Well I’m back in New Zealand… after roughly 26 hours of flying and stop overs (Hanoi -> Bangkok -> Sydney -> Auckland) I landed back home… to be greeted by a selection of my family (Parents, Brother, Nieces and grand parents no less) – which was all good.

My last few days in Hanoi were great – didn’t really do much sight seeing... just enjoyed the good food and beverages on offer in Hanoi and generally relaxed as well as I could – was lots of fun – and put me in a good frame of mind to head home.

The trip out to the airport in Hanoi was also pretty cool – there’s a funky bridge you have to travel over... wish I’d got some pictures of it, pretty impressive.

And now that I’m home… well I’ve got the winter blues a little – to come from 36 degrees and  doing whatever I pleased all day long… to 16 degrees, GST and income tax waiting in the wings and a town full of generally unfriendly and distant people (in comparison to most parts of Asia I visited).. It did/has left me in a bit of a daze – though only temporary I’m sure.

Oh, and for the curious... If I was to list my favourite countries, it would be in this order:

• China
• Vietnam
• Laos
• Thailand
• Cambodia

Which isn't to say I hated any of them... but I did definitely loved China just that little bit more then the others... if there was a place I'd head back to for another visit (or to work...hmmm)... probably Beijing or Hangzhou for a city.

Oh and as for some myths dispelled... I remember at first thinking that woman were wearing masks perhaps because of fears of bird flu or SARS... and I think Nikolai commented that it was probably because of air pollution? Well we were both wrong, it was because the woman wanted to hide from the sun and keep their faces as white as possible... they even have shirts with extra long sleeves that button up/down (makeshift gloves) and attached bonnets and face masks that look like giant collars - just to hide from the sun when riding around on bikes.  Asian woman want to be white with big breasts (loads of adverts for breast enlarging "cream" on the local TV)... Western woman want tan's... cest la vie.

Another thing that puzzled me at first was the Cambodian kid I saw with what looked like lash marks and scars on his back (who's family I got a ride with over the Laos/Cambodia border)... It was actually just a bad reaction to a big dose of tiger balm "stripes" - which they normally apply when someone has a dose of the flu - saw loads of people like this in Vietnam and Cambodia, that and people covered in lots of black/purple round spots where they've been using vacuum "therapy" to suck the "poisons" out of their blood... fun stuff.

Guess my next blog post will probably be a technical one – should make for a change!

Well seeing as I'm taking it "easy" today after my abortionary visit to the Angkor temples yesterday (read about it in my next post) and waiting for my Antibiotics to kick in I thought it was about time to post some more pictures.. so here goes:

The plain of Jars near Phonsavan, Laos - all I can say is It's more impressive in person ;o)

While leaning out the bus window we get to see one of the bus staff attending to a flat tire in Laos, obviously a gun is an important tool in this process...

The "arsenal" on display in a restaurant in Phonsavan, just about every establishment had a similar display... much like a New Zealand beach bach has 70's decor.

The faux Arche de triumphe made with misappropriated concrete for a new airport in Vientiane.  Compare it to the original structure here http://www.caingram.info/Worldwide/Pic_htm/paris_1.htm if you feel so inclined)

Looking down on the lower levels of Wat Phu Champasak, near Champasak/Pakse in Laos.  These structures are known to be older then Angkor Wat.

More Wat Phu Champasak goodness...

The vehicle ferrys in Laos - basically a narrow boat with two "outriggers" and vehicles moving on/off it side-on.

Though hard to see, the wheel just has rope wraped round it a couple of times that then travels inside the hull to the back rudder... rough as guts ;o)

One of the nicer examples of decaying colonial architecture in Phnom Penh.

Mmmm... what can you say? A sign at the killing fields.

Urns of bones, At the killing fields.

Some of the 'mug shots' of people brought to S-21 - there are walls and walls of these, a number of the people had minor birth defects or medical conditions which were evident in the pictures. People with spectacles were prime targets.. as was anyone of a high level of education.

More of the same, this time as profile shots.

The stupa holding the skulls of people killed and burried in the mass graves of the killing fields - they leave the bottom level open so people can touch them, personally I thought that was a tad disrespectful... and I saw one Khmer man standing by looking quite upset while a tourist tapped on one of the skulls.

