The sleeper bus to Vientiane

Statue in Vientiane

Travelling from the 4000 Islands to the capital of Laos, Vientiane, proved to be a bit of an ordeal. In a classic case of over promising and under delivering, we booked a ticket on the V.I.P. over-night bus, thinking bewdy; this saves us a night’s accommodation and a day of sitting around on a bus.

After a half-day minibus journey to a city called Pakse (pronounced passé), we had to wait about 5 hours before we got on the sleeper bus. That wasn’t too bad though, it was scorching hot and we had an air-conditioned waiting room. Occasionally we would venture out and look at the local shops. We went and had some ‘street food’ and by about 7:30 pm got on the bus. It all looked pretty good; everyone had a bed on a bus that had 2 level bunks up both sides.

The VIP bus

Then a rude, control-freak, female bus conductor got on and when she found out that Kim and I were together she made us share one of the beds. As I was packing my bag she kept nagging me to move. So much for our VIP status! Another couple also had to share, but all the single people got to stretch out. I found out later that there were still some free beds. The problem was that the beds were made more for people much shorter than us, so you couldn’t really straighten your legs. As well as that it was hot and humid. As the bus lurched through the potholes and swerved around the corners and other vehicles, the motion made it almost impossible to sleep. Kim said she would never do another sleeper bus again, but later on we did, and believe it or not, the second trip was much worse than the first!

At Vientiane we arrived at a large bus station at about 7 am, feeling a little tired and peeved. We were immediately set upon by a rabble of took-took drivers wanting to take us into the city. They all talk at you at once, and as you can imagine, first thing in the morning after hardly any sleep, it feels a bit overwhelming. The price seemed reasonable at about $2 each into get into the city, so we got in one of the took-tooks. I remarked that the Lao took-tooks looked very large compared to the Cambodian ones. So next thing we are doing slow laps of the bus station as the took-took driver prowled for more tourists to fit in. “Strangely” the driver appeared to not understand us when we asked him when we would go to the city.  After maybe 30 minutes of prowling, he eventually found about another 8 tourists with their packs to cram into the took-took, then he took us into the city. 

Patu  Xay Monument, Vientiane

Thankfully we found a good hotel, and had a good cooked breakfast just up the road, we had a shower and started to feel human again. I don’t want to sound like I am whinging, just telling it like it is. Like in other times of hardship, it is often OK to laugh at them in hindsight. You can not expect Western standards of customer service in a 3^rd world communist country, rather you “go with the flow”.

We spent about two days in Vientiane taking in the sights, the French influence in food and architecture, a really nice Buddhist temple. We went too a French restaurant that was excellent – Kim had the roast lamb and veggies and I had duck which was superb.

The Mrs, proud to be winning

Before we left we went bowling. The bowling alleys are a free-for-all, where young blokes pelt the bowls into the air, slamming them into the alley, but somehow always hit their target – amazing to watch. I started off extremely poorly and didn’t even know how to hold the bowling ball correctly, while my sporty Mrs showed me up time and time again. Fortunately for me though I learned very quickly and soon gave Kim the flogging she deserved. We are both pretty competitive with each other, and the banter that goes with it is pretty good fun.

After a couple of days recuperating, we left Vientiane to catch another sleeper bus to our next destination Luang Prabang. 

Getting to Laos from Cambodia

When we left Cambodia we were packed into a minibus with more people on it than the seating arrangement allowed. Our bags had to be packed in near our feet, so no leg room unless you nursed your bag. The driving was pretty ordinary too. The driver seemed to want to start off in 3^rd gear, so after massively revving the engine, the car would crawl forward and stall. He did this about 5 times in a row – not sure why, as at other times he did use the lower gears. The other thing was that there seemed to be no easing on of the brakes. As an obstacle was approached, a violent braking occurred that made your whole body lurch forward in the seat.

