Little update

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!!

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!

Entry into Laos:slow boat to luang prabang (Jan 5-7, Day 24-26)

The moment i stepped into laos, everything is different from Chiang Mai. The most obvious is the cost of everything here. Checked into Friendship GH (40k Kip $7.20) which was the cheapest i could find. Internet is 15k kip ($2.80) per hour compared to 10B ($0.40). Had initially planned to join the gibbon experience where i will zip line in the jungle and live in tree house, however the cost ($325 for 3d2n) stopped me in the end. It is however a good activity to do, not forgetting that the money will go towards preserving the forest.

Welcome to laos!
View of the mekong from my GH, thailand on the opposite bank
The quiet streets of Houay Xia

The very next day, i went to the pier to catch a 2-day slow boat to Luang Prabang (900B$38). I had known prior that it is extremely touristy and the price is outrageous because of it. Little did i expect that 99% of the passenger on it were foreigners (westerners)
Slow boats landing
I boarded half an hour before departure and was glad to see this
10mins past departure, this is what i saw...
To maximize profits, they made the wooden bench extremely small and uncomfortable
50 mins later, we are off!
Fisherman
Little owner of the boat
Small villages on the way
Kids waving to us
Like all westerners, they practically turned the boat into a mini pub. Estimated: 100 people on the boat.
Another option is to take a speed boat which is expensive and dangerous
The sky grew from this...
..to this..
Just at night fall, we arrive at Pak Beng. Our stop for the night. Greeted by many touts for GH.

I knew that to find a better and cheaper GH i would have to walk further away from the pier. So i managed to hunt down 1 for 100B after bargaining. And the room wasnt too bad. I had a double bed all to myself.
My 100B ($3.80) GH
Dinner at funky place
The heater in the GH uses a working fire in it. Gas is much more available than electricity there
Little owner of GH
Peaceful streets of Pak Beng
My first sight of baguette (10k kip $1.80). You can find it anywhere in laos
The next morning, it is another 9hours on the boat again. Bring a book or mp3, it really helps
Many beautiful sights along the way
As well as many vendors selling handicrafts
2 days into Laos, i arrive in Luang Prabang! Overall, the slow boat is an interesting thing to do if you can stand being cramped in an uncomfortable seat and being surrounded by drinking westerners. The views along the way are much better sights to see.

Chiang Mai!! 3 people on a bike!!

I know i know, i have not been updating. I assure everybody that i have a perfectly good reason for it! For the past few weeks i have been involved in so many different activities that lines itselves one after another and there really isnt alot of spare time for me to upload the pictures. I am sure pictures would be more appreciated than words right? And also, the last few occasion which i had the spare time, the internet is either too expensive or too slow. So right now i will sum up my adventure in Chiang Mai!

On christmas eve, I had set myself up on a train from ayuthaya to chiang mai. Expected to reach chiang mai 10hours later at 8pm.

Fortunately i had already pin pointed a GH that i wanted to stay at. Picked up a seelor to town and went to " Julie's GH".(90B $2.50 for a shared double decker bed).After looking around, i have to say, Julie is really the place to be at. Not only is the place cheap, the rooms are funky, you meet lots of travelers and they have all sorts of activities that you can sign up for. Be warn though that they are often full. http://www.julieguesthouse.com/

I was dead beat by the time i unloaded my bag. Even though it was 2 hours to christmas, i decided to head to bed.ZzzZZz

The very next day, i saw my roommate for 10mins and Pooff! he was gone by the time i came back from the toilet.

Went to the reception and all the staff were very shocked surprised to see me in that room! Reason was i had arrived late at night and the owner just let me in without checking me in proper. And since my roommate had just checked out, they all thought that the room was empty.

Went around the old city which was surround in a square moat and 4 gates.
3 King monument
Wat Prah Singh
Boys will be boys, monks or not
Amulet
For alms
Interesting game, hit the ball into the net on top with any parts of your body
Fatty Pork rice 25B $1

After a few detours and 6 hours later. I was back at Julie's! At the same time, my new roommate steve was being shown around. So steve(canada), a lady from france and me sat down and started talking. The usual stuff like where you coming from, where you going to? where have you been before chiang mai etc etc. Later we were joined by Phan(Thai who works at julie).As usual, as the night falls, the westerners will need their daily dosage of alcohol. So steve and the lady left for "Roof top bar"(which he went every single day he is in chiang mai), while Phan offered to bring me for supper on her motorcycle. At the eatery, i got to know more about her and the life of people in chiang mai.

