Well, one more time it's a lot to tell..
I left Vientiane to go to Xaysomboun on the 14th. After dozens of different things heard about the possible-or-not ways to go there, I eventually found a bus in Vientiane and the guy even said "from Vientiane you can go everywhere in Lao". He was right but the bus didn't go by Vang Vien like he thought, and rather by the east of Vientiane, through a nice road I hadn't seen before. After 11 hours of mountains roads, during which a nice Lao guy tried to talk to me half in Lao half in english, I got there. It's really beautiful there, high mountains with a bit of karst on it, and everything is soooo green. The city is not particularly nice or interesting, but the areas arround are, and if you walk 5 minutes you can see Phu Bia, 2800m high :), which is like 2km away from the town.
In short, this place was controlled by the CIA for a long time, and the Hmong people were fighting along with them, against the Lao army. They opened it to public in 2007, and I was apparently the first foreigner to go there. Therefore it was fun but not really easy, and they didn't know how to deal with me (it's not like in a village in the jungle where everything seems so simple).
No guesthouse available (or at least they didn't want me to stay) so I had to go to a hotel were the owner didn't speak a single word of english.. I improved my Lao a little bit. On the day after I met quite a lot of citizens, eather Hmong or Lao people, and I could talk with a couple of them that spoke english, it was very nice. Then I asked about possibilities to trek arround to the Hmong villages, but they were telling it was dangerous. Apparently it was true about the Phu Bia, but it seemed it was OK on the other side, so I took a nice nice nice walk there in the afternoon.
Sorry I can't put any pics from here..
I didn't know whether to try to go the Hmong villages on the days after, or go back to Vientiane, but when the Police came to find me in the restaurant I was eating in for dinner, it fixed my mind. They took my passport and I had to pay them to get it back on the morning after. Fortunately a very nice Hmong guy, english speaker, was with me and could negociate with them. Thus I left to head south of Lao: 11h bus back to Vientiane, 30min waiting there and 16h bus to Pakse in a row, in a bus with a broken battery, so lights were off when the driver were not accelerating.... Next time in Lao, I'll stop on the way though.
Anyway, once in Pakse I took directly another bus to the country side, a place called Tad Lo.
Tad Lo was sooooo relaxed, it was unbeleivable. The owner of the guesthouse is one of the nicest guy I met in my trip. We cooked with him and he showed us everything. We talked with him a lot, we shared meal with his family, rooms were very nice and cheap, etc etc. So I spent 3 nights there, and did walk around to waterfalls, rent a motorbike to visit the Boloven Plateau and enjoyed meals with very nice Lao and western people :) These times are part of the best I spent in Lao.
But since I had decided to go in the south of Lao, I thought I should take a look to other places, and therefore came to Champasak yesterday. I met a surprising Lao man that had lived in the US for 30 years in the bus by the way, but I'm afraid I can't tell about everything here ^^
This morning I went to visit Wat Phu, an Angkor-style temple from the 10th century, it was great as well.
Tomorrow I'll keep going south to the for thousands islands on the Mekong river for my last days in Lao. It's supposed to be even more relaxed than here... if it's true then it's close to a time crack.
Then on Tuesday morning I'll leave there to get back to Paksé and cross the border to Thailand. I'll try to sleep in Ayutaya and spend some time there on Wednesday, and I'll go catch my flight back to Paris at night. I'll be back on Thursday morning!
Saturday 21 August 2010
Friday 13 August 2010
Nong Khiaw - Luang Prabang - Vang Vien - Vientiane
Have to catch up, so I'll summarize a little bit :)
So I left Luang Nam Tha to go to Nong Khiaw, still not sure about my plans, but I met a really nice french guy in the bus. In the beggining I thought he was the exact copy of my brother, but he actally also had a little bit from another guy I know (big up Hugues ^^). Anyway I spent two days with him in Nong Khiaw, very beautiful and soooooo relaxed there! Real Lao people!
We were thinking about going to Mong Ngoi and then Sam Neua, but somehow we totally changed plans and decided to head south to Luang Prabang by boat. Nice boat drive on the Nam Ou, and we reached the old capital. It's a cute and old city, with a lot of temple, a lot of beautiful waterfall arround, and a lot of tourists. Prices and busyness changed from one extreme to another. We spent two nights a nice day there anyway. After this time I was supposed to meet Elsa, and I (and the other french guy too) was teared apart about our plan. I didn't know whether to keep on going on the tourist road: Vang Vien and Vientiane, but then be able to go south before the end of my trip, or to stick in the north of Lao, with nature, relaxed people and ethnic groups. I decided I would come back another time and we went south to Vang Vien.
We succeed to find a guesthouse in a farm, out of this junky-english-teenage city where we spent two other nights. The city got ugly with ***** tourists, but the areas arround are amazing, sorry to repeat myself again :) We rented bicycles for a day, discovered the country side and did quite good caving, nice!
Then I didn't wanna go to Vientiane and instead go to a small town that's open to tourists for only few years, in the east of Vang Vien, called Saisoumboune. Unfortunatly it's quite a mess to there, and everyone told me to go to Vientiane first, and catch a bus from there. So here I am, in the capital for few hours. It's not amazing here, and I'm really keen to leave to the mountains again tomorrow. There is the highest in Lao, and the region is more or less under control of Hmong people apparently. I hope I can go there, and get back by another way, cause I don't wanna come back here, and I wanna take a quick look in the south before heading back to Bangkok. The french guy went directly south to make a long trek in the jungle... well... I'll do a safer version of what he does next time.
So I'll probably won't have the internet in the next days (I had it in the last days though, but time was running, and we didn't wanna stay ages in the cities).
Nong Khiaw, view from a cave...
Boat to Luang Prabang, on the Nam Ou.
Waterfalls arround Luang Prabang.
So I left Luang Nam Tha to go to Nong Khiaw, still not sure about my plans, but I met a really nice french guy in the bus. In the beggining I thought he was the exact copy of my brother, but he actally also had a little bit from another guy I know (big up Hugues ^^). Anyway I spent two days with him in Nong Khiaw, very beautiful and soooooo relaxed there! Real Lao people!
We were thinking about going to Mong Ngoi and then Sam Neua, but somehow we totally changed plans and decided to head south to Luang Prabang by boat. Nice boat drive on the Nam Ou, and we reached the old capital. It's a cute and old city, with a lot of temple, a lot of beautiful waterfall arround, and a lot of tourists. Prices and busyness changed from one extreme to another. We spent two nights a nice day there anyway. After this time I was supposed to meet Elsa, and I (and the other french guy too) was teared apart about our plan. I didn't know whether to keep on going on the tourist road: Vang Vien and Vientiane, but then be able to go south before the end of my trip, or to stick in the north of Lao, with nature, relaxed people and ethnic groups. I decided I would come back another time and we went south to Vang Vien.
We succeed to find a guesthouse in a farm, out of this junky-english-teenage city where we spent two other nights. The city got ugly with ***** tourists, but the areas arround are amazing, sorry to repeat myself again :) We rented bicycles for a day, discovered the country side and did quite good caving, nice!
Then I didn't wanna go to Vientiane and instead go to a small town that's open to tourists for only few years, in the east of Vang Vien, called Saisoumboune. Unfortunatly it's quite a mess to there, and everyone told me to go to Vientiane first, and catch a bus from there. So here I am, in the capital for few hours. It's not amazing here, and I'm really keen to leave to the mountains again tomorrow. There is the highest in Lao, and the region is more or less under control of Hmong people apparently. I hope I can go there, and get back by another way, cause I don't wanna come back here, and I wanna take a quick look in the south before heading back to Bangkok. The french guy went directly south to make a long trek in the jungle... well... I'll do a safer version of what he does next time.
So I'll probably won't have the internet in the next days (I had it in the last days though, but time was running, and we didn't wanna stay ages in the cities).
Nong Khiaw, view from a cave...
Boat to Luang Prabang, on the Nam Ou.
Waterfalls arround Luang Prabang.
Friday 6 August 2010
Muong Sing
Well, first I'm quite angry or sad right now: I somehow lost a lot of pics. I lost all the pics from Hanoi as well as most of the pics from Muong Koua, that is to say one the places I prefered so far...
Whatever, appart from this I just had two really good days.
