Trekking - Nam Ha Valley in Luang Nam Tha

Starting at 9am we drove to our starting point and then hiked for approx 4.5 hours up and down some very steep hills through beautiful forest. We then stopped for lunch and ate Lao food (Sticky rice etc) prepared by the guides and set out on banana leaves, which was delicious.

Then trekked on to the Khmu Village - which is only accessible by boat during the rainy season or by 5 hour trek during the dry. The people here live virtually self sufficiently and make a few quid on the treks that come through. Once we arrived we washed in the river with the locals, which was refreshing! We explored and met people, played with the kids, ate food  (sticky rice  and water buffalo etc) prepared by some of the Village people, drank some LaoLao (sticky rice whisky), then sat by the fire. The 10 of us then retired to a village hut, made from bamboo with a thatched roof. It was pretty cold and pretty hard, but we all slept well enough thanks to a little help from the LaoLao. 

Woke early the next morning, ate MORE sticky rice for breakfast with some delicious omlette, then headed off for another 6 hours, up some heavy hills and down some slippery tracks through amazing wilderness. We had a stop for lunch on the river for a swim and more home cooked yummy lao food set out on banana leaves (sticky rice etc). We also spent some time in a Lanten Village


When we headed off again, I (Amelia) also tripped up a hill and scratched my knee, which wasn’t very painful. But the tour guide saw some blood and went to clean it up, then everyone gathered around and poked at a strange bump I also had on my knee. A group decision was made that something was indeed lodged inside and it must be removed. Then 2 medical students, Dave and the Lao tour guide proceeded to poke, slice and dice at the lump until 3 pieces of wood to my horror were painfully removed! 

Overall it was an amazing experience being able to trek through the Laos jungle and meet people who to us live so uniquely (for example they had caught a Bamboo Rat in excess of 2kg - the size of a beaver for dinner that night which was a great treat as meat is uncommon). Recommend it!

Dave with Pon Sek our Guide.

A stop on the way

 

 Preparing bamboo shoots for dinner

 

 Exploring the Khmu village

Khmu kids

The Nam Ha River steaming in the morning

Our Sleeping quarters.

The river swim on the way home

Some food for lunch - Lao style

Forest landscape through the Nam Ha valley

Our lift across the river at the end of the trek from local village boys..

Luang Nam Tha - hard to leave

Luang Nam Tha is a sleepy town, with a few markets and lots of guesthouses. Our Guesthouse called Zuela was a large teak structure with cosy clean rooms. A lovely place to zonk out and relax, so much so that I tried to find reasons to twart out plans to leave. From Luang Nam Tha there are lots of treks on offer, but the difference is that these tour groups give back to the villages they stay in and to the conservation of the National Forest. So we booked and over night through the Nam Ha Valley, but we had 2 days to kill till it started.

So we hired bikes and meandered around town, but we could only see so much. To solve that problem Dave hired a Chinese Cruiser Motorcycle to the delight of the Laos man who had it on offer and the local kids Dave drove by, waving and beeping. A motorbike is special, a cruiser even more so -  that day we did not do so well at blending it, but it was fun and much more comfortable ride than previous scooters.

 

Our accommodation in Luang Nam Tha

A WAT and some sort of water reservior we discovered while on the bike.

 Dave on his Cruiser...

Into Laos...Mekong River boarder crossing

We crossed the Boarder (river) to arrive in Laos, only after dipping out feet in the Mekong to get in and out of the long boat that took us across. We arrived to 100000 Americans lined up to buy a visa. We just handed the nice Laos man our Passports, picture and visa application and then sat and waited. Chatted to a nice aussie and then they finally processed (they, as in the man’s 7 year old daughter on date stamping duty) and we were on our way.

Took a Tuk Tuk to the bus station ( of dusty piece of land 10 km our of town), rushed for the 11am bus that actually left at 12.30. Met some nice Italians and Swiss, and then sat through the 5 hour trip on the public bus. Up hills we went approximately 10-20 km/h, given there were scooters, packs and building material strapped to the roof we were just happy it made it to Luang Nam Tha.

Pictures of the boarder crossing from Thailand into Laos

Laos - into oblivion

We cross the Mekong tomorrow in Laos - and so we may be off line for a while. Thailand has been a hub of facilities. Laos will be a little more challenging (goodbye western toilet, hello squat toilet without toilet paper). So we shall return when we can. Till then, we hope you have enjoyed the yarn.

