on the mainland.

The reason I decided to come north was because there are floods and more rain forecast on the southern islands and my original plan was to go to a few islands before coming back.

There are so many stories from people being stuck in floods for days, helping to fill sandbags and generally being stranded on islands.
Roads are impassable and so many places are still clearing up from all the damage.
I looked on google images of the flooding and its awful, so I really don't fancy going there now.

It seems every one has come north to Bkk as it took us an hour to find a place to stay last night.
In the internet rooms all backpackers are looking to see where the best weather is, loads of people having to change their plans.
I am still with the 2 girls, we are about to go to a massive market and Niki arrive here later today, I will stay in a room with her tonight.
Not sure of my plans yet for this week, might stay fairly local.
I have booked my flight back to UK on this Sunday 10th so I will be wanting to fill the rest of April diary with catch ups, let me know your free dates.
I will be needing the company!

Farewell Frans

Dear blog,
You have been there from the start, been the holder of all my stories good and bad, happy and now sad.

Frans left this morning on the 10.15 Catamaran.
We had our last night together in a lovely room right by the sea (we could hear it through the open window)
We had dinner and drinks together in a small restaurant by the pier over looking the fishing boats.
I went with him to the pier this morning and despite crying last night and promising myself  wouldn't today,
I did!
He gave me a crystal to hang around my neck as a parting gift.
With a massive hug a kiss and a smile he was gone.
I stood on the jetty and watched the boat as it went into the distance taking the loveliest man I have ever met away from me.
I cried loads, he has been my best friend for all this time and I will really miss him.
I smiled through my tears that  was lucky enough to have met him, but knowing that I could never have kept him.
He is a free spirit and his onward travels will go on for many a month, maybe years to come.
I must be happy that I spent so many happy days and nights with him.
We went to 4 countries together, shared 32 beds, and countless fun times, and I know that is more than many others have.
I will miss his radiant smile, he went to sleep with one and woke up with one, he never had bad moods or sulked.
He was never fazed by long uncomfortable journeys, always cracking a joke or shrugging it off as part of a travellers day.
He looked out for me and always fought my corner, he never judged me and simply liked me for who I am.
He was always up for a cuddle very open with his affections.
He shared my dislike of green peppers and raw onions and my love of champagne, carrots and sunshine.
If I went into one of my rants over something he would simply smile and kiss me.
He took everything in his stride, never complaining of being too hot or too cold, hungry or thirsty, tired or annoyed.
He has a boundless zest for life, an interest in almost everything that comes his way, I wonder if he was for real sometimes?
And, to top it all, he didn't snore and wasn't in the least bit interested in football - result!

And so, today is both a sad day that I said goodbye to this lovely man and also a day to be happy that I had the good fortune to have met him.
He has taught me a lot, I have grown in confidence and I now know it is possible to meet someone who enjoys me for who I am, I have promised myself that I won't be disrespected by a man ever again, even if that means being alone.

Hey gorgeous, travel safe wherever you may be  xxxx

Tonight I will share a room with a couple of girls and we will all get the boat in the morning (fingers crossed)and then the bus too Bangkok.
Not sure of my onward plans yet, one day at a time.

Thanks for being there dear blog, it helps to be able to share my thoughts.

Evacuation pics





Queueing at the pier



The queues

The Navy ship (4km out at sea)

The slow process, 20 people at a time onto a long tailed boat to a bigger boat then onto the aircraft carrier

3 days on from the floods and this is how the next town looked this morning, still very deep water.

Frans and I are going our seperate ways tomorrow as he still needs to do his dive course and then onto Malaysia.
We have checked into a nice hotel room for our last night together.
I feel really sad as he has become a best friend and I will miss him loads.
To spend 24/7 with someone for over 3 months is an amazing thing to do and I am not sure if it will ever happen again.
I will get a bus to Bangkok and maybe meet up with some girls that we met earlier this week.
They were going over to Ko Samet near Bangkok (where Iwas at the start of this long trip 4 months ago) so I could meet them there maybe.
The roads and floods were bad further South so Frans not sure of his route yet.
Off for a last cocktail together (or two!!)

