Wanderlust

Dalat

2009-09-18T15:08:00.000+08:00

Arrived dead in the night again!

Unless you are an extremely patient person and has a butt of steel(literally). Do not take the hard seater of the trains in vietnam!!. By hard seat, they are REALLY hard!! like Wood hard! Even though the price is really cheap, its just not worth it.

14hours later, at 10pm. Arrive at nha trang to connect to dalat. The last bus for the day had left and i will have to catch the bus the next morning. During long endurance on the train, i promise myself to lie down comfortably on a nice clean bed after a hot shower. This is also where i paid the most a night of lodging.

Most expensive lodging award! Nha trang Prince hotel!

Nice hotel with air con, glass toilet, mini fridge and clean bed. All for just 10 USD. (actually i found out the next morning that i overpaid. But WHO CARES!! I needed it!

Plus i saved quite a bit staying with ivy the last week.

My once and only stay in a hotel in my 7 months. Most expensive lodging award USD10!

Wow clean glass toilet!

Beautiful beaches

1 bus ride up to dalat. 6 hours later. Back to familiar grounds.

A little coal, a wire mesh and some stools. All that you need to be an entrepreneur.

Weird looking but tasty snack

My agenda for coming back is to attend my friend Hoa’s wedding.

The wedding couple!

A typical wedding dinner in vietnam would have about 5-7 dishes. Surprisingly the customs is somewhat similar to that in Singapore as well. :D

Hao looked really pretty and happy on this day. Her family including her parents, sister and brothers were there.

Even though it was held in a 4 star hotel in dalat. The food however was average. even Uyen said so.There were about 15 tables in total.

Uyen(i first met her and Hoa together while eating beef lungs at a motorcycle vendor) and her friend on her right

Hoa’s Sister(R)

Looks very much like a Singapore style wedding

6 course Menu. LOOK at the 2nd last item.

STEWED PORK TONGUE

Actually the wedding is very similar to what we experience in SG

TADA! Pork tongue! EWW

I had planned to leave the next day but was convinced by my friends there to stay another day. I had travelled 500km all the way back here and would take another 500km to head to my next destination. In total that would be more than 20 singapore length!!

Long distance bus again. –_-"

i was told i would reach my destination hoi an at 5am.

at 3.30am. I saw a familiar sight. DANANG 15km away. it means i overshot again!

Arrive in Danang dead in the night again. Same time, same situation!!

Bus sign.

Bus service hour: 5hour to 16hour

Frequency: 20 mins

Fare: 3000Dong/short trip?

7000Dong/full trip?

Nope nobody teach me how to read :D

So i started walking, walking 2 hours till i reach the river bank and watch ladies shake booties.

Waited till people start coming out for exercise

Her food looked pretty good and even though i had a breakfast appointment with Ivy and Kat later, i couldn't resist not getting any

Chicken with glutinous rice

Called and woke ivy and Kat up for breakfast.

and i am a bumpy rust decorated bus ride towards hoi an!

Danang Part 1

2009-09-16T22:59:00.002+08:00

Till now, it has been almost a month since i entered Vietnam. For a singapore passport, I am granted a free 30 days visa for Vietnam. So it means i have to leave Vietnam already! BOO HOO!! I am just half way through Vietnam!

BUT, they didn't say i cant come back in immediately huh?

So i played a little trick. I went to the Vietnamese border. Exit Vietnam, enter laos, exit laos and enter Vietnam again! Tada! 30 more days in Vietnam! The custom office at both sides were very puzzled gave me a puzzled look when i went from the arrival to departure counter.

Hello Laos! - 5mins later- Bye Bye Laos!

Arrival and departure in a day, neat trick to save additional visa fee and formalities

Land border there isn't like singapore and malaysia causeway in singapore which is very accessible. Over there, many times it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Remember my ordeal at the laos-cambodia border?

I was feeling lucky on that day and i decided to hitch hike my way out of there!

So after a motorcycle who drop me 2km in the middle of no where and a freezer van to a town that is not even listed in my map, i got stranded in Dak Glei, even my Vietnam friend didn't know where it is! I had friends who i am going to meet for the first time in Danang giving me encouragement during my wait.

Somebody pick me up PLEASE!!

Night was creeping close and i didn't want to sleep in a 1000 star hotel(i mean under) so i hop on a bus towards Hanoi(danang is on the way)

I told the person in charge that i wanted to drop in danang and he fell asleep. By the time he realized it, we were 15km away from where i want to be! Normally 15km is really not a big problem, considering a small country like singapore is just 45km. BUT it was 3.30am in the morning! There were so few transport!

Fortunately, i stopped what seem to be 2 friends who just came back from a drinking session and his friend actually got down and waited while the other guy send me into town. Phew!

4AM, the streets were practically empty and i hitch hike once again!

I had a very very long day and i desperately needed a shower. I kept walking to look for a guesthouse. Ironically, a big city like Danang has very little of them. Fortunately i found 1 with a old man inside for a very good price of 60,000VND. When i went down to get my keys, his son(who spoke good english) came to me

"how long are you staying here?", I replied " 7 days maybe?".

"Just you alone?" he asked. "Yeah..."i answered with a puzzled look(thought there is a ghost behind me) " So how much do i have to pay?"

"usually is 80,000VND for 1 night, 1 week i give you 70,000VND"

*i was actually told 60,000VND/night already and i expected a longer stay to be cheaper*

Being extremely puzzled, he further explained.

"My father thought i would be staying just 1 night so he told you it is 60,000VND. In my motel, i usually charge 80,000VND for the day and there are many people who come and go....in 1 hour, you understand?"

"So how many days do you want to stay?"

Feeling dumb, i told him i will tell him tomorrow whether i am still staying. He already knew the answer.

Back in the room, i actually dug out my sleeping bag and lay it across the bed!

Hour based "hotel" disguised as a guest house

Much needed breakfast. Danang speciality Mee Kuang

I met up with some couch surfers from Danang and told them about my adventure the day before and the dodgy motel. Fortunately IVY, one of the couch surfers offered to provide me lodging for my stay! WOO HOO!

Better than a hotel, nice new toilet right beside my room :D

My big comfy and PINK bed

My pretty(she will kill me if i dont say this) host IVY!!!

Ivy brought me to meet 2 of her best longtime friends, kat and Sa. We had dinner and drinks along with conversations and laughter that lasted through the night.

Her 11 years of best friend (but no discount on ivy's blogshop) KAT!

A new way of marketing technique.

Want the terrible singer to go away? Buy candy from his assistant. –_-

The next day, i went to join another couch surfer for her English club session. The activities were very interactive and engaging, as i was the main english speaking person there, everybody came to me to practice their english. I have to say, they were pretty good.

Next, i was invited to join Nha, also a couch surfer in Danang English club (apparently they have a few there) and her family to visit a special exhibition for the city. A very special jade statue was in town and it was the last day. I asked to be the rider for the motorcycle and we zipped away to fetch her family.

Swimming on her motorcycle

Banh Cuon, another Vietnam delight everybody must try. Vietnam's own version of Chee chong fun

The sheer number of people was overwhelming

Many people with disability and handicaps were there selling and asking for money. Nhu's mum deliberately changed a BIG stack of change to give out. A good act of kindness, but are we really helping them?

This is the big WHO HA everybody came for. Apparently it traveled from Thailand, well so did i.. :D

Nhu with her Mum, grandfather, cousins and her couch surfer

I looked kinda silly here! HAH

Later in the day we picked up Aline, Yen's couch surfer from Switzerland and fab (yet another english club member) and went for sightseeing.

Me, Yen, Nha, Aline, Fab

We all know there are many religions on earth. Do you know one of them originated from Vietnam?

Cao Dai is a local religion and has very interesting beliefs. Why? look at this picture and tell me who you see.

From left, Muhammad, Laozi, Jesus, Buddha, Confucious

" 10,000 religion one belief"

So this is kind of like a rojak religion where everything is incorporated. I am not a religious person so google it if you want to know more.

The Cao Dai symbol, the spherical divine eye

Curious minds about the religion

And we were invited to view the prayer session

3rd day in danang is devoted to my host who took special care of me. We went on a foodie tour around danang with me riding and her giving directions.

Note* if you ride her around. She will tap your right shoulder and shout " LEFT,LEFT" and vice versa.

Fish cake noodle. Much better than the ones in singapore,cheaper too

Sink into a coffee house and "Niop" (Gathering and chit chatting session with friends) about everything under the sun with my pretty host IVY

Vietnam's royal rice cake series

Rice cake 1

Rice cake 2

Rice cake 3

Rice cake 4

Rice cake 5

Got to know her a lot better, about her life, her family, her boyfriend, life in Vietnam and the problems and limitations youths face in Vietnam. Singaporean are in fact very lucky, we have the chance and opportunity for good education and chase after our dreams with nothing holding us back. In Vietnam, everything you do is met with adverse obstruction and it really takes a great deal of determination to break through it.

The infamous duck fetus egg! They only set up stalls near dark places and use only candles. No prize for guessing why

Atmospheric sculpture near the river

Ivy and friends and Danang english club buddies!! My greatest assets in danang

Time to head back to Dalat for my wedding invitation!

BACK BACK BACK!!

2009-09-06T23:04:00.006+08:00

Hey people i am back!!

My blog is actually just halfway through my journey and i am already back in singapore. School has started and it is doing everything it can to keep me busy. Nonetheless, this blog is still always in the back of my mind and i want to complete this!! So lets begin!!

I left off my last post when i was in dalat where i met 2 ladies who were going to get married. The wedding was 2 weeks away so i decided to move on to other places first. Next stop. Boun Ma Tout.

Back on the disgusted minibus again! This time round, the driver thought he was a F1 driver. He was going 90km/hour while doing mountain bends!! The rear of the van literally turned into a puke factory!!
Damm you bus!! I swear never to take you again!!Toilet break. Pick your coffee plant.

I was starved by the time i reached Boun Ma Tout and i immediately went in search for food with my backpack still with me! Turns out BMT is a pretty small town and is very unlike the other modern cities i have been before.Nem Ran. "Wrap your own rice paper meal"
Plus i had a bowl of steaming Bun.Pronounced "boon". Like thick beehoon in singapore.

Dropped my bag at a cheap guesthouse and off i go wandering off again armed with nothing but my courage. I knew there was a decent waterfall around the area and i gave myself a challenge to take the public transport there.Hm..Dray Sap waterfall.... Which bus to take?

I went to the "bus stop" and turned to a guy. "Dray Sap??" and he looked at me with a puzzled face. I repeated a few other times and he still didnt get it. Disappointed, i went to take a sit at the "bus stop".

Beside me was a girl who gave me a smile and said "blah blah blah blah dray sap blah blah blah" *blah=unknown vietnamese word.

YES!!! finally!! so she started to talk and motion to me, apparently trying to tell me which bus to take. I told her i did not understand what she said and she ask me to sit down and wait. I patiently did and when a bus came forward, she pulled me up the bus. She is very very chatty. And even though 95% of the time, we didnt understand each other, she still kept talking!! Maybe cause i kept nodding my head in agreement that she took it that i understood her. With my mere knowledge of vietnamese, i managed to got her name. Duyen is a 23 year old student and she is going from school back home in the village. The water fall i wanted to go is near her village. So with her help, she told me where to drop off and where to take the return bus back. Thanks alot!! before she left, she even send me an sms! In VIETNAMESE!! oh well, i will get my friend to translate for me when i get to the next city. Meet Duyen!
The waterfall.Damm good fruits with ice and milk while waiting for my return bus.

I had to wait a longggggg time before my bus finally came. Unlike singapore where we have ezlink and just tap when boarding. Buses over there are manned by a bus attendant. The fare would be based on where you tell the attendant you are going. Thankfully for me, i was on the same bus and the attendant girl recognise me from all the commotion i was causing on the way there!

She flashed me a big wide grin and i slip her my fare for my ticket!

Hired an old man with a bike to ferry me around the city and saw this BEAUTIFUL wooden church.
My rider brought me to visit some natives villages.
Thats me!
House with a huge and tall roof
The villages were cooking something in the pot and trust me, it looked really gross...
My rider took me to meet this old man who plays music with his home made bamboo instrument. Very interesting hobby too!

A fruit called Vu Sau. Literally "Breast Milk" They didnt say whom breast though
After eating, i saw worms... Look on the right side. See a hole? it was crawling out!! EWWW

Update!! Update!!

2009-06-14T16:31:00.000+08:00

Hello all!

Been a long time since i last update. Damm chinese government has built a great firewall of china and blocked many of the sights, youtube included, making access to my blog impossible. Finally with a little help from the net, i managed to access it.

Now that i found a way to access it, i will update as much as possible until i return home.

Return home?!?!

YES! finally i decided to return home(not by choice, school is starting). Everything is set, the date is fixed, the air ticket is bought. *Drum Roll

July 21st 2009! Arrive Singapore T1 20:50 Airasia Ak715 *remember come pick me up!

A little update, i am currently in china. Remember my last post about sneaking into somewhere illegally?

The place is TIBET!

Current rules for foreigners entering tibet

1. Tibet travel permit(additional alien travel permit if traveling outside Lhasa, provincial city of tibet)

2. Join a tour group with a detailed itineary

3. Accommpanied by a guide, car, driver at all times

A example trip to tibet for 8days would cost about S$2500 at its minimum, not including your food and personal expenses.

This is the chinese governments indirect way of restricting foreigners into tibet.

So would i take the bait and pay this huge chunk of money to the chinese government(we all know what they are famous for)?

OF COURSE NOT!!!

So how did i managed to sneak into tibet?
1. A fake student ID. China, the land of fakes, you can possibly find/make ANYTHING you could and couldnt think of. First thought was to make a fake china ID card. However student card brings me discount to many sights *winks winks that China ID card couldnt and can still be used to register in place of ID card eg. Registration for Potala palace, lodging. Cost of making it is 40RMB(S$9).

2. Pretend to be a chinese. With my asia look and basic language capability, i have no problem posing as a china national(no need the above restrictions). All i need is a story about where i come from in the event if the authorities ask.

3. Hang around other chinese travelers. With other china national, it would make me look less foreigner and able to hide in the crowd.

Right now i am still in tibet, no authorities having found out about me yet. Hopefully it will remain this way till i leave.

There you go, a little update for being MIA for so long. I will update as much as much as possible and continue the rest when i return home.

Tata!

ARgh!! No time to blog!!!

2009-05-01T20:07:00.004+08:00

To all of you out there(and some slacking at home). I have an important announcement to make!!

