LAOS

 ARC DE TRIOMPH LAOTIAN STYLE

We left Danga Bay on a wet and stormy morning to head to Kuala Lumpur on our way to Laos and Cambodia. Heather and Mark from “Ajax” were with us and we were all looking forward to this trip.

The plan: bus to KL, plane to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and then by bus first north then south through Laos crossing into Cambodia at Stung Treng. Then once again making our way north to Siem Reap and then south to Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia, from where we would fly back to KL and then bus back to Danga Bay and our boat.

As the saying goes “the best laid plans of mice and men…..” things did not quite go according to plan; well at least not for Tony and me. But more on that later.

The long distance buses here are wonderful, recliner seats indicative of first class flying, good roads, careful drivers, and CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP. Well you get the picture.

The trip to KL only takes around 4 ½ hours including a loo stop (mostly squat loos, gotta be lucky to get a western loo, oh yeah and take your own loo paper, non existent here.) At the other end take the LRT (light rail transit) which runs every 4 minutes to the hotel. We have been to KL so often we now have “our” hotel which is only a 3 min walk from the station.

CHOOSE YOUR LOO!

Once we were checked in it was off to the shopping centre just five minutes away to get some cash and have a meal. Well, Tony’s NAB card was eaten by the ATM. This has been an ongoing saga since we changed to National Australia Bank in January, but that is another story!

After a good meal and an early night it is off to the airport next morning. Once again all too easy, walk 3 mins to LRT, ride 3 mins to Central Station $0.60 then take the skybus $3.00 for a 40 min trip to the airport. Eat your heart out Melbourne. Sure could learn a lot from so called 3rd world countries.

FLYING INTO VIENTIANE

The flight was comfortable as is usual with Airasia, they might be a budget airline, but they do it well. Visas for Laos are available on arrival, just fill out the forms; hand over your pass photo pay and $30.00 if you are Australian (me) or $35.00 if you are European (Tony). Better than Americans who have to pay $42.00, especially considering that the preferred currency is US dollars.

ELECTRICIAN ANYONE?

Having pre-booked rooms in a guesthouse out of town, the next task was to find a tuk-tuk driver to take us there. After much debate and gesticulating by taxi and tuk-tuk drivers alike, one taxi driver volunteered to take us. Addresses are virtually non existent and even street names can vary depending on who you are dealing with. What a disaster that guesthouse was; no hot water; no hand basin, just a bucket under the tap; shower only dribbled; no locks on the door, bed as hard as a rock; flat hard pillows and that were the GOOD points. Not quite sure what the ladies next door were doing, but their door squeaked every time it was opened, and it opened and closed every 20 minutes or so until 3am.

FOUR ON A BIKE

Whenever someone entered or left their room the dogs would bark, the rooster would crow and we would wake up! Must say though the rooms were CLEAN.

TUK-TUK

We had organised a tuk-tuk to pick us up at 8 o’clock next morning, and so the first stop was That Louang Temple. This is Laos’s most important religious building and its national symbol. The present day structure built in 1930 stands on the same place as the original stupa thought to have been built in the mid sixteenth century. The tapering golden spire is 45 metres tall, and is surrounded by thirty short spiky stupas also covered in gold. It makes for a dazzling sight, especially when the sun shines.

THAT LOUANG TEMPLE

There are dozens of small and large “wats” (temples) scattered throughout Vientiane, and all of them covered in gold leaf or paint. Inside there are usually stunning murals and golden Buddhas, attended by monks in saffron coloured robes. The Laotians are a gentle people, very warm and welcoming.

 

GOLDEN BUDDHA

TUK-TUK 2

On return to our tuk-tuk, we found another tuk-tuk waiting for us as the brakes on ours were no longer working. Our new driver is Dit and a very pleasant young man whose English is much better than our first driver.

MONOLITHIC RECLINING BUDDHA

Next stop: Buddha Park. This is an amazing place, created by Luang Phu Boonla Surirat, a self styled holy man in the late 1950’s. Built of concrete there are statues of every conceivable deity in the Hindu-Buddhist religions. There is a monolithic reclining Buddha, a pumpkin-shaped hollow building with whole scenes of sculptures inside, and stairs up to the roof where you can climb out through a small aperture and sit out there and take in the spectacular view.

