Nong Khiaw - 27-28/01/2009

Check out the wad of cash in the guy in the yellow t-shirts hand!!!

Mist! Yep it was cold - a nice change

Nong Khiew

This is the boat that broke down - the one we ended up on was not much better!

To mix up my methods of transportation I opted for the slower and more scenic route up the river to Nong Khiaw... this proved to be a blessing and a curse! the blessing was that it was STUNNING, sheer cliffs, low water levels, some rapids made for a dramatic landscape. The down side was that the first boat we boarded had a few engine problems. We had an Israeli mechanic on board who was trying to tell the driver that we were not going to make it up the river with the engine in its current state - it was cutting out every 5 minutes. Each time we stopped which was every couple of minutes the engine would be taken apart and put back together and then started again. Eventually after two hours of this we were off loaded into another local boat going in the same direction and sat on the rice bags - a considerable more comfortable experience! Since this was not the booked boat we did not stop for food and only went ashore in need of a toilet break.
Nong Khiaw was worth the side track as it was a nice slower pace of life and much more Laos than the more common tourist route between Laung Prabang and Vientiane - needless to say I did a whole lot of wondering around, visiting caves that were used as shelter during the way. generally smiling a lot and divulging yet another book. It has been such a long time since I have had the freedom to just read, and read what I want that I am really enjoying it.

Laung Prabang

I arrived in Laung Prabnag as the markets were being set up - this night market is such a beautiful display of local textiles, lamps and magic - it is a truely enchanting place. One in which I spent many hours wonderinh around and of course buying my compulsory scarves.
I am sorry for the lack of photos for this part of the trip - eveytime I insert my ememory card into the computer it tells me I have a virus! Oh joy... the photos are still on the camera so I am hoping it will be fine once I get home.
I spent a day relaxing around Laung Prabang, checking out the daily ritual of the monks to collect thier daily food from belivers at 6am - it is a truely magestic sight and it is well signposted in the guesthouses and tourist areas what this tradition means to the locals and how we as travellers can preserve it and show respect. I have found this remarkable in Laos the amount of eco- tourism and am warmed by guesthouses implementing solar power and large water containers for gusets to fill their water bottles. It is wonderful to see a country trying to keep its natural beauty.
I spent a comsiderable time in a local bookshop where the proceeds to go writing and publishing books for Laos children and developing local libraries. There are so few books written in Lao and many children are illerate.
I have formed a great friendship with Xavier from Spain and we meet in the evenings to have dinner and chat to other travellers. In Laung Prabang there is a great 5000kip vegetarian buffet which is a complete traveller magnet, you meet so many wonderful people and spend the evenings laughing and learning about the rest of the world.
My final day in Laung Prabang I headed out to a beautiful cascading waterfall and took the very steep route to the top - but it was well worth it the views were amazing!
I could get use to taking showers at the base of waterfallls, although a little fresh it is such a beauiful matural way to cool off. The final evening was yet another vegetarian buffet before heading to Lao Lao garden bar which is beautiful set amoung the trees wth candles and fairy lights everywhere - if NZ wasnt so wet this place would be such a hit!

Vang Vieng

I was a little unsure of what to expect from Vang Vieng given that it is known as party central in Indochina. It turns out I had a little love hate relationship with the place and the people it attracts. The bars that line the river, the rope swings and bikini clad women is obsene to the local Laos people and when the tuk tuk arrive in the evening full of 'tubers' they can barely walk and are commonly found in almost ever bar in the English speaking world.

My first view of the tubing experience was by kayak. i chose to do a one day caving and kayaking tour and we had a great time, although the river levels were really low making for a very slow relaxed kayak down the river. It did however mean that we could get into a 3km cave through a mountain floating on tubes with flash lights. It has been a while since this outdoorsy side of me has come out and I have to say I have missed it - so watch out everyone at home as I will be organising all sorts of adventures to explore and experience beautiful NZ :) Met some wonderful people yet again on the kayak tour who I ended up hanging out with for the evening and next day.

