Great place, comes recommended just about everywhere. Has a really nice traveller vibe, and is very cheap. Its nice and central for most of Pakse, and when the bars and restaurants in town close there is a wonderful communal area at the Sabaidy 2 where you can just chill after hours and meet a whole bunch of people in. Just keep the noise down as some people do like to get some sleep there.
Are on the way folks.
Starting with some of my VERY late accommodation reviews and a standalone article I’ll be adding alot too as I get more images.
Jon
Tags: Update
Just a few words to say that I have not forgetten my readers, but powers been up and down on Lanta like the knickers of a whore in a navy yard.
I have 7 or so accomodation reviews to finish, 2 – 3 weeks worth of regular blog posts, together with a handful of stand alone posts for the blog on a myriad number of subjects, as well as Google Maps added to each relevant post.
I hope to be fully updated by the time my parents return to the UK in mid April.
Jon.
After leaving Bangkok, I headed to Kanchanaburi, site of the famous Bridge over the River Kwai and the infamous Hellfire Pass.
Kanchanaburi was a nothing little place in a backwater part of Thailand, up until the Japanese arrived during the Pacific War – the regional name for this rather brutal theatre of World War II – and made it the central holding centre (prison camp) for allied prisoners forced to create the necessary rail link with Burma that would enable them to invade India, then the shining jewel of the crumbling British Empire.
Tens of thousands of captured Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen, as well as upwards of one hundred thousand Malay, Indonesians and Koreans found themselves drafted into “service” constructing a rail-road though some very unforgiving terrain, in weather that was the just as harsh and of course suffering under the brutality of their Japanese captors. By the end of war, over 6000 Allied servicemen had died in the creation of what became known as the “Death Railway”.
I only stayed a few days in town, there is a slightly sleazy feel to the main tourist drag – Thanon Maenamkwai – but if you stick the traveller haunts you wont really see that side of it much; although I did find the BEST English food outside of England at a bar on that road, including real back bacon and HP sauce.
As well as the Bridge, Hellfire Pass and the Cemeteries, there are other draws around town, including a couple of good museums, river rafting, waterfalls (Ere wan falls is possibly the nicest set of waterfalls in the region) and trekking of various sorts. However this time round I was just there relax and see the highlights before I headed off to Ko Chang for some beach time.
Tags: Bridge, Kanchanaburi, Kwai, Thailand, Trip
Don Det to Pakse: Minibus with broken aircon.
Pakse to Ubon: Thai-Laos Friendship bus that kept going back to the bus station over and over.
Ubon to Bangkok: Overnight bus, sharing a blanket for most of the night with a random Thai girl who thought I was a giant pillow. Not complaining though!
Arriving in Bangkok I headed towards the Khao San Road, passing the area were the “Reds”- supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra – were busy setting up stages and roadside camps for the tens of thousands who would be descending on the city the following day to protest the governments treatment of Thaksin; the crippling poverty they are suffering from and generally to try to force the current government to dissolve and bring in a fresh parliament, hopefully led by someone who believes in their cause. A few days later I was back in Bangkok and it was still very busy with Reds and in their main encampments there was quite the carnival atmosphere, no trouble towards farang, more joy that you are in the area taking an interest.
While in the city I met up with Mat, the founder of the South East Asia 2010 Facebook group I have mentioned previously.
He was readying himself to move on to Malaysia, so we spent a few days wandering the city, running from persistent Thai whores and sorting our respective onward journeys – him to Penang and me to Kanchanaburi.
22
Mar
Over 9000 Islands? Would work just as well as 4000!
No way is there 4000 islands here, even if you attempted to include every bit of rock that shows as the level of Mekong falls it just would not total 4000. However this isn’t to say that the local name: Si Phan Don is something of an exaggeration, there is a large number of islands in the region, some of which only appear if the river is low, and all of the ones I saw were spectacular, its just 4000 islands of any size could not fit in the area they do. The islands that are there are a mix of palm fringed paths, bamboo huts, rice paddy’s and of course travellers, all surrounded by the great redolent Mekong river.
The vibe on the islands is one of a place at peace with itself, a slice of the Laos that placed it firmly on the traveller circuit and has kept it there to this day. Despite all the changes taking place across the country – the results of investment from it’s richer neighbours combined with the endless hunt for the tourist dollar – the pace of life on the islands, particularly Don Det & Don Khon, is as slow as the flow of the Mekong. While I may have bemoaned a slow pace back when I wrote about Vientiane, here it is expected and I have to admit I fell for it. But only for a few days before I had the urge to get back to the hustle and bustle of, well, anywhere not in Laos. So having a need to be in Thailand I headed back to Bangkok.