PUMPKIN

PUMPKIN ENTRANCE

INSIDE PUMPKIN

VIEW FROM PUMKIN OVER BUDDHA PARK

Then it is off to town for lunch in a lovely little restaurant, and while we were sitting there Heather and I spotted a sign for a guesthouse; so off we went, checked out the rooms and immediately booked two. The price; $16.00, hot water, comfy beds, hand basin, good shower and free tea and coffee. No complaints here! I would definitely recommend Wonderland Guesthouse 2 as a great place to stay. It is very central, close to shops, restaurants, bars, and museums etc, and near the “black stupa” which made it easy to find our hotel back.

WONDERLAND GUESTHOUSE

Back out to last nights nightmare to pick up our luggage and check into our new room. The tuk-tuk broke down, and after the third and seemingly permanent breakdown we moved onto our third tuk-tuk for the day.

 FIXING THE TUK-TUK

 NEW TUK-TUK DRIVER

We had engaged the first one at a set price for the day, and this transferred over each time with the new driver bargaining and paying the previous driver! On the way back to our hotel we hit a huge pothole which jarred us all, but especially Tony’s neck. Little did we know it but that plus a tiny tablet were to change our plans drastically.

TEMPLE

We were booked on the early bus to Louang Phabang, a 12 hour trip. We had organised a tuk-tuk to pick us up at 7.00 am to take us to the bus station. Early next morning found Tony unable to move, and suffering nausea and severe muscle pain. Not any way to start a 12 hr journey over what can only be termed as basic roads. The decision was made; Mark and Heather would continue on and we would stay until Tony was mobile once more, and then decide what to do after that. Tony had started on tablets to lower his cholesterol, and it seems that this was the cause of the nausea and muscle pains. Solution: stop taking the tablets, a couple of days taking it very easy, and things were looking up.

TEMPLE ENTRANCE

We spent the next week exploring Vientiane, and while we didn’t get to see more of Laos, it was very relaxing and enjoyable checking out this lovely city in depth. There are numerous temples and monuments, and a wonderful Scandinavian Bakery that we visited several times for breakfast.

TEMPLE PROTECTOR

One fascinating statue can be found on the banks of the Mekong River. It is huge, and while we could find no information on it in English, we believe it has been erected to “extend the hand of friendship” to Thailand across the river.

HAND OF FRIENDSHIP

WHAT HO PHRA KEO

We spent a morning at the COPE Centre; a museum and centre that treats people who have been affected by unexploded ordinance (UXO). During the Vietnam war, over 277 million cluster bombs were dropped on Laos in an attempt to stop supplies reaching the Viet cong. Approximately 80 million of these failed to explode, and now pose a serious hazard to anyone who comes across the rusty remains. Despite their appearance, they are still extremely dangerous, and kill or maim around 600 mostly children per year.

COPE CENTRE

Because the income is so low in the farming provinces where the UXOs are mainly found, children and adults go looking for the bombs to salvage the scrap metal, which can often double or triple their weekly income. Unfortunately some pay with their lives, or at least with the loss of one or more limbs.

HOW MANY TO CLEAN A CAR?

COPE not only supply new arms and legs, they rehabilitate and train the victims to become useful members of society once more. They are a charitable organization, and all treatment given is free. They rely on donations and government help for their income. This year alone they have helped over 1500 people.

LOOK! OUR NAME.

On Tuesday 8th February we flew from Vientiane to Siem Reap in Cambodia. While we did not get to see as much of Laos as was first planned, we did enjoy getting to know a small part well. Perhaps we will return one day and finish our trip.

PLANE TO CAMBODIA

Asia

Well we are back in Malaysia after 6 weeks back in Victoria to spend Christmas with  family. The boat had been well looked after by several people while we were away, there wasn't even any mould to clean. That is a huge problem here, many leave their boats for a while only to come back to find various sorts of gunge growing on and in them. After catching up on some much needed maintenance, we are leaving on the 1st of Feb to head off to Laos and Cambodia for 3 weeks. So stand by for the next installment of our big adventure. I will try to post something underway, but apparently internet is not too good there so it may have to wait until we are back.

