Day 133 - It's too early for a bus change and getting to Chiang Mai

My unimpressed, sleepless face. It's too early for this crap!

Day 133 - 03rd November

So at 5:30am, the bus pulls up at this remote bus station, the driver gets out and start launching our bags into the waiting area. A foreign European couple ask me if this bus will still take us to Shanghai. I told them I hoped not because that was east of here and I don't know how many hundreds of miles away - I'd guessed at 900. It was probably way out. Thankfully, I discovered they were saying Chiang Rai which was three hours over the border. (I looked in Chiang Khong to Shanghai, it's 1,500 miles so not a bad shout!)

The elders helped us translate (good guys, the Chinese - I've always said it) and we were told at 9am we'd be picked up by a new bus and taken to the border.

So we waited for a few hours. What else could we do?

Everyone boarded except me for Chiang Rai. A woman came out and told me she would take me in a mini van to the Laos/Thailand border and then I'd have to find my own way to Chiang Mai. Knowing this would be about as easy as finding a clean mattress in a hostel, I decided to board the bus bound for Chiang Rai and to connect there to Chiang Mai. I knew it was only a few hours north from where I wanted to be.

So we chug along for half an hour until we reach the borders. Laos is a doddle, we're all straight through. However, when we reach the Thailand border, the four elders are asking me to fill out their paperwork for them. I did what I could for them before grabbing an official to translate the rest of the form. Being a UK citizen, you breeze through the border - the official even smiled at me and wished me a good time in Thailand.

And after another three hours, we made it to Chiang Rai. I managed to get some sleep on this coach with two seats to myself which was a bonus. I bid the elders farewell and Xiè Xiè'd them for their early help. They seemed happy and waved me goodbye.

I only had a twenty five minute wait and I'd be on a 3 hour bus bound for Chiang Mai. Thank Christ. I sat next to a friendly Thai woman who I had a brief discussion with. They gave us free water and Chocos (their version of Oreos) and we sped through Thailand towards the southern part of the North until we eventually reached Chiang Mai at 4pm - 22 hours after I'd left Luang Prabang. The ordeal was over.

This dorms alright actually. Love the sliding door for the bathroom.

Deejai Hostel was impressive, with a nice tropical feel to the lobby, a bit like Siem Reap's Bou Savy and the dorms were pretty sweet as well.

I had a quick pizza and Sprite for dinner at Cafe Diversion before heading back to crash out. It had been one hell of a day! I think Chiang Mai is going to be fun!

Day 132 - Oh Mai, Oh Mai, how long to Chiang Mai?

A great way to end my stay in Luang Prabang!

Day 132 - 02nd November

So my final day in Luang Prabang was already here. It was bad for many reasons. I'd come to love the place, I'd had a pretty awesome hostel with an abundance of hot shower water and lastly, I was only a few hours away from jumping on an 18 hour journey to Chiang Mai. Yes, I did say 18 hours.

To avoid thinking about it, I headed to the post office to send my nanna's postcards and then I wandered down to Utopia again to relax for a few hours. I tell you, a Dark Beer Lao is the way forward at 10am.

With an Oreo shake, that baby is a thing of beauty.

I read and did some work before having a 'Bacon Bomb Burger'. Anything with bacon and BBQ sauce is a winner in my book.

I took one final excursion to the market, buying a lemon fruit shake and two packets of cashews for my journey before heading back to the hostel for pick up.

I shared a Tuk Tuk with a Dutch couple who were good company to the bus station and when I arrived, I was presented to a mini van driver who put my luggage on the roof of his vehicle. I tried to questioned where my double decker or at least single tier coach was but ey just pointed me toward the mini van door.

Shit! This is going to be a killer for 18 hours.

I settled in a singular seat and we set off just before 6pm. I had an annoying Chinese guy in front of me that limited my already limited space by ramming his seat backwards into a decline. Then he pulled it forwards again. And then back again. This is more annoying when it's 1am, you've just managed to get into a snooze and your knees are crushed suddenly. Bloody pillock!

Someone, the driver I think, was hawking his lungs up every few minutes so when I closed my eyes it felt like I was back in China.

Silver lining, I met four Chinese elders who found it fascinating that I'd been to Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. They keep tapping my leg and putting their thumbs up to me which was a good thing I suppose. They kept saying 'Ingua' which I remembered as being England or English.

Just a few more hours and I would reach the border. Then everything will be easy... yeah right!

Day 131 - Kuang Si Waterfall, Utopia and Auf Wiedersehen to Matthius

The smug look of victory

Day 131 - 01st November

Oh what a glorious day. Not because of the location, not because of the plan for the day ahead and not because the weather was brilliant. I finally remembered my password for my sitcom script! Oh the feeling of five months of beating myself up for having a crap brain had suddenly been washed away by a sweet loading bar that told me my document was opening! Five hours of script and many months more worth of work returned to me in an instant. I was elated!

