Getting There, Some How - Travelling Lao style

With a "just flag anything down, you'll be fine. A sang taew should take you" our friends dropped Claire & I besides Route 13 - the main road heading south - and sped off towards Vientiane in the tuk-tuk. Looking around me I saw our a road, a restaurant and a few empty fields. The first two sang taews (utes with benches in the back) didn't stop. The next one didn't know the name of the town I was trying to get to and the fourth told us sang taews didn't go that far (I think) - that we'd need to get a bus. Thankfully the word for bus is the same in Lao as in Thai.


Shortly after a bus came rolling around the corner and Claire & I jumped on, getting wedged into the back seat, our bags taking up the aisle. The ride was four hours of un-air-conditioned joy, and the pancake we'd had for breakfast was starting to look thin. Finally the conductor motioned us to get off, we alighted again near a restaurant and little else. With a little help we found our way to the sang taew heading East towards our destination. Sharing the ride with us was three generations of Lao women, all dressed in their traditional, intricately woven dresses, the eldest of whom was chewing beetle-nut and who was less than pleased when we stopped to help another sang taew with a flat tire. An hour ride through a forest encircled by limestone caste mountains took us to our destination that day and dropped us just an hour before sun down. We spent the night in Na Hin, which I'll cover in the next post.


The second day of our unconfirmed adventure began with us trying to get to Tang Lo caves - an 8km cave that you can boat down in located in a national park. We awoke early and were at the market by 8, only to be told the only Sang Taew didn't leave till 11 and that the road was washed out so we'd need to take a boat part of the way. We sat for a while and contemplated a cow as it tried to push through a gate from its paddock to our seating after which we checked with the drivers how much the boat would coast - US$50 return! An exhorbinant amount due to tourism and the need to charter the whole boat with no other tourists to help bear the costs. Normally $50 wouldn't be too much of a problem, however we'd not budgeted for it, were going to have to spend more on food & accom than anticipated when I last drew money out and the nearest ATM or Bank was 2 days travel away in Vientiane or else in Vietnam. With much mathematics and reluctance we abandoned our plans to get to the caves.


Rushing now, we boarded the first Sang Taew back to route 13. From there we were efficiously transferred to a second Sang Taew, and 1.5 hours down the road into a minivan for the last leg, dropping us in Savanakhet. The minivan leg we shared with 17 others, though the bus seated 12 including the driver. Next to me was a girl of 4 or 5, when we stopped for a snack her parents bought her roast grasshopper on a stick, which she was very happy with.


I've come to know now that travel in Lao takes 2-3 hours per 100kms by bus or boat. I've also never travelled with so little certainty of being able to actually get to my destination, which is a liberating experience and travelling local style has let me see a little more into the lives of the Lao people.

Vientianne

An 8 hour, difficult bus ride from Luang Prabang (I've since learnt that the westerners living here all fly to avoid the trip) brought us to Vientiane. For the first 4 hours of the ride we were in the mountains of central Lao, twisting and turning to avoid a gradient. It was a bad sign when the bus-staff handed out sickness bags, and shortly after departure several people on the bus began to make room for lunch. At the lunch stop several more dashed from the bus to the nearest bush. Yours truly felt queasy enough not to eat lunch, but otherwise made it through ok.

Vientiane occupied our next few days, including taking in the major sights through a leisurely 2 hour bike ride, catching up with friends, and Claire did a one-day dying & weaving course at a local women's training centre. Vientiane's small, restaurant filled and reminds me most of Mornington (less the yuppie factor). I still find it odd to look across the Maekhong to see an unimportant Thai city that seems bigger and more 'developed' - if shopping malls and cinemas are the judgment measure. As I'd been to Vientiane before this part of the trip was mostly about catching up with a friend, and Claire really enjoyed the weaving.

Over the weekend a couple of friends, Claire & I traveled to Ban Pako eco-lodge in a park a few hours from Vientiane by tuk-tuk & boat. It was great to push back beside the river, have a few beers and watch the old-growth forest not be logged. We even got a massive lightning storm to provide a light show.


