Thailand

Off to Thailand for the holidays, we took another long haul overnight bus.  All of the "tourists"  were seated in the upper deck, front of the bus, they actually moved locals out of the seats to seat us all together.   Weird but what do you do.  Then the movie came on and I thought that perhaps it was because they were showing the movie in English and we were all pretty excited for the movie until after the opening credits when it was dubbed over in Thai.

Bangkok at 5am was hot and humid, just a glimpse of the weather in store for us in Thailand.  We ran around looking for a place to stay in the very busy and booked up Bangkok.  The city was just coming to life at 6am and the streets stalls were beginning to open with every kind of product for sale from fresh fruit, to grasshoppers to "spa" foot massages, that involves tiny fish nibbling at your feet and eating off the dead skin!  We set out to explore the city and 15 minutes into our walk we ran into a local who was shocked by Greg's height, he then asked where we were from and started giving us advice on where to go, what transport to use etc, he was apparently a teacher at the school around the corner.   He was just telling us what kind of tuk tuk to take when one happened to pull up and he rushed us in - apparently we had "SUCKERS" written across our foreheads because before we knew it we had fallen for the classic Bangkok scam and were whirled around the city to shops and sights to get the driver free gas coupons.

Apparently it was a Buddhist holiday and there was a temple that was only open one day a year to go see - which we did, down an alley that really didn't seem to close every other day. But we did meet a nice local and hit the gong for good luck.   Thankfully our tuk tuk had a roof, the sun was beating down and our arms were burnt and the sweat was flowing.  We got a great tour of the city though and met some of the other scam artists to know what to avoid. 

For Christmas we headed to an island on the east coast - Koh  Tao for scuba diving and sunshine.   Greg signed up for a course so we got to stay at a nice resort, in the divers cabins, but we got full use of the facilities.   Pool, white sand beach, turquoise waters and sunshine!  Ahhhhh.   Christmas Eve is when everyone celebrates so we headed down to the other beach with some fellow divers and hung out a local pub, with great food, cheap drinks, a cute pug puppy and a great time.  Christmas day dawned hot and sunny.  We headed to the beach and lounged at a beachfront cafe over breakfast - even splurged for perk coffee not instant! mmmmmmm!  We spent the day snorkeling around the bay, the fish are spectacular.  All shapes and sizes, the visibility was a little poor.  The beach we were on had a small white sand area before hitting the sea and when the tide went out you could walk for miles and would have to go out quite a ways to reach knee to waist deep water.  For Christmas dinner we went down the beach, they had seafood bbq's set up along the beach as well, lanterns and fireball entertainers.   We started with an appetizer of tempura shrimp, which was quite possibly the best we have ever had, the shrimp was so fresh, Greg decided to have another plate for dinner and I had BBQ beef kabob with roasted corn on the cob and potato.  Lots of paper lanterns were being set off into the star lit night, some in remembrance of loved ones and other for luck for the new year.  They took off slowly and faded into the night sky appearing to be twinkling stars.

Greg finished his scuba course on the 27th and we spent the next day chilling before going diving together on the 28th!  We went down for our first fun dive together and it all flooded back to me why I love scuba diving.  The underwater world is spectacular!!!   We literally saw thousands of fish, small ones, big ones, round ones, long skinny ones, ones with squiggles, some with spots, some with veritcal lines and some with horizontal lines and it goes on and on.  The colours are so vibrant with fluorescent blues, yellows, greens and oranges.   The ocean was teeming with schools of fish, at one point I did a 360 and there were fish everywhere I looked.  Some were curious and came quite close, looking at me through my mask, others were very skittish and a whole school went soaring past in a state of fright.  We saw a grouper that was probably 3 ft long and 11/2 feet around.  It was incredbile.  Swimming through the coral and seeing the fish that camoflouged in so well!  We even got a glimpse of a shark when we first descended before it disappeared into the gloom below.  At times were were surrounded by the schools of fish they engulfed us as they swam past. 

