This blog is devoted to our adventure - Tour of Asia.
I would like to have had the courage to go it alone - but having read too many scary stories - discretion took over. It will be interesting to measure our experiences against the scary stories.
Travel in this part of the world is different for many reasons.
Language, the heat and humidity, food, noise, tortuous bus journeys, customs and beliefs, safety - all pose a challenge to our comfort zone.
There is conflicting info re car hire.
Some say it is not possible - others say yes you can if you dare!
All are agreed that hiring a car is not for the faint hearted. "Vietnam does not allow visitors to hire a car" - but you can hire a car and driver for $60 a day or less.
Of course you can hire a taxi - some of the meters spin at an alarming rate! In the blink of an eye the meter reads 20,000 dong.
Only use Vinasun and Mailinh taxis in Vietnam which are metered, trusted taxi companies.
A motorbike taxi should cost about 25,000dong for a 2 mile run in District 1. ($1.25)
Much of this advice is for myself as I go through online info and advice.
Anyway we have to deal with Thailand first.
I intend to post photos and travel info as we go.
Left Sandyford on Sunday morning at 5am - arrived in Bangkok Monday morning - at 8am.
Some usual flight delays in Dublin and Abu Dhabi.
I bought a box of 50 cigars in Abu Dhabi - not the expensive ones that Liam buys -
went to the bar and ordered a Guinness and a gin and tonic which cost more that the cigars.
Am I tired? I am so tired that I tried to convince Grainne right now that we arrived yesterday!
Staying in the Point Centre Silom hotel - good location near the "Luas" - they call it the BTS.
The only way to travel here. Easy once you work out how to get a ticket from the ticket machine - the correct ticket.
Spent the day shopping- an eye opener.
There are the designer stores for the tourists - very expensive
and sometimes - right beside them in the same building is the Thai version of the same store at less than half the price - 70% off.
Food halls as big as Croke Park.
35degrees C today - yet bearable enough. I went on a short tour at 12am.
Photos? got nothing here today. Street photography is not my thing.
But I am aiming to get at least one good photo every day- no I'm not greedy.
Where is it?
Too tired - will download it tomorrow.
Downloads are very slow.
Well where would you be going with no bell on your bike ….
It is now Monday night 10pm 11 Nov.
Not that easy to get WiFi around here.
It has been a great few days - forever on the go. There are 14 of us on this tour -
Mark from Scotland
Emma from Uk - can't understand a word out of her -
Arvo and Eilin from Estonia.
Brendan and Ute from Vancouver Island.
Chantelle from Canada
Stuart from New Zealand
Martin from Germany
Patricia from Canada
Julie from Texas - originally South Korea.
Emma and Mark ….. watch this space ……….
I believe some friends are worried that we are in the path of the typhoon.
Calm and hot - hardly a breeze here.
We are due to hit Hanoi in a week where it is stormy right now. Should be ok by then.
We spend the last two days cruising on the Mekong river - stunning.
Just 14 of us + our CEO and a three man crew. This is our boat.
When I say cruise - the boat is about 70ft long and low.
It hardly made a sound on very calm water.
Beautiful wooded scenery like this -
Across the river from the palace is the Wat Arun Temple.
Family transport.
Our colourful CEO named BUN.
Dressed half and half - singing an emotional "I did it my way".
Coconut grinding machine at the market.
Emma and friend.
Enjoying the result of our cookery class.
We flew from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. The boat trip took us from Chiang Mai to Chiang Khong where we stayed overnight and then on to Luang Prabong where we are now. All our hotels have AC and are comfortable. The heat today was about 40C!
TRIBAL VISIT
In the course of our boat trip we visited a tribal community located just 100m from the river.
Along the length of this river are many such communities.
A few pictures from the tribe visit.
Very basic housing. Lots of children.
I wondered if we were exploiting these people by photographing them and their world.
GAdventures does assist them in small ways. Outwardly they seemed to be happy to have visitors.
Picture taken as we are leaving the tribal village-lead by Chantelle and Bun.
Laos is one of the poorest countries on the planet.
The people are just amazing - welcoming and cheerful.
America dropped a massive amount of bombs here - many of which are still in the ground unexploded!