NO no, i am not coming home yet. You wish!! Although my return is still unchanged for the moment in july. Might be making a surprising comeback :D

For the next few weeks i will be busy with only 10days left in vietnam to explore Hanoi, halong bay as well as sapa, i am seriously short of time. After which i will be rushing into china hitting the towns briefly(i been there before) and also gathering some research for my next challenge!! As soon as i have the time i will continue my blog, i promise :P

I will be sneaking into somewhere illegally!! Some of you might know already, for those who dont yet, stay tuned for the news on exciting adventures!

PS.I hope i dont get sent to jail for it. MOMMY!!! :~(

Happy 1 year anniversary!

2009-04-23T19:34:00.000+08:00

I didnt even realise it but it has been a year since i started this blog!!

Let me recap how it all happened.

It all begin with my first trip to japan. It is also my first independent travel since young. I paid for it myself, i planned the trip myself, i did extensive research myself and all in all, it is MY trip. I had a deep sense of belonging to it and together with my travel mates, i had the most fun ever. Maybe it was because i wanted to share with others my joy or could be i needed some place to record my travel and adventures so that i could savour it whenever i hit a emotional downturn in my life. No matter what, it gave birth to the creation of this blog.

From Japan to taiwan to singapore and now to my 7months backpacking trip around asia, this blog has grown tremendously, as of I. Initially there were doubts as to whether this blog could sustain, right now i am very sure that as soon as i return home, i would once again don my backpack and hit the roads again and fill these pages with more facinating tales.

So here it is, a little history of how it all started. I even spent a couple of hours reading everything i wrote from day 1. Oh i miss those days!!

To all waiting for me in singapore! i will be home soon!! Cheers!

Take care all!
JAY

It all started with a plate of lungs

2009-04-22T15:02:00.000+08:00

Prevalent in Vietnam is the concept of open tour buses. More expensive than local buses, they provide a more comfortable and hassle free transport operating from a much more convenient location than the buses from the bus station. Since you need to pay to get to and fro the bus station, the price of the open tour buses really adds up to be almost the same.

Sinh Cafe!
Climb up the mountain

A cross bred between Vietnam and the French Alps, dalat sitting on high altitude(1500-2000m) is highly popular with domestic tourist. It could be the famous agricultural products or the contrasting cool weather to Saigon or the abundance of scenery in the vicinity that draws the crowd, whatever it is, this place IS the place to go if you visit vietnam.

The main town area is easy to navigate on foot, just remember 3 landmark, Cho Dalat(Dalat market), Xuan Huong lake and the Eiffel tower copy cat of the post office to the south.
In front of Dalat Market
Cool town(literally!)
Romantic paddle around the lake
Or some quiet fishing Cho Dalat(Market Dalat)
Too cold for you?no worries, clothes aplenty!

Very popular in dalat is the production of strawberries. Strut along the streets and you will encounter several ladies with baskets of strawberries sitting along the side. Otherwise, head to the market to buy them dried with sugar. Yum!Fresh strawberries?
Preserved sweeten ones?

It all started with a plate of lungs. Beef lungs to be exact. I had this idea for the blog title ever since that very night.

Walking along the perimeter of Xuan Huong Lake, i entered into a crowd encircling several motorcycles. At the back of these motorcycles is a big box each and everybody around is holding on to a small plate and chopstick. I was feeling hungry(not surprising) so i went to get myself one. As i place piece by piece into my mouth, still unaware of what i am eating,i went to ask the seller hoping she could speak enough english to answer me. What is this??

Fortunately, 2 ladies sitting at the side overheard and explained to me that i am eating Xap Xap, Vietnamese Beef Lungs. Hoa and Uyen is a big fan of Xap Xap and Hoa even had a total of 5 plates!!~ Anyway we chatted a little and they invited me for lunch the next day. Turns out, they invited me for meals almost every single day for the next few days!

Uyen(left), Hoa(Right) Mobile stall
Uyen admiring her newly collected wedding card! Hoa's wedding pictures
VVV!!Simple and cosy meal

Through a friend in Saigon, i had a contact of a very cool guy in Dalat. Studying his last year in University in Dalat, Nghia has very similar interests with me including traveling and he used to work part time for a travel company in dalat before. Since he did not have school the following period, he graciously offered to bring me around dalat for the next few days! Whoo Hoo!!

First up, cable car ride over Quang Trung reservoir and the monastery Truc Lam Pagoda at the end. Set in a very good fengshui position(mountain behind, river in front), this place gives anyone who walks the ground a very surreal peaceful feeling. The air you breath is cool and fresh, the surroundings is set in picturesque foliage and the the breeze hitting on your arms is cold but not chilly causing the 3 large wind chime to strike with rhythm. I swear even the clouds looks different here.Huge view at the top
Cable car
Huge wind chime
Beautiful gardenLooks like a painting huh?

Next we went to dantala waterfall where there is a luge which for a fee you can take down to the waterfall area. Datanla
Luge. Take the luge down, it is great fun!
The world is great!
Snaky business
Dalat train station
Forward!

If you are crazy enough, head to the infamous Crazy house of dalat. Designed by the daughter of Ho Chi Minh's third successor to the presidency of vietnam, this place not only functions as a tourist sight. If you have the mood(or the money) for it, you can actually stay in these strangely designed rooms.

Crazy house
Giant spiders

Spooky buildings

Nghia

Strange bridgesGrilled rice paper with egg

The 2nd day, Nghia brought me to Langbiang Mountain for some trekking.

If you are lazy to walk(and rich), you can opt to take the jeep up to the top

Timeless shotoff we go!

The climb is steep and easily leave you breathless,thankfully the air is cool and niceThe view at the top is well worth the climb
Baguette with a view! WOOOT!
See the river meandering the valley?
I can see the clouds below my feet! Is this heaven already?!?
Dalat university daily exercise. Funny huh
Dinner invitation again at Hoa's place!
Dalat has good soil, resulting in the agriculture boom

Not only are there strawberries and flowersCoffee is another famous production in the area!Silk worm
Silk worm Cocoon
Elephant waterfall
Very nice if you can ignore the innumerable garbage aroundLinh An Pagoda
Buddha with extra arms to help people And the all seeing buddha with extra eyes
Not forgetting the ever happy... HAPPY BUDDHA!!
Golden valley

This place ironically is excluded in many of the tours offered around town. Mainly due to the admission fee(20,000vnd~$1.80) which is higher than the other sights. And those who decided to join tours would be missing out on this great beauty hidden in dalat. Even Hoa's wedding picture(see above) was taken here.Even though this is a man made place, the tranquility can never be forged
Nghia, my brother from a different mother(and father of course)

Throughout these few days, Nghia and me we talked about everything under the sun. From our pasts to the present to where we see ourselves in the future down the road. Though the time we met is short, he felt like a brother i never had. And i am very sure i will soon see him again :D

Received a sms from Quynh inviting me for ice cream!! woo hoo!! Ice cream with fruits, a healthy choice
Cutie Quynh :p

Hoa is extremely nice, she invited me to visit her parents rural house on my last day in dalat!!Buying BUN(rice noodle) in the marketA short trek is needed to get to the house
As well as a cross over the self made bridge
Left: Hoa's Parents, Hoa, her friend, her sister and ME!!
They even have a Vu Sau(breast milk) tree right at their door step where they climb whenever they feel like having one!
Private waterfall.
The house has no water or electricty supply, power is dependent on a generator and water from the waterfall through a tube to the house
Monkey face!
Cheese!
Small eyes Jay
V!
Loving!

I was told we were going fishing in the nearby river. When we arrive, hoa jumped into the water and told us to wait for her as she started to turn the rocks from the riverbed.What is she doing?
Turns out she is looking for our baits!
The 3 of us caught a total of 5 fishes!! ok Hoa caught all 5 of them and her friend caught a small crab. Me? well i caught lots of leaves. It counts ok! better than nothing!

Before we part, Hoa handed me her wedding invitation card and told me explicitly that i must return for her wedding 2 weeks later. I thought to myself, 2 weeks later i am still in vietnam. From a plate of lungs, i got invited to a wedding dinner! WHY NOT??

And Nghia said i have to come back for HIS wedding too 4-5 years later! WHY NOT??

And off i go in minivan packed to double its capacity with a maniac driver cruising 90km/h along narrow winding mountain roadsArgh! i hate the minivan!

Ho Chi Minh City Part 2/2

2009-04-17T14:09:00.000+08:00

HCMC Bus Routes

To understand a little more about the history of Vietnam, i dedicated a day to visit some of the historical landmark in the city. Many options available, i decided to showcase just 2 of the more significant ones.
Vietnam Reunification Palace(Independence palace as some calls it)

As you walk between the iron wrought gates in view of the majestic building, one can hardly imagine that 34 years ago on 30 April 1975, the first north vietnam communist tanks crashed through the very same gate and planted a Viet Cong Flag at the very top, thus changing history of the separated vietnam.

At the basement of the palace is a whole network of tunnels, telecommunications and war rooms used during the vietnam war.Somebody important probably sat here and said "Slaughter the Viet Congs!!"Antique phones

The top floors are still used to receive foreign delegations and may be closed during such official receptions. Otherwise you can see the beautiful decorations of the various rooms. Lavish furniture

Just outside is the showcase of the 2 tanks that crashed into this palace on the day that vietnam became one Tank number 843
and 390! Time for you back in singapore to buy TOTO

War is bad, this is a very straightforward fact and everybody knows it. However there is no other museum that truly puts this idea across in a very concentrated manner with the aid of many stories and disturbing picture. The War Remnants Museum located on 28 Vo Van Tan is definitely worth a look. Damm the US army!
Astonishing facts about World war, korean war and vietnam war
Pictures from war journalist who risked their life during the war
One of the many war machines replica displayed outside
Guns
the damage of war
Agent orange used by the americans
Caused many deformities to children
and ruined the lives of these innocent people
At the end, there is a section of posters and drawings supporting the anti war campaign

Once again, if you head to Ho Chi Minh City, instead of just spend your time scowling the rows of stalls in Ben thanh Market why not head to the above mentioned 2 places and see how this land you are standing on came to reality.
Hectic streets. It is actually easier to cross the streets with eyes closed
Ben Thanh Market. The place for all your usual touristy gifts
I decided to cut myself a little slack and went shopping. A mini speaker, a card reader to replace my damaged one and a broad shorts for my torn one.

Be careful though when shopping in Ben Thanh market, thousands of tourist walk the same alley every single day and the demand for tourist dollar is very high. Do not believe the various signs placed around stating "Fixed Price" or "No bargain".

Eg.1 Card reader
I looked around the electronics market looking for a card reader and most shops sell the exact same one. I went shop by shop hunting and figured the selling price would be at 80,000VND(~$7.20), however at one of the shop the guy actually dare to quote me 250,000VND! More than 3 times than the rest! I firmly scolded him and left the shop, rendering him speechless behind me. I never buy from anybody who tries to rip people off, even if they end up with the lowest price. I understand that everybody wants to maximize their profits and healthy inflation of 10-30% is ok. However 300% isnt.

A good tip for shopping in vietnam, the moment they bring out a calculator and ask you "So how much you pay?", this is a very good sign that they are selling you 2-3times the selling price. Walk away and go to the next shop.

Eg.2 Broad shorts
As Ben Thanh market closes for the day, the night market on the same street starts to light up. I went to search for a broad shorts to replace mine which is torn. At the very first shop, there is this middle age lady who is VERY desperate at selling me stuff. Shorts, pants, T shirts, polo Ts were stuffed into my arms. She kept insisting that if i buy more she will discount for me and refused to tell me the price when i asked, merely wanting me to pick out clothes that i like. I asked for the broad shorts and she said 150,000vnd($13.50 for a fake billabong mind you) Since i just started looking, i did not want to buy it yet however she did not want to let me go. I had to pacify her and said 100,000vnd hoping she would find the price too low and let me go. She further insist that she is selling very cheap and lower it to 130,000vnd saying that is the cheapest she will go. Great! a chance to escape but she held onto my arm and said I am the first at her shop(bullshit again) and if i buy she will be lucky. Still i inch my way slowly and she said ok 100,000vnd. I turned away and started to walk.
80,000VND!!!
70,000VND!!!
OK 50,000VND!! She shouted angrily. By then i had merge into the crowd.
Another typical case of ripping foreigners off. After a few more shops who used the same technique with me, i finally discover one who quoted me straight 50,000. Guess who i buy it from?

Vietnam~! Ho Chi Minh!

2009-04-14T19:35:00.000+08:00

Road in Ho Chi Minh City

Both Ming and Hue did not have school this day and i went to visit her at the fashion shop she works at. *I received news that she was promoted to the manager of another branch shop! Congrats! Went to take a walk around town and to some pagodas. Road side fruit vendors
Jade Emporor Pagoda
Guardians of the pagoda
Guardians of the pagoda
Devotee
Chinese Red candles
Prayers to the Jade Emperor
12 women deity

Ming went back to work in the afternoon and i am met up with Hue(Ming's sister). I know i am a lucky guy :D

Hue the future fashion designer shopping for BUTTONS!
Pagodas in Cholon, HCMC's Chinatown
Flatten grilled banana, taste pretty unique
I sneaked into Hue into her university and meet some of her friends in one of her class

Since my cash was running low, i needed to withdraw money from the bank. Fortunately there is a citibank atm in the city which i did not have to pay administration charge. I later found out that they compensate it by offering pretty sucky exchange rate. Not that i had much choice either. I was an instant Millionaire! Delicious Bun Bo Hue. If you ask me, Pho should not be the iconic food in Vietnam, Bun should be!

It is not until i retreated back to my room that i realised while withdrawing money, i had forgotten to take back my card!! In the end, i couldnt get a good night rest. Fortunately for me, i managed to retrieve it back from the office the next day. Phew!Saigon has a pretty extensive bus network. No need for Xe Om, you can get everywhere with buses
Head to any book store and purchase a bus guide for just 8000VND.
I used it to get to Giac Lam Pagoda
Colourful place worth visiting
7 Stories Pagoda
Door Guardians
Door Guardians Another pagoda is Giac Vien pagoda, nothing special except you get to walk through a cosy neighbourhood to get there.
Unknown deity
Prayer bells
Cinema

A few months down the road, i needed to get my civilization fix. I headed to a familiar shopping mall to catch a movie "Red Cliff 2". It was so good! not to mention cheaper than singapore.
If you ever need your movie fix, head here to parkson shopping mall
Vietnamese Fine dining!
Yum Yum!
A good treat for myself!

