Things to do in Vientiane when you’re…

… 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.

Rattana Guesthouse, Luang Prabang, 21st February to 24th February

Having made the decision to fly into Luang Prabang, I needed to find a place that would pick me up from the airport, as its a slight way out of town.

After much browsing of Travelfish and Google, I happened upon Rattana’s and fired off an email. A few hours later my reservation was confirmed. A day later I was met at the airport and taken to the guesthouse.

Rattana’s itself is close to the boat landing for the slow boats, as well as close to Phou Si, the Hmong Market and pretty much the rest of Luang Prabang. The rooms are pretty spacious overall, and very well maintained. And at $15 a night you cannot ask for more.

Rattana’s also offers trekking and other tour services ould they interest you, as well as being able to arrange onward bus tickets to anywhere in Laos.

Overall as a slightly more costly place than most of the budget range in town, Id say Rattana’s does what it does very well and I have no complaints about the place.

Chilled (to the bone) in Pai

Make a note folks, Im as cold here at night as I was at lunch time in the UK during january…

Kick-boxer XXXVIII: Beer & Boxing

I have been in Chiang Mai for a few days now a highlight of which was a visit Doi Suthep which is a stunning Wat at the top of a mountain overlooking the city, the approach to which is a flight of 300 steps flanked by Naga (who once shaded the Buddha), at once very impressive and totally evocative of the style of the Angkor complex in Cambodia. The views from the Wat show Chiang Mai off really well, and the old city shows up nicely from a couple of thousand feet.

It hasn’t all been day time action, I have had some fun evenings since getting here and meeting a few more people from the Thailand/Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam 2010 Facebook group has really helped. I have now met 8 people from the group and enjoyed several good nights over the past 2 weeks with them. On wednesday night I met up with Luke, who has been travelling through Asia for a good long while; on thursday Anna, Luke, Mat and I met for dinner and visited the Night Bazaar – it is more fun with people, afterwards 3 of us ventured out into Chiang Mai’s night life and got roaring drunk in some pretty good bars on a sub soi near my guest-house including Roots & Heaven Beach. Good music, good company and cold drinks – perfect.

However of all the nights we have enjoyed last night has to be the best one so far. We watched 9 matches of Muay Thai at Kawali Stadium, after enjoying some good cheap thai food near the stadium.

The fighters were not just Thai – we were treated to fighters from England, Spain, Chile & Austria, with the Chilean giving us the best fight of the night, despite losing due to injuries to his wrist and leg. However the Spaniard on the other hand just proved to be a sore loser who just bled over everyone from a gash on his forehead. Including me.

The fights themselves lasted between 3 and 6 rounds however why some were suddenly called when it looked it like things actually hadn’t happened I do not know, I suppose having an idea of the rules of professional Muay Thai would have helped, but honestly it didn’t really ruin the fun of being in an arena, ringside too, watching people try to kick the crap out of each other.

Most walk-able city on Earth?

Chiang Mai. One of those cities you HAVE to arrive by train in, as it shows off its location to the best, ESPECIALLY when arriving as the sun rises over the nearby peaks. Its a stunning view to be awake for, and lucky I had a window berth, however my camera does not like the idea of murky window’s being in the way, so folks you’ll have to come to the region to see it for yourselves!

As for Chiang Mai itself, it seems very compact, and compared to Bangkok, very quiet as far as traffic goes, which makes walking around it a joy, and I do like to walk around places don’t I? Oh and as Lucy mentioned on Facebook the other day “Monk, Monk, Monk, Monk…”, but what do you expect in a small city with nearly as many Wat (including Wat U Mong!) as Bangkok?

Off to the Night Bazaar tonight – or maybe I’ll stroll down Moon Muang and find a bar to chill out in, either way I am looking forward to my time here in the North – including some treks, maybe massage classes. Honestly I am not really sure, don’t even know how long I’ll remain here, either way there is a huge amount for me to do should I stay a good while.

Of markets. Or I learned to love shopping!

For a change I had settled on an early night in order to make certain I’d fully use the day ahead, and after a relaxing breakfast I returned to Wat Arun, and as I have linked in my previous post, I scored some good images, however the climb up the praang was beyond me, so I didn’t get some panoramic shots of the Bangkok sky-line or the river like I had intended, but I’ll be back.