The Stupa, as seen from the outside - it's quite big.

I shot of building 'C' at S-21, the entire building is shrowded in barbed wire and full of small bricked up cells created inside the original class rooms.

The monkeys at Wat Phnom, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

My first glimpse of Angkor Wat, as seen from a near by hill.

Sunsets over ancient structures, always makes for a nice picture.

Don Khong

Right well I made it to Don Khong - nice spot, very laid back.. in fact maybe a little too laid back, as I wasn't able to enjoy it completely because I knew in the back of my mind that I would have to move on to Cambodia soon and didn't really have the right frame of mind to "take it slow"... basically because I'm starting to run short of time (I need to be in Vietnam by the 22nd of this month to start my tour that I booked before leaving N.Z) - It was very picturesque and after arriving there at about 2pm I ended up just sitting back and having a few beers with a brittish couple I met in my guesthouse, chilling out and discussing the scary phenomenon of "Dance Troupe" in the U.K.

The guesthouse was called Villa Khone Khong I think... I really liked it, and the guy who ran it was very nice - though he spoke very little english - the rooms were big, teak with shuttered windows and a dodgy looking bathroom - I think the setting was probably romantic, though It would seem strange to muse about such things while I sat back reading a copy of catch 22 I'd swapped for another book with some other Traveler and drinking beer Laos. 

Don Khong is quite a big Island (did I mention it was an Island on the Mekong) - about 18km's one way and a bit less the other way... After a big storm that night I awoke in the morning and decided that I would rent a scooter and have a look round, as there really didn't seem much else to do (unless you count spotting the elusive freshwater dolphins in the area) - It's the first time I've ridden a scooter, as opposed to a motorbike, it was a mighty 100cc Honda Wave.. with no clutch and and downward gear pattern.. confused the hell out of me as I grappled for an imaginary clutch lever and dropped the bike into fourth to take off ;o)

Still I think I could've used just 4th gear as it would cruise at 40km's an hour, or, at full tit...an amazing top speed of 66km's - which really isn't a good idea as the tires seemed to be going a bit.. umm... squishy at that speed.

At any rate, the rainy season has really kicked in - so my bike riding was interrupted by rain.. in fact it's raining in Cambodia as I post this..but I digress.. so at any rate I woke up this morning and decided it was time to leave Laos before I didn't have any time at all to see Cambodia.

Leaving Laos

To enter Cambodia from Laos normally requires a trip to Voen Kahm, where you get stamped out, pay a small bribe, get in a boat and cross to the other side and get stamped in... My crossing was umm.. a little less orthodox, as I got a lift with a Soldier (with the obligatory Kalashnikov pressed between myself and him) on his motorscooter, then got a lift with a Cambodian family that he introduced me too who were driving a truck to Cambodia along a "road" that appears to be under heavy construction by the Chinese (???) where the two border posts are only 100 metres from each other in thick trees... the road isn't sealed and was bollix, but it certainly was a bit of an adventure - albeit weird, I did feel a little anxious as other then a little bit I read on the internet after arriving in Cambodia it really does seem like this route is sorta "non-existent" and definitely not used by many if any tourists because it's by luck that you'll get a ride this way, in all I think I would not have saved more then a couple of dollars doing this vs. coming down on a speed boat, though it's probably safer then a speed boat.

I think also what raised my alarm bells was the fact that the teenage kid who sat on the rear of truck with me took his shirt off.. and had lashes and ragged scars all over his back like he'd been whipped - I do not know what the hell that was all about :( but it wasn't cool... at any rate, I dont think at any point it was a dangerous crossing - the cambodian family seemed quite friendly - just confusing as I didn't really understand alot of what was going on. *shrug*

Arriving in Cambodia

So after riding with the Cambodian family for about 2 hours I arrived in a little village on the opposite side of the Mekong to a place called Stung Treng (which is quite a big town, by NZ standards) - which is where I'm typing up this post on a dodgy dialup connection (they had to start a generator just so I could turn the computer on!). 

So far I haven't seen any westerners, but I'm sure they come here - as even if you take the alternative route - which involves a getting a speed boat- you still end up in Stung Treng - maybe it's just because it's low season?