We finally had to leave Koh Tao, although it is easy to see how the island life can grab hold of you and keep you there for long periods of time.  We took an overnight ferry, which is set up with mattresses along all the walls and you literally just sleep the ride away.  That is until you are woke up the smoke alarm at 130am, blaring and disorientating, with smoke outside the windows, people rushing to the exits - only a few with the foresight to even look to grab a life jacket.  They told us to stay put while they investigated, however, being stuck inside a ferry with smoke outside was somewhat disconcerting and instead of just being sheep we decided to send Greg to investigate.  The sea was heaving our ferry quite alot and there was a sharp angle to the rolls.   Finally crisis averted we kept going, just a belt or something!

We headed to Krabi to spend New Years on the Andaman Sea.  We got a fantastic little bamboo bungalo and walked all around town, sampling local food fairs along the way.  Greg ordered some great looking tempura shrimp, only to find that they batter the whole fish,  head, shell, tail and all.  They laughed at us as we peeled away the shell to eat the shrimp inside.  New Year's Eve we spent the day exploring the local islands and snorkelling.  The limestone islands are beautiful to see with caves etched deep into their sides.  The beaches are pristine white sand with the picture perfect postcard waters surrounding them.  We saw some incredible fish, puffer fish, camoflouged fish and many we can't begin to know the names, but the pictures below will give you a little taste.

New Year's Eve was a celebration with fireworks going off consistently and 20 to 30 bags lighting the night sky.  The warm evening night, with fireworks on the beach brought in 2010 for us. 

Next stop, Malaysia!

Laos

Our first views of Laos were beautiful, thick white clouds nestled between the rolling, lush green hills.  It was as we were standing at the top of a mountain and looking down at the world below.  The border crossing was interesting as new fees were imposed at each step of the way.  The Canadian visa is the most expensive visa of any country and then we had to pay a stamping fee and two others to get our passports back.  However we finally made it through and arrived in Muang Kha.

The town was beautiful,  set against the river with children laughing and playing in the river.  They giggled and shouted hello's in our direction.  A couple of kids were playing on bikes riding down a hill they couldn't have been older than 5 years old, they were bare foot and came screaching to a halt on their bikes using their little bare feet, laughing all the way.  They shyly giggled at us and posed for the camera..  The town had an air of peaceful serenity.  In fact the atmosphere in Laos radiated with a laidback calm.  We travelled through the mist shrouded north to the west to do some trekking.

The houses are thatched homes made of bamboo.  Many are set on stilts with fire pits outside for cooking.  The livestock live in pens below the houses.  We embarked on a two day trek through the jungle.  We walked through the farmland of the Akha people.  Our guide stopped to cut us a stock of sugar cane which we chewed the liquid out of before passing the rubber tree fields and starting the long steep climb into the jungle.

We arrived in the remote village late in the afternoon.  We walked through the village as kids ran and peeked out at us.  The Akha have their own language so our limited laos was useless and we made do using gestures to communicate.  In the village extended families live under one roof.  There are two rooms, one for sleeping and the other room for everything else.  One hunter had caught a deer and what we can only compare to a badger, and the meat was being distributed amongst the households.  The pigs, dogs, chickens and cats and all their babies were running around in and out of the house.  As we walked through town the town people encouraged us to try their various chores - we tried beating rice, weaving baskets and spinning cotton - they laughed at us alot.  Now when I say spinning cotton I mean we took a ball of raw  cotton then pulled a bunch of fibres down and then using a spool spun it off our leg to wind the cotton into yarn as the fibres are pulled out of the ball of cotton.  Not an easy task!  The kids all gather at various fires built around town and spin and chat.  We were somewhat of a novelty so we were followed from place to place.

We had a dinner of rice and vegetables and meat eaten mostly with the hands.  We rolled the rice into balls and then added the other dishes.  Many of the men from town came to visit and we tried laos laos whiskey and then had a customary welcome massage.  We slept on the floor in the main room while throughout the night we were awoken by babies cries, squeaking pigs, barking dogs, and roosters crowing.
 