KUALA LUMPUR

 KUALA LUMPUR

We left on Monday 6th Dec to KL before heading off to Australia on Saturday. We had been informed that the trip would take 6 hrs, which seemed to be about right as the trip to Melaka had taken four hours. Well, four and a half hours later we were told this is the end of the line, you are in KL. Turns out the bus station in central KL is being renovated so the buses terminate well outside. We had a lot of luggage (because we were flying back to Oz) so we took a taxi into town. There were four of us as the crew off Ajax, Heather and Mark, were spending the week in KL with us. Taxis are cheap here and the 30 min trip cost us 50 ringgit or $ 18.00. We had booked our hotel online and while we weren’t expecting luxury, not at $23.00 a night, we did expect to get a room with a view. Any view, not necessarily a pretty view, but at the very least a view of some sort. Apparently windows need to be specially requested and paid for accordingly. Yes, you guessed it, no window! The rest was clean and tidy, not flash but reasonable for what we were paying, just no window.

CELL NO 805

The first evening was spent settling in, sorting out where we wanted to go and finding the local supermarket and food court. As everywhere else in Malaysia the local food is cheap and good, typically a meal will cost you $2-3.00. If you want western food then you are looking at about $4-5.00.

The next morning we were all up bright and early and off to the tourist information centre to make sure we wouldn’t miss anything. Seems there is plenty to see in KL starting with the Petronus Towers. They were very impressive indeed, with lots of stainless steel everywhere.

PETRONUS TOWERS

The twin towers stand 452 meters high, and are the highest twin towers in the world. They became the highest building in the world when they were completed in 1997 and continued that way until 2003. The towers were constructed simultaneously, and incorporate a skybridge at level 41 and 42. There are 88 floors, thew lower 6 levels given over to upmarket shops and a full size concert theatre. Huge cranes were used to lift and place the bridge into position and such was the engineering that it slotted in perfectly. 

Public transport is fantastic in KL, there are GO cards which you can use and refill as day cards. This cost us 10.00 RM per day ($3.30) which allowed us to travel on the LRT (light rail transit) the RRT (rapid rail transport) the monorail and the buses.

HERE COMES THE TRAIN

The monorail and the buses have drivers, but the LRT and RRT are all automatic. It is good fun as you can stand and look out the front window.

VIEW FROM THE LRT

It gets a bit scary when another train comes along on the other rail. We rode from one end of the line to the other just sightseeing. We did the same on the monorail, stopping at various stations for coffee and lunch.

END OF THE LINE

While the system is good it is not perfect, it was always wait and see if we all got through, but usually one of us got stranded either coming in or going out. It all added to the fun of traipsing around the city. Everyone in KL speaks very good English, which makes life very easy but does not further my knowledge of Malaysian. Indonesian and Malaysian are very similar, just some words are pronounced differently.

CULTURAL CENTRE

We spent the afternoon at various museums and turned into our cells for an early night.

KL MUSEUM

Thursday we were all up early to go to the Batu Caves, it is 13 km out of KL, and the new Kommuter train stops there. Our GO card did not cover the trip so we were forced to buy a ticket. Well, we had to ask twice to make sure we heard correctly as she charged us a whole 2.00 RM each!! Boy, Australia could certainly learn a thing or two about public transport from the Malaysians.

BATU CAVES

The Batu Caves were carved out of limestone 400 million years ago. There are 272 steps to climb to reach the entrance, and a further 64 inside. The ceilings are over 300 ft high and further inside the cave there is a large hole that lets in light and rain creating a mini garden on the cliff sides. The caves were discovered over 100 years ago and the largest was made into a Hindu temple. This temple plays a very important role in Hindu religious ceremonies in Malaysia.

GOLDEN HINDU GOD

Monkeys abound at the caves, and you can buy food for them if you wish. They can get quite aggressive, but they are used to being chased away, so as long as you stay assertive they will scamper off.

MONKEY BUSINESS

After climbing up and down all those stairs it was time for coffee and some food. We decided to try the vegetarian Indian restaurant, and sampled various dishes and drank two cups of delicious coffee.