At the border

As we went on, more people got off the bus, so we gained a bit of leg room, but it was a scorcher of a day, so I guess it is fair to say this trip was pretty unpleasant. We got to the Laos border and had to walk with our packs a couple of hundred meters across the border between the Cambodian exit point and the Lao entry point.

We were met at the border in a modern, comfortable, air conditioned mini-van, with enough space for all of us. The van was beautifully cool and had good music playing loudly and clearly on the sound system. Welcome to Laos! After about 10 kames we got to our boat that took us to an area known as 4000 Islands, on the Mekong River. 

We stayed on Don Det, one of the 4000 islands where there is a small tourist village.

Kim and Caroline + beerlao

On the bus we met another Australian tourist, called Caroline, an archeologist from Queensland. She was travelling alone. She liked a beer and was friendly and down-to-earth and we spent a bit of time with her for the next few days. Normally we don’t associate much with, if not avoid Australians, while travelling. Because, beyond the normal stereotyping of Tasmanians that mainlanders seem obsessed with, Aussies are often as loud as Americans are – “Aussies are the new Seppos”. Besides that, we like to experience different cultures while away. But Caroline sort of reminded us that Aussies were OK after all, and that you could share humour and thoughts about home easily, without having to repeat simple words all the time, just to be understood.

Satellite dish in traditional village

While on the island we took a kayak tour on the Mekong. Along the way we saw some villages that would have looked traditional if it were not for the large satellite dishes that you see everywhere in the back yards. I guess you need something to get good reception on the large flat panel TVs though. 

It's not easy being green

We also saw some waterfalls that would have been pristine if it were not for the plastic and rubbish swirling around the bottom. We did see some fresh water dolphins though, but that took some patience as we had to wait a long time sitting in kayaks, maybe ½ an hour, before we saw our first one.

Khon Phapheng Falls

Here Kim and I were reminded that our age was catching up with us. Every time we set off on the kayaks every other person in our group always overtook us and we always came last, no matter how much we tried. Strangely, we would see others in kayaks not even paddling and when we paddled hard could not even gain any ground on them. It didn’t make sense, but that’s how it was, a little dispiriting.

Still, the scenery was  nice and we probably needed the exercise. The island was quiet. The people on it were very laid back and didn't hassle us to buy things at all, if anything they almost completely ignored us. It was good to just relax after so much time on the road. 4000 Islands was probably my favourite place visited so far, and if I get the chance I would come back here for sure.

Banlung, Ranatakiri

After a few days in Siem Reap we headed to Banlung (pronounced barn loong) in the province of Ranatakiri, which is “out in the sticks” of  far North-Eastern Cambodia.

Kim behind a waterfall

Although still a beautiful and relatively undeveloped area, the change is coming fast. Here the native bush is being clear-felled at a rapid rate and being replaced with Chinese-owned rubber and cashew plantations. The roads are wide and flawless. One of the locals told us that the roads were built by the Chinese so that they could log the area even faster. The clear-felling and burning reminded me a bit of home. The jobs bonus included at least one bloke being employed, driving a tractor that dug post holes for the trees to be planted in.

Tony, at the bungalow, about to clean teeth

Our first room was in a bungalow in the bush on the outskirts of town. There was no air conditioning and stuff felt damp like it does in the tropics with very high humidity. The door of the room had been left open, with the light on and there were a fair few insects inside. We brushed most of them out – but not all of them. I got stung by a bee on the soft part of my foot, which bloody hurt, much more than bull ant stings do. Shortly afterwards Kim also got stung on her foot, so we decided not to stay for two nights like we had originally planned. Besides, there was no wi-fi in the rooms!!

The accommodation came highly recommended in the Lonely Planet guide, mainly because of the quaint bungalows in the bush setting. There was a good atmosphere in the restaurant area, but the down side is all the Western tourists, talking loudly on their mobile phones and being a little too demanding of the staff. These come as a result of the publicity.