As I planned I went to Muong Sing, quite a small city, and cheap again. Once I got there I met again an American girl with who I had share dinner a couple of days before. Since we were two, it was enough to book on of this trek organized by eco-tourism association that are so popular here. I was a bit afraid it would turn out like the trek I did in Vietnam, but actually not at all. We did quite a long walk through the jungle first, like 5 hours at a serious rythme. There weren't any snakes there, but I wan tell you that the leeches (sangsues) where quite of a good company up there. We went pass by a couple of villages from different ethnic groups, and we reached an Akha village in the afternoon where we spent the night. First the people were shy, like went to villages on my own before, but then we could really got in touch with them, it was reaaally nice. They killed a chicken that we shared with them for a very good dinner, drank home made whisky, talk a little bit (almost all of them spoke Lao as well, and so they could speak to our guide who translated for us), they made us try their traditional costume (that they don't wear on the everyday life), and the top of this they gave us an Akha massage (strong!). Then we spent the evening together, we sang western songs and they replyed by singing very nice Akha songs... etc etc, in short it was a really magic moment up there, in the middle of these beautiful Lao mountains!
The american girl has got great pics of everything, but she'll send them to me later, so here are two pics I got. You can see at least of the children were happy to play with us, and the view we had from our bamboo house.
I really think that this eco-tourism is the best way to discover and meet these people. It's a bit expensive but it's probably the best compromise between low impact, money that goes to the village without making them dependent, conservation of the traditions without holding from progress, interesting meeting and discovery, etc etc etc so I'm happy to have supported it.
Tonight I'm back in Louang NamTha, but I think I'll leave tomorrow for a place that I can't find on google map right now, but that's next to Pak Bak, I think it's called Nam Khiew.
Whatever, appart from this I just had two really good days.
As I planned I went to Muong Sing, quite a small city, and cheap again. Once I got there I met again an American girl with who I had share dinner a couple of days before. Since we were two, it was enough to book on of this trek organized by eco-tourism association that are so popular here. I was a bit afraid it would turn out like the trek I did in Vietnam, but actually not at all. We did quite a long walk through the jungle first, like 5 hours at a serious rythme. There weren't any snakes there, but I wan tell you that the leeches (sangsues) where quite of a good company up there. We went pass by a couple of villages from different ethnic groups, and we reached an Akha village in the afternoon where we spent the night. First the people were shy, like went to villages on my own before, but then we could really got in touch with them, it was reaaally nice. They killed a chicken that we shared with them for a very good dinner, drank home made whisky, talk a little bit (almost all of them spoke Lao as well, and so they could speak to our guide who translated for us), they made us try their traditional costume (that they don't wear on the everyday life), and the top of this they gave us an Akha massage (strong!). Then we spent the evening together, we sang western songs and they replyed by singing very nice Akha songs... etc etc, in short it was a really magic moment up there, in the middle of these beautiful Lao mountains!
The american girl has got great pics of everything, but she'll send them to me later, so here are two pics I got. You can see at least of the children were happy to play with us, and the view we had from our bamboo house.
I really think that this eco-tourism is the best way to discover and meet these people. It's a bit expensive but it's probably the best compromise between low impact, money that goes to the village without making them dependent, conservation of the traditions without holding from progress, interesting meeting and discovery, etc etc etc so I'm happy to have supported it.
Tonight I'm back in Louang NamTha, but I think I'll leave tomorrow for a place that I can't find on google map right now, but that's next to Pak Bak, I think it's called Nam Khiew.
Tuesday 3 August 2010
Muang Koua - Luang Nam Tha
Even if it was really nice in Muong Koua, I had explored the nearest areas and I wanted to move. I therefore took a bus yesterday morning to Luang Nam Tha, 7 hours, some parts of quite bad road but globally all right and the scenery was quite nce again. However it was properly o-v-e-r-packed, I had to share a small double seat with a guy and girl (so three for 2 small ones), and another child took a nap on my shoulder half of the way! Well, I was so buryed under people, rice or other bags that I felt like being part of lao people for a short while, sort of fun a posteriori :)
Thus I'm there since yesterday afternoon, and I'll probably leave tomorrow. Today I rented a mountain bicycle, and I must have done something like 30km on roads ans dirt roads. I sweated a lot but it felt good to do some exercice after all, and I saw really nice places. I had my packed lunch (bought this morning on the market) next to rice fields where I had the company of three young boys trying to say a couple of english words. I went through cute villages, saw a waterfall, a temple, friendly people.. I'm getting used to it!
I will probably not be able to go on the internet for a while, I don't know how it will be in Muong Sin.
Thus I'm there since yesterday afternoon, and I'll probably leave tomorrow. Today I rented a mountain bicycle, and I must have done something like 30km on roads ans dirt roads. I sweated a lot but it felt good to do some exercice after all, and I saw really nice places. I had my packed lunch (bought this morning on the market) next to rice fields where I had the company of three young boys trying to say a couple of english words. I went through cute villages, saw a waterfall, a temple, friendly people.. I'm getting used to it!
I will probably not be able to go on the internet for a while, I don't know how it will be in Muong Sin.
Monday 2 August 2010
pics again
Muong Koua
Half-stolen pic in on of the village we went to.. They were a minority people but I can't remember the name now.
pics
High mountains after Sapa
Stuck in the red mud, but the landscape was there to make us patient :)
Sapa - Dien Bien Phu - Muong Koua
The last hours in Sapa were interesting and fun with this American guy, that could tell me about the gossip their (there's quite a community of western that try to leave permanently their, because they met a Hmong or whatever, and the Police crack down on them, cause Police is in the busyness as well...), showed me the secrets of the city and introduced me to the few nice locals.
I leave the city anyway at 9.00, and head for the border. The road to Lau Chau is beautiful, we went arround the highest mountain in Vietnam (more than 3000m if I remember right), everything is covered with light green or bright white from the clouds. In Lai Chau we change bus, and I can't fit in one seat, fortunatly I could have two for all the way long. From now it's not really mountains anymore, even if the relief is still chaotic. Instead it's a tough jungle along a brown river, and the road is like shit, bumpy and mostly made out of earth. We go through some very remote villages, rice fields again, and huge works in Muong Lay where they build bridges and move the village up on the hill because they'll build a big dam (barage). But I thought it would be worst and after 11h we reach Dien Bien Phu. I take dinner with two german girls and get into the crappiest hostel so far. It didn't matter that much because the weather is good enough for the road to Lao to be open, so that at 4.45, wake up!
After few kilometers on a steep but normal (I mean with concrete, and thus good) road, we reach a summit where there is the vietnamese check point, and later on the Lao one, in the middle of nowhere. It takes ages for everyone to get the visa, but at 10.00 we're back on the road again and this time it's only made out of this sticky red-brown earth; fortunatly the driver's got skills. We pick up some people in the villages on the way, so the ad some benches in the bus corridor, it's packed and would have diserved a picture! The scenery this morning is amazing, the deep green of the hills and mountains contrasts with the red of the road, the blue sky and the white clouds. Sometimes we we go through cute wood villages where the bus drops a couple of boxes or people. Although it was quite dry this day, the bus got stuck more than twive in the mud, so everybody gets down, women on the side and men all push the bus in the mud! We even had to make a mechanical stop because the engine was too hot I guess (the first gear was on most of the time), and then a guy just passed by with a full bag of cucumber: our thirsty bus made his day!
After 10 hours for only 90km, and two days travelling in total, we finally reach Muong Koua, and it fells like it's the end of the world.
I spent 3 nights there, in a very very nice guesthouse, 3€/night, dinner with the owner and his family, view on the river.... The village is very peacefull and traditional, people laid back and smily. The small market seems to be out of a movie and I can't stop eating the banana sticky rice and the fried banana sold by this old mama at the entrance, telling me "bonjou', combien?, me'ci beaucoup" when she sees me in the morning for breakfast.
On the second day I went to hiking towards remote villages with an Italian girl and an Israelian couple, really nice people staying at the guest house this night with another really nice American family. We reached two villages this day. It's definitely not much people going there, and we were I think the first westerners that the children saw. They were so shy, so interested by us and so good looking! In the first village a man invited us in his house to have root-tea and sticky corn. He made me eating something apparently very funny for them, maybe aphrodisiac or something, we taught the children how to play thumb war, while trying to communicate with the older people in Lao. The second village we asked for food so they took us in the kitchen, lit the fire and cooked bamboo directly in the flame. The mother had twins, I'd say a couple of weeks old... unbeleivable. The time I spent there was very special.
