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Vang Vieng, The Plain of Jars and Phonsavan

28/4/2010

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To get to a few parts of Laos that we wanted to see but didn’t think we had the time to get to, we hired a car and as soon as we got a chance we left Vientiane for a Northern adventure.

Having picked up our Russian Visa’s we made a snap decision to leave the same day and see where we could end up. We headed North up route 13 and after making slow progress for the first 30km we wondered if we would reach anywhere interesting before dark.

As with much of Indo-China, you only have to get a little way out of the larger towns and cities to find that traffic thins out pretty quickly. In less than 3 hours we covered the 150km to Vang Vieng and we decided to stop in.

Vang Vieng has a very bad reputation on travel web-sites and in some print media, chiefly because it is a mecca for backpackers looking for cheap booze, illicit drugs and good times with like minded people. The worst of it was obvious when we eventually worked out where the main street was and drove along looking at a bunch of people sat around in café’s on Thai beds, all aligned and facing several TV’s showing the Family Guy. Added to this worrying welcome is the fact that on the South side of town are a couple of incredibly ugly, pollution producing cement works and the overall town appears to be generally run down.

However the actual valley that Vang Vieng sits in is quite spectacular – mountainous limestone karsts, jungle taking hold where it can and the greenest fields and rice paddies we had seen so far in Asia. And through it all a picturesque river flowing strongly from the North.

As is befitting of people arriving in town with their own transport, we checked into what is considered one of the more up-market hotels – The Elephant Crossing. A quick check of the room standard was irrelevant – the hotel is right on the river with a bar and restaurant on a deck out over the water. A good value menu with beer the same price as everywhere in Laos (10000kip - $1.25 - for a 650ml long neck) was the deal clincher and it didn’t matter that the room was only average – it had a balcony so all was good. Our dinner was interrupted by a tremendous thunderstorm with a spectacular lightning show highlighting the karsts.

So despite what many say, we actually loved Vang Vieng and would have stayed longer if we were just visiting Laos for 2 or 3 weeks of annual holidays – we would even venture into town and mix with the TV watchers next time.

Next day we headed North up some incredible mountain roads before turning East for Phonsavan. Of the devastation inflicted on Laos during the Indo-China wars, none of which Laos was officially involved in, much of it occurred in the province of Xiong Khoang.

The drive across to Phonsavan winds mostly along mountain ridgelines, dipping in and out of river valleys until you suddenly come onto a high plain. The changes are amazing, particularly given that the distance covered isn’t great – averaging more than 30 or 40 km/h is difficult and unproductive on the winding and at times poorly maintained roads. The roads are also narrow and driving a left-hand drive car for the first time meant that I was a little bit disoriented at times. In fact turning back to check Molly’s door was properly shut, whilst going around a right hand bend that switched back to the left soon saw our little dual cab ute bouncing down into the 3 foot drain on the mountain side of the road – and then bouncing back out as she ground her belly on the verge and I reefed the wheel back to the left. Lesson learnt – no room for error on Laotian roads!

Anyway, we hit Phonsavan with time to visit the Plain of Jars (Site 1) the same day and thus free up the next morning for an early get away.

The Plain Of Jars is an interesting place – not fully explained by historians or archeologists, the huge stone jars litter an area of about 2 sq km at site 1 and the scene is similarly repeated at 2 other sites within 40km of Phonsavan. Whilst there purpose is unclear, the craftsmanship and sheer efforts that must have gone into their construction and placement is as amazing as it is baffling.

We enjoyed a simple Lao meal in Phonsavan for dinner, having been eaten alive by mosquitoes at the highly recommended western café and information hub, had an early night and headed North to Muang Kham in the morning.

The drive was again an amazing mix of scenery and activity, as basically life revolves around the thin ribbon of roadway running between towns – if not then it is because a river takes precedence. It was a special day for us and for 8 hours we drove North-East, then North and then West before seeing another Eurpoean or anything remotely associated with tourism. We did see hundreds of pigs, thousands of piglets, hundreds of goats, lots of puppies and some really basic villages. There were a lot of naked kids but almost without exception they always had thongs or sandals on. We drove through National Park that supposedly is home to Tigers and towards the end of the day saw caves that used to house Pathet Lao freedom fighters prior to 1975.

