Luxor....Egypt

  After checking in at my hotel in Luxor (one of Egypt's past capitals) I had time to check out the Luxor Temple which was nice.


              

              


               


    I had just enough time to speed walk around and take photo's, I was very satisfied with the days achievement (3 large temples). If there were some aspects of this exceptional day that I could change it would be to lower the temperature 20 degrees from 45 down to 25, and rid the streets of some of the hustlers. Luxor is well known for the relentless pestering by men who are trying to make money from the tourist, there is always the option of calling the tourist police.

  On the next morning a van driver picked myself and 8 other tourist up at the hotel for a tour of the Valley of the Kings. I had no idea what a workout day this was going to be but I knew that it would be close to 50 degrees. We crossed the Nile and proceeded about 5 kms. to the Valley of the Kings where we all got out at the gate. We were given 3 tickets each for admission to the tombs that a guide was going to take the group to. I asked the van driver what time we were to be back at the gate and he did not understand what I was trying to say. After a few minutes I found out that we had 2 hours of shuffling along with the tour group before leaving. I said "okay, I will be back in 2 hours", pointing to his watch; off I went. I sped walked around and chose my tombs to view, a couple had line ups so they were probably the tombs of Ramses Vl or Tuthmosis 111. There were also cordoned off areas where archaeologist researchers were busy discovering ancient treasures. The tombs were fantastic, some of the most preserved and famous tombs in the country; the hieroglyphics were superb.


     After viewing the tombs I headed up the mountain, it was so hot. Once I got to the top I was a bit dizzy but rewarded with a panoramic view of the entire Valley of the Kings.

                  

 Not only did I get that view; when I looked down the other side of the mountain I was directly above the Temple of Hatshepsut.

                  


Hatshepsut was one of the 13 female pharoahs that were thought to have ruled this ancient civilization. This was yet another view that gets me excited when I reminisce about the experience, a camera does not do the captured images any justice. There were 2 grey fox on the mountain, I startled one while another startled me. Once I got down to the gate my clothes were drenched with sweat, the other tourists could not believe that I could get up there (not that difficult I thought to myself).

   After the Kings Valley we went to the Temple of Hatshepsut where I climbed up to tombs (that were closed), so I got a picture of the temple from a different angle; this temple was nice.

              

                                    


                                     


 After this site we went to the Valley of the Queens where we got to go into 3 more tombs that were very nice. I actually took just over 1,000 photo's in Egypt, none with me in them. The structures which contain ancient paintings and carvings are really something to be seen, I feel blessed. After the Valley of the Queens we headed back to the hotel where I stalked up on water and sat down in my room for about 20 minutes before heading out myself to discover more of what Luxor had to offer.

   I walked to the Temple of Karnak which also houses the Temple of Mut, the Amun Temple, and the Avenue of Sphinxes. The enormity of this place is jaw dropping. There are hundreds of huge columns, many in poor shape, but also many in good shape that clearly tell a story through the hieroglyphics etched on them. I tried to cover ever square inch of this complex and take in the scenes as best I could.

                      


                        


                                        
For the last hour that the Temple site remained open there were very few tourists so I could just sit by myself and relish the experience. I went back to the hotel for a rest and when I returned to the street I turned around and went right back to my room with the air conditioner; I passed our early.

  The next morning I woke up about 3 am, it was going to be my last day in Luxor. I hit the streets;  even at that time there were guys trying to rent me a bicycle or take me for a boat ride, or taxi me around. I loaded the 2 pound (20 cents) ferry and crossed the Nile. It was so early so I walked around a small village where I met some local kids. There were some tombs at the top of the hill behind the village so a couple of young girls escorted me up there, I give them a few pounds. There was a woman (mom of the one girl) who was trying to sell souvenirs out of her home, I told her I would come back later when I was done with my day.I went to the Habu Temple which was pretty good, then to the Siti Temple, finishing off at the Merenptan Temple; which was basically old ruins. I visited 3 tomb sites; Tombs of Mena, Nakht, and Al Khavkha, they were in very good condition.

                         


                                           


   When I was finished with my day I returned to the woman's home who was selling souvenirs that she had on a small table in her living room. This ladies name was Fatma and her story told me a lot about the future for women in Egypt; she told me that she wanted to go to school but her husband said no. When I first met Fatma and her daughter she was very relaxed and happy, they were alone in the house. When I returned to Fatma's her brother in-law was there and he was so controlling that it was abusive. I could not understand the language but I saw he was very aggressive and she was afraid of him; even if he was the husband he really crossed the line with his abuse. Once I picked what I was going to buy then he went out of the house and Fatma looked so relieved, she was a very nice lady and I am glad I bought many things from her.