After a big dinner the second day at night with all the family and the westerners, very nice, I was probably the only westerner in the whole village for the third day. So I went on my own to another village. This one I had to go on a really small path through the jungle, so I wasn't that confident when I croosed the way of small snakes several times. When I reached the village it was a bit weird actually, cause I scared off a couple of children just by being there. It wasn't much people in the villages, so it took a while before older children came and understood I wasn't a bad guy. I couldn't approach anyone but in the end the children where hidding behind walls laughing, and then following me to the end of the village. At night I had dinner with only the owner and his brother, sunday-night-dinner style, and when I told about the snakes he said :"did you see snakes like this? they are pretty common here in the bamboos" and he was showing me the diameter of it with his hands, I'd say something like 10cm !
Today I'm in Luang Numtha, I'll tell about it tomorrow :)
I leave the city anyway at 9.00, and head for the border. The road to Lau Chau is beautiful, we went arround the highest mountain in Vietnam (more than 3000m if I remember right), everything is covered with light green or bright white from the clouds. In Lai Chau we change bus, and I can't fit in one seat, fortunatly I could have two for all the way long. From now it's not really mountains anymore, even if the relief is still chaotic. Instead it's a tough jungle along a brown river, and the road is like shit, bumpy and mostly made out of earth. We go through some very remote villages, rice fields again, and huge works in Muong Lay where they build bridges and move the village up on the hill because they'll build a big dam (barage). But I thought it would be worst and after 11h we reach Dien Bien Phu. I take dinner with two german girls and get into the crappiest hostel so far. It didn't matter that much because the weather is good enough for the road to Lao to be open, so that at 4.45, wake up!
After few kilometers on a steep but normal (I mean with concrete, and thus good) road, we reach a summit where there is the vietnamese check point, and later on the Lao one, in the middle of nowhere. It takes ages for everyone to get the visa, but at 10.00 we're back on the road again and this time it's only made out of this sticky red-brown earth; fortunatly the driver's got skills. We pick up some people in the villages on the way, so the ad some benches in the bus corridor, it's packed and would have diserved a picture! The scenery this morning is amazing, the deep green of the hills and mountains contrasts with the red of the road, the blue sky and the white clouds. Sometimes we we go through cute wood villages where the bus drops a couple of boxes or people. Although it was quite dry this day, the bus got stuck more than twive in the mud, so everybody gets down, women on the side and men all push the bus in the mud! We even had to make a mechanical stop because the engine was too hot I guess (the first gear was on most of the time), and then a guy just passed by with a full bag of cucumber: our thirsty bus made his day!
After 10 hours for only 90km, and two days travelling in total, we finally reach Muong Koua, and it fells like it's the end of the world.
I spent 3 nights there, in a very very nice guesthouse, 3€/night, dinner with the owner and his family, view on the river.... The village is very peacefull and traditional, people laid back and smily. The small market seems to be out of a movie and I can't stop eating the banana sticky rice and the fried banana sold by this old mama at the entrance, telling me "bonjou', combien?, me'ci beaucoup" when she sees me in the morning for breakfast.
On the second day I went to hiking towards remote villages with an Italian girl and an Israelian couple, really nice people staying at the guest house this night with another really nice American family. We reached two villages this day. It's definitely not much people going there, and we were I think the first westerners that the children saw. They were so shy, so interested by us and so good looking! In the first village a man invited us in his house to have root-tea and sticky corn. He made me eating something apparently very funny for them, maybe aphrodisiac or something, we taught the children how to play thumb war, while trying to communicate with the older people in Lao. The second village we asked for food so they took us in the kitchen, lit the fire and cooked bamboo directly in the flame. The mother had twins, I'd say a couple of weeks old... unbeleivable. The time I spent there was very special.
After a big dinner the second day at night with all the family and the westerners, very nice, I was probably the only westerner in the whole village for the third day. So I went on my own to another village. This one I had to go on a really small path through the jungle, so I wasn't that confident when I croosed the way of small snakes several times. When I reached the village it was a bit weird actually, cause I scared off a couple of children just by being there. It wasn't much people in the villages, so it took a while before older children came and understood I wasn't a bad guy. I couldn't approach anyone but in the end the children where hidding behind walls laughing, and then following me to the end of the village. At night I had dinner with only the owner and his brother, sunday-night-dinner style, and when I told about the snakes he said :"did you see snakes like this? they are pretty common here in the bamboos" and he was showing me the diameter of it with his hands, I'd say something like 10cm !
Today I'm in Luang Numtha, I'll tell about it tomorrow :)
Edit about my last message
I'm in Laos for few days, I didn't have the internet where I was but I probably had my best time so far. Everything was beautiful, the people, the view, and the food is back to safe and fersh :)
I was in a hurry last time so I thought afterwards about what I wrote I maybe my fingers went a bit faster than my thoughts.
About Hmong people, cause I didn't tell much in the end. So as I said in the beggining I felt unconfortable with all the Hmong women selling their stuff agressively in the street, but I had to understand what's going on with the minority people there in Sapa, and that's what happened with this American guy that married a Hmong woman. Hmong people are actually quite open-minded, happy to live and moreover very good looking. However Vietnamese people treat them as shit, it's often pure racism, and it goes together with busyness as the only law. They force them to wear their traditionnal clothes to maintain tourism, they organise trek in their villages but without them (that's why they have to be agressive at selling), etc etc etc. Moreover they sell shitty textiles coming from China for nothing on the market, so that tourists buy them instead of the traditionnal handmade Hmong stuff, that they have to sell for nothing in order to have a chance to sell something.. I'm not telling all the horrible that's happening their with minority people, it's just a sample to give a idea.
I was in a hurry last time so I thought afterwards about what I wrote I maybe my fingers went a bit faster than my thoughts.
About Hmong people, cause I didn't tell much in the end. So as I said in the beggining I felt unconfortable with all the Hmong women selling their stuff agressively in the street, but I had to understand what's going on with the minority people there in Sapa, and that's what happened with this American guy that married a Hmong woman. Hmong people are actually quite open-minded, happy to live and moreover very good looking. However Vietnamese people treat them as shit, it's often pure racism, and it goes together with busyness as the only law. They force them to wear their traditionnal clothes to maintain tourism, they organise trek in their villages but without them (that's why they have to be agressive at selling), etc etc etc. Moreover they sell shitty textiles coming from China for nothing on the market, so that tourists buy them instead of the traditionnal handmade Hmong stuff, that they have to sell for nothing in order to have a chance to sell something.. I'm not telling all the horrible that's happening their with minority people, it's just a sample to give a idea.
Wednesday 28 July 2010
Sapa and around: viet buisness and minority people (hill tribes)
Thus I went for a trek in the mountains around the touristic place (and thanks to the viet, quite ugly now) that is Sapa.
I really hesitated about going to see the hill tribes or not. I didn't wanna go to the zoo, I didn't wanna have a big impact, in short I dreamt. So with the two australian girl I met on the bus when I was sick, we took a guide and walked out of the city. We were far from being alone on the way, actually with many other groups like us. We did a "homestay", which was actually a proper one, but I felt like being in a hostel. The thing is that the village we've been too, is way too close to the city, and therefore already got the civilisation in. So people got drunk with locals and stuff like this, I had to keep cool cause that bothered me a bit, but I guess it's the price of a "low impact homestay".
So during these two days, I saw amazing places, specially when I split off the group in the first evening, and then went though absolutly authentic places, where I could obviously not take any pics, but I'm telling you, I have some amazing paintings in my mind.
However, one more time in Vietnam, I didn't feel confortable with the people, neither the viet, nor the western, nor the minority, but them it's for other reasons I tell below.
Then tonigh I just had my best evening in vietnam. I met an unbeleivable American man, arround 50-60 years old I guess, that married a Muong woman (one of the big minority group). He took me to meet sort of "expatriates" and other backpakers in Sapa, but real ones, not the one that go from Koh Phi Phi to Viangvien without stoping on the way, and without stoping drinking either. Then he invited me to eat with him and his wife. He acutally cook in his room, so I could eat real homemade food. I had a nice vegetable soup, bamboo, special cocoa-cofee-cinamon whatever drink, black sticky rice, stickycorn... etc. It was soooo great!
Then I could really understand all the problematic about Muong and other minority people with respect to the vietnamese people and the country's history. I won't tell this here, but it was one more time the occasion to think about existential problems!
