August Archive

A night in Spicy

So we left Chiang Mai yesterday with a massive hangover. When we came back from trekking the 8 of us that were still in Chiang Mai (all Irish) brought our tour guide to an Irish bar. He'd never been to one before. He wanted to know what it was like. Unfortunately for him though, he only started drinking 2 months ago so he just couldn't handle drinking with 8 Irish people!

When the Irish bar closed, we asked around to see if there was a disco. We went to a place called Spicy. As soon as we walked in the door we knew it was a bad idea. So sleazy. There were young western guys thinking they were hot shit because there were about 5 Thai girls around each of them, grinding away. When you walked around the place if there were a group of Thai girls standing around talking, they would start dancing if you got anywhere near them. There were plenty of old dirty bastards there too!!

I went in to use the bathroom once, a mistake I made sure not to repeat. I was standing at the urinal doing my business when two Thai guys came over. Kind of like the guys in the jacks in Irish night clubs. Only they started to try and give me a Thai massage, when I was pissing. The first guy came over and craked my neck while in the mean time the other started at my legs. I started telling them to go away but they didn't. I walked out of the place in agony.

Jonny ended upkissing one of the Irish girls. But when the bouncer saw this he started whipping Jonny. Kind of like a school teacher with a bold kid. Jonny moved somewhere else, started kissing the girl again but the bouncer guy just followed them around! We took our leave and cut our loses.

Me, Jonny and the 4 Irish girls from the trek then hopped into the same tuk tuk! The driver could barely take the corners and I'm nearly sure we broke the thing. We were in there singing Ride On and the Rathlan bog. Wish we had a photo!

The next day after 3 hours sleep we got a bus to Chiang Kong and in an hour we get the slow boat to Laos.

Until next time

Brian

Laos - Slow Boats

For all the warnings I got about slow boats and how uncomfortable they are etc, I had a great time on it! The first day was cramped enough but there was people I knew spread out across the boat, so I could get up, walk around and stretch my legs.

Had a few beers on the boat, read my book and just chatted away. Cant beat it. We arrived that night in Pakbeng and got ourselves a nice room. The room cost about 2.50 each. Although in the town there is no electricity after 10:30. Everywhere runs on generators. There is a curfew in Laos also which means that in Pakbeng you have to be back in your place by 10:30. Its not as strict in the rest of the country and we have had no problems so far.

The second day we got a group of 15 people and rented our own slow boat, which the Dutch guys organised. It cost about 10 euro each but was so worth it. It was luxury. We loaded up with beers, played card games and just had a laugh. Got a little bit sunburnt but its all good in the hood.

Vang Vieng - Tubing

Yesterday we went tubing in Vang Vieng. It was great fun. Basically we went to the reception of our bungalows and organised it. Its a fixed price but not sure what we paid. We then got a bus/tuk tuk to the river and floated down in our tubes. You come to little bars on the side at first with little guys selling beer from a cooler box (that isnt very cool)! When you want to go in, they throw you out a rope or a piece of bamboo and pull you in. The current on the river was firly strong but you can swim to the banks easily enough.

When we stopped at the first bar there was a zip line that you can hold on to that and splash into the water. I did that a couple of times and was good fun. When we got bored there we headed down river again where the bars got bigger and we met more and more people. At some of the bars there were swings that again you just go on and let go over the water. What a laugh.

One of the girls missed the last bar so I went down after her. When we got to the end we were the only 2 in our group who stopped where we had. Although it was brilliant. THere was a bar there, with an open fire and loads of huts. In each of the huts there were 2 hammocks. It was so cool. My fist hammock and I have a hunger now for more. Bring it on .com.

Off to get breeakfast now and head to the Laos capital, Vientiane or something like that. I hear the weather has gotten better? And whats this crap about Meath being in an All-Ireland semi-final and Monaghan in a 1/4 final. Things are really messed up over there.

