Well, two months has been and gone and I'm again sitting at my computer in Macleod. The internet is faster but the traffic much slower. The temperature has remained the same. The trip, as you may have gathered from my overuse of the word amazing in previous posts, was everything I wanted.
It's actually really odd to be sitting at home. It seems almost inconceivable that I could have gone from the craziness of a big city like Bangkok to sitting in my bedroom in Macleod in one day.
Anyways, I need to go to bed so that I can function tomorrow.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
See, Air Laos isn't so bad after all...
So,
Today we arrived in Phnom Penh, having survived not one, but TWO trips with Air Laos. The reason for this relief is the slightly tarnished international reputation of Lao Airlines, due mainly to their hesitance in releasing public safety records. hmmmm... However, with a fleet of four planes you can't really afford to crash anyway.
We left a friend called Michel from Holland in Vientiane yesterday, which was a little sad. We had travelled through quite a bit of Lao with him, and his dry sense of humour had become a nice addition to our little party.
Yes, people from Holland do have a sense of humour. I was surprised too.
We had an amazing ability to run into Michel actually, having met up without prior plans in Sapa, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. He is heading to the south of Lao, which sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I have some sort of uni-like commitment that i have to get back for (yes Mum, I know I have to come home).
Phnom Penh reminds me a lot of the big cities in Vietnam: densely populated, lots of interesting food being cooked on street corners and persistent but polite motorbike taxi riders at every turn. We are staying in an average guesthouse on the banks of an amazing river, with the guesthouse bar stretching out into the lake. While in moments of heat induced lunacy this river has seemed almost appealing, the murky slime has worked wonders, quashing any dreams I had of going swimming.
In comparison to the other cities we've travelled to the people seem to be struggling a lot more here. Beggars are more frequent, and to be frank more unsettling. As a nerd, I find this interesting given Cambodia's vastly superior GDP in comparison to Laos. Turns out GDP shouldn't be the only measure of development. Clive Hamilton was right after all! The city also feels quite unsettled. Perhaps this is in part due to the massive rebuilding that seems to be going on everywhere. While Laos is quietly rebuilding roads so they can drive without flying out of their seats, Cambodia is pulling out whole suburbs. We discovered upon reading the paper today that the entire precinct (lakeside, for you homey g's) we're staying in will be bulldozed, with no plans devised as yet to relocate the hundreds of people who'll be affected by this decision nor how recompense will be paid to those who will lose their businesses.
I've also found the ghosts of the Khmer Rouge hard to push from my mind. I keep imagining the city being emptied, an almost inconceivable notion given the pace of this place. I keep imagining the jubilant victory celebrations sweeping through Phnom Penh after the communists won the war, thoughts that remind me of stories of the audible roar that swept across Melbourne as people celebrated of the end of world war II. How quickly Cambodia's happiness turned to utter despair. Such a tragic turn.
Despite all this, Cambodia is an incredibly hospitable and lovely place. For the first time we met nice immigration officials at the airport! crazy! And everyone, even the most persistent tuk-tuk drivers, is friendly. Thailand is the self-proclamed land of smiles. Fittingly, Cambodia's tourism authority has plagiarised the title, and for my money they deserve it more.
Today we arrived in Phnom Penh, having survived not one, but TWO trips with Air Laos. The reason for this relief is the slightly tarnished international reputation of Lao Airlines, due mainly to their hesitance in releasing public safety records. hmmmm... However, with a fleet of four planes you can't really afford to crash anyway.
We left a friend called Michel from Holland in Vientiane yesterday, which was a little sad. We had travelled through quite a bit of Lao with him, and his dry sense of humour had become a nice addition to our little party.
Yes, people from Holland do have a sense of humour. I was surprised too.
We had an amazing ability to run into Michel actually, having met up without prior plans in Sapa, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. He is heading to the south of Lao, which sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I have some sort of uni-like commitment that i have to get back for (yes Mum, I know I have to come home).