Evacuation Navy Boat

Well, the situation here is BBC news worthy now.
The Thai government sent in an aircraft carrier this morning to get stranded people off the island.
As I have been saying, there has been constant rain for 5 days, some of it torrential for hours and hours.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12903505
As time goes by more and more stories are coming from people who were on other parts of the island about the floods, some were really bad.
We have heard that Koh Samui has no flights in or out and there have been floods there and all over Thailand.
Many shops and businesses here were totally ruined, stories of flooding 4 foot high and shop windows being blown in by the force of the water.
The main problem is that there has been no boats to or from Koh Tao for 4 days now and all supplies to the island come from the mainland.
So, shops have no fresh food, electricity is supplied by gasoline and that is running very short.
There are many places without electric all day and running on a few generators at night.
7 ELEVEN has closed as all the fridges and freezers went down and with no air con the place stank and all the fresh food was rotting. The place was in a right state.
It was chaos as locals and back packers alike were buying up supplies.

A funny story is of the night of the flooding, some English guys were floating down the main high street on li lows with beers in their hands lol!

So, back to the evacuation, around 1,500 backpackers queued this morning to be taken off the island by the one and only Thai Navy aricraft carrier.
Many of them were there from 6am as it was said the boat would leave around 9am.
Well, by midday there was still no way of getting people to the ship as the sea was too rough for small boats and winds too high for the helicopters.
There were hundreds of peple lined up along the pier and sitting on their back packs trying to shelter from the rain as far as the eye could see.
About 1pm there were a couple of small boats that started taking about 20 people at a time the 4km to the ship, it was going to be a long day.
Then the helicopters began taking women and children only to the ship.

Frans and I watched the day unfold having decided that we would stick around here for a couple more days and not be one of the many hundreds trying to leave at the same time.
As it turned out, by night fall many of the people who had waited patiently all day did not leave as they could not be transported in the dark.
There were many girls crying with frustration and many others generally pissed off and tired and now having to face findng rooms for the night and spending money they dont have.
It really is an historical event, locals saying it they have never known rain like it - even in the rainy season!

Stranded on an island!!

It rained continually all day and all night although not as heavily and so the flooding as subsided.
There are still no boats to or from the island as there are high winds and very choppy seas

It's not so bad for me as I have Frans and we are having fun regardless, but othere are here alone and worse, have connecting flights home etc.

A girl we met yesterday was supposed to be back in Ireland to start work today but she is still stuck here and so days away yet. I would imagine there are many similar stories.
It's still raining today but not as bad, the place is in a mess, roads have been washed away leaving holes every where and many shops are still closed and without electric.
We are not able to have clean towels or sheets as the store room at our resort was totally flooded through the roof, but thats a small price to pay.
Thankfully the bars and restaurants are open, however, we were wondering how long supplies would last as everything comes over from the mainland.
So, we continue to make the best  of it, most people are in good spirits.
Considering it's the first bit of bad/wet weather I have seen in over 4 months it's not really anything to complain about, and it's still warm!
Where to go from here is the next question, weather looks set to improve by Friday.

Photos of Koh Tao

Niki and I

Some of the Dignitaries before the rain really got torrential (They look happy - not)

 2 of the Turtles just before their release - How Beautiful they are

The scene looking out from under shelter, as you can see the people are soaked through

Frangipani flowers

This is the place that also has the crazy fish tanks.
It is great in the evening too.
Last night the rain finally cleared to make way for a still warm evening.
Frans and I had dinner and then came to this bar for cocktails, we sat on chill out beds on decking and watched the sea lapping the shore...it was really lovely
Today there has been no rain although its cloudy.
We have been out all day walking and laying on sun beds as it was warm.
Lets hope the sun shines again soon.

Tropical storms

OH MY GOD! 
Now I know what a real thunder storm is like.
I didn't know it was possible to rain so hard.

Last night Niki and I went out for some food and got trapped by a massive down pour.

It was too wet to sit in the bars as most of them aren't really rain proof so I bought a bottle  of wine from 7/11 and we got into our beds.
We chatted away, there was no glass so I swigged  from the bottle, so lady like.