The start of my good times in vietnam

2009-04-12T17:57:00.001+08:00

Traveling in Vietnam is expensive, especially for a foreigner. Price inflation and rip offs in vietnam is far more ubiquitous than the neighbouring countries.

From Vinh Long(see previous blog) i wanted to head north to a town called Mytho. There are no buses from town going there and the only way is to go onto the highway and flag a bus heading north. After shaking off all the people who were eyeing my wallet more than me, i finally hopped onto a local bus, which i still have to pay a inflated price...-_-" Even so, my limited language ability ensured a very healthy dose of laughter to the locals on board and the bus conductor who is overcharging every single person he picks up.

Upon reach Mytho, i am once again left on the main highway a few kilometers away from the center of town and the only was to take the infamous Xe Om(moto taxi). It is very essential to agree on the price before sitting on the back of the motorcycle and what i was quoted was just plain rip off 50,000VND!!(~$5). The price for these few kilometers is the same as the 2.5hour bus ride i just took!! The old man kept insisting that it was very far and would only lower the price a little. After a few minutes i actually start to believe him that was the fair price. Fortunately there is a young lad who got off together with me and managed to ask him his price before he zooms off in his Xe Om. 20,000VND(~$2)!! Here i was trying to provide fair business to this poor old man and he tried to rip me off more than 2 times the price!!

By the time i got started looking for a place to stay, it was getting late. Most of the lodgings were business hotels and when i finally found one that fitted my budget, i just jumped into it. It turned out to be pretty filthy, I was however feeling too tired, hungry, sticky, shitty to care. I dumped my backpack and went out to search for food.
Famous Hu Tieu in MyTho

As i fish out my wallet to pay for my noodles, i got a shock. I only had 10,000VND(S$0.90) left in my wallet!! I had totally forgot to keep track of how much local currency i have! Fortunately it was a vegetarian and cost just 7000VND($0.70). Phew! With my last 3000VND($0.30), i bought these delicious chopped and skinned sugar cane

Sitting by the river side with my legs dangling over the edge, i chew on my sugar cane, reflecting on how shitty my day had been. It was pretty early(for my standard) and even though i had cable tv in my room, i dreaded the thought of spending more time in that filthy room. So i ended up watching families and couples having fun along the river as Akon's "Lonely" starts to play in my head.

Suddenly a group of people walked past my front and i could clearly hear a Japanese guy speak english. It is the first time i heard english in this town and after staring into space for 10 seconds, i plucked my feet and ran up to them and shouted a loud HI!!!

That was the best decision i made ever! From left: Hue, Kelly, Ming(Hue's sister), Hue and Ming Mom, Lien(Kelly's sister), Lien and Kelly's Mom
And Kosaku! the japanese guy who i heard

Apparantly Kosaku had missed the last bus back to Saigon that day and was literally picked up by Linh who saw him wandering around lost at the bus station. So together we walked around town trying to find a foreign exchange for Kosaku and me and a place for Kosaku to stay. I of course decided to ditch my filthy hotel and shared a room with him. Kosaku is a very interesting person and we ended up chatting about everything from countries to manga to culture to which countries has the best girls HAHA!(Japan was the consensus)

The whole evening was totally unexpected and very enjoyable with fun, a whole lot of laughter and many photos. All of which would not be possible if i had hesistated and not approach them with my signature HI!!!Next morning we went to the market to buy food
Lien and Ming, typical vietnamese girls. Afraid of the sun
Lunch with the family
Finally i get to take a picture with an Ao Dai!!
Kosaku and Mama(as we both call her) dancing cha cha
Mama is very nice, 2 months later, she still text me to ask where i am and how i am doing
Kelly and me on a ride
On her electric bicycle

I actually had plans to head to another neighbouring town the same day. Osaku, Hue and Ming however are going to Saigon. The former to catch his flight, the latter 2 for school. With little persuasion, i decided to change my plans and go with them! Kudos to the spirit of backpacking!!

Even though the bus ride to Saigon was oven hot, it did not kill our spirit. We talked and laughed so hard we were drawing the attention of other passengers on board. Hue the fashion designer to be with my backpack

Vietnam Mekong Delta - Vinh Long

2009-04-10T16:42:00.000+08:00

High School Ao Dai(traditional vietnamese dress)
Fruit vendor cutting Vu Sau, literally means breast milk. Go figure

If you end up in Vinh Long, do grab hold of the opportunity to do a homestay here. Just across the main town is a fertile island, not just for the numerous fruits trees that they bear but also the opportunity to stay in one of those rustic and basic homes. For those on a luxury budget, head straight to Cuu Long tourist office and arrange for a private stay with other programmes for about US$40+. For the rest, don't bother to bargain too much with the private tour operators, the price they offer are in the same league as Cuu Long and any bargaining wont get you below the other operator Mekong Travel. Itineary and price for Mekong Travel

It is also here at Mekong Travel that i finally met the first and only person who did not say i am from Korea or Japan or China or anywhere else! Finally someone who could tell i am from Singapore!

Fruits plantation

Gas station for boats
My homestay room with a toilet that looks like it was pulled out of a hotel. It really looked out of place in this surroundings of trees and soil
Exploring the island reveals a whole series of fruits including pomelo
Papaya
Star apple
Longan
Bananas and i am sure many more that i did not get my lens on

Dinner was prepared by the lady owner of the house who did not speak any english. There was only 2 of there, me and Sebastian the cook from germany. He had booked the tour from Saigon and on his itineary, there is a cooking class... we ended up cutting the carrots. There is no charcoal, no gas to cook. They depend on cut wood and branches for fire. The dinner was fabulous in any case. Dinner being cooked
Traditional methods
TADA!
Breakfast next monday was not too shabby either

Included in the day program is a visit to the cottage industry where we will see how local products such as pop rice(something like pop corn but rice), rice paper, and coconut candy is made. The whole experience feels strangely familiar. 1 and a half year ago, i had come to vietnam(HCMC) with my family for a week holiday. At that time, we were brought around in tour buses and i did not had any idea where i went. What i do remember is being to a cottage industry like this.

Rice paper
Pop rice
Rice paper

Because we are part of the tour(even though there are just 2 of us), we needed to wait for the rest of the day trippers to come so we could leave together. With spare time, sebastian and i decided to explore the island a little. What we walked into is a local wedding! (Is anyone counting the weddings i been to?)Fortunately for me, he blocked several glass of the potent rice wine for me
Sebastian with the newly weds
Lunch was again very familiar with the elephant fish which i clearly remembered i had it on my last trip to vietnam. It still retained its delicious taste i had back then
With the fish flapping its tail in the tummy, you could either cycle around the island
or laze in the hammock
Lastly for the tour is a short sampan boat ride
Our lady at work
I am proud to say i rowed for half the trip!
And sebastian while trying to figure out how to row did 10%

Vietnam CanTho City

2009-04-07T15:46:00.000+08:00

Vietnam Mekong Delta - Can tho City

Finally i am at the end of the mekong river, the area right before it spills into the sea. After following its flow for more than 2 months, i am glad that soon i will realeased from its grasp.

A unique feature in this provincial city is the availability of 2 indigenous floating market in the vicinity. I had this pre conceived image of how colourful and beautful these bustling market would be. It however turned out to be far from what i expected. Nonetheless, it is still worth a visit if you are here. The official tourist agency would offer it for about US$13/pax. Go down to the river side and you will have a much better offer. Offers from US$12-20/boat(sits max 5) to 2 floating market(5-6hours) are available with a snap of the finger. Dont forget to bargain!
The start of a long 5 hour boat ride
Start of trading!
They will hang their goods on bamboo poles for "advertisement"
If you feel thirsty anytime, no worries!
You can not only use money to buy, you can trade anything that you own. Now, how many watermelons can this camera fetch?
Because of the widespread of motorcycles, locals no longer have the need to depend on the floating market for their goods, resulting in the decline of trading boats
I met them on the diving trip in Phu Quoc island(see last post) and i see them again here! Joe and Damien from Whales
While walking along the streets i was approached by Phoung who wanted to practice english. Majoring in tourism, she is our tour guide for the day!
Ladies at the market
Confusing signs

Along the river, near the gigantic Ho Chi Minh Statue, there is an atmospheric chinese temple worth peaking in. Wear a hat or watch your head as you venture into this premises. There are numerous coil incense buring overhead. Each lasting for 2 weeks, they carry the wishes and prayers of the people who strike them. Go at the right time and you will have the place all set up for a great photo. Looks like giant mosquito coils
Smells like singapore :D

Riding on Phuong's bicycle, we pedal our way to CanTho University where she studies in. This is the most prestigious university in the mekong delta and the dream school of many in the area. CanTho University

It is definitely not the newest nor the most modern university, nonetheless it still has the neccessary vibe and energy that is prevalent in all schools.

The dorms are 4,8 or 10 people each room and cost just 80,000vnd equivalent to just S$7.20 per month! If only the lodgings in singapore university are this cheap... For the same price, you could be in the this new building
or in this dump, real unfair if you ask me.

If you ever feel bored or need a guide in Cantho, why not head to the riverside in the evening. You would spot several students looking for opportunities to practice english with foreigners.
Typical scene of Xe Om(moto taxi) crowding for business

Vietnam is great!

2009-04-04T19:36:00.000+08:00

Check out at Cambodia! My new wallpaper, Halong Bay!

Yes finally i am into vietnam and now 1.5months later, i am glad to say i am still there! Because i display my current location on msn messenger, people have been asking me "Why are you still in vietnam?", "When are you going somewhere else?", "Vietnam so nice?"

More than 3 months on the road, i feel like my purpose had shifted tremendously. For the first leg of thailand, laos and cambodia i had a plan, a very rough one, but a plan nonetheless. More or less, i sticked pretty much to it. I knew where i wanted to go, what to see, how long i am staying, how to get there and how to get to my next destination. The moment i am done with those sights, i moved on.

Of these 4 countries, i was actually more excited about vietnam. I dont know why, maybe it was the conical hat or the sleek and slim ao dai(traditional vietnames dress) or all the Pho that i can have. It was my 2nd time here, the first being a week holiday to HCMC with my parents being shuttled around in tour buses. I knew there is much more to this country. 1.5months down, i realised it is VERY much more! My first Pho in vietnam
With her smile, i couldnt resist but by a watermelon from her the 2nd time i walked past In vietnam, guesthouses are almost a non existance. Instead hotels of varying quality are what you get.3 hours ferry to Phu Quoc Island. 100,000vnd($9)
Mostly locals take this. Tourists take the 250,000vnd 1 hour speed boat.
Hungry pack of Xe Om(moto taxi, remember this word as it will appear many times in other posts) waiting the ferry

The Xe om were so hungry they were fighting off each other. One even stalked me for 1km. Riding a few paces behind me, stopping when i stop and even when i went into a shop to hide, he followed. When i approach another Xe om, they even got into a heated argument. It was until i told him to get lost that he went away. Being one of the few foreigners on board(there is just another western family), i am the perfect sheep to fleece. They are even more expensive than taxis in singapore!

By the time i shake the guy off, i was too far off from town. I needed to get 13km to the main town on the island and tried to hitch hike. Without a helmet, nobody wants to risk taking me.

Fortunately the western family who took a mini van picked me up and i got a free ride into town! Fresh spring rolls! Mmm Ngon! (Mmm Delicious!)
Beach with kids
Sunset view
Dont drown in the 15cm deep water!!
Local sweets popular with the kids

Of course i went to queue up and get one. Being the tall guy(the rest were kids), it felt kinda awkward. HAHA! One young lady with her sister started to talk to me in Viet. After telling her i dont understand, she asked "You like Sweets?" I nodded and she bought me one! Cocounut candy with biscuit

If you frequent vietnam or familiar with the vietnam eating culture, you would know what is Nuoc Mam. Fish sauce to the common traveler, is one important bottle of seasoning to the vietnamese. They have it with almost everything rice, noodles, meat and vegetables. Like curry in india, kimchi in korea and sushi in japan, it has an acquired taste that takes some time to get used to. Fish sauce distilation factory
The smell there is so strong i had to get out after 5minutes
Fish sauce in Phu Quoc is very famous
Thanks to its fleet of fishing boats
I rented a motorcycle and went to do some exploring
Shell collector?
The world is huge!
Saw a wedding and decided to follow them :D
Cheese!!
Happy couple
Ice cream by the beach
And i have the beach all to myself
Phu Quoc is famous for their beaches so i went to another beach
Nice stretch of clean water

Audrey is going to be excited to hear this.

I WENT DIVING FOR THE FIRST TIME!

It started off like this, i wanted to do some water activities in Phu Quoc and snorkling was my intended activity. After chatting with the guys at the dive shop, they actually persuaded me to do diving instead by giving me a big discount and throwing in the snorkling gears as well. So instead of US$20 for snorkling, i paid a discounted US$40 for 1 dive with a dive master and snorkling for the 2nd stop. Included is transportation, boat, lunch, fruits and coffee on board.The only picture i took of the passing boat. Was too sick to take more

The ride there was super super shaky. I had sea sick 5mins after getting on board. During the dive and snorkling was fine. But i had to miss the sumptuous seafood lunch and kept puking. To make myself feel better, i opted to sit on the deck instead of indoors.

Amazingly i fell asleep and ended up with a very dark tan! HAHA 2 weeks later, i am peeling like a snake.

The last of Cambodia

2009-04-01T15:47:00.012+08:00

As i was lying on my bed the other night flickling the channels on my tv, the movie advertisement for "The Bucket List" screened on HBO. I have watched this movie before while i was back home and even though it is not my favourite movie, i loved it terribly.

So why terribly?

Other than the fact that it was starred Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, the movie struck me deeply for a fact that life even though feels long is in fact very short. I would probably live to 70,80 years old. The last few years with weak health.

The first 20 years of my life has already been spent in school. That leaves about 60 years more. Following the path that is deemed "correct" by everyone else(at least in singapore). I would finish my university at 24/25, start working straight after. Get a girlfriend. Get married at 29/30. Have 2 children(or more) between 31-35. Work even more to buy pampers and milk powder for the next 30 years and retire at 65 to look after my grandchildren or drink coffee at the coffee shop everyday till the day i die.

I start to ponder to myself. Is this the way i want my life to be? If i am lucky perhaps i be like Carter and Edward in the movie and take advantage of my last 3months of my life. Otherwise i will die doing what i just summarize in the paragraph above.

I know myself. If i had a bucket list, it wouldnt be just 18 like them. It would be a whole lot more. Probably pages of them. I am not greedy, i just have so many things i have yet to experience in this world. So many things that even with the rest of my life, i would not be able to complete. Nevertheless, i want to cross off as many of the list as i can.