  I mentioned the stifling heat and I mentioned the relentless buggers who were hounding all of the tourists; even taking those two aspects into consideration I would have to say that Luxor, and the surrounding area, is just incredible.

 

 Abu Simbel.....Egypt

  In my last Egypt blog I had been hit by a car while trying to cross a busy street (with no stop lights or crosswalk). After a couple of days of site-seeing I made a plan for a fairly quick exit from Cairo and would take the 10 pm night train south. During that day I limped around Islamic Cairo which had some excellent old structures and an environment that still seemed ancient in many ways. I got some great photo's when I went to the Al-Azhar Mosque which dates back to 970 AD (there are so many old mosques in Islamic Cairo). This mosque, that claims to have the oldest surviving university, had many students worshiping while others were studying; the size of it was huge. Interesting how the women prayed in a small dingy room in the back while the men had a grand theatre at the front that was so extravagant. I talked to two young students who told me that they could only marry a Muslim Egyptian, when I asked them "what if he already had two wives?", they said that they would have to accept that; I was dumbfounded at that response from these 2 well educated young ladies.

  After so much painful pavement pounding I searched the large market for souvenirs to purchase; besides the discomfort of my leg it was an incredible experience. The people were friendly and the atmosphere was so different than that which we find in the western nations, I would say it was awesome. I loaded the train, which was part of my package tour that I booked in Cairo, and endured the 16 hour trip to Aswan. By 5:30 am I had enough daylight to take in the sights out of the window; there were many small cities and towns along the Nile. I noted a few things in my journal as I gazed out of the window; So many large men (one time 3) on donkeys, smoking is a huge problem for the non-smoker, men seem to openly show affection to other men (holding hands, hugging) while many women walk 5 steps behind the man when in public. The rural areas are very poor and houses are very basic; usually with no roof, accept some straw scattered on top of the structure.

  After checking into the hotel I had 15 minutes before we (others on the tour) headed out to the dam. Actually there are two dams; the old dam built between 1898-1902 (largest in the world at that time) and the High Dam which is 6kms downstream. The dam: helped to provide irrigation waters for the agriculture industry all along the Nile, created Lake Nasser which is important to the region; but caused flooding of historic temples which were created on land below the current lake level. The International community under Unesco, including Canada, have moved about 22 of these ancient antiquities to higher ground; a massive undertaking.We went to the Temple of Isis on Agilkia Island which was started by the Greeks and finished by the Romans; it was amazing. I was tired by days end with no sleep throughout the train ride and the hot temperatures (over 40 degrees).

   I got the wake up call at the hotel at 2:45 am , we were to leave on a trip to Abu Simbel at 3:30 am. When I got out on the street there were many Egyptians around , but not the beggars or the speeding, horn honking drivers. The van we were in drove about 15 minutes and then we stopped to wait for other vans, buses, and military guards so we could convoy down together. Egyptians are no strangers to terrorist acts such as hostage taking or bombings by extremist groups. The town of Abu Simbel is small and it sits at the far south end of Egypt, about 40 kms from Sudan; temperatures here, like on this day, reach to over 50 degrees.


   When we arrived at the parking lot there were about 15 buses and 12 vans filled with tourists there. As those tourists were getting organized and listening to a guide I ran, as best I could, the 200 metres past all the selling booths to the site, it was beyond amazing. I had about 15 minutes by myself down at the Great Temple of Ramses ll, it was just incredible. I took so many photo's of the 4 giant sculptures on the outside of the temple...one of those experiences that still brings excitement when I think about it today. Inside the temple were many painted carvings and walls filled with ancient hieroglyphics and calligraphy. While the hundreds of tourists approached I went over to the smaller Temple of Hathor which was dedicated to Queen Nefertari, Ramses wife (one of them, and perhaps the most famous). Ramses ll ruled for 67 years, starting when he was only 13 years of age so he had plenty of time to prepare for the afterlife. I could have spent all day at this temple, it was not big in comparison to other temples but I found it unique in shape and the 4 seated statues on the Ramses ll Temple were mesmerizing.