Whilst there are a lot of ways to get around Lao, we really felt that for our situation the hiring of a 4WD was the right decision and allowed us to see something of what Laos is perhaps famous for.

There were some alarming sites as we drove – particularly worrying is the type of agriculture used through out much of Laos. The use of slash and burn techniques to prepare fields for re-planting is practiced to great detriment of both air quality and soil stability. In fact we eventually became lost for words wondering how landslides are not only more common but also more devastating for communities. I think it is only the sparse population that limits the effects of this in the Laos’ countryside. Of course the steep mountainsides were once covered in primary forests so already there has been a cost but the continued use of the land for subsistence agriculture is not progressive. There are many programs reported upon in the local English language papers but I excpect it will continue to hold back progress and cause air and water pollution for years to come, as well as risking lives through instability along hillsides.      

 
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No Visa's Please - She's British

28/4/2010

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In Vientiane we again got caught up seeking Visas and therefore couldn’t travel far until our passports were returned. A Visa application was made at the Mongolian Embassy and after meeting the Russian Consul General I established that we could also apply for a Russian Visa in Vientiane. His exact words were “yes, it is possible, of course it can be done”, bringing tears to my eyes. He did add that it would be unusual for him to process an application by a British passport holder………

Of course “possible” does mean that certain requirements are to be met, amongst other things a Letter of Invitation from a Russian travel agency, signed by the appropriate ministry official in Moscow, must be presented - the original document is expected and thus a document courier is required.

So after getting Mongolians Visas in less than a 3 day turn around, I went the next day to apply for the Russian Visas with a copy of a letter of invitation (explaining that the original was on its way but had been delayed by the volcanic ash “disaster”), an itinerary I had prepared in Ho Chi Minh City, a bank statement to demonstrate we could fund our travel and our completed application forms.

Unfortunately the Consul-General was not available so one of the other officials told me to wait. So I waited, then I provided the paperwork, then I waited. Then I was asked to use a new, different form to apply so spent a while filling out the same information on a different form. Then the official came back and told me that nothing could be done today because Julia is British and they do not do processing of British passports in Vientiane – he suggested I ring the Consul-General or return tomorrow when the Consul-General would be back as he would ultimately have to make the decision on a British application. So I left the paperwork and took a business card and after weighing up my options I returned the next day.

Noting that the Consul-General had pointed out to me on the Monday that British passport holders are difficult cases (due I believe to the British making it difficult for Russian’s to gain visas), I had expected there may be a delay. He had suggested though that as Julia is clearly living in Australia and traveling with her Australian family, it was logical to process her application.

So when I returned on the Friday morning I was hoping to get confirmation that the processing could occur and that we would likely get our Visas by the Wednesday or Thursday of the following week. So I arrived and I sat patiently. After an hour I was told that there was a technical problem delaying the Consul-General and that he would be along in maybe 40 minutes. After another hour he arrived, said hello and said he would be with me shortly. Ten minutes later he came out and asked me if I would like our Visas today – um, yes please! He took my money (twice as much for 2 day visa processing vs. 7 day processing but worth it when in fact I was getting it same day) and then I sat and waited, wondering if I should ask what time to come back. Then 10 minutes later he came out and said it would only be another 10 minutes - and it was – same day Russian visas!! Had I known in Ho Chi Minh City that it could be so logical and easy in Vientiane, then we would have saved several days of administration and lots and lots of worry and angst! Russia here we come – za schast’-ye!  

 

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Some Site Updates and Appreciation

28/4/2010

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Hi all. A huge thank you to those people who are visiting regularly and an especially big thank you to those friends, both old and new, leaving comments for us.

You may notice that the home page, about us page and photo pages have all been updated – there is also an expanding links page so please have a look at what we recommend and what we are keeping ourselves entertained by. The photos pages cover our more recent travels and the link to our other Flickr photos is on the home page.