The eco-lodge was also hosting a meeting for Lao forestry students, about 100, who slept in tents during the storm. That didn't stop them being up at 5am, singing, playing drums and guitars, and generally getting very excited whilst they waited for their bus. We had an excellent seat for the concert as the bus-stop seemed to be right outside our room.

Luang Prabang

The former royal capital - mainly former because the royal family is presumed to be 'former' - was a welcome destination for a few days. Now protected by world heritage status, Luang Prabang maintains the vestiges of an Asian capital with colonial influences - basically the main strip of town hasn't changed in 150 years.

The view from the hill (including wat) that overlooks the city was probably my favourite, taking the town, palace, river and jungle beyond. We spent a day looking around the sites, a day at the waterfall, and a day shopping and having a massage, things that probably should have taken us two days only. The waterfall also has an animal recovery centre for a tiger and asian bears recovered from animal poachers.

After spending time in not-nice Huay Xai it was nice to meet the 'lovely' Lao people that friends and guidebooks have mentioned. The next stage is for us to find the cheap food promised as we are finding local food to be costing 2-3 what it would in Thailand.

Driftin'

From the Lao-Thai border we drifted at a leisurely rate on the boat to Luang Prabang, the former royal capital. Tellingly the ferry journey is known as the 'slow boat' and takes 2 days, encompassing 15 hours of boating. As the only other option is the oft fatal 'fast boat' Claire & I purchased cushions and prepared to sit for a long time. At the initial boarding we were pleased to grab the 'first class' seats - cushioned seats pulled from a bus - rather than the benches, and were even more so when the boat owner brought on boards plastic seats to fill the aisles. I suspect that the boat was at about double its capacity, and the punters rage higher than that. Thankfully just before we set sail the owner decided to send a second boat and we traveled in a relatively less congested manner.

Surprisingly, the trip was quite pleasurable as there were some nice people on the boat to talk to and the scenery beautiful. The second day, in particular, provided some spectacular scenery - the chocolate river, lush green forest, and in the distance near transparent mountain ranges.

Late on the second day two members of one of the Lao hill tribes joined our boat for the ride to Luang Prabang. Marginalised and impoverished the tribes people have have received little if any schooling, many not even speaking the national language. At one point, one of the western tourists was writing in her journal, the tribesman lent over to watch her write, fascinated as he saw the unintelligible scrawl fill pages. I assume that he knew what writing is, but was entranced to watch it actually take place.

The Mud Experience

For our first three days in Lao, Claire & I joined a trek into the Bokeo National Park rain forest with The Gibbon Experience group (www.gibbonx.org).

The trek involved a 4 hour walk into the rain forest including very high zip-wires/flying foxes across the valleys, two nights in a tree house in the the rain forest canopy, and then a walk out. I even took the optional 6 hour walk on the second day. Ideally you can see or hear gibbons near the tree houses but we weren't so lucky.

The zip-wires were a definite highlight. Pushing off from the platform you quickly gather pace as you whip passed bamboo and trees, with a rush break out of the last tree and then sail over the rain forest canopy 30ms below, the floor 2oms further, and have views stretching kilometres away over the rain forest. It's the closest I'll come to flying and only temporarily scary on the longer glides if you think about what you're doing.



Another highlight was the opportunity to be in the rain forest, which is amazingly detailed a ground level and awe inspiring at canopy level. Noise never stops in the rain forest, even if our sightings of wildlife were low.

At the first local hut we stayed they had a pet baby Asian bear which was highly cute and pat-able. They had no plan of what to do with it when it reached adulthood.

The walks were particularly demand as, having chosen to take the trip in the wet season, most of the paths had turned to deep mud. Living in the mud were also highly active leeches. At one point I was eking along over a very deep mud patch, one foot on the less-slippery edges of the path when I looked down to see several large leeches waving up at me, begging me to slip. I didn't slip that time, but did on many occasions. Amazingly Claire & I managed to only get blood-sucked on one occasion each, though vigilance did lead to a lot of picking & flicking of leeches off shoes, legs and feet.