My greatest nemesis but I'm glad the sanctuary is looking after them

So when Matthius arrived at 11am for our trip to Kuang Si waterfall, I was pumped to go. We rode in a mini van for 45 minutes and arrived at the site. We had three hours to explore and explore we did.

Stunning, but just the beginning

See what I mean?

Each level was its own unique piece of beauty. The water, turquoise blue from the limestone's calcium carbonate, made it look like something mystical beneath the surface. It was full of tourist which always is a bit of a bummer (I class myself as a traveller, it's different), but we made our way, rock hopping into the middle of the pools and away from said tourists to get better photos.

Incredible!

Then we scaled the side of waterfall to see the view from the top. Despite me slipping continuously in my Toms, I was glad of the hassle. The view from the peak was stunning. One sight I will always remember.

Almost a good one.

A sight to behold, or some other quote to that effect

In the afternoon, we went in search of my batteries for my card reader and a keyboard for Matt's laptop, which had been having problems. We found both and I was thinking, 'my luck is really in today.'

Not a bad shot

After this latest triumph, we made our way to the top of Phu Si Mountain (pronounced Pussy Mountain - this is not a joke) and took in the sunset. As usual a cloud cover had ruined the perfect chance of a NatGeo shot but it was still great to see the sun setting behind the mountains that were situated beside the mighty Mekong River.

What a bargain for 15,000 kip although it's a killer if you mix up a spring roll with a banana fritter. Trust me, it's easy!

Again it was dinner time and we headed to the night market to spend 15,000 kip (£1.25) on a street buffet. I'll let the pictures do the talking on this, but it was superb.

Not a night shot but you get the gist.

Utopia was our final stop of the day, a haven for a stargazer and beer lover. It has loungers of an entirely different level. Once again, the pictures tell you everything.

So goodbye took place, this time an Auf Wiedersehen to my German travelling companion. Best of luck to him as he continues onwards in Laos. Tomorrow I headed to Thailand and I inch closer to seeing my sister and cousin for a two week stint. One week left guys!

Day 130 - Halloween happiness in Luang Prabang

Quite a nice place, this Luang Prabang

Day 130 - 31st October

So it's Halloween. What should be a scary affair from ghosts or ghouls is instead taking the form of my Laos mini van driver. This guy turned up an hour late for my 8:30 am pick up and drove like he was trying to hit 88mph and go into time travel. We were all bouncing around on the rocky road in the mountains towards Luang Prabang and he didn't seem to care.

Four hours later and more shaken and stirred than Bond's vodka martini, I arrived at Luang's bus station. I shared a Tuk Tuk with three Chinese people and ended up in the heat in the middle of my new city.

Hostel or prison?

I eventually found The Central Backpackers Hostel after a good wander and a lunch stop and settled in. It's a nice place.

Love those fruit shakes and sandwiches!

I met up with Matthius again and we strolled around the night market, down by the Mekong and had sandwiches and fruit shakes for dinner. Afterwards we headed to an Australian sports bar for Chelsea v.s. Liverpool then United v.s. Palace. Not a bad start to Luang Prabang. 

Day 129 - Blue Lagoon is a good way to say goodbye

Look at that water. The fish swam away!

Day 129 - 30th October

Well, I was up early again, 7:30 am this time. It's so quiet in the morning.

We all arranged to meet at 10am for breakfast before going trekking for the day. A full English was the order with a lemon shake. Quite a nice combo with a free coffee thrown in. Tom and Jade joined us after Matt and I had finished and then the Dutch lads turned up later in casual fashion.

We reeled off topics of conversation including immigration, racism, politics and history.

We decided to scrap trekking and go to the Blue Lagoon. I'm glad we did. It was stunning. You immerse yourself in the heart of the mountains, dip in the pools and swim with the fish there. What else could you want?

We were jumping off tree branches and rope swings and just enjoy our last few hours together.

We headed to an Australian place for dinner. Everyone seemed disappointed with their choices of burgers, pasta and a salad but my falafel and Maurice's chicken pitta were really good!

We bid farewell to Matthius but I'd planned to meet up with him in Luang Prabang so it was only goodbye from me.

No less than twenty four hours later and we were back in the Sakura bar having beers. The topics of conversation reopened with some interesting choice points: toilet antics and travelling.

The night ended well with dances with Korean women and happy goodbyes to the rest of the gang. It had been an awesome 48 hours in Vang Vieng and what had started as a quiet place which was looking like a let down had finished as an awesome stop in Laos.

