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Published: August 23rd 2008
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Today I discovered not everything is so good when traveling alone.
Right now I'm back at bangkok after the longest trip of my life. After I said goodbye to Andre and Catarina I left Luang Prabang at 8 in the morning in the so called VIP bus which was actually a crappy bus which you no longer see in a civilized country. To make it worse, the bus was full, the air conditioned was weak, the bus driver wasn't such a good driver and a Laos woman vomited the entire trip. And when I say the entire trip I mean the whole 11 hours it took us from Luang Prabang to Vientiane, I think she vomited 2 liters or so. The scenery was beautifull but through the mountains you'll be lucky to find a straight road for more than 5 meters. Also the driver does not stop for anything or anyone and in Laos anything can be found in the middle of the road. Buffalos, pigs, chickens, people, buffalos, broken cars, cyclists, motorbikes, bufalos, etc. So its quite an adventure.
Then at the end of the trip I was expecting to see a capital city: Vientianne. Instead I was droped in
a bus station in the middle of nowhere - vientianne. So I just thought to myself 'Since this is already a bad day why not put the rest of the trip in it as well?' So I just picked a taxi and told him to take me to the border, he did. When I got to the border it was already dark. Somehow in the middle of great confusion and many Laos people that dont even no what 'yes' means I managed to get through and get in a bus heading to Bangkok at 8 oclock at night - this means 11 more hours on a bus. However this bus was great. brand new and I had 2 seats for myself and the road was good. Slept the whole journey and arrived at Bangkok at 6:30 a.m. So I was tired, dirty, but proud of myself - the hard part was done. Rushed for the place where they sell tikets to the islands (by the way I am quite a bangkok expert now). When I got there the bus had left 30 minutes ago! So now Im waiting until 9 p.m. to get the next one. So I found myself
alone in Bangkok with two backpacks (yes! my cargo has duplicated itself! (Grande parte culpa do Andre que se decidiu casar daqui a uns dias)). So what do I do at 6 in the morning? Go to my favorite place in Ramburttri road. A guest house where you can stretch yourself in some seats/beads, eat and drink, read a book or watch tv. So I ate something and finished my book and slept a few minutes - 3 hours gone, 10 to go. then I was feeling quite confident about myself so I just thought 'Lets go downtown and see a Thai mall'... what a mistake, it was hot, my things were heavy, so I headed to the neares park and just waited for the sweat to dry off. Then I went to see some more stuff but few minutes later decided to just return to Khao San and wait for the time to come, and after watching a bit of the diving competitino for the olympics I started getting sleepy and decided to come and write to se if I could wake up (ITS WORKING!). So I will keep writting more...
HEY! NO ONE IS BEING FORCED TO
READ THIS GARBAGE! :P
Anyway I think I made it, I just have to be awake a few more hours and then just let them take me to paradise.
I just received mail from Laura (the super funny german girl I met in Chiang Mai) and she's also going to Samui tomorow! So I think it will be fun since Maja should be there also.
However I feel a little bit homesick as the guys bak in Portuugal are initiating the usual Holiday week at Geres and I wont be there this year 😞
(Vejam la nao deem cabo do stock de coca colas e 7ups e tudo que existe este ano!)
(E os velhotes que nao se metam em muitas aventuras na montanha e fiquem -se pelas do vinho verde maduro branco e tinto que sao bem mais da sua especialidade e o organismo ja esta imune a desgracas oriundas do nectar)
But I am here and I will have my fun also! So for the next days the plan is, just stay in a hut near the beach, rent a windsurf board and chill out. Maybe in the last days i'll go to Ko Tao which
is an island close to Ko Samui where a diving experience might be waiting for me but once more, we will see as it goes.
Regarding Laos:
Its both good and bad at the same time. It is very dificult to travel in Laos. Along the road there were many wholes in it due to storms and rocks falling from the hills. The buses are all old. the boats arent any better: slow, old an disconfortable. However in this place you really feel you are in a completely diferent reality. I dont know if Laos is considered a 3rd world country but it sure looks like one. Apart from Vientianne you can see that the Laos people live in huts spread through the mountains. They sustain themseves m not really sure how but there are chickens and cows all around and loads of rice. But you see loads of kids on the streets with no clothes and asking you for food. I dont think they starve but Im pretty sure they have a hard life as you can see them working a lot for ther parents. However I felt preety good in Laos and would like to go back
someday.
Regarding Thailand:
I have now learnt a lot about thailand. This is a country specialized in tourism. Averyone on the street is linked to tourism one way or another. Before you come here you should talk to someone who has been here. There are loads of tricks that make you trip faster and easier:
-Everything should be bargained for.
-Never trust anyone trying to sell you something
Even when they are not trying to sell you something they might not be trustworthy. there is a comission system in Thailand where people who draw tourists to some places get comissions for it and the tourist normally gets ripped off.
-Always ask for the price of something before taking it.
-Traveling in Thailand can be extremely cheap or extremely costy.
-Almost everything and every trip can be bought just before using it our making the trip. You should never prebook anything no matter what people say beacause most certaintly you will be ripped off.
My trip is going quite well and in budget but I have witnessed some pretty good scams.
Normally thai people are nice but thei also already have a rip the tourist off chip inplanted in their
brain, so I dont think they really do it with full conscience, it is just normal.
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Voltinhas
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Gerês
Well, this time we only take 4 hours, yes, 4!!!! to arrive Senhora da Peneda e Soajo, departing from Manuel Pires!!!!! So as you see we tried to catch you there ... And as usually, coca cola is finished for two days, and this time we carried there all the wine (just in case)...