Monday, March 28, 2011
Top 10 Favorite Moments...in no particular order
1. 50 km downhill cycle approaching Nha Trang Vietnam, and the culmination of our bike ride. This was our second to last ride, and was definitely one, if not the most memorable from the bike trip. We started out climbing the mountain in dead heat, only to climb high enough to put two jackets on it was so cold and windy. Once we made it to the top, we had the 50 km to look forward to. Our first 10 km were in the clouds, or heavy fog, where you were unable to see in front of you. The descent was steep enough that experienced riders screamed down the mountain going close to 60 km/hr. This was a surreal ride not only because of the pace, but because at any given turn the road would open up, and you could see through an entire valley, or mountain range.
2. Australian Open in Melbourne. As one of the four grand slams in tennis, you would never expect to pay 20 dollars for an open admission to such a fun event. Melbourne Park is acres of beautifully kept grounds, bars, and projection tv’s to watch the matches. We were lucky enough to catch the men’s final and had a blast while doing it.
3. Drive through Arthur’s Pass National Park in New Zealand. Even though it was not on a bike, because it would not be possible to do this via two wheels unless you were a mix of Hercules and Lance, it one of the most memorable paths in either of our lives. It’s hard to rank the beautiful drives throughout New Zealand, but this is absolutely recommended because the terrain was actually unbelievable.
4. Night and Sunrise dives on the Great Barrier Reef. The night dive was unique because our boat was the only thing is site for 2 hours in the middle of the ocean. We were diving and swimming with fish the size of our bodies in the absolute pitch black sea. We jumped in the water the next morning, just before 6 am, to dive with all the fish as they were waking up beginning to feed. Two completely different dives, and different perspectives.
5. Landing in Pakse International Airport. This was an absolute joke, and will never be forgotten for three reasons; they stamped Birmy’s Vietnam Visa for Lao, gave us laminated/ reusable boarding passes, and literally operated an international airport without electricity. (No, not even solar power, battery power, or reusable power….no power).
6. Bay of Martyrs. Great Ocean Road. This was one of the many stops along the famous road- but was incredibly gorgeous, isolated, colorful, and very surreal. Our tour group hung out on the beach for hours taking in the sites.
7. Day trips to Milford and Doubtful Sound. Fiordland National Park. As described before, each were beautiful in their own ways due to different scenery and climates, and gave us a new perspective to nature.
8. Stranded in Koh Phi Phi. Even though this is one of the world’s top 10 most beautiful beaches, we are stranded here with other backpackers left to listen to the local tunes that include the mosque in the backyard of our PhiPhi Don Chukit Resort, meowing cats surrounding the food left on the front porch of our bungalow, and the sweet sound of torrential downpour, or the beautiful noise created by our friendly neighbors who decide to host a family pig roast at 8 am in front of our bungalow covered in debris from last night’s monsoon.
9. The birthday dinner of one of our fellow riders. Not only was it a self grill bbq restaurant with rats roaming freely and 25 cent beers the size of a 2 liter cola, but it was one of the most fun dinners of the trip. We had the best group, and were all enjoying each other’s company for yet another 2000 calorie meal…but this time it was to celebrate not only a birthday, but the end of an unforgettable bike journey through Vietnam.
10. From the second we embarked on Aladin’s Magic School Bus until the time we left holding onto the back of a tuk tuk in the pouring rain, we are at a loss for words about Vang Vieng, Lao. From getting poisoned by dollar whiskey buckets (which equates to 6 cents a shot), to getting sick from tree bark burgers at a bar that played Friends all day with no tables only platforms to lay on little mermaid reused comforters, to meeting a friend named Martin who spoke at least 250 words a minute, to seeing the infamous river that can only be described as a water playground for monkeys or people who prefer drugs to water…Vang Vieng will never be forgotten (or revisited…but everyone has to experience this at least once. Just don’t try the burger).
2. Australian Open in Melbourne. As one of the four grand slams in tennis, you would never expect to pay 20 dollars for an open admission to such a fun event. Melbourne Park is acres of beautifully kept grounds, bars, and projection tv’s to watch the matches. We were lucky enough to catch the men’s final and had a blast while doing it.
3. Drive through Arthur’s Pass National Park in New Zealand. Even though it was not on a bike, because it would not be possible to do this via two wheels unless you were a mix of Hercules and Lance, it one of the most memorable paths in either of our lives. It’s hard to rank the beautiful drives throughout New Zealand, but this is absolutely recommended because the terrain was actually unbelievable.
4. Night and Sunrise dives on the Great Barrier Reef. The night dive was unique because our boat was the only thing is site for 2 hours in the middle of the ocean. We were diving and swimming with fish the size of our bodies in the absolute pitch black sea. We jumped in the water the next morning, just before 6 am, to dive with all the fish as they were waking up beginning to feed. Two completely different dives, and different perspectives.
5. Landing in Pakse International Airport. This was an absolute joke, and will never be forgotten for three reasons; they stamped Birmy’s Vietnam Visa for Lao, gave us laminated/ reusable boarding passes, and literally operated an international airport without electricity. (No, not even solar power, battery power, or reusable power….no power).
6. Bay of Martyrs. Great Ocean Road. This was one of the many stops along the famous road- but was incredibly gorgeous, isolated, colorful, and very surreal. Our tour group hung out on the beach for hours taking in the sites.
7. Day trips to Milford and Doubtful Sound. Fiordland National Park. As described before, each were beautiful in their own ways due to different scenery and climates, and gave us a new perspective to nature.
8. Stranded in Koh Phi Phi. Even though this is one of the world’s top 10 most beautiful beaches, we are stranded here with other backpackers left to listen to the local tunes that include the mosque in the backyard of our PhiPhi Don Chukit Resort, meowing cats surrounding the food left on the front porch of our bungalow, and the sweet sound of torrential downpour, or the beautiful noise created by our friendly neighbors who decide to host a family pig roast at 8 am in front of our bungalow covered in debris from last night’s monsoon.
9. The birthday dinner of one of our fellow riders. Not only was it a self grill bbq restaurant with rats roaming freely and 25 cent beers the size of a 2 liter cola, but it was one of the most fun dinners of the trip. We had the best group, and were all enjoying each other’s company for yet another 2000 calorie meal…but this time it was to celebrate not only a birthday, but the end of an unforgettable bike journey through Vietnam.
10. From the second we embarked on Aladin’s Magic School Bus until the time we left holding onto the back of a tuk tuk in the pouring rain, we are at a loss for words about Vang Vieng, Lao. From getting poisoned by dollar whiskey buckets (which equates to 6 cents a shot), to getting sick from tree bark burgers at a bar that played Friends all day with no tables only platforms to lay on little mermaid reused comforters, to meeting a friend named Martin who spoke at least 250 words a minute, to seeing the infamous river that can only be described as a water playground for monkeys or people who prefer drugs to water…Vang Vieng will never be forgotten (or revisited…but everyone has to experience this at least once. Just don’t try the burger).
Helpful or Not-So-Helpful Tips
You do not need to reserve guesthouses, hotels, or hostels in advance when traveling in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and hopefully anywhere else we go. You can ask a tuk-tuk driver to take you to the center of town, or a cheap guesthouse- and there most always will be availability. This will save you money, time, and effort.
It was helpful to utilize hostel airport transfers in Australia and New Zealand, but in SE Asia, you can go anywhere within a radius of 45 km for around 5 dollars each.
Especially in Thailand, do not be afraid to eat of the streets despite what your doctor, mother, guidebook, or common sense may tell you. If there is a line of locals, a good rule of thumb would be do as the locals will do. You can get a meal for a dollar, and it will likely be better than anything you can get in a restaurant.