Overall the trip was rewarding, mixing beauty with very difficult, strenuous slogs through the mud. When we finished, muscles aching and leeches removed, the memory of flying, seeing the rain forest at first hand and a sense of accomplishment meant it was a positive experience.

Chiang x 2 & Into Lao

After a lazy 17 hour over-night train ride Claire & I arrived in sunny Chiang Mai - the train being 3.5 hours late. Overnight the seats are converted into beds and are overall comfortable, in fact I would have liked a bit longer of a lie in.

Claire & I found my favourite guest house in Chiang Mai, which despite a change of name and ownership has found its way into the hands of an equally (though less quirky) Thai proprieter. (Siri Guest House, $14, really nice). We took a couple of quiet days in Chiang Mai with little done but reading and relaxing.

From Chiang my a hair-raising bus ride took us to Chiang Sean. Whilst the average speed of the bus looked respectable, it varied between very slow (1st gear - gravity x heavy bus) up steep hills to very fast (6th gear + gravity x heavy bus) on the mountaneous terrain. The north of Thailand is particularly beautiful, full of bright green forest/rain forest as the rainy season's just begun.

In Chiang Sean we had probably the best meal yet - the local delicacy roasted/baked fish or chicken cooked with a marinade of chilli and corriander inside a bamboo tube over coals. The town's very quite, but sits right on the Maekong river. We did, however, stay in a nightmare guest house (Gin's Guest House, $10) that should be avoided at all costs.

A sang taew (sort of a bus, more like a ute with benches & a roof) took us to the border crossing into Lao PDR. Tomorrow our adventure's in Lao begin after a night in a very nice guesthouse over looking the Maekong (BAP Guest House, $14).

Kan-Chana-Buri

Kanchanaburi (Kan-Chan-Arb-Uree in Australian) was our destination for the first few days this week.

Our first days were spent paying or respects to the POWs who worked on the Thai-Burma railway under Japanese enforcement. The museum is well researched and provides a strong intellectual and emotional background to understand what occurred in the area. I found the POW cemetery moving, in particular the personalised epitaths. Some had quotes, many religious comments, but the ones I found most moving were the personal, immediate comments such as "In loving memory of Tim, we love and miss you, Mum & Dad". The lack of pretension and still obvious love and sadness is what I connect with.

In traveling to Hellfire Pass I learnt not to accept the advise of the Tourism Authority (the buses & trains recommended did not connect, leaving us to hire a very expensive taxi) nor to trust the Lonely Planet on prices. Still, it's all part of the adventure.

The following day we went to Erawan National Park to see the waterfall and forest. The fall's spread over seven levels ('steps') with small waterfalls, the highest about 3ms and small pools to swim in, so long as you didn't mind the fish nibbling your toes. It was peaceful after Bangkok, fresh away from the smog, and felt good to be out in the national park that felt relatively unaffected by tourists or bureaucrats.

We stayed at the Jolly Frog Guest House, whose highest virtues were its price (double room $8) , nice open area over looking the river and cleanliness. On the flip side, the roof sagged, walls were paper thin, and the neighbours noisy.

Week 1 - made it to the beach already!

The first week away was spent catching up with friends in Bangkok, the first chance I've had to see people since leaving last year. Thankfully most people I met were still here, and it appears I've caught most of them just before moving on, which is great.

Claire & I spent the weekdays in Bangkok. Early in the week we went to my favorite massage shop and for $8 each the flight was massaged out of us (Jetstar were fine, by the way - just like a regular economy flight without the poor food). Needing visas for Lao we trekked out to North-East Bangkok and after three forms of transport and some local assistance we managed to find it. It's possible to have visa granted in an hour for an additional 200Baht, the conversation went as follows -
Assistant: "would you like expr..."
James & Claire: "Yes"
I've also enjoyed getting back to speaking Thai and have found it coming back as I've been getting around.

