Oop North; Thailand, Laos and Vietnam

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I have to admit it, I have become incredibly lazy since being out here. When I have particularly nothing to do, that's exactly what i've been doing. When I have time on my hands, instead of being productive and writing on here. Even when everyone else around me is writing in journals, blogs etc I still find myself just sat there chatting to people, listening to music, reading or, of course, sat at the bar! And because of this, I now have the task of updating this for the past month and a bit. It will be hard to remember everything, but luckily my camera will help me if my memory can't.

On my last night in Bankok, I went to a bar where 2 middle aged thai guys were playing blues music. They were playing Clapton, Buddy Guy and of course, Jimi Hendrix. After they finished I got chatting to them and they said the next time i was in Bangkok to come back to see them and I could have a jamming session with them. They were great guitarists, both of them equally good at improvising solos while the other kept the rhythm so I think I will be able to learn alot from them.

I travelled to Kanchanburi after Bangkok in which I vistited the Bridge Over the River Kwai and the Death Railway, as well as a few waterfalls and elephant camp. I spent one night on the river in a floating guesthouse and the next day I visited the Hellfire Pass Museum. This was really interesting as it showed the British prisoners captured by the Japanese and forced to build the Burma-Thailand railway during WWII. It was something I had never known about and was very fascinating to see, especially the pictures and videos they showed in the museum.

After Kanchanburi I left to Ayutaya on the train. This was the ancient capital of Thailand and has many Temples etc. I dint expect to arrive at 11pm and be greeted by 6 French people pretty much being held against their will to drink with the Thai lady who worked at the guesthouse, but to be fair, the French are alright! I ended up travelling with 2 of the girls for about 2 weeks or so as they were going the same way as I was. We went to Lop Buri the next day which is a town full of monkeys, and they were literally everywhere! The day after we got the motorbikes out and went around the city, seeing the sites. The girls had also brought some old toys and crayons etc that they were going to give to children instead of just throwing them out, so we found a small fair that was set up for children from the nearby school and offered the toys then. We must have looked pretty dodgy at first but the people who set up the fair quickly understod and gave us our own stall to give the presents out and then loaded us up with food and beer, it was a good night.

the next day we headed north to Sukhothai. This again is a beautiful town with Temples and ruins all around, although there was not much else to do around here so we stayed 2 nights and then headed up to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is a large city in Thailand. The old City is surrounded by the old City Wall but has expanded much wider from here. There is a good night life in Chiang Mai aswell and isn't as busy or hectic as Bangkok so I really enjoyed it here. I spent one day here then went on the Jungle Trek the next day. This was a 3day 2 night trek up the mountain ranges and through the jungles just North of Chiang Mai. I had quite a decent group, a few Essex boys, an Irish lad and 3 Americans. The trek was really hot druing the day but luckily we stopped at a few waterfalls throughout and was able to cool off, and that waterwas absolutely freezing so it was just what was needed. That night we stayed near the river in one long hut, it wasnt the most comfortable sleep, but our Guide, Anthony (the Irish lad) and myslef stayed up drinking so I was able to sleep quite well after that! The next day we did the same, a long trek up the Mountain to the second highest peak in the area, then stopped the night in a local village. Again, we were sleeping on slats of wood with a thin duvet as a mattress so wasnt the comfiest of sleeps again, but beer and a mixture of Rice wine made by the locals helped out! The next day was another trek with a bamboo raft at the end. the Rafting was good fun, I fell of the raft trying to get a bottle of whiskey thrown to me by the locals on the side, I succeeded, but when i truned around there was a big tree trunk in front of me and there was only one winner there!!! we finished the trek with an 8m jump intothe river, which looks alot higher at the top than the bottom!!! That night I met up with the French girls again and everyone from the trek and we went out for drinks, a great way to finish in Chiang Mai as I was off to Pai the next day.

Pai is a small town just north West of Chiang Mai. It has a really relaxed feel to it, there were a lot of hippies and yoga freaks around (sorry to anyone who likes yoga, but these guys were really 'spiritual'!) but it still had a good vibe, I think the football pitch and the bars were what sealed it for me though. I met up with a lad I'd met on the islands and a few other people and the next day we rented the bikes and went for a drive. We found a really decent road about half an hour outside of the town which cut through the hills, it was a great driving road and the views were amazing. it was on this journey that we decied to camp out one night while we were here. We found a hut for the rice farmers that was set by a stream and some trees and thought it was perfect for it. That night we rallied up some more troops at the riverview bar and were set for camping the next day.

We arose to some weary heads and people contemplating dropping out, but thankfully, we got the equipment needed and set off with 7 of us. We figured we would find food and beer at a town nearby when we got there, we did not expect to encounter 4, yes 4 flat tyres!!! Mine was the first to go, I couldn't believe it was happening again! I had Simone on the back, a dutch girl, and so I got it fixed and she went on the back of Oli's, 10 minutes down the road, he got a flat! so again we swapped and I got another and so swapped again and surprise surprise, another flat. We were less than half way there and we were getting nowhere fast. Me and Ol had the same bikes from the same shop so we blamed that, not the driving skills or Simone she'll be glad to hear! ha. We found a shop to fix the tyres and in the end, we made it just as it was getting dark. We then went for a trip to the local town to get the food, beer and whiskey. We returned with 2 crates, a bottle of Sangsom, 3 fish and a pigs leg complete with trotter, oh, and crisps. We cooked the trotter for an hour or two and it was the best tasting pork I have ever had. The skin was crispy, real good crackling and the meat was so juicy, and it fed everyone. It was only 70baht which is about 1.40GBP, bargain.

