Lorna and Joan's Travel Blog

Last days in Bangkok

2007-01-20T22:40:00.000+11:00

We had a fantastic trip! We made it home safely on 18 January. We spent our last days in Bangkok shopping and looking around town. In front of one of the new shopping centres is a beautiful Erawan shrine, where locals come to give offerings and can make a donation which funds the performance of traditional Thai dancers and musicians.

We also went to Jim Thompson's House. He developed the Thai silk trade after WWII. His house was really beautiful, traditional Thai style with lovely gardens.

Bangkok

2007-01-15T22:12:00.000+11:00

We are back in Bangkok now. We arrived late on the 13th after a really long day! In Sihanoukville they told us the trip took 12 hours but it ended up taking 15+ hours. We left at 7am and it took about 6 hours to get to the border. The roads were reasonable for half of the trip until we reached the point where they were still building the roads. It wasn't too bad until we crossed into Thailand and the driver was taking bribes from people to get dropped off in different places so it ended up taking forever! In order for him to catch up on time he was going 140 km/h down the express way! We were so glad to get here! Yesterday we took the skytrain to Chatuchak, a huge market and ended up spending the whole day there. Today we went to some of the newer shopping centres in town to do some last minute shopping. We are flying home on Jan 17.

Sihanoukville...Day 4

2007-01-12T22:35:00.000+11:00

We have spent the past couple of days on the beach relaxing and going swimming and having the local kids jumping all over us. The little kids run into the water with empty water bottles and use them as floaties. Sihanoukville is beautiful and the weather has been perfect. Local restaurants set up BBQs at night with fresh seafood! We are sad to leave but we have to take a bus to Bangkok early tomorrow morning.

Sihanoukville

2007-01-10T20:30:00.000+11:00

We were sad to leave Phnom Penh but we are running out of time before we have to be back in Bangkok to fly home. We said goodbye to the kids and took a bus to Sihanoukville on Monday afternoon. We arrived 4 hours later and finally found a place to stay. The next day we walked a block down to Ochheuteul beach. It is so beautiful and we just stayed there all day. There are little restaurants set up all the way along the beach and locals walk by all the time carrying different foods on thier heads, looking for a sale. They sell little lobsters for 25 cents each and young girls can make a bracelet with your name in it for a couple of dollars. Today was another lazy day on the beach.

Phnom Penh...Day 6

2007-01-07T18:48:00.000+11:00

Today is a public holiday in Cambodia for remembering the victory over the Khmer Rouge. We went to see the kids dancing last night and were talking to one of the older boys. "Why is it a holiday?" He replied, "Genocide." Then he asked "You have it in Australia?" We said "no" and he asked "why not?" So today we decided to take all the kids to the waterpark. We all piled into the van with half of the kids sitting on the roof! We all had so much fun. Some of the younger kids can't swim so the older ones look out for them. The staff who look after them had just as much fun as the kids!

We are sad to leave but tomorrow we are taking the bus to Sihanoukville.

Phnom Penh...Day 5

2007-01-06T20:35:00.000+11:00

The last 2 days we have spent relaxing and going to the markets to do some shopping. Yesterday we took a tuk tuk to the Russian Market where they have just about everything!

This morning we went back to the Central Market which is only a few blocks from where we are staying. In the afternoon we walked over to the National Museum where they have some beautiful Khmer sculptures, many from around Angkor. There was also an exhibition of some of Rodin's photography from when he visited Cambodia and some sketches of Khmer dance.

Phnom Penh...Day 3

2007-01-04T21:26:00.000+11:00

Today we did a cooking course through the Frizz Restaurant. Our teacher took us around the local market first to buy fresh ingredients. The first thing we made was sayong jayk, which is chicken wrapped in banana flower then deep fried. Next we made a green curry paste which we made for kari baitongh saich moan, which is green chicken curry. Then we made fish amok, the national dish, made from fish, coconut milk and curry paste. All the ingredients are mixed together and put in a banana leaf with coconut cream on top, then steamed. Finally for dessert we made num pra pei ney, which are Cambodian ceremonial cakes wrapped in banana leaves. Everything was really delicious and we had a beautiful view over the Mekong.

Lorna's amok
Joan's amok

Phnom Penh...Day 2

2007-01-03T22:10:00.000+11:00

We went to see the kids this morning and gave them the presents we got for them yesterday. They all remembered going to the waterpark last Christmas. As soon as we got there they rushed to pull off our shoes so we could go inside then they ran to show us the photo album we had sent them last year. The girls especially liked the headbands and nail polish and painted our nails. The boys had toy cars, keychains, flying balloons and other things.
In the afternoon we walked to the Central Market to do some shopping then spent the rest of the day walking around town.

