Laos: I'm in love - Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang (LP) in Laos is the most gorgeous little town!

It sits on a peninsula, bordered by the Mekong and the Nam Khong rivers. There are big french colonial guest houses over looking the rivers, a number cute restaurants (and some gourmet) and wine bars line the main street, there are great night markets and there are a large number of temples which means novice monks can often be spotted including during the processional giving of alms at 5:30am in the morning (an offering to the monks which is usually rice). The town is also UNESCO World Heritage protected which has helped preserve the quaintness of the town including the french colonial architechure.

It was such a relief to get off the boat in such a lovely town!



First stop after getting off the boat (and having a long hot shower) was fooood! The big Sissa and I have discovered our favourite meal in Laos - Dom Sum, a green papaya salad with tomatos, baby eggplant, chilli, and a sweet and sour sauce from cane sugar and lime juice. This is all mixed together in a giant mortar and pestle. Lao food is actually very similar to northern Thai food and they make this salad in Thailand also. Its very handy that the Thai's just reverse the words and call it Sum Dom.


Day 1 in LP we caught a tuk tuk with another aussie couple out to the Kuang Si waterfalls.
There were monks (I was kind of stalking them to see if they would strip down and get in the water - call me a pervert, but we have been told they go through a stage when they can't touch women, or even brush against one, they rarely look you in the eye, so I was intrigued as to whether they would swim with women. I gave up following them so I don't know if they did swim or not).
The turquoise pools of water - later the scene of 'the leeching' - and a rope swing into the deep blue waters.


We had every intention of getting up on the first morning at 5:30am to watch the procession of monks down the main street for the giving of alms however one thing lead to another and it was so nice to have a bit of a sleep in. So the following morning we woke up early to observe the giving of alms. It was a nice time of the morning - before the heat of the day had set in - and peaceful watching the procession of monks.


Following the giving of alms, we climbed the stairs of Phu Si hill (yes I do believe its pronounce Pussy?), a large hill in the centre of LP. We climbed about 200 stairs before we reached the ticket office and realised that a) we had to pay an entry fee and b) we didn't have our wallets as we'd just ducked out for a walk. Sooo, back down the 200 odd stairs to the hotel and then back up again. My gluts will thank me for it!



On the way to cooking class... the glasses came out again. I couldn't see sh*t and the sun was in my face, but I love them. hehe.

'sweet mate - for the good time' - hilar

Thailand to Laos - the slow boat "seemed like a good idea at the time"

Our aim after Chiang Mai was to head across to Laos. We asked around town and found a tour that looked like it would get us there safe and sound and paid up front. The following day we were picked up in a minivan full of travellers and we headed north to Chiang Kong - the border town across the Mekong from Huay Xay in Laos.

The 7 hour minibus ride was really just gearing us up for the following two days of slow boat travel. The countryside along the way from Chiang Mai was picturesque and changed from dense forest to green farming land. The minibus was hot and the sweaty japanese guy sleeping on my shoulder made for an even hotter bus trip. But after all - it was only day one and there were no complaints to be made.

Our guesthouse included in the payment was pretty cute and seemed to be the only nice place to stay in Chiang Kong. The mosquito nets made me feel like a fairy princess - but in reality were a saving grace from the gazillions of mosquitos that wanted to eat me.


We were worded up by the tour operator, then the driver of the mini van, then the guest house owner that we should stock up on food/water for the trip because there would be no access to either for the whole trip. We were advised by each that we should shop now as it was our last chance (consequently, there proved to be about 10 last chances to buy food/water along the way and even then, the boat itself had a bar and additionally we stopped at a few river towns along the way so young village kids could jump on and sell food and drinks to us tourists).

So, I headed the advice and went in search of food for the trip. Chips seemed like a fail safe option - although not this flavour. Mmmm - Seafood Mayonnaise - why didn't this flavour win the Smiths name challenge last year? (spew)
Big Sissa had the right idea and stocked up on Bananas (as well as Mangosteins and lychees - yum!)

We made some buddies with two lovely english nurses on their way to Australia, and their side kick from Scotland who was having a holiday for serving in Afghanistan. What better way to make buddies then to smash them in a few games of UNO. (by the way - how do you say UNO. I call it 'you-know', whereas the english girls were calling it 'oo-no' - some clarification needed please). Additionally - my font in this post (Georgia font) is in honour of the lovely lass with whom I played many competitive games of UNO on a Victorian coast trip over easter. She steeled me for competitive UNO.
Here we go - the river crossing to the Laos border passport offices. We had sent our passports off the night before to get the requisite visas and had to pick them up the following morning on the Laos side of the Mekong. The collection of the passports reminded me of a trip to Morocco some years ago where the border guards held up passports to a glass window and threw them out to the crowd. This time the passports were held up to the glass window also - I was first offered an American girls passport, then finally found mine in the pile. Phew.