Booked myself in for some climbing the next day and i was sensational - this is definetly something I am going to keep up when I get home. Am also thinking about changing my plans for Thailand so I can make it to Krabie and climb.... trouble :)

Vientiane

Traditional Lao medicine for sale outside the temple

The mighty Mekong

The night bus from Pakse was a very uneventful affair - although of note they did have fully flat beds and because the bus was not full I had the space equivalent to a double bed all to myself!!!! Needless to say I arrived in Vientiane not too grumpy. Since we arrived at 6.30am all of the guesthouses were booked out from the night before so Xavier and I walked a little out of town to find a room. It was a very simple room but a room all the same.
Vientiane is quite possibly one of the most chilled out capital cities I have ever been too. Together with the large French boulevards, french bake houses and their welcoming smells and river front restaurants this is one nice city.
I had heard from a lot of travellers in the south that the north of Laos is exceptionally cold at this time of year so I headed to the local market and invested in a hoodie, a long sleeve top and some track pants - but I am happy to say all of which I would wear at home so it was not a complete waste of money. I am not entirely sure where my first day in Vientiane went to... spent some time hanging out and exploring with Reuben, then met up with Xavier in the evening for what can only be described as a feast at one of the local riverside restaurants. Vientiane is also the first place in Laos where i have encountered 'lady boys', prostitutes on the street corner wearing next to nothing and women generally being more revealing in their dress showing their shoulders and wearing considerable amounts of make up. Shops are scattered in designer labels and accessories are big - there is even a shop designated to playboy and Levis (what a combination!)
Although the city was nice I decided that it was a one night affair as I still really wanted to get up north. The morning of the 21/1/2009 was spent sight seeing the Pha that luang which was absolutely beautiful in the midday sun. On the way up to the wat I walked past the patuxai which is the Lao equivalent to the arc de triumph (well from a distance anyways - up close it it not that impressive and barely finished).
I opted for the local bus trip that afternoon up to Vang Vieng... this was not as bad as I expected. Having my bag strapped to the roof of the bus was a little unnerving but all good. There was a bush toilet stop and regular stops in the middle of what seemed to be no where for people to hop off and on the bus. It was an interesting insight if nothing else.

Welcome to Laos

A local villager in Tad Lo making thatch

Shower time

Me on my moto

Sunset over Si Phan Don

The magic the is the Mekong river in Si Phan Don

So after a full day of travelling and spending 2 hours on the side of the road waiting for another bus because our bus blew its engine to get to Streng Treng (the closest town to the Laos border) I was in desperate need of a shower and some food before the early morning start to cross into Laos.
Boarder crossing was a very uneventful event apart from the waiting around for the Laos bus to pick us up. Arriving in Si Phan Don was a welcome treat to the hectic travel schedule of the last couple of days. I stayed on Don Det which only really exists for tourists and there are bungalows everywhere! I was nice to get up sit in my hammock, read my book, have a coffee then head to the waterfall and 'beach' before heading back to the hammock. It was a great introduction to Laos and although I didn't meet any Lao people, apart from the owner of the guesthouse I was in, it was great just to sit back and relax. But as I am sure all my friends and family know I am not very good at doing nothing so after two nights of completely unwinding I got back on the boat and bus and headed up to Pakse. The morning I was due to leave I started talking to a guy who had come down from Pakse and he recommended that I spend some time on the Bolaven plateau which is littered with waterfalls. So after a last minute change of bus ticket I found myself checked into a room with three guys that I had met at various locations in the last couple of weeks. Reuben, Vincent and I (American, Dutch and Kiwi) hired some motos and took off on the 'loop'. We stayed in Tadlo which is a very small town surrounded by waterfalls and stunning scenery. Reuben is from Aspen (Colorado) and so we both took up up the rivers, rock hopping and swimming in the rivers. It was great to hang with someone who grew up with the same sort of adventure seeking outdoors attitude.
Stopping in Paksong for some famous coffee was spectacular as there was a coffee roasting workshop going on when we were there so the smell of freshly roasted coffee was insatiable.
I don't seem to be able to upload photos at the moment - so you might just have to bear with me while I sort out whatever problem is going on.

Phnom Penh again...