Even if you have never tried Pepto Bismal, or the consistency scares you this is all you need for potential stomach issues in this region. Instead of pregaming with vodka, we have often found ourselves taking swigs of pepto in preparation for a long night out.
DO NOT pack like Carley. If you are afraid they don’t carry nice face wash, body wash, deodorant, or good shampoo you’re a fool. Even though these are some of the largest tourist destinations in the world, she was convinced there would be none of the above. It is wiser to buy as you go here, for it will save you a great deal of space in your suitcase.
There are 711s in Thailand. Many times, you can be standing and looking around in a circle and be able to throw a rock at three 711s…sometimes even four. There is also canned mountain dew for anyone who is as addicted as anyone who can ever say they have lived on Wall St or Center St.
Always carry toilet paper when traveling. Boy or girl, man or woman, don’t expect a large role or Charmin ultra when you walk into a stall with a hole in the ground. Since we know a lot of you have not ventured over to this area, we should warn you the facilities are not exactly up to par. Even if you get a room in a “resort”, don’t expect anything more than a hose, and a hole in the ground for a bathroom…unless you upgrade. We promise…this you will find out the hard way.
Two months in, we can say to definitely embrace the backpacker mentality. As we poked fun at those in Australia for their lack of hygiene, and canned bean-eating habits, by now, we could easily be mistaken for them, and its for all the better. Don’t get us wrong, we are both craving philly cheese steaks and our home shower, but we will never forget the months of eating plain rice, sticky rice, fried rice, coconut rice, sweet and sour rice, egg rice, brown rice all while not showering. The new name for our blog should be two friends, zero showers, four chopsticks, and 1000 bowls of rice…forever.
It was helpful to utilize hostel airport transfers in Australia and New Zealand, but in SE Asia, you can go anywhere within a radius of 45 km for around 5 dollars each.
Especially in Thailand, do not be afraid to eat of the streets despite what your doctor, mother, guidebook, or common sense may tell you. If there is a line of locals, a good rule of thumb would be do as the locals will do. You can get a meal for a dollar, and it will likely be better than anything you can get in a restaurant.
Even if you have never tried Pepto Bismal, or the consistency scares you this is all you need for potential stomach issues in this region. Instead of pregaming with vodka, we have often found ourselves taking swigs of pepto in preparation for a long night out.
DO NOT pack like Carley. If you are afraid they don’t carry nice face wash, body wash, deodorant, or good shampoo you’re a fool. Even though these are some of the largest tourist destinations in the world, she was convinced there would be none of the above. It is wiser to buy as you go here, for it will save you a great deal of space in your suitcase.
There are 711s in Thailand. Many times, you can be standing and looking around in a circle and be able to throw a rock at three 711s…sometimes even four. There is also canned mountain dew for anyone who is as addicted as anyone who can ever say they have lived on Wall St or Center St.
Always carry toilet paper when traveling. Boy or girl, man or woman, don’t expect a large role or Charmin ultra when you walk into a stall with a hole in the ground. Since we know a lot of you have not ventured over to this area, we should warn you the facilities are not exactly up to par. Even if you get a room in a “resort”, don’t expect anything more than a hose, and a hole in the ground for a bathroom…unless you upgrade. We promise…this you will find out the hard way.
Two months in, we can say to definitely embrace the backpacker mentality. As we poked fun at those in Australia for their lack of hygiene, and canned bean-eating habits, by now, we could easily be mistaken for them, and its for all the better. Don’t get us wrong, we are both craving philly cheese steaks and our home shower, but we will never forget the months of eating plain rice, sticky rice, fried rice, coconut rice, sweet and sour rice, egg rice, brown rice all while not showering. The new name for our blog should be two friends, zero showers, four chopsticks, and 1000 bowls of rice…forever.
Notes from along the way...
If and when you find yourself backpacking do not under any circumstances plan ahead. Many factors can alter you plans so it is better to be flexible, and try to minimize expectations. As a result from our lack of planning, we have been able to capitalize on cheap air deals, random adventures, and interesting guest houses. For example, if we had plan
Always negotiate prices, and always cut the original price in half…or else the jokes on you. Whether it is food, hotel rooms, marked clothing, or souvenirs you can basically pay whatever you want. For example, a recent purchase of Birmy’s was a hammock, where the vendor must of taken him for a fool asking 2,200 baht..(75 USD) for a hammock. Out of guilt Birmy purchased to hammock for 300 (10 dollars) because he felt any lower price would just have been sad.
There is no queuing in Vietnam. Whether it is boarding a plane, waiting for food, or trying to pay if you are not aggressive enough you are left in the dust. Only the strongest, and loudest survive.
Be aware when flying JetStar Asia, or any other local south east Asian airline; for you get what you pay for. As excited as you get for securing an international flight for 100 dollars, know that you are in for a frustrating, but comedic couple of hours. In Saigon, our gate changed 3 times, in a matter of 5 minutes, two hours after the plane was scheduled to board.
Just because you bought a bus ticket does not guarantee you a seat. Your mother’s lessons in polite interactions can not be applied when boarding a bus. Again, social Darwinism applies because if the seats run out you are either sitting on the floor of the bus, or on a lose plastic chair in the isles…for hours.
Prepare yourself for any and all weather conditions. A good rain jacket is crucial. In any given day, especially on the coast, expect to experience all four seasons, and all types of weather conditions.
Embrace the SE Asian mentality when you are here. There may not be many rules, but if you follow a few basic rules, and respect the people you will find it one of the most accommodating and friendly regions to travel. Our expectations regarding language barriers, safety, ease of traveling have been blown out of the water. Whatever town, city, or village you are in you can find someone who speaks English, and is able to help you organize plans for your next stop.
Don’t eat burgers in SE Asia. If you do, prepare yourself for a burger that tastes like cardboard, mixed with grass seed, with a hint of cinnamon- it is a great combination that you can only find in Lao or other semi-deserted areas. Avoid feeling disappointed and try something local.
Do not underestimate your ability to find a good dessert. Even though our current favorite in Thailand is the famous mango and coconut sticky rice (Thanks to Mr. B’s recommendation), we have come across great homemade ice cream, and brownie sundaes in all places.
Just because she looks like a girl doesn’t mean she is one. Phuket, and other coastal regions that attract tourists, also attract the famous “lady-boys”. These ladyboys also often work as masseuses, waitresses, or dancers so prepare yourself for these awkward encounters. Luckily, we were spared, but we have heard some horror stories from other travelers.
Wild animals. In Vietnam it is worse than Thailand, but recently we have had far too many encounters with stray cats. (Yes Cam, naked stray cats). You can be eating, walking, sleeping, busing, or anything ending in an “ing” and you can see or hear 50 cats at any given time.
Get massages, facials, etc. whenever you can. As long as the establishment does not look like animal shelter for humans you can most likely get a awesome hour and a half massage anywhere from 2-10 dollars.
Always negotiate prices, and always cut the original price in half…or else the jokes on you. Whether it is food, hotel rooms, marked clothing, or souvenirs you can basically pay whatever you want. For example, a recent purchase of Birmy’s was a hammock, where the vendor must of taken him for a fool asking 2,200 baht..(75 USD) for a hammock. Out of guilt Birmy purchased to hammock for 300 (10 dollars) because he felt any lower price would just have been sad.
There is no queuing in Vietnam. Whether it is boarding a plane, waiting for food, or trying to pay if you are not aggressive enough you are left in the dust. Only the strongest, and loudest survive.
Be aware when flying JetStar Asia, or any other local south east Asian airline; for you get what you pay for. As excited as you get for securing an international flight for 100 dollars, know that you are in for a frustrating, but comedic couple of hours. In Saigon, our gate changed 3 times, in a matter of 5 minutes, two hours after the plane was scheduled to board.