This is the start of the slow boat trip before the Lao people got on the boat also. We all look pretty happy and don't mind the crammed conditions. The guy who took the picture managed to cut my head out of the picture but there was a smile there to begin with.
We sat up the front of the boat on a flat section (best.tip.ever!). The back was full of wooden seats which did not look particularly comfortable. At least up here we were able to stretch our legs a little although this required some careful negotiation with all other travellers around you - needless to say we got to know each other pretty quickly. Luckily we bought a cushion prior to boarding the boat or we would have had numb bums (or number bums) from sitting on the wooden floor of the boat for 8 hours.

We were originally told that the trip would be around 6 hours a day in the boat (this ended up being 8 hours on day 1 and 9 on day 2). We'd also read in an online forum about an Australian girl's recent hellish slow boat trip to Luang Prabang in Laos where the Mekong river was so low the boat stopped on the river banks and the passengers were told to sleep on the beach (with no communication as to what was happening and being leered at by locals while they tried to sleep) instead of being able to continue on to the accommodation they had booked and paid for in the village at the half way point (Pak Beng). Or alternatively, they could pay and additional 100Baht ($3.50) to sleep on the boat or 500 Baht ($16.00) to get a speed boat to Pak Beng. We had our fingers cross that this would not be repeated on our trip.


This was one of 3 comfortable positions - it involved hanging feet over the edge of the boat and negotiating with passengers on either side as only one two people could do this at the same time.
and there was UNO. of course.


I was a pretty happy girl to arrive in Pak Beng at the end of day 1. It was so nice to stretch my legs and have a wander around even if there were 30 touts all vying for us to stay at their guesthouse.
Overall day 1 had been a bit of fun - we got to meet lots of lovely people around us on the front of the boat, had chats, played UNO, slept a little, read books and dangled our feet in the river. Even if it did involve sitting in the one crammed spot for 8 hours - it was fun in an adventure kind of way.

We finished it off with some Laos whiskey (Whoa), some beers and chats with our new-found buddies.


Day two on the other hand - was a different story.

It started out ok as I made a little buddy who kept me entertained for the first hour or two - but then I was happy to share him with the other travellers who had reserves of patience to play with a excitable 4 year old who nattered away for hours in Laos and played silly games.
However I didn't sleep very well the night before as we stayed in a very very basic guest house (think no flushing toilets but a bucket type arrangement, cold water showers, lights on generators and even then didn't work, sheets that looked like they hadn't been washed and friendly gecko lizards in every corner of the room) and I'd lost some of the enthusiasm for adventure from the previous day. Now it was just a matter of getting through the day and arriving at Luang Prabang. It seemed that most other travellers were in the same boat, so to speak, and the whole mood of the boat was sullen, agitated, restless and tired.

I was so happy once we arrived at the end of 9 hours, found our hotel who had cold drinks and lemongrass washer waiting for our arrival - ahhh - now this is more like it!

Thailand: Chiang Mai - Elephants, Neighbours, markets and bling

The Big sissa and I were keen to play with some elephants - but we wanted it to be a more wholesome experience than the typical tourist tours/treks and also through an organisation that takes care of the elephants rather than exploiting them for money. So we decided on an elephant rescue park and sanctuary which provides a home for 30 rescue elephants. Some elephants were used in the logging industry, others in the tourism industry but overall most were abused/mistreated including drugging and inhumane training.

We fed the elephants a few times which involved a continuous flow of fruit and vegetables from a basket to their trunks. They were quite demanding and the flow of food to their trunks had to be swift or they would start to follow you with their trunks in an effort to get to the food. It was a bizarre sensation feeling the sandpapery trunks latch onto the food in your hand and watch it bend its trunk and tuck the food into its mouth. Their trunks are so strong and the grip on the food and your hand was quite strong! Some greedy buggers would hold out for 3 or 4 serves of food in their trunk before putting it in their mouths - but they are such smart and knowing creatures.

There were two babies that we got to hug and play with. It was a game to chase you and try and push you out of the way with their head - or at least the baby boy elephant was creating a game of that. The little girl elephant was so much calmer and well behaved. Trust!

AND surprise surprise - who should be at the elephant sanctuary in Thailand but old mate Lou Carpenter from Neighbours (sorry Lou, don't know your real name). We had some chats about Neighbours and what he was up to in Thailand (FYI for Neighbours fans, he works 2 months on and 2 months off, then spends 1-2 months in Thailand each year - presumably with his Thai girlfriend/wife?)


