Along the way we get an idea what the city outskirts and the countryside look like.

The carriage is comfortable and clean, much better than we expected. There are electric sockets next to the seats so we can make use of your laptops and get on with some overdue blog work. We do order some of the on board food just to try it, but when I bite into my leg of chicken the smell is so bad that I can’t continue eating it. That’s the only complaint though.

Yogya looks a bit chaotic. We arrive in time to find us some accommodation near the station before sunset. The place is called Monica Hotel and they charge 150KRP/night for the double, which is in reasonable condition and clean. That night we head down the street to a bar called Lucifer, quite a simple place but there’s beer and live music. One thing that is impresses me in Indonesia is the fact that there are so many bands doing really good impressions of other artists’ songs; their voices sound almost identical to the original.

The problem with the accommodation is that it’s right next door to a bar which has live music several nights a week and, following the first night, which is fine, we get progressively less and less sleep as the noise from next door keeps us awake at night and some looney early-risers in the hotel decide it’s a good idea to be loud and cheerful at seven in the morning. As you can imagine, by the fourth morning I’m not the friendliest person to talk to. Of course we could have left to another place but taking time to check out and search for another accommodation of acceptable standard is an annoying waste of time.

Yogya is a vibrant market town where all the streets are bustling with stalls selling bags, clothing, batik art and various hand-made souvenirs, but especially textile goods. We meet a young chap there running a stall for his father and as we’re asking about wholesale prices for some of the goods there, he takes us on a tour of the wholesale market off Malioboro street. They really do produce some wonderful stuff! They use materials such as coconut shell or bamboo in such creative ways.

Walking the streets around here is quite pleasant though, aside from the traffic. With so many stalls and sellers around we expect to be harassed no end, but people are very civilized. They offer their wares but they’re not pushy about selling to you as they are in other places we’ve been.

With the batik sellers you’ve got to be careful though. Many of them around, selling cheap machine-made goods as originals, and there are touts on the streets that will guide you to an alleged genuine batik gallery of store, which is in fact not genuine. It seems the way you can tell the good places from the bad is by the price list: the con artists generally don’t have one and will try to sell you batik at hefty Dollar or Euro rates whereas the artisan shops where batik students and some known artists allegedly produce the wares, they have a price list in Indonesian Rupiahs. Batik art is a very interesting process and some of the work is really impressive. Sadly we have to keep our hands in our pockets as usual.

Aside from the street markets there are a few shopping malls and (besides Pizza Hut) you’ll find some interesting shops there…

Good food is a problem for us here, as it has been in Jakarta. Half the time we’re starving because finding decent food is such a mission, and that tends to affect our mood negatively. The sad result is that we end up spending every other night at Pizza Hut. Once we even walk into a McDonalds to get lunch but the smell in there puts me off and we get cakes and pastries from a nearby bakery instead. The food situation becomes really frustrating. Once we sat down at a nice place near the palace and they served up a snack which looked delicious; bananas made in every different way you can imagine; but for us… naw.

There is one pretty good eating experience we have on one of our scooter excursions though: we happen upon a place called Steak & Shake where they serve a variety of steak dishes with milkshake or cool drink at reasonable prices. We order some kind of a steak sizzler, one of those hot metal plates. Though the steak is under a centimetre thick; it comes with potato chips and a pepper sauce and tastes good, so we’re happy.

The following day we try to find the place again but fail miserably and are sentenced to Pizza Hut again. Incidentally, several times on the main Marlioboro road, we passed by a Dunkin Donuts place, but when we decide to go there for a bite to eat it also seems to have mysteriously disappeared.

Talking about scooter excursions, we head down South from yogya one day and drive along the coast, Parangtritis and Eastwards. Though we don’t really meet with any spectacular beaches as we expected, we do journey through many villages and the landscapes and atmosphere is beautiful.

Another day we ride quite a way out of town to visit the Borobodur Buddhist temple

and the Prambanan Hindu temple.

This is a good day out. The temples are of course ancient and riddled with old base relief sculptures depicting stories of the Buddha’s life. The journey there and back is in itself quite nice, as you can see a couple of volcanoes sticking up on the horizon along the way – quite a beautiful sight.

As for the royal palace in the town, though we did not really find it that interesting over all, there are some interesting items to be found inside.

