Vang Vieng, May 2 to May 4 (Perry)

Leaving Luang Prabang was difficult and being that Vang Vieng was our next destination made it even more so. From what we had heard and/or read about the place, both Jen and I were torn as to whether or not we should even bother. On one hand, we heard that you could spend the day tubing down the Mekong, while making the occasional pit stop at a multitude of riverside bars. Sounds alright . . . On the other hand, we heard the place was overrun with TV bars showing either Friends, Family Guy, or The Simpsons. Wait a second, how is this a bad thing?

After a 7 hour trip aboard a "VIP" bus, we arrived in Vang Vieng. For the life of me, I have no idea what those 3 letters stand for in Laos because this bus ride was anything but “VIP”. The trip was only supposed to take 4 hours but I guess it’s hard to keep a schedule when your bus is incapable of making it uphill on the first attempt. The routine was that it would chug uphill as far as it could go (which wasn’t much) until the engine shut off. Then the driver would roll down the hill in neutral, until he could finally get the thing into gear and reattempt the ascent. Ultimately the bus broke just broke down furthering our delay.

When we finally reached our destination, what we saw confirmed our initial, indecisive thoughts. The town itself could best be described as Koh Phang Ngan’s ugly sister. Don’t get me wrong, I love Friends and Family Guy as much as the next person, but this seemed a bit much. It’s as if someone in the town got wind that backpackers like to watch TV and drink beer at the same time and the idea exploded. You couldn’t walk more than a minute without hearing Ross’ annoying voice. The charm of Luang Prabang was nowhere to be found. Yet at the same time, the surrounding landscape was some of the most spectacular we had seen in Laos, with the Nam Song River and a beautiful mountain range only a stone’s throw away.

The next day, we rented mountain bikes to check out the area. Our first stop was an organic mulberry farm and restaurant situated along the Nam Song about 5 km north of town. What’s a mulberry you ask? I have no idea but it makes for a great fruit shake. Toss in the homemade goat cheese and the restaurant was a definite treat. Not to mention that the farm supported numerous development activities in the area, such as financing a school bus for local children. While enjoying our tasty meal, we realized that we were mere feet from the tubing launch spot. How did we know this? Well the endless pumping of Akon’s “I Wanna Make Love” and Rihanna was a definite giveaway. It really was quite a sight. Imagine elevated decks lining the river complete with swings, zip lines, and giant water slides. Crazy! I hate to say it but as fun as this may sound, it really put us off the whole tubing idea. Dang, I think we are getting old!!! (Perhaps if the water appeared more than two feet deep, we may have been swayed . . . the end of dry season seemed to be a dangerous time to engage in these kinds of activities.)

We continued our bike ride and decided to check out some of the local caves. Only 20 minutes west from town (across the river) we reached a relatively small rock formation (I think karst is the proper term. This word is all over our Lonely Planet, but I had to look it up . . .) which housed not only a cave mid way, but a great viewpoint at the top. After paying our mandatory 10,000 kip each to the “ticket booth” at the bottom, we started the steep climb up jagged limestone and sketchy looking bamboo bridges and ladders. The cave was interesting enough but what made the approximately 500 meter climb worthwhile was the viewpoint, which offered us a spectacular panorama of Vang Vieng’s surrounding areas. After taking in the amazing scenery we started our descent, which not surprisingly was a bit tough. I don’t think flip-flops would be considered proper footwear for the terrain.

The next day, instead of tubing (did I mention we were a little put off by it?) we decided to join a kayak tour along the Nam Song river. The tour was a combination of kayaking and trekking to a couple of nearby caves. As usual we started off the day with a good hearty breakfast at our guesthouse’s restaurant. What made the breakfast a bit more enjoyable was the airing of Family Guy in the background. (While I still didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t find any Lao culture whatsoever in Vang Vieng, I decided a little Family Guy in the morning wouldn’t harm anyone.)