Phnom Penh reminds me a lot of the big cities in Vietnam: densely populated, lots of interesting food being cooked on street corners and persistent but polite motorbike taxi riders at every turn. We are staying in an average guesthouse on the banks of an amazing river, with the guesthouse bar stretching out into the lake. While in moments of heat induced lunacy this river has seemed almost appealing, the murky slime has worked wonders, quashing any dreams I had of going swimming.
In comparison to the other cities we've travelled to the people seem to be struggling a lot more here. Beggars are more frequent, and to be frank more unsettling. As a nerd, I find this interesting given Cambodia's vastly superior GDP in comparison to Laos. Turns out GDP shouldn't be the only measure of development. Clive Hamilton was right after all! The city also feels quite unsettled. Perhaps this is in part due to the massive rebuilding that seems to be going on everywhere. While Laos is quietly rebuilding roads so they can drive without flying out of their seats, Cambodia is pulling out whole suburbs. We discovered upon reading the paper today that the entire precinct (lakeside, for you homey g's) we're staying in will be bulldozed, with no plans devised as yet to relocate the hundreds of people who'll be affected by this decision nor how recompense will be paid to those who will lose their businesses.
I've also found the ghosts of the Khmer Rouge hard to push from my mind. I keep imagining the city being emptied, an almost inconceivable notion given the pace of this place. I keep imagining the jubilant victory celebrations sweeping through Phnom Penh after the communists won the war, thoughts that remind me of stories of the audible roar that swept across Melbourne as people celebrated of the end of world war II. How quickly Cambodia's happiness turned to utter despair. Such a tragic turn.
Despite all this, Cambodia is an incredibly hospitable and lovely place. For the first time we met nice immigration officials at the airport! crazy! And everyone, even the most persistent tuk-tuk drivers, is friendly. Thailand is the self-proclamed land of smiles. Fittingly, Cambodia's tourism authority has plagiarised the title, and for my money they deserve it more.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Luang Prabang, Cows and Beer Laos
So,
We arrived in Laos about five days ago, landing in the beautiful city of Luang Prabang. I really really really like it here. It is really relaxed, the architecture is amazing and the people are lovely. The markets are even calm! Quite a contrast to the craziness of Vietnamese or Thai markets. I was bartering for a bed spread and the lady gave me a little seat to sit on, which I thought summed this place up. We have also met up with Nyssa, who is a good friend from Melbourne, which has provided an excuse to drink much lao lao (well at least beer Lao).
We have visited a bunch of things in and around Luang Prabang. The best was a lovely waterfall. The worst was a weird and crap cave that was home to over 5000 crappy broken Buddha images. However, the highlight has just been riding bikes around, looking at the many wats scattered over the town and lapping up the cool atmosphere. I also read some books to some kids as part of great 'learn to read' program they have here in Luang Prabang.
Three days ago we jumped on a bus up to Nong Kiow, which is a quiet village about four hours north. We explored some awesome caves that villagers had lived in during the Secret War with the Americans (so secret in fact that I was really unsure what they were talking about for a while). The next day we jumped on a boat up to Mong Noi, which is another small town. Nyssa and I went and looked at caves (although no secret war connotations this time) and then attempted to set out for a Village that was apparently one hour's walk away, only to be discouraged by cows. That's right. Cows. A bunch of villagers pointed us down towards a dry rice field, which was fine. But then we saw a huge menacing heard of cows. I scanned my memory for stories of people venturing into cow paddocks and being killed, and me thinking "hmm what a dumb thing to do, I know I wouldn't do that", and while I was unable to recall any such memory we decided that the bull looking thing that was eyeing us didn't like white people. So we left. I'm sure the villagers understood our decision and didn't think us weak and wussy.
Having arrived back in town safe and sound we settled in for some average food (what can you expect in the middle of Laos, especially when you've been spoilt by Vietnam) and a few beer Laos with the local tourist office guy and the restaurant owner. By the way, believe the hype around Beer Lao. Nothing short of the best beer I've had in South East Asia. Beats the pants off Tiger, Singha, Saigon, Huda....any of them!