This is their Bucket List

1.Witness something truly majestic
2.Help a complete stranger for a common good
3.Laugh till I cry
4.Drive a Shelby Mustang
5.Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world
6.Get a tattoo
7.Skydiving
8.Visit Stonehenge
9.Spend a week at the Louvre
10.See Rome
11.Dinner at La Cherie d'Or
12.See the Pyramids
13.Get back in touch (previously "Hunt the big cat")
14.Visit Taj Mahal, India
15.Hong Kong
16.Victoria Falls
17.Serengeti
18.Ride the Great Wall of China

What is yours?
______________________________________________________

Cambodia Kampot. Kampot is really a small town in the southeastern edge of cambodia. There is not many things to do here. The only one probably worth mentioning would be Bokor Hill station which was not accessible when i was there due to road repairs.

The rail to nowhere
Lounging by the river
Peacful

Next to Kampot is Kep, a seaside town right beside vietnam(my next destination). An hour ride away, the motor taxi would be the most efficient way to get there. Which is why i am not taking it. If you know me well enough, i like to make things interesting(and difficult) for myself.

I passed by the main town market early in the morning and saw all these trailer parked around with people sitting in it. That was all it tooked to make me tell myself "I am definitely taking that!"Motor trailerMarket ladies

Brushing aside all the persistenly annoying motor taxi driver who kept insisting that there is no moto trailer going to kep, i worked my way through the crowd to ask around. Most of them are heading to other destinations. Fortunately for me, i finally found one and immediately hopped on.

Yay!
Bye moto taxi suckers!

The ride was inevitably slow, taking about 60% more time than motorcycle. The ladies on board were pretty surprised to see me and were very curious about where i came from. Using my inept language ability which i had aquired the last 2.5weeks, we had a pretty good time lauging it out aboard. Kep town, famous for crab. Maybe that expains the number of hands?

Over in kep, i met a "Ya Ya" teacher. His part time job while not teaching is a motor driver taxi. No matter what i say, he will always reply " Ya Ya Ya Ya" in a hilarious way.

Together, we went to Wat Kirisan at Kompong Trach town to see some caves.Proceed beneath the mountain
To this opening

This is one place you are better off with a guide. As soon as your motorcycle pulled into the premise, kids with torches would gladly offer their service. Skinny buddha
Mushroom

The kids will point out to you various rock formations that resembles things like crocodile, turtle, snakes and even a combat boot. You would immediately recognise a couple when you see them. For the rest, you will need a little bit of imagination.

Kep seaside
Naked fisherman's wife(probably turned to stone while waiting for husband to return)

Kep is famous for their crabs. And there are lots of them. Head to the crab market and you will see a long row of restaurant, all offering the same fare at similar prices. Those who like to DIY would find it convenient to walk till the end of the restaurant on the right. At first you would not see the crab, once the few ladies there see you coming, they would run out into the sea and pull up their cages of live crabs all for you to choose. Average price would be US$2.50/kg for the beach ladies and 2-4 times the price in restaurants.Crabs Galore!

Once you have brought the live crabs, you now have a problem. You want to eat them, not watch them run around right?No worries, US$0.50 more they will cook it for you on the spot! TADA!! Bon Appetite
Fresh cheap crab by the seaside, what more can you ask for?

And that is my last dinner in Cambodia

My home in Chambok

2009-03-22T21:47:00.010+08:00

While in cambodia, i found out about this ecotourism project at a national park south of Phnom Penh that i wanted to go. Fortunately for me, there is a head office of the organise in Phnom Penh.
Mlup Baitong

Chambok Eco Tourism Site
www.geocities.com/chambokcbet/

I walked into the office and was greeted by several surprised staffs. They rarely had independent travelers like me turning up at their office just like that. I was attended by lovely sylvie who helped answer all my queries. She told me that some of their staffs are going to the branch office near the national park and she said i could tag along with them! Otherwise going there on my own would be a chore with many change of transport.

My good friend Sylvie email Add
aedmlup@online.com.kh

On the day of departure, i was told we would leave at 2pm. Because of the heavy work load, Rithy, Sunheang and 3 other staff only manage to clear everything at 4.30pm.

Off we go, 5 grown man squeeze into this extremely small car. Since i was the "guest" i got the comfortable front seat. And for the first time in my life, i had 2 drivers!! One person is driving and the other squeezed into the same small seat!

The ride there was very a very pleasant one. I learned alot about the people in cambodia, Mlup Baitong, the way the organisation functions and the many limitations they face while operating.

It was dark and late by the time we arrived at the branch office and for safety reasons, they invited me to stay overnight at their branch office. The people at the office were really very nice, making sure i am well taken care of. The laughter and conversation lasted the whole night, even while lying under the mosquito net. The whole day while being just an ordinary one, exists as a very special experience to me. If you ever do meet these guys, do send my regards to them.

At Chambok, i was introduced to My Phon Thy(pronounced Tee) tel: 017363480, my guide for the stay there. He is a very nice young chap who speaks very good english and really wants to do more for his commune. There are a few activities that you can do there. Waterfall, rivers, lakes, caves etc. However compared to elsewhere in Asia, the experience is rather average. 40m waterfall in the dry season. Measured by Thy personally using a vine!
Bat caves

This commune Chambok is actually very backwards in terms of infrastructure. There is no proper electric or water lines running in the area. For electricity, they depend on fuel generator which can be expensive to maintain and for water, they depend on 1 single pipeline running from the waterfall into the homes in the village. Of course i asked Thy to bring me to see it. This single improvised filter here provides water to the several houses at the foot of the hill. In fact, there are many more villages that do not have proper water supply.1 single important pipeline

In the afternoon, Rebecca a german volunteer from Mlup Baitong comes to the village to teach english and general knowledge to the people here. Students here not only include children but also the village chief as well as my homestay host Cham who is already a father. Spent an afternoon with the kids Tu en(black ass they call him), Ali(shy village girl), Luck(hip dressing 16 year old), Phuck(16 year old sweet girl).

Meals during my stay is had at the Women's restaurant. This is the place where the ladies in the village rotate to work for supplement income. Because for most of the time, i am the only "guest" around, i was always invited to eat with all the people working there. Truly an unique experience. Rice paper in the makingThroughout the 2 days in Chambok, my guide Thy was with me all the time, bringing me to where i want to go Waterfall He told me that there is short cut down the waterfall back to the village and this was it! Slide down a 5m long tree trunk!

On the last day, Thy said he wanted to bring me to do some swimming. Needless to say, i was glad and i merely made a passing remark that it would be great if everyone could go together.

When I arrive at the swimming spot, i was surprised to see EVERYBODY there! From Mlup Baitong, the women's restaurant and even Rebecca gave her class a day off and everybody went to swim with me! The boys from the class Everybody i know was there!Black Ass and PhuckLuck doing our signature chicken dance!Cham my homestay host at the bottomPhuckLady from women restaurant(Also Thy's Aunt)

Singing at the top
Which we have to climb past HUGE red ants infested rocks Chicken dance!
and more chicken dance!

Because it is my last night there, Cham thoughtfully prepared a dinner party for me and what is for dinner? Roast chicken! After so much chicken dance, we ought to have some chick!

After a sad goodbye to all my friends in chambok, i made my way back to the main road with Thy. Thanks to all the people and hospitality i received from the people there. It has made this the highlight of my stay in cambodia. Angkor wat doesnt even come close. I certainly see much hope in the people of this commune.

Total expenses

Homestay: US$3/night
Entrance to Site: US$3
Meals: US$2.5/meal
Guide: US$15/day

Compared to many other villages i have seen in and area cambodia, the price here is actually very inexpensive. And you know that the money will go towards providing a better living environment for the people here. Definitely a MUST DO if you are in the area.

Who says you cant sit in the boot of a car?

Hopeful Cambodia

2009-03-22T19:46:00.007+08:00

Ever wondered how did the name Phnom Penh came about?

To put it simply, Phnom in Khmer means Hill and Penh is actually the name of the lady who "discovered" this place. In the center of town, there is a temple hill that houses a figure of this lady. To the locals, this is where you want to go if you would like to strike lottery.
Mrs Penh
Devotees galore

One point to note when visiting Phnom penh, do avoid staying anywhere near the lake. Even though the accommodations there are cheaper than other parts of town. It is a very dodgy and dirty area. I walked in wanting to look for a place to stay and within 5minutes, I had people asking me if i want to special massage, boom boom(whatever that means) and weed. Needless to say, I turned around before even venturing any further.
Street life shots Street life shots

Walking along the streets of Phnom Penh, one thing that you will experience is the harassment of the plentiful moto taxis on the street. Every single corner, every single turn you make, you have people motioning you onto the back of their motorcycles, even if they do not know where you want to go.

A typical situation works like this.

You turn a corner and see several men sitting on their motorcycle at the corner. One raises his hand and waves to me. "Hey you, yo, where you go?"

Shakes head "No where , just taking a walk"
Driver "Ok, you come, I bring you"

As I walked on and ignore the man, another man on motorcycle 5paces away, observing the whole thing raises his hand and waves to me again...

I decided to do an experiment one of the days and I was approached a total of 61 times in a period of just a few hours!!

In cambodia, there is this special cloth that you will see many locals donning. Karma, the name of this cloth is especially popular with the older generations and the people from the countryside. To the modern day youngsters, it has lost its appeal. What makes Karma special is the numerous ways to use it. It can be a used as a scarf, a face mask, a handkerchief, a hat, a temporary skirt, to carry a baby, to carry groceries, to use as a ground mat, a towel, a table cloth, to wipe your nose, to clean up after toilet if you forget to bring paper and to strangle anybody who tries a fast one on you.

Alright, I made up the last 2. Nevertheless, the possibilities are endless with this. Anything and everything will be used with this. If you ever fancy getting one to use(or for souvenir) you can easily purchase one for US$1-3 at any market.
Popular with females
And with males

To cover your head which is already covered by a hat

Close to 2 months of traveling, i am in need of a haircut. Not that my hair was very long. It is just too impractical for traveling. I was very tempted to go to a traditional hole in the wall with old man shop but after thinking, decided it is too much of a risk. I walked past a high school and saw a chic and modern place with posters of pop stars and young lad cutting. I decided to give it a try and i have to say, he is not bad at handling his tools. In the end, i was shocked when he told me it is just $1!! Even though it is just 1 US and the cheapest cut i ever got, it turned out pretty alright.

I had some time to spare and with suggestions from my cambodian friend, i was directed to the olympic stadium in the evening.

The moment i walked in, i was handed a flyer and this girl wearing a red shirt started talking very quickly in khmer. She talked with such passion and enthusiasm that i just couldn't bear to cut her speech so i kept nodding and acted like i understood what she said!! After a minute or so, she stopped and i shyly told her "sorry i dont understand khmer". She let out a huge laugh and repeated everything in english again!

Turns out she and her friends from university are here to sell some food items and the sales results would determine their grades. After the hilarious moment, how could i not help them out, especially since i would be in the same shoes a few months later.

As the whole stadium starts to unfold before me, i saw lots and lots of people dancing in unison at on the perimeter of the grandstand. Believe me, the number of people is simple astonishing and with their actions unified, i stood there for a few minutes just amazed by what i saw.

Dancing in the sunset

The music they are dancing to includes many modern day songs, chinese techno and traditional khmer music. People regardless of gender and age were dancing to the lead of a instructor of sort. Unlike aerobics or exercise, they are actually doing modern dance, those that you see on tv or performances!!

I would rate this place a MUST SEE if you ever come to Phnom PenhIt is so interesting, it kept me there till the sky turned dark
Young and old, you can be the next Rain
Other than dancing, many people are also there to jog

Compared to the depressing past of the country, this side of cambodia is now full of energy and brimming with hope for the future, just like the fireflies dancing amidst the rubbish that i saw on the way out.

In Phnom Penh, there are a couple of markets worth checking out. The first would be the central market, not to buy anything since the prices are higher than others, rather to admire the dome architectural of the building. The dome shape center actually allows a very good ventilation in the hot city.

2nd would be The russian market. This is where you would want to get all your souvenirs, karmas and knock offs branded clothing at a fraction of the original price. As usual, expect to bargain hard as many tourist pass by here everyday. It is also near S21 Tuol Sleng museum which makes it an easy day trip for both.

Last would be Psar O Russay located smack in the middle of the city. This place is built by locals for locals. Photographers would find this place especially interesting.
The first floor where household items can be found. Anything you would ever need is here, plus all the groceries, meat, fruits and cooked food.
The 2nd floor is stocked with many shoes, stationary, books and dictionary.
More impressive is the 3rd floor which many clothing and fashion items with many shops selling prom like dresses. In fact, if you are going to a prom, everything you would ever need is here. Dress, shoe, make up services, accessories, jewels, sequins, hair cut and style, facial products to make your skin pearly white, nails service, hand bags, inner garments, watches, soft toy to carry around the dance floor and even a whole new set for the after prom party. Guys be warned, do not bring your girls here unless you are willing to be stuck for more than 2 hours.

What happens if there is no space in the vehicle? Tie it outside!
On my last day, 1week after Chinese new year, they have this lion dance event, similar to the one in singapore.
Recognize him?
Picture of the post

Sad Phnom Penh (Part I/II)

2009-03-14T19:45:00.000+08:00

Phnom Penh, being the capital of Cambodia receives far less visitors as compared to Siem reap further north west. Instead of being engulf in the rush to see the world famous heritage, Phnom Penh feels like a butterfly trying to emerge out of its cocoon while at the same time still being wounded by it's history. As you wander the streets of Phnom penh and understand what the people of this land had been through. You can almost feel 2 different sides of cambodia here. One plagued by the terrible history of killing during the khmer rouge rule and the other modern day city in the making.

Special for Phnom Penh, i had split it in 2 different blog spot. Part I Sad Phnom Penh and Part II the happier side of it. I believe that anyone who wants to experience Phnom Penh to the fullest would definitely have to understand and separate this 2 side of it.

The Killing Fields. Choeung Ek Genocide Museum. Located 10km south of central Phnom Penh. Admission US$2.

There are 2 main sites to understand and experience the cruelness of the killings in cambodia. The first would be Choeung Ek Genocide Museum, also known as the killing fields. Even though it is a museum, it hardly feels like one. The fields is a very solem and sad place where prisoners to be executed were brought to. Right after you enter the compound is the tower of skulls. In it are levels after levels of skulls, dug out in this particular area. The prisoners after being killed are buried in holes and left covered with dirt.