The next day dawned warm  with blue skies.  As we left the village we passed the small open frame of a building with a blackboard inside.  School.  As we made our way back through the jungle we tried many nuts and plants and hear the songs of many birds.  We also heard the rustling of some larger animals and some snakes!  We only saw one snake though. We had lunch on banana leaves and with chop sticks our guide carved out of bamboo.

From the north we headed south to the previous french colony city of Luang Prubang.  It is a beautiful city set on the picturesque Mekong River.  The architecture is fantastic and we explored the city on old school bikes with high handle bars and baskets out the front - I felt like we were in the Sound of Music or some such era!

The town had many delights to be had including bakeries everywhere!  But the most delectable treat of all was an OREO/coffee shake - yummy!  The night market was a sight to behold and stretch for blocks with venders all selling beautiful handicrafts.  There was one street that extended down an alley that was lined with food vendors and tables, selling everything from whole fish, to every Laos dish imaginable - even 100 year old eggs and dog soup!

The Waterfalls were incredible, tiered spouts of water emptying into blue/green pools of water, perfect for swimming and swinging off rope swings.  We hiked through the forest to see each level of the falls, each one getting larger and larger with the roar of water increasing in volume along the way.  The final fall was about 500 ft and 50 ft wide, a sight to behold.  We hiked to the top - a long and steep ascent.  Well worth the extraordinary views and marvels of nature.

Next stop was Vang Vieng, the town of fun.  Now in the lonely planet it says that there is a friends phenomenon, which we didn't understand until we stepped foot into town and saw that most of the restaurants had tables set up as loungers with pillows to relax as you ate and enjoyed every possible season of FRIENDS.  The theme song is still running through my head.  Vang Vieng is know for its tubing and although we had been told about it, we were amazed at the scene before us.  At the beginning of the river were 5 bars clumped together and a hundred travellers chatting, swimming, jumping off platforms with rope swings, riding flying foxes and being pitched into the river below or standing on the bamboo raft bars enjoying an ice cold beer or a pail of mixed drinks!  You set your tube in the river and start to float downstream just as a rope comes flying towards you to pull you into the next place along the river.  Most people never made it past though first 5 places and missed the 2 hour float downstream past more places with mud volleyball, tug o war, waterslides and many more swings!  We got back to town just as dark settled over the town.

The next great thing about VV, is the multitude of caves.  There are loads of caves to explore, just bring a torch and pay the entrance fee.  We set off on mountain bikes and watched as the massive limestone cliffs rose out of the flat farmlands.  A little boy saw us studying the map and told us which way to go and every couple km's waved us on.   We explored nooks and crevices, stood in huge caverns, squeezed through tight tunnels and marveled at the glistening rock formations.  So fun, although quite difficult in flip flops!  Mental note never wear flip flops caving!  The gorgeous blue lagoon was the perfect touch after the dark, damp caves!

We then headed to Vietienne for the Sea Games.  We watched the diving and the medal award ceremonies, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball and track and field.   The stadiums were alive with energy as the battling countries fought to secure a medal for the country.  It was electrifying and probably more energy then at a playoff hockey game!

Our last stop in Laos was 4000 Islands. We got to drive down in another sleeper bus, the king of all buses, with a double bed, damp clothes to freshen up, a meal complete with candies and water.  The journey was enjoyable but let to an incredible place to sit back and relax.  Set against the picturesque Mekong River, it was 30+ degrees ever day and we lounged in hammocks and watched life slowly go along.  We went out in a canoe to see the rare Irradway dolphines, who made numerous appearances for us.  We saw them skimming along the surface, hearing the exhaling air before spotting them and then watching them diving back down.  There have been on the verge of extinction and only 12 remain in this area, however, there were some babies so hopefully those numbers will rapidly increase.  The sunsets were gorgeous and the people remarkable and it is sadly that we moved on to our next country.  Laos is an incredible place with remarkable people!