We have had a small flurry of donations including some that have come in from CMRI staff which is a huge honour for us. We also had an anonymous donation so a big thank you to that person or people.

Here are some photos from Vientiane……………
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Outside the Presidential Palace
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The main drag!
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The main drag from on top of the Patuxai - looking toward the Presidential Palace
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Hue to Savannakhet.....uh, Vientiane

20/4/2010

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Leaving Vietnam, Lao Bao border crossing
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Dancing in the Streets - wet t-shirt competition Laos style
So with some certainty we booked a ticket for an International bus to cross from Vietnam to Laos. I say with “some certainty” because we felt we were using a trusted and reliable travel agent and therefore expected that we were getting the “real deal” – an air-conditioned bus with allocated seating and a smooth transition through the border area.

We accepted that to get to the International bus in Dong Ha, we had to travel on another bus that was heading to Vietnam’s DMZ for a day tour. We boarded the tour bus at 6am, first people on it and we were ordered to sit at the front. For the next hour we circled the hotels of Hue picking up other tourists heading to either the DMZ or Laos, as well as some Thai and Vietnamese people heading to Laos. Of course we also changed buses when we were half full to an exact copy of the bus we were on. Then we filled the bus, took on board some collapsible dining chairs and filled the aisles. Eventually we headed for Dong Ha.

First stop was a petrol station to fill up – no need for prior preparation on this tour. Still doesn’t explain why we all got onto this bus when we were already on an identical bus?! Then we dropped off two Thai guys in Dong Ha and next we disembarked at our bus depot to join the Sepon Express. Whilst I dealt with ticketing and passport issues, Julia and Molly boarded the bus to try and get some seats. The seats were full but not with people so they had the driver remove the bags of onions and oranges and he stowed the spare stools under the bus. Before you knew it we had 3 seats at the back of the bus, alongside Chiang Mai Charlie from Nevada and Bart from Poland. Well for a few minutes we were the bad-boys at the back of the bus – then Chiang Mai Charlie said “Goddam” a few more times in a very “John Wayne” kind of way and was awarded a seat at the front of the bus…….actually two seats but hey, we were going to get the longer ride!

So we knew this little bus would be our transport through to Savannakhet, Laos although we had already been mis-lead in regard to seating, ticketing and border procedures, so as with all things in Asia, we were just glad to have a seat and be moving West. The road climbs over the main range that divides Vietnam and Laos, passing through the town of Khe San and traveling alongside some beautiful rivers, mountains and valleys. About an hour before we expected it, we were at the border.

We have previously found Vietnamese border formalities a little daunting – they can be quite strict on procedures and take their work very seriously. Whilst immigration at Lao Bao was serious, it was actually a pretty relaxed process and we were back on the bus and on our way before 11.30am. A short ride under some big memorials and welcome arches and we were in Laos!

We were hoping to get a 90 day Visa in Laos to make Russian Visa applications easier. However that wasn’t to be, despite the Visa officer and immigration official taking considerable time to try and assist us, phoning their local supervisor and then phoning Vientiane for confirmation of what we could and couldn’t do. Pretty good considering it wasn’t their problem – how nice it will be if the Russian Embassy staff in Vientiane are as helpful and understanding.

Anyway, all up the process was very smooth and despite what we had read, the border was very quiet with few people transiting through in either direction. Around midday we set of toward Savanakhet, expecting to arrive at around 4 or 5 pm.

When we got back on the bus we had a new bad-boy on the back seat, a Laotian gentleman with the usual luggage of an overnight bag and a box tied up with twine. Only 10 minutes down the road we picked up more passengers – this time the little plastic stools came out from under the bus and the aisle started to fill. We were glad to be at the back as not long after picking them up, some of the new passengers were dozing off, heads on the sides of the fitted seats they were next to.