Tomorrow morning I take to bus to Den Bien Phu. I hopefully get there tomorrow night. It's apparently the worst road of the country. A lot of people told me it was gonna be the adventure out there :)
I really hesitated about going to see the hill tribes or not. I didn't wanna go to the zoo, I didn't wanna have a big impact, in short I dreamt. So with the two australian girl I met on the bus when I was sick, we took a guide and walked out of the city. We were far from being alone on the way, actually with many other groups like us. We did a "homestay", which was actually a proper one, but I felt like being in a hostel. The thing is that the village we've been too, is way too close to the city, and therefore already got the civilisation in. So people got drunk with locals and stuff like this, I had to keep cool cause that bothered me a bit, but I guess it's the price of a "low impact homestay".
So during these two days, I saw amazing places, specially when I split off the group in the first evening, and then went though absolutly authentic places, where I could obviously not take any pics, but I'm telling you, I have some amazing paintings in my mind.
However, one more time in Vietnam, I didn't feel confortable with the people, neither the viet, nor the western, nor the minority, but them it's for other reasons I tell below.
Then tonigh I just had my best evening in vietnam. I met an unbeleivable American man, arround 50-60 years old I guess, that married a Muong woman (one of the big minority group). He took me to meet sort of "expatriates" and other backpakers in Sapa, but real ones, not the one that go from Koh Phi Phi to Viangvien without stoping on the way, and without stoping drinking either. Then he invited me to eat with him and his wife. He acutally cook in his room, so I could eat real homemade food. I had a nice vegetable soup, bamboo, special cocoa-cofee-cinamon whatever drink, black sticky rice, stickycorn... etc. It was soooo great!
Then I could really understand all the problematic about Muong and other minority people with respect to the vietnamese people and the country's history. I won't tell this here, but it was one more time the occasion to think about existential problems!
Tomorrow morning I take to bus to Den Bien Phu. I hopefully get there tomorrow night. It's apparently the worst road of the country. A lot of people told me it was gonna be the adventure out there :)
Around Sapa
Here are some the millions pics I took of the rice fields. I couldn't get bored of them honestly, that was just so beautiful down there.
This one is a stolen pic... That's one of the only pic I have with local people on..
This one is a stolen pic... That's one of the only pic I have with local people on..
Monday 26 July 2010
Summary
Ok, let's start with the extra day I had to spend in Hanoi. I really loved the first 24h there, but I have to admit that the city annoyed me a little bit the second day. I didn't have much else to do, it was rainning, I struggled a long time trying to fing somewhere where I could unload my pics and save them but without succeeding, in short I felt a bit stuck in the middle of one of the busiest place I've ever been to. I was happy that the owners of my guest house were really friendly so I could chat with them.
Then the day after I could go to Halong Bay. I had talked to a lot a people, vietnamese or western, that told me to take a tour to go there, unless I was ready to get ripped off and to spend a lot of time there, so I did so. I had to forget the idea of deep water climbing by the way, I would have needed a couple of weeks for that I guess.
The first 24h hours were nice. We were on a boat, 15 people. We were havings our meals on it, we could go swiming arround, kayaking etc.. And even if the harbour was full of boats, Halong Bay is big enough so that we were quite alone in the middle of all the islands. Landscapes were really amazings.
Then after a night spent on the boat, I started my day seeing the staff of the boat emptying the bins in the sea... well... hard to stand but you can't do anything on the moment. Then they took us on a big island, we had a short trek on the jungle, and then the tour got crap. Food got bad (that's probably where I got poisoned), that was full of tourists, although most of them were vietnamese tourists, and the nice people of my group left, so there were only loud and heavy dutch people, and a jumpy american couple. I split off the group for the afternoon cause they went to the most crowded place... I can't tell everything, but in short I was keen to go to the mountains.
So here I am, in the mountains, 1500m high. It's quite cold here, I'd say less than 20°, quite appreciable. Today I feel way better, so I'm off for a trek till tomorrow. I'll tell you about it later, I'm sort of in a hurry right now!
Then the day after I could go to Halong Bay. I had talked to a lot a people, vietnamese or western, that told me to take a tour to go there, unless I was ready to get ripped off and to spend a lot of time there, so I did so. I had to forget the idea of deep water climbing by the way, I would have needed a couple of weeks for that I guess.
The first 24h hours were nice. We were on a boat, 15 people. We were havings our meals on it, we could go swiming arround, kayaking etc.. And even if the harbour was full of boats, Halong Bay is big enough so that we were quite alone in the middle of all the islands. Landscapes were really amazings.
Then after a night spent on the boat, I started my day seeing the staff of the boat emptying the bins in the sea... well... hard to stand but you can't do anything on the moment. Then they took us on a big island, we had a short trek on the jungle, and then the tour got crap. Food got bad (that's probably where I got poisoned), that was full of tourists, although most of them were vietnamese tourists, and the nice people of my group left, so there were only loud and heavy dutch people, and a jumpy american couple. I split off the group for the afternoon cause they went to the most crowded place... I can't tell everything, but in short I was keen to go to the mountains.
So here I am, in the mountains, 1500m high. It's quite cold here, I'd say less than 20°, quite appreciable. Today I feel way better, so I'm off for a trek till tomorrow. I'll tell you about it later, I'm sort of in a hurry right now!
Hanoi pics
I woke up earlier than expected this morning so that I have time to unload my camera, save and post some pics :)
Internet is super slow so I can't upload a lot of them thought..
Halong, food poisionned, Sapa.
I'm in Sapa since this Morning. I was in Halong Bay the 3 days before.
The computer I have is bad, specially the keyboard, so I'll tell more later, probably the day after tomorrow.
In short: Halong bay was a mix of amazing lanscape and shitty tour.. I was happy to leave to the Moutains where I am now.
But yesterday night, after an afternoon spent in the bus from Halong back to Hanoi, I get in my night bus to go to Sapa, and an hour after the departure, I start to feel sick. I actually got food poisionned... It's not the best thing that can happen on a night bus with no toilets, for an 8 hours trip on mountain roads. So I can tell you the night was long and terrible at some points, but I made it through! I slept the whole day, and tomorrow I'm going for a two-days trek (hope I'll feel good enough, I just had an almost-normal meal, so it should be fine), that's why I'll write more afterwards, I'm going to bed now.
The computer I have is bad, specially the keyboard, so I'll tell more later, probably the day after tomorrow.
In short: Halong bay was a mix of amazing lanscape and shitty tour.. I was happy to leave to the Moutains where I am now.
But yesterday night, after an afternoon spent in the bus from Halong back to Hanoi, I get in my night bus to go to Sapa, and an hour after the departure, I start to feel sick. I actually got food poisionned... It's not the best thing that can happen on a night bus with no toilets, for an 8 hours trip on mountain roads. So I can tell you the night was long and terrible at some points, but I made it through! I slept the whole day, and tomorrow I'm going for a two-days trek (hope I'll feel good enough, I just had an almost-normal meal, so it should be fine), that's why I'll write more afterwards, I'm going to bed now.
Thursday 22 July 2010
Hanoi I love you
(even if I would have prefered to leave you this morning)
This morning weather was supposed to be good so that I could go to Halong bay, but then at the last minute the motorbike taxi came, and said they closed it. So I went back to my room and caught some more sleep! Thus today I'm resting, reading, learning a little bit more of vietnamese (hopefully) and watching the vietnamese TV.
Yesterday: visiting Hanoi
In the morning I walked down in the old quarter. The streets are just unbeleivable. The sidewalks are 100% occupied by whatever people selling/working or parked motorbikes, there are millions of them here. I had to learn how to cross the street: if you wait for the traffic to stop, you won't cross ever. So the best is to take a quick look to see if there are cars (cars thinks they have the priority), and if not then stop thinking and just cross the street. If you don't wanna get hit, there is only one rule: keep your pace. Like this motorbikes just avoid you and everyone's happy!
The old quarter is really charming. There are specialized streets, one with shops only selling shoes, one for glasses, one for chikens, one for tin boxes, one for furnitures etc etc.. The markets are really colorfull, and vietnamese people are very authentics. I think it's the place where I've flet the furthest from Europe. Viet people are not as nice as thai though, they actually often fake to be nice.
However I got really lucky yesterday again. After my walking tour in the old quarter, I went to the history museum to learn a bit more, cause I felt a bit ignorant about vietnam history, and a viet guy came to see me with his bike. I thought it was a mototaxi as usual so I kept on saying no, but then he was insisting, saying he didn't wanna make buisness and just talk with me. I was a bit afraid of a rip off, but we talked first on the street and he said he was studying international relations in Hanoi, he was in hollidays so he could show me the city! So that's what we did, he guided me to the museum first, so we talked about french colonisation, american war etc.. I think vietnam has been attacked by every country that could: China, Japan, Mongolia, Burma, France, US, Thailande... but they got so tough all the time that they kicked everyone out. We talked about the feelings vietnamese people have towards the different western countries, then I carried on to the communist party and he checked arround if there was anybody in the room, lowered his voice and said "this we can talk about later". Pretty surprising isn't it?