Frans e mailed at 4.30 yesterday to say that he had just reached the port and he would be leaving on the over night ferry at 11pm, he arrived on our door step at 7am this morning with his usual lovely smile despite travelling non stop for 48hrs to get here.
We all went for breakfast and chatted and Niki left for Bangkok at 9.30am  to continue her travels.
I will miss her, we had a good time together and shared stories of some of lifes ups and downs.

She had rented a scooter yesterday and as it didnt need returning til this afternoon said Frans and I could use it.
Today was the annual celebrations for  releasing endangered sea turtles back into the water.

They were a year old and amazingly beautiful and around 14inches in length.
We got there about 10am and the rain clouds at that stage were just a grey looming threat.

An area on the  beach had been decorated with garlands of  fresh flowers and there were seats and small tables set out with parasols decorated with fresh flowers ready for the dignitaries arrival.

There were men from The Thai Tourist board, Governers, people from save the island and eco system,
The men were suited and booted and the ladies were dressed in beautiful long skirts and blouses, such was the special occasion.
Almost as soon as the garlands had been placed around their necks and they had been handed their fresh coconuts the heavens opened, boy did it rain.

So, the parasols that had meant to be there as sun shades now became umbrellas but they were made from material that wasn't water proof and so they were all getting soaked.
If they didn't get wet through the parasol then their trousers or skirts were on the receiving end of a continuous drip from the points.
I know I shouldn't have found it funny but I did.
They continued with the speeches regardless and Thai girls all dressed up in lovely outfits ran around with umbrellas trying to keep the already wet  Ladies and Gents from getting even wetter.
It absolutely poured and was not going to stop in a hurry so the show went on.

Frans and I somehow got ourselves firmly in position with some of the big wigs who were being kept drier than the rest, indeed Frans even took charge of one of the larger parasols and the 2 of us walked across the beach with him holding it over our heads.

The turtles were released, by this time every one was well and truly soaked.
The volunteers waded into the water after them and for a good half an hour directed them back out to sea when they had attempted to swim back to shore. It was wonderful to see such good work being done.

Meanwhile back at the shack.
Every one had run for a dilapidated building that was used to store stuff that had rapidly been turned into a make shift restaurant.
The table and chairs that had so lovingly been laid out on the beach with beautiful floral decorations and all the material coverings were drenched.
They were stripped of their coverings and hurriedly carried inside by lots of eager locals.

Meanwhile the dignitaries posed for photos and the tv crew.
The funniest part of it was that somehow I got myself into that group and Frans was really laughing at the fact that I was the only westerner in the annual photo shoot for a very important occasion.
I looked over to where he was standing and he pointed out that I was with the posh lot and I really laughed, I really do think the whole thing would have been caught on camera.
So, tune into Thai tv later and I may well be on it, I am sure they wouldn't have wanted to edit me out, after all I might have been some one important for all they know.

So, now we are wet through to the skin and the rain was not going to let up.
We had no choice but to get back on the scooter and drive the 4km or so back to the resort.
It was funny and lovely to be able to wrap myself around Frans and kind of use him as a shelter.
We took the bike back and that's when I found out that Niki had left her passport as a deposit!!!
She by now is on a bus to Bangkok, and I have her passport.
Whoops!

I have e mailed her and that is a story that will unfold.
Frans and I are having a lazy day reacquainting, it is 6pm and still raining but hey ho its still warm and he is here.
Happy days....

Thurs am

Yesterday it rained quite a lot, locals tell us it is very unseasonal.

Niki did a dive and I managed to get myself a huge 670 page book that I swapped for one of mine with a girl who was also looking for something to read.

Later on it cleared up and we went off to a bar on the beach and got chatting to 2 lovely guys who had been together 6 years and were on their honeymoon, they live in London.
We also invited a couple from Sweeden to join us who were good company and had a fun evening.

This morning is quite good weather so we will go to the beach.
I have not heard from Frans but from his last e mail can only assume that he missed the connection to get  here yesterday and so will arrive some time today.