We really had no idea how far it was to Savannakhet or how long the trip would take but there was enough interesting scenery and some rather peculiar activities to help pass the time. We knew about a special festival, Songkram, that occurs in this region over the period 13-16 April but we had no idea whether it was localized, national or international. We thought it would have been a big event in Vietnam but we saw nothing to indicate it was even on, except as a marketing scheme for a western pub.

As it turned out, Laos really gets into the spirit of Songkram – it is their New Year celebrations after all. To welcome the New Year and make sure it will be safe and prosperous, people in the region wash away the past. Quite literally. They use buckets of water, pots and pans filled with water, hoses, water pistols and even blow up swimming pools to get themselves and any one near them wet.  

The soaking is accompanied by Beer Lao, big-bass music and lots of dancing. What a great way to first see a new country – everybody in the streets, dancing, singing and having a great time. Laotians of all ages were readily saying hello, wishing us well and offering us beer and making us wet!

Fortunately we were prepared for a soaking when we got to Savannakhet because we had turned up in an un-seasonal (we think) storm so had made things waterproof anyway before walking around town and working out what to do next. Bart joined us and we found a pub and had a beer and some food before Bart and I headed off to establish what transport and accommodation options were available.

We were soon soaked through but enjoying the good natured attitude of everyone. Ultimately we found a bus station and given the 3-5 day period of holidays, of which we were in the middle, we started to think that heading to Vientiane might be a more productive use of our evening. Of course in Asia, people like to travel during holiday periods so we were out of luck in regard to any VIP, air-conditioned or express buses. With this in mind and having been told the last bus was 8.00pm, we found Julia and Molly and tried to get a tuk-tuk to the station. And then we started walking. Realising we would never get to the bus station in time, Julia spyed a nice looking 4WD ute with a young man getting into it. So with my best smile and a hint of New Year spirit, I asked the guy if he would take us to the bus – next thing we knew we were piling out of the back of the ute at the bus station and keeping within the festive spirit, we handed over a bottle of Vietnamese wine (just happened to have one spare – as you do!) to thank the young man.

We missed the 8.00pm bus, more because of confusion at the ticket office and the fact that the bus was actually full. But there was an 8.30pm bus that we managed to get tickets for – a local bus that is described by some travel publications as being “excruciatingly slow”. It was cooler than it had been for a few months, the windows opened and the bus was full so how many stops could it have to make on the way to Vientiane – old fashioned air-conditioning should work fine as we motor along and a speed of about 50 or 60 is actually better in this part of the world (read safer).
So 37 stops later, 19 of them for no apparent reason except to let the bus heat up a bit more, we arrived in Vientiane – to more rain, nothing open and not even a tuk-tuk easy to find. Asia’s sleepiest Capital was living up to its name.

However we soon shared a ute into town, found a great hotel and started to wonder how long we could convince ourselves to stay here for – cheap, spoilt for choice and with a very relaxed atmosphere, Vientiane is hard to leave!
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Bad-boys (and girls) at the back of the bus
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Filling the aisles - the guy nearest the camera is on a bin!
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Hue, Vietnam - last stop before Laos

14/4/2010

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Hue Citadel
We took the day train to Hue from Danang. Possibly the most scenic coastal rail route in Asia, twisting along clifftops above the sea with gorgeous desserted beaches hundreds of feet below, lots of jungle and clear seas. Unfortunately the train windows weren't as clear so there will be no photos from that little trip......
We got into Hue and had high expectations - it is my equal favourite place in Vietnam based on previous trips (sharing this honour with Sapa in the North West mountains) - so I had been talking it up a lot to Molly and Julia who had minimal memories from 4 years ago when we were last here. Mostly it lived up to my hype.
Sitting on the Perfume River, the North bank dominated by the walled Citadel, Hue is the old seat of power in Vietnam. It was the Capital from 1802 until 1945, has beautiful tree lined streets, colonial shop fronts and buildings and lots of river life for entertainment. Restaurants and hotels cater well for the many tourists and in many places you can actually walk along the footpaths without dodging motorbikes.
We spent 2 nights on the South bank and 2 nights next to the inner walls of the citadel and would recommend the latter for peace and relaxation or the former for entertainment and dining.
When out and about on our 2nd last night we bumped into Margaret and Stephen again, publican extrordinairre's from Grafton, NSW. Somehow we ended up at a street stall in front of their hotel, playing guitars and generally watching the world go by until after midnight. Great fun and it was shaping to be a fitting end to our time in Vietnam.
And then on our way home the three of us were mobbed by Cyclo riders, one of whom ran Julia over, at speed and we were lucky to quickly get into a passing cab. well, the girls got in the cab, I felt some intimidation was in order and happily pointed out to the offending Cyclo moron that he seemed devoid of friends all of a sudden, his mates disappearing in every direction. Other events ensued and ultimately we returned to our hotel safely and really shouldn't judge a country on the behaviour of a few young fools - but our opinion of Vietnam has slowly been in decline since getting here. It is certainly not as charming to us now as it was 5 years ago when we first visited.
Then again, maybe we all loose our charm with age............either way, we are looking forward to Laos.
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Sunset over the Perfume Rv
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Stephen watching over me on the mean streets of Hue
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Train to Danang

