Trains Trains and More Trains

We have made it to Malaysia in one piece.  Unfortunately I'm not sure our wallets will stay in one piece.  The accommodation is double what we thought we would be paying but I guess it's still cheaper than the Western world.  A room is about $20 here we thought it would be more like $10-$15.  Ahh well such is life.  It took about 33hrs on a train to get from Laos to Malaysia. We are currently in Pulau Langkawi and are going to spend a few days on the beach... if we can sit still that long.

Dec 13 – The train to Bangkok

We booked a train to Bangkok shortly after breakfast.  We had to get more money out of the ATM which is tricky because we don't want any left over kip and we don't want to run out of money for the day. We checked out of our hotel and left our bags their with their left luggage. We went in search of a new book for Beau since he had finished his other one. We refound one of the bookstores we had visited on our last trip to Vientiane. After having book success we went wandering around the city. We went into a department type store and picked up a bunch of travel snacks. We also purchased some little oranges as well, which were delicious! We were being picked up around 3pm to go to the train station. On our way back to the hotel we blew the last of our kip on some nuts keeping aside about 6,000 which we were told we needed for departure tax. We got picked up by a large tuk-tuk and were taken to the train station. We had to go through exit customs there and pay our departure tax. Turns out our departure tax was actually 10,000 kip each not the 3,000 we were told at the travel agency. Lucky for us we still had some small American bills so we could cover the fee. While at the station we ran in Lea again who we met in the 4000 Islands and ran into in Luang Prabang. We took a very short train ride just to cross the boarder where we got off the train to go through Thai entrance customs. This took forever since they only had one window open and there were quite a few of us. We finally made it through customs and boarded the train to Bangkok. The train was very nice, with bunks that fold out. We started all of us sitting in seats but then one of the train employees came through and lowered the upper bunk and set up that bed. Then he folded the seats down, laid out a foam mattress and set up the lower bunk. The bunks were quite spacious although almost too short. Hopefully it won't be a bad nights sleeps.

Beau on the train (seats folded into beds) with our dinner of bread and cheese.

Dec 14 – Bangkok then onwards

We arrived in Bangkok bright and early this morning. As soon as we arrived we looked into a train to Malaysia. We had been contemplating different routes to get there to try to avoid the city of Hat Yai. This city is on a travel advisory, along with the rest of South Western Thailand, due to some unrest with the Muslim groups down there. We were talking with an older American gentleman who had done the same route two weeks before with no trouble. The groups aren't targeting tourists and this is the easiest way to get into Malaysia. We decided to go ahead with this route in spite of the travel advisory. When we tried to book our ticket butthe Malaysian portion was fully booked so we just booked on the same train as far as Hat Yai. We were assured we'd be able to buy a ticket once in Hat Yai. We then had about 6 hours to kill in Bangkok. We found a road side soup shop that served some disappointing, bland soup. After eating we started wandering around the area, there really wasn't much to see near the train station so we went a little further afield towards the river. We found a mall which we wander through but it mostly contained Asian antiques. We continued walking around the city and found ourselves in China town. We had a nice wander around this section then got ourselves some lunch. We picked up more travel snacks and got an Drumstick like ice cream as a treat. We headed back towards the trains station and actually found it with out getting lost. We boarded our new train and left Bangkok around 3pm. It was interesting seeing the outskirts of Bangkok in the day light because you can still see flooded areas. Actually, within Bangkok there were sandbags everywhere and concrete barriers in front of doors to keep the water out. Outside of Bangkok the lower lying areas around the train tracks still held quite a bit of water. It was difficult to tell whether some of these areas were supposed to be ponds or if the water hadn't found a way to drain yet. We ordered dinner on the train which turned out pretty good and was quite tasty. Beau and I had lower bunks again but no one was above us this time.

Lots of Bus Travel

The last few days haven't quite worked out the way we hoped and not for the better. We spent a full day on a bus, were told our room had been booked for the next night, had laundry come back dirty and could afford to rent a motorbike to explore Luang Prabang. I guess not everything can go smoothly but hopefully our travels down to Malaysia will be smoother than all our buses in Lao.