Looking up at the tower of skulls, you could almost hear the screaming and shouting of the victims happening before you. A far cry from the sound of children playing in the school next door right now.

As you walk along the enclosure, you will see many holes on the ground which just 30 years ago, housed the bodies of the cruel act.

To further educate people on the cruelness of the Khmer Rouge, Tuol Sleng Museum, previously a high school turned prison is open for public(US$2). Located in the city central near the Russian market, it is not difficult to find. Everyday at 10am and 3pm, they will screen a documentary which follows the story of a victim named Baphana. Through her role in this civil war, the history and sufferings would be brought before your eyes. It is highly recommended that you time your visit to the videos.
In the 3 buildings, you will see many pictures of detainees who once suffered in the compound, various methods and tools of torture used and the biography of the rare survivors and militia of this prison.

As you look into the eyes of each and every face, you can sense that behind these eyes is a painful and sorrowful tale waiting to be unfolded.
Khmer Rouge said:"It is better to arrest ten people by mistake than to let one guilty person go free"

Overall it is a very humbling experience and even when you start to walk out of the compound and back to real time(before being harassed by tuk tuk and motos again), you will uncontrollably feel a deep sense of melancholy descend upon you.

Febuary 1st Day 50-51 of my travel. Battambong!

2009-03-12T21:32:00.001+08:00

The moment I arrived in Battambong, i am yet again sent into swam of moto drivers, tuk tuk drivers and countless other accommodation touts. It happens just about everytime i step into a new town. What is special this time however is that among all these people, there are mainly just 2 hotel names. Royal hotel and Chaya hotel. So imagine this, a crowd of people shouting and pushing one another, even though they are holding signs of the same hotel. Well since they provide free transport, i decided to pick the cheaper Chaya hotel. At the hotel(or so they claim it is), they told me that the room type(US$3) i wanted is full and they would give me another room and change it the next day. One look at them and i know he is trying to bull shit me. The moment i threatened to leave, he fished out a key and gave it to me at the end.

Extremely hungry, i went to look for food. On my Lonely planet, a few blocks down is White rose restaurant, which was described as cheap and good food. Neither of which i think is true anymore. The food tasted bad and is more expensive now. As expected, many foreigners flock to this place.

Cambodian love to eat, even the children. I passed by a school where the kids happen to just finish school and the mobile snack stores outside is crowded to the brim, leaving the hawker hardly any space to breathe.

A food that can make the children want so eagerly is definitely something i must try!
Cambodian Style rojak! US$0.50 very tasty!
I wonder if she is happy that her business is good or frowning due to the hectic selling

As i savour my "rojak", i made my way towards a distinct sound coming from the other side of the river.

MUI! PI! BAI! BOON!! MUI! PI! BAI! BOON!!

At the river was a big group of ladies of all ages doing aerobic with a local hunk leading them along with local music. It is pretty funny watching them dancing to the beats. As i sat down on the grass patch to observe the people, i was motioned over by a group of people.

Put your hands up in the air!!!!!!!
Even the young is encouraged to exercise
Meet Chorleoun, her brother, her sister and nephew!

Chorleoun had come back to her hometown battambong on her holiday and brought her sister and nephew to the park. She works as a card dealer at a casino at the thailand-cambodian border, providing a retreat for thai gamblers as they cant gamble in their country. Meeting a card dealer, how can i resist showing her my card trick which i bought some time ago! After i refused to tell her the secret behind it, she said she will ban me from her casino... Oh well..

If you do ever visit battambong and the park, do remember to head directly opposite the river for a delicious and cheap local meal.

Day 52 of my travel, Febuary 3rd. On my 2nd day in battambong, i hired a moto taxi to explore the surrounding area of battambong. First up, Phnom Banan(Banan Hill) where there is a nice temple at the top which provides a good view of the surrounding landscape. Phnom Banan

Beneath the hill near the foot, there are 2 caves which can be explored with a flashlight and a local guide which can be found nearby.

To get to the first cave, you will have to craw through a small unmarked hole for about 5m in total darkness. When you finally emerge from the other end, you will find yourself in a much cooler cave with a towering skylight above you. Among you are dozens of fruit bats chipping away. The whole experience of crawling through the small hole in darkness and emerging in this totally different really provides a surreal feeling that seems to have transported you to another land.

The 2nd cave is much larger and is reached by climbing over large boulders into a larger space with a half a dozen human sized figurines and loads of bat droppings(watch your head) on the floor. I tried to find the caves on my own and fail miserably
So i hired a local boy to show me
Total darkness!
Very high Sky light!

Next we went to Phnom Sanpeau, passing through extremely dusty and bad road. There is so much dust that i had difficultly even keeping my eyes open behind my shades. The pot holes are so huge that if i did not hold onto the back of my motorcycle tightly, i would have been flown out at least on 8 occasions.I had to get off at some parts so that the motor can cross!

As the name suggests, i will need to do another climb up the hill... At the top, i met a monk lying lazily in a hammock. Turns out he could speak some english and i sat down and chat with him talking about cambodian girls! HAHA!

Full view of the surroundings
I can see singapore from here!!

Between the submit and there antenna, there is a staircases leading down a canyon. As you descend with a few dozen monkeys jumping overhead between the 2 vines dominated cliff and lush vegetation on both sides, the temperature rapidly decreases and at the bottom, the sight of 2 angkorian warrior statue comes into view as the smell of fresh damp air seeps into your nose. In just this 1 minute, all your 5 senses will experience a complete change.

Stairs to another world
As you gets nearer
2 Angkorian warriors stand to greet you
from the caveNobody was around, so i started fooling around again with my camera and my gorrilapod!
On top of the world!
Fire!!
Modern day toilet

One unique feature in Battambong is the Nori, which actually is wooden planks, fitted with wheels and a motor running on the still in use rail way track. Since there is only 1 track for everybody, whenever 1 nori meets a train or another nori heading in the opposite direction, the one with a "smaller" load will have to unload and disassemble everything to allow the other to pass, then they can fix everything back together again and carry on. It is considered a sight in battambong and you can hire a private 1 hour ride for US$6-8. It is also then that i found out that i could have actually taken a nori to my next destination!! DAMM! if only i have not bought my bus ticket!!Waiting for a nori to come
All aboard!!

My last night in Battambong, i met Chorleoun again for a while at the same spot and after she left, i while my time away, sitting at the road side with a big plate of "rojak", a cup of cold sugar cane and listening to MUI! PI! BAI! BOON!Yum Yum!!
No Money no honey man dancing in this all female group. The hawkers at the side all laughed unanimously at his weird dance moves!

Cambodia Siem Reap + Angkor Temples

2009-03-10T22:01:00.002+08:00

Warning: Long post written in a hurry

Cambodia Siem Reap, immediately the name Angkor Wat will surface to mind. Even if you have not actually been there, anyone would have at least heard of it's name and it's glory. Situated 6km north of Siem Reap. It is a place with MANY MANY tourist, mostly from Japan, korea, china.Kingdom of wonder
US$1.50 meal. Everything in Cambodia is denoted in US$. Dont be shocked when you see the atms cough out US$
There are many night food stalls at the split road in the middle of town. Rule of thumb, head to the 1 with the most motor parked.
My very clean(and yellow) "Yellow Guesthouse" complete with private toilet and cable tv. A steal at US$4/day(after some bargaining since i am staying for a week)
Cambodia buddha of fortune. Fans of lottery players flock here everyday
Miniature angkor wat. Nice structure however not interesting to keep me for long.(US$1.50)

As of January 09. Admission price for Angkor Temple stays at a heafty US$20(1day), US$40(3days) and US$60(1week). Dont expect much of it to go back into the actual conservation funds of the temple.

To suck more money from the wallets of tourist, foreigners are forbidden to rent a motorcycle in Siem Reap, which leaves many people with the problem of transportation since the temple area covers a huge area, a handful of them even 50km away. Unless you are on a tour bus, few options are available.

1.Private car-The most comfortable and luxurious way of getting around, especially so in the hot striking sun of Siem Reap. Zoom past in air conditioned comfort and laugh at people in the hot sun. Expect around US$70/day

2.Tuk Tuk-Motorcycle with a trailer behind. By far the most popular way to get around. Fits 2 person comfortably with the potential to seat 4 or more. Able to shelter you from the sun, little protection from rain and no defence from the dusty road which is common with the outlaying temples . Expect around US$25(US$20 is fine between 2 people but they will ask for US$30-US$50 or even more)

3.Moto driver-On the back of a motorcycle. Able to get you to destination swifty albeit not as comfortable as Tuk Tuk. The only reason why people choose this over tuk tuk is the price, half it of Tuk Tuk. Expect to pay US$12-15/day. 80% of the time, they tried to overcharge me and quote me prices of US$20-35.

*Note that Angkor wat is a place with high tourist volumes. Especially with Tuk tuk and moto drivers, they have a habit of overcharging tourist by a huge margin and will quote you 3x or more. Use my rates above for reference and walk away immediately if they starts shooting up prices.

4.Bicycle-A environmental friendly way to get around the temple and have the option of admiring the surroundings at a slower pace. Bicycle can be rented from a few shops in the city. US$1-3/day

5.Foot-No need for introduction. Some crazy people do that.
Ticket counter. Those who buy 3days and 1 week tickets will need to have their picture taken at their ticket counter. Cheese!Tuk tuk(They will find you before you find them)

As with all touristy places, expect alot of selling and begging, especially with small children. All if not most of the children speaks excellent english along with many other languages. Dont be surprise if they can speak more languages than you can! That said, they do sell some useful (pirated)books about the temples at just a couple of US dollars. You would save alot more if you buy from them than at home. Even a lonely planet cambodia cost just $US3 here.

Any ticket you buy will allow you into the compound on the evening the day before the starting date. So i made use of it and cycled my way for my first sunset at Phnom Bakheng. I knew that it was the most popular sunset spot, what i didnt know was that it means i would have to share the place with 3000 other people........
Endless line of human 20mins walk up to the temple
Tourist straight from the bus flood the temples at all levels
The steps up to the top is really steep
So unless you have the money to see it from the hot air balloon, bearing it with 3000 other people is the way to go.

Immediately after, i ran my way down to the foot of the hill. I had cycled my way here and it is a 9km ride back to town. The only light i had was my small flashlight and the streets do not have street lamps, making it dangerous for me. At least i made it back to town, starving to the max!
Back to my favourite night food stall
Antique ice shaving machine
I was so hungry, i even got a take away back to my guesthouse. Pork Fried Rice US$0.75

First day. I wanted to start with the outer temple furthest away and work my 3 days to the most impressive temples on my last.

What it means is that i would need to find a moto driver for my first day. It was very difficult trying to find a suitable one. Everybody is trying to jump on the tourist wagon and wants to suck every foreigner dry. Many people quote me US$30-50/day giving the excuses that the temples i wanted to go are far. Fortunately after some hard searching, i met one who did not even attempt to rip me off and quoted me just US$12 for the day. He did not speak much english, however he is an extremely nice guy and takes good care of me throughout the day. If you ever need a moto driver, call Sokhom at 089987477. Tell him Jay from singapore said HELLO!!
Sunrise at Sra srang
Sun peeping behind the tree lines
This girl speaks amazingly good american english. Most of the kids will try to hard sell you stuff. "coffee later? T shirt sir?" However if you made it firm and clear that you are not buying anything, they will still gladly join you for some chat and laughter.
Sra srang is very much less touristy and is still a good place for sunrise

Next we ride through extremely dusty road to Kbal Spean. Famouse for its riverbed carving.
Climb the well marked route for an hour
To see this
Not really impressive in my opinion

Sokhom and i started very early, we made our way at 5.30am and this place is a big distance from the next. Wanting to have breakfast, we went to take a look at the eatery and was shocked by the extremely high price. Funny thing was, they agreeded to cut the price in half as we were about to leave.

En route we went to Banteay Sriel(Temple of women) with nice carvings and many people
Preserved detailed carvings

Much better is the landmine museum(US$1) that can be combined with the above 2 places. Inspiring and educational, they feature stories of people who suffered from mine blast and many facts about landmines. Definitely worth a visit.
Landmine Museum
Drawings by children
The shell of the mines defused

Next we make our way to Beng Melea, about 50km away from Siem Reap. It is a long and hard ride there, mainly deserted areas and bad road. Half way there, we got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Sokhom my driver got me a comfortable place to sit down and he slowly push his bike in the hot sun to get it fix, not wanting me to follow him. Half an hour later, he came back and we are burning rubber again. Just as i thought it would be smooth riding from now on, 5mins of riding we had another flat tire!! Fortunately there is a car nearby and we got a lift to the repair shop. I know that replacing the inner tubing is about US$3-4 and i did not want Sokhom to spend all his earning today on repairs and petrol and bring nothing home. So i politely offered to pay for his 2nd repair.
How many pigs can you fit on the back of a motorcycle? 3 on the motorcycle on the left!!

To me, Beng Melea is the most impressive temple of all. Even though it is not included in the Angkor Ticket and you need to pay another US$5 to get to this temple. It is well worth it. The whole temple is devoured by nature's elemental forces and what remains is the ruins and crumbles of what used to be a standing temple.
Fallen boulders everywhere
Tree roots along the walls
Very much less touristy. Because of the distance, tour buses do not make the trip here
At the entrance, the guards wearing uniform will gladly take you along a climbing path in the compound. It would be polite to tip them at the end
HELP!!
I had 10 seconds to run 5meters down a bridge, leap over the railings, run another 7meters and climb up the boulders and POSE!
In the evening, Sokhom suggested i go to Prasat Bakong Temple for sunset
A nice place with a good view

On the way back, we rode past Psar Leu(Leu Market) where his wife sells fruits at a stall there. Before sending me back, he even gave me a big bag of fruits!!
Sokhom and his family

Day 2. I decided to be environmental(Frugal) today and rented a bicycle to do the outer loop of the temples. Tug of war liked structure
A few nice spots
Unique picture
Dried up fountain
With weird statue
Waterless fountain
Elephant head
Whats up there?
After taking this picture, what i feared actually happened, he had missed and cut his finger. Fortunately it was a small cut and his young sister amusingly wrapped his finger up to a big bun
Angkor books for you miss??
Going to Angkor, it is best to hire guides to prevent getting temple fatigue(which i got) so that what you see actually make sense to you. Proper guides will wear this uniform.
Sunset @ Pre Rup. It is also because of this that leads me to....
Pizza(US$7)!! So hungry after cycling that i only remember to take a picture after eating a slice

Day 3. Woke up at 5am!!!! and cycled my way to Angkor wat for Sun rise. I took a short cut and ended up cycling in COMPLETE darkness with the rare headlights from vehicles passing me. A daunting 45mins of cycling without light later, i arrive at Angkor wat for the disappointing Sunrise because of the clouds. I was so tired of waking up early and sleeping late the past few days, i decided to cycle all the way back to sleep!! Thinking back, i must have been half asleep when i make that decision.....
Angkor Wat
3000Riel(US$0.75) for locals, Double for foreigners. That is what the hawker told me openly

Ended up over sleeping leaving too little time for too many sights.
Angkor wat pathway

Angkor wat is a huge complex with has interesting carvings along the walls depicting folktale stories. Useful with a guide here.
Everybody in this picture stood motionless
Tomb Raider Temple Ta Phrom. You would have to wait awhile to get a shot without any tourist in it
Temple of faces Bayon
Best view in morning or late afternoon

With that, i end my Angkor Temple part. The temples are nice and full of historical value. 3 days was enough to see all those that i wanted. Part of the trip i got templed out and some of the temples are just merely rocks that i see yet again. Others were more unique and offered a much better photographic experience. Also if you are not in a hurry, take some time to talk to the hard selling children and the ladies at the eatery, especially at the less crowded temples. I had interesting coversations with them and it was a very pleasant way to understand the locals point of view admist the waves of foreign tourists.