Children and water buffalo are killed and maimed every week.
The Kuang Sii waterfalls.
HOMESTAYS
We stayed in the homes of some of these people last night in Vang Vieng - GAdventures calls them Homestays. There are 7 in this village set up a very country lane.
We travelled 7 hours by mini bus to get there - a mountain road all the way. You have not seen pot holes until you see these ones. So we had no idea what to expect.
Dinner was very simple.
Then we were treated to an outside dance session with music by the local kids - aged 5 -11.
There was just one light outside from an ordinary house bulb. It was dark.
First they did a very well choreographed routine. Then we were invited to dance with them. 2 hours.
GAdventures have helped the Lao people by sending business their way.
The houses have to be seen to be believed - mainly wooden structures - extremely basic.
Population of Loa is 6 million - half of whom are under 21 - 80% live in rural areas - they grow their own food. Life expectancy is 55 - 10500 villages in the country of which 8500 have schools - hardly any text books.
The girls at the Homestead with Bean-an-Ti in dark blue top.
ON THE RIVER.
We spent the day on the Nam Song river - first we used tubes to travel a few hundred metres through a cave - most of which is still unexplored. Then we did a long paddle in open canoes.
Our hotel tonight is absolute luxury in comparison to last night - King sized bed - very large balcony/TV/.
The TukTuk
THE MONKS
We were up at 6am to see the monks do their daily alms walk - quite a spectacle. My pics are not good because I left my camera on Manual focus from last night.
We did a session of Baileys +whishey last night. The measures on both were the size of a glass of wine - a generous glass. We drank the place dry of whisky! No wonder the camera settings were not checked.
Hundreds of monks make this walk every morning at dawn in silence through the streets.
The ceremony is a major tourist attraction.
Then we made our way by coach to Viantiane - potholes forever.
Today we leave Loas and fly to Hanoi, Vietnam. But first we visit the war museum.
USA flew 580,000 bombing missions over Laos - dropped millions of bombs -
estimated at a plane load of bombs every 8 minutes - 24 hours a day for 9 years.
Over 270 million cluster bombs. 80 million did not explode - resulting in 100 new causalities each year.
The USA spent $13.3 million PER DAY (2013 dollars) for nine years bombing Laos.
Between 1995 and 2013 the US contributed $3.2 million per year for UXO clearance in Laos.
All part of the American Secret War in Laos.
The COPE museum.
The museum is a display of prosthetics - cluster bombs - utensils made from bomb parts.
VIETNAM
Oh my God ……
Arrived in Hanoi - madness. Too many people and motorbikes.
To cross the street you simply walk into the traffic - somehow they manage to avoid you.
No traffic lights and nobody bothers with zebra crossings. Frenetic.
There are nearly 4 million motor bikes registered in the city - a roaring river of rubber and steel.
Brought about by a decade of capitalist fervour.
HANOI and HALONG BAY
Halong Bay is 100mls from Hanoi. It takes 3 1/2 hors to get there by bus - partly because of bad roads and traffic. We went there yesterday. We stayed on a beautiful comfortable boat overnight. There were 100s of boats there all with tourists. Great food on the boat. Unfortunately the visibility was very poor - overcast and dull.
Halong Bay.
Boy skating in front of the Flagtower of Imperial city Hue. The Citadel.
The palace of the former capital of Vietnam.
We leave for Hue on a night train at 7pm.
Arrived at Hue at 9.30am !!! A long not too comfortable ride - 4 in a small cabin.
Has been raining. The scenery is made up of watery rice fields - ducks by the hundred- water buffalo.
In a nice hotel now The Asia Hotel in Hue - showered and refreshed - almost.
Where is my Guinness ...............
Going for lunch to a monastery where we will be server by a Buddhist nun .... maybe not ....
4 hour bus trip south to Hoi An.
2 m people - not too busy - full of traders trying to scrape a living - no thanks to Mark - who despite severe criticism, urging, persuasion and threats only paid $100 for numerous jackets and shirts.
Cycled to the old part of the city today.