Just because you bought a bus ticket does not guarantee you a seat. Your mother’s lessons in polite interactions can not be applied when boarding a bus. Again, social Darwinism applies because if the seats run out you are either sitting on the floor of the bus, or on a lose plastic chair in the isles…for hours.
Prepare yourself for any and all weather conditions. A good rain jacket is crucial. In any given day, especially on the coast, expect to experience all four seasons, and all types of weather conditions.
Embrace the SE Asian mentality when you are here. There may not be many rules, but if you follow a few basic rules, and respect the people you will find it one of the most accommodating and friendly regions to travel. Our expectations regarding language barriers, safety, ease of traveling have been blown out of the water. Whatever town, city, or village you are in you can find someone who speaks English, and is able to help you organize plans for your next stop.
Don’t eat burgers in SE Asia. If you do, prepare yourself for a burger that tastes like cardboard, mixed with grass seed, with a hint of cinnamon- it is a great combination that you can only find in Lao or other semi-deserted areas. Avoid feeling disappointed and try something local.
Do not underestimate your ability to find a good dessert. Even though our current favorite in Thailand is the famous mango and coconut sticky rice (Thanks to Mr. B’s recommendation), we have come across great homemade ice cream, and brownie sundaes in all places.
Just because she looks like a girl doesn’t mean she is one. Phuket, and other coastal regions that attract tourists, also attract the famous “lady-boys”. These ladyboys also often work as masseuses, waitresses, or dancers so prepare yourself for these awkward encounters. Luckily, we were spared, but we have heard some horror stories from other travelers.
Wild animals. In Vietnam it is worse than Thailand, but recently we have had far too many encounters with stray cats. (Yes Cam, naked stray cats). You can be eating, walking, sleeping, busing, or anything ending in an “ing” and you can see or hear 50 cats at any given time.
Get massages, facials, etc. whenever you can. As long as the establishment does not look like animal shelter for humans you can most likely get a awesome hour and a half massage anywhere from 2-10 dollars.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Check out this link!
Pai: Land of the Hippy Living
We arrived in Pai in the early evening with no plans of where to go, where to stay, what to eat, and what to do. Luckily, neither did anyone else in Pai. After finding a bungalow equipped with two fans, a hello kitty comforter, a mattress that felt more like the original beds out of the Jailhouse in Christchurch, and cockroaches, we set out to explore the town. We immediately grew sad that we only allotted two days in this town because it was yet again a special place with lots of natural beauty, great restaurants and bars, and an atmosphere that could relax anyone. We found our new favorite restaurant of the trip “The Witching Well”, where we had an organic tofu dinner and soaked in the vibe. Pai embodies the phrase “your body is a temple”, because you are hard pressed to find anything that is not organic, vegetarian, or made of wheat grass. We explored the walking street (market) until late then headed back to our chantey for the night. After waking up in horror that we had lost our limbs because we were sleeping on bricks and nails, we both couldn’t stop laughing about how god awful not only was the mattress, but the fact that the fans produced snow and our room had went from sauna to igloo in a matter or hours. Once each of us got the feeling back in our arms and legs, we managed to fall back into a fragmented sleep until morning.
The next morning Carley went to try another yoga instructor, while Birmy set out to find a non tofu or organic breakfast. Carley ended up in the attic of an ex-hindu princess from Africa who called herself Mama Mam. After three hours of “meditation” and hatha yoga the class was over and she was ready to jet set out of there. Unfortunately, it was ritualistic to have an after class recession of rice cakes and watermelon. Once she had learned that she was in a class full of people who voluntarily fasted for 7 days she decided it was really time to go. We reconvened in our chantey and then headed to the river to enjoy the sun and some down time. The day was spent doing what all the locals do….nothing. We read, and then met some interesting travelers over a nice street meal…it was really weird, we tried pad thai again (it was only the 8th meal in a row of pad thai). After walking through the market, shops, and stopping in various bars, we settled down at one playing live music for the night. Half of the next day was spent doing the exact same thing, and it was awesome. Pai is a place for reflection- and that was what we needed. It was nice to be able to reflect on how awesome the last three weeks have been- and to begin planning what was in store for our final three weeks.
We left that afternoon on a mini bus back to Chaing Mai, only to catch a 11 hour “VIP” bus to Bangkok. We left at 2:30, got to Bangkok by 5:30 am, and made it to Phuket via Bangkok Airways by 9:30 am! It’s been fairly evident that the best way of backpacking, is utilizing the dirt cheap night buses, we lost no time, but did sacrifice some sleep. Even though you may feel lost because of the language barrier, the travel agencies in this country are incredible and as long as you have your ticket, they take great pride it getting you to your destination safely. What better time to enter one of SE Asia’s craziest cities, than at 5:30 am. In avoiding blindly walking around the streets of Bangkok at the hour, with all of 47 bags, loose sneakers, and head pillows, half asleep from the bus, we hoped right into a taxi to head to the airport. Bangkok’s airport was amazing, immaculate, English speaking, and with a complimentary food lounge calling our name. After stocking up on free food since it was 2 pm the day before since we had eaten, we boarded the flight and made it to Phuket!
Again without any reservation, we decided to pretend to have a confirmation at a nice hotel in town, since at this point it had been 4 days since we had showered or slept for more than 2 hours consecutively. The showering is true- due to the fact that when you pay 2 dollars a night for a chantey or a guest house, you get a hose, and some complimentary bugs. So, in our defense, not even showering would have made us feel clean. We got to the hotel, and it must have been our offensive appearance, because we had to wait an hour in the lobby before the agreed to confirm our reservation and grant us our complimentary drink. Thank god it was a mocktail, or we would have passed out quickly. We went up to our rooms like homeless people, and resumed a normal life until the sunset.
The next morning Carley went to try another yoga instructor, while Birmy set out to find a non tofu or organic breakfast. Carley ended up in the attic of an ex-hindu princess from Africa who called herself Mama Mam. After three hours of “meditation” and hatha yoga the class was over and she was ready to jet set out of there. Unfortunately, it was ritualistic to have an after class recession of rice cakes and watermelon. Once she had learned that she was in a class full of people who voluntarily fasted for 7 days she decided it was really time to go. We reconvened in our chantey and then headed to the river to enjoy the sun and some down time. The day was spent doing what all the locals do….nothing. We read, and then met some interesting travelers over a nice street meal…it was really weird, we tried pad thai again (it was only the 8th meal in a row of pad thai). After walking through the market, shops, and stopping in various bars, we settled down at one playing live music for the night. Half of the next day was spent doing the exact same thing, and it was awesome. Pai is a place for reflection- and that was what we needed. It was nice to be able to reflect on how awesome the last three weeks have been- and to begin planning what was in store for our final three weeks.
We left that afternoon on a mini bus back to Chaing Mai, only to catch a 11 hour “VIP” bus to Bangkok. We left at 2:30, got to Bangkok by 5:30 am, and made it to Phuket via Bangkok Airways by 9:30 am! It’s been fairly evident that the best way of backpacking, is utilizing the dirt cheap night buses, we lost no time, but did sacrifice some sleep. Even though you may feel lost because of the language barrier, the travel agencies in this country are incredible and as long as you have your ticket, they take great pride it getting you to your destination safely. What better time to enter one of SE Asia’s craziest cities, than at 5:30 am. In avoiding blindly walking around the streets of Bangkok at the hour, with all of 47 bags, loose sneakers, and head pillows, half asleep from the bus, we hoped right into a taxi to head to the airport. Bangkok’s airport was amazing, immaculate, English speaking, and with a complimentary food lounge calling our name. After stocking up on free food since it was 2 pm the day before since we had eaten, we boarded the flight and made it to Phuket!
