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Published: December 26th 2013
Last time when we tried to leave Thailand we found no any train running. The government had decided to skip all trains, because every now and then a train was derailing somewhere in the country. Moreover we expected big anti government demonstrations in Bangkok. So we left Hua Hin, the city where we live, early this morning with a minivan.
Once in Bangkok everything turned out to be quiet. No crowds in the streets, no whistles, no flags, no yellow shirts, no angry faces and even no traffic jams (which is quite unusual). We never ended up so quickly at our destination. The other side of the coin was that we had to face six hours waiting at the Hua Lamphong trainstation for our train bound to Chiang Mai. Yes, there were trains indeed. After three months train traffic opened up again, though on the first day a train derailed already.
Bangkok Waiting at the Hua Lamphong station is not too bad. Everywhere are shops and little restaurants. From a restaurant at the first stock we have a view over the central hall. It is full of waiting people. Monks with their orange robes have a special place.
In the middle is an exhibition about the king and his family. Around are obscure offices. Thai signposts let us know what happens inside. Unfortunately we cannot read them. Inside men are sitting around a table talking and surrounded by shelves stocked with hundreds of heavy folders.
Our train leaves at 8:30 pm. We have dinner at the restaurant wagon. Through a little window we can see the kitchen where cooks with their white bonnets are busy, stirring with large spoons in steaming kettles. Meanwhile we pass the lights of Bangkok. After dinner we go to our beds. After some reading I switch my light of and fall asleep on the rhythm of the train.
Chiang Mai Late in the morning we arrive in Chiang Mai. Luckily we didn't derail. We find a cheap hotel in the center.
We have been in Chiang Mai before. It is so different than Hua Hin. More sophisticated, I think. We buy nice silver rings and visit Wat Mahawan along Tha Phae street. Linda asks a monk inside if she may take a picture of him. The monk smiles and blesses her with ceremonial water, while whispering words, which will
stay for always a secret for us.
Next morning, a monk blesses the owner of the restaurant at the same table where we have our breakfast. Buddhism is part of daily life. When the kids leave in their school uniforms, they bow for their father. It never occurred to me myself.
We joined an excursion to nearby Doi Inthanon Nature Park, known for its birds and beautiful nature. But we saw only a waterfall, a ricefield and two pagodas, called Naphapholphumisiri and Naphamethanidon. Oh, and we were on the highest top of Thailand, which is 2565 meter and very cold. It is not so easy to get a good nature excursion in Thailand.
Chiang Khong We had the idea the bustrip to Chiang Khong at the border with Laos would take 4 hours, but it turned out to be more than 7 hours. The road is fine, meandering across the mountains, covered with forests and now and then some rice paddies.
In the past you could cross the Mekong River by longboat to enter Laos. It has changed since this week. We are one of firsts who cross the river by the Mekong bridge. First
Hotel Sabaydee in Houay Xai (Laos)
Our room has a view over the Mekong. you have to take a tuk tuk to cover the seven kilometers from the village to the bridge (100 Bath pp). After passing the Thai customs a compulsory bus takes you for 30 Bath over the bridge. At the other side of the Mekong you pass the Lao customs. From there you take a tuk tuk to bring you seven kilometers back to Huay Xai, which cost you again 100 Bath. Crossing the river by boat must have been quicker, cheaper and definitively more romantic.
Huay Xai Once you have crossed the Mekong river the world looks completely different. Right away in Huay Xai communism is mixed with Buddhism and the remnants of French colonialism. It makes a very nice blend together. Red flags with hammer and sickle hang from the balconies of old colonial mansions. Now and then monks in orange robes are passing. Our room at Sabaydee Guesthouse has a view over the Mekong.
When we walk in the evening across Huay Xai suddenly a young European woman shows up. She is talking about her homestay, run by Mountain People and about her project to support Lao women. Suddenly I realize it is Lara. She
is Dutch and last year we met each other somewhere in Bangkok. So that evening we drank a beer at her guesthouse, which is also a restaurant. It is a wonderful meeting place for travelers and volunteers from all over the world. (Lara Picavet, e-mail:
projectkajsiablaos@gmail.com).
The Mekong River We are early to buy tickets for the two day boat trip over the Mekong to Luang Prabang. (By the way: it is not necessary anymore to buy pillows as we did. The hard benches are replaced by soft benches which came from an old autobus.) The boat would leave at 11 am. But Lao are not that precise. We left at 1 pm.
