Thailand Twice over

We split our time in Thailand over 2 separate trips, one just after Bangladesh, and the other (to meet Jo's family) just after Vietnam.

We left Bangladesh early December and flew to Bangkok (you cannot travel overland to Thailand). Arriving jaded from a 17 hour stop-over in Kolkata airport, we were seriously shocked by how quiet and civilised it all seemed to be (where was all the beeping)? It also took a while to get used to how smooth the tarmacked roads were and the sheer volume of tourists! We'd only seen two other westerners in six weeks in Bangladesh (excluding volunteers), and there were literally thousands here and they were all parading their white bits! Luckily our transition was eased by meeting up with some friends we'd previously met in India (who'd recently gone through the same experience) and indulging in a few drinks! After a week in Bangkok, enjoying the traveller's amenities, we headed north to Chiang Mai.

We were a little surprised at how urban the area was, still missing the miles and miles of lush green rice paddies in Bangladesh. We relaxed, enjoyed the many Wats and even engaged in some 'monk chat' where we ended up talking to the most bizzare monk you're ever likely to meet. His teacher was Bristolian and most of our conversation centred around slang words and phrases he'd picked up and reasons why he might be so hyper! He told us his mother had sent him to the monastery to improve his behaviour and we soon realised that the school of buddhism followed in Thailand is quite different and much more liberal to that followed in Tibet and Nepal. In fact, we often saw monks smoking and chatting away on mobile phones, not something we'd seen before!

Although Chiang Mai was nice, we soon decided we needed to return to the 'unbeaten track', so we headed further north to Chiang Rai. This immediately felt more intimate, with brilliant food markets and a local-yokel feel, but the relaxed vibe was still not enough to quench our thirst for the rural life. After looking on the map, we decided to head to the Northern-most point of Thailand where the borders of Burma and China collide. Mae Salong is so far north that public buses cease to exist so we jumped onto a passenger truck and meandered up the helter skelter road.

The weather was misty and cold due to the location,  but it was a great place to see rural life. We arranged a homestay in a local Akha village and stayed a night in a beautiful hut. We met Kessy on the journey and enjoyed her company and were grateful that she spoke Chinese (like many of the locals) allowing us to delve further into the peoples' traditions. We played with the local children, tried to solve traditional Akha puzzels, watched our amazing dinner being cooked over an open fire and discussed the local customs. Most Akha people migrated originally from Tibet, China and Burma, so rather than following one religion they worship their ancestors. The Akha tribes women are known for their amazing head-pieces and we were pleased to see them still being worn in the village and not just in the tourist markets.

After this initial encounter, we hired a motorbike to explore three other villages. This was an amazing experience! The first village was so beautiful and the people were very welcoming. So much so that within 5 minutes of exploring, we were invited to sit with two Akha women outside their house. Showing interest through gestures, we don't speak Akha(!), we were shown around their 2 big rooms, one for living and the other for sleeping. In a dimly lit room, one of the women began adding to her traditional outfit and already impressive headpiece. This was a cultural experience in itself, but we were about to witness a traditional sight that no one could have prepared us for.

When we were all back outside, a man appeared and began mixing herds into a little alcohol, proceeding to then get out a needle strapped to a piece of wood. Not knowing what we were about to see, he raised the older Akha women's top to reveal her lower back where she was gesturing to the pain. The liquid mixture was rubbed onto the bare skin which was then repeatedly whacked with the needle on a stick! This wound was quickly covered by half an old tennis ball which created a vacuum and was left stuck on the womens back until it fell off full of coagulated blood!! We were in shock at witnessing what at first appeared to be some kind of 'shamanistic' medicine, but were so lucky to have seen it due to good timing. In the next villages we were invited to sit with an English teacher (handy), eat 'kowdun' (sweet rice, banana and soya beans) and watch a group of women make accessories for their impressive costumes. Everyone we saw was very welcoming and hospitable, but unfortunately that night we both got ill and were pretty much bed ridden for the next three days. Must have been the kowdun!!! 