Starting about 10 km north of town, the kayaking was a great alternative way to enjoy the river. Our first stop of the day brought us to the Nam Tha cave which provided us a bit of a challenge because, as advised by the tour operator, both Jen and I once again had only our trusted flip-flops which didn’t always provide the best of grip on wet rock. As we continued our kayak ride down the river, both Jen and I started to get a feeling of deja vu. It wasn’t that we recognized our surroundings but that we started to hear the faint, yet unmistakable sound of Akon. As we got a little closer, Rihanna’s Disturbia pierced it’s way into our ears. Yup, we were close to the tubing bars. Now I know that I’ve only mentioned two musical artists here, but really, it was as if the multitude of bars all had the same playlist and they simply pressed play at different times. Anyways, our initial view of the river bars turned out to be merely a glimpse. Not to repeat myself, but it was really quite a sight. It was as if every family that lived along the river had bought some Beer Lao and a cooler, strung up a rope for swinging, and opened up a makeshift bar where falang could get wasted in their bikinis. I wouldn’t trust the construction of most of the swings, and definitely not the slides. (We actually heard that a South Korean girl had died on one of the slides only weeks prior to our visit.) A bit eerie and even more sad though was that many of the bars were completely empty. I suppose the result of low season combined with economic downturn . . . or maybe more people like us deciding it was all just too much.

We reached our second cave shortly after we passed the row of bars and this one was definitely more intimidating. It wasn’t just that the the total length of the cave was around 13 km but mostly because no one had ever gone all the way through. (How then, do they know it is 13 km you ask? I’ve no idea and didn’t get an answer from our guide . . . ) As well, we learned midway through the tour, this was only our guide’s third time visiting this particular cave. As it turned out, the cave was not that bad (although I did slip down a muddy hill) and we turned around after about going about 3 km in.

After our time in Vang Vieng, I still have to say that we both have mixed feelings about the place. We both loved the scenery and the surrounding areas, and we had a good time kayaking and exploring the caves. In terms of the town, it just seems a pity. Yeah, the TV and movie bars are definitely a guilty pleasure that we both took advantage of once or twice, but it’s difficult to see what could be a beautiful little town stripped of all its culture simply to entertain a bunch of tourists. (Ok, I’m possibly being a bit harsh and hypocritical . . . )

Photos at http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Luang Prabang, April 27 to May 2 (Jen)

Seems I’m falling into my old habits . . . namely, procrastination. Yes, it has been quite awhile since we have updated our blog. I could blame it on the extremely slow internet connections here in Laos, or on how we’ve been hectically exploring the country, but all of that would be a lie. (Although the connections truly are slow!) It is now May 11th and I am finally writing about our wonderful time in Luang Prabang.

The first adventure was getting there. First we spent one day on a bus from Luang Nam Tha to Huay Xai, back where we had originally crossed the border from Thailand. The ride was hot and dusty as usual, but largely uneventful. Our bus did get a flat tire, but luckily they had a spare and were surprisingly speedy at getting up and running again. After a night in Huay Xai, we took a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong, with a stop overnight in a town called Pak Beng. You’ll notice there are no photos of Pak Beng . . . there is truly nothing there. The boat ride itself was lovely, if long. The air was cool and not dusty which was refreshing. However, the benches were tiny and they packed at least 120 people onto the boat. It was shocking as tourists with huge backpacks just kept coming and coming, long after all of the seats were filled. The floor turned out to be more comfy half the time anyhow though. Many of the falang on board spent the days boozing and playing cards. The first day we avoided drinking anything in an attempt not to use the facilities on board, but the second day we caved and joined the party. The whole experience was fun, and definitely preferable to bus travel.

Luang Prabang is the second largest city in Laos, and a very quaint place. After our time up north “roughing it” we were happy to embrace city life. The first night we checked into the Lonely Planet recommended accommodations, which consisted of a bed and a shower. There was absolutely nowhere to stand or move around in our room. After calculating that that we were only paying about $5 per night, we decided to upgrade to something a little more spacious. After some looking around and some very impressive bargaining on my part (if I do say so myself . . .) we ended up with a room at Villa Lao Deum. It was such a cute place, run by a really, really nice family. Ah, now it was time to enjoy the charm of Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang has some fantastic western style (i.e. French) restaurants. I had the best salmon pasta I think I’ve ever had in a little French Bistro called “Dao Fa”. We thoroughly enjoyed sampling the many tasty bakeries, coffee shops, etc. We also had really delicious traditional Lao Food one night at a restaurant called "Tamarind". We checked out a couple of the most famous temples, rented bicycles to explore the city, and generally just kicked back for a few days. It was great! We are definitely past the point now where we feel the need to see every sight in the book . . . “wat fatigue” has set in. That said, the walk up to Wat Phou Si was well worth the view of the city.