On Wednesday we rode the public ferry of Chao Praya River (the main river in Bangkok) and took a ride in the Khlongs (canals). It was interesting to see the variety of life on the Khlongs, from falling over shakes, to mansions. The majority of boats on the Khlongs were tourist chartered small, noisy boats which I felt bad about as many people's living rooms and bedrooms are on the water.

Over the weekend my friends and I went to Pranburi beach, about 3 hours South-West of Bangkok. The beach was nice, the water blue and weather hot. We had a guesthouse right on the beach with a particularly Mediterranean feel. The only problem were the numerous jelly fish that made swimming impossible, damn.

Back in the Big Smoke

Well, our first four days back in Bangkok have confirmed that much is the same, and only a few things have changed. As a now cliched and always daggy tourist purchase reads 'same same, but different'. Actually, I've had to add the grammar to the sentence.

What's the same is the people with their colour, vibrance and good humour. Just walking the streets is full of moving colour (mostly the taxis), people smiling, and everyone doing their best to be suay (beautiful). Stepping out or riding a skytrain is just a joyous experience.

What's changed is a spreading affluence and feeling of gentrification. More upmarket buildings and bourgeois spending options abound and seem to be targetted at Thai's as well as Falang (Westerners). I get the feeling that there's a growing confidence, wealth, and willingess to engage in new Western products and lifestyle choices - whilst this might be good or bad, its meant that there are now actually cafes available other than Starbucks. What I've liked is the engagement doesnt' appear to be sycophantic, more an evaluation of other choices that're then adopted into the Thai style of life.

Pre-Departure Troubles...Again

Riding home from my last day at work, after the obligatory travelling-haircut the move out of my apartment over the next two days was on my mind. Pedalling up Wellington St, on a wet, revolting day I was making progress between the parked cars on my left and the stationary cars stuck in traffic on my right.

Pedalling hard on a slight incline wasn't so bad, and I'd be home soon. Then a door opened, from the road-side, giving me just time to exclaim 'oh shit' - not in an aggresive but rather resigned tone - before my bike met mettle, I got airborne temporarily, and then i landed on the bitchumen. Quite happy not to have gone through the window I got up, conducted an internal audit (legs ok? yep, arms? yep, blood? still all inside). After the obligatory swapping of contact details with the car's driver I got on the bike again, pedalled on and three cars further a pedestrian stepped in front of me. I swerved, braked, and luckily avoided him but had to take a cautionary jump off my bike to avoid making contact between face and road. He may have copped a slightly larger serve than deserved, but there were mitigating circumstances.

Sure that the bike Gods were out to get me I was rode on and was pleased to get home with no more incidents and only bruises to show for it. Next time I set out, I'll remember to sacrifice the bull.

Whilst there's no ongoing injuries, the move was made extra special. I was left to reflect on my similarly trouble departure for Thailand last time (http://james2626.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_archive.html) - I don't think it'll stop me going though.

Now, on to Thailand (again)...

PHI PHI

This weekend I flew to Phuket to meet up with my parents who’re here for 2 weeks holidays. The hotel sent a car to meet me when I arrived, my first taste of luxury. Very different to when I flew into Udon Thani in the north of Thailand. 3 friends and I arrived at 11.30pm, stepped out of the airport to get a cab, to find the place bereft of public transport. A few passengers looked at us strangely as they got picked up by their families. We bumbled around trying to find a cab, and then they started turning off the lights and locking up the airport. In broken Thai we managed to accosted a security guard for help. He called his brother who came and gave us a lift in the back of his pick-up truck for 100 Baht. Too easy.

Anyway, so I arrived in Phuket. Mum and Dad flew in Saturday morning and we spent the day pottering around the hotel/resort while they got over jet lag.

Sunday we took a boat trip around Phi Phi. Getting over my, ‘oh my God, I’m such a tourist’ feel I had a great day hooning around tropical islands and snorkelling. My favourite fish was neon pink, purple and turquoise. So 1988.

The trip home was one fraught with tension. I was due into Bangkok at 10.45, Australia was due to kick-off against Brazil at 11.00. I knew my airline was regularly 45mins late, that it was a minimum 30mins trip to the pub, and that I could wait 1 hour for a cab at the airport. Mission Impossible was go, the lit fuse was running across the bottom of the screen.