Update

2007-01-02T01:51:00.000+11:00

Hi everyone. We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Sorry we haven't been able to update the blog since we left Vientiane. So here's the update...from Vientiane we caught an overnight bus to Pakse then decided to continue on so we took 5 songthaews and a boat to Champasak. Champasak was a very small town so we hired bicycles and went out to Wat Phu Champasak, a beautiful pre-Angkor temple on top of the mountain. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and was built from the 6-13th century. A nearby museum has collected stone sculptures from the site but there are still several left in the temple.

From Champasak we went to Don Khong in the 4000 islands where we spent Christmas Day. We found a little guesthouse where a Lao woman baked a turkey dinner, it was fantastic!

The next day we took a minibus to the Cambodian border. It was down a dirt path with a wooden shed on either side. We were lucky and only had to bribe them 3 USD each to stamp our passports. From the border we took another mini bus to Stung Treng where we decided to go to Ban Lung, Ratanakiri. The dirt road was really bad but we got there. We spent 4 nights in Ban Lung. The first day we rode bicycles down the dirt roads out to the crater lake. It was a really nice place to swim but we were orange from the dust by the time we got back. The next day we went out to a Chunchiet Cemetery, which is the cemetery of the Tompuon minority. Family groups are buried together in the forest under a shelter with life like wooden effigies and carved elephant tusks on either side. These included pregnant women, women wearing jewelery and men wearing police uniforms, a mobile phone, revolver and sunglasses. On the way back we stopped at a 200 year old Chinese and Lao village. On our final day, we went elephant trekking. It was so fun! It took 3 hours to go through the rubber plantations, to the waterfall and back again.

We left Ban Lung and got a crazy bus driver going back. He was going so fast and the road was full of potholes that we were airbourne 4 times, this was made worse because the seats weren't secured to the floor. Thank God we finally made it to Kratie. Kratie was a nice little town on the Mekong River. We spent 2 nights there and took motos out in the afternoon to see the freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins. Although they are rare we saw alot of them.
Yesterday we got up early to get the bus to Phnom Penh. After 20 minutes the driver pulled over and the assistant grabbed the tool kit. We knew this wasn't a good sign. He continued on another 10 minutes before pulling over, turning off the ignition and yelling "smoke!". Oh my God the bus was on fire in the middle of nowhere!!! Everyone got off and sat on the side of the road for about an hour, until another bus came to pick everyone up, except us! "No worry, another car coming in 10 minutes". Well another car didn't come, but 2 more hours later another overloaded bus came by and we crammed on. The trip that should have taken about 5 hours ended up taking 10 1/2 hours. We were so glad to get here! We walked over to the restaurant where the kids from the orphanage we saw last time do their dancing. The staff remembered us and they brought out 2 of the children to see if they remembered us too. They did and one of them recited everything in a Christmas present we had given all the children last year. Then all the children came out to see us and told us they missed us.

Today we went to the market to get presents for the kids and we are going to see them again tomorrow.

Vientiane...Day 4

2006-12-22T21:12:00.000+11:00

This morning we went to the Temple of The Heavy Buddha which houses a bronze Buddha image which is several tonnes. The monks were really friendly there and they were reading magazines inside.

In the afternoon we went to the Lao National Museum which is in the former French Governor's mansion. There were many displays related to the French colonialists and the American imperialists. Also on display was the former President's exercise equipment. Towards the end there was a special display of confiscated heroin and amphetamines in a glass case as well as tools used by "bad elements" to steal motorcycles.

Tonight we are taking the overnight bus to Pakse.

Vientiane...Day 3

2006-12-21T20:28:00.000+11:00

Today we got a tuk tuk 24 km out of town to the Buddha Park. It was a beautiful park on the banks of the Mekong, opposite Thailand. It was full of Buddhist and Hindu sculpture by a man who merged the two philosophies. There was a huge reclining Buddha and a pumpkin shaped monument which you could go inside of. Inside you could walk through earth, heaven and hell on different levels and on the top there were great views of the entire park.

Vang Vieng to Vientiane

2006-12-20T21:11:00.000+11:00

The day before yesterday we went tubing down the Nam Song River. It was 4km and took about 3 hours. It was so relaxing!!! There were lots of little places to stop along the way and the Laos would throw out a stick to pull you to shore. Towards the finish little kids ran out to help us get to the end by using our thongs as paddles.