He took me to a very nice place for lunch, next to a lake, where we talked about Jean Sarkosy, Carla Bruni, the communist party in Vietnam, but also about him and his sexual obsession (that I won't detail here, but I can tell you, it's quite juicy). I had to pay the quite expensive meal, 10 times more expensive than what I usually pay, but I guess it was the deal, and it was pretty good: you had to make your own spring roll with fresh fish and other stuff.
Then he took me arround the city with his bike and back home. He tryed to get some money out of me in the end, but after some discussion, he harldy agreed that we were frends, so I only paid the gazoline. (Am I wrong?)
The quality of the food here is generally lower than in Thailand, but there are many more different things and tastes. I have to admit I really appreciate the bred, which is like back in France, and that used to be my basic food there. They also have croissant and stuff like this.. colonisation... colonisation..
My hostel is great, althought a bit expensive. I hope I can go to Halong bay tomorrow. Today is rainy but still hot.
This morning weather was supposed to be good so that I could go to Halong bay, but then at the last minute the motorbike taxi came, and said they closed it. So I went back to my room and caught some more sleep! Thus today I'm resting, reading, learning a little bit more of vietnamese (hopefully) and watching the vietnamese TV.
Yesterday: visiting Hanoi
In the morning I walked down in the old quarter. The streets are just unbeleivable. The sidewalks are 100% occupied by whatever people selling/working or parked motorbikes, there are millions of them here. I had to learn how to cross the street: if you wait for the traffic to stop, you won't cross ever. So the best is to take a quick look to see if there are cars (cars thinks they have the priority), and if not then stop thinking and just cross the street. If you don't wanna get hit, there is only one rule: keep your pace. Like this motorbikes just avoid you and everyone's happy!
The old quarter is really charming. There are specialized streets, one with shops only selling shoes, one for glasses, one for chikens, one for tin boxes, one for furnitures etc etc.. The markets are really colorfull, and vietnamese people are very authentics. I think it's the place where I've flet the furthest from Europe. Viet people are not as nice as thai though, they actually often fake to be nice.
However I got really lucky yesterday again. After my walking tour in the old quarter, I went to the history museum to learn a bit more, cause I felt a bit ignorant about vietnam history, and a viet guy came to see me with his bike. I thought it was a mototaxi as usual so I kept on saying no, but then he was insisting, saying he didn't wanna make buisness and just talk with me. I was a bit afraid of a rip off, but we talked first on the street and he said he was studying international relations in Hanoi, he was in hollidays so he could show me the city! So that's what we did, he guided me to the museum first, so we talked about french colonisation, american war etc.. I think vietnam has been attacked by every country that could: China, Japan, Mongolia, Burma, France, US, Thailande... but they got so tough all the time that they kicked everyone out. We talked about the feelings vietnamese people have towards the different western countries, then I carried on to the communist party and he checked arround if there was anybody in the room, lowered his voice and said "this we can talk about later". Pretty surprising isn't it?
He took me to a very nice place for lunch, next to a lake, where we talked about Jean Sarkosy, Carla Bruni, the communist party in Vietnam, but also about him and his sexual obsession (that I won't detail here, but I can tell you, it's quite juicy). I had to pay the quite expensive meal, 10 times more expensive than what I usually pay, but I guess it was the deal, and it was pretty good: you had to make your own spring roll with fresh fish and other stuff.
Then he took me arround the city with his bike and back home. He tryed to get some money out of me in the end, but after some discussion, he harldy agreed that we were frends, so I only paid the gazoline. (Am I wrong?)
The quality of the food here is generally lower than in Thailand, but there are many more different things and tastes. I have to admit I really appreciate the bred, which is like back in France, and that used to be my basic food there. They also have croissant and stuff like this.. colonisation... colonisation..
My hostel is great, althought a bit expensive. I hope I can go to Halong bay tomorrow. Today is rainy but still hot.
Tuesday 20 July 2010
From Krabi to Hat Yai, Kuala Lumpur and... good morning Vietnam!
I left Krabi yesterday morning, as expected, with a good and safe driver, that didn't try to screw me like last time. I stoped and change bus in Hat Yai, which is basically a big Thai bangkok-styled city, but I didn't see much of it of course. Then quite some time to go through the border with malesia and lot of burkas.
What I saw of Malesia from the bus: very organised and developped country. No scooters on the highways, huge fields of Palm and rice, still the nice karstic "mountains" that I like very much. Then after almost 15 hours bus drive during which I met a french girl who's teaching french in Thailand for 3 years and a girl from Chile who was arriving from Bangladesh, we arrived in KL. It's very big city and I just spent a few hours there. I met a very nice swedish couple at the bus station with who I shared the taxi to a cheap hostel. Then we took a walk in the city. Very modern, stuffy, busy and far into this westerno-asian style, but not in a nice way. In short I didn't like what I saw down there, and I even cracked and took my first burger after 20 days of thai food.
After a second short night in a row, I woke up this morning to go to the airport. There is one advantage in KL, which is that people speak english in the street, and when you're lost at 6.30 in the morning, looking for the airport, it's quite confortable. I tookthe monorail, took a last look at the petronas towers, go in a bus that was going to the wrong airport, changed bus to the right one, got very cold on the airport and in the plane, and reached Hanoi safely.
Then I honestly had the best minibus drive of my life, through Hanoi! I can't say yet if the driver had special skills compared to others, but it was really amazing. Bangkok was messy, and drviers crazy, with fancy vehicules and a lot of cars everywhere. But here are millions of motorbikes, driving in every direction, carrying one cubic meter of stuff on their back, and touching cars with their hands. People are crossing the street withouth looking, creating on island in the middle of the motobikes that avoid them without stopping. I saw a girl pushing here bicycle wrong way in the traffic, smile on her face, with the special vietnamese conic hat, trying to reach the other side of the street I guess... such a scene.
The city looks amazing, I love it, with the viet hats everywhere, and not much tourists, and such an atmosphere... I love it!
I'll post some pics later!
By the way I'm millionaire since few hours ^^
What I saw of Malesia from the bus: very organised and developped country. No scooters on the highways, huge fields of Palm and rice, still the nice karstic "mountains" that I like very much. Then after almost 15 hours bus drive during which I met a french girl who's teaching french in Thailand for 3 years and a girl from Chile who was arriving from Bangladesh, we arrived in KL. It's very big city and I just spent a few hours there. I met a very nice swedish couple at the bus station with who I shared the taxi to a cheap hostel. Then we took a walk in the city. Very modern, stuffy, busy and far into this westerno-asian style, but not in a nice way. In short I didn't like what I saw down there, and I even cracked and took my first burger after 20 days of thai food.
After a second short night in a row, I woke up this morning to go to the airport. There is one advantage in KL, which is that people speak english in the street, and when you're lost at 6.30 in the morning, looking for the airport, it's quite confortable. I tookthe monorail, took a last look at the petronas towers, go in a bus that was going to the wrong airport, changed bus to the right one, got very cold on the airport and in the plane, and reached Hanoi safely.
Then I honestly had the best minibus drive of my life, through Hanoi! I can't say yet if the driver had special skills compared to others, but it was really amazing. Bangkok was messy, and drviers crazy, with fancy vehicules and a lot of cars everywhere. But here are millions of motorbikes, driving in every direction, carrying one cubic meter of stuff on their back, and touching cars with their hands. People are crossing the street withouth looking, creating on island in the middle of the motobikes that avoid them without stopping. I saw a girl pushing here bicycle wrong way in the traffic, smile on her face, with the special vietnamese conic hat, trying to reach the other side of the street I guess... such a scene.
The city looks amazing, I love it, with the viet hats everywhere, and not much tourists, and such an atmosphere... I love it!
I'll post some pics later!
By the way I'm millionaire since few hours ^^
Sunday 18 July 2010
Krabi and arround
Today I rented a bike again, that's really the nicest thing to do to discover the surrounding lands.
