homeward bound

reflections of angkor wat
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

From phnom penh we headed north on the bus to Siam Reap and the temples of Angkor. Siam reap is a small pretty town situated about 6k south of angkor wat itself, a small river winds through the town and it actually has some pavement- a rarity esp in phnom penh, the town is much quieter and is blessed with plenty of fine restaurants.
Angkor wat is actually one large famous temple surrounded by around 60 plus other temples, we managed about 24 in 3 days, it was actually quite expensive $40 each for a 3 day pass. the temples were built between 875ad and 1230ad by a succession of kings. They all really impressive, you could tell that they were all built by men with the fact that they all seemed to be trying to outsize each other, with the amount of giant phallus shapes everywhere it really was a bit of an ego contest. We spent 2 days cycling around the temples and the final day on a moto which we took out to the sublimely carved banteay srei, we visited the impressive bayon temple with its massive stone faces, ta prohm with its encroaching trees which now hold the temple together. Ta prohm was also used as a set for tomb raider allegedley having not seen it ourselves wouldn't know. Angkor wat itself was immense the final stairs to the top of the temple were really steep and very high, so it was obviously fun watching all the casts of cocoon struggling back down the steps.
We are writing this from our last destination Bangkok. recovering from the torrid bus journey back from Siam reap yesterday, we set off at 7am and arrived at the thai border 7 hours later after travelling along the bumpiest road either of us have ever been on, we had airtime with every pot hole the driver hit, tarmac was non existant as was air con, with the dust it was also impossible to open the windows. fun.
funny: a girl - unsuprisingly american- after having her passport stamped by the cambodians, then filling in a arrival form for thailand, having it and her passport stamped by the thai border guard, then walking past the welcome to thailand sign exclaimed 'oh are we in thailand now?' 10 minutes later as we waited for the bus.
we rolled into bangkok just before 8pm and are busily trying to repack so that our luggage isn't overweight for the flight home, we leave last thing monday night/tuesday morning 346 days after we set off on a cold febuary afternoon which seems lifetimes ago.

phnom penh

if the stone lions get bacon don't see why i don't
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

back to phnom penh which we really couldn't get into, the city is just too dusty, busy, smelly and just not all that interesting, but it is a personal opinion, we were a bit niffed cos the royal palace was shut as well. We visited the national museum which was pretty good housing a collection of statues and carvings rescued from angkor wat and other khymer temples around the country. we also visited the thought provoking Toul sleng museum, the one time school turned prison camp turned museum. The khymer rouge took over the country amid rumours and dissention with the nol lol regime of the time, the cambodian people were driven form their homes and into the country side where they were forced to work on the land for upto 15 hours per day on next to no food. people were killed if they spoke up, if they were seen to be educated or even if they had worked for the previous government. millions died during this time until the vietnamese drove the khymer rouge from power. Even now the country is still recovering and people still die to this day from lamd mine and other unexploded ordinance which is still being cleared. Toul Sleng was used to house political prisoners during this time where they were tortured for sometimes hours per day before eventually being taken to the killing fields outside the city of phnom penh. when the vietnamese reached the camp they discovered only 7 people still alive and the tortured remains of people still tied to the beds where they had been beaten to death. it is estimated that 17,000 people were tortured then taken away to be killed at toul sleng this was not a cheerful days sightseeing. The museum is mainly filled with pictures of prisoners taken by the khmer rouge sometimes before and after torture or even death, one block was covered in barbed wire from top to bottom to prevent prisoners from ending their own lives. We watched a film as well which contained a former guard explaing the way in which the prisoners were executed, made to kneel, blindfolded then bludgeoned to death from behind to save from wasting bullets.