And it seems that Ebru is also quite the attraction

Right near the train station entrance there is a small bar, which is a must visit! It’s more of a shop with a bar in it, but we see they sell beer and we just have to check it out. The owner is a fun chap and he introduces us to the local wine which is drunk mixed with beer and actually it’s quite nice. He also teaches us what a “ML drink” is (and it seems to me there are plenty of people coming around for these potions).

Over all, Yogya is a good experience. If you can put up with the food or opt for Pizza Hut most of the time, it’s a worthwhile experience. What I like most about the place is that the stuff they produce here, unlike at other Asian markets, does not simply mimick popular western brands, such as Nike, Timberland or Reebok. Here everything is about Yogya – the T-shirts, the caps, the key rings – and it seems to convey a sense of pride in their own place, which I think is cool.

Before leaving Yogya, we undertake a journey for a few days to visit the Dieng Plateau, a few hours drive to the North. On our return we catch the late night train out to Malang, where a volcano awaits.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
– Top places to eat: Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts
– Travel by train. Executive seats for long journeys are excellent
– Avoid Monica Hotel if you’re a light sleeper (aside from Mon-Tue when there is no music next door)

We land in Jakarta at night, about 9PM or something like that. We don’t expect to be arriving in the most pleasant nor safe city so we’ve booked a room ahead for a couple of days, now all we have to do is get there. Before exiting the airport terminal I walk to the glass pane several metres down from the doorway and peer outside to check out the situation. I see lot of people, mainly men. I try to figure out which ones are touts and taxi drivers likely to give us a hard time, and check whether there are any obviously marked official taxi or bus terminals. We know from the guide book there should be buses going from here.

We exit with our bags on the trolley. Soon someone is approaching us; it’s a supposed taxi driver asking us where we’re going. But he could be anyone really. We try to avoid him and decline his offer but annoyingly, he sticks around. We find the booth selling bus tickets. The taxi driver is still hovering close by. The girl in the booth can’t speak English very well. I ask her how we need to get to the area our hotel is in and she suggests a bus and destination. The taxi driver talks to her and suggests another place, “Block M”. This is alarming to us – not only does “Block M” sound fictional, but does he want us to get off at some derelict location and make a phone call to ensure his accomplice is there, ready to have his way with the western couple with the rucksacks? We don’t have much of a basis to argue so we go with it and buy two tickets for 10KRp each. There’s a conductor who calls up all passengers for the various buses that arrive and I confirm with him; he seems to see no problem with what we’ve been told so that’s positive. 

Our bus leaves about 22:30. Once we get out of the airport and move along the highway traffic at snail’s place, our jaws drop. This is completely not what we expected. This city is colossal! It reminds of Istanbul – large and sprawling, large clusters of small buildings interspersed with impressive skyscrapers, massive malls, and towers. At this time of night there’s a sea of of lights washing around tall cliffs of neon signs and LED shows and huge screens running video advertisements high above the ground. What on earth was I thinking? This is not some third world jungle village but the largest city in Southeast Asia’s most populous country – 240 million people, that’s nearly as much as the United States!

The bus stops under a fly-over on the highway and we’re called to get off. Apparently this is our stop (Block M) but there’s nothing here but a fly-over and highway. It seems strange but another chap has disembarked here, so I guess it could be right. Hardly has the bus moved off, a blue taxi has pulled up in front of us. The other chap who got off the bus approaches to assist us. (Did he flag the cab for us?) He asks us our destination and assures us we can go with this taxi: it’s a Blue Bird cab and it’s the most reliable service in the city; charged according to the meter. The taxi drives us on through a rather shabby looking area and 15 minutes we’re at our hotel.

We’re relieved to have arrived with so little hassle. The Rasuna Icon Residence is rather plush.

It is a slightly pricier place (40GBP/night) but it’s only for a couple of nights and it had great reviews. Once checked in we head out to look for some food. When we asked, the receptionist said it was safe to go. We’re a bit nervous walking down this tatty street in the middle of the night, but all the people we pass seem to be smiling and friendly – even the beggars on the footbridge over the main road. At the end there’s a shopping centre with a number of franchise restaurants. Nothing small and “local” to be found. We order some rice based dishes but they turn out unpalatable. The piece of plastic in mine puts me off completely – we pay for the one and we leave. By now the other restaurants in the complex have all cashed up and we’re left with a McDonalds burger as our only option. But it’s edible.