After 3 days of hard work, i decided to treat myself to a nice dinner at a cosy cambodian fine dining restaurant.
WOO HOO! Thany Khmer KitchenFish Amoc(Cambodian speciality)US$8

On my last day in Siem Reap, i went to attend a cooking class(US$13) at Tigre le papier where they train street kids and provide them with jobs. As with all cooking classes, we begin with a trip to the market.
Fresh rice vermicelli
4 sets of ingredients for 4 students
TADA! Fish Amoc and banana flower salad for me
In the afternoon, i went to do some quad biking(US$20)
I even had a free pick up by the owner on his dirt bike!
MUHAHA
We rode through villages and pass by houses with kids waving and shouting at us. A very enjoyable ride.
Curry with unwanted bits of chicken(head,neck,bones) It was still the best curry i had tasted
Down it with a cambodian desert with egg yolk, yam, sweet potatoe and some other stuff i cant recognise. So tasty that i had this every time i see it.
Shadow puppet show at La Noria Hotel
Performed by children who used to wander the streets
Half the time, it was conversational in Khmer with the kids playing the voice rendering it a little boring at times
Near the end, they have a traditional Khmer dance

All in all, it is for a very good cause as the money(US$6) actually helps the children.

After spending so many days in Siem Reap, I am dying to move on. The initial excitement had died down completely and it was dreadful staying there. Booked a ticket to battambang. I thought that the bus ride(US$3.50) would be boring so i decided to take the boat(US$18) through Tonle Sap Lake instead. Indeed it turned out to be a pretty nice ride passing through many floating communities along the way.

A 3 year old naked boy even wave and shouted HELLO! to us while peeing into the river completely naked!! If only i got that shot!
Kinda felt like Luang Prabang Slow boat again...
Everything is on water for the next 9hours
Including houses
Basket ball courts
And pig sty
Fishing is a major part of the people's life here
And i end it with my Picture of the day!!

Shorty Kratie

2009-03-06T20:51:00.005+08:00

First impression counts and Kratie really is not the best place to form any sort of image about Cambodia. It is by far the most dirty and filthy town i have ever been to. Flies and garbage flood the streets, dirty sewage water fills poth hole. Even as an adventurous eater, i have my doubts with eating street food here. My first dinner in Cambodia is to be had at a small hole in the wall "restaurant" with the rare english Phrase "Khmer food".

Even then, the place was filled with trash on the floor and 50% of the foreigner customers who dine there complain about the food portion and price. It is also here that i made my first very animated cambodian friend named Inchiangteh(thats how i heard it, not actual spelling). She works in the eatery and sat down to chat with me cause she thinks i look like a cambodian. She talks in the familiar Malaysia style english with the ubiquitous "You know.. Yeah loh" something i had missed hearing for a long time. Through the conversation, i understand that she had spent a few years working in malaysia as a domestic assistant(maid) and now return back home to work for her aunt. Through her, i learnt a whole deal about the life in cambodia.
My first cambodian friend!
First impression of Cambodia, everybody wears pajamas for the whole day....
First impression of cambodia. Filthy garbage fills the streets(actually only it happens only in Kratie)

There isnt too much to do in Kratie. 2nd day in cambodia, i was motioned by a moto driver, coincidently i needed a ride to see the sole attraction in kratie, the Irrawaddy dolphins. Turns out he dont see a single word of english. Thankfully with my list of words i gathered the day before and a whole series of body language(try saying dolphins without words), he managed to get me to the right place. For 3 of more people, it will be US$7 for an hour on the boat.Irrawaddy dolphins
Some boatmen are lazy and instead of using the oars, they continue to use the moto. Do your bit for the dolphins and ask them to switch it off.
Dont expect any kind of circus jump from the dolphins, all you would see is the back fin appearing for 1 second before disappearing into the water again. Almost impossible to take any picture of it
As a consolation, the sunset was nice.
I had wanted to stay longer if my driver would allow me. His bike was in such a bad condition with non working speedo meter, fuel gauge, mirror, foot peg and even headlights, so we had to head back before it gets dark

That is it for Shorty Kratie, stay tuned for the famous Siem Reap Cambodia next!

4000 islands and crazy trip to cambodia

2009-02-28T18:36:00.014+08:00

4000 island as the name suggests refers to the 4000 or so small islands(some really just some visible dirt from the river) that carpets this area of the mekong river. Lush greenery, fishing and a couple of spectacular waterfall(remember my video?)

For activities and accommodation, there are only 3 islands in the vicinity that provides tourist service. Don Det, Don Khone the sister island and Don Khong some distance further north. Most of the people however opt for Don Det. Which is why i set my mind NOT to. The mafia boat i was on stops at the northern tip of Don Det(see map below) and i wanted to go over to Don Khone. After they refused to ferry me over unless i pay a exorbitant rate, i slowly make my way to the other island Don Khone(southern island on map) on foot.

One thing i didnt know was the distance since my map did not have any scale. It looks pretty near, i thought to myself and as the sky darken, i still have not reach the other island. 1 hour of walking along village path later, i had to fish out my torch light to illuminate my ways(also to make sure no motorcycles, bicycles, pigs, chicken, dogs, goats, buffaloes or any island monster bumps into me). Just when i thought the worst is over, the places i had wanted to stay was full!! and the remaining were high end ones. Which equates to walking all the way back to Don Det to look for a place to stay. (The price i have to pay for being a budget backpacker!!)

Map of the island(Don Det on top and Don Khone at the bottom)
Well, i did not want to turn my 2hours walk into an over night hike so i quickly settled for the first one that i came across. Mr Vong's Bungalows(30k kip~$6). Mr Vong as i came to know later is the late father of the now owner name Air.

Accommodation in this area is pretty straight forward, almost everywhere there are bungalows. The only difference is the amenities, decor and cleaniness.
You can get a simple bungalow(mostly shared bathroom) for 20k-50k kip~$4-10
Or if your wallet needs some shedding of "fats", floating bungalows like this for US$50 or more

Feeling tired and hungry, i went to the attached restaurant to look for food. Fried noodles? Nope sorry. Fried Rice? Nope sorry. Rice or noodles with meat or vegetables? Nope sorry. Turns out they have any food.

So what do you have to eat?
We have special Lao dinner, you want?
ok...(starts to imagine how "special" it can be)

Throughout my trip, i can say 50% of the time, i have no idea what would be present in front of me whenever i order food. So this is the norm. Dont be surprise.

After an extremely long wait, TADA! i am presented with the special laos dinner!!

Mushroom soup and steamed mushroom!! -_-"

To top it off, it tasted really really horrible. The best on the table is the basket of sticky rice which i gulped down in minutes.

After this meal, i set my mind to change to a new place tomorrow morning.

Many people who know me will know that i am a very nice guy. Very easy going and accommodating. So i decided to give the place another chance and have my breakfast there. I asked for fried noodles and was told they only have beef left...-_-"'

I needed to see what i could do in this area and made my way to the norther tip of the island where all the services are available. Bumped into the Beijing girl(sorry i cant remember her name that i met while kayaking in Vang Vieng). So together we went on bicycle to look for the waterfalls in the area. She said she knew the way and i trusted her. However we ended up getting lost... As a consolation, we discover some pretty nice spots of the river. B E A UTIFUL scenery
Nice spot of beach with a few eateries
Attached is a pleasant swimming spot
Li Phi Water fall, one of the 2 popular waterfall in the area
Nice rapids

As she was getting tired(girls~), she went back and i continue to wander around the island. Chancing onto yet another deserted place. There is only 1 map and no signs at all and i almost got lost in the lush forestation. Thankfully i made it out alive and in time.

Suspension bridge
Deserted parts
Made it out before sunset! Phew!

After looking around, i decided to stay at my present place. I kinda like the place if not for the food(or the lack of it) and the distance from the populated part of the island. I went back for yet another "Special Laos" dinner. This time round, i decided not to complain about the food and speed. Instead i offered to help out in the kitchen and see for myself and hopefully understand the reasons behind it.

1. They had no available electricity. They have to depend on the generator which they on for a few hours at night so that they can actually see what they cook. That explains the speed.

2. They use charcoal to cook, the lack of gas stoves render it slow and not as efficient.

3. They only have 3 charcoal stoves. 1 would be used for the rice and the others taking turns to cook.

4. They do not have a refrigerator and depend on an insulated box filled with ice to keep the food chilled. The ice is also used for drinks...

5. Air's Wife, Pom is an ok cook. However her 2 young sisters seems pretty lost at times.

The 2 assistants in the kitchen

So after 2 hours or so later, my fish soup and steam fish in banana leaves is finally ready. Since i helped, of course it tasted better.

Time passes really quick on the island. You can easily do nothing and the day would be over before you know it. One of the days, i just hung around the bungalow and talking to the 2 young assistant of the place and learning some laos from them. Words that they taught me include Burk!(Crazy!)

In the evening, i saw a man preparing his fishing boat with his wife and i immediately asked him whether i could come with him. So off i go with his wife and me paddling and him casting the net onto the water. Every time he cast the net out, the small boat felt like it was going to capsized! Fortunately i had not bring my camera along. Just at the split second before he throws it out, i had to set down my paddle and grab onto the boat for my dear life! He threw it for about 15-17 time and eventually got back with nothing. I felt kind of sad for him as he tells me in laos "No fish"

Near 4000 island is a place called Khone Phapheng Waterfall, the largest waterfall by volume in South east asia. After a long wait at the boat landing(the transport mafia will wait till there are tons of people even before getting their ass off their recliner), i arrive at the mainland and paddle my way on bicycle 10km(45mins) to it. The sun was merciless and i was the only one on the road. Needless to say, i invited many weird stares from motorist. Thankfully, i met several groups of kids on the way who were very friendly and that acted as an encouragement for me to push on in the hot sun. Sabaidee!(hello!)
An ice cream in a hot day in front of the cascading waterfall. Luxury!

As i took the picture with my ice cream, a old german couple saw me and they thought i was funny. So they took a picture of me, turning me into an instant celebrity(thanks to my ice cream) According to them, this is the best waterfall they have seen, even defeating the famous Nigeria falls.

You can stare at this for hours and wont get bored
They decided they want to take a picture of me and the ice cream!
A good picture for a new halls candy advertisement

A tip when visiting the falls, dont eat at the restaurants there. It is seriously way way way overpriced. Now back to the island!

Riding back is way faster and easier than going to the falls. Before i know it, i am back at the pier in the hands of the ferry monopoly again.

You want to go now? ok pay double the price. This is what they told me. Of course i wont want to do that and i ended up waiting for a long time. I could even write my reflections of my last few days and still end up with excess time. Damm those people!! Tractor transport. I had thoughts of hitch hiking on one
Remember their faces! Box them in the face if you ever come across them!!
Damm you Mafia!!
!!

On a happier note, when i got back, i was asked to swim with the 2 assistants of my bungalows in the river.

Their "swim" as they call it actually means bathing in the river in the evening. It is a usual practice on the islands and everybody, male, females, young and old all do it. I had wanted just a swim in the river until they got soap all over me and do it as the locals, i went in to take my first river bath!! Special laos skirt, seen all over and every girl will have at least 1
It can be a skirt, or a towel or your portable toilet as you squat in the bushes with it. Believe me
Rune, the younger sister
V!
Dinner for the night is cucumber salad(spicy) and meat. I had it together with the family and it was really a cosy dinner.

In bangkok, i had met an old man carrying a singapore passport. Well technically he is a singaporean, but he live his life traveling around and moving to the next place after awhile. This has been his life for a many decades already.

Coincidentally, i met him again when i was on the island. Spent a morning chatting with him and the rest of the day laying in my hammock with my mp3, something that i had wanted to do for awhile.

Overall Don Det is a really nice place to while a couple of days away. People who planned only a few days easily stay over a week here. With the cheap rooms and food and many bars, activities, i can hardly see not. So if you are in the vicinity and needs a place just to wind down and give yourself a well deserved break from all the work or school. Head over to 4000 island, you wont be disappointed. Mobile desert vendor
Village style houses
Many inhabitants of the...you guessed it! Mekong river!!
The lady owner Pom in red, her son in orange and her 2 sisters/assistant Jade(L) and Rune(R)

I did not really have much plans for onward travel, mainly because i was pretty lazy the couple of days(you know after the cycling, swimming and fishing :D) I woke up one day and decided to leave the island and head to cambodia. In all online resources, guide book, travelers operators, everything. They will always tell you one thing.

If going to cambodia from laos, book a ride with the transport mafia that goes all the way to the town. DO NOT just go to the border because you will end up in the hands of yet again the transport mafia, this time in a more vulnerable position. The border checkpoint is practically in the middle of no where. The nearest cambodia town is a 3 hours drive from it. The surrounds is all forested area.

Even though i did not like it one bit, I decided to heed the advice and went to look for my ride out.

As it turns out, all the buses headed to cambodia on that day had already left at 8.30am!! i was there at 10.30am!! Oh crap!! There is one guy who is going to the border to pick up some people and that is the furthest he could send me.

Before me lies 2 choice. 1 Stay for another night with nothing to do for the rest of the long day and hop on the bus tomorrow.