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We boarded the van and followed the Arabian Desert back up to Aswan, it was so hot that the mirage made the sand look like a lake. It would be a challenge to survive with such extreme temperatures. I walked around a bit before sleeping early, getting woken up at 2:45 put my sleeping schedule in disarray. The next morning I woke up at 3:30 and hobbled along the streets of Aswan. There were many guys sitting around talking, some drinking; I think the slightly cooler temperatures cause some citizens to hide out during the mid-day. I went through many narrow alley's and neighbourhood streets before the 4 am mosque chanting began. When I returned to the hotel I talked to the front desk guy, he said he makes 200 pounds ($40.00) per month; he bought his wife for 400,000 pounds, it took him 10 years of saving to buy a wife (the math did not work out but I did not question him). In so many countries a daughter can still be bought, sometimes in exchange for a few cows.....sorry state for many women.

  On this day I was supposed to board a fallucca (small wooden sailing boat) to sail up the Nile. I was expecting something a little more sturdy than what awaited me at the dock. We cruised a little ways in the boat and stopped at Kitchener and Elephantine Islands. Kitchener Island had a rather nice botanical garden made by Lord Horatio Kitchener who was given this land when he was the Consul General. A couple from Canada, an English girl, two guys from Spain/US and myself passed on stopping at Elephantine Island so I was able to encourage the boat captain to sail over to the West Bank where one can climb the mountain to the Tombs of the Nobles. Although the temperature was scorching up at the tombs (about 45 degrees), it was tremendous, the view was amazing from up there. The others did not want to climb so I went myself and experienced the inside of several of the tombs, the hieroglyphics were in good shape and I took many photo's (with the flash off); it was an experience I would have liked to share rather than being alone.



 That afternoon we slowly crept our way up the river, it seemed like the captain was just killing time. We stopped at a place that was to be our overnight anchorage, it was a narrow part of the Nile that was close to both the highway and the train tracks. Before dark there were 10 trains that went past, the noise was very loud; I could tell it would be another night with little sleep. Between the trains, dogs from the nearby village barking, mosquito's and the 4 am chant from the mosque I could not wait to get off this boat.I disembarked from the boat and walked up to the village, by about 5:30 I could clearly see the locals following their morning routine. Men road down the hill on their donkey's, women in their burka's left their mud and brick homes to carry on the business of the day, I wrote in my journal "you cannot get any more Egyptian than this." The heat was intense for only 6am....this day could be unbearable; it was so hot that it was hard to think about anything else. Once I got back to the boat the passengers and captain were awake and wondering where I had gone. I managed to have 2 hours to experience the small village where we anchored.

 Once we ate some simple food the fallucca left and puttered for about 10 minutes before stopping at a place where the American guy and some other passengers from boats were getting off so they could catch a car ride to Kom Ombo. Under protest from the captain I ceased this opportunity to get off the boat and put fate back into my own hands. The guy from Spain (James)also took advantage of this opportunity and we both walked to the highway to hail a passing van to Kom Ombo. The Temple of Kom Ombo was a great place to visit and again I took many photo's.

                      

 James and I then caught another van to Edfu which had the Temple of Horus which was awesome; these huge temples are astounding

 and a  sight to behold. 

                               

                               

The success of the day was completed with a 110 km trip north to Luxor and my check in at the pleasant Windsor Hotel.

 

  Nanning To Sanya By Bus....China

   I spent 2 years in China and while there I traveled from Inner Mongolia in the north, to Hainan in the far south. In total I stopped in over 80 cities in this country that has over 160 cities of more than one million inhabitants. When a foreigner (laowai) travels to the main hubs of China, they can find  hospitable citizenry and the comforts of home (accept the fresh air). Once the laowai hits some smaller cities and villages then she/he can grasp a better sense of the reality for the common folk in this most populous nation. One of the most difficult aspects for me traveling to out of the way places in China, besides the language barrier, was the conduct of the smokers. 330 million people smoke (and spit)in China and they do it everywhere. In restaurants there are large no smoking signs but ashtrays are on every table, smokers light a cigarette before loading a bus (it's nice to share)......I could go on and on, lets just say I was tired of being the smoke police.

  While traveling through China I flew a few times, took the fast train a few times, but for the most part I wanted to travel like the locals. From Nanning (not to be mistaken for the famous Nanjing, or in old times Nanking) I was to travel by bus (for 250 RMB or $42) to Sanya on the bottom of Hainan and the bus was to leave at 5pm. The vehicle turned out to be a sleeper bus (the first for me) with no seats, just 3 tier bunks. There were 2 drivers and a conductor that was yelling at all of the passengers (very common on buses and trains throughout China), I watched as he terrorized the incoming passengers (what a bully). When this guy yelled at me the second time I gestured to him with the hand swiping across the throat.