Once we got to the natural bush we went to a waterfall where we met a 70 year old Canadian woman that had retired to Cambodia. She was really talkative, almost too talkative. She spilled her guts to us, and told us of her life and travels, and gave graphic details of how she had been attacked in her house in New Guinea. The details of the attack are too gruesome to write about on here, but she was left for dead. However, she was remarkably resilient. She said that she had not spoken to anyone in English for months, perhaps explaining her enthusiasm.

The next day the owner of our bungalow took us to a new hotel. He apologised for the bees and said there was a large nest near our room. An older Australian lady had fallen over and seemed surprised that her leg was not broken, even though she could walk on it. I expressed my sympathy to her, but the term “drama queen” did enter my thoughts.

Our new hotel, for an extra $2 per night

The new hotel was really nice and not that much more expensive. We got to talk to our friends and family back home on Skype. It was great to be able to say ‘Happy Mothers Day’ with a webcam at both ends.

Getting out of here on the bus proved to be a bit of a saga, as we accidentally gave the bus company the wrong pickup address. We had to get the reception staff to contact the bus company. Their English was poor to non-existent, but somehow we managed. The bus was small, cramped and hot, but it was still a relief to be heading out.

Tonle Sap Lake

The next day we headed to Tonle Sap Lake.


Tonle Sap is unique because the river that feeds it reverses direction twice per year.






The Tonle Sap River flows into the lake during the wet season and out during the dry season.



When we visited it was the end of the dry season and the canals that connected our boat to the main lake were very low. Large wooded boats were getting “bogged” in the mud, and blokes had to get out of the boats and try to lift the boat out of the sand. They motors were revving hard and a rooster tail of muddy water was spraying out the back.

Once we got to the lake, it appeared huge and you could not see the other side of it, just a distant horizon. The lake has a floating village. People that have constructed houses on top of boats, that include cages to contain fish and even crocodiles in farms. There are schools here and even a floating Catholic church. We ended up getting scammed again here, and were asked to buy food from a shop, then take the food to the orphanage to give to the kiddies. However the food prices were extravagant, even by Australian standards. We bought a carton of 50 packets of noodles for $20 and donated them to the poor kiddies, knowing that the shopkeeper was probably taking half.

That's havna!! A kid rowed up to us in a basin to show us a snake

In the afternoon I went to the museum. Kim had been feeling under the weather so she had a sleep. Cambodia under the control of the French was once known as Indo-China. The museum pretty much emphasised the history of that amalgamation of both Indian and Asian cultures, and the once great Khmer empire.

Siem Reap

After Phnom Pehn we headed to Siem Reap, which is near the Angkor Wat ruins.









Angkor Wat is pretty amazing. 

Basically it’s a huge Buddhist temple. 

Almost all Cambodians are Buddhists, which is interesting given that Buddhism started off in far way India.


The Indians have had a huge influence here due to trading links over many centuries.



You can get great Indian curries here, cheap too, $2-$5 with beers.

Then we visited the Angkor Thom temple.

Kim cracking onto one of the statues

This temple has the huge faces carved into stone all around the place. I liked it more than Angkor Wat, although it was smaller, it is a massively complex labyrinth of rooms, corridors and chambers.

Despite the many tourists here, Kim and I could easily find small sections of the temple where no one else could be found.

Then we went to Ta Prohm, which is where the trees grow through the building.

All of these sites are being gradually restored with international aid.

By now we had been walking around in 38 degree heat for most of the day.


Given how much I once hated hot weather, I seem to be faring pretty well. 

Kims update

Well week 1 and a bit down already. My, how times flies when you are on holidays and having fun. We are just doing a 12 hour bus trip from Seam Reap to the north east of Cambodia so a little time to kill on the bus.

The weather has been just beautiful, 35+ everyday. Had a bit of rain, but that is in the late afternoon and only for an hour or so, no big deal. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, greeted by the hustle and bustle of a big city.

Crossing the road is a major task until you get used to it, which takes a couple of days. We're like the locals now though, putting our hands to your side, like a stop sign just to let then know you are in control. Hierarchy is bus and cars have right of way, then rest is open slather, the motor bikes are very good a dodging pedestrians, worst thing you can do is walk really fast or stop in the middle of the road as the motorbikes try to anticipate where you are or will be as the approach you. It's so much fun.