I started this morning with a temps in the country side. Monks chants, temple ambiance, but more particularly a temple which was on the top of a cliff. 1247 steps to get there, and some of them were 40cm high, and quite narrow. Once I got up there, after having sweated like hell (maybe I hadn't sweated taht much before!), I was almost alone. Another farang wanted me to take pictures of him doing thai boxing move with the temple on his behind, quite funny, and a monk was there meditating. It was really quiet, the view was of course amazing, and I had the pleasure to meet a lot of monkeys on the way that were hoping me to give some food.
Then I went to the beaches arround, with amazing rocks everywhere on the way. The road was really nice and I was all the time fantasising about climbing there (which I know is widely possible during the dry season). I reached a couple touristic beaches, as well as some hidden mangrove and a sort of boat station where I watched a thai box match on the TV.
Tomorrow I leave early in the morning, and spend the day in the bus to Kuala Lumpur. I made a strategical mistake when I booked this flight but whatever, I just waste a day and probably few dozens of euros, not more.
I hope the video gives an idea..
What you can't see is big Buddha around which I turn while filming.
I started this morning with a temps in the country side. Monks chants, temple ambiance, but more particularly a temple which was on the top of a cliff. 1247 steps to get there, and some of them were 40cm high, and quite narrow. Once I got up there, after having sweated like hell (maybe I hadn't sweated taht much before!), I was almost alone. Another farang wanted me to take pictures of him doing thai boxing move with the temple on his behind, quite funny, and a monk was there meditating. It was really quiet, the view was of course amazing, and I had the pleasure to meet a lot of monkeys on the way that were hoping me to give some food.
Then I went to the beaches arround, with amazing rocks everywhere on the way. The road was really nice and I was all the time fantasising about climbing there (which I know is widely possible during the dry season). I reached a couple touristic beaches, as well as some hidden mangrove and a sort of boat station where I watched a thai box match on the TV.
Tomorrow I leave early in the morning, and spend the day in the bus to Kuala Lumpur. I made a strategical mistake when I booked this flight but whatever, I just waste a day and probably few dozens of euros, not more.
I hope the video gives an idea..
What you can't see is big Buddha around which I turn while filming.
Saturday 17 July 2010
From Phuket to Krabi
A lot to tell.
I thought I would only spend a night on Phuket, to take a look at a nice place or two, but then leave and avoid all the prostitution that's over expanded there. But on the first night I went to a thai restaurant (ok, so far nothing unexpected, that happens 2-3 times/day) and I got friend with the owners of the place! The sister of the owner had studied languages, so she spoke a really good english. I could talk about anything I was wondering. Prostitution, ugly hotels everywhere on the nicest islands, loads of tourists that just come here to get drunk for cheap price, thai people who don't care about the environment at all, red shirts, tsunami (she was on Phuket when it happened) etc etc. She told me the worst was thai people selling their lands to western people... seemed quite sad.
She was in hollidays so she showed me the small places she knew in Phuket, took me to nice restaurants, to a typical night funfair, etc. It was quite nice to go to thai places where I was the only farang, and thai people reacted a little bit differently when asked about something in thai, and not in english.
Thus I enjoyed my time there, sleeping in the old phuket town in this nice hostel. I also rented a bike on my own again, and enjoyed going through the traffic in the town! I went along the mangrove, up to some nice view points, and to a sea-gipsy village (written down gipsea on the official signs! that's best english mistake I've read so far). It was quite interesting to see it, even if I felt a bit embarrassed to go there just to take a look. They were quite poor, and they're actually stopping to be gipsy, and start to learn thai and to live with thai people.
The day before yesterday, I left early in the morning to go to Koh Phi Phi. I met a very nice belgium couple on the boat, and we went to the cheapest bungalows that where out of the city. We took a walk through the jungle to see isolated beaches and got back at the sunset time so that the owner of the thai bungalows there said we were a bit crazy.. it was a nice "trek"! (quite small and not challenging at all actually but still). We decided to go to the main "village" at night and as expected it was only english or australian teenagers, coming there to get totally drunk dancing on the beach, for the first time they could get off their parents. Once there, we thought we should either get back home or get drunk too. Since the shots were free we decided to take the second option: bad idea. Night was probably fun, but I don't remember much of it although I honestly didn't drink much at all.
On the morning after (hard one) we rented a boat with another couple from Netherlands. The guy took the five of us to Koh Phi Phi Lee, which is non accessible for sleeping, supposed to be protected. Some parts where then very very nice, with cliffs coming steeply into the clear water. We did some snorkling and then went to the famous Maya bay, where the 'Beach' was shot. Well, this was just disgusting, hundreds and hundreds of tourists, coming with these big and noisy modern "speed boats", taking pictures of themselves with hundreds of people behing them, hiding the beach. We hurried to leave and enjoyed the rest of our ride with our guide.
In the end I felt a bit sick on the boat, and it went much worse in the following hours. I went to take the boat to Krabi in the afternoon, but I was very bad, nauseous and very dizzy. I reached my hostel yesterday night and slept for 12 hours, I'm absolutly fine now! I guess the free shots of Phi Phi island were a bit customized.
Everything is getting cheap again and the food great. Tomorrow I'll take a look at the nationnal park, back in the inner land of Krabi. It's supposed to be very nice. I wanted to go to Koh Lanta, which is supposed to be tourist-less, but I won't have time: I have to leave on monday morning in order to be in Kuala Lumpur on the 20th for my flight to vietnam.
I thought I would only spend a night on Phuket, to take a look at a nice place or two, but then leave and avoid all the prostitution that's over expanded there. But on the first night I went to a thai restaurant (ok, so far nothing unexpected, that happens 2-3 times/day) and I got friend with the owners of the place! The sister of the owner had studied languages, so she spoke a really good english. I could talk about anything I was wondering. Prostitution, ugly hotels everywhere on the nicest islands, loads of tourists that just come here to get drunk for cheap price, thai people who don't care about the environment at all, red shirts, tsunami (she was on Phuket when it happened) etc etc. She told me the worst was thai people selling their lands to western people... seemed quite sad.
She was in hollidays so she showed me the small places she knew in Phuket, took me to nice restaurants, to a typical night funfair, etc. It was quite nice to go to thai places where I was the only farang, and thai people reacted a little bit differently when asked about something in thai, and not in english.
Thus I enjoyed my time there, sleeping in the old phuket town in this nice hostel. I also rented a bike on my own again, and enjoyed going through the traffic in the town! I went along the mangrove, up to some nice view points, and to a sea-gipsy village (written down gipsea on the official signs! that's best english mistake I've read so far). It was quite interesting to see it, even if I felt a bit embarrassed to go there just to take a look. They were quite poor, and they're actually stopping to be gipsy, and start to learn thai and to live with thai people.
The day before yesterday, I left early in the morning to go to Koh Phi Phi. I met a very nice belgium couple on the boat, and we went to the cheapest bungalows that where out of the city. We took a walk through the jungle to see isolated beaches and got back at the sunset time so that the owner of the thai bungalows there said we were a bit crazy.. it was a nice "trek"! (quite small and not challenging at all actually but still). We decided to go to the main "village" at night and as expected it was only english or australian teenagers, coming there to get totally drunk dancing on the beach, for the first time they could get off their parents. Once there, we thought we should either get back home or get drunk too. Since the shots were free we decided to take the second option: bad idea. Night was probably fun, but I don't remember much of it although I honestly didn't drink much at all.
On the morning after (hard one) we rented a boat with another couple from Netherlands. The guy took the five of us to Koh Phi Phi Lee, which is non accessible for sleeping, supposed to be protected. Some parts where then very very nice, with cliffs coming steeply into the clear water. We did some snorkling and then went to the famous Maya bay, where the 'Beach' was shot. Well, this was just disgusting, hundreds and hundreds of tourists, coming with these big and noisy modern "speed boats", taking pictures of themselves with hundreds of people behing them, hiding the beach. We hurried to leave and enjoyed the rest of our ride with our guide.
In the end I felt a bit sick on the boat, and it went much worse in the following hours. I went to take the boat to Krabi in the afternoon, but I was very bad, nauseous and very dizzy. I reached my hostel yesterday night and slept for 12 hours, I'm absolutly fine now! I guess the free shots of Phi Phi island were a bit customized.
Everything is getting cheap again and the food great. Tomorrow I'll take a look at the nationnal park, back in the inner land of Krabi. It's supposed to be very nice. I wanted to go to Koh Lanta, which is supposed to be tourist-less, but I won't have time: I have to leave on monday morning in order to be in Kuala Lumpur on the 20th for my flight to vietnam.
Monday 12 July 2010
wohooo, here are the pics!