                           


  While the back up driver slept the conductor and driver had 4 cigarettes each by the time 8:30 came around, the bus was filled with cigarette smoke. At 8:30 the bus pulled into a rather dingy truck stop restaurant, very quickly I could smell the public washroom through the open bus door. The conductor was yelling at the passengers (in Chinese) to get out of the bus, we were given a card that allowed us a free meal. The food was disgusting, it had a rank odor and flies were numerous. I just looked at the offering and then went back behind the bus, away from the washrooms (my eyes were burning). The driver and conductor looked amazed that I did not eat, everyone was hustled back on the bus within 15 minutes. We proceeded down the road for about 30 minutes ( the road was in rough shape) and then we came to a stop; trucks and cars were lined up for kms. There was an accident in front of us somewhere so there was a lot of confusion; with yelling and more cigarettes. The bus backed up along the side of the highway for quit a distance to get free from the bottleneck of traffic before we reached a spot that the driver could took a detour.

  About 11 pm we stopped to pick up 5 passengers and the driver turned on the light to yell at passengers to make room for the new occupants. We proceeded for about 10 minutes and then pulled into some back yard mechanics place for some repair, it was hard to tell with the chaos exactly what the problem was. We were there about 30 minutes and then we moved on, only to stop 2 more times; once for a lady so the men could load supplies in the undercarriage, and and the next time for some men to discuss the bus; something was wrong. The next time the bus stopped (about 10 cigarettes later) I wrote in my journal that some Chinese leaders should take this bus; they are always bragging on the English CCTV about how great everything is going in China.

                            

  We finally made it to the ferry that makes the 1 hour trip across the channel to Haikou, Hainan, it was about 5am. Watching the loading of the ferry was incredible, the amateurish show was something that one would have to see to believe. There was so much yelling and confusion in that chaotic scene as the different ferry workers tried to get the ferry loaded with vehicles; the workers argued with each other over the placement of almost every vehicle. I watched as a trucker was backing his rig in (back in, drive off), the workers were directing the driver when he navigated the tight spaces. The ferry workers that were supposed to be the eyes of the driver on the one side were taking eggs from the cages of a truck that was carrying chickens, they were so excited. The truck they were supposed to be watching ended up backing into a steel beam that was too low for the height of the truck. The driver got out and climbed up on top of the truck, there was so much yelling and angry words were exchanged. Finally after about 15 minutes the trucker was able to break free, after burning some rubber. I entered the sitting area on the ferry and most every guy was smoking so I found a place outside on the top so I could be alone.


                       



                       

   Once the ferry docked we continued on the drive that would take us almost 300 kms to Sanya, until the driver stopped for the 8th time, now he was to get something to eat. Besides the driver I was the only one awake; as I looked out the window I noticed that the bus was twitching periodically. Soon after that the driver had overcompensated on correcting the wandering bus and I sprang up thinking "oh my god, he is falling asleep". I climbed down from the bed and approached the driver, who had his seat about 3 steps lower than the passengers. I could see he was nodding off so I tapped him on the shoulder and startled him. The driver called out loudly in Chinese and the conductor woke up and came quickly to the front, he was mad that I was down by the driver. I was trying to gesture to this enemy that the driver was falling asleep. We argued as he spoke Chinese while I used my sleeping gestures to point at the driver, then I pointed to the sleeping driver who had not even taken the wheel once for the almost 500 kms from Nanning -Haikou, let alone the last 300 kms. This stand off lasted about 10 minutes as I refused to go back to the bed until they changed drivers. Finally with 100 kms to go the driver pulled over and they switched to the well rested guy.



                                



                                 


    Within 5 minutes the tired driver was snoring like a freight train, as were some of the passengers. I was amazed how many passengers slept through all of the stops and yelling throughout the trip. Although I was awake all night and had endured about 30 cigarettes, I could finally enjoy the scenery. There are a lot of resorts on this island, which is within China's only tropical province.

    I knew from the first cigarettes lit on the bus, and the early behaviour of the conductor that I would be finding another way off the island, either flying or by fast train (the track system was almost complete). When I've traveled to "developing countries" (I use those words cautiously)

I have not been able to control putting my life in the hands of others. Like many of us travelers we must board some type of public transportation that is often mismanaged by a company or an incompetent individual.