In need of some TLC, we checked into a hotel in Chiang Mai which had a pool and sunbathed over the Christmas period. The locals put on a fab Christmas festival (mainly for the tourists) and on Christmas day we saw traditional carols being sung and watched a Miss Christmas beauty contest, not so traditional!

After leaving Thailand for a 3 week trip to Vietnam, we re-entered via Cambodia (still trying not to fly) to see Jo's family down south. First we headed to Koh Phangnan to chill in the sun, but were greeted by a week-long tropical thunder storm. We were a little disappointed, but made the most of it and rented a tiny shack which was a stone's throw away from the sea. After another week which finally included some sunshine, we moved to Ko Samui to meet with Jo's family. As a huge treat Jo's parents had rented a luxury villa for 10 days which was beautiful. We spent the time chilling out, catching up, playing with Jo's niece Freya (who at the time was 15 months) and eating amazing food. It was so nice to see family after so long and sunbathe for the first time! We then started our journey with Jo's parents back to Bangkok, stopping off along the way. One stop was Kanchanaburi, where the 'Bridge over the River Kwai' is located, a very emotive place. Soaking up the history we visited many museums and reflected on the horrors of war. We were both very impressed with Jo's parents who fell in love with the food markets, throwing themselves into our way of life by eating on the road side with meals that cost no more than 50p each!

Arriving in Bangkok, we checked into a beautiful hotel (another treat!) which served amazing 'all you can eat' breakfasts that we made full use of! A vast difference to our normal rice and egg street-side wake-up call. Our last few days with Jo's parents were packed with sightseeing and a few fancy meals to ensure we were fully fattened up! Making the transition between seeing family and being back on the traveller scene was strange, so we eased the pain by purchasing a laptop and having a night out on infamous Koh San Road, complete with Thai whiskey buckets and numerous drunk tourists!

Leaving Thailand (with a hang-over), we said goodbye to comfortable development (especially 7 Eleven!), and prepared for the hisorically scarred country of Cambodia.

As usual, more photos below (as well as facebook) ...

First stop, Bangkok. We were amazed by how many tourists flood to Ko San road!

Considering we'd just come from Bangladesh, the sophistication and development was overwhelming!!!

We adjusted as quickly as possible and soon started to enjoy delicious shakes and ice coffees, mmm!

Of course, the infamous Tuk Tuks were everywhere!

Chiang Mai brought some much needed culture :-)

 

It's a very modern buddhist city

Heading further north, Chiang Rai had some great food markets and entertainment

Traveling as far north as we could, we headed to the Burmese/Chinese border to get away from the tourists! (yes, that's Burma over them there hills)

We stayed in a traditional Akha village on the misty hills of Mae Salong

Although we tried to help with some teaching, the children really just wanted to jump from desk to desk!

The home-cooked food was really good :-)

We explored to find women in the surrounding villages all wearing their traditional clothes

We also witnessed a traditional form of medical care (contrasted against the huge sattelite dish)!

Even some of the children donned the traditional outfit :-)

Thoroughly 'enriched', we went back to Chiang Mai for Chrsitmas :-)

We managed to find some mince-pies to get into the festive feeling!

The locals even joined in with their very own Miss Christmas contest :-)

After returing from our trip to Vietnam, we headed for the southern Thai island of Koh Phangnan

Although it rained A LOT, we made the most of the little sunshine we did have :-)

We completely relaxed in the little beach hut above for nearly 2 weeks, ahhhh

We also re-visited parts of the island Sam had been to nearly 7 years ago!

Jo's family came to visit us on the neighboring island of Ko Samui (thank you)!!!

We stayed in a beautiful villa and were treated to some lovely meals :-)

When we weren't lounging by the pool(!), we explored some of the undeveloped areas of the island



We also checked out the nightlife and watched some female Muay Thai boxing with Jo's brother and his wife

Sam opted for a brutal Thai massage on his birthday!