Again without any reservation, we decided to pretend to have a confirmation at a nice hotel in town, since at this point it had been 4 days since we had showered or slept for more than 2 hours consecutively. The showering is true- due to the fact that when you pay 2 dollars a night for a chantey or a guest house, you get a hose, and some complimentary bugs. So, in our defense, not even showering would have made us feel clean. We got to the hotel, and it must have been our offensive appearance, because we had to wait an hour in the lobby before the agreed to confirm our reservation and grant us our complimentary drink. Thank god it was a mocktail, or we would have passed out quickly. We went up to our rooms like homeless people, and resumed a normal life until the sunset.
Trekking with Johnny Tsunami
Northern Thailand would not be complete if we did not do a trek. We decided to do a day trek instead of a two night, so we could venture up farther north to a smaller town named Pai. We stayed up until 4 in the morning venturing around Chaing Mai, only to get up at 7 the next morning to prepare to leave. Next thing we knew we were picked up Johnny Tsunami’s look-alike, LA’s next up and coming star, who was too cool to ever formally introduce himself. Stop 1: elephant riding….except for this time we had to ride the elephant without the trainer. Mildly confused when we were ordered to start walking on the elephant completely by ourselves, we “lumbered” along the paths into the forest. Luckily we stocked up bags of sugar cane and bananas because our elephant would walk five feet before stopping and spraying us with mud, spit, snot, you name it, until we fed him again. We realized the elephant was similar to us in this sense. One time, we had finished feeding the elephant, only to realize he wouldn’t budge, little did we know our friendly elephant trainer was peeing ride beside us. They seemed to be good friends, because throughout our ride the trainer would often speak to our elephant. An hour, a river, and bags of food later, we made it back to elephant world. All shapes and sizes, there were tons of elephants grazing along the road. We dismounted the elephant, hung around a little bit, say mama and the babies and then progressed further up the mountain. It was then when we realized, if we weren’t driving 200 mph bouncing up and down in a peace van, awkwardly moving on elephant back, or putsing around on a tuk tuk, we would know we were not in Thailand anymore. We had lunch in a local home-stay and then started our walk through the mountains up to waterfalls, and other villages. After taking a dip at one of the waterfalls on top of the mountain, we wandered along streams, and rice tiers until reaching another village.
It was interesting to visit a village on foot, other than bike or by van because you were really able to slow down and take it all in. From the outside, despite the intense gardens, these villages appeared to be a lot like those of Vietnam. However, the people did not seem as dated, for there was a lack of younger people within the village- apparently many children, and young adults, even though they are living under tree leaves-commute into the nearby cities for work, so they are able to support their parents and grandparents back in the villages. Our adventure continued when we got to the river, and were ordered to board our bamboo raft. To Birmy’s surprise, he was then handed a wooden stick on told to resume his spot, standing on the back of the raft to stir our boat for our ride down the river. This “boat” consisted of 7 bamboo sticks tied together by a tire. Standing on this was as difficult as trying to balance yourself on a tight rope, while it may have actually have been harder because there were rapids, rocks, and other drunk Thai Sunday rafters, wherever you looked. After wiping out once Birmy established himself in the back of the raft, all making it through a couple of rapids. Rapid number three did not go so well, since we were already going full force down the river until we heard a large splash and realized we no longer had Birmy. We looked back, and there he was, wooden pole in hand, flailing around the river. It was a very fun ride, dispite a couple of rapids, we passed many natives hanging along the sides of the river in floating bars, and huts to relax in. The now seasoned bamboo captain Birmy, now plans on orchestrating a bamboo rafting operation in the inner harbor.
That night we boarded another bus for what we thought would be a leisurely ride through the northern countryside. Wrong. We got into our van turned corvette and embarked on our adventure to Pai. 762 turn later (literally- there are t shirts to prove it), we made it. After this ride we had a munch better feeling about taking a mini bus to Thailand, because our driver was friendly, safe, and only broke 160 a handful of times throughout the ride.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Chaing Mai-First Stop in Thailand
Lonely planet describes this city as a “cultural darling, and that it is. The streets are alive with monks and motorcycle-driving housewives. There are more book shops, vegetarian dining options, and coffee shops than we had ever seen. This was obviously a place to kick back and relax, and had a city wide feel of “self improvement”- whether that was achieved through eating healthy or meditation and yoga, this was obviously a destination for many people’s sabbaticals. Chaing Mai, was a great first stop for us in Thailand, because it was easy for us to get a feel for all aspects of the culture. We spent our first day exploring the Old City, which is a neat square bound by a moat, with remnants of medieval architecture, enclosing intertwine “soi” (streets) filled with family ran guesthouses, gardens, restaurants, and massage studios.
When Birmy caught up on March Madness at a local coffee shop, Carley got a foot massage and pedicure. Thailand was looking pretty good right now, since there was sunshine, great food, pedicures, and sports! We explored many old Temples “wats” within the city, our favorite being Wat Chedi Luang dating back to 1441; with a huge chedi “spire” and emerald Buddah as the main focal point of the temple. Carley then found a spot to take a local yoga class, when Birmy decided it was time for a shower since he hadn’t for 4 days. We reconvened at a rooftop bar along the moat, for a drink, and to plan our next move, which was clearly to find some good street food. This was the first stop along the way where Birmy was able to convince Carley to partake in the street vendors. We then had our first pad thai of the trip, on the street for, all for 30 Baht (a dollar each), and then headed to the night bizarre.
As impressed that we were by the markets in Vietnam, this didn’t compare to those in Thailand. Here, there seemed to be better quality, more variety, and nicer vendors. You were not guilt tripped into buying anything, and nor were you haggled to look at their merchandise. A lot of vendors here were looking for friendly conversation, to possibly help with their learning of English. This was a nice change of pace! Some purchases were made, and then the plan was to have a great nights sleep. Little did we know the Royal Guesthouse was an animal farm, where cats, water buffalos, antalopes, gheekos, camels and rooster kept us up for all hours of the night.
Day 2- Carley did another yoga class in the morning, then we met at a coffee spot in the Old City. We hired a tuk tuk to take us to the hot springs, got a tour of the country side, then made it back just in time to get picked up for our cooking class. We took a cooking class at Thai Kitchen Cookery School, with a woman named Dang. This is highly recommended to anyone in Thailand! Not only did we cook a four course meal, and learn about all the ingredients and strategy to Thai flavor, but we used products picked up from the local market hours before so the quality and freshness of the food was a treat! We prepared Pad Thai, Green Curry Paste, Chicken Cashew nut, and Jalapeno stir fry, as well as fried banana with ice cream for dessert. It was a lot of fun, and turned out to be one of the best meals of our whole trip, even though we were the ones who cooked it! Birmy decided his new career path was to become a chief; he has already emailed Emerald directly about starting thai spin off cooking show which will air immediately on prime time television. That night we went to the Saturday Walking Street, which is an enormous market, only occurring from 4 pm-midnight every Saturday. This, was absolutely the best market we had been to. It was less touristy, more friendly, larger, and had a new variety of products. Birmy stocked up on some home made mosquito repellent, and Carley got home made face and body scrubs- then we were river bound to uncover the night scene in Chaing Mai. We started off going to Riverside Bar, which is also highly recommended, it was a larger, extremely nice bar, with live music, and a cool feel. Since we were excluded from the Thai sing along for multiple reasons: not being dressed right, not knowing the language, and skin color..we moved to the next bar.
