On to Laos

Sunday we were all a bit apprehensive about a full day in the bus, but it ended up with all the stops we made, not that much time sitting there at all.

Within 30 minutes we had left the flat land of Chiang Mai and were into the hills.  First stop was only an hour down the road at the Hot Springs where we dipped our feet in the extremely hot water.  It required quite an effort to work up to keeping them in there for any length of time, and I kept thinking of the eggs that were boiling in the pool out the front and wondering were my feet heading the same way.

Eggs cooking

and feet cooking?

At the entrance

Another hour and a half had us at our lunch stop just outside of Chiang Rai.  This had the most spectacular temple we had seen, reminding us of a gingerbread house.  It was all shine and twinkle.

Beautiful temple from the front

and from the side

After lunch we turned off the main road and were now well and truly in rural farming country.  We stopped outside a farm where our guide explained the rice paddies and showed us the other fruits and vegetables that were growing there.

Dragon Fruit plant

 Within two hours we were at our destination for the night at Chiang Khong and our first glimpse of the mighty Mekong River.  After a day in the bus we were keen on a long walk along the river.  Dinner that night was in a restaurant looking over the river.

View of the Mekong from outside the guesthouse

Unusual verandah area at the entrance to our room

The next morning we had to be up and ready to leave by 8.00.  It was a twenty minute drive to the border crossing.  On entering Laos, we handed over our passports through a window, and then everyone crowds around another window while you wait for them to process and then hold up your passport so you can then pay  for the visa.  This took around half an hour before everyone had been processed. At this point we also met up with our Laos guide. We then got into another two mini buses for another twenty minute trip to discover we were back where we started but on the opposite side of the river.

The restaurant view from the water

It was then time to board our slow boat.  This description is in relation to the other transport option which is a small fast speed boat.  We saw many of these go past us and they did not look a comfortable option at all.  However, our boat was quite a surprise to us all as we had imagined something much smaller.  The boat owner and his wife live on the boat up one end and the boat can actually take over a hundred people.  So there was heaps of room for just fifteen of us.  The roof on one part of the boat slides back so that you can sit in the sun.

There were many boats lined up, and they are crammed in close together.  They all have put timber up to prevent damage to the sides as they try to manoeuvre in or out.

Getting the boats out

It was surprisingly chilly on the water in the morning.  It is very unfortunate that farmers in the north of Thailand and Laos burn their farms at this time of year and the air was heavy with smoke.  Our guide said that the government is trying to stop them and fine them, but it isn't working as they still continue to burn.  Many times it has been extremely thick, and we had ash falling on the boat at one stage.  It has also spoilt what would be beautiful views if you could just see them.

Relaxing on the boat

speed boats

Villages in the jungle

This was a lovely relaxed way to travel as we made our way down the Mekong.  The boat owner's wife cooked a delicious lunch for us.  Around 4.30 we had reached our destination for the evening of Pak Beng.  This is a quite remote village perched on the side of a steep hill and a fascinating stop.  I asked our Laos guide if tourism had changed the village a lot, as we could see many slow boats stopped there for the night.  He said that it wasn't that many years ago that the only power the town had was generator but now there is power to the whole village.  He also said that up to about three years ago the only guesthouse was about ten rooms with two outside toilets.  Our guesthouse was built about three years ago and we could not complain about the airconditioned room we had with our private bathroom.  We all walked up to the local market where we were shown the many and varied foods available.  These range from beautiful fresh looking fruits and vegetables, chicken and pork and even rats on sticks. We also witnessed a stunning sunset on the river.  Dinner was at our guesthouse, who have embraced tourism with a varied menu that even included pizza and french fries if you so desired.  The french influence was also evident with the number of bakeries with croissants and bagels.

Outside our room at the Phonemany Guesthouse

Local market - rats on sticks

Smoky sunset view of the Mekong

The back of some buildings built on the steep slopes

View looking up the road from the guesthouse

Tuesday was another early morning, needing to be at the boat by 7.30.  We had coffee and croissant on our way there for breakfast.  Back on our boat it was another restful trip.  We had two stops on the way.  First was at a small village of Hmong people, original mountain people.  As soon as they see you coming, you have an instant popup market.

Heading back to the boat in the morning

View of Pak Beng from the water

Elephants on the bank

Hmong village.  This lady was asking if anyone had any glasses they could give her.  Sadly no one did.

Weaving thatch for the roof

Our boat waiting at the village

 Our next stop was at the Pak Ou Caves and temple.  Lots of steps to get to the top cave, but we made it.  Back on the boat it was less than an hour to our final destination of Luang Prabang.  It was around five by the time we reached our hotel, and after an hour to freshen up we all walked down to the night market and the restaurant that had been booked for us.

