All aboard the night train

Last night I went from Ninh Binh to Hue (Hwe). Instead of taking the tourists' bus (nowadays taken by locals too) I went by train. Vietnam's Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City railway crosses most of the country. It covers about 1700Km in a slowish day and a half. I decided to take the Ninh Binh-Hue part of the trip by train because, according to Lonely Planet, this is the part that gets the most complaints and it is a nice way to meet local people. The price is more expensive than the bus, as the only thing cheaper than the tourists' bus is walking. Seriously. They get commissions from the hotels and restaurants where they drop the passengers and the fierce competition make the price unbeatable.

I bought a ticket for the lower bed in a hard sleeper cabin. Each cabin has four to six beds in two rows, two to three beds one above the other. The lower the bed is the cheaper the price. Although I had a sleeper cabin, I found out that "hard" means almost no sleep at all. The bed is a metal plate with a thin mattress on it. I had to use some of my clothes to pad pressure points. The ride is quite noisy and not so smooth. In addition there was an annoying whisper low song repeatedly playing that didn't help much. Under the lower bed there is a box for storage, so you can be quite sure that as long as you sleep on it, no one will be able to open it. As a result I was at least calm about my luggage.

The morning started around six AM, when the train stopped, so everyone could buy additional food to the packed bun and tiny water bottle handed in the train, and brush their teeth. Of course, food can't be eaten without some music , right? After an hour of further sleeping attempts his majesty finally rose and met the people sharing his cabin. One elder guy spoke and wrote English quite well, so we managed to have an interesting conversation. He knew quite a bit about Israel and admired our country. I wondered whether to tell him that we are not that great these days and ruin his image of us. He is a writer that write poems (forgot the word...). I found out that the annoying song was a small device he had, with a small figurine of Buddha attached to it and a speaker sounding Buddha's name, chanted by some monks. If I would have known I might have taken the batteries out... or not. Next there were a mother and a son, traveling to Danang. They didn't know much English but you don't really need much to play rock-scissors-paper-needle(?!) and listen to how they pronounce Vietnamese from my brand new photocopied phrasebook. They were very nice and bought me sugar canes as a parting gift. When I went looking at the rest of the train, I met a fourteen years old girl (I didn't know she was fourteen, I swear!), who was brushing her teeth at the moment. She came to my cabin (I didn't make her, officer!) and we had a nice chat. She reminded me how it is to be a child, where your opinions are very black and white, the future seems bright, you are full of enthusiasm about many things (Am I getting old or what?) and blue is your favorite color and not pink (This might mean wrong things about me. I'm talking about her here, ok?). She also knew English quite well but was very apologetic when she didn't find the word, which is expected, but my efforts to convince her not to apologize were in vain. Heck, I'm the same.

So in all, in was a lovely experience. I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading to my soft sleeper bed at the hotel right now.

Hanoi, not so bad after all

Hanoi was my first encounter with Vietnam. It was quite harsh and unkind. But a few days, on and off Hanoi, helped me to reveal its sweet spots. The nice cheap spots to eat, the tree covered boulevards, the peaceful corners and even nice people, wishing to practice their English.

Hanoi center's street are according to professions. The street shops usually sells whatever the name means. Fortunately, on my last hour there I discovered the candies street! The next day I had a candy party. Needless to say, my belly didn't like the idea of so much sugar at once (Nothing happened, other than a bad feeling)

I see dead people

Today was my Ho Chi Minh day (When I say day I mean the part of the day when I still have the will and power to visit monuments, stand in queues, etc.). I started by visiting his mausoleum. The poor guy's last request was to be burned, but instead someone thought it would be better to display his body for the pleasure of the nation and tourists. So yes, my day started with looking at a dead body. Splendid. The place itself is heavily guarded and you can't blink without someone giving you a nasty look.

Then it was already too late. The whole complex closes up at eleven AM and, although I woke up early, I managed to arrive quite late. So until everything opened up again (except the mausoleum), I went to the Temple of Literature. The place was the first academy built in Vietnam, almost a Milena ago. For me it was a nice place with nice buildings and gardens. Even though it has traffic around it, the place manages to be a nice relaxing green spot.