A beach during the bike trip
idem, behind the hostel
Koh Tao, place where almost alone
Bouddha couché à Bangkok
Pleasant day and a little bit scary rip off
Yesterday I rented a bike to go arround in the small beaches of Koh Tao. I found really nice ones, even if I sometimes struggled a bit when the road became very uneven but then I could enjoy an incredibly hot walk to the beach, and enjoy even more a fresh drink. I had lunch in a very good (and cheap) restaurant. I founded really nice and relaxed places, and I really had a lot of fun driving the bike arround, getting some moving air along nice roads!
Then I had booked a "joint ticket", it's not for a smoke that makes you laughting, it's a ticket that's used for Taxi+boat+bus to take you where you have to go. It's suppose to be cheaper...
In order not to waste a day, I left with the night-boat at 21.00 yesterday night. The boat was OK, made out of wood and nicely rocking to get you asleep, I didn't see the super-sized cockroaches crowling on the roof so I slept all-right.
I arrived this morning in Surathani at 4.30, not 100% fresh mind.. Then thai travellers went on their own, and farangs like me were distributed among few tuk tuks. I was with two english guys going to a different destination. I was supposed to catch a bus at 5.30 in the monrning to carry on to Phuket but they first took us to a sort of bar and they said we had to wait till 7.30 for the bus. Well... 2h30 min waiting... nevermind. At 7 another tuk tuk came and took me to another bar without the two other english guys. Once I got there an Indian guy (that I found not nice right in the beggining) told me I had to pay again to go to Phuket, otherwise I would have to wait until 9.30. I didn't want to pay so after some negociations I said I'd wait, but I got a bit angry in the inside! Other people came and -thanks gos- an Australian couple ended up in the situation as me.
Then at 8.30 a minibus came, the driver talked with the Indian guy in thai and we finally get in, apparently to go to the bus. But after the 3 of us got in the car, the guy went back to the trunk and started doing stuff, till we understood he was probably taking a quick look in our bags! We started looking, he closed the trunk and we left. The guy drove arround the corner and actually got back to the place we were, talked again to the indian guy and we left again quickly. We -of course- started to worry and tryed to talk to the drive, but he seemed not to speak a word in english, and could only said, "10min, wait, 10min wait". After 5min wondering with the australian guy what was happening, we figured out the bus station was behind us and everything was going wrong. So I don't know where the driver was exactly taking us, but the australian asked in the very very very serious way to stop right where we were, and after few seconds trying ti argue, the driver did so.
Well, in the end we took a tuk tuk back to the city center and the bus station, bought another ticket, and arrived in Phuket at 4.30. I'm glad I wasn't alone! I only wasted some hours and 250B (7€), so it's not too bad. I think we've been very unlucky, and later on we actually heard that Surathani was famous for this sort of rip off. That's it!
Tonight I'm staying in a really nice place, nice staff, nice room, quiet, cheap internet, breakfast included, etc.. which i needed after 48h sweating without shower.
I'm trying to get some pics out of my phone.. but it doesn't work :-(
By the way:
-no need to worry mum and dad, I'm fine, it was just worth telling the rip off story!
-I said I had seen jingle on Kho Tao.. actually not, it was just tough forest :)
Then I had booked a "joint ticket", it's not for a smoke that makes you laughting, it's a ticket that's used for Taxi+boat+bus to take you where you have to go. It's suppose to be cheaper...
In order not to waste a day, I left with the night-boat at 21.00 yesterday night. The boat was OK, made out of wood and nicely rocking to get you asleep, I didn't see the super-sized cockroaches crowling on the roof so I slept all-right.
I arrived this morning in Surathani at 4.30, not 100% fresh mind.. Then thai travellers went on their own, and farangs like me were distributed among few tuk tuks. I was with two english guys going to a different destination. I was supposed to catch a bus at 5.30 in the monrning to carry on to Phuket but they first took us to a sort of bar and they said we had to wait till 7.30 for the bus. Well... 2h30 min waiting... nevermind. At 7 another tuk tuk came and took me to another bar without the two other english guys. Once I got there an Indian guy (that I found not nice right in the beggining) told me I had to pay again to go to Phuket, otherwise I would have to wait until 9.30. I didn't want to pay so after some negociations I said I'd wait, but I got a bit angry in the inside! Other people came and -thanks gos- an Australian couple ended up in the situation as me.
Then at 8.30 a minibus came, the driver talked with the Indian guy in thai and we finally get in, apparently to go to the bus. But after the 3 of us got in the car, the guy went back to the trunk and started doing stuff, till we understood he was probably taking a quick look in our bags! We started looking, he closed the trunk and we left. The guy drove arround the corner and actually got back to the place we were, talked again to the indian guy and we left again quickly. We -of course- started to worry and tryed to talk to the drive, but he seemed not to speak a word in english, and could only said, "10min, wait, 10min wait". After 5min wondering with the australian guy what was happening, we figured out the bus station was behind us and everything was going wrong. So I don't know where the driver was exactly taking us, but the australian asked in the very very very serious way to stop right where we were, and after few seconds trying ti argue, the driver did so.
Well, in the end we took a tuk tuk back to the city center and the bus station, bought another ticket, and arrived in Phuket at 4.30. I'm glad I wasn't alone! I only wasted some hours and 250B (7€), so it's not too bad. I think we've been very unlucky, and later on we actually heard that Surathani was famous for this sort of rip off. That's it!
Tonight I'm staying in a really nice place, nice staff, nice room, quiet, cheap internet, breakfast included, etc.. which i needed after 48h sweating without shower.
I'm trying to get some pics out of my phone.. but it doesn't work :-(
By the way:
-no need to worry mum and dad, I'm fine, it was just worth telling the rip off story!
-I said I had seen jingle on Kho Tao.. actually not, it was just tough forest :)
Saturday 10 July 2010
Koh Tao
To reply to this Swedish comment: the things I wouldn't eat are for exemple: huge amouts of pig nose, bugs (maybe this I'll try..), chily that you don't want to try ever again, all sort of small animals.. I forgot what others things I saw.
Well, here is a summary of my last 3 days:
I went from Hua Hin to Chumphon by bus early in the morning. I meet russian people again, but this time one of them spoke english a little bit. We shared the taxi and took the boat to Koh Tao. First my impression when we left the 'harbour', with no one on the beaches arround, was that I reached heaven. Then the boat was sort of empty. Then we arrived in Koh Tao, and there it was totally different. THe west cost, biggest one on the island from far, is almost only about buildings made out of conrete. People in the street are white people. The beach looks amazing but the water is actually very polluted. So I went further, again loosing at least 2L of water sweating. I finally found an old thai woman renting bungalows for a reasonable price. Well, it was OK.
Yesterday I decided to move out to the other side of island, but with my heavy bag I wanted to take a 'taxi'. After quite a search, I found two switz girls that accepted to share the taxi with me. Then 30min of incredible ride in the jingle, with quite a lot of moments where I thought the 4x4 would flip over on the roof. We finally ended up in a very nice place! We were alone with the owner of the place and her family, all thai. The water there was amazing so I snorkled (masque et tuba) for quite long, enjoying the colorful fishes and the corals. I even got attacked by a seagull that probably protected its nest, quite aggressive the beast! Moreover I felt very relaxed for my grant, it was good time.
I was planning to stay there for a couple of days. Unfortunatly the landlord tried to screw us quite a lot. She didn't say there wasn't water or electricity except between 23 and 5, when accpeted to run the engine cause the wires were broken up. Then she served a fish at night that was probably waiting in some petrol for a couple of weeks (humm hummm quite disgusting thing that was this fish ^^). So the two girls wanted to get back today and thus I did the same.
After some deep water jumping and snorcking, I headed back the main beach and I found back my nice bungalow with the old lady who quite smiled at me when she saw me back with my big backpack.
I think I'll spend tomorrow on the island, maybe walking to another isolated beach, but without my bag.
Sometimes it seems to be such a waste here that I feel guilty to be part of this tourism. This afternoon when I was looking for the internet coffee, I crossed a place where there was an open-air septic tank, awfully stinky. I could have puked there...
The worst is that some people don't even care or realise. And Thai people here, some are just bored and a bit hopeless (like my grandma bungalow owner a little bit), but some other seem to want to keep on going. I don't know if they are just blinded by money or what.
Well, that's not my state of mind 100% of the time, not at all, but it's scary sometimes.
I'll try to post some pics soon if I can.
Jérémie.