As you know we did the "American war" museum. Far out it was amazing, horrific, and very sad ...... It was good to hear and see the Vietnamese side though. But, it was a very solemn affair. Everyone was very quiet, probably in shock when you see the atrocities that took place. The Vietnamese certainly gave the yanks and I guess the Aussies a run for their money that's for sure. The napalm and agent-orange stuff was just horrific, the damage done to the people and the countryside. Enough of that, lets hope we have learnt....wishful thinking I suppose.

We did the Mekong River, oooh it's had a real working over. Not sure I would be swimming in it, haven't really been able to come at eating fish either. Although there are fish so I guess that says something-there is life in the river, crocodiles as well.

We booked a tour to do the Mekong and met some great people, that’s the beauty of tours gives you the opportunity to meet others. We have since met up with Jose and Sylvia from Spain, and Sammy and Yvonne from Switzerland a couple of times.

Cambodia, wow!!! What a beautiful place and beautiful people. It's hard to explain, but there's a real innocence about Cambodians. Interestingly, a lot of people speak English and the US dollar is the preferred currency. ATMs dispense US dollars, menu prices also in US dollars. There seems to be a lot of countries giving aid to Cambodia, lots of orphanages, agencies to combat domestic violence, assistance with new buildings and helping to restore temples etc. Great place to come and work if you interested in welfare area....mmmm, maybe next time.

The children here have a hard life as you could imagine, but I tell you what, they are little entrepreneurs. Not only do they have things to sell, like the photocopied Lonely Planet books, bracelets etc. they are also working with two currencies, the riel and US dollars, and are very good at switching between the two.

They have all the sayings. First thing they ask is, "where you from", then when you answer them, I'm sure they think ‘beauty that’s one tick closer to getting a sale’. They then say “g'day mate” in a very Aussie accent; you laugh, second tick. Then the "you buy ….?" As they go onto telling you why you need the book about Cambodia, or that you do need another bracelet even though you have half an arm full, because as they say, "you haven’t brought from me yet".

When you go to barter with them, they then go onto to tell you, that they will make no profit on it as they only brought it for that price, and that's its not good for their business. The kids working on street selling their wares go to school from 8.00 am -10.30 am, then for the rest of the time until 10 pm they walk the streets, selling. It's a hard life.

I ended up spending $15 buying 5 of them tea one night. That was an experience to watch and I'm not sure how much I understood of the whole process but it went something like this. They had their favourite restaurant probably one that they knew they were allowed into. Some restaurateurs won't let them in, as we had previously witnessed.

So, they perched themselves up, reading the menu and ordered. There were two families, aged from about  3-11 years. Not all the siblings were there at this stage, some had missed out. Those that ate were so grateful, saying “thank you, thank you” and asking me if I was going to eat with them. I had already eaten so said no, as I just wanted to wait around to make sure the food was delivered.

They pulled up a chair for me and a couple proceeded to give me a massage while the others played Angry Birds on my iPod, they were very good at it too. I remembered later that I had seen a couple of them picking nits out of each other’s hair earlier that day.

When the food came out the older ones divided the rice up amongst them and they sat there eating away. One of the little boy’s brothers came in and straight away the little boy gave his brother one of his kebabs. By now we also had a pregnant women outside wanting food, so Tony gave her money, then one of the older sisters came in and saw what was happening and was very put out that she wasn't included, hence some money for her also.

It's was worth it though, a couple of dollars is nothing to us and so much to them. At the end, the workers at the restaurant brought out take-away food containers, I suspected the full portions where not given in the first place and this was the rest to take home.

Later in Siem Reap, we met up with another young bloke, probably 13 years old and when he found out we were from Australia, he went on to name all of our prime ministers from Julia, calling her a “wranger”, then back in sequence through to Gough Whitlam.  I then, of course, paid him the asking price for the book, $4 as opposed to the $1 I could have got it for, had I bartered.