After that I went for lunch at KOTO. Staring at the desserts of the neighbour table, started a lovely conversation between me and two Australians women, mother and daughter, Jennie and Sophie. They have been traveling in Vietnam for three weeks (if I'm not mistaken) and are about to finish their visit and go back. They are from Melbourne, as four other Australians I met on my Halong Bay tour (a story not told yet). So when I get to Melbourne, I have many nice people to visit. I had a great time and great food, and time just flew by.

I picked myself up and walked back to the guy I started talking about. I went to a nice area around the presidential palace where you can see the places where Ho Chi Minh worked and lived. He was a modest guy, my kind of guy. I was looking for his personal toilets, as nature didn't let me the option to be too interested about anything else. It took me a few minutes to realize that the noises of traffic were absent, so I stayed for a while next to the lovely pond.

My next stop was Ho Chi Minh museum. "Unfortunately" time flew by next to the pond and I arrived to closing time. Bummer...

On one of my walks I noticed a familiar flag on a building. The area is full of embassies so I stumbled upon mine. I took my camera without thinking and two seconds after that I was trapped under five men, elite unit trained and armed to the teeth (The real story is sooo boring, but ok. Each place is guarded by some Vietnamese. One of them saw me and just blow his whistle. All of them are armed with it).

Know One, Teach One

Today I had a great lunch (with a price tag), and at the process made a nice contribution to other than my belly. KOTO

The movie of my life

Kathmandu was a kinder garden compared to Hanoi. Yes, Hanoi has sidewalks, but they are used to park motorcycles. I don't think I've really seen people in Hanoi walking. They just go on their motorcycle between places. They even park inside their home!

I'm trying to follow Lonely Planet's instructions for crossing the road. Basically "don't panic" when traffic is coming directly at you. I just walk and look at the upcoming traffic, increasing my speed when they veer behind me and stopping when they horn.

This far I'm still alive. But the movie of my life did pass in front of my eyes more than once. Since it has become quite long, and the next screening here might be five minutes away, I started watching the trailer instead.

Potentially the biggest upcoming event

My best friend Micha and his girlfriend Dana are coming to Thailand around when I'm planning to be there. If we'll manage to meet it will be absolutely fantastic!

Oh great! - Health information

Harvest mites, from Wikipedia. Quote: "...the mites are considered a dangerous pest in East Asia and the South Pacific because they often carry scrub typhus..."

South East Asia on a shoestring book's doctors claims that Doxycycline, the pill I take as a malaria prevention, helps in preventing this Typhus. I'm crossing fingers on this.

Gooooooooooooooooooood morning Vietnam! (It was inevitable)

Or maybe not? A new country always takes time to get used to, but I think this time it will take a bit longer.

I arrived yesterday morning to Hanoi. Getting from the airport to the old quarter and finding a hotel went smoothly. We picked a guy on the way who pushed us hotels. I ignored him. But other people on the street don't let go so easily. Everyone wants a piece of a cake that it's you, and they won't let go so easily. Yesterday I did a mistake to look at the books one guy was selling. I saw he had a Vietnam Lonely Planet for a ridiculous price. Luckily, I've already seen a very cheap offer in Laos, so when he showed me the book, neatly wrapped of course, I quickly recognized that it was a photocopy. So I thanked him and went on my way, but he didn't let go for the next two minutes, following me. It ended up with a nice juicy "F$%# you" in my direction.

Traveling in Thailand and Laos made me accustomed to eating on the streets, where the food is cheap and the company is local. I had a couple of nice places the last two days, in one even I got a how to hold your chop-sticks properly lesson. Nevertheless, today for lunch the "waiter" gave me an outrageous price for a dish. I didn't understand what the dish actually was, but it seemed too much for street food to me. I went the nearby restaurant, which has a menu with the prices on it, and they were much cheaper! And I'm talking about a restaurant here, with all that applies. Of course that they tried to rip me off at the end too, but it was just a matter of checking the bill. I had the means to check that.

The whole thing is part of the package of traveling to Vietnam (Thank Racheli for this phrase), but I believe it will take me a few more days to get used to it. Maybe it is also because of the gloomy weather right now. The sun just didn't show up in the last two days.

Tomorrow I'm going on a three day tour to Halong Bay, UNESCO world heritage site. At least now nature will have it's say too, which is unbiased, no matter what color of skin you have.

Bye bye Laos!