Yesterday we got a real 'VIP' bus to the captial, Vientiane. The bus had air-conditioning so its top speed was only 30 km per hour but it got us here. We found a nice place to stay and found a really lovely restaurant built in an old French colonial mansion.

Today we rented bicycles and rode out to Patuxai first. It is similar to the Arc de Triomphe but referred to as "a monster of concrete" but it did have nice views from the top. It was built from American cement which was donated for a new airport so the locals call it "the vertical runway".

Next stop was Pha That Luang, the Lao national momument. It was beautiful and completly covered with gilt gold.

Next we went to Wat Si Saket, an amazing temple with 1000 niches containing a 1000 pairs of Buddha images. The inside of the main Wat had painted murals on the walls which were nearly 200 years old. There was a storage area for broken and melted Buddha images from the 1828 war with Thailand.

Finally we went to Wat Si Muang which houses the city pillar and is therefore the home of the City Guardian Spirit. On a little pillow there was a stone Buddha and we watched people lift it off the pillow as they asked it questions.

Vang Vieng

2006-12-18T15:05:00.000+11:00

The guesthouse in Phonsavan offered to take a group of us back to the bus terminal in a van. We were in a rush and they pointed to an old van with a flat battery. "If you push, it will start". We were staying outside an old Russian airstrip and everyone joined in pusing this van around the strip. A Dutchman finally said these vans won't turn over on a push. A jeep was pointed out. "Go in that!" We piled in but all couldn't fit. Lorna took off running to the main street to track down a tuk tuk. Those remaining decided to take over the jeep. We could get it started but no one could drive it so back to pushing the van. Suddenly they could take us in a real van if we paid an exorbidant amount. No! So the man who orignally was going to take us ran away and hid. Luckily Lorna came back with a tuk tuk. We piled in and made it to the terminal with a minute to spare. A "VIP" bus turned out to be an old crappy bus with rice bags and boxes down the isle and live chickens on the seats. Only 5 hours of driving through the mountains and locals being sick and we were in Vang Vieng, one of the most beautiful places we've ever been. We are right on the river and will go tubing down the river this afternoon.

Phonsavan

2006-12-16T20:16:00.000+11:00

Left Luang Prabang yesterday morning after seeing 300+ monks recieving their morning alms. We got a tuk tuk to the bus station and got on the oldest and crappiest bus in the station. We knew we were in trouble when we saw plastic seats in the isle. When they finished overloading the bus and rechecked everyone's tickets 3 times we were off. It wasn't a good sign when we were handed plastic sick bags because we were sitting in the back. It was bad!!! Driving through the mountains for 8 hours. Many of the locals got sick along the way and we were SO happy to get to Phonsavan. Today we went out on a day tour from our guesthouse. We stopped at The Plain of Jars first. It was amazing!There were 343 huge stone jars scattered across the hills. Nobody knows why they are there but they are 2500-3000 years old. One had a figure of a person carved into it and there was only 1 with a lid. From there we went to see a hill that was covered with bomb craters from the secret US bombing during the Vietnam War and our guide showed us a live bomb in the middle of the field! From there we went to a Hmong village where are guide was from. Many of the houses were built with the shells of huge bombs. We saw how they make Lao Lao, a distilled rice whisky (45% alcohol). Our guide's uncle invited us to his house to celebrate the Hmong New Year. We walked in and there was a huge pig hanging from the ceiling. We sat down and they passed around Lao Lao and explained the ritual of drinking it. When that was finished they gave us all this food! There was sticky rice, pork, pumpkin soup and vegetables. We were each offered a piece of pork fat and by eating it would bring good luck to the village for the year. The meal ended with more shots of Lao Lao. Everyone was so friendly and I'm sure they saw us as the local entertainment.

Luang Prabang...Day 3

2006-12-14T23:19:00.000+11:00

Started the day at Wat Wisunarat, the city's oldest temple. It is famous for its 'watermelon' stupa. The temple had several gilded wooden Buddhas inside. Next door was Wat Aham which was covered in 100 murals inside. From there we walked to Wat Thammothayalan, a monastery which was at the top of the hill overlooking the city. There was a cave shrine, a Russian anti-aircraft cannon and a Buddha footprint. Next to the Wat was a huge golden stupa that is lit up at night. There were amazing views from the top.
This afternoon we got a bus to Tat Kuang Si waterfalls. It was so beautiful and the water was light blue. The main waterfall was huge and there were several swimming areas below. In the area there is a rescued tiger and Asiatic moon bears.
Decided to splurge on a nice restaurant tonight. Had 4 waiters looking after us, more food than we could eat and our glasses we refilled every 5 minutes. Total bill... $11.10.