taking it easy.....again

obviously overdid it earlier
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

ok so cambodia then we can go home and sleep for about 3 days solid. it is hard to get motivated at this stage of our journey so it was back to the beach for new year in sunny sihanoukville, named after cambodias controversial ex leader. Sihanoukville was heaving when we got there with lots of full or just scruffy guest houses with potheads lounging outside so we were relieved to find a nice room about a block back from the beach. The beach itself was fairly flat and featureless though a nice place to spend a week due to the great atmosphere basically there is one long row of beach bars all with free sun loungers so we spent our days relaxing in what became our regular bar dipping into the sea whenever we got too toasty. the first few nights we sampled the restuarants set aback from the beach enjoying delicious japanesse food, we didn't want to go down to the beach until new years eve and glad we didn't it would have been like ruining a great susprise because when we did venture down it looked amazing. all the bars were lit up by hundereds of fairy lights, candles, bonfires, fireworks and flame throwers. it felt really special and very romantic, our best new years eve ever and we very much enjoyed ourselves. each night thereafter we ate down at the beach, our regular bar in the evening built a bonfire where we snuggled up on the wicker settees eating the incredibly tasty bbq barracuda. we also befriended a little cute white puppy on the beach, but soon regretted it was he terrorised us so much we had to hide from him in the sea whenever he came by. he was a little bitey nibbling anything he couold get near with his needle sharp puppy teeth which was eventually another dog who he decided to savage on our sarong, we left the beach early that day.
sad: 2 german girls going topless when they were the only ones on the beach to do so as it is a bit of a social taboo.
funny: 5 cambodian kids walking past mouths agape before wetting themselves laughing and going back for a 2nd and 3rd look at the funny westerners and their mad habits.
sad: amount of misrerable westerners waving their hands at beggars (many of whom had lost limbs from land mines) like they were troublesome birds or dogs rather than just saying 'no sorry' if they didn't want to give.
funny: one of the self same idiots leaving his baguette on the table while he went for a swim, meanwhile a little urchin kid walked away with a massive grin and the guys sandwich. we denied having seen anything

Floating down the Delta

bamboo bridge
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

Our three day Mekong Delta tripwas actually Ok despite our massive reservations about it being tacky as hell with lots of tourist traps, to be fare day 1 was exactly that. But the next two days were really enjoyable mainly drifting down the Mekong on a boat peering into peoples houses and lives on the river, it was a bit voyeuristic but seeing the floating market and the floating village was really great. Bit strange that nearly all the dogs on the floating village barges were wearing their owners t-shirts or jumpers. Little odd. The village was moored next to a muslim village on the banks which every year without fail flooded, sometimes up to 6ft high the houses were all built on stilts but you really would think about moving up the hill a bit.
On the last day of our trip we asked to be dropped off in the town of Long Xumen from where we were to catch a public bus to Rach Gia on the coast. The bus was our first real taste of public transport in Vietnam as all the buses so far have been the horrendous open buses chocked full of tourist just like us. The seat in front was occupied by two guys, 1 wasted on rice wine who spent the journey continually shaking my hand and trying to bully me into having a cig despite my polite protestations. The seat behind was filled by a sweet Vietnamese girl who insisted on practicing her English on us for an hour before we tired of rifling through the phrase book to understand the words we really couldn’t understand. We were dropped in the town of Rach soi 7k from our destination from where we needed to get a motorcycle taxi to Rach Gia itself. There was definitely no shortage of them, drivers were banging on the windows of the bus before it even stopped, shouting and gesticulating at us. One guy was just plain terrifying almost screaming at us with a very angry face, after much stressful bartering we found ourselves in Rach Gia the port from where to get to Phu Quoc, an island off the south coast of Vietnam where we intended to spend Christmas. Unfortunately the early boat for the next day was doubtful because of the weather, worse still upon rising we were told that all boats were cancelled and there were no seats left on any of the 3 planes which depart from there, bugger.
Bit of a waste of time really, instead of a boat trip to a tropical island it was back on a death defying local minibus/ transit van back to the delights of Saigon. Saigon was actually our third choice of destination, after failing to get to Phu Quoc we decided on heading to Chau doc and crossing into Cambodia via a Mekong Delta boat trip. However at the local bus station we couldn’t really find a bus to Chau Doc and there happened to be one to Saigon so that decided we would spend Christmas in Saigon, only this changed again and we ended up in Mui Ne for Xmas. Confused? We were.
Drastically this meant going back on the brain numbing, soul destroying open bus back up to the coast to Mui Ne. I have worked out that since leaving Hue heading south to Saigon then a there and back trip to Mui Ne on the open bus we have done an average of 30kph, that’s kilometers per hour folks, the driver just hits 5th gear and refuses to accelerate. I actually felt like showing him which pedal made the bus go faster.
Mui Ne is a kite surfers paradise there are hundreds of them every afternoon when the wind picks up and the waves crash in. it is great fun just getting dunked playing in the surf which is what we did on xmas eve, we booked into our most expensive hotel of the trip but it was well worth it for the pool alone in which we spent most of xmas day, it wasn’t very Christmassy despite spotting a kite surfing santa and having crappy Christmas music being pumped out from every bar and restaurant but we still enjoyed the beach.
We are now in Penom Penh in our 10th country so far, Cambodia, we do seem to have a thing for these war ravaged countries don’t we but more about that later. Off to Sihanoukville tomorrow for some more relaxing beach time over new year before coming back here. Less than 3 weeks to go now, and it seems to be going faster, both looking forward to coming home though as it nears don’t know for how long.