We also spent some time attempting to educate ourselves about the local people and their traditions. This was not too difficult, as there seems to be many organizations designed to help travelers do just that. We found the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre very interesting. They had great exhibits describing the various different ethnic groups in Laos and some of their customs and traditions. Another organization we discovered was called Stay Another Day (www.stayanotherday.org), which attempts to help travelers to be more culturally sensitive and informed. I.e. to leave a positive effect rather than a negative one on the countries we visit.

Of course, I loved the Luang Prabang night market. The food was not so inviting as Thailand, except for a $3 grilled fish stuffed with lemongrass we had one night (yum!), but the products for sale were gorgeous. The market had a feel similar to Chiang Mai, only on a smaller scale, with less imported, mass produced products and more handmade items. When asked, the sellers all insisted that they had actually made each item themselves and I tended to believe them. There were so many beautiful handicrafts on sale, and so many endearing sellers, that I found it very hard not to fill a second backpack. So, I filled a box destined for home instead. Here’s hoping the Laos postal service won’t let us down!

Once we felt nice and relaxed again, we decided to do a day of mountain biking in the area around Luang Prabang. It was great to be on a proper bike again, i.e. one with gears and suspension. Due to our initially slow pace, we at first assumed we were in for an easy day. However, on the 10th steep uphill, I was only hoping I would make it back to town before drowning in my own sweat. It was tough, but the views were great and it felt good to get some real exercise. Our guide “Geer” was lots of fun. I’ve no idea how he made it through the day in his jeans and on a bike that was obviously way too large for him.

On our last day in Luang Prabang, we made the effort to drag ourselves out of bed early enough to observe the morning alms giving to the monks. There are many temples in Luang Prabang and consequently many monks, as well as a large number of young novices studying in the temples around the city centre. It truly was a colorful sight to see, all of them in their bright orange robes taking to the streets. We didn’t partake in any offering, as we are not Buddhist. We merely watched from a distance. Of course the day we chose it poured rain, but that seemed to add to the experience. It was interesting to see all of the young monks hiding under their umbrellas. They looked truly freezing! Watching them, I realized that many of them were really just kids, laughing and joking with their friends.

After the charm of Luang Prabang, we headed for the absurd craziness that is Vang Vieng. I’ll let Perry tell you all about that.

We have put up three albums from Luang Prabang (journey, 1, and 2) at
http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Love to everybody at home. We miss you!
Jen

Luang Nam Tha, Laos (Jen)

We decided that after so much leisure in Chiang Mai, it was time to jump into something a bit more active. We hopped the bus to Chiang Khong on Apr 18, crossed the border (the Mekong) to Laos the next morning and boarded a bus directly to Luang Nam Tha. Our bus options were our first lesson that although many Lao people understand Thai (which remains to come in handy as a result), we are definitely not in Thailand any more. The was no VIP, air-con transport options. Just a big, very old bus. We had to climb over bags and bags of rice to get to our seats, and there were a couple of motorbikes strapped to the top. First impressions aside, once the bus got moving we realized that it was perfectly comfortable, if a little dusty. Mostly I felt sorry for the poor girl a couple of rows up who vomited into a plastic bag for half the ride there. (The road was a little winding . . . ) But enough of that kind of talk. (I’m sure you get enough from Perry.)

The night we arrived in town, we immediately booked a two day trek with Green Discovery, a local eco-tourism operator (www.greendiscoverylaos.com). This is one time Lonely Planet certainly didn’t let us down. We had a great guide, great food, and an overall wonderful experience. There were only 5 in our group, plus 2 guides. The hiking wasn’t easy through the Nam Tha protected and nearby areas. We had to cross many rivers hopping rocks or using log bridges (my personal weakness), and of course there was more than enough uphill for the 35+ degree heat.

