Snapshots - meet Jean DuPont (by Joe)

This is Jean DuPont. He is 45 years old and from Quebec in Canada. At home he works in real estate.

We first met him on the mountain roads en route from Pai to Mae Hong Son in north Thailand. We have since bumped into him again at Louang Namtha (north Laos), Louang Phabang (central Loas) and Vang Vieng (also central Laos).

So, for the past month we've followed remarkably similar routes. However there is a big differene - whilst we've covered the 1000 km (+) in buses and minivans, he has travelled it on his mountain bike - a serious feat given the scale of the terrain around here.

Jean says he used to compete at a reasonably high level in Iron Man triathlon competitions (swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles, and then running a 26.2 mile marathon to reach the finish line). Sadly, a slipped disc in his back ended his competition days. Now he ('just') cycles his mountain bike over routes such as the one we have seen him on here, the Alp stages of the Tour de France and areas of the Rockies.

It has been nice meeting him along the way - he's been consistently friendly and good-spirited. Pretty much every time we have spotted him he has been pleasantly chatting away with tourists and locals alike (... and often 'looking for sugar').

His trip is about 2 months, and having conquered the north of Thailand and Laos he's now looking forward to some flatter terrain as he heads south: "I've done the protein, now I'm looking forward to the cake section" he says.

Joe

Shooting monks (by Joe)

Louang Phabang, Laos' former capital comes as a pleasant surprise after visiting the north. It's a cosmopolitan tourist centre of old French colonial two-storey architecture, cafes and trendy restaurants. It is actually a beautiful town, preserved through its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Tourists mingle throughout the town with the many monks (there are thousands of them in the several large monasteries).

Though it is not against their teachings or religion (we checked), the monks (at least many of them) are fairly unwilling photography subjects. It seems that several years of being snapped over and over by tourists has simply made them fed up with posing for pictures. Ask to take one, and more often than not they'll walk away - don't ask and they may try to dodge the camera.

Now I accept that this may not be entirely ethical, but like a lot of the tourists here, I seem to have become a little obsessed with taking their pictures. They are SO photogenic, with bright robes, shaved heads and often carrying black parasols (contrasting with the bright robes).

Photography IS a bit like hunting in some ways, and over the past few days I think my obsession has certainly put me in touch with some primordial instinct. In search of a good shot, I've run down streets; my ears have pricked up when overhearing conversations about there being groups of them 'down by the river' or 'in a certain part of town'; and this morning I actually descended to staking them out (for three hours) from a table at a cafe opposite one of the main temple entrances.

Shameful perhaps, but not unlike a fair number of other tourists around here (and I'd never shoot a monk from behind).

Anyway, here's few (quite a few actually) of the ones I bagged (... what I'd have given for a 100mm zoom lens!)

Also took a couple of pictures of monks' robes left out to dry:

Finally, a sight that amused me at the internet cafe:

Joe

Merry Laos Christmas (by Joe and Laura)

A VERY merry Christmas to all our friends and family.

We are very well, but genuinely sorry not to be there with you. We are having a lovely time here in Laos, though Christmas 'aint a big thing 'round these parts; but there are some advantages to spending December here: the weather is warm enough to eat icecream.

Also - having looked high and low, we have found one local who is sharing the day with all of us:

We hope you all have great day.

With love,
Joe and Laura

Mekong slow boat (by Joe)

The mighty Mekong: from source 4920m up on the Tibetan plateau it flows through China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia to the delta and and the Vietnamese coast - a total distance of 4184km. It is Asia's third longest river (for my quizmaster brother-in-law, the Yangtse and the Yellow river are longer - but I'm sure my quizmaster brother-in-law already knows that).

We took a two-day 'slow boat' down a small section taking us from north to central Laos (see left - our boat, the one with the flag, moored up with others in the morning of the second day).

It was an interesting journey, passing impressive scenery slowly enough to take it all in (as well as to read many chapters of our books and chat extensively with various other travellers and get our diaries up to date and run down the battery on our iPod).

For such a significant river and one well-used by transport of various types, we saw surprisingly few settlements along the banks. Apart from Pakbeng, a small town where we stopped overnight, we saw only half a dozen small village settlements.

Occasionally, the captain would pull in and moor up briefly to take aboard some goods from the locals.

On the second day he stopped several times to attempt to buy various recently trapped exotic critters - we can only assume they would be the night's dinner for him and the crew (see right - a critter woman making a sales pitch - unsuccessful as it turned out).

When we did stop, villagers (especially the children) would rush down to the bank to stare at the tourists onboard. With no road access, we imagine these villagers have little interaction with outsiders other than these boat trips.

It was a good trip - and truly beautiful in places - especially as the rocks turned to limestone towards the end (see below). However, after some 15 hours aboard (on hard seats), we were happy enough to arrive at our destination: Louang Phabang (a comfy tourist hub).