Rather than heading back to Banglamphu, I thought I’d head up to Chatachuk market, this market is Bangkok’s largest and is only open on weekends. Its handily at the northern end of the Sukhumvit sky-train line, so air-con baby!! Let me tell you this, its awesome fun shopping on your own in a place like that – no women to deal with, which means no stress, and a stress free Jon is a happy Jon.

Unlike the day before when I didn’t really care for anything more than perfunctory bargaining – hey frankly my patience wears thin too easily when it involves blagging, or being blagged by the vendors on the Khao San Road, its just fighting a losing battle there – I really got into my stride while meandering the seemingly endless corridors of Chatachuk. Was good to enjoy myself in such a place and score some fabulous deals on shorts and tee’s. I happily lost 4 hours of my afternoon just looking around. Its a sea of humanity!

Last Day in Blighty

For a few months anyway!

Im all packed and ready to go. I just cannot wait until tomorrow!  Being organised on Mary Poppins levels of organised is really bad at times like this!

I have my netbook all ready and sorted to try and get me some free/cheap wifi at Manchester Airport.  A joke I know as I do live a country where nothing is free, least of all its citizens!  However, thats not my problem as for the next few months, I find myself free of any of the shackles that have held me to my life in England for the past few years.  Roll on endless days sitting on beaches or chilling in a coffee shop somewhere watching other people life their lives.

Cannot wait until I land in Bangkok late on Tuesday.  Hopefully meet up with some people off of Facebook and share advice and a few beers. Either way, GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!

My last week in the United Kingdom

It’s going to be a boring week that will no doubt by the time its over, feel like it lasted an eternity.

I really have nothing left to do with regards to the trip, and as for life here, theres nothing going on as I move into “tightwad westerner” mode.

I do however keep finding new reasons to play this alot:

Cheesy as hell, but awesome regardless. Even better when you find out they didnt let Cowell and his pet X-Factor winner use it for a potential Xmas Number 1!!

3 weeks till I leave…

So a tad over 3 weeks to go now. I really dont know if I have missed anything in all my preparations of late.

I have pulled out the old faithful backpack and am repeatedly deciding what to take / not to take. First few nights accomodation are all taken care in a few early destinations, I am doing that to slowly ease myself out of the comfort zone I have been in for the past couple of years. I’ve made my lists of important numbers and sent them to the four corners of the world in case of emergencies.

I really am stuck for wondering what else there is to do bar eat and sleep for the next 3 weeks! I hate this part of pre-trip preparations for that reason, and I hate the organised part of me more!

I was recently recommended a movie called “A Map For Saturday“, about a documentary maker/producer who jacked in his cushy NYC life and travelled the world backpacker style for nearly a year, its amazing how true to the majority of travellers it is, the comments made within it are what we concern ourselves with everyday while we are away from our own cushy lives.

Big Trip Destinations: Vietnam

Vietnam.

The very name conjours up images of jungle, of soldiers and of burning civilians.  However, while a dark period in it’s history that has undeniably left its mark on Vietnam, the country has so much more to offer the traveller in the way of culture, history and landscape.  It is not a place I have seen before for much more than a week here and there, so this time I’d like to delve deeper into the country, and see more of what it has to offer, in addition to some of the more “traditional” sites on the “banana pancake trail”.

• Saigon: A rapidly moving city that is looking forward to the future more than its sister city, Hanoi in the north;
• Chu Chi Tunnels: Demonstrating the lengths that the VC and the North Vietnamese Army went to during the conflict with the United States;
• Mekong Delta: One of the worlds most diverse delta regions that even a nature luddite like myself can appreciate;
• Hue: Former Imperial Capital and by all accounts one of the most stunning places in Asia to visit;
• Halong Bay: Think Karsts. Think Sea. Think Junk boats meandering.  Then mulitply it by thousands, and you have Halong Bay;
• Hoi An: Old world majesty in an asian setting.

Some of the above is probably crossed information on my part – my mind isnt functioning that well, given that it is 4 weeks until I leave and I keep wondering if it will all go well – but its a small list of what I’d like to see and experience while in the most enigmatic of countries within the region.