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A day and a half of catching up on things - updating my blog for all you beautiful people - having a wonderful time with Will and Sara - and seeing some of the sights and sounds of PP. I started this leg of the trip meeting Sara in the guest house in Siem Reap and it seemed appropriate that it ended with the two of us again heading in different directions. It has been nice to lose my travel companions one at a time instead of all together as it has provided a different dynamic with each of them.
Obtaining a Loas VISA in PP was an interesting experience - I cant say i have ever felt coming out of an official place like an embassy that I could have bribed or negotiated the price of the VISA - well this is exactly how i felt leaving the Laos embassy yesterday.
Today Sara and I woke early due to a bear - also known as a very loud snorer residing next to us in our hotel room, after the ritual morning coffee we hunted down a street food stall for our last Cambodian breakfast and I am pleased to say to was delicious! A spot of market shopping was in store before the somber experience of heading out the remember the dead or the Pol Pot regime. this was a personal reflection that I do not want to write about hear - so if you are interested feel free to ask me at a later date.
An afternoon at the glittering royal palace before hours and hours trying to get this blog up to date. I have actually enjoyed the time to sit and write and remember what has been an amazing three weeks.

The end of the PEPY ride

I thought it appropriate to end this section of my trip with a series of photos of sunsets from around Cambodia - enjoy!

Kep - 9-10/01/2009

Chhuk to Kampot - 8/1/2009 25kms or the scenic route 80kms

So yes you all guessed right - I took the long scenic route down the smaller orange dirt pot holed roads! I had a blast!!!!!!! I am so hooked not only to tour cycling but to off road cycling that I am contemplating buying a new mountain bike when I get home - that would make 3 bikes... is that excessive?

The ride was stunning and the adrenalin was going as I was flying down the paths dust everywhere with a lot of stops to take some snap shots of the scenery.

Cambodia is a strange place to cycle in as it is incredibly flat but there are not many alternative routes to get from point A to B meaning that a lot of the time you are on the main highway - and since it is one straight road it is not that interesting.

As part of the scenic route we stopped at some caves and were taken around by some kids who all spoke at once trying to point out the animal looking rocks through out the caves. I was more excited by the limestone faces of these mountains that appeared from no where out of the Cambodian countryside! I miss the mountains...

The road into Kampot was long straight and hot. Lucky the guide, Will and I knocked it off then waited for the rest of the group while downing sugarcane juice and eating fried bananas.

We arrived at the next guest house positioned right on the river called the Mango Tree only in French to find an absolutely stunning resort with bamboo bungalows - into the river we all went still in the Lycra - thankful for to have our hot and tired bodies fully submerged.

We ate in a beautiful hut over the river and then retired to the bar where we found out that the bar tender had left the boat driver in charge who had no idea how to make drinks - so Sara started pouring ours - CLASSIC

Chhuk - 7/1/2009

Due to the food poisoning and complete lack of fluids in my body I put myself on the truck in the morning with the other sickies! This was a very responsible health move on my behalf and I was quite proud of myself - usually my stubbornness and determination would have made me get back on that bike and make sure I rode each leg of the trip.

Once arriving in Chhuk we took a walk in the sweltering heat into the market to try and find some goodies for our friends who were cycling this 125km day and boy was it a hot one ! All we managed to find in the market was a slap on the bum from one of the seamstresses which took me quite by surprise.

Indulged in a glass of sugarcane juice to take the edge off the heat - damn this stuff is good! We met the only foreigner in town who was a peace core placement from Texas who we promptly invited to out BBQ dinner later that night.

Everyone was so hungry was they dismounted the bikes that waiting for dinner was like a strange torture game especially as this meal was like a Korean BBQ where you cook yourself - also strange given that there are so many vegetarians in this group.

