BANGKOK TO LAOS

BANGKOK TO LAOS

Usually I stay over the Khao San Road side of Bangkok, usually at Rambuttri. I love the chaos & carnival of Khao San Road. Every night is a circus with different performers from all over the world, arriving & departing at all hours. Banter bounces along the street with hawkers calling out to attract punters, tourists cringing at the deep-fried scorpions, backpackers laughing at someone's new fake dreadlocks, fake tattoo, fake identity, drinking competitions, vendors & punters alike, are a part of the nightly circus. And it's entertainingly different every night.
Some see it as squandering & squalid.  But l love it.


Anyway this time l decided to try over the other side of town. Lots of people stay in Silom or Siam area to avoid the nightly noise of the Khao San Road.  Yes it was closer to the big shopping malls & close to the sky train system. But for me, it was dull. I like everything laid out in front of me, Im not 'into' the search for Bangkok's best anything. For me it's about convenience,  the best & cheapest food vendors in Bangkok, the cheap cocktails, the diversity of restaurants & bars, all packed in close with extremely competitive prices. In Khao San you literally walk outside your hotel or guesthouse & there is 80c Pad Thai & the backepacker's favourite, banana pancakes. The markets are selling absolutely everything that you could possibly want & not need, at almost any time of the day or night. Khao San Road is convenience shopping. I will never stay over the quieter side of town where lm forced to search for a reasonable feed & there is no such thing as a $2 cocktail. It is void of any humour or atmosphere. And the traffic is absurd. At least Khao San Road is a traffic mall.


Well after being stuffed around at the Vietnam Embassy, all embassies are the same all the world over. Customer service is definitely not one of the prerequisites  of an embassy worker.
I decided to visit Bangkok prison hoping to leave some toiletries or visit an Australian prisoner who may not get many visits from family a long way away. A British mate did it after reading 'The Damage Done' & recommended that it was a good thing to do.
So l was a bit scared visiting the prison, dont know why. And when the taxi left me, I wanted to bolt. The smell from the canal between the men's & women's prison was making me retch. The prison looked just like I magined or maybe saw on television.

It was pretty bad from the outside.
Then I bravely walked in to where others were waiting. Every sign was written only in Thai. They really dont cater for foreigners, I thought that was probably a good thing. I couldnt find anyone that spoke English. Then someone took me to an office where a kind Thai guard told me in English to visit my own embassy first. She didnt think it was so strange that I wanted to help out a fellow Aussie.


 So the next day I visited the Australian Embassy. It was far more difficult to enter than other embassies. But it was very lovely with water features & abstract Ausrralian art. I did notice that the clock displaying Canberra time was incorrect by an hour and was obviously permanently set to daylight savings time. Anyway l was informed by an officer that due to the Australian privacy laws, it would be impossible to contact any Australian prisoner. And even though she agreed that conditions there were extremely horrid, she again explained that there was nothing she could do to help. I am still shaking my head about that. I am guessing that all privacy & dignity would be thrown out the cell door after one night spent in the infamous Bangkok Hilton. And I am betting that some soap & toilet paper would be much appreciated. I left a bit disappointed. Someone was missing out on a small gift because of our Australian laws which obviously dont protect people like the Bali 9 or Shapelle Corby.
And besides I had wasted time & taxi-fares. Next time I will try & visit a farang (foreign) prisoner from Britain.

So I went straight to Hua Lamphong station, Bangkok's main train station, and booked a sleeper up to Nong Khai, a Thai town on the border of luverly Laos. Left at 8pm, arrived 8am, cost 750baht, about $25.

 I enjoy train travel & choose it when ever possible over a bus. They are quite comfortable with a privacy curtain but the toilets on board can be pretty grotty. I like to walk around & visit the club car for dinner & a drink. And the rickity rocking of a train is a lulling  lullaby to sleep.

From Nong Khai station, it's a short tuk tuk trip, 20 bht (60c) to the border. Stamped on the Thai side of the border, then a 15baht (50c) bus across to the Laos immigration where you are required to pay $30 US for a 30 day visa. I handed over a $50 US note but they claimed they had no change so was forced to pay in Thai baht, 1300 baht, which is a 400 baht rip off! An extra $13! And yes they had change in baht! Not till later after filling in forms, waiting in queues & generally standing around in the heat, were we herded over to the gate into Laos where I saw a Money Changer. Probably get ript off rates from there as well.

Then a longer 50 baht tuk tuk trip into town, Vientiane.