  Vientiane to the Cambodian Border, Part 2 of 2.....Laos

  In my last blog I had just finished an incredible bus trip from Luang Prabang down to the Laos capital of Vientiane. I found the capital a little dull; sure there were a lot of temples, but once you have already seen so many then there are thoughts of repetition. Laos is one of the bartering countries and although the people are very friendly I do not like that system of purchase; one shouldn't have to spend time arguing to get a similar price as other foreigners (locals are understandably cheaper). I walked so many kms around the city for photo's; there were a few old buildings but nothing exciting. My sleep was not so great, because of the mosquito's, so although it was nice to hang around with locals I decided that I should just move on. I loaded a bus for the long journey to Savannakhet; now this was going to be a bus ride I would never forget.

The bus from hell.......but the people were very friendly.


 
   When I got on the bus I found that there were no seats left but rather just stools in the middle isle, so I took a stool at the back. Although it was early morning I had already started to sweat, before the bus even got going. We inched about 3 kms, the bus had kept stopping trying to fit more passengers on. The conductor was trying to get 3 in a seat where small bodies and supplies had inches to spare, we were jammed in like sardines. Next entry into my journal was at the 4.5 hour mark, "still on the bus sweating profusely, even the locals cannot stand it". My low moral caused me to focus on the poverty that I was witnessing out of the windows, I was deeply saddened by what I was seeing; one can never get used to being surrounded by real poverty.I was so proud of my wife for working so hard to escape the dim future that awaited her as a child.

Women selling chicken, eggs, corn, and cockroaches

   A lady in the seat beside me fought the center stool crowd to get off the bus, her daughter puked for the second time, much of it missing the plastic bag and landing among the stools in the isle, the aroma was dreadful. I tapped the lady on the stool in front of me to take the seat and I stayed on the stool; by this time people stood beside those on the stools, really jammed. At about the 6 hour mark a guy got up to get off and another man quickly jumped in his seat before a lady holding a small baby could get the chance to take it, I was so angry at him....selfish. At the Thakhek bus station I learned somehow that we had 2 hours to go, we had been suffering for 6.5 hours. Once the bus arrived in Savannakhet I got off and heard a collision; two motorcycles had collided across the street. I went over to help by checking out a passengers leg and cleaning up her wounds, generally all involved were just a little banged up.

  I approached a bank to use the ATM and found that no banks in the city have one, since it was a Friday night on a New Years Holiday the banks would not open until Tuesday. I found a beautiful room for 80,000 Kip (10,000 cheaper than the night before and 20,000 cheaper than previous to that) ,which I had, but there was no money for food. With no English being spoken by those that I approached I was worried, until I noticed English on a restaurant menu taped to a window, so I entered that Laos restaurant where the owner had spent 30 years in Los Angeles. He give me a meal on credit and told me that it is common for foreigners to have to cross the river to Thailand to use the ATM and then pay $30 US to come back over. The locals were so friendly so my doom and gloom (no money) quickly turned into a very positive experience.

  In the morning I left early to take photo's; I walked all around and then got down to the Mekong to catch the longboat which wasn't to leave until 9:30. The departure fee was 70 Baht, then 70 on the other side which I did not have so an American guy give me the money ( about $2). I got my money from a bank and took a few pictures around Mukdahan, Thailand before catching a longboat back. When I got to the dock the 11am boat was just leaving and the next sailing was at 12:45. The customs man that I joked with earlier told the ticket agent to get me on that boat so he yelled and the boat ended up backing up so I could get on (and for free). The Laos boat brings people over and goes back empty, same for the Thai side. A bridge joining the 2 countries was already underway which would make it easy for Vietnamese goods and citizens to get to Thailand.

   I had a most fun afternoon, two kids threw some water on me (the week long water festival was still on) and I ended up getting soaked by other locals. I finally found a house with a garbage bucket of water and containers, there I stayed with a young crowd for 4 hours dowsing trucks and motorcycles as they passed. We laughed and laughed, motorcyclists were surprised to see the foreigner and usually give the thumbs up after receiving a pale of water. I went to the hotel to pay for the night and to the restaurant to pay for my dinner and breakfast before meeting up with the Soulignamath family. I spent 2 more hours with them throwing water, it was so much fun, I saw many of the friendly locals several times. The next morning I was out at 5:30 am walking around and waiting for daylight so I could catch a photo of a place I saw down the road. I dropped by the Soulignamath's house to take a photo of them, they were a lovely family.

