Mamamalaysia

Well it's all over for Thailand and so the weather got better immediately after I crossed the border. They have highways in this motha! Woosh we ride very fast to Penang/Georgetown where I setup base camp in chinatown with the indian blocks not far away. It came as a total surprise to me that they have Indian food here in Thailand and nothing could make me more happy that night than a nice Masala Dosa. Oooh so good! The town has kept its colonial image with the low storied buildings with a chinese temple there, mosk here, all that jazz. Nice place to stay a night or two but I was on my way to the highlands.. Cameron Highlands!



Took the ferry over to Butterworth and hopped on a bus that was right next to the ferry docking point that flew me right down to Ipoh where I was destined to change the buss. Unfortunately the perfect time leaving bus was canceled to who knows what reason and I had to wait 4 hours for the next bus at the bus station. Well with a nice book to read it wasnt that bad. Another wooosh through some nice landscape as we climb into the clouds to see some tea plantations. Dusk arrived before I could see any and the episode was delayed for a couple of days. At least I was able to find a nice cheap indian street eatery where this mother/daughter combination keeps giving me more and more delicious foods. I have become a regular guest at their establishment.



A couple of days into the highlands and I see myself enjoying the cheap food, cheaper accommodation and nice walks that they have to offer. Did a big tour to the tea plantations a couple of days back and my legs are still hurting! Never mind though as the scenery was just to die for. Never really realized just how well blue and green go together until I started snapping away with the camera to a certain extent of TOO MUCH. I was expecting there to be tons of tourist loitering around the estate area but I didn't see any other tourist or locals apart from ones traveling with a car or motorbike down and up the curvy roads amids the tea bushes. I took the liberty of walking around anywhere I pleased and it turns out those tea bushes dont really bent easily and you have to really jump over them if you want to skip a line. Anyway the walk back turned out to be a exhausting one even though its mostly downhill. I was completely beat when at the last mile or so left the signs of a storm started to be in the air and I could feel the drops of rains starting to hunt me. Make a run for it to keep yourself dry!



Legs dont hurt anymore and I think soon Ill hit the jungle paths again. Hopefully the weather will be more merciful this time :)

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Angkor and Thailand

Yes it's been a while. Cambodia is now behind and so are the temples of Angkor. Have to say that place is massive! Frankly when you have to bicycle 8 hours to see just a glimpse of it all even though the temples are more or less 10 minutes from each other it kinda makes me feel small. The place was crowded not so much by tourist as I thought but the constant hassle with the tuk-tuk drivers was getting to me. Jungle covered temples that have been literally swallowed by the trees and the musky air over there was getting me into the Indiana Jones groove. We took a car out to see one temple that was kinda out of the and the ride over there took over one hour but at the end it was worth it. The temple was absolutely stunning and unlike in the main tourist area here you could really jump and climb around the collapsed walls and roofs. Kick ass time continued every night at Siem Reap with the other travelers with cheap bear and good card games :).



When it was time to go to Bangkok we knew what we were facing. A road of complete rubble and utter madness that last for a good 4 hours of the first part of the journey. This is a road everybody has to do once in their lives and after that you don't complain ever again. From Siem Reap to the border it's just a dirt track with a scatter of bombed potholes, drilled manholes and is probably maintained by a few holes of the different kind as well.



Bangkok is the major meeting point and epicenter of any trip through SEA and should not be missed even though it has a reputation of being a bit of a tourist trap.. well at least khao san road. That road really is something. It has the lights of Las Vegas, The noise of Delhi and the drunken people of every western country imaginable. Tuk-tuk drivers are crooked as can be and with the number of t-shirts on sale on that street you could sort out the Red Crosses clothing campaign for the next few years. Ping Pong games to your right, pimped out rickshaws to your left and cheap street food in your face! Got to love it. Me and Sas visited a few big ass markets and I took the liberty to go see a Thai-boxing match on one of the main stadiums the town has. Naturally I get the seats in the cheapest stands where of course all the locals go too. The boxing is intense but so is the betting that goes on in the crowds. Men raising and lowering their hands, sign language with the fingers and thousands of bath exchanging owner every 30 minutes. Good fun indeed.