The GoodView was a great bar, also on the water, with an awesome atmosphere and constant entertainment. There was some killer live band who Birmy plans to have perform at his wedding, whose hits included: Even Essence “Bring Me To Life”, plenty of Katy Perry, and special performance of enter Sandman by the ten person Thai band. Once Lesli Chow’s performance was over, and the bar was closing, we flagged a tuk tu and called it a night. A day of trekking was to come in the morning, followed by our departure from Chaing Mai to Pai.
Chaing Mai Bound...
Five hours later bus ride 1 done. We were in Vietiane,, and has all of 20 seconds of mass chaos to grab all four of our bags and blinding run onto a bus where locals were yelling at us “get on, get on, get on”…we got on for fear of our lives and were hoping this was even the right bus. This bus took us to a random corner in the city..we had to get our bags and pack 20 people and our luggage onto an oversized tukt tuk, that comfortably seats 8… Carley was the lucky one and got to sit shot gun, while Birmy was stuck holding onto his bags with one arm, the other arm was holding onto the monkey bar up to to make sure he would stay in the moving truck, while his right foot was used to cover his computer from the pouring rain. The tuk-tuk took us to the border, and we now had to walk through “customs” to get into Thailand. We made it through boarder control, luckily because Birmy’s Lao visa was never legitimately stamped thanks to customs in Pakse, Lao. We then boarded our next bus, a double decker monster truck bus that was probably recycled from Real World/ Road Rules bus tour. This bus drove an hour into the middle of the nowhere, then dropped all 6 of us on the side of the road to get a bowl of rice from a random restaurant with a swimming pool…at dark. After two spoon fulls, we got onto our “mini-van”, and all 8 of us embarked on a adventure that is never to be forgotten. Our driver didn’t speak a word of English, and the only reason he is not in NASCAR, was because he had too many speeding violations going into the pit stop. Welp, we had 11 hours with this guy…and just writing about it makes us both want to cry. The only positive side of this was that the 11 hour ride, was soon to be cut into 8. Our tin freezer box that was cruising at an average of 140 km/hr, 120 into steep banked curbs, where it said to go 30, with a temperature that is only achieved in the North Pole. Since no one could fall asleep- 1, because we were frozen, and 2-because we were afraid for our lives; a passenger kindly asked if the driver could turn down the AC, so that hypothermia would not set in. Apparently in Thai this is translated into “go F*@$ yourself”, because the driver started screaming, pulled up the driver/passenger barrier, and sped up into our next 90 degree turn going 160(no exaggeration). The friendly then screamed “I ASKED YOU TO TURN DOWN THE HEAT, JESUS CHRIST!!!! YOU’RE DRIVING LIKE A F*$@ING LUNATIC, I WILL CALL THE POLICE, SLOW DOWN, WE DON’T WANT TO DIE, BULLOCKS, BULLOCKS!!!!!!!” At this point it ws pitch black, at 11 PM, driving through steep mountains with pouring rain. If it wasn’t a question of if we were going to live, we sure weren’t now…and we sure couldn’t do much about it..instead we just had to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Hours later, we made thankfully made it to the Royal Guesthouse, and literally thanked God for keeping us in one piece.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
When in Lao...
Our journey in Laos came to an abrupt halt in Vang Vieng due to the inexistent standards of eating, living, breathing, showering and any other normal daily activity. We were very excited to spend St Paddy’s Day tubing down the river, however weather conditions and stomach conditions left both parties in dire straights. After watching every Friends episode in the “TV Bars”, it was still monsooning and was a blistering 52 degrees, so we decided to catch the first possible bus out of town. We went to the local bus station, and made a game time decision to head to Chiang Mai instead of Bangkok not knowing what was to come on our adventure. 2 busses, 2 borders to cross, 1 minivan and a dinner stop for a complimentary bowl of fried rice later, we were on our way to Thailand.
As bad as Laos may seem we did have an amazing first stop in Luang Prabang where we checked out some of the stunning views and countryside. We anxiously awaited the arrival of Dunn and Gilson, and tried to get a lay of the land before they got there so we could show them around the small French style town. After a nice 16 hour bus ride they finally arrived in the morning! It was great to see 2 familiar faces. We hit the town early and decided it would be fun to rent motorbikes and drive 35 km to Kuang Si Waterfalls, which is one of the main attractions outside of Luang Prabang. After a great ride there and amazing time at the waterfall it was time to go home, not knowing how much of a pain this would be… Before we could leave the parking lot riding mates Dunn and Birmy realized they had a flat tire and it needed to be fixed immediately so after driving through the local village, and realizing that the flat tire had to be a scam, we found someone who could fix the tire. 45 minutes later, a beer each, and a shot of handmade rice whiskey (rubbing alcohol) we were back on the road for a whole 5 kilometers before the tire popped again. We were now in the middle of nowhere, with nothing insight but mountains and elephants, so we flagged down a tuk tuk threw the bike in the back and headed back to the main area of town. After we made it back we decided to shower up, and since we had such a great experience at Lao Lao Garden, we wanted to take Dunn and Gilson back before our much anticipated trip to Utopia.
After keeping things under control at Utopia and considering there is a 12 o’clock curfew in Luang Prabang we got a good night sleep in preparation of what was to come for the next 2 days in Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is made out to be one of the biggest party towns in Southeast Asia, and makes Panama City look like Dubai, and Cancun look like the British Virgin Islands. Vang Vieng is a great town, but it was one of the dirtiest and unsanitary places we had all ever been. There are no health standards, laws, government regulations, or anything to make you feel comfortable. The weather did not help our cause seeing that there was a high of 56, and constant rain it was hard to have as much fun as everyone makes the town out to be. We spent the first night getting some questionable food at one of the local restaurants, and having our first experience with Vang Vieng “buckets” which did not turn out well for anyone. This was the first place in the world where shots are free and a refillable bucket costs 10,000 kip- 1 US Dollar. All buckets include local Tiger Whiskey which makes Ten High look like Crown Royal, and whatever mixers you want to put in your bucket. A standard bucket is at least 10 shots of whiskey, Red Bull, Sprite, Coke, and some fresh squeezed lime and at any time you can go back to the bar and they will actually give you the bottle, and let you tip it up for as long as you want. The buckets hit quick and hit hard and once again made for a very interesting night for the group and terrible morning for all. We had met some guys on the van ride over to Vang Vieng, who we spent the night and next couple of days with…needless to say they didn’t steer us wrong saying that the buckets were an experience. The rain had not stopped, and we all felt worse than if we were in Blacksburg and had each drank 3 Rails. But, we rallied and decided to head to the river- the real reason any backpacker would go to Vang Vieng. Once we made it to the start of the tubing course we realized how crazy this place was, since there were bars, rope swings, ski jumps, waterslides, buckets, fires, music loud enough to hear in Thailand, and crazy people all over the place on drugs we had never heard of. Some of the local Vang Vieng natives approached us to make us feel at home, when meanwhile all they did was scare the living shit out of us. Rain or shine these people are out at the river, drinking buckets of whiskey as if it was holy water. Some guy who looked and talked as if he was permanently electrocuted, informed us that he personally sells 8 kg of mushrooms a day and asked if we were interested; we passed, and moved on to the next bar for some more free whiskey shots. Dunn did the famous rope swing, and we danced with “Mama Lao”- hours passed and it took 4 bars before we decided no one felt good and Vang Vieng was really starting to take its toll on the 4 of us. After we made it back to town and spent a few more hours at the Friends Bar everyone started feeling sick and decided to take it easy that evening in preparation for celebrating St Pattys Day at the river. For the second straight day the weather in Vang Vieng did not want to cooperate…and our stomachs were a lost cause. Food, alcohol, Vang Vieng poisoning- whatever it was, rocked us.
