The Far East, part 1

supertramper (50)in #travel • 8 years ago

To start this story I would like to advise future travellers. ALWAYS have back-up money/credit card with you.

THAILAND
I decided to explore south east Asia for a month or two in 2013. I say a month or two because keeping track of time while you travel might not be that important. I started in south Thailand on an island named Ko Samui. The first week or so I only attended events with other people from the party, and chilled at the pool. Second day there I managed to lose my phone, and this was the first time I have ever lost anything while travelling. I was gutted and annoyed, but on the other hand I was thinking it might be quite good to be disconnected from my "normal" life. Unless you are planning a vacation were swimming and chilling on the beach is the main objective then I wouldn not recommend checking out Ko Samui and Ko Pha Ngan (the neighbouring island). If you are going to Thailand to party and snorkel then I would say you would be pretty pleased with this destination.

After my time on the islands I took a boat up to the mainland. It was hilarious. The sea was rather rough and there were plenty of locals spewing. Perhaps it was their first voyage.
I hit the mainland and jumped on a bus that took me to Bangkok. In Bangkok I changed buses and spent hours looking at the country side while waiting to get to Nong Khai on the border of Laos. At the border I got plenty of help from a local. I basically knew I got swindled, but I did not really mind paying a little bit extra.

LAOS
I got to Vientiane safe and sound, and started exploring the city by foot with my huge backpack.

The story of this triumph arch is that the government of Laos got loads of concrete to build an airport but decided to build this arch instead.

The Mekong River, 12th longest river in the world.

From Vientiane I went to Vang Vieng by bus, and if you do not like bus trips on windy, bumpy gravel roads then bring some effective sleeping pills :-p Vang Vieng is know for their famous tubing tradition. You rent a big donut and they take you up river, where you jump into the donut and start sailing dowstreams. On each side of the river there are bars, and they got people standing on the riverside throwing a rope with a bottle at the end so people can be pulled ashore. The bars usually have local alcohol, volleyball or basketball courts and plenty of tourists from all over the world. At one time they supposedly had 21 bars along this stretch of the river. BUT if you every go here be sure to get to the town before it gets dark!!! It was almost pitch black by the time we managed to get our arses back to town. Time flies when you are drinking and smoking local herbs :-p Shitfaced and high as a kite I lost my wallet. For some reason I did not empty my wallet of cards that I did not need. So I ended up losing my bank card, drivers license and a whole bunch of other less important cards. However the most annoying part was that my wallet was a crocodile skin souvenir from Zimbabwe. I was smart enough to have extra cash stashed away and I had a spare credit card in case I lost my bank card....and for obvious reasons I did not manage to take too many photos in this little town, but here are some..

Then I was off to Luang Prabang. It was a hellish bus ride. I do not generally think I will die young but 13-14 hours on this bus almost made me rethink my life. I was sure we would drive off a cliff at any time. This was at night and you could see lights waaaaay down in the valleys. The bus driver was driving as if he had bi polar disorder. Pedal to the metal on the short stretches, break before a turn and pedal to the metal halfway into the turn. It was crazy! According to a friend who drove the same route you could see buses down in the bush on the hillsides. But if you want to explore new places you got to risk something..I got to know new people everywhere and quite a few were taking the same route as myself. So by the time I got to Luang Prabang I got a new American friend. We ended up sharing a room in the city, and I have never ever slept in such a cheap place. I think we paid 2,5 Euros per night. The town of Luang Prabang was rather interesting. Some of the architecture must have been from the time when Europeans influenced this part of the world. Funny fact from this town: When all bars/clubs close and you think all the waterholes are shut. The bowling alley will most likely be open :-D and they serve beer...