13/4/2010

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We took the slow train to Danang, leaving at 2 in the afternoon and not arriving until after 10 the next morning. Last time we did the overnight train to Danang we left at 7 in the evening and arrived at about the same time, 10 in the morning! The funny thing is that the slow train is cheaper – talk about getting your money’s worth!!

We had a pleasant and uneventful journey, getting joined at 7 in the evening by a Vietnamese lady who was bunked above me. She decided that Molly’s thongs must be offered by the train company, complimentary for passengers who thought high heeled leopard skin pumps were appropriate for train travel. But apart from that she was well behaved!

Danang was….interesting. We got ripped off by a Devil-Woman at a street-side food stall which I have to explain. I am happy to pay a little more than locals but 100% mark-ups are greed gone wrong, particularly given that we sat at the stall almost solely out of politeness in accepting their invitation and only ate because again, food was offered and we were polite! In a town that appears devoid of tourists, it seemed unlikely that a simple street stall would be looking to send their kids through college based on our brief visit! Wrong………So when the price was outrageous I decided to tell the woman, her husband and about 20 Vietnamese eating there that it is one thing to pay a little more but rude and greedy to take advantage of visitors to their country – I also called her “The Devil” many times because she did have an evil look about her and it made me feel good! You know what I’m saying don’t you Rachel?

As time passed in Danang we failed to find anything remotely interesting as far as dining, shopping or otherwise was concerned and discovered that any further investigation into Vietnamese Visa extensions (and thus Russian Visas from within Vietnam) were a waste of time. So after a very strange dinner in a roof top restaurant, empty except for us and with a really limited menu, an equally strange breakfast experience and the feeling that we needed to actually move North, we decided to get the day train to Hue.
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Saigon Municipal Theatre
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Continental Saigon, where the novel The Quiet American was written, centering much of the story around the Hotel itself
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The devil Woman's rice wagon - she was stood behind us but strangely does not appear in the photo
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Ho Chi Minh City

13/4/2010

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Read on and the siginificance of this card will become clear
Renamed Ho Chi Minh City after re-unification of North and South Vietnam in 1975, Sai Gon still exists as part of the larger city and in fact the main train station is called Ga Sai Gon. So being a lazy westerner (and not because I am living in the past) I will choose to refer to this great city simply as Saigon!
OK, disclaimer aside, we spent 10 days in Saigon, waiting for some Visas, eating, drinking, playing games and dodging motorbikes. Actually, we were dodging, jumping, side stepping, skipping past, brushing against and pushing away various types of motorbikes for at least half of our time there. Footpaths are shortcuts, thoroughfares, parking lots and service stations for bikes in Saigon so they are no refuge. Side streets and alleys are usually quieter but certainly not a place to let your guard down!
It didn’t stop us but we did decide that most of our eating and drinking would be done within one street block of our hotel to limit road crossings. The great thing was we were close to some good restaurants and lots of hotels so we got to eat well and meet some great people!