11 AM St Patrick’s Day Vang Vieng, Laos- We hit rock bottom in tinker toy land and boarded on the first available bus out of town. Little did we know what was to come on our 16 hour adventure to Chaing Mai.
As bad as Laos may seem we did have an amazing first stop in Luang Prabang where we checked out some of the stunning views and countryside. We anxiously awaited the arrival of Dunn and Gilson, and tried to get a lay of the land before they got there so we could show them around the small French style town. After a nice 16 hour bus ride they finally arrived in the morning! It was great to see 2 familiar faces. We hit the town early and decided it would be fun to rent motorbikes and drive 35 km to Kuang Si Waterfalls, which is one of the main attractions outside of Luang Prabang. After a great ride there and amazing time at the waterfall it was time to go home, not knowing how much of a pain this would be… Before we could leave the parking lot riding mates Dunn and Birmy realized they had a flat tire and it needed to be fixed immediately so after driving through the local village, and realizing that the flat tire had to be a scam, we found someone who could fix the tire. 45 minutes later, a beer each, and a shot of handmade rice whiskey (rubbing alcohol) we were back on the road for a whole 5 kilometers before the tire popped again. We were now in the middle of nowhere, with nothing insight but mountains and elephants, so we flagged down a tuk tuk threw the bike in the back and headed back to the main area of town. After we made it back we decided to shower up, and since we had such a great experience at Lao Lao Garden, we wanted to take Dunn and Gilson back before our much anticipated trip to Utopia.
After keeping things under control at Utopia and considering there is a 12 o’clock curfew in Luang Prabang we got a good night sleep in preparation of what was to come for the next 2 days in Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is made out to be one of the biggest party towns in Southeast Asia, and makes Panama City look like Dubai, and Cancun look like the British Virgin Islands. Vang Vieng is a great town, but it was one of the dirtiest and unsanitary places we had all ever been. There are no health standards, laws, government regulations, or anything to make you feel comfortable. The weather did not help our cause seeing that there was a high of 56, and constant rain it was hard to have as much fun as everyone makes the town out to be. We spent the first night getting some questionable food at one of the local restaurants, and having our first experience with Vang Vieng “buckets” which did not turn out well for anyone. This was the first place in the world where shots are free and a refillable bucket costs 10,000 kip- 1 US Dollar. All buckets include local Tiger Whiskey which makes Ten High look like Crown Royal, and whatever mixers you want to put in your bucket. A standard bucket is at least 10 shots of whiskey, Red Bull, Sprite, Coke, and some fresh squeezed lime and at any time you can go back to the bar and they will actually give you the bottle, and let you tip it up for as long as you want. The buckets hit quick and hit hard and once again made for a very interesting night for the group and terrible morning for all. We had met some guys on the van ride over to Vang Vieng, who we spent the night and next couple of days with…needless to say they didn’t steer us wrong saying that the buckets were an experience. The rain had not stopped, and we all felt worse than if we were in Blacksburg and had each drank 3 Rails. But, we rallied and decided to head to the river- the real reason any backpacker would go to Vang Vieng. Once we made it to the start of the tubing course we realized how crazy this place was, since there were bars, rope swings, ski jumps, waterslides, buckets, fires, music loud enough to hear in Thailand, and crazy people all over the place on drugs we had never heard of. Some of the local Vang Vieng natives approached us to make us feel at home, when meanwhile all they did was scare the living shit out of us. Rain or shine these people are out at the river, drinking buckets of whiskey as if it was holy water. Some guy who looked and talked as if he was permanently electrocuted, informed us that he personally sells 8 kg of mushrooms a day and asked if we were interested; we passed, and moved on to the next bar for some more free whiskey shots. Dunn did the famous rope swing, and we danced with “Mama Lao”- hours passed and it took 4 bars before we decided no one felt good and Vang Vieng was really starting to take its toll on the 4 of us. After we made it back to town and spent a few more hours at the Friends Bar everyone started feeling sick and decided to take it easy that evening in preparation for celebrating St Pattys Day at the river. For the second straight day the weather in Vang Vieng did not want to cooperate…and our stomachs were a lost cause. Food, alcohol, Vang Vieng poisoning- whatever it was, rocked us.
11 AM St Patrick’s Day Vang Vieng, Laos- We hit rock bottom in tinker toy land and boarded on the first available bus out of town. Little did we know what was to come on our 16 hour adventure to Chaing Mai.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Brief recap of Vietnam! More to come!
Vietnam. Vietnam. Vietnam.
3 times for 3 incredible weeks. From the second we arrived to Ho Chi Minh City to the second we left Ho Chi Minh Chi 3 short weeks later we had no idea about all that was to come in between. First and foremost, our guide Hilly was incredible, and was a person that we wish everyone could meet. Not only was he incredibly thorough, loyal, pssionate with Vietnam and world history, but he was interested in creating life long friendships, and making the experience very special for his group. He was a selfless man who really helped us truly understand the Vietnamese culture. They are peaceful, forward looking people, who are incredibly resourceful and hard working. It was an absolute pleasure to see the immense diversity of the 10th largest country in the world with over 80 million people. It’s an absolute must to travel Vietnam by Bike, and above all to visit Vietnam in general. We have found the experience of visiting our first 3rd world country incredible and memorable, not only because of the lush landscape, but because of the character of the people. We visited two of the world’s largest cities (Hanoi and Saigon), temples, hill tribes, plantations and fishing villages. This country is an unbelievable exporter of produce, grains, and nuts- only made possible by generations of farmers. Vietnamese take immense pride in there own country, and praise tourists. They are fully aware that their economy is thriving due to two major factors: tourism, and the recent opening of Vietnamese boarders to foreign investments. Even though Vietnamese are Communist, it has a very western-capitalist feel that is recognized by their work ethic and generational heritage. In Vietnam, regardless of your strengths, your profession is that of your parents, whether it be a farmer, fisherman, government official, or vendor. People recognize their capabilities in acquiring more from hard work- and that they do, all to pass it along to further generations.
Most backpackers, or travelers don’t have the opportunity to travel through the western region of the central highlands…because you can’t. For one-it was recently this year made open to tourists and two, because it is virtually impossible to reach this region…unless your on two wheels. Unanimously, this was a special experience for everyone in the group…however unanimously they were the most agonizing, most rewarding “rides” of the trip. We were riding through; well call them roads…for a couple days. We will highlight one day for you here for an example:
Day (x): Get up at 5 am (6). Force feed yourself endless amounts of eggs, dragon fruit, and bananas for fear of passing out in the 110 degree Sahara desert heat. 7:30 sharp (8:00) leave for a day of cycling, where Hilly would say there are “small hills” in the start, them some flat roads for 50 km until you deserved lunch. 8:15 feel very sore when you remounted your bike. 8:30 start crying because you reached your first hill. 8:35 curse yourself for ever starting this trip. 8:35-10 cycle through the most amazing sites while having the time of your life (sometimes). 10 ish- daily coffee stop along the road. Vietnamese coffee…has the strength of 5 red bulls combined with 6 starbucks coffees all in 6 sips, with a tablespoon of condensed milk. After our first couple coffee stops our group’s tolerance to caffeine was sky high, so after our coffee, we proceeded to do a team 250 ml red bull chug before we left for our bikes. In Vietnam you can get a red bull and a coffee for 20,000 dong, (1 USD). Dangerous for caffeine addicts. After our maaajjor caffeine buzz kicked in it was time to cruise for our pre lunch challenge. Normally after 2 hours of cycling hard we would reach lunch, and complete our morning cycle of 50 km. Around 1 we would always stop for lunch, which consisted of 8 courses of vegetables and fish, if we were lucky we would sometimes get a suspicious taste of various local mystery meat, with our own personal pound of rice. After a few days of “tuna in tomato sauce” the group grew somewhat sick of seafood, so everyone started force feeding themselves with rice for fear of what the afternoon cycle had in store for us…which was normally another 40-50 km up hill. Depending on the day 2-5 pm was spent at times going down a mountain for 3 hours, climbing Everest via bike, sweating, crying, crawling, and realizing that this bike trip was initially why we were doing this trip in the first place, and will continuously serve as a inspiration to continue cycling from here on out. Every second of this bike ride was filled with different scenery, sites, and smiles. Around 6 or 7 everyday we were always found as a group reflecting on the ride, over the famous Vietnamese BA BA BA bia, or a coffee. We would then transfer to our hotel, spend another meal together, and head out for a massage, drink, or back to our rooms for some sleep, all to have another amazing day to follow in the morning!