It's no wonder the bloody horse is smiling

nick on pritstick
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

Well our most recent and god help us our last over night bus trip was another sleepless affair, hoi an to nha trang on the coast. We decided as it is barely sunny to travel straight through Nha Trang on the worlds slowest bus to Dalat, the Vietnamese must be embarrassed as it took around 8 hours for a 300k journey, we swear the drivers go purposely slow just to conserve petrol. The overnight trip was made doubly fun by the 2 local guys sitting in front who reclined their chairs within 5 minutes of setting off- leg room galore.
Dalat is located in the central highlands of Vietnam, set on the edge of a lake and surrounded by French style chalets it is decidedly European, although the busy streets and bustling market remind you of your location.
After a day of dithering around town trying to decide on a trip to do the following day we finally plumped for a 3 hour horse ride followed by a stop off at ‘the crazy house’. Every attraction in Dalat seemed to be proceeded by crazy. Crazy monk??, crazy coffee and crazy god knows what. The town seems to be surrounded by a large collection of crap ‘crazy’ attractions which all seem to be trying to cash in on the crazy house built by a eccentric Vietnamese architect who has constructed a guest house similar to Gaudi tenement block in Barcelona.
The horse ride started well enough with us at least managing to get on the horses, they were to be called Uhu and Pritstick but Anne insisited on calling hers by its proper name of sinjow. The 2 horse guys led there steeds along on foot as we rode before letting go once we entered the pine forest which was really nice with views of mountains in the distance, our first stop didn’t go well as on dismount Anne’s foot got caught causing her to fall backwards and bump her head. When trying to remount the horse started to buck and struggle, he wasn’t a happy horsie he just wanted to eat grass and not a great deal else. But the main problem with the horse ride was the immense pain which developed in our nether regions, even 4 days later my arse is still killing.I swear it was a wooden saddle, I have actually developed an abscess at the bottom of my back where the bloody saddle rubbed away my delicate skin. We actually passed the starting point at after 2 hours and we were both relieved that we were about to stop only for them to carry on, in the end we just got off and walked with numb feet and agonizing knees.
With much discomfort we caught the bus to Saigon/Ho chi minh city, 9 hours and 300k later we arrived in the tourist bit of Saigon. I think that has been our only problem with Vietnam that you are herded about sheep like from one bus to another, you could obviously do stuff independently by public bus or train but it winds up so much more expensive or a lot more hassle. Although laughing at crazy pants for the journey does pass the time, one guy wore stupid baggy ‘yes I’m down with the locals pants’ topped by an outrageous baggy bright yellow, green and red top, travelers can wear some crap, can’t imagine him wearing them down Piccadilly gardens. It is purely to look an authentic hardened traveler but as he ended up proving they are usually the first to whine, everyone does seem to be in constant competition as to who has been where and seemingly who can look the wackiest.
Saigon is OK, not as exciting as Hanoi, lots more tourists, lots more cars, not as many mopeds, great western food for those (us) seeking home comforts. We visited the superb War remnants museum which hosted a collection of photos documenting the American- Vietnam war, the photos were very moving saw one woman in tears, the atrocities documented were very shocking although the Vietnamese only focused on the US crimes despite the fact that quite a few were committed by the Communist north. The photos of people affected even now by the defoliants dropped by the Americans were really heart wrenching and you have to question why this was allowed to happen and more to the point why the guilty parties were mostly allowed to get away with the crimes committed.
We are leaving Saigon tomorrow on a 3 day tour of the Mekong delta before catching the boat to Phu Quoc island to spend a week for Christmas, at least we hope that is what we are doing. We talked to a man in a fish sauce shop who took our details the said ‘yes’, nothing more as to whether that is ‘yes’ you have a reservation at my hotel or ‘yes’ I have your details but you are not getting a room, is another thing.