That's it. Tomorrow morning (too early in the morning. I would call it night basically) I take a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, and make a final farewell to Laos. Summaries will arrive later. But prepare yourself for the inevitable and overused introduction to my next post.

Private lesson



Yesterday I met Phithonn in Wat Si Saket. He is from Phonsavan, but he lives now with his aunt in Vientiane. He studies about computers and programming during the week, English in the weekends and work (I forgot in what). He asked me to come with him to his aunt's place to help him a bit with his exercises. So here I was, trying to warm up those gray cells again.

We worked for a few hours. The language was a barrier that didn't make it easier, but somehow we managed. He had an old programming environment (Borland TC++), which made me remember how it used to be in the old days.

His aunt invited me to have lunch with them. Her family was very nice and generous, although they didn't know a word in English (One of them speaks French. Doesn't help me in this case.). They invited me to visit them when I come back, with my wife ;-)

Dedicated to the recent, expected and future newborns among my friends.

Sorry, Hebrew post!

מילים: מאיר גולדברג לחן: רמי קלינשטיין מהיום שהיא עוטפת את גופו בזרועותיה עד היום שהיא נופלת על כתפיו היא אומרת לו מילים שאת פישרן הוא לא יודע אבל איך שהוא אוהב שהיא לוחשת לאוזניו תינוקי, ילדי הקטן שים את ראשך בחיקי אמא שלך תשיר לך שיר שיר אהבה תינוקי מלאכים שמים בלילה את ראשם בין הכנפיים אפילו הם ממהרים אל החלום ואפילו הפרחים סוגרים ריסים ועפעפיים גם לך הגיע זמן את העיניים לעצום תינוקי, ילדי הקטן... מהיום שהיא אוספת את גופו בזרועותיה עד היום שהיא רק דמות בחלומו היא אומרת לו מילים שאת פישרן הוא לא יודע הוא נרדם כשהוא עטוף בשיר הערש של אמו

Personal feelings

Parts taken from a response e-mail to a friend, making me think a bit about my trip and writing it down.

I try not to determine anything in my trip, but the Australian visa forces me to do so. Even though I have limited visas to South East Asia(SEA) countries, most of them can be extended easy enough (as long as you got the money, they got the rubber stamp... from LP).

Unfortunately, I believe I will have to skip NZ. Shoving it now will force me to run over SEA and I don't want this trip to be like this. Using all my sixth months in Australia will probably leave me without money for NZ, and still, I will be about 2-3 months before the season in NZ starts.

The trip is great, but not everything is chocolate and roses (or something). I am used to be a passive traveler. With my parents I didn't care of a thing, but I don't remember a thing too. But here I have to take care of the logistics of traveling, which can be a pain in the ass sometimes. For example, bringing expensive electronics makes me miss a beat here and there. The more you have the more you have to worry. I mean everything is basically replaceable and not a great loss, but still it does add some stress. At least Laos made me travel a lot, so I go through the drill of packing and preparing everything for the road better. I take all the expensive things with me, not inside the bag that goes up on the roof of the bus. I lock everything, not that it will stop a thief, but at least it might make him look for an easier target.

Another thing is the fact that you can do whatever you want. The options are endless and you have to decide what you prefer and what not to. It made me do two things: The first really listen to myself and try to do what I really want to do, and not all the things that appear in a book. If a certain place has amazing caves everyone recommend, but I rather sit and listen to music, that is what I will do. In such a trip you can overuse yourself quite easily and you have to take some time to relax too, especially as I'm not energetic as I used to be. The second is to acknowledge the fact that everywhere you go there are tons of things to see and do, and you don't have to see them all. Some of them can be left for another trip, or just skipped. And nothing bad will happen.
Basically, normal or not, I don't miss home so much. I think that in general, I'm occupied with other things to think about it. I am very excited when I get e-mails from my family or you guys. I always like reading them and they bring up smiles and memories.

I get to meet fine samples of young and older people from out country, definitely not giving me a good reason to come back. Not to generalize, of course, there are very nice people too.