I've been to Vientiane many times & have enjoyed the night markets & night life there. Also the Pha That Prabang Pagoda is well worth a visit. The most important monument in Laos, believed to house some of the ashes of Buddha brought down by travelling monks over 2 thousand years ago while spreading the teachings of the Buddha
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So l pushed on to get to Vang Vieng, another 4 or 5 hrs north, cost $5. Laos will accept US dollars, Thai baht or their own Laos Kip. In fact on receipts, the price is printed in three currencies.
I eventually arrived by nightfall, in dire need of a hot shower & a cold beer. I was glad that l had pushed on through to Vang Vieng when I woke up the next morning, greeted by the magnificent view of the mountain kaasts. Breakfast on the balcony of fresh mandarine juice, omelette & baguette, cost $3.20.
I love loverly Laos.

MEANDERS IN MALACCA (or MELAKA)

MEANDERS IN MELAKA, OR MALACCA

MALACCA, it has always sounded very exotic & a bit weird to me. And so it is a little bit.
It is a UNESCO World Heritage site with an extraordinary history of ancient power & wealth mixed in with European history & empires.

Malacca is a famous seaport situated on the Malaysian side of the Straits of Malacca.
 It was sort of the old capital of Malaysia before Malaysia really existed.
For many many centuries the Straits  of Malacca offered safe passage between the major trading partners, China & India. The city of Malacca was a strategic & politically important post. And marriages were arranged with the daughters of the Sultan of Malacca,

to ensure security & safe passage through the strait formed between Sumatra & Malaysia.

Islam was brought down to Malaysia & lndonesia from the Middle East along this trade channel, long before Christian missionaries ever thought about saving the simple souls of the people of the peninsula & islands.

 To this day the Straits of Malacca remains one of the world's most important shipping channels linking the Indian Ocean with the northern Pacific. One quarter of the world's oil is transported by sea through this channel.

The Portuguese invaded Malacca in 1511 for it's wealth & to gain control of the strait. There is still a Portuguese territory in Malacca where the descendants of the invaders & their Malayan wives speak a unique creole language & celebrated Christian festivals. The cuisine is also an interesting & exotic blend of Portuguese style & Malayan ingredients. The seafood from the Portuguese Square is exceptional & without equal.

Then the Dutch invaded  Malaaca  in 1641 & dominated for 180 years. There is an old medieval church on top of St Paul's Hill & the graveyard dates well back in the 1600's. The hill also offers overlooking views of the city & out to sea.

Of course then the British had a go as well & they ruled until independence in 1959.

Malacca  is now a UNESCO World Heritage site & an extremely interesting multi-cultural & historical city. There is much to see & do and is well worth a couple of days stop-over.

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I hadnt visited Malacca in a few years & decided to have a break out of Kuala Lumpur.
Malacca is about 2 hrs south of KL in a very comfortable bus, along an extremely good highway. Costs 10RM ($3.50). I hadnt pre-booked accommodation and planned to do it the old fashioned way by walking the streets aided by a few Lonely Planet recommendations.
Well that's got knobs on it!

It was so unbearably hot, considering Malacca is a seaport there was no hint of a breeze.
 I walked around Chinatown without any luck, brinking on heat-stroke. It was a Sunday & the streets were crowd clogged with day trippers from Singapore & Kuala Lumpur.
I politely ploughed my way through Jonker St. market which sells every Chinese tacky plastic contraption ever produced.

 Just as I thought collapse was immediately imminent, l spied an unassuming little guesthouse with a name that rang a bell.
So I rang the bell. One last bed was available! Thank Shiva! And what a gem of a find. A kool oasis out of the heat of the Malaccan afternoon heat & haze. I flopped on the clean, cool, comfortable couch & ordered a beer. All was well with the world again.

The Rooftop Guesthouse is a family run business and has a cosy, homey feel about it. Very clean & spacious. It is decorated with charming Malaccan bric-a-brac with old photos & lovely exotic paintings. And there is a small rooftop garden.

After a freshen up & a few beers with my new friends, we ventured out again onto Jonker St. Dining out in Malacca is a treat & there is vast & varied offering of cuisines. Lots of touristy upmarket resraurants ctering for wealthy Singaporeans has cropped up. As well as some very expensive trendy Western cafes. Fortunately there is still some characteristically cheap Chinatown chow available in quirky little bars along the river.