At check the girl said “will be 15 minutes delay”, smiling I said I’ll take that, then noticed that my boarding time was 45 minutes later than expected. “Delay sip-haa?” I asked, “No, haa-sip”. Great, 50 minutes, not 15 minutes.

We arrived into Bangkok at 11.50, my friend had texted me the 0-0 half-time score. I stepped out the airport to see a long queue waiting at the taxi rank, and a few taxi drivers mulling around trying to scab a fair. Normally I don’t go for the scalpers, my sense of justice and all that, but this was a special occasion. Think stealing a loaf of bread to feed the family. “How much?” “500Baht (US$12)” the trip would normally cost 300. “Done, let’s go”.

The roads were clear, the speed topped 140km/hr on the highway, and we only got slowed down on the side streets near the pub by door-deep floodwaters. I made it with 30mins to go, 1-0 down, plenty of excitement left and my Brazilian friend jumping up and down.

AUSTRALIA: 0

BRAZIL: 2

CHANCES OF GOING THROUGH: Still good, bad luck Croatia.

QUESTION: How does a guy called ‘Fred’ get a game for Brazil?

THE KING LOVES FOOTBALL

Well, it’s about as big a King day as you can get. It’s the coronation ceremony, the barge ceremony goes off for proper, and there’s a state ceremony and dinner will over monarchs from all over the planet.

It’s also Australia’s first match at the world cup in 30 years, kick off 8pm against Japan. We’ve got our plans - we’re heading to a beer garden with a cinema screen/projector, we even have alternate destination in case it’s rains. The game’s being shown on Thai domestic TV, as are all matches, nothings on Thai cable.

Bangkok’s quiet all day as it’s a public holiday and most people have gone to the river or away on holiday. Excitement builds amongst my friends and I, before we rendezvous in the beer garden at 7.00. We grab a couple beers, grab a table at the front and are glad to see a few Japanese tables around us – it’s always better to have someone to heckle.

7.50 rolls around, and the TV’s still showing the King’s ceremony. 7.55, still the King. 8.00, still the King, OK panic. At 8 everyday there’s KingTV on one channel – a half hour update of what the royals did that day, this is different, it’s live from the ceremony. We call the waiter over, he flicks through the Thai channels, the ceremony’s on all of them. AAGGHH! 8.15 rolls around, the ceremony looks like it’s got a long way to go.

We bailed out of the beer garden, heading to the Irish pubs 2 train stops away. A policeman stops us entering the skytrain station, all traffic on the road is stopped. They’ve blocked off the area for dignitaries leaving the ceremony, and we’re trapped without access to the pubs. Shit, what to do? Where to go? Come on think?

Got it! The Bus Stop, a girly bar 2 streets away, has cable from Papua New Guinea! We got in 30 mins late to find the game on. Yes! It was even the Australian SBS feed so we got to see the Australian soccer nuts talking about how happy they were to be in the world cup after years of being marginalised by Australia’s other sports.

We’re down 1-0, 5 mins left. We equalise, yelling! We take the lead, jumping up and down! We score again, pandemonium!

If only I didn’t have an exam tomorrow I’d be getting in a round of shots.

AUSTRALIA: 3

JAPAN: 1

KING WEEKEND

Yesterday marked the 60th anniversary of the Thai King's coronation, and the town's been going King-crazy for a week. The royal colour is yellow (a very vivid yellow), as the king was born on a Monday and Monday's colour is yellow - so yesterday everyone (literally everyone) was wearing a vivid yellow T-shirt. There's normally 10% of the population walking around in one, but yesterday (and this weekend) it was a yellow sea. I asked a Thai colleague what colour the princess is ‘purple’ in a heartbeat, what about the prince ‘don’t care’ with venom. No one likes the playboy Prince, everyone loves the hard working, caring Princess. A few years ago the princess was elevated to the ‘crown’ status so that she can contest her elder brother for the crown, as that’s what the people want and the king obviously recognises the greater quality of his daughter.