The destination was well worth it though. We spent the night in the village of an Akha tribe. The village was quite remote and its’ inhabitants appeared to be living in a very traditional manner. The were so friendly and took great care of us the entire time we were there. Once we had a refreshing “shower” in the stream in our sarongs (I still don’t understand how you really get clean that way . . . ), a few of the villagers and our guide, Pon, cooked us up a super tasty dinner which we ate by candlelight inside our bamboo hut. The villagers also shared a bottle of their “lao lao” with us, a very strong rice whiskey that they brew themselves. (You can actually find home brew lao lao all over Laos. I’ve yet to acquire a taste for it, but Perry thinks it tastes like sake.) After dinner, a few of the village girls, I would guess they were about 12 yrs old or so, came down to give us all a massage. Pon told us that it is Akha custom for young village girls to massage guests and that the villagers “would not be happy” if they weren’t able to do this for us. The actual massages were quite humorous, as the girls spent most of their time nattering at each other, I’m sure about us, and they weren’t exactly what you would call skilled. They were lovely though so we all just took it in and tried not to giggle too much.

The next morning we visited the village’s school, which from what I understand is a fairly new addition. It was easy to tell that these kids were not used to too much structure. They went crazy when we got there, mostly because they LOVE to have their pictures taken, and of course take a look at the result on the digital display. I honestly thought I had started some kind of brawl. They eventually calmed down, slightly. (We made sure to get prints made in Nam Tha for Pon to deliver to them on his next trip.)

The trek and the experience in the village, especially with all of the super friendly children, was really special. Looking around the village, you have to feel in awe of how these people live. Their life is simple and certainly not easy. They have no running water, very limited access to electricity (some huts had solar panels, thanks to an NGO project), extremely well worn clothing, etc. However, they seemed to be nothing but content and were very gracious hosts. One more bonus of the trek was that we met some great people from New Zealand (Josh and Lucy) and Australia (Katy).

After a day of rest, where we rented a scooter and checked out the town market and nearby waterfall (seems to be a formula for destinations in SE Asia?), we decided on one more day of adventure before heading on to Luang Prabang. After our fabulous experience trekking, we of course headed back to Green Discovery. Since it is dry season, the water in the Nam Tha River is quite low, and therefore perfect for us beginner kayakers. This time, it was only Perry, our guide Sai, and I on the trip, which suited us perfectly. We got to chat with Sai and get to know him a little bit.

Perry and I have decided that instead of marriage prep class, all couples should have this two man kayak experience. It definitely took some coordination and cooperation in to get us going in the right direction. We visited a Lantan village and a Khmu village along the river (two distinct tribal groups in the area), and had another tasty Lao picnic lunch. It is very interesting how diverse the Nam Tha area, and actually Laos in general, is in terms of ethic tribes. It was also interesting to contrast the more accessible villages visited by the river with the less accessible Akha village visited on our trek. The accessible villages show more signs of development, but still operate fairly traditionally. For example, more western clothing seemed to be mixed in with traditional dress, and we spotted a couple of scooters. As well, the children at the Khmu village did not budge from their seats when we stopped by to drop off our “thank you” gifts of notebooks and pens. They were obviously a bit more used to tourists, and to school discipline.

Sai took some great photos of us kayaking, as we mostly did not trust ourselves to have the camera out (we could likely tip at any moment . . .). When we found out that Sai, who is saving to go to college in Vientiane, didn’t own a camera, we took some shots of him as well, and again dropped off prints the next day. We were regulars at the photo shop with all of our prints for the village people (who apparently love to receive the photos that tourists are constantly taking of them, but rarely actually do) and our guides.

After 4 days in the beautiful area surrounding Luang Nam Tha, we were ready to head south to Luang Prabang, via a one day bus ride, followed by two days slow boat down the Mekong. We’ll update you on that fun journey in a few days . . .

As always, check out our photos at http://gallery.me.com/adamschen.

Love to everybody. We miss you!!