Colourful tri-shaws with flashing lights & booming music are a fun & unique way to trip around Malacca visiting the many historical sites and also the many exotic markets. Malacca is 2 hrs south of KL & about 3 hrs north of Singapore. Buses arrive at the Malaccan Mall & then another local bus or taxi is needed to transfer the 5 km into the city near the Dutch Clock which is right outside of Jonker St, Chinatown. Bus costs 1RM (30c), taxis 12-15RM (4-$5)

BANAUE & SAGADA - It's more fun in the Philippines

Spent an ear-popping & eye-popping day travelling back through the Cordillera Mountains. The scenery was spectacular, high above the clouds with the occasional splay of rainbows against the dramatic backdrop of intense green peaks. l felt oddly comfortable in the over-crowded bus, it was very cosey. The bus driver displayed remarkable skill as we crept around hairy bends, along sheer rock faces while the rickety bus's brakes were screaming with the strain.


The Banaue Rice Terraces are considered the 8th Wonder of the World.  Along with a long list of many other 8th Wonders of the World, claimed by who knows who.
But it actually is an amazing engineering feat constructed by the ancient Ifagao people. Anthropologists believe they may have migrated down from southern China through Taiwan about two to four thousand years ago. The practice of hanging coffins from cliff faces is also of an ancient south Chinese tradition.



The steep terraces are irrigated by a complex system that is still used today. At a height of 5000 ft, covering more than 400 sq km, one can only imagine how much rice has been produced by this ingenious farming method in the past two thousand years, and hopefully continues for thousands of years more. Though farming has become unpopular among the young people and they prefer to find employment in the tourism industry. The irony is, if the terraces are not protected & maintained, there will be no tourism industry in Banaue.


Batad is a small village with the most impressive view of the World UNESCO Heritage site. The most popular trek from Banaue to Batad can be done within the day including swimming at the waterfall. Best done with a private guide. There are large group treks but it is very limiting without the freedom to move at your own pace and a far less personal experience.

Sagada is another popular little town in the mountain provinces. Well visited by Filipinos & international tourists, for its spectacular & quite adventurous caves. As well the hanging coffins, more rice terraces, trekking and waterfalls. But mostly for its quaint & quiet mountain life-style. There are no tuk tuks or trishaws. The authorities are attempting to protect the mountain culture by enforcing a 10pm curfew throughout the provinces. So there is no noisey music blaring or late night venues. Clear of noise pollution & air pollution, its a virtual mountain retreat.

Because of its difficult terrain, the Spanish conquistadores were thankfully unable to infiltrate the mountain culture. That and maybe the fact that mountain people were well known head hunters was a deterring factor. Anyway the mountain culture was unaffected till much later by missionaries. Today their culture is still very strong & unique with an interesting mix of Christianity & animism.

Manila to Baguio to Sagada to Banaue to Manila, makes a neat & well travelled circle of the Cordillera Mountains. From Manila you catch a Victory Liner bus from Pasay bus station to Baguio, costs about 470 pp. Good quality bus with aircon, wifi & movies. Stops for breaks every couple of hours.  Takes between 6 & 8 hours depending on the time of day & traffic. Buses leave every hour. First class bus costs about 740pp, it's quicker & has a toilet on board.



Baguio is well worth a visit. A cool university city with great live music & night life. There are no hostels throughout the mountains, only guesthouses with private rooms. But there is one in Baguio. 'Upstairs Bed & Bath' is precisely what you get. Extremely basic, it has a good location & wifi. Costs 290 pp for a dorm room.
Buses from Baguio to Sagada only leave in the mornings, last bus around midday. Takes about 6 or 7 hrs & costs about 220 pp. Spectacular views. Accommodation is much the same throughout the cosey town of Sagada, costs about 300pp with wifi & hot water. I have stayed at Sagada Guest House & Clarence Inn. Both good. Quite a few really good restaurants in Sagada.
Jeepney from Sagada to Bontoc costs about 50pp & takes an hour or so. Bus from Bontoc to Banaue costs about 150pp and takes about 2 or 3 hrs. Again buses mostly happen in the mornings.
Wide range of accommodation in Banaue. I have stayed at Sanafe and at Green View. Both offer stunning views from their restaurants. Green View costs 250pp but charges 50pp  more for a hot shower & 20pp to charge phones, ipads ect. Sanafe costs a bit more & is a bit better.
Restaurants are all much the same.

Bus from Banaue to Manila takes about 9 hrs and there's one in the morning & one in the night. Costs about 400pp. Extremely cold air conditioning, definitely need a blanket.
This circle can be done in reverse. I would allow one night in Baguio, 2 nights in Sagada & 2 nights in Banaue, minimum. Alot of hours travelling but it is well worth the effort. A highly unique experience.

FILIPINOS - friendly, fun & unforgettable

So good to be back in the cool of the Cordillera Mountains in northern Philippines, six or more hours north of Manila. The average temp is about 8 degrees lower than the rest of the Philippines. It's merciful relief from the relentless heat & smog of the lowlands around the capital city. The air is fresher & clearer here, I can breathe again now after days of heavy sinus problems due to the ponderous pollution hanging over the densely populated Manila.