Vientiane

In the Vientiane, the Capital of Laos. Its like most large towns/cities over here (except for Bangkok - thats unique) only this place is noticibly poorer and dirtier than other countries. Its a communist country I think, although from the looks of things the idea is very loosely enforced. There is wealth, although not much, and poverty side by side, and I've only really seen the tourist area. Haven't had a chance to wander around the city and wont get to either because we have to head for the airport soon.

Its strange how your idea of expensive changes. I would be very sceptical now of paying a euro for a beer. Think I'd walk out of the place if it was any more than a euro. And thats for a 640ml bottle! The currency over here is a nightmare. There are so many notes and on one side they have random numbers where on the other they have the value of the note, eg. the 1000 kip note has 1000 on one side and 9000 on the other!! Just so confusing.

Since tubing we just got a bus to here and spent the nice in a reasonable guest house. Was expensive enough but was clean and comfortable so am happy. I think it was about 15 US dollars to for 3 people in the room. So that works out at about 4 euro each for the night with air con.

We leave for Hanoi in a bit and have looked in to getting a place. I think the plan is to stay in Hanoi for 2 nights then get a train to the coast. From there we'll pan out on a beach for a couple of days and make our way down the coast to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon). Should be fun.

Until next time,

Brian

pre trek in chiang mai

Ok, I've gotten some pictures from the trip and will put them up here coz the galleries don't seem to want to work. Will have to sort that in Oz. Any way have a look and comment if you like. will post about hanoi when i get to a keyboard that works properly....

Brian

trekking pics day 1

pictures from trekking in chiang mai

trekking day 2 images

Day 2 of trekking

trekking day 3 pictures

Pics from day 3 trekking and the night out after... although camera went dead before we left the BMP

Hanoi

Hanoi is again like any city here. A bit more westernised than Vientiane though. The first thing you notice about Hanoi though is the traffic. Hundreds of mopeds on narrow streets zipping past you, with blatant disregard for the rules of the road. Red lights mean nothing in Hanoi and the green man means target practice for the mopeds. If you want to cross the road, you just walk out and let them swerve to avoid you! Its crazy. Apparently Ho Chi Min is worse, although I don't see how it could be.

When me and Jonny arrived at the airport in Hanoi we got ourselves a bargained down taxi driver. He was leading us to the car park when a security gaurd stopped us, mentioned something about the mafia and showed us to the taxi rank. It was 2 dollars more than the mafia dude but probably worth it.

We didn't do a whole lot in Hanoi. It was very humid and with the traffic, getting around was a burden. We did get a new camera though, for a very reasonable price, because my charger still wont work. Not happy.

Another thing worth mentioning about Vietnam is that the women are stunning. The one at reception in our guesthouse looked like Tia Carrera! They are definitely much better looking than the Thai's. The people here are much friendlier too and their English is excellent. Will be looking in the lonely planet though to see if I can pick up a few phrases. The one good thing here though is that we can read the letters. In Thailand and Laos letters look like a drunk man had a piss in the snow!

The Irish girls that had made up our group in Laos met us on the second day in Hanoi and we went to dinner where a mouse ran across one girls foot and then on to a jazz club, where a rat hopped up onto the stage. It really is a filthy city. There are bags of rubbish thrown on the street. Its still a nice city though, but again I think 2 nights is enough. There are tours around Hanoi but all the travelling lately is starting to take its toll.

We went to the same Irish bar both nights we were in Hanoi, for a very simple reason, lock-in. Most of the places aeem to shut at 11:30 but we walked up to this place and they opened the shutters to let us in for a few. Not too shabby. Apparently they do a great fuck off fry too but we didn't bother going for that.

At the moment we are in Hue on the way to Hoi An. It took us about 12 hours to get here and we have another 4 to go I think. Its a quiet town but big enough, although again, I doubt we'll wonder it. We have big bags with us while we wait for the next bus. We are in a place that has free internet, and free pool. Will keep us occupied for a bit.

Looking forward to Hoi An. There are 30km of white sandy beaches there. Should be good. ALthough the weather is meant to be really bad down there. Will have to see how it goes.

Talk soon

Brian

A little something I forgot to mention

With all that was going on there are a few things that I never posted that I'd like to add. I'll start with the White Karin tribe who we stayed with trekking.