MUM AND BABE

After lunch it was back onto the train and off to the Selangor Pewter Factory. Established in 1885 by a Chinese immigrant to Malaysia they export hand made pewter items to more than twenty countries around the world. Tours are free and personalised; we were just with the four of us.

PEWTER WORKER

The workers are all highly skilled; one lady had been there over 40 years hammering those little dents in pewter mugs. She does about 8 to 10 per day. Can you imagine doing that for forty years! We all had a go at it and needless to say we did not do very well. It takes more than a year to learn how to put dents in pewter mugs.

CARE FOR A BEER?

Friday it was off to Petaling Street to the Chinese market to do our Christmas shopping before heading home to Australia. Great bargains are to be had if you are prepared to join in the national pastime of haggling over the price. I enjoy the challenge and the bargain, and got some good deals. I did pay too much for one item, but still paid a lot less than I would have in Australia so I’m still ahead. The rest of the afternoon was spent packing and then the four of us went out for dinner.

KL BY NIGHT

Saturday morning it was off to the airport for our Air Asia flight direct to Melbourne. We had a wonderful time in KL and look forward to returning to Malaysia in January to continue our adventures.

I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

SINGAPORE

SINGAPORE

 

 FANCY BUS RIDE

We intend to “do” Singapore over a couple of day trips, as hotels there are very expensive so this blog will be about our experiences on the other side of the Causeway. This is the same causeway that was partially demolished during the 2^nd world war to prevent the Japanese from invading. As we all know that didn’t work, and the Japanese rebuilt it after they captured Singapore.

Singapore covers 710 sq. km with a population of 5 million. Surprisingly about 23% of Singapore consists of forest and nature reserves. They are committed to greening Singapore and have introduced several novel ways of doing this, including gardens linking high rise apartments at various floors. These incorporate playgrounds for the kids.

 MARINA BAY HOTEL

The big deterrent to visiting Singapore is running the gauntlet of immigration. First we take a bus to immigration then we line up to check out of Malaysia and hopefully this won’t take too long, then back on the bus and we are off to the Singaporean side where we have to check in. Now obviously they are not real keen on visitors from Malaysia as this process can take anything up to and longer than 2 hrs. A trip that takes perhaps 30 mins without immigration takes at least an hour and a half, so I guess we just got lucky when we went over. We got on the bus at 07.30 am and finally got to our destination, the Marina bay Hotel in Singapore at 11.30 am. That’s right, it took us nearly four hours to get through of which 2hrs were spent standing in line for Singapore!

 LUNCH WITH FRIENDS

We did some shopping, met up with friends for lunch, did a bit more shopping, more window than shopping as Singapore is very expensive compared to Malaysia. After an early dinner it was off to the Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo.

 TOUR GUIDE

 What a wonderful evening! It cost 32.00 SGD (about $26.00) each. For this you got a tram ride right around the zoo, which you could get on and off to do the walks, a night creature show, and a fire show.

 FIRE SHOW

The animals are fed at this time so that they are up and around for us to see. A lot of the animals on the night safari are normally nocturnal and those that aren’t are up for their feed. Being dark with a full moon gives off its own aura as you wander through the jungle listening to the roar of the lions; very different atmosphere to day time.

 A BIG CAT

The Creatures of the Night show was fantastic. They have trained certain animals to do various things, and they are not behind fences or on leashes or anything, just there right in front of us. The Indian girl who does the show is very personable and knows how to work a crowd, which certainly adds to the enjoyment.

 LITTLE OTTERS

  First there is an old wolf that comes out and tries to do a full howl but doesn’t quite make it, also a hyena picks up a very heavy branch to demonstrate the strength of his jaws, and a python wrapping itself around one of the audience. The Binturongs or bearcats walk along a vine strung above our heads. They have long, strong tails so they can hang upside down. They also secrete a musk that smells like buttered popcorn. Unfortunately I don’t have photos as there was no flash photography allowed.

 ZEBRAS ANYONE?

Suffice to say that if you are ever in Singapore then try and make it to the Night Safari. It is certainly well worth the effort.

 HOW ABOUT A PYTHON?

The night finished on a high note as we took the 11.30 pm bus back and arrived home at 12.45 am. Just an hour and thirty minutes to get through customs and immigration on both sides. Methinks we should always travel in the middle of the night!