Some grabbed shots from this morning -
We were wakened by the sound of a band playing. Ran down stairs to find this funeral party parked outside the hotel. There was a band playing in the truck in front of this highly decorative truck.
The coffin is in this truck.
Some more grabbed shots > > > > >
Street Trader.
Fisherman.
Today we are doing a bike trip into the country and return by boat.
Boat shots ……...
CEO Bun
Saigon General Post Office
Our Last night.
Found a bar right beside the hotel - an amazing place -part tile part dirt floor which
was covered in peanut shells. A crazy selection of fuse boxes decorated a wall. The drink was 50cents a bottle. The business men call in here on their way home for a smoke and a drink. We had some quail eggs here!
was covered in peanut shells. A crazy selection of fuse boxes decorated a wall. The drink was 50cents a bottle. The business men call in here on their way home for a smoke and a drink. We had some quail eggs here!
Then taxi to a great jazz session.
I do need a 2.8 lens. Right now Sharp pictures not possible in low light - Dear Santa …………
Mekong river - last day.
Last day in Vietnam - flight not 'til 7.40pm so we are invited to travel with the group to the Mekong.
About 90mins. out of Saigon boarded a boat and visited 3 islands.
Nothing very special - a canoe trip down one of the canals and the houses on the bank of the river took my fancy. The houses are very basic - many supported on stilts at the waters edge.
Back to the hotel. Group meeting for "one drink" in the bar next door.
Much clinking of glasses and hugs as we said goodbye to our friends.
We cannot decide if we were just lucky or if all GAdventure travellers are as companionable as those in our group. We were pleasantly surprised. The quality of the individuals in the group aided in no small measure by Bun made the trip what it was. Best ever. Thanks guys.
Tales of the unexpected ………
Hardly a mossie in sight - I borught a large double bed mosquito net with me and a head one as well!
Despite the masses of people and the obvious poverty we felt safe always.
BUT ………
just heard a tourist who was possibly very drunk took a taxi home last night on her own - was raped.
Poor advice re COLD. Bring warm clothes as it can be very cold in parts - 16degrees is cold?????
We sunbathe in 10 degrees in Ireland.
As a result we had to post home a few kilos of warm clothes which cost about $130.
Good working AC everywhere except the Homestays.
Also there were baggage allowance problems with internal flights.
Only allowed 15kg. and no - you could not pay extra - just get rid of it …...
Did we need malaria tablets? Many of out group did not bother with them - including Doctor Brendan.
Organised tour or go it alone?
In this part of the world - organised for me. The quality of the organisation was first class. A mixture of very basic accommodation that I would never admit to booking - as in the Homestays and very good hotels; tough hard slog travel over the worst roads on the planet; the company of fellow travellers - possibly the biggest plus of all.
There is always a story - a scandal - breaking news - are they in love?
Did you see the other CEO last night …. pissed…..
Bargained down from 2 million dong to 50,000 …. and so on ……
Hoi An is the best clothes shopping town in Vietnam.
Quiet moment ....
In a Bangkok shopping centre.
For the benefit of some new friends
My photography teaching blog is here
johnkent1.blogspot.com then "photography4u"
the password is pixels
If it helps you in improving your understanding of photographic principles it will have served its purpose. Because it is long it may look complicated - start with
EXPOSURE- Controlling the Light.
Take it slowly.
Some of my photos are here
www.johnkentasia.tumblr.com
Above right> from the roof of the Centre Silom hotel where we stayed for 2 days > Bangkok skyline.
C O P E = Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise
A photo from the Cope museum in Vientiane, Laos.
Cope provides prosthetics and mobility devices for Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) survivors.
On the boat ...............…
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| How do you fit three pigs on a motor bike? |
Street trading.
Organised Chaos ...............
Style in the rain ... see through .....
I love this one - expressions as we walk straight through the bikes ..... Good on you Emma calm and serene. Elin and Arvo are still in the firing line .......... Martin's look says "I dare you hit a 6'7" man.
Elephant "Rescue" centre... Not so sure ...more about the dollar than the elephant.
Tribal village.
The two day river trip was a great experience.
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Thanks again to everyone for the amazing experience.
Planning already!
Sabai - Sabai.
seankent1@gmail.com