We spend two more days in Jakarta. It’s really huge and not much a place for walking. It’s a concrete jungle: buildings, roads, vehicles, exhaust fumes, hardly a shrub in sight. Quite soon we’ve figured out how to use the “Busway”, a public bus system which runs along certain highway routes with stations along the way. It’s super cheap (3500Rp/pp) and easy to use, but only covers some main routes so it won’t get you close to everywhere. All the local people travel with it so it’s an interesting way to get around.

We visit the Lapangan Merdeka (Freedom Square), a huge monument which commemorates Indonesia’s independence from centuries of foreign rule. It’s surrounded by some impressive sculpture and inside, there’s a walk-through exhibition telling about the history of this country. People are very smiley and cheerful here. Several times we are asked to pose for photographs with some of them.

The flea market in Taman Fatahilla in Kota is interesting. People are selling all sorts of bits and pieces from clothes to bicycles to hand-crafted boards of wood and electronic components, which you can slide on to the neck of your acoustic guitar so that it then behaves like an electric.

People are also quite friendly in general, a few people request photos with us again, and we have our first good meal at one of the little food stalls.

The only annoyance however, is that there are a hundred opportunistic guitar gangs walking around the place, trying to whack out a few notes on their instruments to elicit a few Rupiahs from diners. We have a beer or two at Cafe Batavia later on, which is an old colonial building housing a bar and restaurant. It’s quite nice in there, lots of interesting old black & white photos of various famous people hanging all over.

Then we make our way back to the busway station closest to home and attempt to walk the rest of the way. Again it’s night time and we’re all on guard walking along the main road with everybody looking at us as we pass by. But it turns out people are quite friendly and it almost seems they’re glad to see you strolling by. When you ask for directions people are happy to help out. It’s not at all what I expected to find in Jakarta!

All in all, it seems Jakarta is not such a traveller friendly city, mainly due to its size, the pollution, traffic and difficulty in getting around conveniently. Finding good food also proved difficult. However there is definitely a lot going on here and a lot to discover. I’m told this city has HUNDREDS of shopping malls (!) for example.

But what I will always remember fondly about this place is its people. When coming to Jakarta I expected to be screwed right, left and centre by touts and con-men out to make a quick buck off me. And certainly I was not expecting be friendly and safe around here in the big city. But I don’t recall being hassled even once, aside from the guitar kids. Everyone was welcoming, cheerful and ready to help. It’s certainly a place I would recommend to anyone and I wish I’d been able to explore the place some more. Maybe next time I’ll find the good food too

Nearly two weeks in Thailand and our “visa-on-arrival” is expiring. A while back the Thai government changed the immigration laws so that foreigners entering over land borders only get a 14-day visa (actually it’s just a visa exemption entry stamp) and the 30 days exemption is only granted if arriving by air port. It’s a pain in the arse and I don’t know if the policy is achieving any objectives – somebody told me it was an attempt to try and curb the sex trade – aside from alienating backpackers.

Anyway, the long and short of it is we have to get out of the country. We’ve been in Bangkok for a few days and established that flights are way too expensive at the moment so we will have to go by land border again and that makes our closest exit point Poi Pet, Cambodia. We’ve always intended to go there and see Wat’s Wat in the pot and who’s who in the zoo, so we go to a travel agent ear Khaosan Road and organize another bus->border->bus deal, and at 7AM we’re on a minibus heading for Siem Reap. It’s all very straight forward – sticker on your T-shirt and all that, as with the Lao-Thailand crossing. A good Mexican hangover ensures that I have a good nap all the way to the border (see our Bangkok article).

People have some scary stories to tell about Cambodia; not just regarding its history but also about poverty and crime, so of course we were a little nervous crossing over. This is not helped by the travel agent escorting us as he’s telling us about all sorts of dangers across the border, starting with begging children flocking to pickpocket you and so on. Well, having crossed over the border, we see a few children, maybe one or two come by asking for a dollar but nothing further. In fact almost immediately after we get a sense that people are very genuine and friendly over here.

In Siem Reap the tour bus tries to herd us all into their own “Popular Guest House” but we walk off and stay in the Mandala Inn (9$US/night): clean, great staff and all beautiful massive wood inside. There we organize a tuk tuk for the next day (600THB) to take us around the temple complex, starting at 5AM until 6PM.