These guys came originally from Burma and settled in the mountains in North Thailand. They used to grow opium and marijuana but the police came and told them to stop it. So now there are rice fields everywhere. Most of their huts don't have electricity but the government had given them some solar panels for the villages which makes life a little easier.

The people go to school at around 12 years of age I think, both boys and girls. They are thought in their own schools, where they learn Thai and English, more too I'd imagine but thats all I was told about.

Girls usually marry then by 19 and guys by 25. I don't know what happens after that. One of our guides had been asked twice but said no.... playa. If your younger sisters marries before her older brother, she has to make him a tshirt to say sorry. Also, if you sleep with a girl before marraige you have to go to everybody in the village and apologise and plow their fields for them, when I think they stand around and throw abuse at you or mock you or something. Not really sure about that either

The thing that surprised me most about the tribe was that about half of them are Catholic. I wasn't expecting to see our guide with rosary beads around his neck! The other half then are Budhist. I assume the Catholic Church was introduced to them by the French but I don't know.

These people are extremely self sufficient and live off the land very well. They get money then from tourists coming through and buying some of their handicrafts. They also supplied us with beer and water which again we paid for but it was pittance. Some of their crafts were amazing. I'm sure they have other sources of income too though. For example our guides were obviously getting paid to bring us trekking.

Bus Journey and Hoi An

So we left Hanoi about 4 days ago now, not really sure, it all kind of just blurs into one. We got a bus from Hanoi to Hoi An, on the Vietnamese coast. The bus was meant to take 16 hours but we left Hanoi at 8 and didn't get here til 6 the following evening. Jonny wasn't too bad on the bus, but it was agony for me. I had no leg room and was just in bits the whole way down. Not pleasant.

When we got to Hoi An we quickly found out that most of the accommodation was full. We ended up spending 15 dollars a night for a dive, so we said we'd get somewhere else. The place we are in now is 18 dollars a night, but its really nice with a pool. Its probably way too much and we shouldn't splurging on it but its nice and comfortable and I don't care, I just wanted a place with a pool :)

Of course on the the first full day here I managed to get sick. Had to spend the whole day in bed. Was not happy at all. Took a load of Vitamin C though and yesterday I felt a lot better.

Hoi An is about half way down the Vietnamese coast and has about 34km of white sand beaches. Unfortunately I haven't gotten to them, yet. It also has a tailors on every street, multiple tailors in fact. Everywhere you go, you pass loads of them. Jonny bartered one shop to 200 euro for 3 suits, 3 extra pairs of pants, 3 shirts, and 3 ties... All tailor made. I am still debating if I want to get a suit, although I doubt I will. I hate shopping too much, plus I have absolutely no need for a suit. The one I have is fine! Don't know if its worth the money, I could be spending it on fancy hotels :)

Hoi An seems to be Vietnams version of the Costa Del Sol. There are a lot of families here and couples and there seems to be less young people here. This serves to make everything more expensive, especially food and drink. There is apparently some festival on here but I haven't seen anything to do with it. Supposedly there is a sticky rice pudding festival! Wierd.

Till next time

Brian

Some pictures from Laos

Here are a few pictures we got off one of the dutch guys in Laos

First Day at the Beach

Before I get to the beach part, the picture is one we see saw in a bar here. I want to burn the picture, I hate that prick although I do think its very funny. Definitely in the "the world is broken Bono make it better" mould.

We went to the beach today, it was hot. I was kind of dissapointed though. It wasn't the pristine white sands I'd been promised. It was the same sand you get at home. The water was nice though. I was kind enough to share my cold with Jonny so he just panned out at the beach, which bored me to tears. I'd nobody to play with :'(

Was cool though, ate a crab although it was very hard work, there is a pic below. Not really all that much else to say, we're not doing much. I opted against a suit, Jonny got his.

Later

Brian

Off To Nha Trang

So today we leave Hoi An and head further south to Nha Trang. Jonny keeps reffering to it as a party place but to be honest I don't really fancy partying at the moment. Maybe when I get there I'll feel a little differently. All depends I supppose on the kind of people you meet there.