As for the beaches, yes I've seen some damn good ones. First we stayed two weeks at Sas's friend with a rooftop terrace, own swimming pool... I could go on but you probably know whats coming next. Anyway we took the bike out to explore the island and this is a island you definitely need a motorbike of some sort to get around. Incredibly steep hills and long distances in the immense heat is something you don't want to experience walking. As for the beaches. They are just amazing! I have never in my life seen such clear water nor had the bath sensation in open water. It really is too hot to feel refreshing. These two weeks were definitely needed to drain the wanderers encumbrance that had accumulated since leaving Hanoi.



Since we were in the area and the moon was in the right position we decided to go see the full moon party in Koh Phangan. How does one stick about 5000 people on to one strip of sand and turn it to a party known throughout the world? I have no idea but it damn it is one hell of a party. Decided not to bring the camera to the big party in fear of stealing so I leave you with a picture of the swing by our bungalows overlooking the sea, Koh Samui and a full moon.



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Cambodia Year 0-2008

It's a holiday in Cambodia! A week into it but can't say it's been all lovely. Phnom Penh turned out to be just a place to visit if your intrested in the Khmer Rouge regime and the horrific genocide it commited. Killing fields and the S-21 are probably the main attractions of the town, with the shooting range of course.

The Killing Fields the of hundreds of cambodian civilians that perished during the Khmer Rouge rule. There are to mass graves that have been dug up and some say there probably are more beyond the small pond on the far side of the site. A pagoda full of skulls stands as a memorial of the events that occured there. Im not sure what was eerier - the khmer wedding music echoing just outside of the site or the two kids chanting their begging mantra on me. How dare some people put their kids to beg into these kind of places. The S-21 was more of a torture/interrigation office than a mass grave but gave me the chills none the less. The pictures of people executed and tortured just make you think what can human beign endure and have to suffer. A few people had written messages on the walls of the prison cells asking questions of mans inhumanity and looking at it really makes anybody want to cry.

A part from that the city really doesnt have much to offer. It's just one of those noisy, dirty, big asian capitals. This gave the tag team Sas-T a good excuse to bail out and head for the coast in hope to get some sunshine (It's been raining here every day). So we close our eyes and pic a point on the map - KAMPOT IT IS BABY YEAH! In reality its a small river town near the coast of Cambodia with not much to offer in itself but once you get the motorbike out and cruise the coast your rollin'. 4 hours on a bus turns out to be 6 hours - nothing new in Asia I would say - and we arrive there. After being harassed to death by touts and nice dinner we go to bed and get ready for a nice bike ride.

First thing we run for the coast to see the old abandoned colonial town of Kep. A big french resort in the 70's now only has concrete outer walls left of the once mighty hotels that stood there. The place was invaded when the Khmer Rouge took power and was probably burned down after the Vietnamese "released" from the evil grip. This probably has more appeal in the sunny season and for now it still has some of that local charm left although major tourist attractions have started to pop up here and there.

On the way back we stopped at a local fisherman village to take some pictures of the kids and pigs. Together they are almost as photogenic as me although Sas thinks I look more like a pig. Those hogs were huge and in true pig manner they were eating anything that came near their mouth. As the evening sun began to descent we took the opportunity to use the closest thing Cambodia has to a freeway in the country. The road between Kampot and Sihanouk Vill is by far one of the smoothest roads I've been on in SE and we decided to go check out the Bokor National Park/Hill station entry point not far from town. Apparently they have some illegal tree cutting going on those deep forest as they didnt want anybody to enter the park. Then again maybe our bike was not ment for that muddy road.

On a sidenote I would like to mention that I will start to write this blog only once a month soon so dont expect any fast updates. Photos will still be uploaded.

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We be tubin'

Forget the elephant rides! We got tubes! Thats right. Turns out the 4 legged beasts are quite expensive to ride so it was decided to tame some of the wild versions later on to save some money. Maybe find some in Cambodia or Thailand? Tube for now.