Everyone had a great night and was just what I'd wanted to do while I was out here as it was something different and away from everything. The next day we stopped by a waterfall on the way back to pai then all went out again for a few drinks.

The school in Pai had a football pitch which was always full of people playing. In the day it was mainly kids but in the evening, the adults would play. I was hoping to get a game at some point but unfortunately it was all bad timing, I was either too hungover to play or there was a tournament on and so never got a game. I think I will be heading back up to Pai after my time in Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia as I had a really good time there. its a relaxed place but has enough going on to stay there a while.

I returned back to Cjhiang Mai for 2 nights and then headed off to enter Laos. To get into Laos, I had 2 options, get the slow boat for 2 days one night or the speed boat for 6 hours. after the stories I heard about the speed boat, I chose the Slow boat. This was a good trip. I met Tom and Laura, a couple i'd met in Pai and 2 girls from Devon, Stacey and Fiona. Its a massive help when you're with people you get on with when you're travelling, especially when you've got to spend so long with people so i was happy to meet some good people on the trip. Ironically, the time on the slow boat went quite quickly. We all chatted had a few game of cards and a few bottles of whiskey, which tasted strong but definitely wasnt!! We arrived in Luang Prabang and went out for a few drinks that night. Luang Prabang has a curfew at 11pm and the only place open after this is the bowling alley. We spent every night at that bowling alley and it was actually a real good laugh. It was packed every night. I met up with Jodie and Nicole again in Luang Prabang, 2 girls I was travelling with down on the South Thailand Islands for a while so it was good to see them again as well.

I left Luang Prabang to head South to Vang Vieng. It was a horrible journey as I had only had 2 hours sleep and was very hungover on a cramped minibus. Thankfully though, the reason I stayed up so late was to watch United beat City to reach the Carling Cup final so, i dealt with it with a smile on my face!!!

Vang vieng is crazy. It is set up for one main reason; tubing. Tubing is basically where there are a load of bars set up down the river selling alcohol and giving away free whiskey. Not only that but there are rope swings, zip lines and slides which are quality. Again, you never think they are that high until you get to the top and realise, they are quite high, definitely well worth doing. I went tubing 2 days on the run and got a decent game of footabll on the 2nd day. There was a 5-a-side pitch at one of the bars so I headed to that and ended up having a 6 a side game. Myself and Laurie, a lad from Perth, Scotland ripped it up, me getting the opener and him getting the 2nd. It was just what I was waiting for, i'd been missing playing football ever since Pai and needed some kind of game so was really good to play. The next day was a lazy day, sat in a bar watching the Myrray-Federer Final then watching United batter Arsenal. The next day I was heading South to Vientiane.

Vientiane is the capital city of Laos. At first I wasnt too sure about it as there wasnt much to do, but then I found the restaurants and I havnt eaten so well in a long time. I think I must have spent far too much money on food there but it was so good I just didnt care, and, I found Salt and Vinegar Kettle Chips! I was in Heaven!!!!!!!!

AFter 3 days in Vientiane, I had the joy of a 25 hour bus ride into Vietnam. I was with Nicole so I didnt get too bored and, I had kettle chips with me so that kept me happy! We went through the Vietnamese border after trying to sleep on the bus for 6hours, why they didnt set off later instead of waiting at the border is beyond me but what can I do about it. Then we arrived in Hanoi. This is the most hectic city I have been in. At first I couldnt believe how all the bikes were weaving in and out of each other and pedestrians and cars without hitting each other. I wasnt sure about the place and there are so many little roads, it is so easy to get lost, even with a map!! After a full day here though, I loved the place. You learn to walk around the place and weave around the traffic yourself. There are shops everywhere selling cheap but good clothes and food. then there is a big lake with a few monuments sat in the middle on islands. The lake is a massive feature in the city and without it, I dont think it would be as good as it is. I spent a few nights in Hanoi and then booked a trip to Halong Bay with 9 other people I knew from Laos.

Halong Bay was a good trip, we spent 3 days 2 nights there, one night on a boat, the next on Cat Ba ISland. The Bay is beautiful, loads of rock islands scattered all over the bay with the boat just weaving in and out of them. Unfortunetaly, the weather wasnt the best, but the mist in the distance added to the occasion. It still would have been nice for the sun to be out, especially when we went kayaking at 6.30am one day!!!

I then returned to Hanoi and that is where I am right now. It is Chinese New Year tomorrow and so there is a big festival and lots of things going on tomorrow so it will be good to see how the Vietnamese celebrate Tet. I am looking forward to the rest of Vietnam, especially Da Lat and Saigon then I will be off to Cambodia. And hopefully, I won't leave it this long before I write on here again!!!

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