Chiang Kong - bikes on the Mekong

Took the public bus to Chiang Kong, which is on the Mekong and the border of Laos (kind of like Albury Wadonga or Echuca Moama). The bus was awesome, it was quite old with the door jammed open with okky straps, a lovely bus driver, friendly locals to chat to, sticky rice shoved into large bamboo shoots, pre-cooked corn on the cob - we watched 2 hours of rural Thailand which is as dry as Australia in some parts, bad roads and the open windows did provide a lovely breeze when we weren’t sucking in diesel fumes and dust.  

Arrived to the always reliable tuk tuk driver as soon as you step off any bus. The Chiang Kong Tuk Tuk was another variation (exposed mototbike with a colorful paint job) from the ones in Bangkok (dollar signs), Autthaya (like frogs), Phisanulok (back to front) and Chiang Rai (mini utes).  Paid 40 baht to go 1km to our accommodation, which has a spectacular view of the Mekong River with Laos on the opposite side.

This town is underrated and under visited as most people just cross the river as they can’t wait to get to Laos. After 13 days in Thailand we’re in no hurry to move on. So we hired bikes and went for a leisurely ride down the Mekong. We found a group of oldies playing Botchy, and using outdoor exercise equipment. Uninvited we joined them, and as Thai’s are always obliging (including their cats), they welcomed us with smiles. After working up a little sweat we thought we’d leave them to it as their group exercise class was about to start. Not a bad way to end the day, with an amazing view of the river and a bit of exercise with your old crony mates.

Had a lovely dinner again by the river and enjoyed the quiet, laid back feeling of the place. The people are relaxed and lovely and so is the pace. We also want to get some internet time in before we get sucked into the oblivion that Laos and Cambodia will shroud us in.

Photos of the bus ride, views of the river from our room and exercising on the Mekong.

Notes on Thailand:
- if you don’t want your Children Mollycoddled, send them here where they will be jammed between mum, sibling and dad on a scooter at 6 weeks old, put in the back of a ute once they can walk and then given a scooter at 7 or 8. It looks to be a normal way to be bringing up kids. In the west we certainly could not place our baby in the basket of our bicycle unless it was a standard government issue basket with a 5 star rating. If anything it’s an interesting comparison!

- If you have have a Ute, actually if you don’t have a Ute, you are nobody. Everyone has a nice shiny new Ute -  Nirvara’s, Colorado’s, Hilux’s etc. Not shitty utes and generally there is a group of people, or a family sitting in the tray at all times. If you don’t have a ute, then you have a scooter. Apart from this, the only other way to get around is Bus.

- with a great fear of Malaria and Dengue fever, our skin is systematically getting removed by the layers of 80% Deet Bushmans we put on each day. Mosquito’s are like ninja’s here, they don’t hurt and they are very quiet, so half the time you don’t know you’ve been bitten. But we must sacrifice our outer layer of dermis to ensure we last 6 months.

- Thai TV, dear god. Thai Advertisements - always the same. If you are beautiful, you will find love. To be beautiful, you must be skinny and whiten your skin and teeth. Here are some products to whiten your skin, teeth and to ensure you stay slim. Here’s a product (usually a scooter ) that will help you fall in love without having to whiten your skin and teeth.

Chiang Rai - Oh My!

Arrived in Chiang Rai via a very comfortable bus, to then take a 6km ride into town via Tuk Tuk (still so cute!) to our accommodation. Got to the Garden House, to be told a double room that we had booked was not available, but a twin was. We inspected, it was a bamboo bungalow, very bohemian, simple but charming to Dave. I was a little less excited to see that a/c was now a fan, there was no fridge or TV. But they did have a very lovely outdoor garden relax area complete with Pets and hammocks.

That night we met an Aussie couple (Stew and Lara) from Sydney who had a really similar outlook to us about what they want from their travels and were really lovely - not the know-it-all backpacker types at all. They have already been to China and India which they raved about. Dave, Stew and Lara sank Leos’s till midnight while I fell in love with ‘spider’ a beautiful soft tiny ginger cat with huge balls and a stubby tail - the most cuddly and sleepy cat ever! We hugged each morning and night and I felt horrible saying goodbye today. ‘Lucky’ the dog and two other cats lived there too, but I wasn’t as in love with them. We hope to run into Stew and Lara again in Laos.