Chiang Mai & Pai (Perry)

From Ayutthaya, we thought it would be fun to take the overnight train to Chiang Mai and start our travels in the north of Thailand. We figured the 14 hour trip would be best served if we sprung the extra cash and both got sleeper seats, which include a single bed, blanket, and pillow. This way we would get a good night sleep and at the same time, have a new experience. For me, I could have done without the experience.

In all fairness, under normal circumstances the train would have been great. It just so happened that the night before we were to leave, we decided to check out a street market and sample some of the local fare. I, being the meat eater I am, decided on a tasty pork and rice dish. At first (and I stress at first) the meal was very good. The next day was a different story. There’s nothing quite like being sick to your stomach in a strange country and in 38 degree heat. By the time we were to board the train, I had started to feel a lot better so we made the game time decision to proceed as planned. Sitting in the train and feeling pretty good, we decided to celebrate the moment with a big bottle of Singha beer. In my mind, that’s the defining moment of my overnight train experience. For the next 14 hours, I proceeded to visit the washroom on an hourly basis. Making matters worse (if that’s possible) were the other travelers chilling out in the aisle, who would stop me to make idle chit chat. I passed one group so many times that I was able to learn their life story. Oh, and the condition of the washroom.....don’t even get me started.

Anyways, I survived and we eventually made it to Chiang Mai, which is Thailand’s second biggest city but is nowhere close to being as big or as busy as Bangkok. The old city of Chiang Mai is basically a square surrounded by a moat and remnants of an old brick wall. Getting around the city center is quite easy, your either drive clockwise (outside the moat) or counter clockwise (inside the moat). That being said, both Jen and I agreed that renting a scooter would be the best way to get around (yippee!). An added bonus was that Jen’s friend Oh would be joining us. Although there are numerous reasons to visit Chiang Mai, we timed our visit so that it would coincide with the Thai new year festival, Songkran. Officially, Songkran festivities run from April 13 to 15 at which point the streets of Thailand, and especially Chiang Mai, resemble a gigantic water fight. In reality, the water splashing started around the 11th or so . . . With the moat surrounding the center of the city, Chiang Mai was the place to be for Songkran. Since we arrived early (April 1), we had plenty of time to relax and check out the city before it became utter chaos.

On the first day and even though Jen and I were pretty much “wat”ed out, we took the scooter up a very scenic, very winding, and very fun road to Doi Suthep, one of north Thailand’s most sacred temples. What really distinguished this temple from many of the others we had seen was the number of bells it had. Supposedly if you ring all the bells around Doi Suthep you will have good luck and since you always need a bit of luck, we did as such. Most of the other days were spent exploring the city and checking out the trendy areas of town. In particular, we really seemed to spend a lot of time at a Chiang Mai coffee chain called “Wawee Coffee” on the trendy street of Nimanhaemin. Think Starbucks but a bit more comfortable, nicer setting, and more neighborhood feel.

Our nights in Chiang Mai were mostly spent checking out the local markets. Although most of the cities in Thailand have either a day or night market or both, Chiang Mai is by far market central. The most well known “tourist” market is the Night Bazaar which is about 4 to 6 blocks of shops and restaurants. In this case, its quantity over quality as most of the items are the standard knock-off designer clothing that you can pretty much find anywhere in Thailand. (I guess a tell-tale sign that this market is geared towards tourists is that on a central corner of the market you can find McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks and Subway.) On particular nights though, the city shuts down other sections of streets and holds “walking streets”. We went to the Sunday night walking street. This market was huge and the items for sale of much better quality, and better priced. Here you can find quality jewelry, arts and crafts, and authentic Thai street food. Delicious!

Although we like to think that Oh only came to Chiang Mai to visit us, she also came to visit her friend Mo. Mo, who is an engineering professor for the Thai military, was home visiting family and was nice enough to show us around even more. Instead of visiting the standard tourist infested pubs and bars, we visited a very cool strip of bars where the locals came to eat, drink, and play. Finally, Jen knows how I feel when I go to 17th Ave. in Calgary.