Pak Ou temple cave

Chiang Mai

Early Friday evening we caught up with most of our group at the Night Markets.  Four were doing cooking classes so weren't going to be back until late.  We had all decided we preferred to try the food vendors rather than a restaurant, and we weren't disappointed.  My choice came in three sizes and I'm glad I chose the smallest, which cost me around $2.

We then had a great time walking through the huge market.  We didn't even get to see it all as at 9.30 it was time for the LadyBoy Show.  As I said to one of the other ladies later, it's like the train trip, something you need to experience.  It  probably wasn't as polished as some of the shows down south, but we still had a good laugh.  Mind you some of them I thought wouldn't have made attractive boys, let alone girls.  But there were a few that would be difficult to pick.  The show went for about an hour, where they mime different songs.  The Tina Turner takeoff we thought was probably the best one, and there was another where one side was made up a boy and the other a girl.  He did an excellent job of switching from one side to the other.  By the time the show finished, and adding in that most of us didn't get a lot of sleep on the train, it was difinately time for bed.

Saturday had a number of options for those that were interested such as elephant tours and ziplining with the gibbons.  We gave it quite a bit of thought and decided to do the half day cycling tour of the local countryside along with two others from the group.  They are very thorough, even taking our heights the day before so that the correct bikes were set for us.  The bikes and tour leader arrived at 8.30.  These were seriously good bikes,  mountain bikes, with good helmets and plenty of water.  They had so many gears I lost track, but he said he had set it on the best for the flat roads, and we found it unnecessary to change at all.

The first challenge was getting out of the city and its traffic.  This was while contending with the fact I had ridden very little in the last thirty years.  But as they say, it's like riding a bike!

It was great fun.  Our guide was excellent and we stopped at quite a number of places.  There was a local temple, what was once a leper hospital but now used for rehabilitation and the elderly, rice paddy fields, market gardens, and all the while our guide Santi was explaining things so well.  We went down roadways, laneways and even a little off road, but mostly avoiding the busy roads, although there were a few we had to cross.  The local people were so friendly, waving and saying hello as we passed.  At one stage we stopped at a funeral.  These are very different affairs and there were security directing traffic around and a live band playing. I felt strange that we were welcome to come in and even take photos

Interesting bridge near the old leper hospital

Band at the funeral

The funeral

Rice fields

Market garden behind

Lunch was included in the tour and this was at a little restaurant in the country. After lunch we made a number of stops at ancient excavated sites.  I had no idea these were here, and it was like a mini Angkor Wat.  Our final stop was a temple that housed the ashes of who was once the queen of this area before it became part of Thailand.  It was then about 30 minutes back to the hotel, and being thankful as we got into the city that it was a Saturday afternoon and the traffic wasn't heavy.

At the ruins of the ancient town with our guide

It was a great tour and we were so glad we did it.  I had been concerned how we would cope, but we have done so much walking lately our fitness levels have gone up and we managed the 28 k's easily.  In fact we were even back half an hour early.

No need to say where Jim went for the next two hours.

In the evening we had all arranged to walk up to the building a few blocks away that was 20 stories to watch the sunset from the top.  However, when we got there we were told that it didn't open until 6.30, so we all gave up on the idea and headed back to the NIght Market.  We were all quite happy with the food stalls there, and after dinner we looked over the stalls we hadn' t got to the night before.

Intrepid Tour

On Tuesday morning we walked into the town and found a small place for breakfast.  While I was packing, Jim had to head back for a last massage (they are cheaper here than anywhere else we have been).  We were sad to leave our lovely room on the river.

Originally I had planned to get the train back, but we felt we had experienced this now, and saw that mini vans run every hour.  One of the drop off points was Khao San Road, so it seemed easier for us than train and taxi as we only had to walk one block.  The van was quite full and we were the last to be picked up.  So we had to climb over bags and boots but probably ended up with seats with more room than those in the back.  The trip was uneventful, taking about two and a half hours and we were at the hotel by around 2.30.  Not sure why, but this time we ended up with a room twice as big.  Nothing extra in it, just a lot of space.

It didn't take us long to be out walking again.  A different direction this time, and we found even more markets and food stalls.  The food stalls are just amazing, we can't believe how many there are and the variety of food you find on them.  Sometimes we just stop in amazement.