Joe

Field shacks (by Joe)

A feature of the rural areas of north Loas are the masses of field shacks you see as you pass through. Apparently these are used not to store the harvests, but simply to provide a place of rest and shade from the daytime sun for workers.

We've found them very characterful - here's a few pics:

Joe

(Another) jungle jaunt (by Laura)

Our foray into the jungle in northern Thailand whet our appetite for further trips.

Laos offers similar treks through the jungle to traditional hilltribe villages; since Laos is much newer to the tourist scene, we imagined the experience here might offer something more genuine than we had seen in Thailand.

We took a two-day trek in the jungle near Louang Namtha, northern Laos, run by the local eco-tour office, which has been set up with a view to try to return some of the benefit of tourism to the hilltribe villages who essentially form a major part of the draw to this area.

The jungle we trekked through felt pretty intense at times, with some awe-inspiring ancient trees (see below left) and bamboo canopies. The trails also felt slightly more remote, criss-crossing through a now-protected area of 222,400 hectares.

We passed through a number of different villages, principally Khmu and Lanten (in the area there are also Akha, Tai and Leu tribes, all with their own languages). The people here are animist, therefore (amongst other things) believe in the strength and threat from the spirits in the jungle they inhabit. Offerings are made to the spirits in a ceremony each year, during which time guests are not allowed to enter the village. Their welcome always felt genuine and we were invited to a ceremony in the Khmu village where we spent the night, when the village headman offered up chicken, sticky rice, egg, water and lao lao whisky to the spirits to ensure our safe return through the jungle (see right- we suspect one of our hosts may have been weaned on lao lao).

Sticky rice was in fact a bit of a feature of the trip. It was served in bamboo baskets at every meal; after the third consecutive basket of sticky rice (breakfast), Joe desperately raided the village shop in search of something for his sweet tooth. In fact, eating and sleeping both featured heavily. The treks in this part of the world do not seem to follow the normal pattern of 'trekking' and involve very regular breaks for food and for siestas, which probably outweighed the time we spent walking.

As is always the case with trips like this, it was the group of people who made for the memories (see left at supper in the headman's house). We have been fortunate so far with the people we have met and once again were able to spend time with a group we had quite a lot in common with.

It's clear that the trekking industry here is gathering pace and we have heard of people who have not been so lucky with their experiences. In Thailand twenty five years ago, as travellers started to ply the trekking routes in the north, the industry apparently became incredibly cut-throat and the experience less and less rewarding, both for tourists and locals. As the infrastructure is modernised and the trails become more accessible, it seems increasingly possible that Laos may follow suit.

Laura

A Laos bus ride (by Joe)

After six weeks traveling India, we reckoned we had experienced pretty much all the weird and wonderful that public transport could throw at you. It took our first bus journey in Laos to prove we were wrong ...

We took a 195 km bus ride from the border at Houaxyai to Luang Namtha across the north of Laos.

First incident was the tuk tuk taking us to the bus station running out of gas - no problem as the driver hops into a local shop to borrow some more gas (from a beer bottle), and we are on our way again.

We make it to the bus stop in good time and grab a couple of seats. However the bus gradually fills up till all but a couple of seats are full. Yet more tourists turn up however, and then more, and more, so that there are some 10 - 15 more passengers than seats.

Being tourists they, perfectly reasonably, demand somewhere to sit for the 6 hour journey. An ingenious solution under pressure: the conductor and driver pop into the bus station cafe and return with a stack of borrowed plastic chairs an stools - they lay these down the aisle of the bus (see left). Problem sorted (Laos-style), everyone happy(ish) and we are on our way again!

However we soon discover the road is a complete dustbowl - it is a massive engineering project (begun in 1992, apparently) and entirely unsurfaced and incomplete. We bump along nonetheless chewing large volumes of clay dust as we go.

A few hours in, after a brief stop for lunch, we reach a steep hill. Halfway up the bus stalls. It cannot get moving again up the hill. We are all asked to get out and without our collective weight, the bus, engine smoking, gets moving again - and goes straight past us. We walk 250 metres up the dusty road to meet it at the top and climb back aboard. Problem sorted (Laos -style) and we are on our way.

Next incident is the road being blocked by what appears to be a landslide. One of the bulldozers working on the road clears the debris (see right) and we move on - but as we pass we realise its not an accidental landslide at all - they are still completing the cutting for the road, and the rock and earth has been dumped from above by another bulldozer working on a higher level of the cutting.

The same thing happens two more times on the journey: amazingly, whilst nobody (let alone public transport) would be allowed near a road under construction in the UK, this is not an exceptional incident on our route - it happens all the time, every day!

Finally, nearing our destination, the champion of all incidents: a bus going in the other direction is caught unable to climb a hill and blocks the single-lane dirt road. Passengers are off, but still it will not budge.