Soulignamath family


                               photo turned when loaded


   I boarded the 9am bus to Pakse and got into the city at about 2pm. The trip was good; accept for the all too common, drop us off 8 kms before the city so we had to take the tuk tuk to complete the trip, only to be passed by that same bus as we walked along the street in Pakse . I shared the bus with 2 Swedes who I had met 2 days previously. Once we got our lodging settled we had lunch and then a 3 hour water water throwing activity with locals. I got cleaned up and then had dinner with 2 Irish girls.     My plan was to head south and try to cross the border at Voem Kham which was not an official international checkpoint so crossing was subject to change. I was told by someone that I could cross and others said I couldn't so I thought I would give it a try; if that failed I could check out islands like Si Phan Don which is located in the south of Laos where the Mekong fans out.


                                     photo turned when loaded


   At 6:15 the next morning I caught a tricycle to the bus station where an open jeepney style vehicle left at 7am to head south. At one of the first stops on the approx. 100 km trip there were ladies selling cockroaches on a stick, I tried to get a photo but our vehicle was too crowded. Many times we turned off the main road onto a very dusty, bumpy road to drop one person off. The main road worsened as we got further south, I had to cover my face the dust was so thick. We arrived at Hat Xai Khun and that was the end of the road for the bus. The next step was to negotiate a taxi for the trip to the boarder. I ended up piling in a taxi with 9 Cambodian guys and we drove to the laughable customs house at Koh Chheuteal Tom. When we pulled up the headquarters was like a rancher house with a front porch; 3 guys in white undershirts were sleeping in chairs. When they heard us crossing the gravel they stood up and went inside to put "official" shirts on. The poor Cambodian guys were quick to process but for me it was a rare task that took about 20 minutes.

Laos/Cambodia border crossing, photo turned when loading





  One of the taxi passengers had a bit of English so the customs guy used him to translate. This man was so serious looking; instead of the 740 Baht ($20 US) listed in the travel book the guy wanted 1,000 Baht (about $6 more). I made a comment to the translator but he refused to tell the customs guy so I just let it go. Extortion is extortion, whether one considers the exchange rate or not; it is the principal. Anyway, we still had a long journey to get from the border to the Mekong, and across to Stung Treng, Cambodia.

   

 

                                                                                                              

Huay Xai To Vientiane Part 1 of 2.....Laos

  I left Chiang Mai, Thailand on a bus to head towards the north west corner of Laos; the first mistake I made was boarding a bus to Nan which was a 7 hour trip. After about 3 hours on the bus I studied the map a bit closer and realized that going to Nan was of no use to me; so I got off the bus at Payoa, and was just in time to catch a different bus to Chiang Rai. The bus weaved through a lot of mountain passes but my view was not good; in part to the haze, it had been 40 degrees for a few days; and the locals always get on the bus, pull down the blinds to block the sun, and sleep (most Asian locals do this). I usually try to get a window seat but this time I was just lucky to get any seat on the bus. From the city of Chiang Rai I loaded yet another sweat bus to the boarder town of Chiang Khong; this was a 2.5 hour trip, it was a long day of travel. There was such a cute boy on this bus who was assisting his mom and dad as the conductor, he was about 8 or so and had such a bright and happy face.

   That week there was a water festival in Thailand so the kids lined the highway with buckets of water to throw at the vehicles. The old bus I was in had pieces of plywood for windows, all the locals had their windows down but would slip them up if they saw a kid with water at the ready. I was playing along and the kids were so happy to get the foreigner wet, that was so much fun. As I taunted some kids up the road they readied themselves with two big buckets of water, so much came in the bus that it soaked everyone 5 rows back; some local women were not very happy about that.

                                        

  I crossed the Mekong River to Huay Xai, Laos and found a room for 160 Baht. It seemed that western Laos accepts Baht and Kip (Laos currency); the customs charged me $30 US for my visa and a 50 Baht charge for overtime (or tip would be more accurate). After finding a room I went for a walk and found a temple that had the common serpent staircase that climbed the mountain to the temple. The locals did not seem very friendly (what I gathered from the looks on their faces) and the visibility was poor from all of the burning going on in the mountains. There are two ways out of Huay Xai, one can either take a boat down the Mekong or travel to Luang Nam Tha by road (reputed to be a long, bouncy, grueling, and dusty affair). I bought a ticket for the boat ride to Luang Prabang the next morning from a lady in a shop, she told me that the locals do not need my money to survive like she does so they do not have to be friendly to tourists,

    There are actually 2 types of boat one can take down the Mekong; the slow boat which is a two day trip on a roomy vessel with a stop in a village or a fast boat (that I took) which is a 6 hour ride. After a poor sleep (dogs barking at 1, 3,and 5am) I headed to the shop where I bought the boat ticket, from there I was supposed to get a ride with others who were on the same boat. The tuk tuk driver wanted 50 Baht each and the lady had said that the ride was included in the ticket, I did not pay so she had to. As I crammed on to this small boat, sitting on a cushion kissing my knees, I wondered how a tall person would manage.

