Couple hours in Vientienne and the all to familiar Bangkok

After Vang Vieng we decided to go straight to Bangkok as we had misjudged the amount of days we had. That and my very good friend Alasdair (Al) who I know from my undergrad and lives in B'ham was coming over to Thailand with his wife, her sister and boyfriend and we wanted to spend some time with them since I missed them England this time around.

We took a treacherous bus ride from Vang Vieng to Vientienne (the capital) that took about 3 hours. From there we took the over night train to Bangkok but we had a few hours in Vientienne so we planned to meet with an Aussie guy and girl that we met in Luang Prabang. They were staying there for awhile (she was born in Laos but moved as a kid to Melbourne but her sister is working in Laos now so they had their digs). We had a few drinks and walked around the city -- which is a very clean, nice and pleasant city on the river. We had been overloaded with temples by this point so we just had a look around and a few more drinks.

The overnight train to Bangkok was good -- we decided to be posh and get a 1st class cabin so we ended up having our own little cabin with proper beds for the 13 hour journey. After eating some ridiculously spicy food we bedded down and had a decent sleep.

BANGKOK

Once in Bangkok we did not do too much except do some shopping in Ko San Road and in Siam Square (MBK Centre). We bought a great deal of clothes for Xmas gifts for Amy's family and a few last items for ourselves.

Bangkok is a mad-place full of backpackers and to be honest it hasnt changed a bit since I was there. Tuk-tuk drivers trying to rip everyone off, backpackers overflowing on the streets (in Ko San at least), etc etc.

Unfortunately, we arrived during the general elections - as many of you may remember there was a peaceful coup a year ago and these election were to install the new gov't. As part of elections in Thailand they do not serve alcohol for 3 days during election times. Its a clever move -- but not the best for those who want to have a few drinks. At any rate, once we met with Al they had found an establishment that served alcohol on the down-low -- so we spent a few hours there getting involved. The following day we went to the movies at MBK where you pay about $15 a piece for luxury viewing. You get a blanket, pillow and a HUGE recliner to watch the movie in. You can order food and they bring it to you inside -- obviously we took advantage of this little treat. We saw 'I am Legend' which was really good and pretty intense...having to come out to the wildness of Bangkok was a little too much for us to deal with given the movie...but all the same we were ok.

On our way back to the guest house we ran into Al and Helena (they were meant to come with us but for some bizarre reason we missed them at the meeting point)...from there we had a few drinks and went to the night market which is really nice as there are no farangs (foreigners) there. You can pick up clothes that not every other person is wearing!

That night Al and I drank til about 6am as we hadnt had a good catch up -- it was tough getting up at 9am the next day - but I am a pro at this now so it wasnt too bad.

After lunch with Al and company we made our way to the airport only to find out that the luggage limits from asia to australia are 20kg each!! (normally its 2x32kg per person). with all the shopping that we did we had to pay $500 in excess luggage!!! we were floored and stuck with the decision of whether to dump what we bought or take it with us and bit the bullet....we ended up biting the bullet on it as we figured its only money....

From Bangkok it was off to Sydney, connector to Brisbane, Brisbane to Mackay and then Mackay to Brampton Island where we would be married in 2 days!!

Vang Vieng - the new Cancun/Ft. Lauderdale of SE Asia

Vang Vieng is one of the most picturesque places I have ever been to. Its famous for its tubing and backpacker community. The town is basically set upon a river that is adjacent to a series of mountain ranges. The mountains are covered in foliage and are quite jagged and really are a beautiful site. It is essentially a 'must-see' stop along the backpacker way.

Now alot of what I will say is based upon what I saw when I was last in Laos. You could see that development was bound to happen given what I have told you above. When I was last there there were only dirt roads, two internet cafes, and a few guest houses. Tubing was organized as and when you wanted to go and the tubing was a quiet tranquil affair (save the small little huts with locals selling Beer Lao and a few zip lines). Well its totally changed and sadly not for the best. The roads are completely paved (ok, that was bound to happen), there are high end internet cafes EVERYWHERE, guest houses on every corner and tubing is operated by hourly tuk-tuks for 4, 6, 8, 10km treks. The business model as it were has totally changed.