More details to come when we are not distracted by the blaring Shakira in the background of this bar! CHEERS!!
3 times for 3 incredible weeks. From the second we arrived to Ho Chi Minh City to the second we left Ho Chi Minh Chi 3 short weeks later we had no idea about all that was to come in between. First and foremost, our guide Hilly was incredible, and was a person that we wish everyone could meet. Not only was he incredibly thorough, loyal, pssionate with Vietnam and world history, but he was interested in creating life long friendships, and making the experience very special for his group. He was a selfless man who really helped us truly understand the Vietnamese culture. They are peaceful, forward looking people, who are incredibly resourceful and hard working. It was an absolute pleasure to see the immense diversity of the 10th largest country in the world with over 80 million people. It’s an absolute must to travel Vietnam by Bike, and above all to visit Vietnam in general. We have found the experience of visiting our first 3rd world country incredible and memorable, not only because of the lush landscape, but because of the character of the people. We visited two of the world’s largest cities (Hanoi and Saigon), temples, hill tribes, plantations and fishing villages. This country is an unbelievable exporter of produce, grains, and nuts- only made possible by generations of farmers. Vietnamese take immense pride in there own country, and praise tourists. They are fully aware that their economy is thriving due to two major factors: tourism, and the recent opening of Vietnamese boarders to foreign investments. Even though Vietnamese are Communist, it has a very western-capitalist feel that is recognized by their work ethic and generational heritage. In Vietnam, regardless of your strengths, your profession is that of your parents, whether it be a farmer, fisherman, government official, or vendor. People recognize their capabilities in acquiring more from hard work- and that they do, all to pass it along to further generations.
Most backpackers, or travelers don’t have the opportunity to travel through the western region of the central highlands…because you can’t. For one-it was recently this year made open to tourists and two, because it is virtually impossible to reach this region…unless your on two wheels. Unanimously, this was a special experience for everyone in the group…however unanimously they were the most agonizing, most rewarding “rides” of the trip. We were riding through; well call them roads…for a couple days. We will highlight one day for you here for an example:
Day (x): Get up at 5 am (6). Force feed yourself endless amounts of eggs, dragon fruit, and bananas for fear of passing out in the 110 degree Sahara desert heat. 7:30 sharp (8:00) leave for a day of cycling, where Hilly would say there are “small hills” in the start, them some flat roads for 50 km until you deserved lunch. 8:15 feel very sore when you remounted your bike. 8:30 start crying because you reached your first hill. 8:35 curse yourself for ever starting this trip. 8:35-10 cycle through the most amazing sites while having the time of your life (sometimes). 10 ish- daily coffee stop along the road. Vietnamese coffee…has the strength of 5 red bulls combined with 6 starbucks coffees all in 6 sips, with a tablespoon of condensed milk. After our first couple coffee stops our group’s tolerance to caffeine was sky high, so after our coffee, we proceeded to do a team 250 ml red bull chug before we left for our bikes. In Vietnam you can get a red bull and a coffee for 20,000 dong, (1 USD). Dangerous for caffeine addicts. After our maaajjor caffeine buzz kicked in it was time to cruise for our pre lunch challenge. Normally after 2 hours of cycling hard we would reach lunch, and complete our morning cycle of 50 km. Around 1 we would always stop for lunch, which consisted of 8 courses of vegetables and fish, if we were lucky we would sometimes get a suspicious taste of various local mystery meat, with our own personal pound of rice. After a few days of “tuna in tomato sauce” the group grew somewhat sick of seafood, so everyone started force feeding themselves with rice for fear of what the afternoon cycle had in store for us…which was normally another 40-50 km up hill. Depending on the day 2-5 pm was spent at times going down a mountain for 3 hours, climbing Everest via bike, sweating, crying, crawling, and realizing that this bike trip was initially why we were doing this trip in the first place, and will continuously serve as a inspiration to continue cycling from here on out. Every second of this bike ride was filled with different scenery, sites, and smiles. Around 6 or 7 everyday we were always found as a group reflecting on the ride, over the famous Vietnamese BA BA BA bia, or a coffee. We would then transfer to our hotel, spend another meal together, and head out for a massage, drink, or back to our rooms for some sleep, all to have another amazing day to follow in the morning!
More details to come when we are not distracted by the blaring Shakira in the background of this bar! CHEERS!!
Sa-by-dea!!
Incase you were wondering, we made it to Laos. However, we don’t know how. We bid farewell to our awesome Vietnam by Bike group, and were naturally running late to the airport in a mad craze to make our international flight to Laos. Ho Chi Minh City is not a place you want to be in rush hour-due to the fact that there are 9 million rabid motor bikes buzzing around the city, whether it is on streets, sidewalks, or people. Birmy decided it was good idea to hitch a ride to the post office 20 minutes before we needed to leave, to ship home all that he acquired in Vietnam. Luckily this was when our whole group was eating breakfast- we all had a nice view of Birmy frantically running down the streets of NAM to get a taxi, and we saw his return when he made it back to the hotel standing on a motor bike. Anyway, we made it to the airport and boarded our first of 3 Lao Airlines flights for the day.
Lao Airlines. Umm… this makes Ryan Air look like First Class Virgin Atlantic Airlines. We walked up the five step independent ladder and boarded our flight, with all of 17 people who were crazy enough to leave Saigon and head to Pakse, Laos. You could say the take off was rough. Then again any take off would be rough when your flying in a plane with wheels that belong on a skate board, an engine that couldn’t propel Thomas the Tank Engine, and plane sidings made of aluminum foils. The plane’s cruising altitude was 17,000 ft..and you knew you were in trouble when your neighbors on board where all laughing at the fact that it felt like we were on the Super Man roller coaster, because our stomachs came out from under us every five seconds, and the plane ride was turbulent for all of 2 hours. We descended and landed in all of 30 seconds and made it to Pakse. Palms sweaty, and pouring sweat for fear of our lives, we left the plane and entered customs. Even though Birmy did not have a valid visa, we successfully made it through “customs” because “customs” had no computers, or eyes for that matter, and stamped Birmy’s Vietnam visa for entry, when it had been stamped DEPARTING 3 hours earlier. Pakse International Airport can’t be explained so we wont even try other than it was no bigger than the Blacksburg 711, and there were no electronic devices in the building…we were handed a reusable laminated boarding pass. After then clearing “security”, we boarded our second flight. Made it to Vietiane, and then made our way on our last and final flight to Luang Prabang.