Niki still not sure what she is doing, she cant decide whether to go to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos or just stay in Thailand, she is crazier than me in her thinking and decision making.
And she only has just over 2 weeks left out here.
No photos as the site is asking me for money if I want to  add more as I have reached my maximum, will address it later.

Relaxing...

We had a mad rain storm last night which was fun, and it was still so warm, we bought another drink and stayed in the shelter of a beach bar.
We got talking to a couple of people and Niki decided to stay out and 'party' despite the fact that she had booked some diving for 12 pm today.
She came rolling in at just before 2am this morning which was funny.
She was complaining of feeling really pissed, well yes that's what happens when you stay out drinking!
5 hours later we were both awake and chatting and she was feeling worse for ware saying that if she went diving the way she felt there was every probability that she might die, how funny.
So she stayed collapsed in bed and later on postponed the dive until tomorrow.
We went to the beach about 1pm and chilled on sun beds and swapped more life and men stories.
There is rain forecast for next couple of days but will have to hope it doesn't stay  around for too long.

By the way Kim, as for your comment regarding me picking up men, you are just jealous that with your ever increasing bump and the fact that you can't drink you have no chance of picking any one up ha ha!!

A day in Koh Tao

Niki and I went out last night and found a good place to eat and drink on the waters edge.
She was still a bit jet lagged as only been here a coule of days so an early night was had by us both.
I was awake nice and early and went for a walk along the beach which was so lovely and quiet

I really like the palm tree shadow

We walked 3km to the next bay and had some lunch and sat on the beach for a while before walking back again to ours which we both decided was prettier.
Tonight we went for some food then checked out a couple of bars on the beach that were recommended by a couple of girls who live here.

One was so fab, it had lots of chill out zones and fish kept in 'alternative fish tanks' 



Yes this is a microvave but the fish seem happy enough

Any one for a beer?

There was a great den to lie in with floor mattresses, the walls were in luminous paint crazy pictures,
Becky, you will love these!




 We have met some great people tonight all traveling for months at a time, they are all here for the diving and say it is really great.Niki is going tomorrow as she has done it before.
I heard from Frans who will be coming to Thailand in a day or so and wants to join me here or in the next island on depending where I am, it will be nice to have a cuddle.

Koh Tao

Hurray!
I am on a lovely sunny island and it's beautiful.
We left at 6am on a great coach, I forgot how good the tansport is in Thailand, so clean and comfortable.
 We arrived at the port at 12.30pm, and arrived 2 hours later on Koh Tao.
I met a girl called Niki from Manchester on the boat  and we hit it off and so are sharing a room, only 8pds between us and its right by the beach, so thats good.

She has a son by a Turkish Cypriot guy so a bit of a connection there.

We are staying at the more 'grown up' bay as the other side is very touristy but the island is so small it will be easy to see most of it.

Most of the people who come here do so for the diving as it is one of the best places for beautiful marine life and good visibility, I might even try snorkelling , how brave?!

This is the bay we are staying on

Friendly pooches.

I cant get the pics any bigger for some reason, but as you see it's all very nice.

We have just had some lovely food and couple of drinks, Niki is as open as I am so we are swapping life stories.

Tomorrow I will go around a bit and see some more of the island.

Last night I met up with my 20 year old toyboy from Perenporth, we had a couple of drinks together and then I went to bed as I had to get up at 5am this morning.

He went oput partying with some people he had met when he was in Laos.

He too was very open and told me that he and his mate had been to a sex show in Bangkok.

One of the women was shooting out ping pong balls (as they do) and as a finale she shot out a bananna that flew across the room and knocked his drink over!

How I laughed, very loudly...!

Decision made!

I have decided to go to Koh Tao, an island off the east coast of Thailand and have booked a bus leaving Bangkok at 6am tomorrow (sun) morning.
It will arrive around 12.45pm and then there is a connecting katermarang  (I cant spell it) that will get me there for about 2.45pm leaving plenty of time to get a place to stay.
The weather forecasts all say there will be some rain on the islands which is very unusual for the time of year. Locals have suggested it is because of what happened in Japan.
Who knows? But as it was pointed out to me, it is better to have rain on paradise island in 30 degrees than in Brighton - they have a point.
I met up with one of the lads from Cornwall last night.
His mate had copped off with a local Thai girl and was gone for the night so he and I spent the evening together.
For a 20 year old he was surprisingly good company and a bright lad too.
He kept me entertained with stories of what he and his mates got up to and he also told some sad stories about his parents and also of his friends parents.