Luang Prabang...Day 2

2006-12-13T19:42:00.000+11:00

Last night we checked out half of the night markets which starts just outside our guesthouse. They have some really beautiful Hmong handicrafts and the typical tourist t-shirts as well. Today we went to the Royal Palace Museum where the Royal family lived until they were taken away and sent to a cave prison by the Pathet Lao (Lao Communists) in 1977. They all died within 4 years. The grounds were beautiful! There were reception halls with murals painted on the walls and the King and Queen's bedrooms were left in their original state. There was a room full of diplomatic gifts from foreign countries, including a boomerang from Australia and a moon rock from the US (cheap compared to the gifts from countries like Burma and Cambodia). Outside they are building a temple which was planned by the monarchy but not started until after their deaths. When it is finished it will hold the country's most important Buddha image. Tonight we are going to see a performance by the Royal Ballet Theatre.

Luang Prabang, Laos

2006-12-12T17:23:00.000+11:00

We FINALLY made it to Luang Prabang after 3 days since leaving Chiang Mai. We took a bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong where we crossed the border to Huay Xai. The next morning we got on a boat to Pak Beng. The boat was CRAP!!! The boat was only 5 1/2 hours but we had to get on 1 1/2 hours earlier to reserve a plank of wood to sit on. We arrived in Pak Beng (aka Rat Town) at dusk and found a crap shack to stay. We knew it was going to be bad... but it was much worse!!! The bed had fleas but we were lucky there were no rats! Lorna was really sick during the night and it was even worse because there was no electricity. The next morning we got back on the boat 1 1/2 hours earlier, again. This boat was more up market because it had a few mini van seats. The scenery was nice and shortly after we left we saw a wild elephant on the beach that had come down from the mountains. 8 hours later we arrived in Luang Prabang. We have never been so glad to get some where! We found a cute place called the Luang Prabang Bakery Guesthouse with the night markets just outside. Today we walked to Wat Xieng Thong, the most beautiful Wat in town. It had a royal funerary carriage house with funeral urns for members of the royal family. There was an ordination hall and a rare reclining Buddha. The outside of the building was covered in glass mosaics of village life.

Chiang Mai...Day 3

2006-12-08T20:30:00.000+11:00

Had an easy day today. Got a Sawngthaew (pick-up truck with 2 benches in the back) 16km up the mountian to Doi Suthep. We walked up the 307 steps to the top where there is a beautiful temple and amazing views of Chiang Mai. In one of the temples we were blessed by a monk with holy water and the monk's assistant (monks can't touch women) tied a white bracelet around our left wrists for good luck. An elephant carrying a relic of Buddha picked the site and there is an amazing gold stupa there with 5 tiered umbrellas. It is one of the holiest temples in the North.

Chiang Mai

2006-12-07T20:43:00.000+11:00

We caught a bus from Ayuthaya to Chiang Mai on Tuesday night. It was the King's birthday that day so the bus couldn't come into town so we were picked up by 2 motos and driven to a cafe where we got a tuk tuk back past where we started out and to the highway. The bus met us on the other side of 4 lanes of traffic so we had to run to the other side with all our bags. The bus was crap!!! Mum said the bus she took to Chiang Mai 25 years ago was alot better because it had shock absorbers and a gear box. We arrived 10 hours later and found a little guesthouse after 4 attempts, not many vacancies in town. Had a rest then walked to the night bazaar (700 metres long and on both sides of the street). So many stalls and interesting things for sale.

Hand carved soaps

Hairclips

Today we walked around town to see some Wats. The first was Wat Chiang Man, the oldest Wat in town with crystal and marble Buddhas.

Then we walked past the Three Kings Monument.

From there we walked to Wat Phan Tao, a beautiful teak building with a big golden Buddha.

Next stop was Wat Chedi Luang, built in 1441 with a huge stupa restored by UNESCO with full sized elephants and a replica of the Emerald Buddha.

Then we went to see Wat Phra Singh, the most visited temple in Chiang Mai. As we were leaving we passed a parade with a school marching band and monks!

The last stop was Wat Prasat, the oldest unreconstructed temple in Chiang Mai. It was beautiful with gold stencils of Buddha's life painted on the walls.

Tomorrow we are going to Doi Suthep, a temple on a hillside just out of town. Then we are taking a bus to the Thailand/Laos boarder the following day.