Stung Treng is at least briefly mentioned in the Lonely planet books (though it basically only points out that it's kinda pants) and I've booked a bus ride to another city tomorrow at 7am, Kompong Cham, which is no doubt a rip off at $13 US - but I really didn't feel like trying to find the bus station and sorting it out myself as I seem to have picked up some more dodgy food in the last couple of days... weee .. fun fun fun - I can't imagine travelling without Imodium now - the alternative would be too repulsive to consider... At any rate, at the new city where I can eventually catch a bus or taxi to get myself up to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat - so all seems wellish, basically after this initial bit of my travels I'll be hanging out in the bigger cities, surrounded by electrickery, good food and technologah.

Well I got up early today to visit the Cambodian embassy... two photographs, $30 US and 6 hours later I have a pretty new 30 day visa for Cambodia - all the information I'd read on the internet was a little out of date, and it appears that the border I wish to cross at is officially open, and that Vientiane does offer an express visa service of 1 day when you spend $30 US instead of $20... which is a relief, as I can now travel southwards once more towards my eventual border crossing into the land of killing fields and Angkor Wat.

After the Visa malarchy in the morning Charlotte and Myself got a tuk tuk to That Luang, basically a very large golden stupa - very picturesque - while here we also had a look at the hurrendously prolific Laos artist who had his work on display, I think I counted at least 100 works... mostly oils and acrylics, but there was also some water colours and mixed media to spice things up...

After that we headed back into the central city, killed a bit of a time, then had lunch at Joma (I think that's what it's called) - basically a Zarbo's equivalent - I got lasagne and a tastey salad.  Outside the restaurant was a lady with a cleft palate and a little baby girl of 7 months, who was very talkative, she even told me which direction I would have to walk if I needed to get to Bangkok... though it's a little far ;o)

In the afternoon I explored the Laos National Museum.. this museum starts off with a small section on dinosaurs, then the plain of jars and similar ancient sites, very briefly covers minority races in Laos and then jumps into the main attraction on the second floor (which dominates most of the building) - that being the french occupation, declaration of independence and rise / fall of communism (including the secret war obviously) in Laos - the english labels are patchy but you get a good feel, and the "artifacts" they've collected are great... it's not often you get to see a revolutionary leaders 1950's style spring "chest expander" - some of the pictures are fascinating, as you see Castro and Uncle Ho having a jolly old time with the Laos leaders.

The museum cements a view of the Laos as a progressive nation, with funny little displays of pharmaceuticals manufactured "right in Laos", as if the boxes of pills were required as proof that such a feat were possible.. and captions on pictures suggesting such wonderful things as "Disabled people are well cared for in Laos"... the "smell" of communist working class heroes and government saving face abounds, but I also could just be jaded - the people in Laos do generally seem to wish well of each other in general.

On the side.. at the guesthouse I'm staying (dragon lodge) a whole gaggle of IT students have arrived from Singapore, and are assisting the local hospital with improving their information systems and architecture over the next 2 weeks - which is interesting - I never really think that a skill set such as my own could be put to good work in an area like this... food for thought, and it does make me wonder why New Zealand IT institutions don't think of doing something like this... it would have to be great P.R, not to mention a lot of IT people would jump at the opportunity to combine study with a little travel.

Tomorrow I'll be jumping the bus to Savanaket - about 7 to 8 hours, so that will pretty much take me out for the whole day... I haven't done a lot of research on the southern destinations of my journey through Laos, guess I'll do that in transit, it's nice to have a bit of a surprise anyway.

Phonsavan

A mere 8 hour bus journey from Luang Prabang on some of the windiest roads I've encountered so far on my travels, and I arrived at the rather... umm.. Arid town of Phonsavan... Why had I come here?

Well... to see the plain of Jars of course!

At any rate, after the 8 hour bus ride and chilling to various sounds (I was feeling a little mute, so I cranked up some Neutral Milk Hotel and followed it up with some Jean Grae - I really seem to be growing fond of her hip hop while on holiday... mmmm) we arrived at the Phonsavan bus station, I quickly got friendly with 2 people.. A Lady Charlotte, Social worker from London (who I'm stilling hanging out with) and Pierce, a fun almost-uni-student from the UK as well.