2. Take the ride to the border and after that.... no plans.

This is the kind of situation where your mind tells you to take choice no.1. You would have to be brave(stupid) and adventurous(crazy) to take the latter.

So what did i choose?

No.......................................2!!!!!!

As like what resources says, the check point is totally empty. Nothing at all. The van left me after they pick up a few people back to the island and all is left is just me alone there. This border is infamous for taking bribes and you wont get your exit(laos) or entry(cambodia) stamps without a couple of dollars. I ended up parting with US$2 at each. Finally into cambodia!

When i was at the cambodian side of the checkpoint. I started brain storming on ways to get out of this fix. Walking? no it is a 3 hours drive. I will never make it. Unpacking my sleeping bag and staying overnight at the border and wait for the vans tomorrow? Could be my last resort. Hitch hike? Sounds like a better idea.

Then a van came up and said he will ferry me to the closest town for US$20!! The price to that same town sold on the island is only about $7!!

As i sat down on the side of the road starting to feel sorry for myself, a car from the cambodian side came. I managed to converse with the driver and he is going to see the big waterfall and going back to cambodia a few hours later!! GREAT i thought!! at least i know i will have a ride later. Before i could even ask him if i could catch a ride with him later, the driver of the transport mafia van shouted something at him and he scurried away....

Absolutely Nothing!

I was out in the open, full view of the mafia guy and i decided to change position and go sit at the passport checkpoint. A place where everybody would have to stop, and is shielded from the evil man. Had a little chat with the same guy who demanded bribes from me earlier and learnt a few cambodian words from his boss.

Half an hour later, a car comes from the laos side of the border!! I immediately went up to ask for a ride to the nearest town. Fortunately they agreeded!! I was so happy i could feel my eyes getting a little damp! My saviours!

Julian and Julia from Britain is touring around the world in a series of trips with her young daughter. They had been turned away at the laos side because they do not have the visa for onward travel and have to head back to phnom penh. I could do with just a ride to the nearest town where i can try catch a bus or truck to Kratie, my intended destination. However Julian was really very nice and offered to bring me all the way to kratie. A 6 hours ride away! All in exchange for a day trip idea for singapore! To top it off, he wouldn't even let me pay for my lunch! I couldn't thank him enough. If it wasnt for him, i might even have to spend the night in the wild! Thank you so so much!!

And through his personal guide and driver, i manage to draft up my first page of useful cambodian words. A great way to start in a new country!

Off i go to cambodia!

Happy Children

2009-02-19T14:44:00.009+08:00

To all travellers out there: Do not take night bus thinking that it saves time and money on accomodation. Yes it may seems to work out that way, however it is unlikely you will get much sleep anyway and will have to spend a day sleeping. Not to mention that it is far more dangerous for buses to drive at night as most places do not have street lights and the roads are more often than not full of potholes.

I have to learn that through experience, so take my advice to me.

On a lighter note, the day was pretty interesting. I dropped off the bus in the town of Pakse. Pakse being the provincial town is in fact pretty boring. Most people stay here and go on day trips to nearby sights. I did not see any point in staying and wanted to go straight to Champasak. A sleepy town 2hours south of Pakse.

Well then i had a problem, local transport in this region is pretty limited and the only way to get to Champasak is to go to the market and together with the "aunties" who finish their grocery shopping, share the transport back home. I was there pretty early and had to wait more than an hour for the ladies to finishing their shopping. Nonetheless it is pretty funny talking to a couple of "fast shoppers" though we did not understand each other very much.

After 25 people and tons of food stacked into the Sorng Thaew (2 benches truck they call it, funny this one had 3 benches with the same name), we started burning rubber.
My 3 benches "2 bench truck"Because most people travel far to the market, they usually buy enough to last a week or two. And around the market, they have all these "porters" who will carry your stuff for a small fee(2k kip=$0.40) What happens when the truck is full?
Cramped in the hot stuffy truck

One thing I noticed is all these empty containers that everybody is bringing along with them. I tried to ask them what are they for and of course with my limited language abilities, i got no answer. It is when our truck pulled in to a gas station and everybody started shouting out prices then I understood that they are for storing petrol! You dont get to see this in Singapore!

Champasak is mainly famous for Wat Phu Champasak, an extension of the Angkorian Era temples. This part of Laos used to be under the jurisdiction of the Angkor Empire long time ago and there is an impressive Wat in this region. People interested in the history will need a trip here.Makeshift boats for passengers to Champasak

Was feeling shitty because of the night bus and i ended up sleeping the afternoon away. Was too late for Wat Phu Champasak and i decided to look around the small town. While walking past a small straw house, I overheard some music being played. I peeked in and saw 2 boys aged 4-5, 1 strumming a small guitar and another beating a traditional drum while both sang along. They said Sabaidee (hello) to me and didn't mind me being the only audience. They were SO SO SO SO happy just making their own music.

Happy!
Happy!!

As the boys were motioned into the house by an adult, I continued to walk on and I heard some laughter and shouting from afar. Needless to say, i went to check it out. A group of children were playing in the sandy dirt road.

Who-digs-up-the-most-sand competition!

When they saw me, they started to run towards me and with their hands together, encircled me, running around. The moment i fished my camera out of my pocket, a couple ran away and a handful started to pose for me. They were EXTREMELY cute and i had a good time kicking up sand with them. Circles!
Say cheese!!
Cool blue boy, little heart red girl and 2 lost and blur kids at the side :D

Everyday as i see the Mekong River and the people living and depending on it. It really dawned unto me how important this is for the locals. If the river one day disappears or is deemed unsafe, the people would be in grave danger. Mekong the river of life

The very next day, i rented a ubiquitous single gear, suspension nil bicycle (10k kip=$2) and make my way to Wat Phu Champasak 9KM away!! I was alone and getting a ride on a tuk tuk would be expensive. I am on a budget remember. So i pedaled my way in the hot sun through small wooden houses and past unused paddy fields, dodging motorcyclist, kids, dogs, chicken, goats, buffalos and numerous pothholes along the way. Thankfully the road is flat and i got there in 45mins. Phew!

A quick visit to the exhitibition hall and i went on in the hot striking sun another km towards the Wat. Wat Phu!Inside the exhibition hall
Beautiful trees lined the stairways up to the wat

Restoration work by the Italian government

The Wat is by far the most impressive one i have seen. It sits atop a hill and has a lush canopy of trees towering over it, providing cool shade for those who make it up there. From the top, you can see the scenery of the surrounding plains. I reckoned it would look far more majestic in the wet season with green paddy fields everywhere. There was not many people when i went and it makes a great place for photography lovers.Random pictureLone statue
Great view of the surrounding

With that my stay in Champasak is completed. Few independent travellers make it to this place and most of them head straight to Don Det (Det island) further south in Si Phan Don (4000 islands). That is where i need to go next.
First i need to get back to the main road across the river

On the pier on the other side, it is about 4-5km to the main road. Since transports is scarce in this part of the country. I had wanted to hitch hike out. Even before i could do that, a motorcycle pulled up before me and said he will take me out for 5k kip=$1. Oh well, saves me the trouble.

Out on the main road, it is another 3 hours south to get to the boat pier for the islands. I was in a hitch hiking mood today and was about to take my signature Orange market board/paper and ask a local to write 4000 island for me when a Sorng Thaew started horning from afar. Immediately all the food vendors rushed up with their raw meat and vegetables in hand to the crowded-to-the-brim truck. I guessed they are pretty desperate for business.

Just then, a lady came up from the back of the truck, looked me in the eye and said "Don Det?" Don Det! thats where i wanted to go! I was elated until I hear her say 30k kip... Well i managed to bargain to 20k kip=$4 and decided to go with them. Apparently the driver saw me and my backpack from afar and had stopped to pick me up! not to buy groceries from the people there. There goes my chance of hitch hiking! My pack's strap dangling at the back of the truck

After a very dusty ride to the pier, me and a naive japanese guy went to look for a boat across. His plan for the island? To drink and smoke..

Why did i call him naive? Because when we went to the boat landing, he asked how much was the boat ride and they told him 20k kip each. The japan guy said ok and started to reach for his wallet. I knew that they inflated the already-largely-inflated tourist price and i told them no firmly. In the end they gave up and issue us the ticket for 15k kip each ($3). Turned out that the boat ride is only about 5 mins and i walked straight into a long war with the transport mafia in this area. The sunset was pretty nice though

Unfortunate Tha Khek

2009-02-13T14:33:00.001+08:00

I had a plan for Tha Khek and that is to do the motorcycle loop into the country side starting and ending in Tha Khek. Travel information and rental services can be found there, specifically Tha Khek Travel Lodge.
Tha Khaek in sight!!
the bus stopped and some man just came and handed me some gum and asked for 5k -_-". I handed it back to him of course!
Tha Khek Travel Lodge - the one place with all the infor you need.
nice setting with campfire every night
One of the cleanest dorm I have ever stayed in.(25k kip=$5)

the loop as the people here calls it, a 3-5 days motorcycle ride into the countryside area the area. It is a dirty, dusty and the ride would be full of ups and downs, literally. There is a travel log book in Tha Khek Travel Lodge with many reviews and it is filled with so much excitement and positive experience with many ending with a "dont hesitate, just go for it". Then i had a problem, i did not want to do it alone for fear that if something happens, i would be in trouble alone. A check with the staff named Pane who told me that the morning there is a group of 5 who already went! Damn! So i decided to stay a day or 2 and hopefully someone who wants to do the loop comes by. In the mean time, i had alot of time on hand to while away. Many travel infor and experiences written by people who went for it
You can see Thailand from here and also the river that i have been with for the past few weeks
Street kids who were very very happy when they saw me cycling past
They kept wanting to take pictures!
Street kid who i stayed and played with for a while
Grilled frogs for you?

After 2 days of waiting!! none who wants to do the loop came. So i decided to leave the next day in a night bus. In the morning, i met Syd, an expat living in laos and he will be visiting one of the rapids around Tha Khek and he asked me and a couple of others at the travel lodge along. Why not? since i have the whole day and nothing to do.
Tranquil setting
quaint river
sleepy riverside
Shy village kids

shortly after, i boarded a night bus filled with flies towards Pakse!

Boring capital of Laos - Vientiane

2009-02-11T12:34:00.001+08:00

Upon reaching Vientiane, i had a very difficult time looking for a place to stay. Being a big city, i would expect there to be a big range of different lodgings. The 3 that i narrowed down to be the cheapest were either full, closed for renovation or is a rubbish dump. The rest of the guesthouse is just downright expensive for its worth. After an hour of searching with my 10kg backpack, I have to bite the bullet and settle for a very basic and clean Joe Guesthouse (50k kip=$10). For this price i am paying, i dont even have a toilet of my own. :(
Joe Guesthouse(50k kip=$10) Ouch!
Decided to talk a walk to the main market in the capital, Talat Sao market. Which also comprises of a bus station and a shopping mall. On the way there, i saw Oliver (Shanghai guy i met in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng) riding a pink bicycle in his bright orange jacket! And the weather is super hot!

Talat Sao shopping mall really resembles MBK shopping center in Bangkok. Lots of clothings, gifts and many pirated stuff to be found.

Openly selling pirated movies!
Talat Sao Shopping Center. Paradise for the female gender
Much-needed chocolate waffle
Many Vietnam-influenced food here

While scouring the streets, i came across this sign Yensabai Show and decided to go check it out. While buying the tickets for the show (US$7), i was greeted by yet another Anehasayo!! by 2 middle age korean ladies who are waiting for the show. Through them, i came to know that this show is partly sponsored and supported by the Korean community and that explained why half of the audience are Koreans and there is even a Korean description about the show. Traditional Laos dance
Stick dance
Little gift at the end
Piece of orange string haha!
And they invite you for a short intro to Laos dance at the end
The end!

Being the capital, Vientiane is rather bland in terms of sights and attractions compared to other towns. For me, the main focus of my stay here would be trying the different varieties of food here. Usually when i eat, i always choose the one full of locals. Even though this noodle soup looks commonly bland, it is by far the best soup i have tasted in Laos. And cheap too 10k kip=$2
Be warned that most shops have menus that look like this, unless you can read Laos. The only way is to point to a random one and hope for the best.
Another popular hole in the wall shop with tasty food. Crispy noodle with beef gravy, my 2nd dinner for the night. (13k kip=$2.50)
Vietnamese food! (again it was very crowded the night before)

The next day i hopped on a bus to Xieng Khuan Buddha Park (5k kip=$1 admission). One of the few sights available in this place. packed to the brim mini bus(5k kip=$1). Take bus no. 14 from Talat Sao bus staion
Weird statue considering this is buddha park. Is this even a buddha?
Arrow to the head!!
Many morecheeky monk! Anyway he was the one who told me that the structure we were on is called the Tree of Thorns where sinners would have to climb. Ouch!
Remember this picture i took for CNY
This is where i was when i took it. We entered through the mouth, climb a series of narrow stairs and emerge at the bottom of the tree at the top! Phew!
Great Stupa, Phat That Luang. An iconic monument in Laos

It cost another 5k kip to go into the compound and i would seriously recommend saving it. There is nothing inside at all, just the fact that you can get close to the Stupa. Truth be told, it looks far more grand from afar.

After just 2 days, Vientiane is starting to bore me. There really is very little to do here and so i decided to move on the next day. My last dinner in the capital of course had to be something special. Went to Ban Anou night market which is a small 20m side alley with a dozen stalls selling all kinds of food. Dinner for tonight? BBQ by the riverside sunset. Street snack made of coconut
BBQ meat, a favourite of Lao people. You can find this practically EVERYWHERE in Laos
Delicious meat jerky. One of the tastiest meat i ever had
Of course, the famous BBQ chicken with a big bag of sticky riceCycled to the riverside together with my food for a sunset picnic!

Next destination, adventourous Tha khaek!

1 month of travelling!! Vang Vieng-Laos!

2009-02-07T15:57:00.017+08:00

"Vang Vieng! Vang Vieng!"the bus conductor shouted from the front of the bus as the bus pulled to a halt in the middle of nowhere.

8.30pm and everywhere is pitch dark. Oliver and me walked on, hoping to find the town center in hope of securing a roof over our head. Problem is we had no idea where we are. Fortunately we chanced upon a GH where we quickly dumped our bags and asked for directions.