His mate, (the one who had gone off for the eve) had a step Father addicted to heroin and his Mum an alcoholic and addicted to valium.
The Step Dad even had a bedroom in the house given over to the growing of cannabis plants and then sold it.
He had only just met up with his real Dad after 17 years, who had been paying maintenance that the Mother had been spending on drink and drugs. Whoops!
The guy I was speaking to also had divorced parents, his Mum had been into detox for alcohol but was sadly back on it.
His Dad had married  a woman who in his words was a 'manipulative witch from hell', who was also a big drinker and had a nervous breakdown and was on all sorts of pills.....
It wasn't surprising then that he and his mates had their own love of drink and drugs, sad but true.
We had a few drinks and a Thai green curry together and I left him around 10pm for bed as I was tired.
I slept well and today have been walking around what is now a familiar area, get me familiar in Bangkok!

Frans e mailed to say the caves were cool and he would be another 3 days down south Laos before coming into Bangkok. 
I will hopefully have some lovely photos of the island in the next blog, let's hope the sun shines.

Bang bloody kok again!

It's 11am and I am showered and settled into my single room after a 14 hour train journey here.

I was picked up from the guest house in Vientiane at 3pm yesterday in a open sided truck with padded seats along each side.
Usually that would have been fine but the temperature was a chilly 15 degrees and it was raining, (the temperature is at an all time low for the time of year for 3 days or so)
I was the first to be picked up and we had  a further 15 people to pick up from guest houses and I was getting damp and cold.
It wouldn't have been so bad but for the fact that after 50 mins of collecting people we were literally around the corner from where we had started.
Why they didn't tell us all to go to the same collection point at the top of the road I don't know.

The truck was jam packed with one guy having to sit on the floor

Anyway, we eventually arrived at the boarder crossing around 4.30pm a very smooth operation through customs and a 15 min train into Thailand.
By now I had got myself chatting with a 55yr old guy from Canada whom Frans and I had bumped into 2 or 3 times in Laos towns.
He was over here on holiday with his son who lives on a island in Thailand.
He is great fun, a right hippie, loving drink and the odd 'happy concoction'.
We all boarded the night sleeper train. I had booked myself a lower bunk in 2nd class, I was very impressed, it was 6ft long with very clean linen and a soft pillow, all beds had curtains around for privacy and it was not a bad nights sleep, indeed a first for me to sleep on a train.
Back to last night, I knew my friend would be in the carriage with the bar so I went off to find him, he was already chatting to a lovely couple from the States.
I joined them and we had a fun time chatting for 3 hours or so. Tim from Canada had a small plastic water bottle full of JamessonWhisky and kindly kept giving us shots from the lid of the bottle (how very thoughtful).
And a good time was had by all.
We arrived in Bangkok at 7.30 this morning, I have still not decided where to go next despite reading about the various islands in the guide book.
I met up with Tim outside the station and he was with a couple of guys in their 20's from Cornwall.

Canadian Tim

We sat on the road side (as you do) and had a much needed coffee and breakfast and then all shared a cab to the Ko San road (the crazy place I have stayed at 4 times before)
To be honest I fancied a shower and a better nights sleep and a bit more researching before setting off again as it will probably involve another over night trip.
I booked a single room in a small guest house, the room is basic and is 6pds, it's the first single room I have had in over 3 months, I feel quite sad and find I am already missing Frans.
I suppose that is to be expected when I have been with him almost every day and night for almost 3 months.
I will meet up with the guys again later for a drink and hopefully will have decided where to go next, but hey ho I can always stay here for another night if not.
It's quite funny being back here again, I was remembering back to the first time way back in November and how it all seemed so foreign and different.
Now, having been to the other countries, it seems very civilised and not at all out of the ordinary.
I have moached around the shops today and later I will look at the island weather reports on the internet and try to come to a decision.
It's much warmer here although still cloudy but back in a t shirt and shorts so all ok.