Although I know both sets of parents will not be happy with the following paragraph, I just have to say that one of my proudest moments in Thailand had to be when we rode three to a scooter. Oh had never driven a scooter before and Jen wasn’t sure if she should drive in the city, so the only logical thing to do was to throw tiny Oh on the back. I mean, it’s probably the most authentic “Thai” thing I’ve done the whole trip. So if that’s one of my proudest moments, the proudest would have to be when the three of us got pulled over and were ticketed by the police, for all things, because I wasn’t wearing a helmet. (Sorry folks, won’t happen again.) The funniest part about it, was that three on a bike posed not problem at all, as far as the traffic cops were concerned.

With about 5 days to go before Songkran, we decided to head further north and visit a town called Pai. Jen and I had heard many good things regarding Pai from fellow travelers so it was always on our list of places to go. The town was small and it had an “artsy”, kind of hippie feel to it. On one strip you could find numerous coffee shops/pubs whereas on another strip, you could find some really good live music. At a place called Buffalo Exchange, the singer had such an amazing voice that I swear we heard the next Thailand Idol. Another good thing that we had heard about Pai was that it was a good place to rent scooters to tour in and around the town. When I say “we”, this time I actually mean it because both Jen and Oh figured this would be good place to get more comfortable on the bike. For Oh, this would actually be her first time.

The first day we rode just outside of town to the Chinese Village, a little town where Chinese (Yunnan) people had settled during the war. I, of course, felt quite at home. The town had a great view of Pai and had many shops selling chinese teas, spices and treats. Keeping in form with Chinese tradition (??), the town also had a tiny, man-powered ferris wheel. Check out the photo gallery to see what it looked like but it was a very random sight.

On the morning of our second day in Pai, we met up with Oh at a street vendor selling “Joke” (rice porridge) and her new friend Pucchai. Pucchai, a local artist, started chatting up Oh and it turned out that he’s a minor celebrity in Thailand. From what I could understand, the man had lived a very interesting life. From being a war photographer, to studying philosophy in Chicago, to being a well-known street performer and artist, Pucchai had many interesting stories to tell us. But while interesting, we had to take some of his stories with a grain of salt as his daily breakfast consisted of a bottle of rice whiskey.

Jen and I had decided that instead of buying random souvenirs that we would try to buy some original art from each country that we visited. The old place in Kensington does need something or other to cover up the walls. Anyways, Oh mentioned this to Pucchai so he was kind enough to show us his gallery. Two good things about our visit to Pucchai’s place. First, we ended up “buying” two pieces of his art although we still don’t think 500 baht and bottle of vodka is fair. Secondly, we discovered a great coffee shop nearby called Coffee in Love. The place was nicely designed, very comfortable, and had some good coffee, but the view was the real attraction. Overlooking a valley and surrounded by mountains, we spent a few hours there over the next couple days just chilling and taking it all in.

In the smaller towns in Thailand, Songkran festivities tend to start a bit earlier and Pai was no different. Not wanting to feel left out from the other 12 year olds, I bought a water gun and joined in. While the girls weren’t nearly as enthusiastic about the idea, they got caught up in the action, most of the time unwillingly. There’s nothing like a white girl with blond hair that catches the eye of a bucket of water wielding Thai kid. Suffice it to say, we all got soaked.

After our brief visit in Pai, we returned to Chiang Mai the day before Songkran. Now Jen had tried to explain to me what the scene would be like but nothing could prepare me for the actual thing. Surrounding the moat, the sidewalks were packed with people either armed with a water gun or a bucket on a rope. The streets themselves were packed with pickup trucks or tuk-tuks, both carrying loads of people and garbage can size buckets of water, and usually, ice. You literally couldn’t walk a foot without being sprayed or doused with water. The three of us took to the streets with our water guns but we soon discovered that buckets were the way to go. Stopping at a nearby reggae bar, we joined in with the employees and their kids and proceeded to throw bucket after bucket of water on passersby.

We continued the festivities the next day and headed out into the chaos once again. This time we made it straight across town to the Central Plaza, where they had shut down the street to host two competing street concerts. The crowds were massive and the water and booze were flowing. The good thing about Songkran is that the water throwing usually stops after the sunset. For Thais, this is just common courtesy. I still feel sorry for the American tourist who dared shoot Jen one night as we headed out to the walking street. He probably hadn’t been yelled at like that since grade school.