The riding group had been up for nearly 12 hours before they managed to roll in the guesthouse for the evening - have decided that long distance tour cycling in a group is not a particularly functional thing as the fitness and speed levels of the participants differed so much so we were strung out along the road for miles making it very difficult to keep track of people! We are also pushing big fat mountain bike tyres due to some of the dirt roads we have wandered down making cycling down the highway HARD work! This was a day that I was glad not to have cycled and was really proud of myself for making the decision I did as I now felt 100%

Phnom Penh - 4-6/01/2009

So we rolled in from the countryside and were confronted by the tourism complete with all the foreigners, beggars, tuk tuk drivers etc. I was just glad to be at a hotel with hot water and with enough time to take advantage of the laundry service! We headed out to a beautiful tapas style restaurant and ate our way through tastes, flavours and combinations that had become so strange to us all in the rest of Cambodia where we were eating a staple diet of fried egg, noodle soup, fried vege, fried noodle and fried rice :)

A couple of the group headed out to try the PP night life, however I opted for a little bit of quiet time and some time updating my blog for you all as I know I am so far behind!!!!! I am determined to have this thing complete before the next part of my journey begins :)

On the morning of the 5th we had a NGO visit that was founded by a couple of Americans one of which we met who was originally a chemist and set out to provide clean water at low cost to the developing world. Several of the larger Aid organisations such as UNICEF dig wells but do not check the quality of the water and several of their wells in Cambodia have been found to have high levels of arsenic - cleaver! Not only that they use technology that no one in the community understands, nor do they consult about where to dig a hole. So when the pump breaks the community expects the person who put it there to come a fix it - so now there are thousands of wells in Cambodia that do not function.

The NGO has developed a very low cost clay pot that filters the water and is made from all local materials except silver. The organisation has trained Khmer staff such that now they are no longer involved in the production, quality control of sales of the filters - it is brilliant! They also provide training when the filters are sold so that people know how to clean and manage their filters.

This place has an amazing array of projects from raising pigs on rice husks to reduce the level of parasites found in them and consequently their human companions - this has proven to be very effective and odor free!

They are also doing wonderful things with goats.

They have taken public health messages and turned them into Karaoke songs that tour around in the back of a van.

They have a production studio on site that is doing interesting work developing Khmer tails in such that they contain a message - although I disagree with this message due to the fine line with religion.

Our guide spoke of the concept of forgiveness and how outwardly many Cambodians seem happy but they have not forgotten about the wrongs committed during the Pol Pot regime and subsequently want revenge, find it difficult to forgive and are not processing the events of the past.

The afternoon was a well needed free afternoon - caught up with a bunch of admin duties before catching up with Claire and Dan for a wine and cheese pizza evening - that subsequently resulted in food poisoning in such that for the next twenty four hours I spent a total of two hours vertical and awake!

Went to another NGO restaurant that evening - there are so many great establishments providing training, raising awareness and fundraising for all sorts of causes - it really makes me think about what places like this we have at home and how I can support such great initiatives!

4/1/2009 - 100kms into Phnom Penh

Alanna chowing down on some rice, coconut and beans steamed in bamboo at the rest stop on our ride.

Sunset over the river in Phnom Penh

The main highway into Phnom Penh :)

Some of the stunning countryside that I had to stop and absorb along the way


We rolled out of Kampong Chnang as the sun was coming up and there was some apprehension as to what the 100km day would hold given we had people who had been down for days with sickness and aches and pains. Our biking leader Lucky said we would ride the 40km to a rest stop where we would re group and then ride the rest of the way through the back roads together. Well after 58kms and a couple of turning back on ourselves we were convinced we had gone to far we reached the rest stop. People were a little grumpy as they hadn't stopped for drinks, sun cream re application or toilet stops. It was a rather event free morning and the hip was feeling good probably due to the number of preventative pain killers i had taken in the morning.
Once people had rested we headed off down the back roads which was just beautiful - it was so nice to ride as a group off the hectic main highway inhaling pollution all the way. We took up the whole road and the the villages came out to greet us with their amazing smiling faces and the constant echo of hellos.
The ride was wonderful and you noticed the energy change as we rolled into Phnom Penh - the hustle and bustle was upon us not to mention the numerous foreign faces!
After a much needed shower and the depositing of all my clothes in the hotel laundry we headed off in a tuk tuk to watch the sun set over the river. Josh one of our tour leader knew a great place across the river and a gin and tonic proved to be a wonderful cure after a days cycling. the sun set was amazing with a couple of the great people on this trip. I was wearing my green t shirt that says home with a picture of NZ on it when a lady across the bar yelled asking if i was a kiwi - of course I yelled back in what is the strange immediate unity you have when you discover someone of the same place as you., she had been living here for 8 years and loves the place - I can see why - she gave me a rose :)
For dinner we headed to a tapas style restaurant 'Friends'. This provides support and training for streets kids and not only is it a great organisation they have sensational food! after a rather bland and constant diet of fried rice, noodles and noodle soup over the last couple of days the taste sensation was a welcome change.