*Look on the post below for the rest of the Elephant Conservation Center

Dec 10 – Back to Luang Prabang

We had to leave the peace of the Elephant Conservation Center to board a bus back to the Luang Prabang. The bus was one of the smaller ones with the fold up seats, it wasn't the most comfortable ride but it was relatively on time. Back in Luang Prabang we headed to the guesthouse we had been staying at before. We pre-booked a room before we left but when we got there they said they were full except for one room. They made it sound like they were doing us a favour by letting us have this room even though we had given them a deposit. But we took the dinky little room they offered. We went out for some yummy soup lunch and wandered around the city a little. It has cooled off considerably so we were all bundled up in our sweaters. We looked into renting a motorcycle to go see a supposedly gorgeous water fall in the area but they were charging $20! We couldn't believe the price so we scratched the waterfall off our list. We were hunting for a new book for Beau but didn't have too much success. We pretty much just wandered the rest of the day trying to stretch our legs after being on the bus.

Dec 11 – Biking around Luang Prabang

We rented bicycles today to try to see a little more of the city. We went to a local market that catered to everyday people. It's always fun to see where the locals shop for their wares. It's like a departments store but soooo much better. We got to try some beef and pork jerky and Laos cookie, which we bought for a bus snack. We followed the river around the town and had lunch at our favourite little restaurant. We went back to our hotel to have a shower and collect our laundry. Unfortunately our laundry did not really come clean... we have a feeling that they used fabric softener instead of laundry soap. Our hotel also told us we couldn't stay after tomorrow because the room was booked! We were essentially being kicked out of our hotel the next day, luckily we were planning on heading back to Vientiane anyways. We headed back out for dinner and to return our bikes. The guy had said to bring them back for 7pm, when we arrived at his store it was closed even though it was 7pm. We were not impressed, we had left Beau credit card with the guy as collateral. Now we needed to come back in the morning and wouldn't be able to leave the city until we had the card back. We weren't having the best of luck today. Again we returned to the waterside restaurant, the food is inexpensive and super good. We were pretty disgruntled with our hotel, our laundry and our bicycle situation!

Dec 12 – Back to Vientiane

Our day started with trying to return the bicycles right away, which didn't work since the guy hadn't opened yet. We had hoped to be on an early bus back to Vientiane but we weren't able to return the bikes till just after 8am. The guy also claimed he was there till 7pm but I don't know what clock he was operating on. We hurried back to our hotel, checked out and hopped a tuk-tuk to the bus station. We arrived in time to catch the 9am bus back to Vientiane, otherwise we would have had to wait around till 11am for the next bus. Turns out what we thought was good fortune by catching this bus was bad luck. We broke down on the side of the road in the mountains. I'm not sure how long we were there for but one of the bus guys had to borrow a scooter for a local and ran off with some sort of pipe to get replaced. We weren't sure whether it was a brake line, fuel line or hydraulic line. Some time later the guy returned, installed the part and we were on our way again. We stopped for lunch some time later, it way about 3pm now and stayed stopped for another hour while they worked on the bus again. We didn't reach Vientiane until almost 11pm. It took 14 hrs to go about 300km. They claim it should take about 8-9hrs, I thought maybe 10hrs. We hadn't pre-booked a guesthouse which was a big mistake as many places were full. We found one with a room but it was 100,000 kip we took it since we didn't have too many options. The room was sub-par to say the least. Oh well it's one night and hopefully we'll be out of here on a train to Bangkok tomorrow.

Vientiane to Vang Vieng

Today's bus ride was brutal! The bus broke down and we waited around 2 hours while they fixed it then we almost had a bus accident! Not a good day for buses but all is fine now.  We are in one piece.  Just remember everyone that these things can happen at home too.  We are feeling better though. I don't think it was related to anything we ate.  If possible I think our crappy bed just messed up our bodies and this is just how it manifested itself.   But tonight's bed seems much more comfortable.. no springs!

Dec 2 – Vientiane

Today hasn't been the greatest of days.   Beau and my stomach are both acting up a little. Nothing major just enough to cause some discomfort. So we didn't do all that much today because of it. We walked around a little and tried to eat a bit, mostly rice and fruit. We spent the bulk of our day curled up reading on the lobby couches. The only highlight of the day was Skyping with Elaine, although we couldn't chat for too long. Beau and I are having an early bed tonight and hope things right themselves with some sleep. We board a bus to Vang Vieng tomorrow and nothing sucks more than being on a bus and feeling crappy.

Dec 3 – To Vang Vieng

Today we caught a bus to Vang Vieng. In theory this is only a 3hr drive but of course it took much longer than that! We had driven maybe half an hour and the bus started making a weird buzzing noise so we pulled over at what we think was a mechanic. We were stopped for about 2 hours while the driver and some other guys worked on the engine. Finally we were on our way again with no more buzzing. We had been driving for max an hour and the bus swerved and almost went off the road into the ditch. Turns out the side mirror had been clipped by a van going the other way. The road is just wide enough for two buses to pass each other but I guess one of the drivers misjudged a little. Fortunately there wasn't any noticeable damage and we didn't end up in a ditch. We finally made it to Vang Vieng in one piece. In theory we were supposed to arrive at 1pm and instead arrived at 3:30. At least it's still light out that's the main thing. We found a cheap hotel and then went in search of some food. We had some good food then wandered around to see the town a little. We settled into a restaurant for some wifi and drinks. We are staying away from the beer since we felt off yesterday but today we are much better although not quite 100%.