Firstly, let me say that the above photo is not a guarantee but if you are as tight as the Welsh and want a free drink next time you are in Grafton, give it a go – just print this page, cut out the photo and don’t mention you know us!! But do give Margaret a hug and maybe pass comment on how smashing Stephen’s shoes are! They own the pub and are a great laugh and we enjoyed several chats with them, most memorably sitting in the street outside the central markets where beers are about .60 cents and the management is warm and friendly (I expect just like the Walkers Marina Hotel!!?).
As well as Margaret and Stephen we met John from Wangaratta, bringing people together, sharing his experiences and generally being a good bloke whilst relaxing in Saigon. Through John we met an English couple, Tony and Jane, who basically spend 3 months in Asia as soon as they can afford it and then go home to the UK and save again until the next opportunity comes along.  
Consulate General visits in Saigon were interesting – the process for China was orderly but they wouldn’t let me submit Molly and Julia’s applications without proof that I was related – apparently the names in the passports and the fact that I have the passports aren’t clear indicators that I know these people!? And why would I get some stranger a Visa for China? They ain’t cheap!! The Russian guy in front of me had the same problem and was told he could submit the applications if they included birth certificates and marriage certificates showing his relationship to his family. He suggested that was an interesting concept but given that probably no-one at the Chinese Consul could read the Russian document he failed to see the logic of the request. No change on the policy so I raced back to get Julia and Molly as it was Friday and of course we had only 40 minutes left before the embassy closed up for the weekend!  
The visit to the Russian consul lacked the logic of the Russian gentleman in front of me at the Chinese Consul – as we haven’t yet solved our Visa situation for Russia I will leave that story for another day!
Fortunately the Laos Consul was a very easy and pleasant experience, taking all of 20 minutes for all 3 Visas. Unfortunately the promise of a 90 day Visa (which we need to assist in processing our Russian Visa app in Vientiane) was a bit of an Asian “yes, yes” situation, where in fact the answer should have been “no, probably not, but who knows eh!?”.
Overall our time in Saigon was a bit lazy, spent waiting mostly for Visas but we still saw all the famous sites, played some ten-pin bowling and met some great people. We enjoyed Saigon but lamented the lack of pedestrian overpasses and wider footpaths.
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With Stephen and Margaret outside the Central Market, note the personal ice buckets for keeping the beers cool!
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Good food at Cappucino's, the flash seems to have stunned me a little!
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Margaret, Stephen and Johnathon, Sa Sa's
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Mekong Delta

13/4/2010

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Looking out of the Bus on a Mekong Ferry Crossing
From the Cambodian border crossing on the Mekong we continued downriver before heading up tributaries to join the Bassac River at Chau Doc.
Leaving the ferry we were given clear directions to Hotels and then walked a few hundred metres to find good accommodation for only $20/night. We explored the town from river front to parks and town squares and had a good local meal, with drinks for $5. At this point we thought of staying for a week!
However the plan was to get to Ho Chi Minh City to sort out Visas for China so we figured we could dwell in the city and get stuff done rather than just hanging around the Mekong Delta for a week. So the next morning it was time for a Vietnamese bus ride.
Actually it was 3 bus rides – all the same bright green colour but different sizes. The first bus was a mini van, 25 minutes late but it only had to take us 10 minutes down the road to the next bus.
Bus number two was starting to look like a bus – a mini-bus but as the seats were numbered (like our tickets) we wondered if this was our bus for the entire journey. After 10 minutes we agreed that we would be happy for this to be our transport for the day, despite all of the lesser framed passengers having bags’d the spacious forward seating and leaving us the back row. 4 seats, none of which resembled our ticket numbers, neatly positioned a foot behind the rear axle and only 73 poorly maintained bridges (resembling speed humps turned into moto-x jumps) to cross before we hit the flatlands outside of Saigon.  
Still, the windows were large and there is plenty to see as the scenery varies between town life and river life. In fact there seems to be almost never a kilometre devoid of housing as you drive through the Mekong delta so it is an entertaining trip.
However as was hinted at when we bought the tickets, there was a big bus waiting for us. Air-conditioned and inclusive of neck pillows for every passenger, this looked good. We stood and stared at it for a couple of minutes wondering if it was going to Saigon until someone yelled at us and pointed excitedly at the front of the bus and we took our cue to get on board!