3/1/2009 Kampong Luung to Kampong Chnang 60 kms

This was a beautiful ride somewhat tainted by an increase in the pain in my hip that made the last 15kms very uncomfortable. It was however great to see many of the group that had been previously bed bound with sickness back on their bikes. That afternoon the group visited another NGO GERES (spelling) who are working on sustainable and efficient wood burning stoves to try and reduce the impact on Cambodia's forests and offset carbon footprints of companies. This sounded like a very interesting project that I was unfortunately in no state of mind to join. It was a night around the table of story telling as Rity told us his family's experience of the Khmer Rouge - interesting in that many Cambodian families do not openly talk about this part of their lives and there seems to be a sense of if you don't talk about it it will go away and so will the pain. we quizzed him about the role this period in history plays in the education system and I am sorry to say that it is minimal. The wounds are raw and justice and forgiveness and far from being found.

2/1/2009 - Pursat - Kampong Luung 30kms

Cows eating rubbish at the local market

Jen, Jess, Lucky and Lindsey at the floating village protest

The sign of the Cambodian government doing the local villages out of business!

The most beautiful small girl getting her first bicycle

Traditional Khmer drum lesson!

So this was a huge day full of many stories... and it all started at breakfast :)
Alanna''s old student is now working for Sustainable Cambodia and is living with a local family who run a road side noodle restaurant where our smaller group from yesterday chowed down on some traditional Cambodian noodles in a coconut broth - delicious! We were late to our meeting point with Sustainable Cambodia due to needing to hunt out the morning black fuel coffee - however once we arrived at sustainable Cambodia we were still early on Cambodian time - love it :)

We headed out to one of their villages where they are implementing some sustainable rural development and educational development strategies. We hung out in a kindergarten, rice bank, bee farm before heading back off down the orange dirt track to make out music appointment where some local children were learning the traditional music of Khmer - needless to say given the above photo i got right in there with the drums.

Our next appointment was giving away bicycles to the poorest children in the community so that they can get to school. Although I do not believe that hand outs are in anyway sustainable the joy on the children's and parents faces at receiving this vital transport link was worth it :)

It was a frantic pack up at the hotel and loading the bikes again before heading off to the next stop Kampong Luung which was a leisurely 30kms down the road. Several of our team had been taken down by gastric problems, flu and fever so we were a much diminished group with the rest piling into a truck for the journey. I was a nice speedy ride and we were warmly welcomed by the hotel owner with free coconuts - since I am not a coconut person usually, in face I avoid it - I might just be starting to like them. Or maybe its the fact that I now associate them with sitting in a hammock in the shade :)

This afternoon we jumped on some motos and headed out to the Tonle Sap to take in the floating markets. The road out to the lake shows a real insight into life out hear and is quite frankly revolting in that it is littered and smells. Once at the port we were in mid negotiation with some of the local boat owners when a man wearing a striped shirt came out with a big blue sign - see above. he informed us that as of yesterday there was new government regulation that stipulated the price of the boat trip so that local people could not charge their won price. It also stipulated that local boat owner needed to possess a license to take foreigners out onto the lake. we had twelve people and were not allowed to take a 15 person boat even if we paid the price of 15 people, we tried to recruit our Khmer moto drivers to make up numbers but then stripped shirt guy told us that local people could not go with us - well we had had enough of this obvious underhandedness and dived up the money we would have spent on the tour to spent at the local shops. It was a great way to reinforce the community and not let the government get away with such behavior. Our local guide Rity was amazing and translated out reasons for boycotting the boats and used one of our voices to express his own opinions - it was a great stand and several of the local community came up to him afterward supporting him and our decision! Go us

This night we stayed in what can only be described as a hotel with hot pink satin sheets that belong in a porn movie and very damp rooms - we were glad to leave the next morning.