It was really nice to travel up to these towns. While they can't quite claim the coveted title of being truly "off the beaten track", what with Guesthouses and electricity till 10:00 pm, they were a significant change from the treks in the touristy areas of Chaing Mai or Sapa. Tourism still plays quite a much small role in these villages' economies and thus there were no handicrafts in sight, which I must say is quite a relief! Not sure what they will be like in five years though; quite changed I imagine.
We're heading to Phonnsovan tomorrow, which is home to the mystical "plain of jars". From there it is on to the tubing capital of Laos (quite a title) Vang Vieng!
We arrived in Laos about five days ago, landing in the beautiful city of Luang Prabang. I really really really like it here. It is really relaxed, the architecture is amazing and the people are lovely. The markets are even calm! Quite a contrast to the craziness of Vietnamese or Thai markets. I was bartering for a bed spread and the lady gave me a little seat to sit on, which I thought summed this place up. We have also met up with Nyssa, who is a good friend from Melbourne, which has provided an excuse to drink much lao lao (well at least beer Lao).
We have visited a bunch of things in and around Luang Prabang. The best was a lovely waterfall. The worst was a weird and crap cave that was home to over 5000 crappy broken Buddha images. However, the highlight has just been riding bikes around, looking at the many wats scattered over the town and lapping up the cool atmosphere. I also read some books to some kids as part of great 'learn to read' program they have here in Luang Prabang.
Three days ago we jumped on a bus up to Nong Kiow, which is a quiet village about four hours north. We explored some awesome caves that villagers had lived in during the Secret War with the Americans (so secret in fact that I was really unsure what they were talking about for a while). The next day we jumped on a boat up to Mong Noi, which is another small town. Nyssa and I went and looked at caves (although no secret war connotations this time) and then attempted to set out for a Village that was apparently one hour's walk away, only to be discouraged by cows. That's right. Cows. A bunch of villagers pointed us down towards a dry rice field, which was fine. But then we saw a huge menacing heard of cows. I scanned my memory for stories of people venturing into cow paddocks and being killed, and me thinking "hmm what a dumb thing to do, I know I wouldn't do that", and while I was unable to recall any such memory we decided that the bull looking thing that was eyeing us didn't like white people. So we left. I'm sure the villagers understood our decision and didn't think us weak and wussy.
Having arrived back in town safe and sound we settled in for some average food (what can you expect in the middle of Laos, especially when you've been spoilt by Vietnam) and a few beer Laos with the local tourist office guy and the restaurant owner. By the way, believe the hype around Beer Lao. Nothing short of the best beer I've had in South East Asia. Beats the pants off Tiger, Singha, Saigon, Huda....any of them!
It was really nice to travel up to these towns. While they can't quite claim the coveted title of being truly "off the beaten track", what with Guesthouses and electricity till 10:00 pm, they were a significant change from the treks in the touristy areas of Chaing Mai or Sapa. Tourism still plays quite a much small role in these villages' economies and thus there were no handicrafts in sight, which I must say is quite a relief! Not sure what they will be like in five years though; quite changed I imagine.
We're heading to Phonnsovan tomorrow, which is home to the mystical "plain of jars". From there it is on to the tubing capital of Laos (quite a title) Vang Vieng!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Farewell Vietnam!
So today is our last day in Vietnam and both Dean and I have certainly loved every bit of it!
This morning at 5:30am we arrived back in Hanoi from Sapa where we had spent two days trekking and one night in a nice hotel. It was an organised tour, which we were able to get discounted through Minh. There were mostly Australians on the trip, as there seems to be more Australians travelling in Vietnam than those from other countries. As the hotel receptionist in Sapa said, "Lots of Kangaroos here".