Last night we met the kind of English people you hate to meet, which is a real pity because all the other English people we met were such good fun and really sound. The ones last night were loud, drunk, annoying, full of themselves and insulting. They came down and sat beside us, 2 more Irish teachers and another English girl, completely univited. As soon as they sat down, there was no craic. The atmosphere completely changed so me and Jonny bailed fairly soon after. On the way home Jonny was saying he didn't even like the 2 Irish teachers, I thought they were great craic. They were just taking the piss, was quite funny (until those pricks sat down beside. Wish they'd stick to Aya Napa or Ibiza).

Looking at places in Nha Trang to stay and thankfully its back to places for $6 a night. Hoi An is so wierd, I really was expecting more backpackers and lower prices. Backpackers generally tend to just collect there suits and go, but it has been nice to just relax a bit here. Although it serves to just delay yet another 12 hour bus journey. All these over night journeys eat into the time you can spend in places without you ever realising. We now have 10 days before we are due to meet the lads, which will probably be broken down like so...

1 night - bus to Nha Trang
2 nights - stay in Nha Trang
1 night - bus to Dalat including stopping in Dalat (don't think we have an option but to stay)
1 night - bus to Ho Chi Minh
3 nights - stay in Ho Chi Minh

After that it looks like we need to take out the big money and fly Ho Chi Minh to Bangkok and from there to Ko Samui in the same day. Both flights are about an hour.

Will have to wait and see what Nha Trang brings

Last Pictures from Hoi An

These are the last few pics from Hoi An, one from last night, the rest for today. All we did today really was rent a couple of bikes and just cycled around a little bit with Cat who we met yesterday. Was good fun

Nha Trang

We arrived at 6 in the morning in Nha Trang 2 days ago, after an over night bus from Hoi An. The bus wasn't too bad this time though. Half the people on with were Vietnamese and they hopped off at early stage on the journey. So that left us with two seats each. When we got to Nha Trang, we went about trying to get somewhere to sleep. The general price we were being quoted was $10 but we eventually got the place down to 8. 2 girls from the bus had seen us do this and tried to get $8 too but they were hopeless. They asked if they could have the room for $8 where as we told them we're only paying $8. Getting the hang of this bartering lark though.

My "not in the mood to party" didnt last long. Went out on the first night. Jonny went home early and met a few random Irish punters in the sailing club on the beach, stayed out til about 3. That was good enough craic. We met a few Dutch guys earlier in the night and played a bit of Jenga. Great craic. Turned it into a drinking game, but I never lost... or won.... basically I never got to drink any of the cocktail we were using as the forefit. Probably turned out to be a good thing in the end.

Yesterday then we met 2 more Irish guys from Mayo and Tipp. Saw them again at the sailing club. The sailing club tries to charge in at night but I've bee there twice and never paid. I just walked along the beach and in through the back, where everyone is anyone. They're not very clever. Had a good night again went to a late night spot after the Sailing club. There was a nasty vibe outside though. A couple of fights broke out and I saw a western guy in a van with what looked like a load of sceurity guards. So we pretty much got out of there asap. Which was wierd though coz inside the place was fine. You get muppets everywhere I guess.

Nearly forgot....
I got robbed on the first night! Nobody came up to me, or approached me at least that made me think something dodgy. So I have no idea how, where or when this happened. All I know is that I looked in my wallet, I had money, I looked again later I had no money. They didn't take my cards or anything, just my cash. Considerate like that. I didn't lose all that much money though so I'm not too bothered by. Though I'd pop it in to the post though.

Later

Brian

Ho Chi Min City (Saigon)

We left Ho Chi Min yesterday after 2 nights. Its a really nice city, but again very similar to Hanoi. We arrived after an over night bus and got somewhere to stay. It was about $12. Not too bad but probably could have gone cheaper. After arriving we did the usual thing and had a nap to recover from the bus. After we woke up we went to the War Remnants Museum. It was fairly cool and interesting but a bit scatty. There was no real flow to the display. I don't really like museums though and I struggle to keep attention in them. This museum was very small though, much smaller than I had expected. Was interesting though. Some of the pictures, especially of the after effects of Agent Orange were quite horrific and I did start to get angry about it.