                        

  I was so happy to leave Huay Xai and I had no inclination that this trip down the Mekong would be my best experience of the trip (thus far). I wrote incredible in my journal twice which give hint to my complete satisfaction with the journey. Although the smoke and ash were heavy at times and the boat motor was excessively loud my mind was occupied with the sites. Since the Mekong is the lifeline for locals there were many villages along the way. It is also a marine highway so longboats of all sizes bring supplies and passengers up and down the river. There were many water buffalo laying by waters edge; 2 times there were elephants standing in the water. The rock formations and the ever changing scenery were breath taking (so was the smoke). I could not get enough of that experience, one would have to be there to fathom the Mekong River world.

                            

                           


                           


                            


                         
  We stopped for lunch and to switch boats, drivers from Huay Xai only travel the 3 hours and then another boat with driver takes over to complete the trip to Luang Prabang. There was an instance of developing country syndrome where we stopped for lunch. The boat docked at a village that had a platform suspended over the muddy waters on bamboo poles.

                            
Passengers disembarked and went up a ramp to sit at tables on the platform. Behind where locals were preparing a basic meal was a washroom that had a less than one metre high bamboo partition, you could see a persons upper body when they were going to the loo. Human excrement just dropped into the river from the platform and it wasn't until I loaded the second boat that I noticed a local worker lowering buckets to get water for washing the plates we had eaten off, right about where the human waste dropped.

   The continuation of the boat trip was great; when our boat arrived at it's stop I wondered where Luang Prabang was, turns out that although the Mekong goes right through the city we were dropped off 12 kms away which meant we had to take a long tuk tuk ride to get into the city.

                                

First thing I noticed was all of the long boats dropping people off along the river, seems maybe our boat driver got some kick back cash (common occurrence for those that need to survive). Once I got settled on a place to sleep I walked and walked searching for photo's. As usual I covered so much territory speed walking; witnessing new terrain always keeps me highly motivated. Luang Prabang is a Unesco site so there was plenty of historic architecture to witness, again the smoke diminished the experience slightly. After a sleepless night (it was far too hot); I woke up at 2:30am, I had closed the window because of the noise, I just laid there with my head 6 inches from the fan until 6am. I went out speed walking; climbed up a small mountain to the temple where there was a good view from the top.



                                


                              





   I caught a 100,000 Kip air-con bus ride in the morning to the capital Vientiane. I found the trip amazing as the bus twisted and turned it's way through the mountains. This road #13 was very rough and it made me think back to what I was told about the condition of the road #3 from Huay Xai-Luang Nam Tha. We passed through so many poor mountain villages where the poverty was evident.

                                  
 It is here that I saw so many beautiful young women with the look of living a hard life; like many Asian countries a 5 year old girl may be carrying a 1 year old sibling on her back.  If one can turn a blind eye to that fact of local hardship then the scenery was tremendous; on a clear day during the rainy season this journey would have been just incredible. Around many tight corners there would be a small herd of cattle or goats taking up the road; the driver would have to crawl past them. Besides passing so many children in these mountain villages we also passed many guys squatting by the roadside with guns. The terror of some bus rides is well documented, particularly on this #13 road. Government run buses get ambushed; as of late 2 such ambushes killed 10 people and injured 30; on this day nothing happened, but those men were waiting for something. When I scanned the bus there was a serious looking man at the back of the bus with a rifle. I am not sure what these anti-government extremists consider a government bus....guess I should have tried to find that out.

 Thailand....Adventure And Gaining Wisdom, Part 2

    In the first Thailand Blog I had just got help from an old Thai guy and his wife to swipe the red bull ants off of my body; once I put my shirt and shorts back on it appeared to me that they had enjoyed the entertainment. I left my new friends and went back to the guest house to shower; my companion and I then rented a scooter for the day (160 Baht).

   We traveled a lot of kms on the scooter; first riding up into the mountains as far as the palace where the King stays when he is on holiday; there was a touristy temple close by and the scenery was nice.


                                        


                                       




 On the way back down the mountain we pulled into a National Park and figured we would venture the 1.9 km posted distance to a waterfall. We rode about an hour; going through creeks, and up steep hills until we got to a small village; that is where we turned back; we never did see the waterfall. Once in Chiang Mai proper we toured to see more of the 300 temples that exist in the city.