Sapa was established in the early 1920s as a French Station and is really high up in the mountains. The entire town is engulfed in a mist, which only lifts for approximately two hours each day from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. It was about 5 degrees during the day and felt like you were at the snow without any actual snow. On our first day we embarked upon a really easy 3 hour trek and had the afternoon for free time of which mine and Dean's was spent indulging in French pastries, tarts and hot chocolate by the open fire in a cafe. The next day we did a 6 hour trek, which was a bit hard on my ankles as it was long and VERY slippery. We all had gumboots on and at times I was almost up to my knees in mud. After we had been walking for an hour or so I became so renowned for slipping over on to my bottom that our tour guide insisted on holding my hand the whole way. Very embarrassing.
Prior to our Sapa trip Dean and I spent two days sight-seeing in Hanoi city. We visited Uncle Ho in the flesh, and went to the Ethnology, revolutionary and history museums and temple of literature. At the Temple of Literature we ran into the Australian couple from our Halong Bay tour and ended up spending the afternoon together drinking Beer Hoi, which was fun.
For our last day Dean and I bought some new fiction novels for Laos as we have flown through all we bought from home and those we bought in Hoi An. Dean bought a new pair of jeans as I stupidly left both our only pairs of pants in Sapa. Dean is off right now seeing the statue of Lenin whilst I went to a cafe near our guest house and indulged in my last almond tart and hot chocolate! Tonight we are going to see the Water Puppets, have a nice last dinner and then have a drink or two somewhere.
Vietnam has opened up a few new experiences for both Dean and I, however something particularly hilarious that I have never experienced before has happened to me a lot here. Vietnamese people love me! I mean come up to me and touch me face, want to pose with me in photos and they have never met me before, women say they want to take me home. At bars the men tell me they love me and ask if Dean is my brother. I say "boyfriend" and they screw up their faces and say"no, brother?".
Tomorrow we fly to Laos, which we have been told by so many people is wonderful and their favourite out of all places in SE Asia. Today marks a month since we left Melbourne. Time is flying by.
This morning at 5:30am we arrived back in Hanoi from Sapa where we had spent two days trekking and one night in a nice hotel. It was an organised tour, which we were able to get discounted through Minh. There were mostly Australians on the trip, as there seems to be more Australians travelling in Vietnam than those from other countries. As the hotel receptionist in Sapa said, "Lots of Kangaroos here".
Sapa was established in the early 1920s as a French Station and is really high up in the mountains. The entire town is engulfed in a mist, which only lifts for approximately two hours each day from 12:00pm to 2:00pm. It was about 5 degrees during the day and felt like you were at the snow without any actual snow. On our first day we embarked upon a really easy 3 hour trek and had the afternoon for free time of which mine and Dean's was spent indulging in French pastries, tarts and hot chocolate by the open fire in a cafe. The next day we did a 6 hour trek, which was a bit hard on my ankles as it was long and VERY slippery. We all had gumboots on and at times I was almost up to my knees in mud. After we had been walking for an hour or so I became so renowned for slipping over on to my bottom that our tour guide insisted on holding my hand the whole way. Very embarrassing.
Prior to our Sapa trip Dean and I spent two days sight-seeing in Hanoi city. We visited Uncle Ho in the flesh, and went to the Ethnology, revolutionary and history museums and temple of literature. At the Temple of Literature we ran into the Australian couple from our Halong Bay tour and ended up spending the afternoon together drinking Beer Hoi, which was fun.
For our last day Dean and I bought some new fiction novels for Laos as we have flown through all we bought from home and those we bought in Hoi An. Dean bought a new pair of jeans as I stupidly left both our only pairs of pants in Sapa. Dean is off right now seeing the statue of Lenin whilst I went to a cafe near our guest house and indulged in my last almond tart and hot chocolate! Tonight we are going to see the Water Puppets, have a nice last dinner and then have a drink or two somewhere.
Vietnam has opened up a few new experiences for both Dean and I, however something particularly hilarious that I have never experienced before has happened to me a lot here. Vietnamese people love me! I mean come up to me and touch me face, want to pose with me in photos and they have never met me before, women say they want to take me home. At bars the men tell me they love me and ask if Dean is my brother. I say "boyfriend" and they screw up their faces and say"no, brother?".