I did find that I miss something when I tried to explain a pattern of behaviour that I do. I've found out that I like staying in a certain place for a period of time, and going to the same places for meals. Because I think it makes the place familiar and creates something regular. I think that I actually miss the comforts of regular life, staying at the same place, and not worry about where am I going to sleep tomorrow. But after a while I get a thorn in my butt and I move on :-)
The reason for my trip is much more simple than a "must" trip. I don't expect it to change me in any way or make me a better person or something. I didn't have a strong need to do it or else. I did it just because of timing. I saw you guys starting to work and I asked myself if I want to start it now, or wait a bit. I have 30 years of work ahead of me, but now I don't have a job, no studies and no relationship. So it just looked like the perfect timing to make a go for it, not knowing if I actually like it or not. And I still don't know. I usually understand things looking back, not while at it, or when someone puts a mirror in front of my eyes. Someone told me to enjoy the freedom, and I didn't get it the first minute. But I think she meant the fact that I do whatever I want whenever I want, and that's wonderful. Though I don't think about it on my day to day life here.

For now I am a bit indifferent about Asia. I absorb experiences (and food, I really like food tourism :-) ) and even developed an opinion or two about local life and tourism here, maybe even taking something back home with me, but I don't think I will replace the comforts of modern life with it. I miss my hobbies :-)

Small mistake

Apparently I did a small, tiny mistake here. Vietnam has a little bit more than 60 million people. It has about 82 million. Big deal.

Laos trail, last days

first part

2-3 Jan - Staring at the limestone karsts
4-6 Jan - Climbing course, a.k.a "What the hell was I thinking??"
7 Jan - Resting and staring some more
8 Jan - Arriving to Capital city, Vientiane.
9-10 Jan - Hanging around Vientiane, local sightseeing and resting(?). I forgot what else, other than play some bowling
11 Jan - Wat Si Saket, the oldest temple in Laos
12 Jan - Visiting Phithoun and helping him with his computer programming homework.
13 Jan - That's it! Flying to Hanoi, Vietnam.

The new year - Death cab for a cutie


so this is the new year.
and i don't feel any different.
the clanking of crystal
explosions off in the distance.

so this is the new year
and I have no resolutions
for self assigned penance
for problems with easy solutions

so everybody put your best suit or dress on
let's make believe that we are wealthy for just this once
lighting firecrackers off on the front lawn
as thirty dialogues bleed into one

i wish the world was flat like the old days
then i could travel just by folding a map
no more airplanes, or speedtrains, or freeways
there'd be no distance that can hold us back.

Why you have to go and make things so complicated?

Before arriving to Vientiane, I was worried about the numerous arrangement I had to do before going ahead to Vietnam: Extend my Laos visa because I'm stretching my time, get a Vietnam visa and book a flight as one world traveller told me the bus ride to Hanoi was a nightmare.

I guess I was used to the rest of Laos, and not to Vientiane (read the previous post), because in less than five minutes, a flick of a wrist holding my magical golden plastic card and the last two were taken care of. Extending my visa took about ten minutes at the immigration office, some money and an hour of their work to take care of the first.

So now I have a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam (114USD + 3% extra charge for using magic in public + 10USD expected departure tax) and I have to wait three working days for my visa (45USD), plus one spare day I took just in case. So my flight is on my original last day in Laos, before extending it a bit to be on the safe side. On a second thought, maybe it was worth paying more for a one day visa procedure, saving the guest house and food costs for two more days. Too late...

Culture shocks

Vientiane is very different from the rest of Laos. The dirt of roads replaced by the pollution of cars. Instead of motorcycles, it is full of cars, especially brand new pickups and some European cars, like Mercedes and I saw even one Mini. On the way from Vang Vieng I saw many car stores, with huge displays. Like other poor countries in the world, a few people got very rich very fast, and Vientiane looks like their playground.

Back are the Thailand like mini marts, but better, with fresh baguettes, a huge variety and even Lindt dark chocolate (99%! Costs like a night in my guest house, 5$). The difference and problem of Western style life is striking after being away from a big city: You have so many options, but, on the other hand, you have to contemplate more, making a simple life more confusing.