   The Chiang Mai locals were very friendly and although I do not get too specific in my blogs on the people I meet I have to mention Pradid and Amara who own a small store down the road from the Golden Riverside Guest House.

                         

 I went there a few times to purchase something and ended up to hang around a bit talking (well trying to talk). Although there was a language barrier we had fun together and I loved being there when their two children got home from school. So on the next 2 visits to Thailand I visited this local family and I am happy to say that I am very good friends with the 4 of them to this day.

                           

   Many facts went in my journal, such as the union workers threatening a strike because they wanted a raise from 78 Baht per day to 95 Baht per day ($3.00 US- $3.60 US). It was no wonder the Japanese companies were building the Mitsubishi automobile in Thailand. We got tired of seeing the old and rather ugly guys with the young Thai girls (prostitutes). Unlike some countries where the prostitutes are old enough to make a conscious decision to sell their body (whether that is good or bad), in Thailand (and other Asian countries) girls are often recruited from the countryside with promise to their parents that they have a job in the city at a company.

  After taking the scooter back and packing up we headed to the train station to catch the 8:45pm train to Bangkok. In typical Asian style the train left at 10:10 pm instead of the scheduled time. The seats were broken, grungy and very uncomfortable but the trip was only one night so I figured we would survive. Between the two train trips and the opposite arrival times (leaving in the dark, arriving in the day) we managed to see all of the area between Chiang Mai and Bangkok. There were so many farmers living a life in poverty.....many small shacks were home for them.

                                   


                            


   When we arrived in Bangkok it was a scorcher (about 40 degrees) and we loaded a taxi to a different area to settle down in; we found a nice place. The next day we tentatively booked flights through Quanta's for Australia at a cost of 16,600 Baht each (about $550 US) for a Friday flight. On the next day we were tired because the guy next door had his music cranked at 1am; then it was hard to get back to sleep with the heat We went to the Australian Embassy in the morning and thought that a visa would be quick and easy....not so. The Thai lady at the Embassy said that we did not have a sufficient amount of money; I told her we would be staying at my friends and that we had ample travelers checks....she did not agree.

   We left the Embassy very angry, almost ready to just go home. The next destination was the post office for International calls. My first call was to my dad (180 Baht for 3 min.), the line was not clear and I thought perhaps he could not understand me, I tried again but could not get through. I then called a friend in BC and he had gone to Ontario. For 5 hours I tried to get through to people in Canada via the phone, it was just not working.

                          

We had to eat so we hit the streets; in a bad mood from the heat, pollution, and 2 nights with little sleep to search for a restaurant. Out of the few options, we picked a Saudi type place to eat and thought fried rice with chicken would be safe; it was gross. There was a dominating spice, more bones than chicken and many internal stomach parts; we couldn't even eat just half.

   We stayed around Bangkok for 2 more days awaiting a Telex and spent 890 Baht to find out in the end that it was never going to come; talking to people at the bank about transfers was not working and it seemed that our options were quickly dwindling. The only thing good about Bangkok, besides some nice temples was our room on the 3rd floor of the guest house. The balcony provided views of the street action outside, there was a lot of entertainment with crazy chaos. Across the street was some Thai reality ( construction workers accommodation) where the workers stayed in little tin sheds. It was looking like we were down to 3 options : gamble on flying to Australia and getting a visa at the airport there, go down south to the beach and try to get as far as Malaysia, or go on a shopping spree and get home early to see our dogs.

   My companion decided that she wanted to take option #3 so we focused on that. In the morning we loaded a crowded bus and headed down to the Pratunam area which is supposed to be the largest outdoor market area in Bangkok. That first shopping day was 6 or 7 hours long and there was a lot of hustle and bustle....kind of a crazy world but a lot of bargains. On day 2 of shopping I went to a bridge to take a photo, the stench of the water was overwhelming. There were stairs leading down under the bridge so I went down to get a different angle for a photo. There was a make shift shack under the bridge, first I thought it was a restaurant but it soon became evident that someone was living there. Very quickly two dogs emerged out from behind the structure and charged me. With my eyes bulging I kept them at bay with my pack as I walked backwards, there was a stick that I could grab and I swung it as I retreated back up the stairs; they really scared me.

   The first trip to Thailand really was a learning experience. After the initial plan did not work for us then the twists of fate that followed pretty much influenced our destiny. I think we gave up easily cutting our holiday to a short 41 days. There is always the could have, should have; like we should have went south to some islands. Little did I know at that time that I would return to Thailand and prove that some wisdom was gained on this trip.