Wednesday morning I wanted to do something a bit different.  All the tourist info I had read said the action was on the river and we are only ten minutes from it.  So we jumped on a ferry, having no idea where we were heading to, gave the lady the amount of money the internet said the ferry cost.  Fortunately she had a little English, asking us where we wanted to go.  Considering we didn't know, we just said a few stops.  As we were coming into a stop, she shooed us off.  We wondered if we had underpaid or something, but no, it was the main tourist stop, near the Grand Palace, so we think she was helping us out.  Thank goodness for iphones, as I could see we were only 1.5 k's from the hotel, so we headed in that direction, passing even more market and food stalls, some temples and various other sites in the area.

Bangkok water view

Wednesday is officially day one of our Intrepid Tour, but the meeting time wasn't until  6.00 pm followed by dinner together.  There are thirteen of us, three men, ten women plus our guide, Tudtu.  Quite a range of ages, but everyone seems to be jelling well.  They range from Australia, England, Wales, Switzerland.

Thursday after breakfast it was check out time.  Our room was one of the allotted day rooms, so we didn't need to check out yet, just let another couple store their bags in there.   We all walked together to the waterfront where we boarded two long boats.  These took us into a world we hadn't realised was there, life on the canals of Bangkok.  It was just like another road system, but on the water.   Housing varied from shanties barely holding together to luxurious mansions.

Choppy water from our long boat

Canal housing

No it's not flooding but street signs and power poles in the canals

More opulent housing on the water

After leaving the boat at another pier, we made the short walk to the Wat Po, a huge reclining Buddha, where our guide took us through explaining everything to us.  When we had finished the tour it was free time.  Some chose to go to China Town, some the Grand Palace, and others like us, just chose to walk back.  We were in the same area as the day before, so knew our way around by now, taking a slightly different route back.

The Buddha's intricate base of the feet

Big reclining Buddha

Guard statue at a gate

One of four temples

Buddha statues in a row

We have got our clothing and bits and pieces down to two backpacks for the tour, leaving our large bags in storage at the hotel.  As we were about to get into the lift with them, we were remarking how light they were now, when Jim suddenly wondered if we could fit one into the other.  So back to the room, and sure enough, they did, so the storage only cost half our original estimate.  Enough for another massage reckoned Jim.

Everyone met in the lobby for our trip to the train station.  We piled people and bags into two mini vans and headed off.  I had checked before hand and could see the station was a distance of about 4 kilometres, but the traffic is so slow, I think we could have walked it in not much more.  Our overnight train was due to depart at 6.15, but we were able to board well before this.  We had a second class carriage and were quite surprised at how good and how comfortable it was.

We each had a double seat facing the other.  At meal time a table slots in between.  We had all ordered the train meal, a set of five dishes for only 170 baht.  It was surprisingly good, a soup, two types of meat dishes, steamed rice and fresh pineapple to finish off with.  The train had left promptly on time, and our meals were brought out around seven.  The biggest complaint we all had was the airconditioning - it was freezing.  Everyone was grabbing whatever they could to try and warm up.

Our train carriage

The top bunk, not smiling as much

Then the staff came around to make the beds.  This is where the inequality came in.  The double seats facing each other drop up and down and make quite a large bed.  But the top bunk that folds down is about half that width.  It has two seat belts from the ceiling to the bunk so you can't roll out.  There were some ongoing discussions among the group before beds were finally and in some cases reluctantly agreed upon.  Both beds have their own curtains, but half the ceiling lights are left on for security, so thank goodness for eye masks, especially on the top bunk.

In the morning we all agreed it was quite an experience, but very few got a lot of sleep.  We watched dawn rise as we got closer to Chiang Mai.  The train even arrived a little early, and Tudto had contacted the drivers so they were waiting for us.  It was only about a ten minute drive to our accommodation.  Much to our delight, ours was one of the rooms available, so it was straight up for a nice long shower.

Our group alighting the train in the morning

At ten we all met in the lobby, and back into the minibuses for the trip to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.  This beautiful temple is on the top of a mountain, with a long windy drive up to it.  Once we arrived we then had 306 steps to climb to the temple itself.  Chiang Mai is our guides home town, and this is her temple, so she was able to give us lots of information about it.  It was a shame the day was very misty and not at all clear as it would have been a beautiful view to look down onto the town.

Climbing the stairs

At the top

Bells

After returning it was free time, and after some lunch Jim and I put on our walking shoes and made our way to the centre of the old town.  Here is a very ancient temple, reminding us very much of what we had seen in at Angkor Wat.  I'm not going to bother saying where Jim went in the afternoon or the afternoon the day before.  I have cut him back to either an hour once a day or two hour every second day.