The key ceremony over the weekend was the royal barge ceremony – basically the King floating down the river on one of the seven royal barges, all the barges are sailed as well. Friday was the practice run, Monday the full ceremony. Friday was also the anniversary day, and Fri-Tue were public holidays.

On the Friday 800,000 Thais went to the river to watch the rehearsal, and similar numbers on Monday. Tears of love flowed everywhere, people were there all day, hoping to catch a glimpse of the King.

I’ve never seen devotion like it. He’s revered, but not seen as a God, more as the most wonderful person to the power of infinity. Throughout Bangkok there’s pictures of the King, many skyscrapers have multistorey pictures. They’re put up by choice, as a sign of the affection of the people and the company owners. My Thai teacher was so excited to tell us that her foreign boss had agreed to let the staff wear the yellow shirts on every Monday that she could barely contain herself. There’s absolutely no reservations, consternations or cynicism in their love for the King.

The King’s a constitutional monarch, but rules the hearts. Earlier this year, during Thailand’s political crisis, there were many pleas for him to step in and appoint the prime minister, an act that’s barely constitutional. He was able to see the bigger picture and declined, turning the issue back to the electoral and constitutional court. That respect for the democracy of his nation is something that politicians the world over could learn from.

THAI MEETING

I went to my first completely and properly Thai meeting today. It was between two government departments, with the department heads leading (what circles I move in these days!), discussing disaster stuff.

It was brilliant to see an ‘Asian meeting’ in effect. My management textbooks (blurgh) had been telling me for years that ‘Asian meetings’ will talk around the topic, be very positive about everything, and try to reach consensus. And, dang it, they’re right. There was a four point agenda, and everyone, and I mean all 25 attendees said something about them, and said nice things about the other people’s statements. There wasn’t any ‘discussion’ in the western way, debate and critiquing of each others’ point of view. Instead, if they held a different point of view second speaker would just state their opinion without denigrating the others. Consensus arose by adding all those points together. After the meeting closed, as everyone was leading the leaders vocalised that consensus, and a decision was made.

Very different to a ‘Western meeting’ in which each agenda item and idea would be discussed and debated in order, decisions made along the way and then action points assigned.

Encouragingly I was able to follow bits and pieces - or more accurately, I picked up words I knew as we went along that allowed me to get the gist

I’ve also noticed that since I’ve been here I’m talking in stereotypes a lot more. Most of our discussions focus on national, regional and international topics and the only way to be able to do that is to use a generalisation ‘Asians think like this…’ ‘Indians see it that way…’, otherwise you get bogged down in caveats and can’t talk about issues. I think that’s OK, as long as you remember that they’re only rules of thumb, need to be constantly re-evaluated and updated, and that you don’t apply them to an individual. There’s a big difference between saying ‘Thai’s like to have fun at work and talk to their friends rather than concentrating on work’ and ‘Thai’s like to talk to their friends at work, therefore as you’re Thai you are lazy’.

THE RAINY SEASON

After a month of 37oC and 75% humidity the rainy season really broke three days ago, with rain, thunder and lightning that’s remarkable.

Tonight the rain came while I was eating in a restaurant around the corner from my house. When a pretty girl and her mum left, the debonair young waiter carried a garden umbrella, keeping them shelter while he got wet, until they reached the train station. Water had flooded the sidewalk leaving only a small strip or dry land, so while the women kept their feet dry he ruined his shoes. Chivalry is not dead. When I left, a restaurant scullion came out and offered to escort me under a foldout umbrella. I know my place.

At Phaya Thai Court, after just 30mins of rain the entire forecourt, covering 100m2 was 3 inches deep in water. Things look grave, as the pool is filling to a point that it threatens to flow over. I have a 6inch clearance to my front door, and I’m hoping its enough. I’ve moved everything off the floor though, there’s that much rain.

The thunder, why still a little away from being overhead sounded like an artillery battery being set off. Not a modern battery, more like Napoleonic cannons that when in time broke sound, and when out of time rolled on for 30 seconds. As the storm passed overhead the sound was like standing in a broom closet while a giant slammed the heavy door closed, hard.