Note: Thai Baht (and US$ of course) are readily accepted around here so no real need to exchange cash at the border.

It’s an early start the next morning. Our rickshaw driver seems to have the oldest machine in town as it struggles to get us moving and others are passing us by with ease. But we’re not in a hurry.

Within the Ang Kor Wat complex, everybody has come to see sunrise and most people are waiting in front of the pond where the local hawkers allege that you will get the best photo shots – those with the temple reflecting on the water with the sun behind.

I’m not to keen on wrestling with the crowds at 6AM for the same snap, so we walk around and get some shots from other angles.

Besides, this way I get to enjoy the sunrise in silence than with a hundred people talking and cameras beeping around me. After sunrise, 007 serves us a nice strong coffee at his stall and we’re ready for the day.

Needless to say, it’s spectacular! 

Ancient temples, massive trees…

I really don’t know what more to say than, come and see for yourself!

They certainly don’t build stuff like they used to.

(Spot the Buddha!)

And the way that nature has gone about reclaiming its territory is awesome.

There have been various archeological delegations from Germany, India and elsewhere working on restoration projects here. There is currently a team from India working on one of the sites. The work they do is absolutely amazing: there are some placards showing pictures of some of the collapsed ruins they have managed to restore into buildings and it’s unimaginable how they managed to do it. We go to check out a couple of the guys working on one of the ruins with the Indian reconstruction team; they’re sitting there, meticulously sketching out the view of a collapsed building in every detail, from various angles, carefully numbering every piece. Really impressive!

It is heartbreaking to see how they’ve felled several ancient trees to avoid further damage to the temples, but I guess that’s the price to pay if we want anything to be left in a few decades time.

Before sunset we pick up a can of beer from one of the local hawkers for us and our driver to revitalize us from a day of active walking and sightseeing and drink it at a lookout point on a nearby hill.

We leave back to Thailand the next morning, this time we take a taxi to the border for roughly the same price as bus additional inconvenience would cost us (US$25). On the Thai side we get a minibus for about 300THB to Bangkok.

As for Cambodia, we’re sad to have spent so little time exploring. We really liked it here. Sure, you can see that many people are struggling – the poverty is extreme and history has been terribly bitter. However people seem very friendly and welcoming. On top of that things are inexpensive and food and beer are good, so you have a definite winner. May we find our way here again some day!

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE PHOTOS… – DAHA FAZLA FOTO ICIN BURAYA TIKLA…

A good sleep on the comfi overnight train from Chiang Mai and we wake up in Bangkok. Just in case anyone out there is thinking of taking this route, here’s a word of warning from the train company.

Not much time spent in Bangkok, only a few days, but what can I say? It’s a big city – impressively so! Be prepared for all the things that come part and parcel with traveling thru a big city. Pollution, traffic. Getting around takes time and money, tuk tuk and taxi drivers will attempt to charge three times the proper rate, and accommodation and food are relatively expensive too.

Though I must say that at no time day or night do I feel in any danger of being mugged or whatnot. (I think credit has to go to the Super Police.)

In the tourist district around Khaosan Road and that area there’s plenty to eat / drink / shop. Plenty of lights, night life and noise. 

If you want to do something nice, go to the river and hop on the ferry down to China Town. In the streets here you’ll be able to bargain on anything from fishing line to hair clips, sunglasses to the latest porn titles (sadly my laptop has no DVD drive so I can’t tell you much about that).

However the real hit is on one of the main roads called Thanon Yaowarat, a little further on from the White Orchid hotel. Here you’ll find several pavement restaurants, and one in particular we frequented was Lek & Rut Seafood – an absolute extravaganza for seafood lovers! 

Tom Yum shrimp soup (150THB): 

And last but not least, grilled shrimp straight off the charcoal BBQ only meters away (5 pieces 300THB !!!):  (I refrain from telling them what we’d call these “shrimps” back home as it might tempt them to hike their prices up a notch!)

A visit to the Emerald Buddha temple is a great day out.

Of course this story would not be complete without briefly discussing the question of the Ping Pong Effect: 

One night we ask some waiters for advice on where the action is and they recommend the Silom district, a few kilometres SouthEast of Khaosan. A lively place, full of bars and eateries, but mostly gogo bars, massage parlours and sex shows. Not knowing the best course of action Ebru steers us smack-bang into the middle of the gay district and we sit down at some bars for some beers. Good fun here I must say! Bit strange having the waiter blow kisses at me while I’m chatting to my wife but otherwise really good fun, and it seems the only place where they play a good variety of music and bars have a relaxed BAR atmosphere, unlike the more “lady-orientated” places. 