Tomorrow we fly to Laos, which we have been told by so many people is wonderful and their favourite out of all places in SE Asia. Today marks a month since we left Melbourne. Time is flying by.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Hanoi so far
The bus trip was very painful. The seats in fact hardly reclined at all and the actual trip dragged on for roughly 14 hours. We arrived in Hanoi and by the time we got to our pre-booked hotel it was about 9:30am. For the remainder of the day I had a particuarly stressful time trying to organise requirements for my course, which the university hadn't told me about before I left Melbourne. Anyway...
On Saturday night we had a lovely and very filling dinner but as I had been unable to sleep at all on the bus on Friday night I was very tired. On Sunday morning we departed Hanoi early for our Halong Bay trip, which was fantastic. Although it was overcast and quite cool our guide was very funny and the boat was wonderful. We only had nine people on our tour, which was really nice as apparently on cheaper tours they cram the numbers in. There was an Australian couple similar age to us, who were really nice and a Scottish woman who is making her way back to Glasgow after working in Burma. The last four were a Canadian family who were nice but a bit strange.
We arrived back in Hanoi this afternoon at around 4:30pm and tonight are going to a Vietnamese man, Minh, house for dinner with his family as he knows my parents. Tomorrow and Wednesday we are doing the sights in Hanoi and on Wednesday night we are travelling to Sapa for a few days until the 18th when we return to Hanoi and flight to Laos.
On Saturday night we had a lovely and very filling dinner but as I had been unable to sleep at all on the bus on Friday night I was very tired. On Sunday morning we departed Hanoi early for our Halong Bay trip, which was fantastic. Although it was overcast and quite cool our guide was very funny and the boat was wonderful. We only had nine people on our tour, which was really nice as apparently on cheaper tours they cram the numbers in. There was an Australian couple similar age to us, who were really nice and a Scottish woman who is making her way back to Glasgow after working in Burma. The last four were a Canadian family who were nice but a bit strange.
We arrived back in Hanoi this afternoon at around 4:30pm and tonight are going to a Vietnamese man, Minh, house for dinner with his family as he knows my parents. Tomorrow and Wednesday we are doing the sights in Hanoi and on Wednesday night we are travelling to Sapa for a few days until the 18th when we return to Hanoi and flight to Laos.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Second attempt
So,
I finally found an Internet connection that works. You know that last post, well I laboured over that for hours. Choose each word carefully, and then what? bang....didn't work. All I got was a title! There was so much more! And then I find that half the places in Hue block blogger. Well I can understand that, as my words are rather seditious and I have got this sense that the Vietnamese people are really getting into the blog. I mean Louise Cook is a very common Vietnamese name, like Nguyen and Le Loi. Except they were emperors.
Anyway,
We just returned from a rather long bus trip to the demilitarised zone, which was the boarder that separated north and south Vietnam. Strangely enough this was actually a really violent area, despite the name. There is very little left there now, as the combined efforts of the US blowing up their bases as they deserted them and the scavenging of the Vietnamese have totally engulfed any remnants of the war. However it was the sight of many of the huge battles of the American war, notably Khe Sann.
Other than that, we have been going around Hue looking at all sorts of old temples and palaces. During the French days Hue was the capital of Vietnam although, as with so many sites in Vietnam, endless wars have weathered these once great sites. It's actually really sad, with amazing temples being levelled in a stupid bunch of wars. However, the Grand Palace still sort of stands, and we sat in the building that the emperor used to use to watch military processions making us feel very regal.
On a lighter note we had an amazing dinner last night. In the Hue Royal style (that's right, this was the way the emperors demanded food be served!) we enjoyed a 6 course banquet. The first dish was Hue spring roles on formed peacock. Now I though this sentence was just one of the many victims of poor translation. But no...our yummy spring rolls (which as an aside are really popular and wholesome here, none of that deep fired crap) were mounted on a mock peacock, made out of pineapple and carrot! From now on I will not eat any meal that is not mounted on some sort of mock animal: pizza on mock dog, pasta on mock bat...the possibilities are endless!