DMZ

buffaloes in pea soup
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

We caught the dreaded night train down to the town of Hue, thought we were actually being launched into space at times it was sooo noisy, Hue is situated just south of the DMZ- the no mans land which in the vietnam/american war divided the 2 countries. The town straddles the perfume river so called because of the smell of flowers which used to fill the noseof those travelling down the river in this area. Hue is centred around an old citadel containing the Purple forbidden city a smaller, quieter version of the Beijing version far to the north.We checked into the Thai Binh hotel, $10 per ight for aair con and sat TV, kept asking to make sure the price wasn’t each or just a deposit or something.

The first day we spent exploring the citadel and surrounds before being talked into a motorcycle trip around the bits we hadmissed, at $4 each couldn’t complain. Really enjoyed zooming around the town on the back of the bikes wouldn’t have dared to drive ourselves. We climbed up the hills behind the town to visit a temple where the monks were chanting, then climbed up higher for views of the city where our guide told us abouthis time in war, he was a S Vietnam soilder and said the south felt betrayed by the americans who didn’t fulfill their promise and left them to suffer, after the war he was placed in a ‘Re-education camp’ by the communist north to learn the error of his ways. We really enjoyed the tour, so much so that we agreed to do a much longer one the following day, 300k, 8am til 6pm on the back of a bike to the DMZ.

The tour was fantastic, we visited an old church which was riddled with bullet holes and just a shell, a north vietnamese graveyard the americans depicted on the murals were smeared with dirt which shows justhow deeply some of the people still feel. The young lad how was todays guide explained that now he just wants a good leader and no more war, all of his older relatives were involved in the war, he feels the country is changing and is much better since 1992 when the country opened up, people are now allowed to own their own businesses, travel abroad although it was obvious over both days that people still have to be very careful in what they say out loud, we were told you never know who is listening. Next on thebike tour we visited a disued US camp with a rusted old tank, the guide got a bit lost truying to find an old bunker and we had to ask 4 kids to sjow us the way, they later offered to show us some live munitions which they knew of, we declined. Finally we visited the superb Vietcong tunnels, te tunnels built over 3 levels led down to the sea, the villagers lived on and off inside the tunnels for 6 years and were part of the supply link to an offshore island on which were based a north vietnam commmand post. 17 babies were born in the tiny maternity ‘room’ which was nothing more than 1 6x4ft dug out section along one of the tunnels, so all the ladies we know who are currently with bumps can think themselves bloody lucky. The only problem with the trup was once we left the tunnels and joined the road alongside the soth china sea it started to rain, hard. I was reminded of forest gump the bit where he is in the vietnamese jungle describing the rain, it camefrom everywhere above, sideways, below, big splodgy drops and drizzle the kind that makes you really wet. Despite the waterproofs we were soaked in 10 mins, later itstopped long enough for us to dry in the wind before it rained again as we approached Hue on the way back.