After that we move on and pop into a Ping Pong show – got to do it while we’re here no? Besides, I love Ping Pong! The tout outside the door tells us free entry and 150THB a beer; we confirm this with the mean mama at the counter inside and she agrees, so we order a couple of beers and sit down for the show. 

It’s not sexy, it’s not glamorous, it’s dark and seedy and the ladies aren’t exactly the pick of the crop either (skills aside) – those of them who are ladies, as half of them are clearly men with tits. Straight away some gals come over to greet us and move off again, leaving their rum-coke glasses on our table. Clearly suspicious so we move signal for the lady to take them away as we don’t want them. For the next half hour it’s all lubricated paint brushes and Ping Pong balls; nothing I could ever train my fella to do, so we get bored and decide to leave.

Mean mama at the payment counter has been tallying up and hands us the bill: 

2 x Beer 300THB
2 x Ping Pong Show 800THB
3 x Rum-Coke 2700THB
——————————
TOTAL: 3800THB! 

Of course we refuse to pay and as she threatens to call the mafia her girlfriend is straight on the cell phone appearing to make a call. How intimidating… We wave the 300 Baht in her face, turning for the door and she decides to snatch it before we head out and weave our way swiftly through the streets back to – you guessed it – the safe harbour of the gay district! Be assured that I’m not that way inclined, but if it’s going to be nights out in the smutty areas of Bangkok, this is the place for me (of course with my wife as a human shield). 

Aside from that what else to tell?

Worth mentioning is that we have managed to settle our ongoing shared-laptop woes with a day trip to Pantip Plaza, a massive PC / technology market on Petchaburi road. Now that I’m the proud owner of a little ASUS 1218, we argue less, we talk less and life is a bowl of cherries.
As Confuscius’ famously said: “Key to a happy marriage – make sure each have own laptop.” 

We have to leave Thailand in order to do a Visa Run to Cambodia, but then we return to Thailand and move Bangkok to the Southern islands. The night prior to our visa run we bump into Mikko, a Finn we met in Boracay a couple of months earlier. It’s a good excuse to celebrate and to Ebru’s dismay I don’t go to bed early but head out with Mikko and Bruno from Germany for a few drinks around Khaosan Road. Well, an innocent conversation over an innocent beer later and we’re off to a bar to do Tequila Suicides as a parting ritual…. two tequila suicides and a shared bucket of rum&coke later the Mexicans have firmly taken over the party and ensure that I have a nice, deep sleep all the way to Cambodia  the next day.
PS: Mikko if you’re reading this, we have to hook up so I can send you those videos somehow!  

One night we were fortunate enough to witness a beautiful lunar eclipse over the city.

Another night we get to ride on Bangkok’s fastest tuk tuk.

On our final evening in Bangkok, which happens to be the same evening we arrive at Bangkok returning from Cambodia, we get dropped off at the main train station, stash our bags at the left luggage counter and race straight off to Chinatown for our final Bangkok Shrimp and Tom Yum feast!

Washed down with a couple of Singhas, we’re satisfied to the teeth and board our night train for the islands in the South.

Bye bye Bangkok! 

Having said that, tourism is blooming here, particularly in a few places, and it has had a noticeable effect on the local attitude – not wholly for the better. But I cannot blame them: money and greed of course become a phenomenon, sadly, but so many tourists seem leave their brains at the immigration counter and their behaviour is just despicable. I mean, how difficult is it to figure out that it’s NOT POLITE to enter a temple in your swimming outfit; or to yack loudly and play paparazzi at the temple or stupa while monks and worshipers are deep in prayer or meditation?

>>>>>>> We interrupt this post with a personal message from the Editor: <<<<<<<
TO ALL YOU OVER-ENTHUSIASTIC DIGITAL CAMERA OWNERS OUT THERE:
(Yes, YOU with the bleebleep – whizz – click)
THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING ABOUT YOUR NEW CAMERA IS THAT IT HAS A MUTE FUNCTION….  USE IT !!!
(Menu > Settings > … there we go; see, you don’t even have to read the users’ manual)
>>>>>>> Thank you! <<<<<<<

If you’re thinking of come here – in fact if you’re thinking of going ANYWHERE, ask yourself if you’re going to RESPECT the local people, customs and culture – and if the answer is “no”, please just stay at home. Else I fear it may not be long before us falang (foleigner) no longer feel so welcome anymore.