What more? Traffic lights, a huge variety of restaurants and even one skyscraper, blue lit during the night. Prices are higher, forcing me to walk quite a bit to find my local places, where I can eat for more reasonable prices. In contrast, some products' prices are a bit low, as it costs less to bring them here. Guest houses remind the ones in Bangkok, demanding you pay each day in advance and with many posted signs, stating a lot of do's and do not's at their perimeters, as bad experiences with the 'party tourists' have probably taught them. I went to one place recommended by the Lonely Planet book, but it was full. I checked the place next door, where two good humored women from the staff captivated me (anyone can spell F.O.X.?) and rooms that were very clean, though small, were enough to make this place my roof for the next days In Nepal I started picking a place also according to their staff, even if the place is not perfect, but I forgot about it in the last month...

I met a girl who just came from Bangkok, so for her Vientiane is so peaceful. For me it seems like a noisy place compared to what I had until now. Go figure...

In a few more days I will experience my next culture shock. Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam are what I call the "60 million countries" as their population is around sixty something million people. Laos, on the other hand, has only about six million. One digit, huge difference. So I'm heading to a 60 million country again. Yikes!

Vang Vieng - To visit or not to visit?



Before coming to Vang Vieng I've heard a lot of people avoiding the place. They told me the nights are quite dead, if you are not into watching endless reruns of Friends. Sure enough, I don't really like the place too. There are lots of restaurants with low tables occupied by red-eyed people, watching Friends (This phenomenon has just made Friends a TV series I might never watch again. The Simpsons, showed in one place, can not become one. We love you Homer!). That means that my places to eat are limited. In addition, the place is full with other "kinds" of tourists, I am not really fund of. As in Bangkok, you have the showing off, loud, wear almost nothing, party tourists, here for a short time to have fun, conveniently ignoring the local culture.

Nevertheless, I managed to spend a week here. The secret is finding a nice calm place, away for the big mess (unless you want part of it), with magnificent view and a balcony to watch (photo upload somewhere in the future when I'll have broader bandwidth). I've found a couple of places to eat, where there is no television, so I didn't watch any reruns of Friends. I also went rock climbing for three days, which took a considerable part of my time, other than reading my book and listening to music.

Now I only have to decide whether I move on tomorrow or the day after, knowing it is the ending of my visit to this country and the beginning of a new one.

Rock climbing course - day 3



On this day we practiced multi-pitching. When you climb long stretches of rock, you rope might be too short. Therefore climbing is done in parts, or several pitches. The leader climbs the first pitch, attaching the rope as he goes. At the pitch top, there is anchor, to which the leader attaches himself. Then he starts belaying his partner. The partner is now secured and climbs a regular top rope climb, except that his belayer is at the top. After that, both climbers are at the same anchor and the process repeats at self to the next pitch. Going down is done as in abseiling, where you go down on your own without a belayer.

Practicing on ground the procedure at the anchor took us most of the morning. Then our guide split a grade 5 climb into two pitching by creating an anchor at the middle. The other two guys practiced it and it was already time for lunch. After lunch I went up with the guide. Initially I didn't want to lead after the previous day's experience, but the first pitch seemed easy enough so I decided to give it a try. Important note: It always looks easy when you look at it from below. It is a completely different world when you are actually climbing and your field of view is quite limited, so you don't see all possible hand holds and foot holds.

And so I lead the first pitch (nerve racking!!!), attached myself to the anchor and got the guide up. He led the second pitch and I followed. Initially I didn't believe I could climb it, but I guess I started to get a bit the hang of it. The stress created by your legs is sometimes enough to keep you standing on 'impossible' ledges in the rock. Relieved I went through the whole procedure again and started abseiling down, stopping on the way for a photo. When I touched mother earth's soil, I released the rope, sat on my knees and kissed the ground.

The other guys continued leading and climbing other grades but I was content for the day and settled with just watching and clapping hands. So, I had fun this day, which is a good way to end the course.

Rock climbing course - day 2

Today we did leading. While the two guys with me went leading on grades 5a and 5b, I went on grade 4. It made me realize that what I need in a rock climbing course is how to climb, not the basics for five minutes and then a swim in deep water. While the other guys were improving, me, an old dog, did the grade 4 again and it was still hard as the first time. I also know from other sports where safety is important (e.g. diving) that building a confidence is a very important process. An initial bad experience can make people hate it.

In addition to that I have a sore throat, so, combined with the tension, I felt pretty bad before my leading climb.

Leading a climb is much more intense than a top rope climb. You have to concentrate on your moves and be more careful about them. There is nothing to the feeling of attaching the rope into another bolt in the wall. So I can understand the thrill people get from it. But there is a fine line which separates thrill from suffering, and I was more to the second.