Vientiane to Bangkok

On Monday 14th we took another 'VIP' bus to Vientiane, this one was much the same as the last one and had the added bonus of stopping on the curbside for almost an hour while the driver and his mate messed around with the engine and got their hands black with oil after wrapping a piece of rubber around something or other - I was never any good at mechanics.
Any how, the supposed 3 and half hour journey took almost 5 and we arrived in a rainy almost chilly Vientiane at 7pm, the weather has dropped by 10 degrees all over Asia for a few days  bringing a record low for the time of year.
We managed to find nice double room for 7pds between us  and went off in search of food.

The next day it was still raining and we had to make our way to the Thai embassy to get an extension on the 15 day overland visa to 60 days max.

We took our time and then got the  required photos taken for the visa, so by the time we arrived the cut off point had been 5 mins before we got there and so we would have to go back again the next day.
We didn't do much during the day due to the weather.
I decided that I didn't want to make the journey down to the south of Laos for 2 reasons:
Firstly, Frans wanted to visit a 7km cave that takes 2 and half hour to travel through by boat and is described in the travel guide as huge, scary, dark and at  times you need to get out of the boat and wade through the water due to it being low.
The bus leaves Vientiane at 7am and takes 4 and half hours to the nearest town, then there is a transfer to the caves by local bus and then the trip through. Not my idea of fun
After that you would have to stay in the local town which didn't sound much fun either.
Secondly, to get down to the south was going to take a further 10-12 hour coach trip (which could have turned out a lot longer) once there, there was still a further 4 hours by bus and boat to the islands, so we would have had to stay in another off the beaten track place for that night..
So, I made a choice to exit Laos here at Vientiane which is a border point into Thailand and take the over night sleeper train which I have booked for this evening leaving here at 5pm and arriving in Bangkok in the morning at 6am.
Frans left me at 6am this morning and is making his way to the caves as I write.
I was also aware that at some point I have to make the break from him and travel solo or I would not find my confidence as it is easy to rely on him at times not least for his company.
We have made tentative plans to meet up somewhere in Southern Thailand, he did not extend his visa in the end, and so only has 15 days from the point of entry and it will take him 2 days to travel south by train.
Once there he wants to do his diving masters which will take a further 5 days, so at most we may have a week or so together and that depends how long it takes him to get to wherever I am.
It is sad that our time together is almost at an end and in some ways I am tempted not to meet up at all, as that way I will not have to count the days until we part.
I will see how philosophical I can become in the next week or so and maybe see him and enjoy is company for one last leg of this wonderful trip
As I write I have no idea where I will head to from Bangkok, I would like to visit one or 2 of the Islands and then possibly cross over the Thai border and into Malaysia to Langkawi which is a very easy trip with no visa charge.
Frans was there a few months ago and says it is a lovely place.
He has left me with 'The Rough guide to Thailand's beached and Islands' and I am half way through reading it before I make a decision.
Every where is reached from Bangkok by train or coach with a boat crossing to an Island after wards, so it will be a matter of which area I fancy and then making my way there.
I will of course write with my adventures when I reach a spot with an internet.
See you in Thailand...

Lazy laid back Laos

The people here are so laid back it's unbelievable.
In Luang Prabang, the sellers at the street night market set their stalls out on the pavements and then sit and lay around eating and sleeping.
At times I had to wake up the sellers to ask how much something was, they open their eyes, mutter a price and promptly fall back asleep, it's really funny.
The lonely planet described it as 'probably the most laid back market in Asia'
The men drink beers all day and a lot of them gamble, from 9am they have beers in one hand and playing cards in the other.
A couple of British women I have spoken to say that's the norm, they live from one day to the next, not having any money to speak of and interestingly they don't think about the future.
I remember learning the same in Thailand, they don't worry or think about tomorrow, good idea  I guess, at least they are not stressed out.

Yesterday Frans and I kayaked down the river in a 2 man kayak, it was good fun, the only others with us were 2 guys from Austria  sharing a kayak, a single guy from Germany and the guide who was there to guide us safely over the rocky bits.