We headed north with Jo's parents to see some of the sights (buddha statues in Khao Luang cave in Phetchaburi)

Jo's parents marvelled at the food markets as we traveled around

They did very well to eat street food just about anywhere!

     

The Bridge over the River Kwai was an emotional place

Back in Bangkok, we were amazed by the huge reclining buddha at Wat Pho!

The chaos that is china-town was also an eye-opener :-)

  

Some people's homes were also worth a peek :-)

All in all, we enjoyed Thailand and loved having Jo's family visit us. Although development and tourism mean the country doesn't boast quite such a high 'WOW factor', there's still plenty to see. For traditional villages up north and family-friendly beach holidays down south, it was perfect :-)

There's still plenty to smile at ... like 4 people on a motorbike!

Don't be fooled, this isn't whisky, it's petrol!

 Street food is definately a highlight

And religion permeates most aspects of life

Thank you Thailand :-)

Happy New Vietnam!

Here's to our first blog of 2011 :-)

We've taken a while to write it because we had a wonderful 3 week holiday with Jo's family, but we're back on the traveler scene now and raring to go again! We hope you all saw the New Year in well, we were in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. After arriving in Bangkok (from Bangladesh), we took the 46 hour overland route to Hanoi (via north Thailand and central Laos). This involved two sleeper buses, one of which is referred to by locals as the "fun bus" and really put our 'no flying unless necessary' policy to the test!

First impressions of Vietnam were that it is a very busy place with so many motorbikes!!! The typical image of locals with conical hats on push bikes has well and truely been replaced with everyone from 9 years up riding motorbikes at breakneck speed!

Hanoi was an amazing place to spend New Years Eve. The (communist!) government put on a huge open air music festival with live DJ's and dancers. We celebrated with a British couple we met on the bus and danced to the music surrounded by locals waving glowsticks from their motorbikes (they really are an extension of legs). Our night ended in a fab bar called 'Half man, Half noodle' :-)

Our time in Hanoi was spent mostly at food markets. These markets are not for the faint hearted or any vegetarian as the Vietnamese eat practically anything that swims, walks or flys. Most delicacy's are sold live so we saw huge containers of flapping fish, frogs and snakes, with the odd one escaping and turtles sticking their necks through nets!

With this in mind, we were very careful when we went to any food stall or restaurant. Luckily we found out that one establishment specialised in Eels before we put our order in! Generally however, once we had determined what was on offer, nearly every meal turned out to be amazing. This does not apply to our cheapest meal yet though, which at the total of  20p each, included intestines (we found this out afterwards)!!! Well you've got to try these things :-)

Still in Hanoi, we visited the local theatre to watch a traditional water puppet show. The puppeteers stand in water behind a screen and the puppets really look like they're dancing on water. It's an ancient art form that's being kept alive by tourists.

Moving on, we made the bus and boat trip to Cat Ba Island where we hired a motorbike to explore the beautiful scenery of small limestone Islets and rural farmland. We visited 'Hosptal Cave', a cave comprising of 17 rooms that were used during the the Vietnamese war. Inside there was even a cinema, table tennis room and swimming pool (no longer in use)! Back on the bike we stopped off at a beach and came across 2 young fishermen cooking their fresh catch over an open fire. Being invited to join them, we cooked fish in a really special setting :-)

Wanting to see the Islets up close, we took a boat trip and kayaked around the lagoons to see the numerous floating villages. Many locals live on rafts, making their living from the water. Their houses all come with fish farms underneath and the shacks they live in are equipped with TV's, chickens and dogs. Just like the film 'Waterworld"!

Putting our feet firmly back on dry land, we then headed for the far north of Vietnam, Bac Ha. Now we know the UK has seen some cold weather recently, but with only summer clothes in our bags and no heating at all in the Guesthouse, 5 degrees felt absolutely freezing! The only way to get through the night was to wear all our clothes and cutch up to old drinking bottles filled with hot water from the shower! The cold misty weather added to the atmosphere though and made the H'mong Villages seem mystical. The H'mong tribes women are known for their colourful traditional dress, and the Sunday market was a melting pot of colours with everything from Buffaloes to plastic wellies for sale!