By the third day of Songkran, both Jen and I were wanting to stay dry. Knowing that we couldn’t head towards the city center, we decided to take the scooter out and head in the opposite direction towards a couple of towns called Bo Sang and Sankampang, both known for arts and crafts. Big mistake. We were warned by Oh that because these towns get less traffic, their buckets of water would be bigger and even more likely to be filled with ice water. As I write this, I have no idea why we chose to ignore her words. The ride started out harmlessly enough and while we did get splashed a bit, we were feeling pretty good about our decision. But as the first town, Bo Sang, approached we began to realize that maybe we weren’t so smart. I mean the buckets were huge and the sound of the water hitting my chest was equivalent to that of a 10 meter bellyflop into a pool. The trip was made worthwhile though as we stumbled upon a Chinese donut vendor in Sankampang and the hot soy milk dip was just the thing to warm us up from the ice water.

Eventually the chaos of Songkran ended and after a day of hanging out and eating with Oh and Mo we made our way to the bus station to head to Chiang Khong, which would be just an overnight stop as the town was a 5 minute boat ride away from Laos. Goodbye Thailand. It’s been a great two and half months and a fabulous introduction to South East Asia.

Kanchanaburi and Ayutthaya (Jen)

Although Kanchanaburi was one of my favorite places to visit back in the day with my host family, I have to admit it is at the bottom of my list of stops so far this trip. We had arranged what we expected to be a very nice hotel on the river with a pool and a gym (Perry was very excited . . .), thinking we again deserved a little “backpacker break”. When we arrived, the accommodation turned out to be less than expected. Much less. Very loud and terrible music in the restaurant, a pool that was truly only about 2 feet deep and very tiny, and a gym straight out of the 70’s with small and broken machines. The lack of power in our room and the ants all over the toilet seat the night we checked in didn’t help either. The only good things about this hotel were the quite beautiful setting along the River Kwae Noi, the free and fast wifi, and the fairly cheap and super tasty dinner and breakfast buffets. So much for our plans to get some exercise and get healthy after gorging ourselves with my host family in Bangkok!

Accommodation aside though, for the average backpacker, Kanchanaburi mostly entails visiting WWII museums. While interesting and informative, this was not entirely our cup of tea at the moment. Perry, always up for a little scooter action, scoffed at advice on travelfish that Kanchanaburi’s sights were quite far spread and a tour, while normally not the best choice, would be advisable in this case. Long story short, I think I spent about 6 to 7 hours on the back of a bike the day we went to Hellfire Pass. I finally got my first sunburn and couldn’t feel my ass again until the next morning . . .

So, with the downs outweighing the ups in Kanchanaburi, we decided to get out and finally start our journey north. Not too far north though. First stop Ayutthaya, the former Thai capital, which is just a short hour or so train ride from Bangkok. My traveler bliss was immediately restored. The people in Ayutthaya are so, so friendly. The town is cute with great markets, and our guesthouse was super comfy and clean. And since Ayutthaya is not too busy or big, we were able to pedal around town for the 3 days we spent there. (Granted, the bikes were a little old and squeaky, but what can you expect for 40 baht per day?) The ruins of the many ancient temples we visited were amazing. Amazing enough to keep us going, even in the 38-ish degree heat. Not an easy feat! It is incredible to imagine these structures in use nearly 700 years ago.

We thoroughly enjoyed Ayutthaya, staying a few days longer than planned. A perfect stepping stone on our journey north. For photos, as usual, visit http://gallery.me.com/adamschen.