Anyway: Our first stop in Lao after an hour flight from Hanoi is the capital Vientiane (aka Viang Chang). We’re a bit worried about the immigration process as we don’t have the 35$US exact each and we’re not sure how the 100EUR bill will split – if at all – into a visa for two people with change… Surprisingly, a young Lao lady attendant escorts us out of the immigration area, through passport control, beyond arrivals, to the money exchange counter to get the currency we need and then back through it all into the immigration section to get our visa sorted. Wow! Where does that happen??! Everything is sorted with a smile and we’re soon on a tuk tuk into the centre of Vientiane for 50,000 Lao Kip. (We’ve probably paid more than we should but we expect this as new arrivals at airports).

We check into the Mixay Guest House on Rue Francois Ngin for 17$US a night the double room (TV/AC etc). It’s not cheap but it’s clean and the staff are very friendly. Here we meet Julia. I notice her because during several consecutive trips up and down the stairwell, Julia is tucked away in a corner half way up the stairs fiddling with her Iphone and it’s rather puzzling. It turns out this is the only spot in the building she has reception. Julia is Swiss and has been here for a couple of months already. She’s a student nurse and she’s doing a placement in a local hospital through a long-standing partnership founded by a Swiss doctor some time ago. She tells us about how different standards are in hospitals here compared to in Europe, how many babies get born nd how they get delivered – interesting to know. We go out for a few dinners together and we explore the town and the temples by rental bicycle (10000LAK/day) for the next three days.

Julia, great to meet you and hope the rest of your stay was enjoyable. I’m sure you once you settle in again back at home, you will ever be longing for another chance to hit the road and experience more beautiful places afar. Let us know where you go and how you liked it.

Lao is a Buddhist country. There are beautiful temples everywhere – so meticulously built and decorated. Monks walk the streets in orange robes. They maintain the temples and temple grounds and busy themselves with their studies, generally including Buddhism and then some other subjects, depending on which temple they happen to be associated with. Mornings and evenings there are chanting and meditation rituals which are really nice to attend if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Just ask a monk whether it would be ok and then leave your camera at home so you’re not moving and clicking and bleeping around like a tit while everybody around you is in full concentration. The ceremonies take about an hour and there’s nothing much else to do but to sit and listen or meditate, but I find it a very relaxing experience and the chanting is quite different to the same ceremonies held in Thailand or neighbouring countries.

Vientiane is a quaint town with considerable French influence, as you can tell by the street name above, and therefore plenty of decent bread is available :). It’s got a very laid back atmosphere, plenty of places to eat and drink, and not much to do after midnight. Being out of blood-sucking Vietnam, we feel we’ve arrived in paradise again: people are friendly, the food is excellent and accommodation is clean and relatively inexpensive. In no time we’ve learned the local greeting (Sabaidee) and thank-you (Kop Jai). We spend our time walking and cycling around town, eating street and restaurant food, drinking Beer Lao and talking to other travelers. We have a chance encounter at a restaurant with some Dutch friends we made in Vietnam, Ben and Denise, a lovely young couple, friendly and full of energy. We plan to hook up in Vang Vieng a few days later if we can, but this doesn’t work out because of our riding schedule and we leave the place literally 10 hours after they arrive. Too bad – I hope we’ll bash into them in Thailand somewhere as I know they’ll be heading there later on.

By the way: Beer Lao is a Southeast Asia / Indochina legend and, in my mind anyway, considered a highlight of the entire region by lovers of quality beer the world over. I didn’t buy the T-shirt though.

PS: Why LAO and not LAOS? Well as far as I can ascertain, the LAO”S” comes from a misspelling in some french book published years ago and it stuck. But most definitely locally it’s known as LAO.

Also on the drinks front: Whisky Lao is not bad at all; there’s Tiger brand and then there’s a/some more refined one/s which are worth drinking. And your visit will not be complete without trying LaoLao – nuff said!