Ayuthaya...Day 3

2006-12-05T21:03:00.000+11:00

It's the King's 79th birthday today! Everyone is wearing yellow t-shirts!

We hired bicycles again today. Rode through traffic jams to Wat Yai Chai-Mongkol which had a large chedi in memory of the King's victory over the Burmese. There were several Buddha images and a beautiful reclining Buddha. We walked into the chedi and there were heaps of bats on the ceiling.

Next we rode over to Wat Phanan Choeng, a temple with a huge Buddha inside, so big you can't even fit it in a photograph. It was absolutely packed inside, we think it's a public holiday because of the King's birthday.

Went back to the Malakor for lunch then went next door so Lorna could get a white mud massage, SO RELAXING!!!

Catching the 10+ hour bus to Chiang Mai tonight.

Ayuthaya...Day 2

2006-12-04T20:46:00.000+11:00

We hired bicycles today to visit some to the temples and ruins around town.

The first was Wat Ratburana which was built for 2 Princes who wanted the throne after the King's death, but died fighting each other in battle. We walked down into the crypt which has 600 year old murals painted on the walls.

Wat Mongkhon Bophit was used for royal cremations and has one of the largest bronze Buddhas in Thailand which is completly covered in gold.

Wat Phra Si Sanphet was the site of the Royal Palace and there are 3 chedis which contain the remains of 3 Kings. Beautiful ruins but most of it was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767.

Wat Lokayasutharam is an amazing reclining Buddha draped in orange cloth. It is 37 metres long and 8 metres tall.

Wat Na Phra Meru was the only temple that wasn't destroyed during the Burmese invasion. There was an emormus gold Lord Buddha dressed as a prince which is very rare. Next door there was a little temple with a 1300 year old Buddha made from green stone. We bought 2 amulets there and one of the monks blessed them for us for protection.

The Chedi of Queen Suriyothai holds the ashes of a Queen who went to battle on an elephant dressed as a man because she was worried about her husband. She was killed by the Burmese General.

Going to check out a few more ruins tomorrow before we catch the overnight bus to Chiang Mai.

Ayuthaya

2006-12-03T23:31:00.000+11:00

We got a mini bus from Kanchanaburi and were sad to leave the VN Guesthouse. Our driver stopped at just about every petrol station along the way to have a smoke haha! We arrived in Ayuthaya this afternoon and decided to stay at the Baan Suan, a really lovely guesthouse with the cutest bungalows. We walked down the road to Wat Phra Mahathat, a royal monastery that has been in ruins since 1767. There was a Buddha head completly surrounded by sacred Bodhi tree roots. Tomorrow we are going to check out the other ruins around town by bicycle. The following evening we plan to catch a night bus up to Chiang Mai.

Kanchanaburi...Hellfire Pass

2006-12-02T22:24:00.000+11:00

Had an early start this morning. Headed out to beautiful Sai Yok waterfalls first then Hindad hot springs before we went to Hellfire Pass. There's a great museum and memorial setup there. We had a look around there then followed the steep path down to Hellfire Pass, the most difficult stretch of the Thai Burma Railway. The Aussies worked 18 hours/day during the Japanese speedo to complete the cutting through solid rock using hand tools. It was really sad but a must see for any Aussie. Part of the Death Railway still exists and we travelled along it for about 30 km in an old local train.

Kanchanaburi...Day 2

2006-12-01T23:04:00.000+11:00

Started the day at the Thailand-Burma Railway Centre full of WWII artifacts. In the afternoon we got in the back of a truck and drove out to the Tiger Temple, 35km out of town. It was awesome!!! We walked to the Tiger Canyon where there were 11 tigers. The Thai's took us around one by one to pat the tigers who just had leashes on and were squirted with water when they misbehaved. We saw the Abbot (the head Monk) and Lorna got her photo taken with him. He was so nice! "Where you come from? You take tiger home". Tomorrow we have an early start to go out to Hellfire Pass and the Bridge over the River Kwai.

Kanchanaburi...it's still HOT!

2006-11-30T21:32:00.000+11:00

We arrived in Kanchanaburi this morning. Got picked up from our guesthouse in Bangkok early and it only took 2 hours to get here (driver averaged 110 km/hr). Glad to make it after our driver just avoided a crash with a truck. We are staying on a raft at the VN Guesthouse on the River Kwai. It is so cute and has beautiful views. We walked to the Allied WWII cemetary and the JEATH Museum this afternoon. Tomorrow we are going to the Tiger Temple and the day after we are planning to take a day trip out to Hellfire Pass.