http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/geoffandmazi/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from geoffandmazi en-us Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:17:05 +0000 Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:17:05 +0000 Scam in Laos Bus ride from Savannakhet to PakseNever secondguess We caught a bus ride from Savanakhet to Pakse. A ride that was supposed to take 4 hours and easily could have without all the stops turned out to be more than 6 hours. The bus driver and his business minded wife complete with trusty clipboard stopped constantly along the way picking up and dropping off people parcels and oth http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/South/Pakxe/blog-421327.html Making our way to the South of LaosOn the tourist trail certain people attempt to lockin fat profits in particular situations. Take a busload of tourists arriving at the bus station as an example. One thing we noticed about Laosrsquos transportation was that drivers set a price per person instead of by vehicle. When we arrived in Vang Vieng there was only one TukTuk at the bus station. Anothe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-420610.html A broken down bus on a lonely bumpy road was something we did not want to experience knowing we had a long ways to go before arriving in Luang Prabang. When another bus pulled over we did not think twice and hopped on the bus heading to Luang Prabang. After a total of 15 hours on the road we finally made it. The journey was long slow and windy but we had to find energy to search for a hotel in th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Luang-Prabang/blog-418385.html After a few days in Huay Xai we decided to head farther North to Muang Sing. We caught the bus to Luang Namtha for 55000 Kip which climbed and twisted through jungle clad mountains. Then we changed buses to Muang Sing 30000 Kip. It was a long twisting journey that passed some beautiful jungle hillsmountains and through roadside villages. The journey to Muang Sing was a really windy gravel road th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-418384.html Getting close to the border where the bus dropped us off we realized the tuk tuk drivers set a price for taking tourist to the boat. The pricey short tuk tuk ride took us to the boat launch. We got on the boat for another pricey fee and made across the river to Laos. Locals know how to cash in on tourist When we were in Huay Xai the immigration check was in a small white building handing out vi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-418377.html Flying back into Bangkok from Myanmar we decided to take it easy in Thailand. The rest of the time spent in Thailand was mostly relaxing eating and sleeping. In Bangkok the large Siam Mall was pretty much our second home. We went to the mall almost everyday and spent our time at a cozy internet cafe or we went to a really nice movie theatre in the mall. We also ate at the mall's cafeteria quite o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-418375.html We decided to do one more morning visit before we caught the overnight bus back to Yangon. We started a little later but still managed to make it for sunrise. Our horse cart driver from the day before said his brother will take us around instead which was fine by us. Nice of him to share the wealth. In the end we were glad as he chose some really beautiful places to take us. We went to the same t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-414724.html From Monywa we crossed a hot and dusty plain to Pakkoku stopping shortly for us to pick up a couple of giant mangoes. We were unnerved to see our driver enjoying a drink or two with his meal. Along the road we were stopped twice to present passports so the immigration police could jot down our details. At Pakkoku a Myanmar couple wearing neat western clothes and both carrying cellphones invited http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-412836.html We were up early and ready for our scenic tour for the day. Si Thu greeted us at the guest house with the driver he had already arranged to take us. We quickly grabbed a quick bite of bean plata roti and a cup of milk tea at the tea stand in the alley next door. A good kick of caffeine from the strong milk tea and we were ready for a noisy rumbling tuktuk engine. It was a very interesting ride http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-412807.html We went back to Sagaing Sa Gai for a different kind of experience to teach English on the suggestion of our driver from Mandalay. We visited the school on our original trip to Sagaing and learned that nine monks had started the school which teaches primary and high school. The students are mainly local children and young monks living in a nearby monastery. Some of the students are from other pr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/blog-412766.html A few days in Monywa gave us the opportunity to see the daily life of Myanmar citizens as well as check out some interesting religioustourist sights. The first night in Monywa we went for a nice stroll down Strand Rd alongside the Chindwin River. Despite the dusty walk it was still a really nice sunset. We finished off the night having a creamy bowl of real icecream at the Cold Drinks Shop nea http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Monywa/blog-412770.html Almost immediately after arriving in Pyin U Lin we got sick so we ended up staying six days resting. Because it was several thousand metres above the plateau where Mandalay is it was much cooler and less dusty. The temperature was a lot more enjoyable. There are a few hidden gems in Pyin U Lin. Meaning yummy delights We found an Indian restaurant called Family Restaurant which served really go http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Pyin-U-Lwin/blog-412525.html The progression of the road work was impressive most of which was done by hand. We went out on another excursion at 730am and the workers were already starting the day and when we came back around 530pm the workers were just finishing. Long hours for only making about 3000 khats US 3 as we were told. We commented it was not very much the response we received was the job does not pay much but http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay/blog-411866.html Mustache Brothers was listed in the Lonely Planet as a comedian group that at one time enjoyed some freedom practicing political satire. However after some stints in jail and in labour camps the main actors only do their shows in English for tourists these days. The group consists of 3 brothers and their wives who were activists for democracy and some of the commentsjokes are related to the sit http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Mandalay/blog-411751.html When I hear the name Shwedagon Paya I think of a massive temple with lavish decor. Large diamonds the biggest one is the size of my fist and rubies crown the tip of the really high gold pagoda. Many people come to pray pay respect to the Buddha or just to get away from the stress in their lives. There are many monks who relax and meditate. Even some monks can't resist taking pictures of the gra http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Yangon/blog-411735.html When we arrived in Bangkok we applied for our Myanmar visa. It took us awhile to decide how to apply for the Myanmar visa because there was a protest that began the day before we arrived. We ran into a man while searching for the office and finding a place to stay. This man was from Myanmar and worked for a western company as a reporter. He gave us a heads up about the protest and answering our q http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-400172.html After all the great adventures in Malaysia we decided to head straight up to Phuket Thailand for some relaxation. Phuket doesn't speak for all of Thailand but it is an interesting environment I guess you can pretty much do whatever you want there. Shops malls night markets boxing beach massages bars and more. After a few hours out on the busy streets older man and young woman as well as l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-398814.html We caught a boat from the main pier in KK to the busy port Island of Labuan for a short stop before catching the next boat with no AC or outside airflow yuck to Brunei. When we arrived in Brunei we found that there wasn't a money changer or ATM and we needed to catch the bus into town. A Swiss couple who Geoff had previously met at Mt. Kinabalu had already offered and paid for us. Later we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Brunei/Bandar-Seri-Begawan/blog-400165.html After our wild adventures in Borneo we flew to Johor Bahru on the mainland. We only transited through this city so we didn't get to see much. It is a crowded but clean city and bus stations are full of touts. We have finally got some experience in handling touts at the bus station. We took our time walking down all ticket counters which are all packed together where the counters are literally a sm http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Melaka/blog-398813.html We arrived in Semporna after the 10 hour journey from KK feeling a little stiff and a little bewildered but the sweet receptionist from Billabong Divers was waiting for us at the bus station to take us further into town not far away. We got a short glimpse of town which is not really very appealing. It's a pretty rough place and not exactly what you would expect inviting you to one of the top 10 d http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Sipadan/blog-393916.html