Actually, since my last post I haven't mention Hoi An. Now Simon and Bob really talked this place up, and it was good. Perhaps not as good as they said, but lots of fun. The architecture is amazing; big old buildings, looking like a rundown Paris (well what I imagine Paris to look like). Hoi An is also the home of tailors, so I got a suit and some shirts made up, all of which I'm very happy with. We also had the pleasure of watching Vietnam draw with Indonesia in a bar full of Vietnamese men going mental (well as mental as the Vietnamese go!). The ASEAN cup is on at the moment, and due to the very low skill level in the league Vietnam are doing pretty well. Tell you what, it is nothing but soccer, soccer, soccer over here. Or is that football...
Anyways, we're heading to Hanoi tomorrow. That is the capital of Vietnam and is apparently very cool. All that stands in our way is a romantic boat trip down the perfume river (so named because a nice smelling princess committed suicide by jumping into the river) and a 12 hour bus trip. The train was booked, but they convince me it's "fine, very comfortable, no worries, new bus, great sleep"....
I finally found an Internet connection that works. You know that last post, well I laboured over that for hours. Choose each word carefully, and then what? bang....didn't work. All I got was a title! There was so much more! And then I find that half the places in Hue block blogger. Well I can understand that, as my words are rather seditious and I have got this sense that the Vietnamese people are really getting into the blog. I mean Louise Cook is a very common Vietnamese name, like Nguyen and Le Loi. Except they were emperors.
Anyway,
We just returned from a rather long bus trip to the demilitarised zone, which was the boarder that separated north and south Vietnam. Strangely enough this was actually a really violent area, despite the name. There is very little left there now, as the combined efforts of the US blowing up their bases as they deserted them and the scavenging of the Vietnamese have totally engulfed any remnants of the war. However it was the sight of many of the huge battles of the American war, notably Khe Sann.
Other than that, we have been going around Hue looking at all sorts of old temples and palaces. During the French days Hue was the capital of Vietnam although, as with so many sites in Vietnam, endless wars have weathered these once great sites. It's actually really sad, with amazing temples being levelled in a stupid bunch of wars. However, the Grand Palace still sort of stands, and we sat in the building that the emperor used to use to watch military processions making us feel very regal.
On a lighter note we had an amazing dinner last night. In the Hue Royal style (that's right, this was the way the emperors demanded food be served!) we enjoyed a 6 course banquet. The first dish was Hue spring roles on formed peacock. Now I though this sentence was just one of the many victims of poor translation. But no...our yummy spring rolls (which as an aside are really popular and wholesome here, none of that deep fired crap) were mounted on a mock peacock, made out of pineapple and carrot! From now on I will not eat any meal that is not mounted on some sort of mock animal: pizza on mock dog, pasta on mock bat...the possibilities are endless!
Actually, since my last post I haven't mention Hoi An. Now Simon and Bob really talked this place up, and it was good. Perhaps not as good as they said, but lots of fun. The architecture is amazing; big old buildings, looking like a rundown Paris (well what I imagine Paris to look like). Hoi An is also the home of tailors, so I got a suit and some shirts made up, all of which I'm very happy with. We also had the pleasure of watching Vietnam draw with Indonesia in a bar full of Vietnamese men going mental (well as mental as the Vietnamese go!). The ASEAN cup is on at the moment, and due to the very low skill level in the league Vietnam are doing pretty well. Tell you what, it is nothing but soccer, soccer, soccer over here. Or is that football...
Anyways, we're heading to Hanoi tomorrow. That is the capital of Vietnam and is apparently very cool. All that stands in our way is a romantic boat trip down the perfume river (so named because a nice smelling princess committed suicide by jumping into the river) and a 12 hour bus trip. The train was booked, but they convince me it's "fine, very comfortable, no worries, new bus, great sleep"....
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