Therefore, in general, I felt quite miserable today. And then I managed to forget all that, and registered for the third day as well, somehow thinking that more climbs would be nice practice. Even more than doing nothing and watching the cliff just stand there. But I have no intention on leading tomorrow. It is too much for my current confidence level.

Rock climbing course - day 1

I can sum this day like this: "What d'f#$% was I thinking to myself?!". Instead of starting climbing on a climbing wall I went today straight for the rocks. I think I should find places to run for physical activity instead...

I am sitting now, bruised, cut, scratched and battered. I've done three climbs out of five and, for the first time for a new kind of sports, I am not enthusiastic about it. When I reached the top, instead of feeling "Yeah, I made it!" I felt more like "For the love of Buddha, get me down, NOW!".

After getting the basic climbing instructions, we started by climbing inside a cave. We had two climbs, graded 5a and 5b (I think it's the French grading system). I imagined climbing as something same as walking up, but with your hands. But the first one, graded 5a, had a crack in the middle, so you had to hold one leg on one side of the crack and the other leg on the other one, not exactly what I had in mind. The second one, graded 5b, ended at the top of a stalactite hanging way above the ground(!). The only way to reach it was to push yourself off a stalagmite, placed about 30-40cm next to the stalactite .

After lunch I was dead tired but we had three more climbs to conquer. This time on a wall of granite. It is much sharper than the limestone the cave is made of, but less slippery. I started with the hardest one, 6a. Climbing should be mostly leg work, but in this climb most of the work was based on hands. I managed to climb the beginning quick, arriving with exhausted hands to the real difficult part. Climbing uses underdeveloped muscles of my hands. As a result I had to take four rests before I barely managed to reach the top, exhausting the guy securing me with the rope too. After standing back on soil, I barely managed to untie my shoe laces, and gave up on the rest.

On a serious note, it was very impressive to see the height I've climbed, but I didn't feel exhilarated. Comparing it to other activities, maybe the fact that we went on these climbs first, which weren't easy for me, were discouraging. I need to start on easier climbs, building strength for the task at hand (pun intended).

The course goes on for two more days. Common sense knocks inside my head and tells me to stop. But my curiosity for knowledge and trying new things ignores it. Therefore I read a bit about what we are going to do tomorrow, leading. When rock climbing you can climb using a "top rope". That means that you climb and the rope secures you if you fall. But how does the rope get there in the first place? Someone, the really first person, climbed and dug bolts into the walls. When a pair climbs, the first climber takes the lead, attaching the rope to the bolts as he climbs up, until he gets to the topmost point. Then the second climber collects the carbines used for attaching the rope, but he does it secured by the first guy. The thing is, that if the lead guy falls, he falls the distance to the last secure point + that distance again as the rope is not secured. Ouch...

See you tomorrow! Hopefully in one piece... ;-)

The art of seasoning - A beginner's guide by a beginner



My regular breakfast, more or less, is a bowl of noodles soup. It usually contains noodles (duh), which come in about three types (Not colon on this keyboard) thin, broad and something in between, a few vegetables, meat, tofu and some broth. The broth is rather tasteless, mostly boiled water. So here drops in the seasoning. Before starting to eat the soup is seasoned and tasted to perfection (ok, to a better taste). Therefore here's a short guide for dummies about what I know. Other than that, the best thing is to go to a locals' stall and eat with them, watching what they do. I once saw a woman having a soup with a totally different color than mine.

The options are
Fish sauce - Made in Thailand, usually with a squid photo on it.
Soy sauce
Chilly sauce - Sometimes even two, a mild version and a sweet version (the one you usually eat with spring rolls)
Sugar, salt
Dry chilly powder
A nasty smelling fish paste - Don't even think about it
Piece of limes
Live chillies - Handle with care! Yesterday I accidentally touched one of my eyes about half an hour after finishing the soup and I couldn't use that eye for next half hour.
Greens - Lettuce, beans and mint leaves.

The tools for slurping the soup are a pair of chopsticks and a spoon.
Bonn Appetite!

Travelling in Laos - Complaint time, and the inevitable comparison to Nepal


1. Although traveling is not as hard as I expected, it does take quite a while in Laos. A journey starts early in the morning and can take several hours. Being a long person, it usually leaves me in quite a tired state, rendering the rest of the day for any other activity other than resting.