The solution: driver and conductor ask the help of passengers (of both buses and the drivers of the cars stuck behind it) to help pull it up the road (see top). Amazingly, we pull together and (with the help of bursts from the bus engine) make it to the top with cheers from all. Problem solved (Laos-style!)

An incredible journey - we arrive in Luang Namtha tired, utterly filthy, but in a state of wonder and awe.

We have not been here long, but I can suggest strongly that if you ever come to Laos, treble check you have packed you most robust sense of humour before you leave home.

You are almost certainly going to need it!

Joe

Laos - in brief (by Joe)

After a pleasant (and very easy) time in north Thailand, we headed across the Mekong river border crossing into Laos (see above - the crossing, looking from Laos to Thailand and the small boat we came over on).

Little thought of by pretty much anyone in the West (other than S.E. Asian backpackers), the Lao People's Democratic Republic (see flag - below and left) is just about the region's poorest country (with some 15% of GDP coming from foreign aid, apparently).

Home to about 5.5 million, the country is landlocked between Thailand to the West and Vietnam to the East (and also sharing borders with Cambodia to the south and China to the north).

Laos became a socialist state in the late 1970's (immediately after the US quit Vietnam) when communist forces took the country's capital, Vientiane. The new communist Government is believed to have murdered the king, queen and crown prince and sent some 50,000 royalists to 're-education' camps.

In 1986, after a decade of strong socialist policies including collectivisation of farming , nationalisation of industry and heavy isolation from the international community, the country took steps to become a market economy and, more recently (only in the last decade) opened up to foreign travellers and tourism.

Laos also had a significant role in the Vietnam war. North East Laos was deemed as strategically crucial in the battle for Vietnam and was fought for heavily in a 'secret' war. According to our guide book, it holds the tragic record of being the most bombed country per capita in the history of warfare: the US, between 1964 and 1973 dropped 2,093,100 tons of bombs - unexploded ordnance remains a major problem with many tragedies taking place every year.

With tourism only a decade old in the country, we have found it an interesting experience so far. Bordering Thailand, it is inevitably becoming an ever more popular stop on the backpacker trail and services - backpacker-friendly accommodation, restaurant and tours - are increasing in number and improving in quality. The people are extremely friendly and appear optimistic about the future.

That said, it is still a 'step on the wild side'. The country remains highly impoverished, has unreliable electricity and water supply, and a poor road network.

More than occasionally, it has already proved a little bewildering for us western travellers - we are looking forward to exploring further.

Joe

North Thailand tourist trail (by Joe)

We’ve had a fantastic time traveling up through north Thailand from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Pai and Mae Hong Song.

The scenery has been stunning, accommodation and restaurants extremely comfortable and we’ve had a lot of 'active' fun hiring mountain bikes, trekking and bamboo rafting. As a tourist, North Thailand has everything there for you … ‘as you like it’.

That said, it is a well-worn trail which, because it is so easy to follow and so comfy, is hard to pull away from (see top - follow the trail for anything you could need or want!).

We’ve had a fantastic time, but after three weeks we can’t truly say we’ve engaged heavily with the country or the people.

Still, with scenery like this (see left and right) – who cares ?!?

We head off to Laos tomorrow. We are expecting that to be a more challenging experience.

Joe

A chance to grow ... facial hair (by Joe)

Having worked for seven years in a relatively clean-cut job, I’d been looking forward to the chance to experiment a bit with beard-growing whilst away.

Until today, I hadn’t shaved for about three weeks. This resulted in the following:

Beards are all well and good and it’s nice not to have to shave every day, but it does get a bit grizzly (and sticky) about 5 days in.

I rather liked the compromise solution (below) but Laura (perhaps understandably) put her foot down:

Joe

Long Live the King (by Laura)

December 5th, a full moon night, was the King of Thailand's official birthday. He was 79 and it is also 60 years since he was crowned. The King is revered throughout Thailand (notably far more so than our Queen in the UK and similarly to other countries in the Far East), principally for his benevolence and ability to connect with his people (see above, a typical array of national and sovereign yellow flags).

He was born on a Monday (which signifies yellow) therefore on the day itself and in the run up, a large majority of people were wearing yellow t-shirts and had yellow flowers in their hair. In the north we have also seen entire fields planted with yellow flowers.

On the day, there were large pictures of the monarch on every corner (similar to small shrines you might see in India- see right), no alcohol was served (as this was the King's wish) and the local children led a parade through the streets (see left and below).

After the recent coup, it was reported that the Thai people were waiting for a sign from the King that he approved of the move, before they accepted it peacefully. Apparently, some also suspect that he may actually have been behind it, seeing it as the only way of ensuring that the nation could start afresh and put an end to the increasing level of perceived corruption in Thaksin's (the ousted PM) regime.