No sooner our longboat had left the shore of Huay Xai than a heavy thunderstorm came over us with blizzards, torrential rains and a strong cold gale from China. More than 70 passengers in the narrow boat see the Mekong changing in a whirlpool of waves, rapids and maelstroms. Soon the situation becomes that dangerous, that the shipper has to steer the boat to the shore and fix it.
After half an hour we can continue, but the rain, the wind and the
coldness stay. We have the choice to see the Mekong or to let down the canvasses at the sides. We choose for the last option. For six hours we are sailing without seeing anything. It is 7 pm and completely dark when the boat is still on its way. There is not any light aboard. Even no spotlight at the prow. I wonder how the shipper can find the direction between the rocks in the river. Any moment we can crash.
Pak Beng It is still raining when we arrive at Pak Beng, a little village. It is a big chaos when everyone tries to find his luggage and leave the ship. Outside stands a open lorry. The man shouts the name of a guesthouse. Linda and I climb in the lorry, happy that we can leave quickly. But the man wants to have more people. Meanwhile the rain is pouring down on us. When the lorry is half filled everyone begins to shout. The man is shouting back, as if we are cattle, which is on transport to their stable. Finally he brings us to his guesthouse. But we don't want it anymore and walk to the
guesthouse next door, the Santisouk guesthouse, which turns out to be absolutely fine.
The Mekong Part 2 The second day the weather is better, but there is still this icy wind from China. The canvasses are up and we can see the river at least. All day we see forested mountains at both sides of the river. Cliffs and boulders rise up out of the water. Now and then there is a settlement.
The boat is overcrowded. More than 100 people are inside. At 5 pm the boat stops, not far out of Luang Prabang. We do not know why. No one knows. Finally it becomes clear that the boat does not go any further and that we have to take a tuk tuk to do the rest of the trip.
Luang Prabang However heavy the trip over the Mekong, Luang Prabang is absolutely rewarding. We have a nice little guesthouse in the center and close to the nightmarket, called Pakham Guesthouse. As a World heritage Site it has beautiful colonial houses intertwined with gorgeous Buddhistic temples. Most of all we are struck by the French atmosphere.
Next morning we have breakfast at one
of the terraces along the Mekong. Afterwards we visit the beautiful Wat Suwannaphumaham, walked along the river to Wat Xieng Thong, which is even more beautiful. ( I don't know how to describe this in English, but you can see it on the pictures).
The day after we visit the Royal Palace Museum, where king Sisavang used to live up to 1959. At the corner of the complex sits Wat Ho Pha Bang which houses Pha Bang, the golden Buddha after which the city is called. But the temple is closed.
Vientiane The bus trip to Vientiane takes 10 hours across a mountainous landscape, which is covered up to the highest tops with the green of low trees. Along the road grow gigantic orange colored grasses. Near Vang Vieng the mountains get wonderful shapes, where the white of the Karst shimmers through the green of the forest. Now and then we see paddies with cabbages and other vegetables. Near Vientiane the landscape flattens.
I never expected a Belgian restaurant in these surroundings, complete with Tin Tin watching you while you are eating 'Watergruwel' and drinking Maredsous, Leffe or La Chouffe and listening to Jacques Brel. It
proves how international Vientiane is. But foremost it is French. Everywhere are French restaurants which offer Croques monsieur, Escargots, Grenouilles and lots of delicious wines. The only problem is you have to pay for it.
Back to Thailand The way back to Thailand is quite easy. We take a tuk tuk to the train station at Tha Na Leng, where also the Lao customs are. The train runs in 15 minutes via the Friendship bridge over the Mekong to Nong Khai in Thailand. As soon we step out of the train we meet the customs. At the other bank the train to Bangkok is waiting. Everyone is smiling again, the trademark of Thailand.
We have a two persons sleeper cabin for us alone. Even with a sink. I admit it is first class. Not so backpackerslike. We leave at 7:30 pm. While we have dinner in our cabin we pass Udon Thani. Next morning we arrive at 6:30 am at the Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok, where we have breakfast. The station is full of demonstrators which prepare themselves for what would become one of the biggest demonstrations in Bangkok. But before that was going to happen
we had left the city already on our way to our home in Hua Hin.
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belgisch bier
Ik heb je reisverslag weer met veel plezier gelezen. Laos lijkt me wel een erg mooi land.Het Belgische restaurant was wel heel toevallig met de chansons van Brel. We hadden ons al afgevraagd of jullie last van de demonstraties tegen de regering hadden gehad.