2. In Nepal there are two major locations, Kathmandu and Pokhara, which are a base for most activities. Therefore you just need to travel from Kathmandu to Pokhara and back. There are other places to visit of course, but for me the longest ride was between the two. The trip in Laos, on the other hand, and the next countries, is a journey around. Therefore a nice chunk of it is done travelling. The good thing is that now I go through packing and preparing food supplies for the way quite fast. Another good thing is the views and the experiences you have while traveling, like sharing food with people. The bad is that the 30 days visa to Laos is ticking (It can be easily extended but I have another, not flexible visa waiting for me, Australia) and I have to pick my picks.

3. The holiday season.

4. The cool season

Beer Lao (and other unavoidable alcoholic beverages)



It is unavoidable, the T-shirts are everywhere, here comes Beer Lao!

Beer Lao is produced in Lao. I was about to try and work my mind a bit to recall what I know about it, but why bother when I can have another bottle you and refer you to here? It is quite good and very cheap, around a dollar (less in a grocery store) for 640ml. It is a big problem for me as alcohol and me don't mix most of the times. So I keep consumed amounts low. And no, I have no intention of buying a T-shirt, advertising it here is a must because it is part of the experience, but advertising it on a T-shirt is too much for me right now. Anyhow, what else is available?

Dark beer Lao - I haven't tried it yet.
Lao Bia - The only other legal beer in Laos. It is made out of palm sugar and had a sweet taste to it, or that what I vaguely remember. It has an antique looking label, written in French.
Lao Lao - The local produced whisky, made out of sticky rice. It comes in different percents in volume, as it is not scientifically produced in some factory. I can smell it, which says a lot about it (not too strong) and it reminds of the Japanese alcohol drink, Saki, also produced from rice. Almost every trip you'll book will include with a visit to a Lao Lao producing village.

Wedding season - review

I just read yesterday that this is actually the wedding season, no coincidence. I just forgot the exact dates, except for the fact that no weddings at February, the month of the dog (I hope I got that right)

The Laos trail

A short recap of my Laos adventures till now, because the long version is too long for now. Ready, set, go!

15 Dec - Crossed the border to Huay Xay, slept there.
16 Dec - Rickety bus to Luang Nam Tha
17 Dec - Enjoying the silence
18-20 Dec - Nam Ha Forest camp trek
21 Dec - On to Nong Kiahw, but didn't make it. Stuck at Pak Mong for the night.
22 Dec - Arrived to Nong Kiahw and took a boat to Muang Ngoi Nuea.
23 Dec - Said goodbye to Christa for now and enjoyed the silence. Managed to have one hour of hammock time :-(
24 Dec - Walking to the villages around with Zack and Shanon. Met Ivona and Jiska, whom I met on the Annapurna trek in Nepal and in the rafting trip. It is a small world after all. Merry Christmas.
25 Dec - Long long but lovely boat ride to Luang Prabang.
25-29 Dec - Luang Prabang. I met Christa again and we went to see Kuang Si waterfalls (recommended), and up Phu Si hill. The days go too fast...
30 Dec - I said goodbye to Christa yet again and headed to Phonsavan.
31 Dec - I visited the plain of jars with Luke and Valerin (surprise, surprise, from Switzerland, same as Christa) and had a new year's/agency branch opening celebration.
1 Jan - I arrived to Vang Vieng.

Happy new year!

I wish a happy new year, health and happiness to my family and friends!

I celebrated my new year in a cold and gloomy place in Laos, Phonsavan, which is a base for tourists visiting the plain of jars. Nevertheless, in the guest house a new travel agency branch was opened. Therefore, for this new event, a big party was held. The Georgian new year's was added as a party reason (because the official Lao new year is around April). The guests and me were invited. There was a lot of food (I happened to see the exposed innards of a cow(pig?) before it was BBQed) and too much drinks. The Lao kept on pushing the drinks and so at a certain point I had to just touch my lips to the drink instead of actually drinking. After a while it was too cold and I had an early bus at 7:30, so I thanked the host and quickly sneaked to bed. A liter of water prevented a bad morning afterwards, but made the toilet a busy place during the night.