Another time when we had already brought the all the books and bracelets we needed, this little kid was just running out of his usual lines to use, so he looks at Tony and says "I like your hair" !!!

When it rains here, it sure does rain. It flooded one day to nearly knee depth. But, life goes on, particularly if you have four wheel drive or motorbike. At one stage this four wheel drive was going that fast through the water, the ripple effect or should I say waves knocked these two blokes off their motorbikes.

Angkor Wat was spectacular but bloody hot also. It was so hot that I actually got sunburnt through the long sleeve top I had on. The food is yummo!! If we have to pay more than $5 we feel like our throats have been cut. However, perhaps a bit insensitive to say, considering the country we are in and the whole Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge regime story.

Accommodation is good we are paying between 5 and 15 dollars each per night and in most cases that includes breakfast of toast and jam, eggs on toast or an omelette. The rooms have a/c, wifi and cable tv. It takes a bit off getting used to not flushing the toilet paper, but putting it in the bin next to the toilet instead.

We are know off to the jungle in Ratanakirri in the North East of Cambodia. In my guide book it says not to touch or pick up any unexplored ordnance (uxo).  If you come across anything that looks like a land mine, to etrace your steps only if you can clearly see your footprints, but if you can't, don’t move to get help, Mmmm. On the flip side, there are beautiful volcanic lakes and waterfalls to swim in, wildlife such as elephants, bears, tigers and deer to name a few.

We have been on bus since 5.30 am this morning it's now 3.00pm, we have to get off this bus soon and onto another for the last couple of hours. It's started to rain, lighting and thunder and we are told the bus we are to get onto is full so we will need to sit on our packs in the isle, fingers crossed the bus is there waiting for us. Luckily I have my trusty ponchos i brought from the Reject shop before I left. Tony wasn't keen to get him any I'm sure he might like to borrow one of my spares once he get off the bus :-)

Genocide tourism

We took the fast boat from Chau Doc to Cambodia, and that took about 6 hours counting the border crossing.








In the back if your mind is the thought of the killing that went on here.

For those that don’t already know, a communist extremist known as Pol Pot seized power in this country at around the end of the Vietnam war in 1975. While in France he learned about communism and came back to his country and indoctrinated young farming peasant boys into thinking that they were hard done by city people and intellectuals.

So Pol Pot’s regime set about killing doctors, lawyers, teachers, anyone with glasses, and anyone associated with or related to another suspicious person. Like the Nazis, meticulous records were kept. Pol Pot famously said 'it is better to kill an innocent person accidentally than to accidentally allow an enemy to live'. In the end about 2 million people were killed. They even killed two Australians among many other foreigners. But they weren’t shot or gassed. To save money the Khmer Rouge used axes, hoes, machetes, even the rough fronds of palm trees.

Here at the Choeung Ek killing fields there are many large pits here that contained the bodies. Most of these bodies have been exhumed now and everywhere you see the burial pits. Human bones and the bits of rags, the remains of their clothing, still float to the surface, and this jaw bone could be seen on the path we walked on.

Possibly the most horrific part of the story where babies were held by the legs and swung into a tree trunk, known as the killing tree, often in front of their mothers, before the mothers were also killed.

Now the site is very peaceful and serene. A large structure has been built that keeps the bones on display. Although the sight of these bones is macabre, it serves both to remind people of how bizarre and out-of-hand unchecked power can become and to maintain the memory of the victims.

It probably also seems macabre to even visit a place like this. But when you arrive in this country, the story of Pol Pot and the killing fields is in your face most of the time. Children come up to you in the street selling you books about the killing that went on here. Taxi drivers offer you special deals to go there. There are organized tours, tour guides, souvenir shops, and just before we left about 10 buses of tourists turned up. As the Lonely Planet tour guide says, these people have been to hell and back, the best thing that you can do is to come here, spend your time and money with them and help them rebuild.