From the first corner of the tubing I could her the thunderous beats of 50 Cent and what appeared to be scene out of MTV Spring Break Gone Wild, Volume 2. Where once lay a small little hut and local with a cooler full of beer has been replaced by a multi-tiered paddock with a sound system that would rival most clubs in London. The place was PACKED with americans, aussies, english drinking tonnes of beer and smoking loads of weed. There were easily 60-70 people dancing around and being really really loud (ie ala Spring Break). I were 20 or even 25 this would be awesome - a dream come true- but alas I am no longer in my early 20's. The first 2km were filled with establishments like this. There are actual concrete buildings there now and multi-leveled huts (picture a 3-storey driving range) filled with people getting absoulutely shit faced. I longed for some peace and quiet but could only hear the thunderous beats of the various sound systems competeing for the tubers 'beer Lao money'. All along the way, guest houses and hotels were being erected everywhere you looked. However, after about and hour we passed all that shit and found what we were looking for:Quiet. From there we lazily had a beer or two as we floated along the river in what is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It was really nice, dipping my head upside down in the river and looking at the mountains and their reflection on the river. It really is an amazing specatacle that everyone should see (even though it can be a bit frustrating).

The evenings were filled with going into town and having a bite to eat and a few drinks. Like before all eating establishments play Friends 24 hours a day on constant rotation. They have now added "'Family Guy" restaurants to the mix -- which is nice. The atmosphere in the town was similar to the West End in London when the pubs let out. People were wasted, yelling loudly, and being generally rude and obnoxious. The way that some of the people speak to the local people is disgusting and you can now see alot of resentment and anger in the people that was NO WHERE to be found 30 months previously.

The next day we rented some push bikes and 'tried' to ride over to the caves about 6km away. Bad move. It was blistered hot and the roads were quite rocky and filled with pot holes. We took a couple detours into the fields which was a bad move. Along the way we almost bum-rushed by a herd of bulls trying to mate with a cow that were stampeding along the side of the dirt road. I thought we were going to be totally trampled and yelled out to Amy as I thought we were going to die. All I could hear was her laughing as apparently she said she had never seen the look of fear in my eyes like that before....ok, im a bit of an urban dweller and the rush of randy bulls makes me move, ok!
We made it about 1km along the track but it was too hard going and are asses were hurting, so we turned around and went into town and went riding the other way out of town, which was quite a lot of fun to see where the locals live and get away from it.

The following day we made our way to Vientienne to meet up with a couple people we met in Luang Prabang for the day (we were off to Bangkok that same evening).

Luang Prabang -- its changing, but its still nice

After Chiang Mai we flew over to Luang Prabang in the north of Laos. The city is really really chilled out and has a lot of charm. I was last here about 30 months ago and it has changed quite a bit. The one thing is the prices of things -- I would say things have gone up by about 50% (its still dirt cheap) and transport around the country is up about 200%. When I was last here the place was developing and now I have seen the result of this development.

There are ALOT more swanky cafes and bars and there are alot more higher end guest houses and proper hotels. Its good that it has not developed into a hole like the Ko San area and alot of care has been taken to keep the look of the city. Part of this maybe dictated by the fact that the entire city is a UN World Heritage Site.

The previous visit i was unable to see the Tad Sae waterfalls because of the season but we were able to to go this time. They are very beautiful waterfalls that are not particularly high but are larger in breadth and have multiple levels to them. only once we climbed up the water did we discover that they pipe in water to the one side of the falls so its complete from end to end. They really are stunning and it was quite serene to see this in that surrounding.

The following day we took in a few temples (there are over 40 in this small city) and relaxed and took it easy. we visited a book exchange where an aussie woman uses the $1 you pay for a book exchange for the orphanage. We donated some more money and the amount would give the 400 kids milk for an entire week. They are in desperate need of funds and i strongly encourage any of you that read this to contribute as the funds go straight to the kids, no middle man, no large ngo's, straight to the kids. $20 can go a really long way!!! The website is below:

http://www.lao-kids.org/

On our last day Amy got hit with the flu really bad so i took the opportunity to climb to the top of Phousi Mountain (its 400 steps) it has amazing views of the two rivers and the city as a whole. It really was really a site to see.

Chiang Mai

After taking a nasty flight on Indian Airlines from Bombay to Bangkok we flew up on to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand.

We wanted to head up there to see another part of Thailand and to do some courses and get our teeth done. The dental industry seems to be booming as there were far more dental clinics around when I was last there. All in all we saved about $1000 in all the work we had done. We didnt do too much but had about 5 massage/spa treatments while we were there...which were amazing!