As far as night life in Vientiane is concerned, there isn’t much as far as I am able to ascertain. The last bar in town shuts at midnight and then there’s a place on the eastern side open til three or so, within a hotel complex I think – I don’t get to visit it. Tranquil as this place is, it is a bit of a shocker to see a transvestite hooker smile at your from the bar or a gorgeous young Lao girl following you on her scooter offering you a supposedly good time… sadly there is always some bad with the good, and sex tourism seems to have infected this place along with its more popular neighbours.

After a few days in Vientiane we figure out that we’d be within our budget to hire a motorbike to tour the country and we’re off around town checking out deals for motorbike hire. There’s not much competition here and it seems the guy to hire from (most convenient service and location) is Thierry from Jules Classic (Tel.+856-2097282636). It costs us US$27 a day, 10 days incl. helmets and bungees, an extra $50 for bike pickup in Luang Prabang and they store our bulk luggage for us and drop it off for us in LP during the bike handover. Passport as deposit of course. Two days later we saddle up with a reduced luggage of 10Kg on an 250cc Honda Baja and head North for Vang Vieng. (Jules Classic say they check each bike before renting, however in our case the idle and chain tension were severely maladjusted, so check you’re happy with everything before you go!)

Recommendations:
– Tom Yum soup, Lap, steamed bamboo and papaya salad – without the fish sauce.
– A good Whisky Lao, LaoLao and of course: Beer Lao
– There’s a swish boutique hotel in the centre of Vientiane (cannot recall the name) but it’s got a restaurant garden and a large bar – go there and try their LaoGria! (Sangria made with their local brew)
– Try an egg pancake from the bicycle kitchen

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF “Capital City of Vientiane”

The road to Una is in such bad condition because of prior rains that the ride becomes annoyingly slow, dusty and uncomfortable. Just after nightfall we arrive in Una and check out a few hotels for a place to sleep – the usual jive. We check in to a big government approved hotel where the room is ok. We don’t even change and head straight down to the bar for a few whiskies and a bite to eat. We watch some modified version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, which is quite entertaining. Some Indian blokes are sitting at another table smoking weed and drinking beer. Incredible India!

About 5AM, the following morning we hit the road. It’s my birthday today and this promises to be a good ride. Thankfully the road improves a few kilometres out of Una and when we reach the NH1 Highway the surface is good and we motor on at 80km/h flat out, with only minor slow-downs and a few rest breaks. It’s a bit hair raising at times as the traffic around us is unpredictable and the manouvres they try to pull off are INSANE. The best strategy is to use the bike’s superior acceleration and speed to clear out ahead of harm’s way as quickly as possible. In Chandigarh we find a COFFEE shop!!! and pull in for a rest break. We have some coffee and Ebry buys me a slice of birthday cake, which is really nice.

Almost in Delhi, a dark haze hangs still across the highway a kilometre ahead. Time to put on the rain coats. When we enter it the rain becomes so bad that we cannot continue safely, so when we we pull off, park and get under the shelter of a little tent until the rain ceases. About ten other Indians have the same Idea and we spend an hour there waiting and talking before it’s safe to move on. After a kilometre or two we’re in the dry and there is a clear dividing line on the road between the area it’s been raining and the dry road ahead. This thunder shower covered about a 3km stretch of the highway and didn’t move an inch! By late afternoon we’re finally back in Pahar Ganj and exhausted. We manage to get a reasonably priced and almost clean room in the Shiva Intercontinental hotel (600INR per night). We head into one of the hotel restaurants we checked out a few weeks before and have some food, then we head to some large seedy bar for a sundowner.

The last day we take the bike for a sightseeing tour around Delhi to see the India Gate, the parliament buidings, Lotus Temple and some ancient ruins.

We’re almost heat-struck (I think “stroked” sounds too mild) by the time we return the bike that afternoon. The bike handover works out ok but I’m cheesed off that instead of returning it to the company I rented it from, I need to go with one of his boys and return it to the guy he rents his bikes from and pick up my deposit there. They deduct 100INR for a bike washing fee but the rest is in my pocket. Oh well. Could’ve been worse. But I won’t do business with them again.

That concludes our trip in India and the following morning we’re on a flight to Shanghai. Despite the difficulties we faced we’ve had a really great adventure here. Even Ebru is not completely opposed to coming back some day. That’s Incredible India for you! First you hate it and then, if you stay long enough, you fall in love with it. See you next time!