Well, here is a summary of my last 3 days:
I went from Hua Hin to Chumphon by bus early in the morning. I meet russian people again, but this time one of them spoke english a little bit. We shared the taxi and took the boat to Koh Tao. First my impression when we left the 'harbour', with no one on the beaches arround, was that I reached heaven. Then the boat was sort of empty. Then we arrived in Koh Tao, and there it was totally different. THe west cost, biggest one on the island from far, is almost only about buildings made out of conrete. People in the street are white people. The beach looks amazing but the water is actually very polluted. So I went further, again loosing at least 2L of water sweating. I finally found an old thai woman renting bungalows for a reasonable price. Well, it was OK.
Yesterday I decided to move out to the other side of island, but with my heavy bag I wanted to take a 'taxi'. After quite a search, I found two switz girls that accepted to share the taxi with me. Then 30min of incredible ride in the jingle, with quite a lot of moments where I thought the 4x4 would flip over on the roof. We finally ended up in a very nice place! We were alone with the owner of the place and her family, all thai. The water there was amazing so I snorkled (masque et tuba) for quite long, enjoying the colorful fishes and the corals. I even got attacked by a seagull that probably protected its nest, quite aggressive the beast! Moreover I felt very relaxed for my grant, it was good time.
I was planning to stay there for a couple of days. Unfortunatly the landlord tried to screw us quite a lot. She didn't say there wasn't water or electricity except between 23 and 5, when accpeted to run the engine cause the wires were broken up. Then she served a fish at night that was probably waiting in some petrol for a couple of weeks (humm hummm quite disgusting thing that was this fish ^^). So the two girls wanted to get back today and thus I did the same.
After some deep water jumping and snorcking, I headed back the main beach and I found back my nice bungalow with the old lady who quite smiled at me when she saw me back with my big backpack.
I think I'll spend tomorrow on the island, maybe walking to another isolated beach, but without my bag.
Sometimes it seems to be such a waste here that I feel guilty to be part of this tourism. This afternoon when I was looking for the internet coffee, I crossed a place where there was an open-air septic tank, awfully stinky. I could have puked there...
The worst is that some people don't even care or realise. And Thai people here, some are just bored and a bit hopeless (like my grandma bungalow owner a little bit), but some other seem to want to keep on going. I don't know if they are just blinded by money or what.
Well, that's not my state of mind 100% of the time, not at all, but it's scary sometimes.
I'll try to post some pics soon if I can.
Jérémie.
Thursday 8 July 2010
phd grant
I got my Phd grant! Just received a mail today! I'm super happy. I'm going in a place where I won't get the internet in the next day.
I'll write more afterwards!
Bye!
I'll write more afterwards!
Bye!
Wednesday 7 July 2010
Southward
I'm in Hua Hin tonight. I missed the bus stop but I finally got back to the city by bike-taxi.
I'm staying in a Tek hostel, pretty nice one. Food is amazing, sea food specially here.
I'll go to Ko Tao tomorrow.
[I'm was expecting my phd grant today, so I hope tomorrow..]
Good night!
I'm staying in a Tek hostel, pretty nice one. Food is amazing, sea food specially here.
I'll go to Ko Tao tomorrow.
[I'm was expecting my phd grant today, so I hope tomorrow..]
Good night!
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Getting alone tomorrow!
So Elsa and me spent the week end on Kho Samet. It's a small island, 3h30 by bus from Bangkok. It's a quite touristic place, cause all the people who spend only few days in Thailand in Bangkok can go there for the week end, like us. However, because of what happened with the red shirts, there is not much American or European tourists. I'm a bit lucky from this point of view. Hus it was mainly tourists from Asia, or the upper class of the Bangkok families who take a week end out of the city.
The island was nice and weather was obviously raelly hot. So I thought I shouldn't get in the sun and I wore a towel for the whole day, except when we went swiming twice.. well... it was enought to get sunburnt! (note to my sweet mother: it was the first and the last time here, I promise!).
Yesterday and today I travelled arround in Bangkok, after being annoyed by the irritated thai people in the touristic places, I got lost in few streets and markets, where thai always have their famous smile. I've been walking through food, flower, or whatever markets. There are damn big amount of evrything, including nice fruits but also some stuff I would never eat. I also visited some temples and museums.
Yesterday night we went to a restaurant with a thai couple that Elsa and another french girl knew from university, and I think tonight we'll go out with some french people that work here (sort of an expatriate ambience I guess).
Tomorrow I'll leave bangkok to go down to the south, towards the islands. I'm probably gonna go to Kho Tao. I'll try to dive and see by my own how it's going on on these island, between tourists attracted by heavenly beaches, amazing diving, 'end of the world' style, backpacker meetings, international/clubmed parties, etc etc..
I'm quite tired, I guess it's because of the climat and maybe still a little bit because of the jet-lag. I hope it'll get better when I'll be relaxing in the south, out of the stuffy but pretty amazing atmosphere of Bangkok.
I'll try to post some pics next time, but I don't take many anyway, I feel too weird about taking pictures of the people when they see me.
I'll keep you posted.
The island was nice and weather was obviously raelly hot. So I thought I shouldn't get in the sun and I wore a towel for the whole day, except when we went swiming twice.. well... it was enought to get sunburnt! (note to my sweet mother: it was the first and the last time here, I promise!).
Yesterday and today I travelled arround in Bangkok, after being annoyed by the irritated thai people in the touristic places, I got lost in few streets and markets, where thai always have their famous smile. I've been walking through food, flower, or whatever markets. There are damn big amount of evrything, including nice fruits but also some stuff I would never eat. I also visited some temples and museums.
Yesterday night we went to a restaurant with a thai couple that Elsa and another french girl knew from university, and I think tonight we'll go out with some french people that work here (sort of an expatriate ambience I guess).
Tomorrow I'll leave bangkok to go down to the south, towards the islands. I'm probably gonna go to Kho Tao. I'll try to dive and see by my own how it's going on on these island, between tourists attracted by heavenly beaches, amazing diving, 'end of the world' style, backpacker meetings, international/clubmed parties, etc etc..
I'm quite tired, I guess it's because of the climat and maybe still a little bit because of the jet-lag. I hope it'll get better when I'll be relaxing in the south, out of the stuffy but pretty amazing atmosphere of Bangkok.
I'll try to post some pics next time, but I don't take many anyway, I feel too weird about taking pictures of the people when they see me.
I'll keep you posted.
Friday 2 July 2010
D+1
Here it is, sweat, sweat, air conditionned, sweat, sweat, sweat, air conditionned so that I'm almost cold, sweat, humm sweat again... ahh night is coming, maybe it'll get a little bit fresher, actually no so sweat, sweat and sweat.
It's pretty hot and wet and polluted here. The air is so thick that you feel like you can touch it.
After a long non-spleepy journey, I arrive in Bangkok on time, get my luguage, talk and laught with the taxi driver (that I thought he was speaking thai to me, but actually it was just his english which was with a strong accent!). I reach the university, find elsa after a couple of student kindly showing me the way, and my day starts.
From Chinatown where you hear "falang, falang" (which means "white stranger") all the time, to the most touristic place in Khaosan, to a nice restaurant, going through the heavy traffic, avoiding the cockroach (les cafards) in the toilets (bigger than my thumb these bastards!), meeting some exchange students who are living here for a year, gettings beers and heading back to Elsa's place in Taxi with a sudden and very heavy rain. That's it, only few hours here but I'm already quite into it.
Tomorrow we're going to a close beach for the week end (Kho Samuet), so I should eventually get some sleep in order to wake up early.
Good night!
It's pretty hot and wet and polluted here. The air is so thick that you feel like you can touch it.
After a long non-spleepy journey, I arrive in Bangkok on time, get my luguage, talk and laught with the taxi driver (that I thought he was speaking thai to me, but actually it was just his english which was with a strong accent!). I reach the university, find elsa after a couple of student kindly showing me the way, and my day starts.
From Chinatown where you hear "falang, falang" (which means "white stranger") all the time, to the most touristic place in Khaosan, to a nice restaurant, going through the heavy traffic, avoiding the cockroach (les cafards) in the toilets (bigger than my thumb these bastards!), meeting some exchange students who are living here for a year, gettings beers and heading back to Elsa's place in Taxi with a sudden and very heavy rain. That's it, only few hours here but I'm already quite into it.
Tomorrow we're going to a close beach for the week end (Kho Samuet), so I should eventually get some sleep in order to wake up early.
Good night!
Wednesday 30 June 2010
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