I never usually spend much time in Manila, sometimes l just hit the tarmac & then head straight for the hills. Manila is not one of my favourite cities & their public transport system is limited. Jeepneys are a cheap way to get around & a fun experience for the frst few times. But it's difficult to travel very far without really knowing your way around. So without local help it's easy to get lost, frustrated and give up by just getting a taxi.

The Philippines doesn't really cater for backpackers & there are very few hostels. And the few that do exsist are generally below par compared to other Asian countries. And also cost a little more. So it was with great delight that l found 'Where2Next', an awesome backpackers hostel in Malate, in central Manila. It was cool, clean & comfy and I liked it as soon as l walked in. The staff were welcoming & hospitable.  A happy haven from the chaos & squalor of the streets of Manila. It is now my preferred place to stay and thoroughly recommend it.

I had arrived too late to head straight for Baguio so was forced to find accommodation in the big city, Manila has a population of over 12 million. Most Filipinos speak excellent English.
 The staff at 'Where2Next' were helpful with their local knowledge  and if they weren't exactly sure, they  didn't hesitate to google it and provide accurate & valuable information.  There is a female dorm as well as mixed dorm and private rooms. A welcome find, close to the bay, major malls, cheap food vendors & a few tourist sites. I ended up staying longer than planned and met some truly great travel mates & shared a few Red Horses, a local beer with a 9% kick.
 l hope to cross paths with them  again somewhere in the world. That is why I love technology now, though l fought off the need to be online & on facebook for so long. Now l love it! Now l can keep up with everyone's whereabouts, exchange travel tips & info as well as making arrangements to guarantee path crossing.

The people of the Philippines are very hospitable & very big hearted. They are the reason why I keep returning here. They are exceptionlly polite & good manners are expected. Filipinos are quick to laugh also and they are all blessed with the talent to sing. Karaoke is a national pastime & plays on a much higher level than most. Extremely entertaining & a great fun with a few Red Horses. Unforgettable!
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Cuisine in the Philippines is hit & miss, and more miss than hit. After wondering why l had never seen a Filipino restaurant anywhere abroad, l realized the answer after my first buffet experience here. Lonely Planet says Filipino food is not as bad as foreigners say & not as good as Filipinos say. But this country has purple sweet potato ice-cream with a stripe of cheese through it. Need l say more?


I had forgotten how good the buses were in this part of the Philippines, surprisingly. The bus to Baguio was clean, air conditioned, stopped every couple of hours for breaks, was showing American movies along the way and also had reasonable wifi! The 7 hrs were easily filled in with my current book, my journal, sudoko and a snooze. But by the last hour, it always becomes uncomfortable, no matter where you are.
Baguio was named the Philippines summer capital, by the American occupation. It's a stepping stone onto the higher & more remote mountain towns of Sagada, Bontoc & beautiful Banaue.

 Life can be very difficult for many Filipinos.  A tuk tuk driver was once surprised to know that l had never experienced a day of hunger, a day without food. I don't even like to skip breakfast!
 It made me rethink a few things.

And with so much corruption & greed amongst their own people, they individually just seem to get on, focusing on feeding their families. And even though most Filipinos have very little, they are happy to share. They are hard working & passionate people. It is always a pleasure to return here, I am welcomed back like family. Their smiles are wide & generous. They are the reason I always come back here.

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS CLUB - Phnom Penh

The FCC, Foreign Correspondents Club of Cambodia , is an iconic old French Colonial building, from where the world first heard of Pol Pot's last stand in the jungles to the north. Then known as Kampuchea.
During the time of the Pol Pot regime, the capital Phnom Penh was a virtual ghost town. Then in 1997, the FCC opened and a journalist remarked that it meant that Cambodia was back in business.

I had been searching for the famous public bar for years, not realizing that I had walked past it a hundred times. I had heard it was the best place for a cold beer at sunset, overlooking the mighty Mekong River. And I also knew of its historic significance. So it was a wonderful 'find' when l found it.

I had been refused entry to the Royal Palace . Last time I went there, it was acceptable to where a shawl around your shoulders. Now they insist on a T-shirt, price $2. It wasn't the price that deterred me, it was the thought of putting a T-shirt on over my dress. The heat has been stiflingly oppressive and l was just totally unable to don another layer.