One day we took a Thai cooking class - it was the same as I had done before and since it was so good we decided to do it again. The class takes place at a farm about 40mins outside of Chiang Mai and the majority of the ingrediants come from the organic farm. All is all we made about 5 dishes all of which are very easy to make. The instruction was excellent and the surroundings are peaceful. We met a couple there whose lives closely mirrored ours -- they were Aussies that had just got married after living 4 years in London and were traveling before they went home. That night we went out with them and drank way too much -- considering we had flight early the next morning it wasnt the best thing.

That night was the King of Thailand's 80th birthday and there were celebrations around the city to mark it. About 85% of the restaurants and bars were closed out of respect for the holiday as well. The celebrations included some fireworks and the hanging of thousands of yellow lanterns in the main square. The King is revered in Thailand and one should NEVER say anything bad about him. He carries alot of clout in the political arena and some foreigners have gone to prison for defacing photos of him. At the new airport in Bangkok signs that read 'Long Live The King' are ubiquitous and photos of him can be found everywhere. The King was actually born in Boston and was raised in Switzerland and only moved to Thailand when he was 20. He is a designer of boats -- and many are used for mass production too.

Chiang Mai is a very nice city but the effect on tourist is rife. I do not think there is much in the old city that is truly authentic and the tourist is catered for on every corner. The other thing that stuck me was the amount of (primarily English) sex tourists at every step. Its sickening seeing these guys as they travel in packs and are disgusting to even look at. Many of them are with absolute stunning women who are in their early 20's (if they are lucky). I have seen quite a bit of the seedier side of life in SE Asia but it still disturbs me and I constantly wonder what makes these people tick. Does one mate call another and say 'hey lets go to Thailand and hook up with as many pros as we can?' The psychology of it all baffles me -- I really dont get it.

After Chiang Mai we decided to head up to Laos.

End of India and Reflections

The last few days in Mumbai we sorted out a few things and I picked up my suits. We went to the Elephanta Caves which were about 45mins away from Bombay by boat-- they were nice to see as they are about 2000 years old and have stone engravings depicting several scences.

That night my friend took us to a posh club where the elite go. Drinks were $7 a piece (normally they were $1) and the crowd were def fairly well off. There were a couple Bollywood stars there that night too.The thing that struck us funny was that everyone spoke English -- I could not hear Hindi nor any other language being spoken. But as my friend said there is nothing 'less Indian' about conversing in English....which I totally understand.

The other thing that really caught me by surprise was the desire to be fair skinned and many of the people you see you could not tell if they were Indian. Ads for fairness cream are rampant and ads go far to say 'get fair, get sexy'. Many of these ads are sponsored by big names stars and there is a small backlash in the UK against the creams (let alone the negative health effects). I guess I shouldnt be surprised but the idea of bleaching ones skin (in the West at least) seems foreign and almost degrading. Could you imagine if someone in Canada who had dark skin openly told people they were lightening their skin -- i think it would be met with perplexed looks.

We really had an amazing time in India butto say that Mumbai and Goa are representation of India would be haphazard. It gave us a taste of Indian lifestyle and the various levels of poverty and wealth one can see. We plan on seeing other parts (rajistan, south india) in the near future but are glad that we had the opportunity to go now.

As I have Indian heritage i really have a greater appreciation for their culture and their pride. Its fair to say that 'indians' portrayed in western media has been of the baffoon and to be laughed at....having seen many of the Bollywood movies in the 80's there is no wonder this stereo-type has persisted. Even the beloved Simpsons started by portraying the Indian sterotype and there is not many 'normal' Indians in TV shows and movies (save Harold and Kumar). However, I think with some of the cross-overs taking place and the clout of the indian movie producers this will soon slowly disappear.

India as a whole is primed to be a leader in the world market/economy - with their large population, fluency in english, infrastructure, work culture and pre-existing connections to the outside their ability to be a world leader and beater are a force to be reckon with. Outsourcing is not just net result of this - many indian companies will be/have taken over large established companies in Europe/North america and I believe this will only continue. I do not think that any sector is immune and that investment banks will soon see their operations (ie not back office but pure research/analysts) move east. They can pay 1/10th the salary and get as good if not better results.

At any rate -- enough reflections....more to come later!