After the museum we did the usual Sunday thing and found somewhere to watch the soccer. They show pretty much every game in Vietnam. I assume its the same in Thailand too. So we sat in a bar, had a couple of drinks, watched united lose, watch Liverpool get raped by a referee and headed to bed by around 12. All in all, a good night.

On the second day we did a half day tour to the tunnels. Our guide was an ex Veteran who fought for the Americans during the war. He spoke a lot on the bus and I was glued to his every word. After a while he started repeating himself but first time round it was hugely interesting. He talked to us about reunification camp after the war but he didn't get into much detail about that. I would have loved to have gotten him on his own so I could have found out more. The tunnels themselves were again interesting but its extremely touristy so its hard to get a proper feel for it. While there we went shooting too. I fired a pistol, an AK-47 and an M-16. It again was disappointing because the guns are kind of strapped to a wall. You don't really get a proper feel for it. Got no where near hitting a target, but then again the targets were about 200 yards away. Would have been doing well. Everyone can feel safe in the knowledge though that if I try to shoot you, I'll miss... by a long way :)

Yesterday then, we arrived back in Bangkok and finally met those pesky wicked leprechauns. It was so great to see them. We are staying near Khaosan Road now, and there is a much nicer feeling here than the last place we stayed. There is no bad smell and we are getting much less hassle. Maybe I've just gotten used to it though. We went out then last night but I'll put up a post with pictures of that soon.

I have pictures of Ho Chi Min too which I'll add to here too when I get the chance.

Until then...

Brian

Bangkok again, train, boat beach

I haven't posted in a while so this will possibly be a long one...

Met the lads in Bangkok as I said early. It was so good to see them again. We hit Khaosan road that night with Will who we had traveled through Laos with. That man is probably one of the funniest guys you can meet. A true hero. We basically just went out drank and talked. Had an awful lot of fun. After a while the lads, all bar me and Ian, to go to a ping pong show. Suppose, "when in rome..." I didn't quite see the attraction so me and Ian stayed in a bar and just talked a lot of shite about a lot of things. It was so much fun.

The next day I bought a fake student card, mainly so I can get a discount to matched and stuff. Unfortunately the clown that made it put me down as being in college in TKINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN. Oh well, might work in Oz. Not too pushed if it doesn't. After that we caught a train from Bangkok to Chumporn (or something to that effect) on the way to the islands. We just played 25 and Ian started to teach me a little about photography. He's letting me use his other SLR camera. started to get the hang of it on the boat to Ko Phangan.

So here I am in Ko Phangan. Been here for 2 nights now. The full moon party is coming up soon so each day the place gets noticeably busier. Have spent most of the time eating toasties and sleeping. Went to beach parties the last 2 nights. The first night I got quite drunk, last night I didn't drink all that much but had loads of fun. You can pretty much just wander around talking to random people. I'm really one for the dancing to the kind of music they play. Spent yesterday and most of today panned out in the bar at our bungalows. Hammocks rule the world :)

The beach we are staying on, Sunset beach, is fairly horribly. Its dirty and the water is murky and the sand is gritty. Still enjoying it though. Its too hot to go out in the day too. From 11 to 3 I pretty much have to stay in the shade. Not that its a problem. It was 4:30 by the time I got up today. Its a nice change of pace though to have 7 nights in one place. I don't have to think or worry about trains or buses, can just relax and gather myself a little.

Till next time,

Brian

Spur of the moment

So yesterday things took an unexpected twist and I leave for Kuala Lumpur in a couple of hours. From there, me and Ian fly to Jakarta. Just decided yesterday that it'd be a good thing to do. Means though that I'll be missing out on the Full Moon Party tomorrow and diving after in Ko Tao. THe diving I would like to do too but I've been on a tourist track the whole time so this is my last chance to deviate from that. Should be a lot of fun...