Bangkok and Beyond

Friday morning Jim woke having had no pain overnight from his tooth extraction.  So now we had to find something soft for breakfast.  The street vendor opposite had steamed buns and they seemed to fit the bill.

After catching up on a bit more washing it was time for the beach.  Because we wore hats and sunglasses while in the water this time the heat and glare weren't a problem and we were amazed to discover we had been gone for two hours.  The water really is beautiful.

After a light lunch we decided as we had already walked to Kata we would head in the opposite direction. This was probably a bit crazy as it was the hottest part of the day and there was not as much shade as I had had hoped for, but we made it the 2.5 k's along the beach road to the Patak Rd intersection.  On the way we went into a market and couldn't believe how hot and stuffy it was in there.  And those poor stall holders have to work in those conditions.  The sweat was pouring off us and we just couldn't stay in what was an unbearably hot tin shed any longer.

When we got to Partak Road we walked further up the road and back and in and out of side streets, then decided to do something that we hadn't thought necessary as we had experienced it a couple of times before.  We had a fish spa.  I think we really decided to do it because we got to sit down with our feet in water for twenty minutes.  However, our feet did feel smoother afterwards.  Back we walked, but as it was now later in the day there was a bit more shade and a light breeze blowing towards us.

As we were walking out to dinner I decided to check on my sunglasses as we had been told to call in at nine.  However, when we went in, she had just got them in.  What a lovely lady Hui is, and my glasses in their Swatch frames look wonderful.  My existing sunglasses were quite old and  I was now unable to read easily with them and it had got very frustrating as I kept having to change over to read anything.  They cost me around $280 but the cheapest I was quoted in Australia was $700.  I'm looking forward to trying these out over our holiday.

Dinner that night was at a bar restaurant on the beach road.  We'd chosen it during the day when looking for something suitable for Jim.  Seafood Lasagna sounded like it should fit the bill, but ordinary lasagna was what came out.  By the time he got the correct meal mine was nearly finished.  But he enjoyed it when it finally came.

Saturday morning it was time to pack up, have breakfast in the cafe downstairs and catch our prebooked taxi to the airport.  The traffic was heavy but we had allowed plenty of time.  Getting through Phuket Airport took some time as there are two security screening areas to negotiate, plus the time to check bags in.  In the end the plane actually left early, and landed 25 minutes ahead of time.  Not bad for what was supposed to be an hour and ten minute flight.  We were quite impressed with Thai Smiles, a budget offshoot of Thai Airways.  Around $56 a ticket, comfortable plane, and we even got a snack pack.  Jim was very impressed that I had snagged row 4 directly behind premium economy.

And then we were in Bangkok and a whole new world was opening up to us.  We followed the signs to the taxi rank to be astounded by this enormous area with 7 lanes of people lined up waiting for taxis.  It is well organised but still took about 30 minutes before our turn for a taxi.  That was the next shock.  We reached around for our seatbelt to discover there were none.  After seatbelts becoming second nature it didn't feel very comfortable either tearing through at break neck speed or chopping in or being chopped off while not wearing one.  But after about 40 minutes we safely reached our destination.  The taxis here are metered and it seemed ridiculous after the 400 baht we had paid for just 7k's in Phuket to be charged only 280 for that long distance, so I gave him a bit more.

I had picked the Viengtai Hotel purely because it was where our Intrepid Tour is starting from, so convenient to leave our larger bags behind.  But I hadn't realised just what a vibrant area it is in.  It's in the old part of town with narrow streets and little alleys everywhere.  And market stalls!!  If we were disappointed in the prices in Phuket we had to control ourselves here.  After only about fifteen minutes we had to make a pact that no more for that day as we are coming back twice more.  We took a tiny narrow twisting lane that said shortcut to Khao San and out we came to a closed off road with people and stalls everywhere.  There were a lot of police/soldiers here too, which I guess is a reminder that the country is still under martial law.

It was then back to the hotel to try out their pool before dinner, where we chose the place directly opposite the hotel as it seemed good value.  And it was, and good food too.

After dinner, where was Jim?  Off on another two hour massage of course.  I was initially concerned how he would enjoy coming here, but I'm wondering if I will have trouble getting him to leave.

It was after ten when he got back, eager to tell me about the change in the street outside.  So off we headed to see what Saturday night in Bangkok looked like. Our street had now been closed off and many of the bars and restaurants had moved tables and chairs out onto the street.  We did a circuit and then walked down Khao San Road.  What a wild party that was.  But we are a bit too old for that, so back to bed.