After she had completed her university, she had left her village and came to the city to work. Started off with a salary of 4500B/month($193) and slowly increase to 9000B($386) of which 2000B/month($85) goes to her 1 room apartment rent which she stays in. I was shocked, this amount which others earn in a month is even less than what i had in my wallet at that time. This amount is sometimes what children in singapore get just to spend. We singaporeans are really very very lucky to have a good education, family financial support and not having the need to worry so much about money. Some singaporeans are just too pampered and don't know that there are so many people who would want to have half the equal opportunity as us, yet we always complain and want more.
Phan!
Supper!

I had promised some people that i would cook a dish from each country when i get back. I really don't wished to be charged for murder because of it so i went to sign up for a cooking class!!(800B $34) at Pad thai cooking school. The teacher who is named Meow was hilarious. The dishes are simple enough to make and we get to eat it after cooking. A cookery book is provided at the end.

Our guide for the market tour BBQ Innards Eggs Cooking time! My school mates, Meow in the middle Pad thai! And its gone! Fried spring rolls Stir fried chicken with cashew nuts Papaya salad Masala curry Cooking certificate!! i am a master chef!!! *No insurance would be provided for those who wants to try my cooking A thai girl, a farang and a asian guy on a bike. We 3 actually rode on it together to save the tuk tuk ride. HAHAHAHAHAHAH! it was fun!!!!

Another highly acclaimed activity in Chiang Mai is the trekking. There are tons and tons of different companies offering treks of different kind. It pays to ask around, especially from people who just came back from it. Steve, phan and me choose the 2D1N village trekking(1300B $55) Off we go!

On the way, we stopped at a market where our guides went to buy our dinner. Steve being curious went to buy a bag of insects... Steve's huge bug My half eaten grass hopper Orange, very very good in thailand and cheap too

First up is the elephant riding. The ride was shaky but nice however i felt they were exploiting the elephants to make them work. Baby elephant following its parent Me on the elephant!

3 hours of walking later, we saw the "Lahu" village!! Lahu village in sight! Finally we arrive! Our outdoor toilet :D Our home for the night Our trekking group(1 singaporean, 1 thai, 1 canadian, 3 french,2 from belgium and 1 from scotland)

Using the remaining minutes of sunlight, we went to take a walk around the village with company of a young village girl. Really fortunate that we have a thai speaker with us :D Sunset on the mountains Phan with village lady Our guides cooking dinner Phan asked this kid in thai "are you a boy?"(nods head). She then asked "are you a girl?"(nods head)

After dinner, we ventured out into the darkness and to a bench we were at earlier. What awaits us over there is probably 1000 or more stars in the sky! It was the first time i saw the whole sky carpetted with so so so so so many stars!!!! It was freezing at that time but we didnt not want to leave. We just laid there in the cold. Nitaya! Her and her mum takes care of us in the hut Star Having fun in the dark

The next day, we hike back down from the village to our rafting point where we did white water rafting, there were a few nice rapids which would be very much more exciting in the wet season. Straight after was thebamboo rafting which is more like bamboo submarine.. haha! nonetheless it was fun! Gigantic view Village 7-11 Morning supa takraw excercise

Overall the trekking trip was very good and our guide Pu Sak was hilarious with his catch phrase "Why not?" and his humour. Go do it if you are there and look for him at TIC trekking.

The last highlight of chiang mai is my day trip up to a Wat doi supted, the wat on a mountain overlooking chiang mai. To get there would require a ride on the local transport or a motorcycle. Speaking of motorcycle, i had a small accident on one a few days ago in laos. Fortunately i kinda forsee it seconds before happening and had slowed down considerably. Nothing is broken both on me and the motorcycle so dont worry. That is a story for the next time. The stupa having a facelift Overlooking Chiang Mai city Children busking at the entrance Thais love their king Temple Money for good luck Bells for praying Sticky rice snack This the exciting roads that i had to ride in

Every weekend in chiang mai, there is a night market where food, clothes, souveniors and many other things can be found. The Saturday market and Sunday market are on a different street. So ask the people at your GH. Saturday Night Market Egg on a stick Special egg

In a blink of an eye, i had stayed almost 2 weeks in chiang mai. I reckon i will be back again. Compared to bangkok, chiang mai is a far better place to go to. The cost is cheap, food are great, the people friendly, there are no tuk tuk drivers haressing you even though if you need a tuk tuk, there will be one waiting at each corner. Now i truely understand why so many people never go back to bangkok after coming to chiang mai.

Since i had overstayed in chiang mai, i decided to skip chiang rai and head straight for laos. I know i will be back again and chiang rai can easily fit into my plans again. Chiang Mai Bus station

3 hours bus into chiang rai(169B $7.30) and another 2.5hours to chiang khong(65B $2.80) the thailand laos border, i could see laos from across the river. Gateway to Indo China Laos on the other side Off we go! Bye Thailand!
The moment i crossed into laos, i realise everything is totally different from chiang mai....