So l set out determinedly to find the FCC and and a cold beer. I asked the local Khmer people all along the Riverside Boulevard, but maybe because of my accent, or maybe because it is a very Western type of establishment, no one knew what I was talking about. Until I asked a tuk tuk driver sitting directly outside the FCC.

I loved it immediately. It's an old French Colonial building dating back over a century.  It reaks of old fashioned charm & character with large breezy verandahs over-looking the Mekong. Big fat comfy leather chairs & shuttered windows add to the ambiance. And vivid old framed news photos adorn the walls.

Back in the day, it was a place of foreign intrigue where the international press met with dignitaries & informers and then revealed to the world about the crimes & terror of the regime, the genocide & on-going civil war. Hard-arsed heavy smoking journalists banged away on type-writers while outbursts of gunfire could have been heard in the distance. Fear & uncertainty were drowned in nights of heavy boozing & the odd firing of a gun from the verandah out over the lawless land. It was the wild east.

Being a quiet afternoon, Rattana who has worked there for 10 years, kindly gave me a tour of the building as well as the Heritage Mansion at the rear. Live music, art performances & movies play there on most nights.

Meanwhile back at the 'F' there is a fabulous restaurant serving Khmer & Western favourites. Happy Hour is from 5-7pm so l returned  with some friends later, to enjoy the atmosphere and the view of the sunset while lapping up $1 beers.
I have now at long last, found my favourite bar in Phnom Penh.

                                                                                                                                                                                              

ANGKOR WAT - what can l say?

ANGKOR WAT - what can I say?

'Breathtaking' is not an over statement when attempting to describe Angkor Wat. In fact there are not enough words to describe the gob-smacking magnificence of Angkor Wat & all its surrounding temples. When the French naturalist, Henri Mouhot, first visited there in the mid 1800's, he described it as,
 "A temple that would rival Solomon, erected by some ancient Michelangelo. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome."

Angkor Wat was built in the 12th century. It was the centre-piece of the mighty Angkor Empire, an all powerful & consuming empire that dominated most of SE Asia but little known by the Western World. The city of Angkor was a mega-city, the largest ever constructed in all of human history & remained so until the Industrial Revolution. It supported a population of about one million inhabitants with complex systems & waterways.

Angkor Wat was built by King Suryavarman ll.  He overthrew the previous king, his uncle, and seized the throne for himself at the age of fourteen, inflicting the lethal blow himself. The ambitious prince then pronounced himself god-king & went on a building spree that had never been seen before and still has the experts baffled. Maybe an attempt to prove his worthiness of the divine title.
Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure built on the planet & was constructed  in about 35 years. Compared to the Gothic medieval cathedrals in Europe that were built around the same time that took over 50 years and were smaller in every way.



Archeologists, architects and engineers are in awe of what was achieved by this lost empire. The precision was perfect, no mortar was used in its constuction & it has stood for nearly a thousand years.  The artisans were master craftsman. The Angkor Empire reigned for about 500 years and historians are still scratching their collective heads for the reason of its downfall. There are many theories but no real conclusions.



Angkor Wat and the 700 other temples built throughout the empire, were originally dedicated to Hinduism. Then later to Buddhism. And back & forward again, depending on king at the time's religious preference. The most famous other temples in the area would have to be Ta Prohm & the Bayon. Ta Prohm featured in the movie 'Tomb Raider.' It has been slowly been eaten up by the jungle and there is intense restoration work in progress to try & save it. The huge gnarly trees & roots are the site's main feature and though destroying it, it actually creates a timeless ancient beauty as well. Extremely photogenic, the temple has become iconic of Angkor.
The other most photographed temple is the Bayon. A temple of about 50 towers , mostly bearing 4 faces, facing in all compass directions. Believed to be the omnipresent face of King Jayavarman Vll, another king who aggressively built his mark in history. The serene half-smiling faces stare out through the centuries in their stony silence. It is quite striking!

Every temple in the area is unique & well worth the visit. Climbing around like Indiana Jones in the Cambodian heat can be exhausting. There is a point of being 'templed out.' And everyone's point is different and everyone has a favourite temple. For me it is Anglor Wat.

I love to go there & just sit & feel Angkor Wat. It's  magnificent majesty seeps into your soul. I can almost hear the ancient chanting, the tinkering of bells and see the colour & splendour of pageantry. I try to imagine how it appeared in its prime, bejeweled in gem stones & gold.

For some reason that I cant fathom, the Pol Pot regime managed to leave the temples of Angkor Wat untouched. And Im so grateful that it did.
Over a million people a year are now visiting Angkor Wat. Eventually tourism will have to be restricted tp protect the temples. I am so glad I enjoyed the opportunity to see them before that happens.