We are currently in Hoi An, caught the bus this morning after watching United go 9 points clear last night, Yay. Hoi An to quote lonelyplanet is like a living museum, really old chinese style architecture. But more importantly to anne is the never ending tailor shops. A friend just emailed In response to my last blog entry pointing out a positive side to child labour saying that it is a stage in a countries development and Anne has found another positive- she has just ordered a $35 duffle coat, made to measure she can once more look like a cute little hobbit! We have order another coat each and a suit for anne. We have five weeks left so god knows what we are gonna do with it all til then but never mind.

Good morning Vietnam

rush hour
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

After our little history lesson in Kanchanaburi we flew to Hanoi the capital of Vietnam, the ninth country on our tour.

Finally we have a winner in the cheapest beer in the world competition, surely nowhere can beat Hanois' fantastic Bia Hoi 'Halida' at a bargain...............7p per glass, that’s right for the price of about 2 pints back home you can get around 100 over here, If anyone knows of a cheaper one I would love to know.

After touching down at the airport, losing a very persistent tout we caught the 15p 'express' bus to the centre(you can't complain at that price), from there we wanted to get a taxi to our hotel. The main problem with this was the taxi was on the other side of the street, ok well just cross the road then, well no cos this is hanoi and there are thousands upon thousands of moped bombing endlessly past in all directions. The taxi driver actually had to walk across the road to walk us back across to his waiting taxi across the 3 lanes, he even held out a hand for us to hold, we declined but did use him as a human shield instead. We have got it figured now you just walk don't look, don't change direction, don't make any sudden movements just slowly amble across the road and praying all the while. The weather here is a lot cooler than Bangkok but that actually makes it a lot more pleasant, if it wasn't for the moped chaos it would be great, to be honest this is probably my favourite city so far, it has a really fast pace and there is always something to watch.
Despite this the city has some of the worst architecture we have ever seen, 6 storey concrete monstrousities which rise vertigo inducing like evil doll houses from wherever they can fit them. The city center is centered to the north of a picturesque lake which offers some respite, we are based in the old quarter which is very french, striped awnings above tiny cafes and baguette sellers on every corner.
Ok they actually shop from their mopeds it really is bizarre, they just cruise up and down checking out the shops before veering up to one shouting to the vendor, trying on the product, bartering the price, paying all while still seated on their still running moped.
We did a quick city tour checking out Ho Chi Minhs masoleum which was very stately but not worth the wait (there was a queue) and we think it was just a wax model, after that we checked out a few temples. We decided not to visit Halong bay which we did not fancy after already having been to Guilin in China so instead managed to find someplace else which also looked identical to Guilin. Tam coc was about 2 hours drive south, you board a tiny boat me and anne up front, a young woman to paddle in the middle and an ancient old woman to do the serious rowing i the back, some of the rowers had mastered rowing with their feet which was impressive but not something i'd want a 90 yr old woman to try to emulate. The trip was cool between massive limestone pinnacles, we saw mountain goats teetering on the cliff face and went through a few caves. The only problems were when i jokingly said I would row- she immediately produced an oar for me which I felt guilt tripped into using for the entire hour and when she produced the goods for sale- it is like a market vendor you can never excape from. As a tool for selling the products she also produced some pictures of her and her 4 children sewing the goodies in question. Now child labour isn't something you would normally produce evidence of in order to promote your goods, but when you think of it this could be a great idea of some companies. Come on Nike where are the pics of tiny indian kids blisters on their hands and fingers when you purchase your new footy. Gap could put massive posters in the windows, this little bangladeshi kid hand sewed you hoodie and will have athritis by the time he is 25, that is why your hoodie costs 60 quid worth every penny.
We are heading south on the night train to Hue then downwards.