Playing in the river and washing the elephants was bucket loads of fun (so to speak). The elephants seemed to really enjoy getting clean and the sensation of being covered in water, only to go and roll in the dirt/spray themselves with dirt the minute they left the river.
And then came the kisses - I was so so giggly getting the kisses that I had to get a few kisses just to get a decent photo. The trunk reaches out and latches on to your cheek. It is wet, covered in grainy dirt and smelly, the skin rough and slightly scratchy - and then the suction begins - it is such a shock to have an elephant trunk suctioning your cheek! This particular elephant, Lily, was a reformed drug addicted elephant who was used in the logging industry.

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One thing I REALLY wanted to do in Chiang Mai was a jewellery making course. I searched the net high and low and eventually came across NOVA jewellery courses. In one day we had the option of making a ring or a pendant - I chose a ring.

These were the example rings shown to us to provide some inspiration - I was in heaven and so so excited. Although when put on the spot I actually found it really difficult to be creative and come up with an idea for a ring I wanted to make. I really should have given it some more thought before turning up!
This is halfway through the process of cutting, filing and soldering the silver design.

We're almost there! Just needs a bit more filing around the edges, some sanding and some polishing. I stamped the front and the back of the ring with type-writer font letters.

Almost there - now just to clean it up and polish the finished product. The stamping is a little wonky -ooops - I did try super super hard to hammer the lettering on straight but its the kind of thing you don't get a second chance at doing... so wonky letters it will have to be.

Et Voila - the finished product!

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The Sunday night markets in Chiang Mai are HUGE! All the locals and tourists converge on 4 long packed city streets to take in the vast array of goods, food and drinks on offer. It was such a sensory overload and there were so many bargains to be found!!

Bamboo iced tea

decisions decisions - which ones to get?!

Big Sissa playing dress ups!

Some of the fine cuisine on offer - mmm - crickets, my fave! oh and worms - don't mind if i do. (spew!)

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Finally, following the special request for pictures of 'the shoes' for Lisboa - Ta daa!
These are some of the fruits of our bangkok shopping - we had to find 'suitable' footwear to wear to rooftop cocktails at our hotel. It was pretty hard to find a) shoes that I would wear again b) shoes that can be squashed in my bag so as not to take up too much room. Therefore we have these flat sparkly numbers!!!

Coming up next... 2 days in a crammed boat on the way to paradise, a gross story for good measure and birthdayness x

Thailand: Chiang Mai - "You fet. Velly velly fet"

Thai massages are unbelievably cheap and unbelievably good. On the back of a fantastic massage in Bangkok, complete with herbal thai compression massage, the Big Sissa and I went for a massage around the corner from our hotel in Chiang Mai. As I was changing into the thai fishermen pants the masseuse whipped open the modesty curtain and proceeded to fold the fishermen pants for me while poking me and saying 'He he - you fet. You velly velly fet'. Whooha lady - way to make me feel awesome!

We've been in Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand, for roughly one week. It has been a lovely week full of so many different experiences from climbing hundreds of stairs to a sacred monestry, to taking silver jewellry making course and making a ring, to patting/feeding/bathing/being kissed by elephants at a park for rescued elephants and hanging out with Lou Carpenter from neighbours, to just exploring the town and taking in all it has to offer.



I've observed a few things over the last week. The first observation is the large number of elderly caucasian men dating young thai women. I can understand that they may have meaningful relationships but its hard not to feel that the thai women are being taken advantage of, or visa versa, that the thai women are offering themselves for a chance at a 'better' life and therefore taking advantage of the lonely men.

The second observation is that there are a LOT of people in the service industry in Thailand. At each of the places we have stayed no less than 6 people say hello/welcome from the time you walk in the front door. Breakfast involves 3-4 people hovering around you and filling up your drink after every sip. The funniest job I think belongs to the chubby and bossy thai woman. She gets to sit behind the counter at a shop, ignore customers, boss the staff around and take the cash. Take example A below:

The woman in pink at the back applied make up in her compact mirror and bossed the girls around the shoe shop - taking no interest in customers at all until time came to take the cash. It was pretty hilar. (Note: this is the shoe shopping expedition in Bangkok in preparation for strict dress code entry into the rooftop bar - note also in the end that we could have worn thongs! oh well you can never have too many pairs of tacky bling asian shoes)

My last observation for this post relates to thai footpaths. There are a large number of obstructions that break up the footpath (phone booths in the middle, exposed wires, random steel poles at shin height, uneven footpath, excavations, and unidentified liquids that smell like a mixture of fish heads and urine). This necessitates getting around the streets in single file like ducklings following the leader, all the while being careful not to trip/step in anything/walk into any random structures. Its amusing but not conducive for conversations.

A tout de suite...coming up next = kisses from reformed drug addicted elephants, Lou Carpenter from Neighbours, markets markets markets and jewellery making classes!