The photogenic Luang Prabang was only viewable from the rear view mirror when we started to check out what the next city, Vang Vieng, had in store for us. Horrors! But before that we had a nice little 6 hour roadtrip ahead that the WRC could easily add to their yearly schedule because the curves that are endless! As always the scenery is amazing and the pictures dont do them justice. The center of Vang Vieng is useless. The streets are full of restaurants serving "happy" pizzas, fruit shakes, beerlao and a neverending list of Friend's episodes. There really is no difference here. The are all the same. Looking at the other travelers, I feel a sense of disgust going through me and I want to leave. Who comes to South East Asia to watch friends? The first night is spent getting settled and having dinner.



Vang Vieng still has a lot to offer though. The have canoes, rock climbing, trekking, caves and of course TUBES! The stay started off with a visit to the nearest cave that was situated 2 km from the TV-hell. Easy walk except for the mud obstacle course setted up by a couple of trucks and a digger. As we get there a little bit early I decided to take a dip at the bluegreen shining lagoon right outside the cave. Running water might be cold but it definately is relaxing with the temperatures going through the roof. The cave in it self was a massive complex that didnt suffer from that horrible blue/green/red light syndrome that makes the staligmites look like pop sicles. Just natural light and a light bulp here and there. We had some monks as company and I became a light bearer with my head lamp as the monks wanted to venture outside the guided tour into the darkness Sas right on my tail. Messing with the lights caused some giggles and claustrophobia in the team but we got out in the end. Sas was being a big girls blouse about the whole darkness thing and a hug made it all better.



A little lunch companied by mango shakes which I'm totaly addicted to now and we leave for the main event the city has to offer: tubing. Prices going at a steady 3 euroes a pop and a ride to the up stream starting point, it is a fairly good deal. The idea is to ride down the river for a hour along the slowly running river of Nam Song. The main attraction of course is not the tubing itself but the abbundance of bars the place has to offer on the river sides. Catch up with the other travelers, have rice wine shots or a beerlao and try out the crazyest swings know to man all at one spot. I managed to scare everybody by breaking on of the swings while on it but I came out alright at the end with a small bumb on the head and a scratch on the knee. Instead of crusifying me the barowners paraded me with free shots of Lao Lao and icecubes. Apparently not the first time this has happened..



Been six months on the road I must say that the tubing has got to be one of the most chilled out things I have done so far during this trip. Once your out of the range of the towering boom boxes owned by the restaurant, the whole riverfront becomes your own personal ether. You only hear the steady sound of running water and see the sun setting behind the magnificient limestone cliffs. Not too shaby.

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Takes five..

So close yet so different. Thats what the feelings have been for first few days here when I've been comparing Vietnam and Laos. Can easily say that its been much more pleasant here in the country that holds the newest stamp in my passport. Capitalism has really exploded in the red edged star country and it shows. Motorist drive after you in the search of a few bucks, pineapple sellers stalk you and the word customer service has not yet reached the dictionary.



We spent a few days in Sapa in hopes of better weather because the whole city was inbeaded in clouds this time around. After three days of waiting and touring some of the local minority villages that I missed last time we decided to head for the Laos border by bus. The good thing about bad weather was that I had time for some books once more. At the moment I'm eying the last pages of Neil Gaimans American Gods book which my lovely Sas brought out for me. Couple of friends from back home had already recommended to me but it doesnt seem to be available anywhere here in SEA. Before that I managed to go through Dan Browns Digital Fortress which reads like a Hollywood moviescript and Henri Charrières Papillon. Great true story book about a young man escaping multiple times from the prisons of French Guynae and his adventures on each side of the bars.



Back to the maters at hand. The road to the border crossing had to be the worst one I've been on so far during the 6 months I've been on the road now. Needles to say I found completely degrees pain in my ass after that. Stayed at a hotel that god had abandoned or had allowed to be created by accident because there is nothing good to be said about it. Just take my word for it. We had heard that the border crossing should be now open to international tourist and everything should go smoothly. Still there is always room for doubt in Vietnam. In the end the worries were worthless. Ofcourse the were! I said that everything would go smoothly and Sas could spare my thumbs. Two thumbs up for the Tay Trang border officials in Laos for excelent work.
The bus ride was actually a bit more better than the one to Dien Bien Phu because there werent that many people onboard this bus, just a shit load of noodles which almost killed Sas in a moment of collapse. The views were amazing as the whole horizon was filled with every shade of green that which the eyes can feed the brain with. The tiny little villages on the way down through the endless jungles could only be described as accient and the motorbikes and satelite dishes (that served as nice shades for the pigs) were really sticking out of the scenery.