Man attacked at tiger temple

BEAR ATTACK!!!!!!
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

We left my beloved parents at Bangkok airport and after another days shopping in Bangkok headed west to Kanchanaburi, the home of the bridge over the river Kwai. After a 3hour train trip to the town we set out to explore the town, a songtheauw driver shouted over about the Tiger temple which unbeknownst to us is only 40k away, after paying an extortiantate fee we headed off in his pickup. For those who don't know the tiger temple was started when a local villager 'found' a tiger cub but after keeping it for a few years it became too big to manage and so they handed over to the local monastery to care for. The tiger because of its habit of only eating enough to sustain itself was declared to have Buddhist values and the decision was made to keep the tiger. The collection soon grew as word spread and know the temple is home to about 15 tigers as well as a collection of other animals including wild boars, wild horses and ducks and whatnot.

Anyway you get to have your pics taken with the dosile tigers, yes we asked the question about whether they were doped but were told 3 times that because they are nocturnal they are quite docile for most of the day, all were chained and people were led by the hand 1 by 1 round the tigers to have photos taken. One tiger at the back was always avoided by the helpers and this by coincidence was a really grumpy one, even though everyone could see the chain it didn't stop the frankly petrified looks from being exchanged between visitors and staff. Anne went through twice I just the once but it was really impressive to see them so close up and 2nd time round anne was already confident enough for the page 3 shots(don't bother looking the top stayed on). After the tiger photo session we headed through the rest of the temple and found a sun bear being watched by a monk and a helper, it looked a tad depressed doing the pacing thing people were having pictures taken but it was a bit sad really. When we came back past the bear it was alone and tied up to as stump, so dr doolittle here decided to try and cheer the little bear up (anne insists it was little but you can clearly see by the pics it was a beast?) I squated down beside him and patted him gently, he responded by nuzzling a bit closer then the little bastard took a bite at me. He bit a hole right through my Tshirt and left little scrape marks on my hip, was almost thinking quite worridly back to not having those rabies jabs before departure. and yes that id me running away like a big girl on the picture.

The rest of our time in Kanchanaburi was spent exploring the bridge over the river kwai and the war museum sited nearby which was a little lacking. Day 2 we Kayaked down the river kwai right under the bridge, 3 hours of kayaking later we were both knackered, Anne from sunbathing in the front and me from padlling at the back. We were lucky enough to be there for a light and sound 'spectacular' which is only held for 1 week each year. It was a recreation of the building and destruction of the bridge but sucked a bit cos it was all in Thai, you'd think we were in another country or something.