Chiang Rai boasts a Jade Buddha, but it has now been moved to Bangkok. It also has a very bright and shiny clock tower, that at 7pm each night puts on a light and sound show (very Melbourne Central with the big clock), a night Bizarre and a morning market which strangely also goes into the night. So we gave the temple/sight seeing a miss and just relaxed. We met two Aussie men in their 60’s who lived there with their new wives, both very lovely and Australian. A very intelligent ex-Thai navy Captain and his sweet wife.  A very talkative Thai Guest house manager. Uncle John a Thai man who has been living in the UK who served delicious food. And a very over-zealous, exaggerating, loving life, long-haired larrikan from QLD - who is going to surf 30 foot waves in Lombok?

We have decided once again to put off the trekking in light of greener pastures ahead in Laos and Vietnam. I am just excited that Laos is apparently the land of Elephants, so very happy to wait. 

Photos - our Garden House Guesthouse - the door to our room and Dave at the table. Spider the Ginger Cat and Lucky and his mate (some other cat). The clock tower turns into a light show at 7pm each night.

Chiang Mai - land of the Farang

We took a 7 hour train with average a/c and annoying Aussie sitting behind us talking to some equally annoying Germans,  from Phitsanulok to Chiang Mai. Arrived to a platform full of Farang (Foreigners) which up until this point we may have seen just 1 a day, generally an old man with a thai lady on a scooter. But here they are everywhere. This is the next Bangkok - heaps of bars and western places to eat. So we were a little put off at the start.

Our accommodation was excellent, clean, modern and great value for the 650 baht per night. Found the Australia Network channel again and settled into a comfy night in. The next day we awoke to delicious complimentary coffee and went for a walk in search of a Trekking offer we couldn’t resist. Unfortunately there are SO many people, shops, travel agents, scooter merchants and street vendors offering 1-4 day treks, that it became all to confusing and overwhelming. So much so that we have decided to wait till Chiang Rai for the trekking, to ensure a less cluttered and Farang invaded experience.

 Instead we hired a scooter and the next day saw 4 amazing sites. First Bhuphing Palace, a winter residence for a few weeks a year for the royal family. Amazing gardens and very cool in temperature as it’s further up in the mountains. Next we scootered another 4km up the hill (very good roads most of the way) to the Dui Pui Hill tribe village. Where I bought some jewellry and Dave was happy to witness some poppies in action, as well as try out a village cross-bow. After looking at some stunning views, we scootered back down the hill a couple of km’s to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep - which is one of Northern Thailand’s most sacred temples. It was incredibly busy and beautiful - even if it was hard work up the stairs to reach it.

Next stop, Chiang Mai zoo, which is huge and cheap to get into. Apparently one of the better Zoo offerings in Asia. We jumped on a little bus that takes you to each section of the Zoo, first stop was the Elephants and Giraffe’s. Thailand is so awesome as you can pay to do almost anything, and that includes feeding and touching animals that are normally off limits. We paid 20 baht to feed and touch the elephant - who was huge and absolutely beautiful, smart and overwhelmingly magnetic for the both of us. We just stood and stared and gushed and took pictures and a video and had our photo taken next to him, while he snorted and flapped his ears and wiped his amazing eyes with his trunk. I am absolutely in love with Elephants and I suspect Dave is too. We scratched a Giraffe on the head while kids fed him beans, took a bus to the Gibbons and assorted Monkey’s, which Dave loved and I did not (yuk!). Then debated whether the crocs that were completely inanimate, were alive or dead.

That night we went to another market, where we actually bought a lot - a antique monk pendant, fisherman’s pants, a hand made cotton top, an elephant key ring and a light cotton top. I am also starting to get obsessed with Elephant silver jewelery, I already have a bracelet and a jade elephant necklace. Dave is obsessed with linen shirts and finding them cheap. He is always bartering and as he says ‘it’s insulting if you don’t’. We always hear the thai’s say ‘I like you, so I will discount’, which is generally a little drop from the asking price. It’s hard not to drive a bargain, and not to forget your are scwabbling over a couple of dollars. I hate bartering with Tuk Tuk drivers now, as they are becoming the most entertaining way to travel, always funny, always cute, always asking too much, always polite!

Off to Chiang Rai today on a 3 hr bus!