In need of warmer climates, we took the sleeper train a long way south to Qui Nho'n and then a bus to Vinh Long (via Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon). We spent our time wandering around Mekong river islands exploring the local life. We observed such a sense of community with everyone out of their homes talking to each other. Heading further into the Mekong Delta, we stopped at Can Tho to visit the floating markets. Getting up at 5am we saw these markets up close in a little rowing boat. Each 'selling' boat offers a particular fruit or vegetable and if a local wants to buy it they row up close or have it thrown their way across the water (see the cabbage mid-air on the right), great fun :-) 

The Mekong Delta was a great spot for getting out to see rural life and stretches of lush green padi fields. We were lucky to sample some of the local rice wine in Chau Doc after being invited into a families house (it would be deemed rude not to accept, so we had shot after shot of it)!!!

Despite rampant development, Vietnam is still a beautiful country and we especially enjoyed the food, markets and what remains of rural life. Here are some of the sights and moments that we will never forget......

The Red flags of Vietnam still fly high on most streets (especially in the North)

Jo enjoying a slap-up meal (still only 2 pounds each!) on NYE :-)

Street food was definitely a highlight, and varied from semi-restaurants like this ...

... to stalls literally on the road!

Noodle soup (Bo Pho) is definitely the national dish up north (usually with beef)

But check out the menu above!

Even boiled kittens were sometimes on offer (only joking)!!!

The sheer volume of motorbikes in Hanoi was something to behold!

But the locals still find time to relax by Hoan Kien lake :-)

Food is constantly being carted from place to place!

And the markets sell just about anything you could ever dream of.

Including dried fish ...

Live fish ...

Intestines ...

And to Jo's horror, live frogs!!!

The water puppet show was great fun

and Halong Bay was beautiful :-)

The floating villages were typically much larger than this, but you get the idea ...

We met some friendly locals after a tour of Hospital Cave

And Jo even donned a conical hat for a touristy photo :-)

The misty hills of Bac Ha (north west) were really atmospheric

And the Sunday market was the best we've ever been to :-)

The H'mong tribes women were so colourful!

But watching the buffaloes being sold was a scary experience!

Moving south we caught a long train to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) - a metropolis on the move!

Baguettes are sold everywhere in the the south, a legacy of the French ...

And there seemed to be a somewhat slower pace of life in the Mekong Delta :-)

With people playing cards ...

And wearing pajamas in public!

And why not if you get home delivery services like this!

Wondering through basket-weaving communities surrounding Vinh Long was a definite highlight

And seeing how they transport the baskets brought back fond memories of India!

We loved the randomness of some of what we saw!

Here's Jo wearing the 'lovely' jewellery made by our boat-lady from palm leaves :-)

Although not as obvious as other countries we've been to, we did find a spiritual (mainly Buddhist) side to Vietnam

And we saw that practising Tai Chi and working the padi fields at the same time is a mucky business!

All in all, we had some great times in Vietnam. It took a while to break away from the tourist trail and witness real local life, but when we did, it was definitely worth the effort. Although the people were not as immediately friendly as in other countries we've visited, this is probably because tourists are no longer a novelty here and many of the locals have been hardened by horrendous wars and various invading countries!

Religion seems to play less of a role in everyday life, but this may have something to do with the traditionally Communist Government! It's a country developing quickly, and although this is not always a good thing, we certainly saw less poverty than anywhere else we've been to so far. We often heard the term 'socailly responsible capitalism' being banded about, so things are changing!

Our next blog will cover our time in Thailand (which started early December and continued after Vietnam). We've just arrived in Cambodia to volunteer for a month and have even bought a laptop so no excuses for a late installment next time :-)

As ever, we miss family and friends, but are very excited about our time in Cambodia and have a feeling Laos will be very special indeed. It's getting really hot again now, so we'll be shade seekers rather than sun seekers from now on! Lots of love to you all, bye for now, Jo and Sam xx