gerroff my ass woman

long tail boats
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

Guess what folks it's holiday time, ok we might have been abroad for almost 10 months now but we all know it's been far from a holiday so a bit of beach time with my parents was well deserved. Despite out worries and constant whinging they booked for Kata beach in Phuket (phuket oh god no!!!) but much to our surprise it was actually a very enjoyable 2 weeks in the sun.
Ok where were we last? Laos in the town of Pakse, went to see a couple of mammoth waterfalls and a coffee plantation where we got my dad some Lao Lao whisky which tasted like rocket fuel but by the time he headed for home it had gone so can't have been too bad. Our last day in Laos was spent in a typical way for our asia travels. got up at 7am for the tuk tuk to the bus station, caught a songtheuw to the Thai border- where i'm pretty sure we copuld have walked across unchalleneged, at the other side caught the first of 3 sontheauws to Ubon Ratchanthani before getting a train ticket for the overnight train trip to bangkok. We arrived in Bangkok at 5.50am after about 1 hours sleep on the rocking train - This is why we deserve a rest! As soon as you crossed the border back to Thailand the chang was instant, the houses made of straw and wood in Laos were now concrete, the people dressed in sarongs in laos were dressed smarter than we were. Laos was a really great country still struggling to get itself sorted out and recover from the stone age into which the yanks bombed them.The people were fantastically friendly the kids especially waving and screaming hello at you, the scenery esp in the north was stunning, Luang Prabang was one of the only places we would revisit on our entire trip along with Vang vieng (but only for the scenery not the chilled ambience man).
Once back in Bangkok we hunted down mom and dad in the luxary hotel (200baht for 2 coffee's pfff) and spent the day wandering round bangkiok, scaled the 6th? largest building in the world but couldn't see a great deal through the smog. We chickened out after that, we had a choice between spending 18 (yes eighteen hours) on the bus to Phuket or to get a flight for 25 quid each and to take an hour, hmmm. turns out the bus journey to the resort took longer than the flight butit certainly didn't take 18 hours so well worth the money. We passed through the living hell that was patong beach on the way to Kata- never seen so many sleazey fellas cruising for young thai girls, old men should surely only have an 18 year old if they are their nurse- shouldn't they? With the exception of China this is our most expensive accommodation by far, lots of expensive restaurants didn't help either but once we got here felt we really didn't want to leave.
We changed to a great bungalow with a stunning seaview after 1 day of being there so for only 7 pounds per night we could see the entire bay. Went on a few trips 1 to Phang Nga to see where Man with the golden gun was filmed and one the Phi Phi islands to see where The Beach was filmed and yes I was mistaken for leonardo (yeah right). Final trip was out to Raya and Coral island off the southern coast of Phuket. The snorkelling was really impressive everywhere we went only let down by my pet hate people standing on the coral- you do NOT where flippers to help you stand on the coral you idiot, we saw people kicking off lumps of the stuff, ah well it will probably only take another 5 years to grow back- prat. We even complained to the guide that he should be instructing people before they get in the water but to no avail. anyway saw lots of really cool stuff- Banded eels, clown fish, false clown fish, 2 massive lion fish hiding under a rock and the best 2 really big cuttle fish just drifting over the top of the coral, look them up really alien looking the coolest thing i've ever seen under the water.
It was great to see my mum and dad, anne was my mums personal shopper for the fortnight while I entertained my dad before his massages, speaking of which before United - chelsea I got talked into going for one. Led into the back of the shop into a dimly lit curtained off bed area and asked to wait, so I did, she came back laughing cos i'd just sat there so was told to remove my clothes. After taking off my top and pants she returned 'no no all off!!' 'What?' so butt naked lay and awaited my fate, it was actually quite relaxing not the painful experience we have had previously, the only unexpected issue was she would not stop rubbing my ass and if it wasn't there she kept catching areas altogether more off limits, no wonder my dad went every night I could barely turn over at one point. Annes massages are much better and she isn't rubbing anyone else!
Back in Bangkok now, leaving for Hanoi in Vietnam on Monday for the final 6 weeks of the trip before flying home on the 16th/17th of January back to the cold, is it snowing yet? hope so.

following the Mekong south

crossing the mekong very carefully
Originally uploaded by chezynickannie.