Day 128 - Seriously, it's so quiet here. Is this really Vang Vieng?

This is what I've floated down but with a much faster current!

Day 128 - 29th October

So I woke up and went downstairs just after eight. No one around, it's so quiet here I thought maybe 28 Days Later had come true.

I headed out for breakfast and had an American breakfast with juice and did a little research for things to do. I'm decided on some relaxation here and a little trekking. The tubing doesn't really appeal to me anymore now I'm here.

I met a German chap and we discussed his caving plans for the day over breakfast before he headed off at eleven.

And then my brain kicked in. My friend, Jenny said to me before I went travelling 'Experience it to the full. You might never be there again.'

So I ran back to my room, put on my swim shorts and headed barefoot across town to the tubing rental service. Big mistake as it's all stones and cobbles but I made it. There I signed my life away, literally, and grabbed a tube before loading up in the mini bus to go a few km down the river to the starting point.

I spoke to an Austrian couple who had met before travelling and we're now together. A real life love story!

As we reached the water's edge, I spoke with Tom and Jade, an English couple from Worcester who shared my apprehension at the speed of the current. Two guys, Maurice and Tim laughed and said it would be fun!

So we jumped on our rubber rings and floated down stream. It was barely 200 yards before we reached bar one on the river. Tim and Maurice from The Netherlands took us on as the England team at beer pong and we lost heavily.

The rest of the afternoon was spent acquainting with each other, finding out more about each other's lives and enjoying each other's company.

Finally around 5:45pm we reached the end and reported back to drop off our tubes. 

I had a quick dinner at the Champalao Villa, a delicious pork fried rice filling me up. The German guy reappeared and it seemed my afternoon was more eventful than his caving. So we both headed out to meet my new contingents at Sakura Bar around 8:30pm.

Beyond that the night was consumed with lady boys chasing me and Matt down the street, a prostitute dancing with me, Tom 'nudging' a girl down some club steps and Jade and I putting our stances down about North v.s. South! I'd call it a tie. Top that off with me and Matt having awesome sandwiches at 2am and my day was complete.

Turns out this sleepy place does have more to offer than I first thought!

Day 127 - Off to Vang Vieng

My street in Vientiane

Day 127 - 28th October

So I set out early morning after coffee and fried eggs to find batteries for my Barclays card reader. Without this I can't access my bank account to get my money. Not to panic though, something will come up good to help me, right?

So I jumped on the bus and seated myself next to a woman. The bus was crowded as they often are but we bumped along the road, stopping once as per usual for food and toilet breaks, before reaching Vang Vieng at 2pm.

We were all bundled out at the Riverside Hotel. It was a flashy looking place at the south of the town. A short mini bus ride took us to another hostel and from there I walked ten minutes to my hostel, Easy Go Backpackers. On the way, I picked up my coach seat buddy who was a Belgian.

Once we'd checked in, they put us in the same dorm and I had a feeling she felt I was orchestrating this (I genuinely wasn't).

Absolutely devine

Just keeps getting better!

Then I started exploring, walking around the town, taking in the beautiful mountainous views and trying not to get sunburned. My search of eight places to find 1.4V batteries (four of the buggies) for my card reader but no one here has ever seen them, let alone stocked them.

I checked out the tubing scene. It looks pretty similar to the tubing I did in America so I'm undecided whether to do this for 100,000 kip. I have a few days to decide so I'll think about it. I'm more interested in trekking or kayaking through cave here. Again, cost permitting due to having no access to money, I'll make my decision in the next few days.

I went back to take a shower before having dinner at the Green Restaurant in town. I noticed that Friends is on loop here in bars so that could be a possibility for dinner tomorrow. I've had Friends withdrawals whilst travelling!

I sat for a while on the decking overlooking the mountains from my hostel and just watched the stars. It's so peaceful and quiet outside the partying perimeter that you can only hear the wildlife noises. I even swear to seeing shooting stars.

A great first day in Vang Vieng but I need to move about a bit tomorrow to find something to do! Apart from boozing, tubing and caving, this place isn't as busy as I thought it'd be (that's low season for you!)

Day 126 - Vientiane, you little beauty

Patuxai, the Lao version of the Arc de Triomphe.

Day 126 - 27th October

So all night my Chinese roommate was on the phone to her boyfriend talking, and I mean ALL NIGHT. When I woke up she was sparko. I thought about banging around but thought pettiness was not the answer. At one point the kisses and love comments were getting so frequent, I was going to tell her to get a room but then I realised she already had - mine!

Can't resist a Museum. I would've taken photos inside but they wanted another 10,000 kip for that privilege.