It was a lovely scenic trip

It was especially funny because the kayak that the other 2 guys shared had a hole in it and it kept filling up with water and capsizing them (no, I would not have been laughing if we had got that one) but as a spectator it was a great source of amusement.
I was in the front and Frans sat behind me, I am not sure of the etiquette but I kept yelling out orders to him, panicking every time I saw the water ahead getting a bit choppy, I kept telling him which way to steer as there were 'rapids' ahead.
Of course, as with everything, he has done it numerous times before and this time of year the water is calm, so I really had no need to worry.
He has so much time for me, always encouraging and helping me in those situations, he just laughs when I go into one of my rants.
The scenery was lovely all the way down, we even passed a group of water buffalo.

I love this pic

We also stopped off at one point and came across 5 lads having a picnic.
Oh my god! on further inspection we saw that they were boiling and eating massive ants, some with their wings on together with sticky rice

Well, it's protein I suppose

At the half way point we got to the areas where the people were tubing down the river

 They simply float with the current and stop off along the way as the mood takes them.

It really is crazy and looks great fun for those involved.
All along the river bank are bamboo platforms with people drinking and dancing to loud rave music.
There were also areas for mud volleyball, tug of war in wet mud and water slides and ropes from a great height to swing from and then jump into the water.
They have their cocktails served in buckets, (the sort a kid would have for sand castles) or beers and there were also 'mushroom' cocktails and joints for sale.
One of the bar staff was holding a big sign up that read 'stop here for a strong mushroom cocktail and a free joint with every 2 buckets'!
I was just sitting next to a guy in this internet place and he has been here for a month, he said that accidents are all part of the experience - oh, to be young...

Back for sunset beer

Sunday,
Despite what I just said about the crazy tubing, Frans has gone off to do just that today (minus the dodgy cocktails and joints)
He is some one who likes to try every thing and felt that it's what you do in Veng Vieng.
He will no doubt find a group to float down the river with and enjoy watching and taking photos of the drunken revelers.
I, have stayed in town and will book our ticket to move on to the next town in the morning.
It is the capital city Vientiane, so we will probably spend a few days there.
Then we will take another bus to the far south of Laos and spend a week or so on what is described as very chilled out Islands.
After that the plan is to go back into Thailand overland by train where we might go our separate ways after a couple of weeks.
He wants to go to Malaysia, Indonesia and the Phillipines as well as Thailand and depending on the weather, monsoons etc might need to go sooner rather than later.
He enjoys surfing, diving, rock climbing, mountain biking to name a few and I know has not been doing as much as he might have done with me around.
We have had a great time together and in his words we will always be friends, but that is as far as it will go.

Vang Vieng

Still in need of 2 Imodium, we left Luang Prabang 9am a couple of days ago for the 6 hour journey to Vang Vieng.
As the crow flies it's not very far (160km) but because of the winding roads around the mountains the coach only went at at about 30 km an hour.
At times we were at 1500m high.
The scenery on route was beautiful, forested mountains and small villages along the way, some in  really high regions, as usual children ran and  played bare foot in the streets with Mothers sweeping or preparing food for the family meal on an outside stove.
We took the VIP coach as it promised a toilet and air con and I felt I would need both. The toilet turned out to be little more than a non flushing pit and I could have blown out cooler air than came from the a/c unit, still, it was the best of the rest.

Inside the VIP coach. What you can't see is where the windscreen has been  taped up, I can't say as I felt that important.

The loo was tiny, I had to visit it once and it was a real task trying to balance over the seat whilst the coach winding round a mountain, I was laughing to myself at what I must have looked like.
Most people hung on until the bus stopped in the middle of no where on a bend albeit with stunning views. They all trooped out and peed wherever they decided.