We all ended up heading to the Khong Kheo guesthouse (I Think that was it's name, near the old runway) - and then after securing some rooms we went out to explore the town... of which there wasn't much, eventually having some beers and shooting the breeze - after that we went in search of a Meal, originally we had decided to find the Lao Youth Centre Restaurant, or something along those lines.. which took a while, but we eventually discovered it, though it's now called the New Wave (opposite the Maly hotel) ... sat down, got menus, went to order and was told they only had sticky rice... hmm... so we went across the road to the Maly (best food in town it says on the door, which I think was actually accurate - which also has a nice display of weaponry on the wall, actually everywhere has a nice display of weaponry on the wall in Phonsavan..heh).

At any rate, the following day we were up at 9am to do a day of touring the plain of Jars (sites 1, 2 and 3) - our guide/trip wasn't cheap ($8 US each) - but I think in the end it was probably worth it because his interest in the sites and the Laos war was wonderful, and I learnt a great deal - the day started off with a visit to the quite large market in Phonsavan (well worth a look all on it's own) - followed by a visit to a derelict russian tank, then site 3, site 2 (with lunch) and site 1 - site 1 being the biggest.  In all there are 60 jar sites known to locals, and 50 documented so far by UNESCO.

The jars themselves are a bit of a mystery, but dating puts them at around 2,500 years old - far longer then the Laos people have been occupying Laos - and each one is cut from solid stone, some with lids, and weighing up to 2 tonnes - and dates back to the early stone age of the original south east asian people in this region.  I dont think you could describe it as an exciting place, but it's definitely quite surreal to think of just how old they are and to see them rising out of the ground like monaliths - a Laos stone henge.

The really interesting thing is that this is also a hot spot of the secret war in Laos (Laos being the most bombed country in the world, aproximately 3 million bombs dropped over a 10 year period AFAIK) - and in site 3 was the situation for a large revolutionary camp, where various Vietkong troops and supplies were smuggled from Vietnam.  Bomb craters are everywhere and UxO is a major problem, the MAG (Munitions/Mine Action Group) has done a lot of work (supported by nzaid no less..) to make safe paths to the various jars - and it's depressing to think of the damage done to this truely unique site during that conflict.

Vientiane

The following day I left Phonsavan, originally I had planned to go to Vang Vieng - but after to talking to some people I didn't really feel like it - for some odd reason I was in the mood for a city - so I skipped and got a bus straight to Vientiane.  The bus ride was quite comfy, I took VIP - which has more leg room and you get a free drink of water and biscuits, at the cost of another $1 US.  The ride was uneventful, accept for a flat tire and that one of the support crew for the bus driver carried a Kalashnikov with him everywhere he went, at one point the barrel was resting on the back of my seat (Though I didn't know).. which would've been OK till an Israeli guy pointed out that they've got a notoriously ineffective safety.. erk - while changing a tire he just left it lying on the ground outside where I could've just picked it up... Laos does have a bit of a banana republic feel at times - you just have to keep on smiling ;o)

Vientiane is pretty cool - the decaying french colonial architecture is eerily beautiful, combined with the dusty roads and really good french food.. I'm splurging while here on a very nice room, with Aircon and T.V! Which is costing a whopping $12 US a night, sometimes it's nice to remind myself that I'm not a "scratching to stay alive" backpacker ;o) but a lazy overpaid software developer after all.

The food here is great - and expensive for Laos - but still bloody cheap for home and of equivalent if not better quality - dinner with Charlotte last night was a big ice cream sundae (3 big scoops of Rum & Raisin).. a really nice Carbonara pasta and a couple of big bottles of beer.. for approximately $9 NZ... not too shabby.  I discovered that she's met Tom Waits in person, and seen him in concert - I'm rather jealous!

Probably the funiest thing today was heading to Patuxai, a large concrete monument that is very reminiscent of the Arc De Triomphe n Paris.. It was built in the 1960's with United states purchased cement that was supposed to have been used to construct a new airport..  I wonder what the states thought of that ;o)

Also interesting (and Just by the arch) are 2 rather large fountains, which are sychronised to funky Thai and Laos music that plays in the background - they're pretty cool, and donated by the Chinese government - In fact everything in this country that looks new appears to have been donated by some foreign government, even on the outskirts of town Japan is funding the construction of a weather radar station.