For a bit of a change, I shared with Molly and Julia was sat in front of me next to a Vietnamese lady – we assume it was a lady but as with Muslim’s in full Burkha’s, this person was completely incognito. Courtesy of a low hat, glasses and a very elaborate dust mask covering from the bridge of the nose, out to each ear and down to under the chin. Coupled with long sleeves, gloves and jeans, the only indication of sex or age was bumps in certain places. She was a she but over the next 5 hours Julia came to find she was no lady! Grumpy, private and insular maybe, but not a lady. Julia had a ball.
Meanwhile, sat in the aisle seat, I was enjoying the sights and sounds of the young lady in the other aisle seat as she quickly scoffed down some takeaway rice and stir fry beef from a styrofoam container. Apparently it wasn’t allowed so a very stern bus trolley dolly came along and told her to put it away. She got through a fair bit though which was good because she clearly needed something to settle her stomach – bus travel didn’t appear to agree with her. One hour in she was covering her face and throat in some magical potion – smelled like a cross between tiger balm, lemon essence and car air freshener. It didn’t work…….. 

So for the next hour and a half the young lady filled a plastic bag with her lunch. As it filled and I wondered what she would do next, I realised it was time to step in – but too late I acted. As the bile was rising in her mouth, she decided to start expelling it onto the floor of the bus, firstly under her feet and then in the aisle. I quickly passed her a fresh bag, having checked it was without holes, and soon after she started to fill it.
The lunch break at the Mekong delta’s version of a road house was a nice break. Molly had some rubbish rice that I was way overcharged on – what can you do??!! I knew it wouldn’t be the last time but I wasn’t going to judge the country on one rice stall on the edge of Highway 1 (or whatever highway we were on!?). We had been to Vietnam twice before and had only felt once or twice that people were a little too greedy when charging the wealthier foreigners.
Meanwhile I passed my friend from seat B6 as I was washing up outside the toilets. Clearly she was relishing the opportunity to freshen up, walk around and relax away from the stomach churning hell she had been stuck on. Of course what I didn’t know until we re-boarded the bus was that she was also re-filling that churning stomach.
So 20 minutes later she started again, this time using the bag that her coke had come in – not a large bag and looking quite alone as it quickly filled with pre-used coke. The great thing was that she rinsed her mouth after each episode with more coke and then when it ran out the guy next to her gave her his cup of coke! I remained compassionate on the first half of the trip, having suffered car-sickness quite often as a young child and thinking of Molly and how I would want someone to help her in the same position. But after re-filling at lunch and churning (quite literally) through two more cups of coke during the next 2 hours after lunch, I started to wonder if this girl should be banned from any form of public transport.
The bus station transfer in Ho Chi Minh City, from bus to taxi was trouble free and after a bit of a search we had a great room with two double beds, close to restaurants, markets and the city centre for $32/night. There was much cheaper on offer but as it turned out we were glad we settled on this level of comfort – we stayed in HCMC (Siagon) for 10 days.
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Cambodia

7/4/2010

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I took a few pics on the drive back Phnom Penh. Cambodia is not unique in Asia for ingenious use of motorcyles and cars to transport people and goods but I thought these live birds and PETA might be a bit upset about the Cambodian methods!
An intertesting concept also was the car air freshener in the car that took us to Kompong Trach - the guy had stuck an old air freshener container to the dash board and re-filled it with a 20/80 mix of Dieso and oil - good call. It really gets in to you clothes.....and your hair, your pack, your skin and your lungs! But we couldn't smell any BO on anybody!
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Kompong Trach Caves

7/4/2010

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Some pics from an excursion to Kompong Trach.
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A natural tunnel through to a hidden world
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Surrounded by cliffs and caves, some tunnel through, some lead to rock pools
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