The King is the formal Head of State; however, as in the UK, he has no formal powers.

The Crown Prince, who is about 50, is the next in line to the throne, but is said to be increasingly unpopular - there are abundant rumours about possible corruption and drugs.

We have also encountered a level of cynicism in expat "farang" opinion about the country's devotion to their sovereign - it is apparently dangerous to criticise the King in public, he is incredibly protected in the press and by a number of different laws and a number of politicians have been denounced for comments, however innocuous, made in Parliament.

So it is unclear to us as to whether the acts of devotion are through a genuine respect and reverence or through the desire to demonstrate this in public. However, the presence of a figure who has such an ability to unify a country and potentially to stabilise, is clearly of huge importance to a people who do not yet fully trust their government or military.

Laura

Lovely Pai (by Laura)

The town of Pai in north Thailand inevitably attracts endless plays-on-words by restaurants and tour operators. Amongst those we've seen are 'Apple Pai', 'Pai in the Sky' and a good one, simply because it is perhaps unintentional, 'Pai Cooking classes'.

We've spent four days here, drawn in inevitably by the very chilled atmosphere, the fabulous green hills and mountains and the misty mornings over the river. You could happily spend four months. There are endless activities on offer (white water rafting, trekking and so on); but the place really got a hold of us when we hired bikes and explored the valley a bit further. You would never get tired of the views.

We've parked ourselves in a guesthouse by the river, which is run by a young couple (half Thai, half English) who have a four month-old boy. They have just opened their doors, only managing to clear out the floodwaters just before the season started, which apparently rose 2 metres in the space of half an hour during monsoon (the highest for 40 years). They've put half their accommodation on stilts now just in case.

Pai is set up to cater for any tourist taste as there are over a hundred eateries and stalls packed into a pretty small space. However, we have become attached to just one restaurant in town, eating there about a dozen times over the last few days (despite passing 30-odd probably equally enticing places on our way there). They offer very cheap, tasty food and constant entertainment from their menagerie of dogs and very cute daughter.
Happily, no pie on the menu either.

Laura

Snapshots - meet Seebah Prakoon - aka 'Robert' (by Joe)

This is Seebah Prakoon (aka 'Robert' to European tourists). He was our guide on a three-day jungle trek in north Thailand (see 'Lau of the jungle' blog below) .

Seebah is 29, married and has a 14 month old child. He is of the Karen hilltribe group. Numbering some 500,000 the Karen is the largest of the hilltribe groups that live across north Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and Laos. Like many Karen, his family left Burma for Thailand two generations ago to escape the Burmese Government.

Seebah spent several years in the Thai army fighting armed Burmese guerillas and drug smugglers in a deadly game of cat and mouse along the jungley 1000km(+) Thai - Burma border.

This, coupled with his hilltribe background gives him tremendous knowledge of the jungle, its terrain, and the plants and animals that inhabit it. The jungle is very much 'his patch' and this is a man who genuinely knows how to look after himself in it.

Seebah also claims to know how to kill and eat just about anything and, over the three day trek, explained to us in great detail how to kill and cook monkeys, snakes, spiders, pigs, cows, rats, dogs, chickens and cats. He also informed us jokingly (but with just a touch too much seriousness for complete comfort) that 'Farang' (white men) are relatively easy to kill and cook up nicely.

Like many young Thais, Seebah had ambition as a young man to become a champion Thai boxer. He took part in three bouts, he tells us, winning the first two and losing the third, which ended when an elbow to the jaw knocked him out cold for ten minutes. He says that now the thought of Thai boxing "... makes me feel very sleepy".

Despite a slight stammer, Seebah speaks good English and enjoys bantering in 6 or 7 foreign languages (depending on the make up of the treking group). In english his favourite banter phrases are 'Wow' and 'oh really' (in a slightly doubting tone). He also enjoys telling women on his treks that Thai men are 'small but very spicy' - after which he then makes a 'Carry on up the jungle' type face (see left).

Seebah also has an interesting campfire song repetoire. Essentially, he knows the first line or two (but no more) of many classic pop songs, so his songs become long medleys of well known tunes - for example: "And you can say, Baby / if I saw you in heaven / at hotel california, such a lovely place, such a lovely place / Yesterday / old macdonald had a farm eh aye eh aye oh." (Incidentally in Seebah's version, Old Macdonald only ever has a chicken, however many verses you sing).

In truth we didn't copmpletely take to Seebah at first, reading his banter as a sign that he was perhaps a bit overexperienced with tourists and might prove insincere. However, this was completely wrong - to us he was a very entertaining, informative, sincere guy - and more than occasionally hilarious.

However after the trek, back at the hotel we discovered something else about Seebah. He may be a king in the jungle, but in the bar after two or three beers he turns into a pussycat!

Joe