OK decided that Laos is actually a massive farm yard, this is not meant in a derogatory way it’s just that everywhere you go has animals- in the capital vieantiane thay had chickens, everywhere else has pigs, goats, buffalos, cows, chickens, dogs, cats, turkeys, chucks and ducks.
We left bright and early for Savannakhet, there was not much to do in the small town but we stopped a night here as a way of breaking up the journey south and avoiding getting the overnight bus down to Pakse with all the ‘dudes’ on the way to Don Det. Savannakhet is 9 hours by bus from Vientiane, situated surprise, surprise on the banks of the Mekong which we have now followed for about a week. The town still has lots of French colonial architecture dotting the town in various states of disrepair but this gives it a quaint feel. We spent an afternoon wandering around the town looking at buildings and strolling through the temples. We have worked out that since arriving in Asia in July we have only visited around 5 towns without visiting a temple which you would think makes us experts but definitely doesn’t.
We left the next morning and shared the back of the bus with pigs in sacks, chicken in beautifully tailored straight jackets and lots and lots of sacks of rice. Pakse was just another stopping point on our journey south so after one night we left and boarded a very crowded songtheauw (33 people-a new record) to Champasak. After a lot of toilet and food stops we trundled down to the river banks where I (Anne) assumed that it was another stopping point and was amused by the very primitive looking rafts used to transport cars and buses across, pointing them out to nick I was horrified when he said that was what our van was going across on, panic set in as the van toppled from side to side on the sandy banks and the reality that I am not a strong enough swimmer to make it back to shore of the wide swirling river should the ferry have sank.. We hung around in the tiny town of Champasak which consisted of one street of shops and houses which stretched for about 3k along the river. The reason for visiting the town is to see Wat Phu, a khymer temple actually older than the famous Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the wat is 10k south of town so again on rickety hire bikes we set off onto the baking sun. The cycle was pretty quick if slightly rough on the old bum, the temple was ok not as good as we would have hoped. Can’t complain too much it is world heritage listed but what isn’t, you start of at the base layer- a couple of ponds, then ascend a central rickety staircase up to 2 more levels the higher of which houses the sanctuary, a single sandstone structure intricately carved with Buddhist and Hindu figures. The view from the top was amazing with the crumbling relics spanning out below. We spent the remainder of the day having drinks while watching the Mekong slink by below the veranda.
Another early start (Nick’s getting bags under his eyes) had us transported across the Mekong on two tiny canoes with a pallet on top, worryingly the pilot was bailing the boat out the whole crossing while leaving another passenger to steer. Lucky he didn’t get me to do it or the two mopeds in transit would now be sat on the bottom of the river. Our aim of the day was to head down to the 4000 islands. There are three islands that tourists visit. Don Khong a large island furthest north, Don Det, backpacker capital, and Don Khon a quiet retreat, so obviously where we wanted to head to the latter. The first van that turned up heading to Don Det was way to full to get on despite the drivers insistence that we could, so after a lengthy wait a bus finally arrived and we piled on never giving a thought to were the bus was actually headed. After some confusion with the conductor we realized we were on the bus to Don Khong so leaving it to fate we opted to stay on the northernmost island. The island wasn’t quite as basic as those down south- it has electricity, attached clean bathrooms, walls and windows that sort of thing. We spent the first day taking a leisurely cycle around the island, well not quite 50k on hellish bikes left us with sore knees, but the people here are some of the friendliest we have met whilst traveling. I know it sounds clichéd but the kids really did all rush forward waving and shouting hellos with big cheesy smiles, even for anti-kid people it was quite touching, they didn’t ask for anything just waved. The whole island is harvesting its rice, seemingly by hand and we saw loads of people using foot operated rice cutters as well as kids fishing in the mud flats that bordered he padi fields. Next day we took a $6 trip on a slow boat to see the islands further south, we felt a bit hurried having only 5hrs and being too sore to cycle. We moored in Don Det and followed the path along the river to a bridge connecting to Don Khong. On the way we passed all the backpacker accommodation and felt really relieved that we had not ended up staying here, basically it fair to say that the bungalows are well below basic standard and are famed for being $1 per night its not hard to see why, but I guess if you’re stoned it doesn’t matter. We saw plenty of Dude and Dudettes on the way down so couldn’t be more smug to say we didn’t have to listen to the crap that was sure to be talked til 3am. Still the more southerly Don Khon was very nice, it had lots of signs of its former colonization with ruined train lines and rusted locomotives. Also down the western side of the island the Mekong was forced down a series of rapids and waterfalls which was impressive with the force of the water. We spent the night back in civilized Don Khong (1 letter does make a hell of a difference) having a meal with hanneke and Jocco a Dutch couple we had met on the slow boat right back at the start of our Laos trip and bumped into every other town since. Back in Pakse now after another hellish 6 hr bus trip where we actually went in a circle for the first 2 hours before crossing the Mekong (another dodgy car ferry/raft) we made it the bus almost didn’t after getting stuck coming back off the boat. We also ended up carrying a moped in the middle aisle after the driver and his wife ran out of petrol, the guy sat astride it for the duration of the trip. We are going on a trip to see a couple of waterfalls and a coffee plantation tomorrow before crossing back to Thailand for the trip to Bangkok and the long awaited beach.