I know this sad but its something I have to do..........
I'm going to Java and staying in Jakarta. After that we might rent an Apache bike and head to the C. I hope there are no Pythons! We dont want to cause a stir so we have to remain very PC.

For those who get that... sorry, I know its sad. But when again will I ever have the chance to do that. Haha.

The last couple of nights have been fun. Again its just been more of the same. Relaxing all day and heading out at night. We went on a boat trip around the island yesterday which was good. Did a bit of snorkling and played some volleyball. Not exactly the sexy image normally portrayed of beach volleyball!

Last night was the first night not at the beach. Instead we went to a pool party. That was lots of fun. Jumping in water that I'm fairly sure was mainly piss by the end of the night. Met a few of the people we've seen for the last few days. Never got to say bye to some of them though which is a pity. THey were a good bunch. Its kinda taken me by surprise leaving so early. Can't wait though.

Will keep y'all informed

Brian

Kuala Lumpur, First Impressions

After about 26 hours of traveling, me and Ian have finally made it to Kuala Lumpur. The journey was long but fine. We spent the night in a boat which was mad choppy but we had beds so we could sleep. When I say beds though, the whole floor was like one big mattress with loads of pillows along it. If the boat was full it might have been slightly uncomfortable but it was fine. I slept nearly all the night. From the mainland then we got a mini bus and a bus. Both were nearly empty so we had loads of room and again slept loads. I reckon of the 26 hours I might have been awake for 4 of them.

The first thing I noticed about Kuala Lumpur is how amazing it is. Massive buildings that normally you would be in sheer awe of but for the spectacular Petronas Twin Towers. We arrived at 1 in the morning and these things were lit up like Christmas trees. So amazing. They are 1,482.9 feet tall and were the tallest buildings in the world until 2004 when Taipei 101 beat it. Me and Ian went down to take some photos of them when they were lit up but of course they turned off all the lights and we lost them! We eventually saw them again but will have to wait until the next time we come back to take night photos. Will take some day time ones tomorrow though.

Its hard not to be impressed by the city as well although so far we have only have gotten a very small taste of it. Its fairly nice to walk around and is probably my favourite city so far. Will have to see what the day brings but hopefully it wont disappoint. It seems so relaxed and apart from being asked if we'd like a taxi, whilst looking at a map, we have gotten absolutely no hassle. Some lady boys did try to entice Ian though. Think my red pants scared them off! I'm definitely glad I left the islands though because if missing this would be a pity. I hope Jonny and Joe have time to get here and give themselves some time. Our plan now is to try and come back to spend another night here on the way back. Will have to see how it goes though. Anybody who is traveling through SE Asia, if you don't see this city at night, you're missing out. Completely different to every other city.

Jakarta - Nerdy jokes aside

We arrived in Jakarta late last night. This was a whole new experience for us. We arrived at the airport with no knowledge what so ever of the city. We had no idea where to go, what to expect or what price to pay. When we got our bags to leave the airport there was the usual barrage of taxis trying to extort us to get into the city center. But we asked a few guys the best thing to do and they said a bus to the train station in the city center, called Gambir. While walking to the bus some taxi drivers kept mentioning the name of a place called Jacksa (thats phonetically, not sure of the spelling). Ian talked to a few of the bus guys and got his bearings a bit so we got the bus into town and headed to Jacksa from the station on a local tuk tuk type thing.

Nearly as soon as we got out we met 3 people (German, Austrian and Macedonian) who pointed us in the direction of accommodation and food. Later we had a beer with them and they gave us advice on where to see and where to avoid. So on their word we woke up this morning and are now heading to Sumatra at 10 tomorrow. We have no travel guide or anything so we are just talking to people to see where is best to go. Will see how it works out.

In other news, I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D50 slr camera with a 18-135mm lens and plenty of accessories. Its my new toy and I love it. Hopefully I'll get some quality photos up soon. Have one or 2 nice ones already but I'd image the real good ones will come from Sumatra. I can see Mam shaking her at me spending money on a camera, but its only money, will just have to spend less elsewhere.

I leave nerd joke heaven tomorrow so will keep updating with hopefully lots of fun and adventure@

Later

Brian