Pakse. A small town way down the Mekong and so dull even the French did not try to pretty it up. The place is only really good as a base for exploring the Bolvean Plateau, neighbouring Champasak Province and as the jumping off point for travel to the 4000 Islands or Thailand.
After arriving, and being “done” by a tuk tuk driver who told me we were at the real VIP terminal when 3 minutes later it was very apparent that we were not and had been dropped in the centre of the tourist area, I found a place to crash for a couple of days then arranged to get out of town to visit Phou Assa & Wat Phou just outside the village of Champasak.
Phou Assa is a mountain top ruin the origins of which are still mostly unknown. Its walls are dry stone construction around a central ruin again in dry stone, with no real clues to why it is there. However it is different enough from everything else one see’s in South East Asia that the 1 hour elephant ride up there is very much worth it.
Wat Phou in Champasak is a very old temple site. Back in the 5th century it was used as a Hindu temple, however it really came to prominence in the 13th century when the Khmer from Angkor constructed a temple complex on the site using the same techniques they did there, including the construction of huge barays for irrigation.
Once I’d visited these places, Pakse had nothing left to offer and I grabbed a Songtheaw down to Don Det in the 4000 Islands.
… Bored.
1. See more wats – some are impressive considering they are reasonably new given Laos turbulent history;
2. Tour the Laos National Museum – I thought I’d seen the end of museums that deny you the chance to go photo-happy;
3. Walk to and climb Patuxai. This is Vientiane’s very own Arc de Triomphé, built using concrete donated by the Americans for a runway. The views from the top are not quite as awe inspiring as those you can see from the French original, however they are still worth the climb;
4. Wander the wonderful prome – no wait, for some reason unknown to me, the Thai and Laos governments have turned one of the best things about Vientiane into a building site and now it looks awful. As Siobhan said its ruined one of the best ways there was to pass time in the city, no more can you chill with good Lao food, beer and a book and watch the world go by.
5. You can also get visa’s here for any number of countries in and around the region. For me this meant a trip to the now moved (thanks for publishing the move very widely…) Thai Embassy/Consulate, although the touts are the same (same as EVERYWHERE it could be argued), offering services that only the stupid would fall for, from copying your passport at inflated prices, to filling in the near child-proof visa form.
After getting past the touts and into the embassy I was allotted number 718 and hours of waiting began, with them closing at around the 300 mark. However this, as a friend pointed out, is Asia they keep offering numbers even though they know they’ll NEVER meet that target. So I went away and came back much earlier the next day – turns out Wednesdays are a quiet day there, and handed my stuff over. Then went away without having to pay a penny. Go Go the last two days of the free 60 day visa!! Collection the following day is so easy as long as you kept your number from the day before.
Apart from meeting Siobhan and passing the time comparing tales of substance abuse over several beers, the rest of my time in Vientiane passed like old people screwing – far too slowly. In the end I got an overnight sleeper bus to Pakse and moved on. The pace of life in Vientiane is just too damn laid back after all.
6. Leave.
Laos was interesting, alot more built up than on previous visits, however that didnt really spoil it for me, except in Vientiane. The people are still as friendly as ever and the countryside especially in the north is simply stunning, and as long as neither change then I’ll no doubt keep returning to Laos.
I’ll be posting the remainder of my Laos entries and photo’s when I am in Bangkok later this weekend.
7
Mar
Riverside Hotel, Vientiane, 28th February to 7th March 2010
Saw this place on Travelfish and in my Lonely-Planet so checked it out after trying a few other cheaper places, however with so many arrivals in town when I got here, they were full. The Riverside however was not, probably due to it being a touch on the expensive side:
180000 Kip per night for an aircon double or single room en-suite;
100000 Kip per night for a fan double or single room with en-suite.
The rooms themselves aren’t very big, but the beds are amazingly comfy which was good news for my back as so far on this trip the beds have not been that great. They have cable television with BBC World News, so I could get my Auntie Fix!
As far as location goes, its a stones throw from the frontage along the Mekong – however the promenade area is undergoing a massive regeneration/construction project, so do not expect to see much – and close to the rest of the main traveller amenities – bars, restaurants and the like.
They offer some travel services, in addition to free wifi in the lobby and a car service should you require it.
Biggest downside for the majority of travellers is the cost, however in Vientiane elevated costs seems to the norm, so its not a reason to be put off staying here.