The road lead all the way down the river village of Muang Khoua where we decided to stay a couple of days. During this time we managed to meat two french canadian landscape gardeners that were riding their bikes through SEA, uninvitedly entered a street party that had been going on for a couple weeks and visited a massive collection of local schools. The people here seem really more chilled out than in Vietnam and it really shows. Ricshaw drivers dont follow you, there are no touts in sight and the street vendor owners are busy sleeping on the fake t-shirts their selling. The country is a little bit more expensive than its eastern neighbor but thats the price you pay.



The latest issue would be Luang Prabang where we landed a couple of days ago. Like it read on the Lonely Planet, it really has to be the most photogenic city in the whole country. Every street, every building, every river (there are two) and every hill seems like a work of art. Be it the mahong wood on the French colonial buildings or the lantern lights on the street corners, it just blows anybody away. The day has been spent admiring the scenary, playing water games with the kids on the banks of the Mekong and watching monks change light bulbs on the temple cealings. How many it takes you ask. It's five.



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Cat Ba Fucking Island with a hint of monsoons

Nice scenery, nice weather for a day or two, bad.. everything else. Amazing how much trouble some people are willing to let you go through just in order to get a few bucks and your wrath to go with it. Be it arranging a bus trip, boat ride, motorcycle, food, beverage.. as long as there is money involved they are not shy about making it hard for you. Take for example my trip to the beautiful Ha long Bay and the Cat Ba islands. Smooth minibus ride to the coast and then the trouble begins. Boat ride to the island would have been fine if the tour guide hadn't been asking me every twenty minutes would we care to take the buss to the city once we arrive. No we don't want no ride, we'll figure it out for ourselves. Prices come down, temper gets high. LEAVE US ALONE DAMN IT! Bus rides to from the pier to the city cost you around 50 000dong on a bus and 100 000 on a bike. Naturally buses are all reserved for the actual tourist and no cheapskates are wanted so that leaves the only option to be XE OM's. Those ghastly drivers and their prices didn't really flatter us at the start so we tried to organize one of the hotels to send a rescue ship (bus) to the.. well rescue. No dice with the reception so we sadly have to succumb to the prices of those ghost riders of Cat Ba Islands.



I've been referring to I, me and us. Us being me and Sas. Yes the lovely girl finally made it to the country and everything has been awesome! Still getting to know each others quirks and such so nobody has been strangled just yet. Continuing with the horrors...



Hotel is good and cheap so no problem there and the forecast send us to the beach the next day. A small and quiet beach was really in order but there was something afloat. That being garbage. Lots of it too. Between the ever annoying seaweed you could clearly make out plastic bags, tiny straws, small ropes, tin cans and of course who could forget condoms. I decided to help the locals clean up the strip a bit but that really is just a temporary solution to a much bigger problem. See the crap there isn't brought there by people who come to the beach but instead it comes with the waves from the ocean. God knows how much shit there are lying at the ocean bottom. Problem is most of the locals are not educated enough to understand that it is a real that needs to be dealt with.



Next day I decided to rent a bike to ride through the island in search of some sightseeing. Nice ride and some 40 k later I'm back at the hotel with the bike. Bike not being my real favor of choice on transportation I decided to trash it to the closest wall next to the hotel and take out a tiny oven and a advertisement sign with me. Result is one slightly battered bike, destroyed oven and a bruise on the advertisement owned restaurant workers leg. Bill is 50 Euros for everything and some bad looks from the locals. Guess these things happen was my thoughts exactly when I went back to the hotel room to do some little sobbing of my own.