It was a set an alarm clock morning on Sunday so that we had time to have breakfast before getting to the railway station for our 7.50 train to Kanchanaburi.  We left our cases in storage and just took backpacks.  We were surprised to see quite a few army/police (haven't worked out what they are) at the station and Jim saw some of them taking photos of us.  Once on the train one of them came over to talk to us, but it really seemed like he just wanted to practise his English.  A little off putting though.

The train is classified as third class, but we ended up with vinyl rather than wooden seats and it was quite comfortable.  It's a relaxed trip out there.  The train actually left spot on time, but instead of taking 2.5 hours for the 125 kilometre journey, it was nearly 3.5.  Not sure what happened there.  Once we arrived it was only a short walk to Tara Raft, our lovely floating room on the River Kwai.

How gorgeous is our room!  We were lucky enough to get the best room right at the end and the furthest over the water.  Feels like you are sitting right in the middle of the river.  Whenever any large boats go past, we gently rock.  The king size bed, which takes up most of the area,  is the most comfortable we have had yet.  The bathroom is a little strange with the shower right at the door so you have to walk through it, but it worked OK.  It is air conditioned with a fridge, desk etc and cost me all of $65 for the two nights.

Our floating room

On the balcony

Front of the building.  You have to climb stairs over the roof and then down to get to the entrance

Once we had finished settling into our room, we just had to take the 2.5 k walk to the Bridge Over the River Kwai.  It was quite hot outside, about 38, so we were rather warm and sweaty by the time we got there.  On the way there we organised our tour for the Monday.

On the Bridge

In front of the bridge after our tour

After dropping some shopping back at our room, and a quick shower, we headed to the Death Railway Museum that we passed after leaving the train station.  It was now 4 and it closed at 5, but we got around the majority of it, just didn't see all the video.  Across the road is one of the War Graves and we spent short time in there.  Too depressing to stay longer.


After a walk around some streets we hadn't yet been to, it was back to the room to sit on the verandah and enjoy the sunset and the river.  By the time we had had enough of that, it was getting a bit late and rather than walk back into the town area, we went to the guesthouse next door which has a restaurant.  They also have a river view, so a lovely night.

Monday we had an 8 am pick up for our tour.  There were six other young people on the tour.  First stop was at Erawan Falls in the National Park.  These falls are on seven levels and we walked as far as the fifth. We had 2.5 hour here and decided not to go any further to allow ourselves plenty of time for a swim.  After the second level there is a check station where you have to show what food and drink you have.  There is a 20 baht deposit on each item, and when you return back down you get your deposit refunded.  An interesting way to keep people from dropping rubbish.

We had chosen the second pool to swim in, and it was really lovely especially after a hot walk up and down lots of steps.  They only thing I wasn't impressed with was all the fish in the pool, especially when they like to try a nibble.  I know we had the fish spa, but I much prefer the controlled environment rather than the sneaky things coming up behind you.

Swimming with the fish

The waterfall at level 3

Lunch was included in the tour, and we had to be back at 11.40 for this.  From here we dropped off the four who were doing the elephant trekking and we and another couple continued on to Hellfire Pass.

This was one of the hardest and the most cruel part of the Death Railway.  Australia has set up a museum and a walking trail through the cutting.  It is over 400 metres long and 25 metres at the greatest depth and completely cut by hand.  The sweat was pouring off us by the time we got back to the bus, and we cannot imagine how bad it must have been working up to 18 hours a day in those conditions and worse when the monsoons came.

The walkway on the old railway bed

The cutting

Beautiful view into the valley from the top of the cutting

The only disappointment we had was that we had asked when booking how long did we get at Hellfire Pass, and it was important to us to have plenty of time.  We were told two hours there.  However, it appears we were onsold to another tour company and we only had one and a quarter hours, so felt quite rushed and didn't have the experience we were looking for.  We would have liked to have walked a bit further along the track rather than just the 500 metres that we did.

Next stop was Krasae Cave, a Budhist Temple which is beside the railway and was used as a camp by POWs.  This is the most beautiful part of the railway and the view down the river and along the railway bridges is spectacular.  We boarded the train here and went three stations before the bus picked us up and took us back to Kanchanaburi  and the Bridge.  As we had already walked over this the day before, we just walked around the area until it was time to be taken back to our lodging.

Next to the railway line at Krasae Cave.  Note the trestle bridges in the background.

Jim of course headed off for another massage while I enjoyed the sunset, and when he returned we walked back into town and found a nice restaurant with lovely Thai food.  When we got back to our room we were amazed to see the number of fish that were outside.  We don't know if it was the lights that attract them, or that the raft traps grasses and things in the river's flow.  Then it was time for another night of comfy sleep in our floating room.

Sunset from our room