Yet just like China most people dont have clean water.

On the down side today I went to apply for my Cambodian visa, however it's bloody labour day here - and everything was closed... so I'll have to do it tomorrow, hopefully it can be processed quickly as it would be a shame to burn up too many days here, apparently it can take 3 days (ugh!) - though you may be able to convince them to do it on the spot.. so I might need to do some sweet talking or attempt my first bribe (I was silly not to get it done while in Chiang Mai, when I got my Laos Visa... only takes 1 day to do it in Thailand.. meh)

At any rate, I'll probably post some pictures next time I update with what I've been snapping lately and talk about my adventures with the Cambodian embassy.

Cheers...

 Alex

Some more pictures for you all, this time we have Laos - only a few as I haven't been taking many:

Kids... Laos is all about the people, all the kids are friendly, most of the sales people aren't pushy.. it's pretty good - though poverty is ever present.

Hayley, the NZ girl from Christchurch I met on the slow boat who I've been hanging out with for the past week.

Same Same, But Different - the Laos tractors are like overgrown rotary hoes - nothing here is built as heavily as the Chinese counterpart, though I still smell a soviet influence which wasn't present in Thailand.

The waterfall near Luang Prabang, truely a little piece of paradise.. all the young monks flock here from the local wats at lunchtime to swim for an hour or two - this is only the base of the last waterfall and there are multiple plateaus rising up for 200 odd feet above this point.

There a bombs in the strangest places here... Laos is all forrest and farmers, it's hard to imagine it's one of the most bombed countries on earth, though it does make you follow the well trod tracks - UXO, unexploded ordinance, is a very real problem here (like Mines in Cambodia).

Hi All,

Well I'm back from Muang Noi Neua (read a later post for info about that) - and I've had my first case of dodgy stomach... so at the moment I'm taking it easy in Luang Prabang (again) till I feel better... so today I thought I'd take the time to stick a few pictures up on my blog for you all to have a looksie at... so here goes:

China!

Above, the 3 gorges as seen from the back of the domestic "cruise" ship I was on - it was freezing as it had snowed that morning.

The 3 gorges dam project - a huge piece of work, it still wasn't complete when I was there.

The ultimate crusing experience in the 3 gorges, the soviet built (or so I was told) Meteor - you see a few of these round the Chinese waterways - noisey feckers.

The mist covered Karts of Yanshou, though not a good picture (it was raining all the time) the scenery is very dramatic.

Night time in Shanghai, very vegas.

A group shot in China (Putuoshan Island I think) - from left to right we have: Colin from NZ ('tron), Myself, Charlotte (UK), Jarrad (NZ, Wellington), Ed, Scarlet, Desmond (all UK), Christy & Anthony (Australia) and also Tony Chen our amazing Chinese guide

It's funny - I had some weird proconceptions about monks in China, like they wouldn't use technology, wouldn't secretely have girlfriends and aren't prone to mood swings, grumpiness or fits of being irrational... silly me.

The centre of Xi'an - a very cool (and well preserved) city west of Beijing.

The "courtyard" near Xian, a cool but desolate spot.

The above two shots are of the hanging monestary and just to the left of the monestary the frozen stream - which gives you an idea of what the temperature was like then -  did end up climbing over the whole of the monestary - I'm not sure it was particularly safe... heh

A shot from the great wall, it's um... great

One of the people we were travelling with (Sally) looked quite ill when I hung over the edge like this ;o) the water down below is where you have to walk from to get up to the wall, it's a bit of a haul.. get your fatty developer sweat on.

I actually was in a T-Shirt by the time I got to Beijing, this was a really nice 20 degree day at the Summer Palace.