Then its time to leave the island. We are about board the ship back to the mainland only to find that my passport was left at the hotel reception. The tout tells us eagerly that it can be send on to same day to us in Hanoi but I'm really in no mood to find that when it arrives there will be a ridiculous service charge hanging on to my passport. So back to the hotel vie bus and stay one more day.



Finally we make it back to the mainland only to find that trouble lurks around the corner or should I say above us? We get the first real taste of the monsoons when a huge rain shower starts hitting the streets of Ha Long City. People seek shelter under any little piece of plastic they can find, gutters cough up water like a asthmatic having a seizure and any attempt to switch destination ends up being a lesson in swimming. Not to leave any cliffhangers, the rain follows us back to Hanoi where motorcycles battle it out with the streams of brown water that reach the bikes headlights. Today its time to head back to Sapa as we are about to cross the border to Laos from the northern part of Vietnam.

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Chillout and bikeout

Sorry for the short absence of the blog for the last few weeks but I've been busy... doing nothing. Yes Vietnam is my home address for the next couple of weeks as the lovely miss Vassie will be arriving here to make life on the road more intresting. Destinations include at least the world heritage site Halong Bay or more likely its little brother which is not so turistic. But before I start to tell what the future holds in store for us I would like to tell whats happend since I left Japan.



Actually leaving Japan felt kinda like leaving home again because Shanghai and Japan both felt so close to the western way of life that it could be compared to home and Vietnam was definately not goig to be all that. I managed to screw up on reading the time table for my scheduled departure from Osaka and spend 24 h at the airport! Fortunately for me the place had its own manga kissa where you could use the Internet, read comics, drink beverages and eat a shitload of icecream. Hurrah for the Japanese subcultures!



I arrived Hanoi at 9 PM local time which ment that not alot of busses were heading out the city. For some reason you couldnt change your money to Vietnamese dong at the Osaka airport and it was even a bigger suprise when I found out that the foreign currency exchange office was closed at the Hanoi airport. That leaves me with hundreds of dollars and alot to hope for. Fortunately dollar is a payable currency in Vietnam so I manage to get a taxi to the host I'm staying with in Hanoi, another couchsurffer. Mark is a university professor who has pretty much done and seen it all. Being a traveler for 4 years all around the world can leave a man with alot of stories to tell. He hosted me for a week at his pad which offered free wakeup calls in the form of jackhammers and motorbike horns from 7 AM in the morning.



As for Hanoi I can say only that its not much of a tourist town. Great bars and cafes and tons of lovely cheap local food but other than that it was just a place for me to catch up on some reading. I want to do it properly when my counterpart arrives here :). Managed to read two books during that week. The first being a one man adventure story about survival on your own without money, accomodation or transportation called Into The Wild. A decent book to read while your traveling but doesnt reach my top 5 books so far. The other book was of corse the one I've been trying read for a month now, George Orwel's 1984. God what book. Hope we wont have to endure anything of that sort in our lifetime although there are some signs in the air...



Anyway after one week of staying in Hanoi I decided to check out the lovely hill station in the northern Vietnam called Sapa. Filled all around with gigantic hills and local minorities making it a place deffo worth visiting. The day of arrival I checked in to a cheap hotel headed out to the local villages near the town. At the bottom of the valley lies the village of Cat Cat with waterfalls and rivers running through the villages, creating small ponds where to swim, relax and bathe in the sun. Most tourist decided only to look from a distance and take pictures so it was a really great experience mixing with the local kids in their water sports (throwing rocks into the water next to people to get them wet).



Also managed to meet two italian guys named Criss and Gabri with whom we spend the next day cruising the countryside with motorbikes and getting into some sticky situations on the outskirts of Sapa. Basically we went on a dirtroad that supposedly lead to a minority village but the road was so bad we had to dump the bikes midway where we talked to some local folk. After the visit we came back to the bikes to find them a bit out of shape and took a while to find out that the locals (god knows for what reason) had made some adjustment to the bike that made them run like shit. After a little figuring out we managed to fix the problems and drived into the sunset like the cowboys we are! Now its time the head back to Hanoi to meet my beautiful girlfriend who will be here in a matter of days!



More pictures at:

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