Love to everybody at home, Jen & Perry

Bangkok revisited (Perry)

After our live-aboard trip to the Similan Islands, Jen and I have decided it's time to head to northern Thailand and with that, we decided to stop over in Bangkok once again. This time, we avoided the Khao San Road area and stayed with Thip, one of Jen's host sisters. The area where she lives is called Meng Jai and, as we discovered, was a very close taxi ride (80 THB) to the some great shopping (i.e. MBK, Central World, Siam Square, Siam Center, etc.). Of course we only discovered this after spending the better part of our first day walking and taking the subway/skytrain, which was also fun. (Well, maybe not the walking in the blazing heat part so much . . . )

So what did we do in Bangkok our second time around? We ate, and ate very well! Jen's host sister Thip is a chef and restaurant owner so when it comes to eating out, she knows what to order. The food we ate was very tasty and very different from the standard tourist Thai food we've been eating. Also, Thip and her restaurant are being featured in Bazaar Thailand (magazine) so one of the days we accompanied her to the photoshoot at Cakewalk (her restaurant). It was very exciting but mostly Jen and I just sat around and, you guessed it, ate. An added bonus was that Jen ran into one of her old classmates from Santa Cruz Convent. "Fah" kept us company all day as well.

On the second night, we visitied with one of Jen's friends "Oh" and went to a posh restaurant called Zense, located on the 16th floor of the Central World Plaza building. Good food and good company was accompanied by our first bottle of red wine in over two months. Suffice it to say, we had a good time. The next couple of days were filled with Jen and I getting our Laos and Cambodia visas, extending our Thailand visa, and visiting with the rest of Jen's host family.

I was able to get my nerd on by going and seeing the Watchmen which coincidently was playing here when we arrived. Usually, for movies that I hype up I don't come to the realization that it wasn't good for months, but this movie was the exception. While I still the love the story, the movie was disappointing.

Anyways, we thoroughly filled up our four days in Bangkok and for me, I'm so glad that we got a chance to revisit because I feel that I saw a more real side of Bangkok.

We want to thank Jen's host family for such a wonderful time staying with them. Thank you to Thip and Art for helping us to find our way around, giving us the most comfortable bed we have slept in since with left home, and of course keeping our bellies full of amazing Thai food. And especially thank you for taking us to Bangkhuntien to visit Mama, Papa, Jin, Lek, Nee, and Jan. We love you!! And also thank you to "Oh" for taking time out to spend with us. We love you too!

Hi to everyone at home . . . we miss you and love you too!

For photos go to http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Similan & Surin Islands (Jen)

Now that it has all gone smoothly, I am finally allowed to tell you that Perry joined me in scuba diving. That's right, our "beginner swimmer" is now PADI open water certified! (Thanks in no small part to our super relaxed and patient dive instructor Dan.) It was a perfect situation really, as I needed a bit of a refresher as well. It turned out to be just Perry and I diving with Dan, so we had a lot of personal attention. And, when Perry decided that four dives a day for four days might be a little much for his first time diving, I essentially had my own personal guide. It was fabulous! We saw so much amazing marine life. I also completed my advanced diver course on the boat, which allows me to dive deeper, at night, etc.

We had an absolutely fantastic time on the liveaboard (Manta Queen II). I believe we have now been officially spoiled however. I.e. Why would I carry my own equipment, when on our liveaboard it was just nicely set up for me with a full tank 4 times a day? Why would I dive in poor visibility, when I am used to the gorgeous clear waters near Similan and Surin, which were also teeming with marine life? Needless to say, it was incredible. The boat itself was great too. All we did was sleep, eat and dive, literally. (We ate about 5 amazing meals per day!) Everyone on the boat was super friendly as well - it was just a great atmosphere.

Highlights included:
-> seeing Manta Ray (so massive and graceful), leopard shark, octopus, and other crazy stuff
-> braving the current at the "Dome of Doom", hanging on the ascent line for my life and flapping like a flag in the wind (don't worry, our beginner swimmer sat that one out)
-> learning about all of the fish and other marine life we saw each dive (which, sadly, I already cannot recall all of the names - as you can probably tell from the photos)
-> night diving and seeing the phosphoresent plankton (at least I think that is what it was) glowing when you move your hand back and forth
-> assuring Perry it was ok that he used up 200 bar of air in a 30 minute dive . . . ;-)
-> And of course, just enjoying the completely relaxing boat life

For photos of diving, taken by us (on the surface), and our instructor Dan (below the surface) check out http://gallery.me.com/adamschen