The lightning is so bright and low that you could see everything if only your eyes weren’t closed.

VIENTIANE

Another weekend, another trip. Or so it feels at the moment anyway. We’re about to head into the wet season, and though it’ll be good to get away from the heat (regularly 37oC and 70% humidity) it’ll curtail travelling a bit.

Though just across the Mekong, Vientiane and Lao are light years from Thailand. One simple bridge breaks shopping malls, cinemas and Westernisation from low-rise buildings and pot-holes. Lao is well and truly developing, even its tiny capital is under-developed.

I wouldn’t say it’s pretty, though the plethora of palm trees throughout the town is refreshing, especially after cement-city Bangkok. There’s not a lot to do, but surprisingly access to Western food is actually easier in Lao as they’re not subject to the hugh tax rates faced in Thailand. The ham and cheese croissant I had was the best thing I’d tasted EVER, not having had decent bread or pastry since Christmas. And for the record, yours truly reigned supreme at the bowling alley – the only thing to do on a Friday night according to my friends who’re working in Vientiane. Vientiane’s slow, in a country town kind of way, so I went with the flow sleeping in late, strolling around and sitting in cafés.

Getting into Lao we got stuck at the border for 2 hours as the guy in the booth only knew how to type with one finger, and had to have a think between each letter. I guess that’s what you get when the pay level’s US$40 per month.

On the river is the new secretariat building for the Mekong River Commission – an inter-governmental institution to protect and develop the Mekong River region. It’s a massive institution, well funded and a key political agency in the region. It’s new head-quarters look like a five star hotel, a very responsible use of their resources I’m sure.

On the Sunday a friend and I went out to see a Rocket Festival. To inspire the gods to start the rainy season, the people build home made rockets and set them off. They used to do it in town until a school burnt down a few years ago, so now the festivals go on in the rice paddy. We were the only Farangs around and were much ogled by the children though we quickly lost our star status when the larger rockets came out. Everyone from young children to old women were setting of rockets of various stages. A procession brought the largest rockets out to the crowd, there was a bit of a sing, and then they were put aside until later in the evening. Most of the rockets went off, though not always straight, with only one exploding on the launch pad. Given then number of people, and children, with explosives I was surprised not to notice anyone missing fingers.

SUKOTHAI

6 of us boarded a mini-bus to head to Thailand’s (other) ancient capital Sukothai this weekend. Yes, there are two dating from different periods, and different defeats. Sukothai was sacked by the Burmese, Ayuttaya by the Khmer (I think).

Sukothai looks a lot like Ayuttaya – ruined Wats – but is about 6 hours drive from Bangkok rather than 1.5 hours. I’m sure a Thai historian could provide an in depth analysis of the difference, other than location, but that’s about all I could spot. That said, it was good to get out of town and riding around the heritage parks on rented bicycles was certainly a welcome change.

The other two guys coming along, both former Russians (one’s now from Turkmenistan, the other Azerbaijan) turned up to the minivan drunk. At 7am. They opened their first beer as the van pulled out of the car park and stayed drunk for 48 hours on top of the 24 hours prior to the trip, not even seeing a temple. It was quite an effort really, the rest of us kept waiting for them to fall over. Or at least for the chief protagonist to stop talking and his offsider to stop giggling. It didn’t happen, and I think they had a good trip.

THAI BAR

After two failed attempts to find the Raintree Café, third time was a charm. I can’t say it was really my fault – it is down a side Soi. I probably should have seen the big blue sign hanging over the main street though.

Anyway, finally found it – and it’s great. In the 70’s, when Thailand was run by military dictatorship students rebelled musically creating a Thai folk-protest song fusing the Dylan tradition with Thai concepts and instruments. Basically protest songs that also proclaim how great it is to be Thai, even if the despots are in power. The movement was known as Phreng Phua Chiwit - ‘Songs For Life’. The bar is a carry over from that period, with SFL playing every night.