We were greeted with our first Tuk Tuk ride, a truck/1944 Harley/transport contraption whose average speed is about 4 miles an hour. After barely making it up a few rolling hills, we made it to our guesthouse. We toured around this lovely city for a few hours visiting the night market, some local shops and restaurants and realized we were in special place. There is a curfew in Luang Prabang, because it is primarily Buddhist (with a strong French feel), so the nights begin early. The streets here are lined with restaurant after restaurant, whose deals are continuously improving every step you take. This town definitely has the best bar scene we have been in, you can grab a beer in tree houses, beer gardens, docks overlooking the Mekong River and much much more. We had a quick dinner with some local Lao cuisine, and decided to have an early night in order to catch up on the sleep we lost in the pass 3 weeks in Vietnam. We both went for an hour traditional Lao Massage, 4 dollars each, and locked ourselves in our mosquito infested room.
Our following day was spent tasting various local coffees, and Birmy’s Michelin tire street meat. At this point, it felt weird to be touring without a bike, so instead we paid 2 dollars (20,000 kip) and rented 2 bikes for the day and toured the town. We cruised through streets, aligned with temples, and many Buddhists taking their alms and chanting throughout the day. 3 recommendations out of today are as follows:
1- Absolutely visit Luang Prabang, even if it means traveling via Lao Airlines
2- Stop by Utopia. A hookah/restaurant/lounge/bar etc. beautifully situated above the Mekong River in a tree house, where you can lay on giant indo-Chinese lounges and pass the day with a book or beer
3- MUST: have dinner at Lao Lao Garden
Traveling this city via bike allows you to uncover these hidden gems. Luckily, we found this place for dinner and had Lao Style Barbeque, where the regular set (all of 4 dollars) was self grilled chicken “served with mixed vegetables, eggs, mushrooms, glass noodles, tamarind/peanut sauce, lime garlic, chilies, and soup broth. In South-East Asia these are often called hot pots, where the chicken cooks on top of hot coals on a pot whose edges boil the soup and accompanying veggies. Great meal! Meeting up with Dunn and Gilson in a few hours, some college friends, for an awesome time in Laos. Will catch up with a Vietnam update soon!
Lao Airlines. Umm… this makes Ryan Air look like First Class Virgin Atlantic Airlines. We walked up the five step independent ladder and boarded our flight, with all of 17 people who were crazy enough to leave Saigon and head to Pakse, Laos. You could say the take off was rough. Then again any take off would be rough when your flying in a plane with wheels that belong on a skate board, an engine that couldn’t propel Thomas the Tank Engine, and plane sidings made of aluminum foils. The plane’s cruising altitude was 17,000 ft..and you knew you were in trouble when your neighbors on board where all laughing at the fact that it felt like we were on the Super Man roller coaster, because our stomachs came out from under us every five seconds, and the plane ride was turbulent for all of 2 hours. We descended and landed in all of 30 seconds and made it to Pakse. Palms sweaty, and pouring sweat for fear of our lives, we left the plane and entered customs. Even though Birmy did not have a valid visa, we successfully made it through “customs” because “customs” had no computers, or eyes for that matter, and stamped Birmy’s Vietnam visa for entry, when it had been stamped DEPARTING 3 hours earlier. Pakse International Airport can’t be explained so we wont even try other than it was no bigger than the Blacksburg 711, and there were no electronic devices in the building…we were handed a reusable laminated boarding pass. After then clearing “security”, we boarded our second flight. Made it to Vietiane, and then made our way on our last and final flight to Luang Prabang.
We were greeted with our first Tuk Tuk ride, a truck/1944 Harley/transport contraption whose average speed is about 4 miles an hour. After barely making it up a few rolling hills, we made it to our guesthouse. We toured around this lovely city for a few hours visiting the night market, some local shops and restaurants and realized we were in special place. There is a curfew in Luang Prabang, because it is primarily Buddhist (with a strong French feel), so the nights begin early. The streets here are lined with restaurant after restaurant, whose deals are continuously improving every step you take. This town definitely has the best bar scene we have been in, you can grab a beer in tree houses, beer gardens, docks overlooking the Mekong River and much much more. We had a quick dinner with some local Lao cuisine, and decided to have an early night in order to catch up on the sleep we lost in the pass 3 weeks in Vietnam. We both went for an hour traditional Lao Massage, 4 dollars each, and locked ourselves in our mosquito infested room.
Our following day was spent tasting various local coffees, and Birmy’s Michelin tire street meat. At this point, it felt weird to be touring without a bike, so instead we paid 2 dollars (20,000 kip) and rented 2 bikes for the day and toured the town. We cruised through streets, aligned with temples, and many Buddhists taking their alms and chanting throughout the day. 3 recommendations out of today are as follows:
1- Absolutely visit Luang Prabang, even if it means traveling via Lao Airlines
2- Stop by Utopia. A hookah/restaurant/lounge/bar etc. beautifully situated above the Mekong River in a tree house, where you can lay on giant indo-Chinese lounges and pass the day with a book or beer
3- MUST: have dinner at Lao Lao Garden
Traveling this city via bike allows you to uncover these hidden gems. Luckily, we found this place for dinner and had Lao Style Barbeque, where the regular set (all of 4 dollars) was self grilled chicken “served with mixed vegetables, eggs, mushrooms, glass noodles, tamarind/peanut sauce, lime garlic, chilies, and soup broth. In South-East Asia these are often called hot pots, where the chicken cooks on top of hot coals on a pot whose edges boil the soup and accompanying veggies. Great meal! Meeting up with Dunn and Gilson in a few hours, some college friends, for an awesome time in Laos. Will catch up with a Vietnam update soon!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Cycle from KonTum to Buon Me Thuat- Central Highlands
This morning cycle was one of our best. We had a nice 50 ks, in the hot sun through gorgeous mountain ranges, villages and coffee, cashew, black pepper, and rubber plantations. There are no pictures from the second ride that day because it was extremely challenging, and there is no way that while pedaling up a hill, with ditches, huge rocks, no pavement, and sand (that took two hours to complete) that pictures could have been taken! It was absolutely incredible to finish such a challenging ride, by after 60 miles- we were sure ready for a hearty meal and long night sleep....only to wake up for 65 more miles to follow at 7 am! Wow!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Keeping Busy!
We have been constantly on the run on this tour! 6 am wake up calls, call for some serious cycling, food tasting, and site seeing! Our first 4 tough cycles are down, and now it is time for the real deal. Even though Birm took his first tumble today (with others) into a sand pit during some intense off road riding, we are prepared for tomorrow! The lovely morning starts off with 15 km directly up hill...should make for an interesting day, when there is 60 miles more to come! Birmy has already assured the group that there may or may not be a "buddy" on the bus tomorrow. The cycling has been great- but then again anything is when you're constantly surrounded by the vibrant color and beautiful countryside like that of Vietnam. We have cycled now down south from Hue to Dan Nang to Hoi An (our absolute favorite); and today through the My Lai Village. We are headed inland tomorrow towards the central highlands of Vietnam! Should call for some more beautiful villages, wild elephants, spicy cuisine, and world famous coffee!!
Major Perk of Riding in Vietnam
Only in this country, can you be on the road cycling 50 miles with the constant presence of children yelling Hello! Our group of 12 can not get more than a kilometer(yes we have to use the metric system now), without getting approached by some beautiful child on the side. Kids here have obviously never seen digital cameras because if you even begin to take your camera out and take a picture they swarm you- screaming and laughing, dying for a picture to be taken to them. Their energy and excitement is captivating, and it has been incredible to see these kids because at the mere sound of the English language, or site of white people, children will proceed to run to the road yelling HELLO HELLO!!! We will see you again!! Glad to have met you!!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
New and Improved Mr. Michael
Birmy is turning into an authentic Vietnamese from eating street meat, to bartering, to cycling, to rice farming..
Old Quarter in Hanoi City
A vendor selling fresh produce on the crowded, chaotic streets of the Old Quarter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)