And last of all, I could've spent gigabytes collecting chinglish signs - but you very quickly reach saturation, however I did like this one that was on the Xi'an wall..  I wasn't sure if it was forbidding the carnal pleasures of madamme palm and her five lovely daughters, or merely suggesting that jumping off the wall was a bad idea? *shrug*

Well, new country.. my third since going on holiday, Beautiful Laos, and so far it's been great - it's such a beauiful laid back place... and any rate I'll try to keep this brief as the internet here is absoloutely bollix - the less content I post the better for it ;o)

So, since my last post I have moved on from Chiang Mai.. basically it went like this:

19th - Jumped the bus to Chiang Khong (Thailand border town to Laos) from Chiang Mai.. that took six hours, and I was stuck in the back of a minivan with 4 grumpy smoking Israeli cyborgs - the bus did have air con, but it only work when you were going down hill... I'm guessing the van was too underpowered with it turned on to run at all unless coasting... mighty ;o)

At chiang khong I stayed the night, ready to cross into Laos (Huay Xai, the sister border town) - this proved a most interesting evening as I ended up meeting a guy from the DPNS (democratic party for a new system I believe?) - who was from Burma/Myanmar, and hasn't been home since he was 10 years old (because they will arrest him at the border) - he's now 24 I do believe.

The border crossing was easy, got the stamps and jumped the slow boat to Luang Prabang - a two day affair, with the first day leaving you in a little place called Pak Beng... there's not much there but guest houses, but it was alright - the second day we jumped onto the slow boat again (well a different boat, but I digress) and headed for Luang Prabang.

These trips are a lot of fun, the boat ride lasts about 8 to 10 hours depending on how you count it - and is full of locals, you generally just end up drinking beer laos, laos laos (rice wine) or laos caos (said "l-ow cow") ? which I think is thai/laos whisky (tastes like Sangsom), singing songs and talking rubbish with fellow travellers.  However, I did make a minor miscalculation on the second day as I was talking to an old Laos lady who handed me some "tea leaves" which they stick salt in and roll up and chew/eat - well when in rome.. or Laos..

So I chewed away on these leaves... tasted like salty spinach, and then swallowed it.. and at that point twigged to the fact that they were coca leaves... arse!.. about half an hour later I felt like I'd had 3 beers in quick succession, very wooly headed, but the feeling ebbed away after half an hour thankfully - silly boy ;o) should of spat it out after chewing, like all the other falang did ;o)

At any rate, during the trip on the slow boat I actually met New Zealanders! First time so far in my travels... 3 girls, 1 from Auckland and 2 from Christchurch - it's nice to be able to talk and have people understand my bad NZ english!  The slow boat was a great place to meet travelling friends, and our little group of 10'ish people that as semi-constructed over those 2 days is a lot of fun .. And I've still been hanging out with some of them since arriving in Luang Prabang. 

The first night I arrived in Luang Prabang (21st) I went out to dinner and then drinks at a bar called "hi-ve" - not a bad little spot, and the following day we get our "temple on" and visited the Wat on the hill (I forget it's name) and Wat Xieng Thong, which has a great tree of life mural on it's side.  However I did get attacked by wasps (nasty buggers) and then stubbed my toe while trying to escape.. thankfully the bites hurt but didn't swell up.

Today we got a group of 10 together to hire a minivan, which we took to Pak Ou caves (basically a cave on the waters edge, where thousands of unwanted buddah images are discarded... something I'd never thought about till today... I mean you can't just "dump" a buddah image, if your a buddhist at least) and after that we headed to the Tad Kouang Si, a beautiful waterfall... where we spent the rest of the day escaping the heat - it truely is a beautiful spot, and hopefully I can post a few of the pictures I took soon - as it's close to a monastery, and all the young monks head up there to play at lunch time... very cool, if a little surreal...

Probably the coolest thing though is that my guesthouse (Chaliny I think it's called) is about 10 foot away from the mighty Mekong river, so I can scratch that one of the list of things to see (along with the Yangtze of course from last month) - though I'll no doubt see more of the Mekong as I approach vietnam.

Tomorrow I'm going to try and get a local bus in the morning to Nong Khiaw, where I'll spend a night/day/night then head back to Luang Prabang, and off to Phonsavan the following day (to see the plain of jars) after that I do believe it's going to be Vang Vieng, Vientiane and eventually Si Phan Don (way down the bottom of Laos, where I can cross over to Cambodia).

I may not be updating as frequently over the next 2 weeks though as some of these places have no internet, and often the power is run off generators which they turn on and off at funny hours (they get up early and go to bed early) - when they say this is one of the most underdeveloped countries in the whole of asia, they do mean it... in a funny way, bits of it remind me of the bush up north in NZ.