This is not unusual for the drivers as they all just pull over on the side of the road and pee, many with a fag in the other hand. Delightful!
We arrived in Vang Vieng about 4pm, we shared a tuk tuk with a couple of others to the quieter end of town and checked into a lovely clean place very near the river with big room and huge bed  for 4 pounds each a night.
The town doesn't have the same feel as Luang Prabang, that had a Unesco world heritage status preserving it's beautiful buildings and serenity.
Buses and trucks are not allowed to pass through the town making it all very slow paced with only mopeds and cycles.
Here is totally different, it's a party town made up of mainly guest houses and cafes for the hoards of young backpackers that come here for the 'fun'.
Vang Vieng was a tiny place, it has a dramatic landscape with huge lime stone cliffs providing a stunning back drop, the Nam Song river winds its way through.
For many years this has become a place for activities such as rock climbing, (Frans has gone off to do that today) trekking, kayaking and tubing.
For those of you who have never heard of the latter (I hadn't), it is where you float with the current  down the river in a large inner tube.
This sounds all very tame apart from the fact that there are many bars on route and it has become the thing to stop off at each one along the way for a Lao Beer. Some of the bars even have staff waiting on the river bank with poles to pull you over into their bar.
The bars are outside areas with loud music playing and bamboo chill out structures providing shade to drink your beer before moving on to the next one.
The 3 hour down river trip often becomes more like 6 or 7, consequently there are lots of drunken people in town at 7 o' clock in the evening.
Added to the mix is the towns leniency to marijuana.
On many menus you will see 'happy' shake, pizza, cocktails for example.
Basically, for an extra 1000 kip (about 80p) you can add 'happy' to almost anything and the bar/restaurant owner will pop some marijuana into your drink or food, there is even 'happy' mashed potato!
Problem being, you don't know how much you are getting, mix that with alcohol and floating down a river in an inner tube, not surprisingly there have been many accidents as a consequence.
Indeed, in the 2 days we have been here we have seen at least 5 walking wounded, a couple on crutches.
For the older more sensible people such as I have become, sad but true,  there are bicycles for hire and yesterday that's what we did.
We went out of town and then through dried up rice paddies and dusty dirt roads, always with the limestone cliffs providing the lovely scenery.

A random couple getting in the way of my photo

It was hot day, we  found ourselves  a beautiful spot for a beer at sunset

The shacks to the right are bamboo chill out places to enjoy the view, they have mattresses, cushions and small tables for food and drinks

Today Frans has gone to do some rock climbing, I started the day with a mug of coffee and some fresh fruit, muesli and yogurt, enough for 2 people!

Just as well my stomach is better, yes, I am pleased to report, it's business as usual, hurrah!

Ok that's about it for today, I am off to ponder the shops and find a place to read and take in the scenery.

Last days in Luang Prabang

Well, it's 6 days now and my tummy is still in need of Imodium and anti biotics, although it seems to be on the mend now thankfully.
I have had no appetite for all that time, which will surprise those who know me, even the thought of crisps and wine didn't appeal! I must have been ill...
So, it's been mainly watery soup with a few noodles floating around and lots of water.
Yesterday we walked around the town and visited the Royal Palace and had a stroll along some of the residential roads, it is all so lovely, I took some good pics of local life.
We visited a charity founded by an American guy who has got story books published in Laos for the local children to read, I took a photo of some of the information, unbelievable!




The river front at the bottom of the road where we stay

 


This was rice crackers drying in the sunshine, love that they are next to a pile of bricks



Monks Washing ,line

Budda chilling under a Bougainvillea

Front garden



Shop selling hand made products



This is a banana flower, the tree is in the road we stay in, how pretty.

Around 4pm yesterday we went to one of the chill out places by the river (with the relaxing mattresses) for a drink.
They had some board games for use and we played a game of Scrabble, 5 games and a few beers ( for Frans, water for me ) later it was 11pm, and we were being asked to leave, how funny. The score was 2 all and we didn't get to finish the 5th game.
We also had some munchies, I managed to get myself 2 plates of raw sliced carrot, hurrah!
Today we went for a long walk over to the other side of the Mekong river.
It is less touristy and we saw local life.
A few of the women were weaving silk scarves on their looms, it is so intricate.
We are moving on tomorrow to Vang Veng, a place that is 6 hours away over some high winding roads.

It promises to be  stunning scenery along the way if a little nauseating due to the condition of the roads, I have my travel pills and Imodium at the ready!

See you when I get there.