We were led to a huge tent area where loud laos music could be head echoing miles away. A wedding party! They had probably 70 over tables full of people, a huge stage with live band and singer and dozens of people dancing laos style in the middle. We asked permission to enter and took some pictures. Our first encounter with laos wedding! Newly weds!Ladies on the "dance floor"
Wedding pictures local and western style
Jan 11 Sunday. This day that marks my first 30 days of travelling! 6 more to go! Time really do flies quickly when you are having fun. On the bus here to vang vieng, we passed by really nice villages and we really wanted to go back and visit these villages. With a motorcycle we rented(58k kip=$10.50) the both of us rode on away towards the highway!
Local laos noodles which looks average and taste heavenly(10k kip=$2)
Cursed motorcycle[40k(rent) + 18k(gas) + 70k(repairs total $23)]
Great views along the wayAccompanied by the river
The first thing we encountered? Yet another wedding! this time on a much smaller scale and situated in the backyard of a house.
Local wedding No.2
Similar to other weddings, the folks would be at the entrance welcoming guests
You can only imagine how much beer is consumed in this 1 day
This is where guest will put their monetary blessings for the couple
Local kids
It is then that we encounter a series of bad luck with our motorcycle. While trying to move off on the motorcycle, out of nowhere the machine lost its balance even before moving and fell on its side, breaking the right brake lever into 2. In order not to let the owner rip us off by charging high for repair, we decided to repair it ourselves which really is quite expensive anyway for a lever(20k=$4).
Fixing the brake lever
Picked ourselves us and sped off away again stopping at a 3 sites along the way. Local delicacies

First one.At the side of the road where many young children ages 4-7 were picking up small rocks. Oliver thinks they are picking it to sell, i however did not think it is the case. We tried to ask and of course they did not understand what we were saying.Nonetheless we helped them with the rocks for awhile. Stop No. 1
Cheese!!

2nd.A village house with super hyper kids. The little boy would shout and wave hello and run into hiding. 2 seconds later, he would emerge and do it again. Whenever i motioned him to come, he would run and hide before being pushed out by his sister. LOL really cute kids Village house
Happy kids
Happiness doesnt mean you need to be wealthy

3rd. We stopped by this long row of Mandarin oranges stalls at the side of the road. We sat down and bought 1kg of orange(5000kip=$1) and out of a sudden, a flock of ladies, teens to young mums came to us. They probably dont see alot of foreigners down here. Talked to them in my every so limited laos and they got really interested in the language guide at the back of oliver's Lonely planet. At the end of the day, we made a few new friends Farm and Sai and a few others i cant remember. As the sun was starting to set, we had to make our way back to avoid riding the dark. Before we left, they even gave us another bag of oranges for free!!! What a kind bunch of people. Mak kiang(orange) for you?
Why is a planet lonely? Ah oliver! popular with the girls!
I cant lose out to him too eh!

As we rode on back, the road seems to be never ending. It didnt felt this far when we came. Every minute past and the sky grew darker. Soon, we were riding in complete darkness. To make things worst, the headlight on the motorcycle was very weak and i could hardly see beyond 5meters(yes i was riding). In order to get back as soon as possible, i started to speed in this empty road. 30mins of 70km/h in darkness, i felt my bike fishtailed! Fortunately i kept calm and not jam my brake which would lead to a fall. A flat rear tire!! What luck. Pushed our way to the nearest repair shop to get a new inner tubing(50k kip=$9). This is the 2nd time we fixed the motorcycle today! Was feeling very shitty that we had to spend 70k kip to fix a motorcycle we spend 40k kip to rent. Fixing our flat tire
As soon as it was done, we continued back again in the dark. Just when i thought the worse is over. We saw a car speeding towards us on a bridge and while trying to avoid it, i had swerved my motorcycle onto the side road pebbles. It started to lose control and we both fell over the skidding machine. Fortunately i had anticipated this and had slowed down considerably. We were hurt with some bruises and scratches and fortunately no bones broken. With blooded knees and palms, we rode on!!

Next we had another problem!! The fuel needle is at EMPTY!! I had to slow down and ride without consuming too much to finally make it back to town!! Lucky for us, the guy who rented us the bike was not around and is replaced by another guy who did not spot the damages on the motorcycle. Small wounds, nothing serious

Clean our wounds and spend the rest of the night in our guesthouse with our aching bodies. Dinner was the ubiquitous banana and chocolate pancake(10k kip=$2) aimed at foreigners in this town. Picture this, roti pratha with banana inside drizzled with chocolate and condensed milk. Mmmh Mmmh! A great way to end an eventful day!Banana and chocolate pancake(roti pratha)!

The next day, Oliver moved on to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. I had been on the move every day since i stepped into laos and needed a day of rest, basically doing nothing. The weather was hot with a hint of sun, perfect to do some tubing. Ask anybody about Vang Vieng and tubing(55k kip=$11) would be the first to come to mind. The name comes from the tractor wheels inner tubing which they inflate and you will use it as a float to drift down the Nam Song River 3km north of town.

A pretty relaxing thing to do i supposed until i realise that the water was going far too slow and if i am late, i would have to pay a "overtime" charge and i would have to be in the freezing water in the dark!! Argh!! Anyway along the river, there would be close to a dozen "bars" of sorts selling all kinds of drinks and full of westerners drinking and jumping away. It is great if you are into that sort of thing.

Fortunately i met Penny, an Australian who i met on the trip to the caves and waterfall(see last post) and she is on a kayak tour! She offered to give me a ride back to town!

Another favourite of vang viengs is the numerous restaurants serving laos and western food. All of which will have a TV or 2 inside screening either Friends, Family guy or Simpson's. If you are going to eat in this town, pick your favourite series instead of the place since the food will be the same no matter where you go.

After a slow and easy day, i am all charged up to move forward again! Plan for today, early kayaking(85k kip=$15) for some caves and immediately hop on a bus for the capital Vientiane.

Fake ocean pack about US$10 each. Quality is better than i expected
Our kayaks!
First up! Water cave!! The name comes from the fact that the whole cave is flooded with water and the only way to get around is to use one of the tractor tubbings and head torch. With our guide leading and singing his traditional laos song, we pulled/paddled our way into it. Even though there was not much to see inside, it is a fun experience. Recommended. Water cave
And off we go!Picnic lunch by the river side! Indescribably heavenly
I know honda dream and honda wave and when did they come up with a honda love?

After lunch we started our 3 hours kayaking down the nam song river, the same river that i had went for tubing the day before. In this tour, i met a few nice people including a guy from poland, a girl each from beijing, shanghai and hongkong. We stopped by one of the "bar" where the poland guy went to do his jump into the river. While doing so, he had left his wallet and camera on the bench covered by his hat. Even though a few of us were standing around there, someone had stole it away while we were watching him jump. A good tip if you are even going to do tubing or kayaking. Always leave your belongings with someone, or better yet, just bring small amount of cash for your drinks and leave everything else in your guesthouse! By bringing it, you risk losing and drowning our valuables!!

Brief instructions by our guide
Hong kong girl with a guide
tubing, a favourite past time of many in Vang vieng Jumping as well, especially when you are drunk

Remember i said i had planned to catch a bus straight after kayaking. Because of my newly made friends, i decided to stay 1 more night and leave early the next morning.... Dinner watching rerun episodes of Friends

It is on this bus that i met the most amusing bus driver i ever met. The moment he start the engine, his endless bus horn begins.. for the next 3.5hours. In a typical case, people horn to warn others of dangers to prevent accidents. For him, even though the next 200m was empty with no cars and no people, he still blast his horn away! Reason for doing so, to tell people he is coming and to take his bus!! Basically he wants to earn more money, so much so that he overcharge even local people which was often rebuked and he offered a refund of the excess anyway. Empty morning streets

Fortunately i had my ear plugs with me...

Luang prabang tourist

2009-01-29T22:03:00.012+08:00

The one unique feature luang prabang offers to people is the big scale alms receiving event held every day. The monks has no possession and requires the alms they receive for food. Throughtout m travelling i have seen quite a few temples and monks receiving alms. I must say luang prabang is the one place monks never have to worry about food.

Woke up very early at 5.30am and many locals were already waiting for the arrival of the monks. They will always have this bamboo made container which they put all their sticky rice. What happens when the monks come is they will pinch half a handful of it and place it in their bowl. They will do this for every single one of them till they have given all away.
Preparing for the alms givingAt struck of dawn, it all begins! The elder monks will lead the novice monks as they walk the town

As it was still early, we decided to head up to phousi(not pussy)hill for sunrise which was disappointing due to the foggy sky.
Stupa at the top ofPhousi hill
The empty streets in the morning

We came back down and there they were again! Lots more monks and even more camera clicking tourist. THere are even vendors selling containers of sticky rice for you to experience it yourself. For a more touristy view of the alms giving, head to the main street at about 7am. You get better lighting with more tourist. Otherwise head out to the other streets at 6am. You will be the only 1 holding a camera.

The plan for today is easy, walk around town and observe and understand the people of this town.

Serene river And local street signs
US100=840,000kip. Change US150 and you will be a millionaire like oliver(Shanghai)
My roomates. Oliver the computer engineer from shanghai, Celine the spa owner from france, Jay the "self employed" from SG

Food in laos is very much influenced by thailand and vietnam, the 2 strong countries decades ago and france who used to colonize laos.

French baguette is widespread in laos due to the french influence.1 with massive toppings cost about 10k kip($2)
Antique cars for the rich
Sun baked sticky rice
Wat in luang prabang
Sticky rice offerings?
Local snack
Steam egg(left), salted sticky rice(top), black rice(right)
Mak kieng(oranges)
Lao people love to party!
Usually with a live bandAnother local delicacy, BBQ!
Mekong riverLocal school girl
Sharing is caring Wat that luang

As we ventured around town, we chanced upon this wat That luang which is not the main highlight in town and is some distance from the town center. Naturally we did not see any other visiting people around. It is in this wat that we met a monk who could speak some english. We sat down and chatted for awhile about our respective countries and we learned that he wants to go to university and be a tour guide in the future when he left the monastry. Other hoobies he has is to watch international soccer. Hard working monk

Luang prabang town
Sun set atop phousi hill

As we venture more into the night, we indulge ourselves at the Red cross association in luang prabang for a herbal sauna and a massage(50k kip=$9 total). Really good and its for a good cause!

The next day, we planned to go out of town to the pak ou caves and khuang xi waterfall. Previous checks with tour agencies is more than 130k kip($24)/pax. Together with 9 others from the slow boat, we decided to charter our own transport to save cost. Figure on around 250k kip to both places on a jumbo. When we walk towards groups of jumbo owner and ask for price, they sorta conspire against us and offer prices of 400k-600k kip. A tip would be look for lone drivers aplenty in town.

Empty streets in the morning

Cute kid and helmet

This road doesnt look anything but it really does rock your bum

Pak ou cave

It is a 30mins of the ride was on good tarmac road. The remaining 1hr is a butt rattling ride to the village opposite the caves where we have to take a exhorbitant boat ride(10k kip=$2) to the caves(20k kip $4).

To be honest, the caves really isnt that interesting. It is good if you just want to do something in luang prabang and if you are short of time, feel free to leave this out.

Group of peeps i went with

Small buddha statues laid across the caves

What you will find here is statues and..

more statues

Gossiping village ladies

Hey you! get back in line!
Next up is khuang xi waterfall(20k=$4) 2 hrs away. The waterfall on the other hand is much better than the caves. There is a nice waterfall at the top with several nice mini waterfall for pictures and swimming.

Bear conservation area in khuang xi waterfall

Many waterfall spots

WIth a couple good for swimming and jumping
The cascading waterfall

Dinner for the night was a sumptuous lao style bbq dinner! It was by far one of the best dinner i ever had in laos

After seeing bbq for so many times, i succumb to the temptation and bought it!(22k kip= $4 with sticky rice)

The next day, oliver and me say our goodbyes to celine would be catching a flight from here. The 2 of us is heading to our next destination vang vieng!!

Went up to a tuk tuk driver and had an interesting exchange

Tuk driver: Where you go? Airport? bus staion?

ME: Que rot mei, Thao dai?(Bus staion, how much?)

Tuk: you 2? ok 30k kip

ME:Bo mi, Ani Peng Mak. Sip phan(no, its too expensive)*starts to walk away

Tuk: Ok ok, come i bring you. Sip phan is lao people price, falang no no.

Me: i know...*grins

When in laos, dont always expect the bus to leave on time. Many a times profit is priorities and drivers wait till the bus is full before moving. Local bus to vang vieng 85k kip($15.50)

Off we head to vang viang!

Throughout the different places and countries i go, tuk tuks vary in different forms

Trusty ride

A couple of falangs(foreigners) and mostly locals :D

I sat beside a lady and her baby girl konta who is absolutely adorable. She keeps making faces and keeping me entertain a good part of the 7 hour ride. I shared with her my baguette take awa and chips and she gave me some fried banans and gum. On board there is a guy with a AK47 rifle. I was told this route used to be robbed often and this explains his presence. Half way in the journey, the driver stopped in the middle of nowhere and everybody got off to relieve ourselves in the view of passing vehicles!! even the ladies! The view between luang prabang and vang vieng is the best i have seen so far dotted with plenty of small villages and sometimes view of locals bathing along the road.
Konta the little girl who sat beside me

Piss off!

Best shot i could take of her.

A kind local who sat beside me during dinner gave me these, being amazed i could speak lao

local food place

So there you go, my little update on the town of luang prabang. It is a town of peace and serenity with very obvious tourism presence. A trip here however is definitely a must in laos.

on a side note, this is the result of a recent survey conducted by no other than me. Everytime people see and talk to me, they will think i am from:

60% korea

30% japan

10% others(china, malyasia and even a cambodia!!)

How about singapore? So far none has guessed correctly that i am from singapore. I guess not many singaporeans travel out of the tourist circle to be noticed that much eh

Little update

2009-01-29T21:13:00.002+08:00

First up a little update on me!!

I think this video sounded alot like a documentary and i looked weird in it. However i was at the best stop of the waterfall and there is a line of people waiting to take pictures so i had no chance to do a retake! Forgive me!

I am doing great guys!!

Happy Chinese New year!!

2009-01-25T21:00:00.000+08:00

Buddha park in Laos capital city Vientiane
I know i know, i have not been back for Christmas, New year and now even CHINESE NEW YEAR!

I am sure you guys miss me just as much as i miss you all!

To my family and all my friends and the 3 groups of relatives i visit every year.

XIN NIAN KUAI LE!!

For those who are really keen to have good luck and fortune this year. You can wire my ang bao money to my bank account. I have put it here to make it easier for everybody :D

POSB saving 126-95894-3 !

I assure you, you will win toto if you do

Adios!