So instead, I got up and had toast, jam and coffee before heading out to the Laos National Museum for a wander through history. There was some interesting stuff in there dating back to the cretaceous period as well as the usual pottery and clothing.

Not a bad imitation of the ol' Arc.

After an hour or so stint in there I headed towards Patuxai, an Arc de Triomphe replica set in the heart of the city. It was created in 1969 from a mass of concrete that the U.S. had donated for a new airport. Those crafty Laoians. The views were amazing but I did feel a bit dizzy from the heights so had to move on quickly after taking some photos.

Higher than it looks, believe me!

Proud of this one. I had to resist trying to get inside to see if Buddha's breastbone was inside!

I took a good 2km walk to Pha That Luang, a giant golden monument that is an icon of Buddhism. I read that a part of Buddha's breastbone was placed in the centre when it was originally built by the Indians. How true this is I don't know but it was still pretty cool to imagine.

Vientiane's Music Hall.

Another legend comes with That Dam. Apparently, Laoians believe there is a seven headed Naga inside that protected them from the Siamese Army in 1827. Chamber of Secrets before its time?

I weaved in and out of the streets on the way back, dehydrated and hungry. But I still had a mission to complete. I was on my postcard hunt for Nanna and magnet search for Mum. I found the post office after twenty minutes or so. Result.

Ah the bliss after a long hot walk around Vientiane. Not the food, the ice cold water.

Heading back, I stopped in a small cafe for a Laos Chicken and Sausage Roll and water. God, the water has never tasted so good!

What a relaxing combo.

When I reached my street, I found a nice little place to enjoy a beer no a book. Papillon has had me gripped and I was only a couple hundred pages from the finish. So I relaxed and made my way gradually through the book until I'd sunk a couple of big BeerLaos.

Back in my room, I finally managed to speak to the black haired, Russian girl with the tattoos called Stacie. Turns out she was actually Canadian (from Vancouver). We passed an hour or two just talking about travelling, my writing, Shantaram (the second time someone has mentioned this book to me in two days), the volume from our Chinese roommate and our weirdest dreams (I'm surprised she didn't recoil in horror when I told her about my creepy little girl singing slowly in her room with China dolls or my dream of being Peter Pan!)

Another Chinese girl came into our dorm but was really shy so we only gave her a quick hello.

I went back to the place for dinner and had some fantastic stir fried vegetables. Shortly after, I returned to my room and slept, ready for my morning bus to Vang Vieng.

Day 125 - Farewell Siem Reap and Cambodia. Time to go to Laos!

This is how I feel today about leaving Cambodia!

Day 125 - 26th October

Well, the day has arrived. 9 weeks gone in the blink of an eye. I've had so many great memories - Bou Savy, Globalteer, the kids and sports, Phnom Penh trips, Big Willy F.C. and so many more!

I delivered my loaned bike and effects back to Globalteer, gave my favourite noodle lady a present and waited for Mr Barang to pick me up for the airport.

The Bou Savy staff bid me a warm farewell, I'll miss them all and the banter I had with them about charging other rooms for my $106.30 bill. Thanks to David who kept me organised and all the staff. Hopefully our paths with cross again in the future!

I waited patiently for my flight and then off I went.

I reached Pakse around 4:30pm and had my grilling from the Laos border officials. $35 lighter and I was sitting in a waiting room ready to fly out to Vientiane. I was so excited. Laos was not on my original plan but now I was here, I couldn't wait to start exploring.

I was sitting on the plane beside Jo and Georgia, two women from Australia, but I only found this out when we were through the baggage hall in Vientiane and they were trying to close up at 8:30pm! After quick introductions we agreed to split 70,000 Kip for the cab into Vientiane city centre.

The cab driver said we'd paid only 57,000 Kip for one drop off point when we knew we'd paid for two drop offs at 70,000 Kip. I knew what he was going to pull so I told him to take the girls to their hostel first.

The girls gave him 10,000 Kip as their half of the 20,000 outstanding.

We dropped them off and then headed to my hostel. He demanded 20,000. I told him he'd already made an extra 10,000 Kip out of us and was now taking the mickey. He kept his hand on my backpack and demanded 20,000 Kip. Nearby, a group of eight to ten security guards were standing by to maintain order at the street carnival down my street. That meant punching him was out the question - I'm joking (or am I).

I gave him 10,000 Kip and snatched my backpack up. He yelled something in Laoian and I told him he was taking the piss before walking off. I don't mind paying up if I owe but don't try and rob me!

I eventually made it to the Funky Monkey hostel and checked in. I was sharing with a Chinese woman and a dark haired, Russian looking woman. She had tattoos all over her.

I bought my bus ticket and then retired to bed ready for a long day ahead. 24 hours to really see Vientiane - I wasn't going to waste it!