A good friend and I got there in time to see a 5 piece act playing. There bar’s fully wood lined, with any number of bullsheads hanging on the wall amongst other ‘memorabilia’ (ie junk). The place is dominated by Thai’s – drunk, smiling and enjoying the music – who’re not at all put-off, influenced or interested by a couple of Farangs hanging out in one of the booths. We rolled out at stumps, and I felt like I’d found a bar that I really fit into in Thailand.

Thai History from the 70’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Thailand_since_1973

Phreng Phua Chiwit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Thailand#Pleng_phua_cheewit

SONG KRAN

Happy Song Kran!

It’s Thai New Year (Easter doesn’t exist), and what better way to celebrate than a 4-day weekend? How about splashing EVERYONE with water.

For three days there’s been gangs set up on street corners, and roaming utes full of people with buckets of water and water-pistols targeting anyone and everything that comes within range. There’s music playing all over the streets, and a fair few bottles of Chang beer have been consumed. It’s all in good fun, and even the girl soaked head-to-toe with her make-up running is smiling.

There’s also a special ‘Song Kran Goo’ that people are smearing on each others’ faces. It feels like hair-gel, but turns into a powder after a couple of minutes. The city and skytrain are full of people with wet clothes and goo smeared all over them.

A favourite target for the water crews seems to be the numerous motorbike taxis, no wonder the road toll spikes at this time of year. I saw a 7-year-old dropping bucket loads of water off an overpass aiming for the bikes as they zoomed underneath. Mum and dad looked on proudly. There are cars all over Bangkok covered in goo. The tuk-tuk drivers seem to be in on it too, slowing down as they pass the water gangs to allow their passengers to be splashed (or maybe to avoid a major accident, who knows?).

Everyone’s smiling, and that’s what’s important.

SOAKINGS: 1

MILD WETTINGS: 2

PENANG

A friend and I availed ourselves of the wondrous AirAsia’s service this weekend and took a trip to Penang. If you time it right, you can fly to many places in Asia for less that AU$100, and we did, so we did.

Penang’s one messed up city. There’s massive colonial building in good shape, in bad shape, slum areas, huge new hotels, old hotels in need of some paint, and every gradation of residential housing in between. Exactly why there are new hotels I don’t understand, as it seems to be a backpacker place if anything on the tourist route.

There are three major ethnic groups – Malay, Chinese and India, though from the museum’s info it seems like everyone was here at some point due to British trade in the region. The Indian quarter of town is all colourful building and cooking everywhere. We ate nearly entirely Indian as its one of our few chances eat good Indian (I’m a bit over rice and noodles).

Georgetown (the major city) itself doesn’t have that much to see – we went up the hill to look at the view and wandered around to check out what there was, but its good for a change.

On the Sunday we went to Langkawi, an island about 3 hours away, as we discovered after being advised by guidebooks and travel agents its only 2 hours.

The first beach we went to was pure white sands, blue waters and limestone islets within touching distance, backed by rainforest-covered hills. Paradise, we could have stayed there all day except for the jellyfish. We drove around to four more beaches that day, but none were as beautiful as the first.

The last beach had a campsite right up on it, in which about 10 Muslim families had come for holiday. The kids played on the beach, all in full-length clothing and the girls in hijab. They must have been so hot and just dying to get in the water, but there didn’t seem to be any complaint and they all ran around the beach playing games, hide-and-seek maybe.

On our way back from Langkawi night fell and an almighty storm rolled in. We watched it roll from the horizon towards us, blackening as it did. The sky was dark long before the sun went down. The water turned a deep charcoal grey, and the horizon receded in upon us the closer the storm came and took on a hard black edge. The storm spread its canopy over our boat, but dropped ran further away. We watched the lightning for two hours as it lit up the contours of the clouds in an infinite variety of ways.

We stopped at the Snake Temple on the way to the airport – a Buddhist temple with a live collection of vipers. The collection amounted to 4, but they are venomous and free to roam the temple, though their version of roaming seemed to involve a lot of sitting next to candles. You can pay to have one put on your head and a photo taken, but I chose to pass on that wonderful experience.