Vientiane

I like Vientiane. It has a good feel to it. There are lots of restaurants to choose from, fortunately lots of guesthouses too. I don't think I can put my finger on what I like about it though. It has some nice Wats and some pretty architecture, also some not so pretty architecture. The river front is really pretty though. I think it's the overall atmosphere and vibe of the city. I definitely am enjoying this city. Unfortunately today Beau and I are both feeling a little under the weather so we haven't done too much exploring today. Hopefully we feel better tomorrow because we are on another bus to Vang Vieng.

Nov 30 – Onwards to Vientiane

We took a tuk tuk to the bus station this morning and caught the 8:30 bus to Vientiane. It was a bus ride like any other although one time we picked up some women who were selling fruit, rice and other things to eat and then we dropped them off about a km from where we picked them up. I forgot to mention about the circus that gets on the bus every time we stop. Women and children selling bags of sticky rice, mangoes, eggs in a bag, eggs on a stick, meat skewer, and something wrapped in a banana leaf. They all climb on the bus and yell in Lao and stick the stuff in your face trying to get you to buy it. Then they all clamber off the when the horn honks or in the case of today they do all this while the bus is moving. It is quite the production. Any ways we arrived in relatively good time around 3:30. Its about 330km between Tha Khet and Vientiane so I guess 7 hrs isn't too bad. We had to take another tuk tuk into town, actually it was a Sǎwngthǎew, a pickup with a covered bed and benches down both sides. There were about 18 of us in the back and a chicken. It was the typical Asian squish as many people as possible into a small space. This thing took us the 9km to the city center. From there we started hunting around for a room. There were a plethora of guesthouses and hotels but most were full or too expensive. So we just wandered up and down a couple of streets till we found one cheap enough that had a room. We were starving at this point so we went down to the street near the water and had a beer and some food. The water front area is very nice. There are no restaurants that directly over look the river but there is a nice park area and then a little hill up to a boardwalk area. The river is quite low right now, I'm a little surprised since dry season didn't start too long ago. Makes me wonder how low the river will get. We walked along the board walk and watched the sun finish setting. In one area of the park there was a large aerobics class going on. There was also a large night market just finishing setting up in the park selling clothes, bags, paintings etc. We wanted a little something more to eat so we headed to a restaurant near our hotel and ordered pizza. I had a craving. It was pretty good, could have done with more toppings but it was tasty. Sometimes it's nice to have a change from rice and rice noodles.

Dec 1 – Around Vientiane

After having a nice and cheap breakfast, complete with near American style coffee, I got to Skype with Mom and Dad. They are off on their own adventures in a little over a week. We chatted for a bit but the call was dropped a few times, the internet is pretty slow here. After finishing with Skype, Beau and I headed out on foot to explore the city. We were hunting for bookshops, Beau found he wanted something to read while we were on all those buses. We found quite a few some with new books some with used but in the end Beau found a book he wanted to read, he's not into fiction so it was a little difficult. We spent most of the day walking around enjoying the feel of Vientiane. Traffic is a little less crazy here and drivers actually stop to let you cross. We went into a market/mall. Once upon a time it was a market with covered stalls now it's a mall with stalls all inside. Kind of weird but interesting none the less. We had a late lunch at a burger stall which really good burgers, Yum! We are indulging our Western cravings lately. We went to the river side to watch the sun set. It was kind of hazy but there was a cloud just above the horizon and as the sunset behind it it peaked out the bottom for the cloud too. Very pretty. We went to a little sidewalk restaurant that set up in a construction zone and had some bbq squid and fried rice for dinner. After we enjoyed a beer at a restaurant called the “beer garden” which we had eaten at the night before. It actually had a very pretty garden you could enjoy beers in. While there a group of 3 came in, two of the people in the group we have seen everywhere. They were at a couple of the same restaurants in Tha Khet, on our bus to Vientiane, now they are actually stay in the same hotel as us. It is all quite random but we actually talked to them this time although we didn't get any names. I don't doubt if we continue to run into them while in Vientiane.

That Dam Monumment

Laos National Culture Hall

Another beautiful sunset over the Mekong