Plain of Jars, Phonsavan

We read awful things about the bus trip from Hanoi to Phonsavan, Laos, so we went ahead and booked a flight from Hanoi to Vientiane and then caught the once daily flight to Phonsavan. It turned out that the flight had been cancelled the previous few days due to weather so we felt lucky to arrive when we did. With only a few weeks left in our trip, it was worth it to fly.

Phonsavan, Laos, is completely different from anywhere we have visited in SE Asia so far. The city is a 9,022 ft ( 2,750 m ) so the afternoons are warm, but it got quite chilly in the evenings. We stayed at the Vansana Plain of Jars hotel and had a real log fire most nights to take the chill out of the room. Phonsavan is still somewhat unknown so there are not that many tourists. The city is growing and there are a lot more hotels going up, but the infrastructure for tourism is still visibly in progress. The Plain of Jars is on track to become a World Heritage Site in 2012 so I would expect tourism to pick up a bit as awareness of the region increases.

The main attraction in Phonsavan is the Plain of Jars. No one quite knows why these giant, sandstone jars were created or how they ended up where they did, but they are a beautiful mystery to ponder. Many of the existing jars were damaged or destroyed during the Vietnam War and only a handful of the 400+ sites are accessible due to unexploded ordinance (UXO) danger. It was a bitter sweet experience looking across a beautiful landscape of mountains and valleys covered in rice paddies, pine trees, and cluster of jars, that were also scarred by bomb craters and trench lines. UXO Laos or the Mines Advisory Group offices are great places to learn about the ongoing impact of the wars in Laos. In addition to clearing UXO, these groups provide education to villagers regarding the dangers that exist as well as job training and treatment for victims of mines and other hazards.

The Lao people are some of the friendliest we have met in SE Asia. This is definitely an area we would like to come back to for some trekking or possibly even a motorcycle tour.

Where you from? How long you stay?

Everywhere you go, people ask you "What's your name?", "Where you from?", "How long you stay?", often in rapid fire.  One tourist must have finally gotten fed up with the repetitive questions as he had a T-shirt made providing the answers.

 

The Vietnamese are also great salespeople.  You will never hear someone ask you how they can help you or if you are looking for something in particular.  Even before you get to a store, you are greeted with, "Hello, come here please."  If you are already within browsing distance, it's "You buy something."  Vietnamese women may be small, but they can be quite intimidating when they command you to buy something.

 

Another one of our favorite sayings is "same same, but different."  We got this a lot when ordering shoes or asking about product comparisons. 

 

Me:  I want the boot to look just like this one you have in the window.

Cobbler:  OK, no problem. I make same same, but different.

Me:  Huh, what do you mean different?  Different how?

Cobbler:  No, no, same same...but different.

Me:  Uh, OK. 

 

You can pick up a "same same" T-shirt pretty much anywhere and look for restaurants advertising as "same same, but better."   

 

 

Welcome to Hoi An - Meet your new wardrobe

We went to Hoi An with the intent of purchasing a couple of suits and maybe a pair of slacks or two.  Several suits, tons of slacks, jeans, jackets, a couple of winter coats, and 10 pairs of shoes later, we ended up having to buy two suitcases in addition to shipping a decent sized box just to get everything home.  When youcan get a pair of jeans custom made to fit for $20, it's hard not to go overboard. 

 

Nhan from 52 Clothes, pulled us into the fabric market shortly after we arrived and we ended up ordering a few suits, some shirts, and some jeans that day.  Each day after, we did not leave a fitting without adding to our order.  We actually ended up extending our stay by two days just to get a few more things made and Nhan took us out to dinner our last night to say thank you. 

 

When getting clothes or shoes made, do keep in mind that you are getting a great deal for very quick service so the quality of every item is not going to be the same as a high end store at home.  Be prepared to try things on at least twice to get a good fit and do not be afraid to tell them what you want tweaked. For the most part, Nhan and her staff had our clothes pretty much dialed in after the second fitting. Overall we are quite happy with what we got and just have to get it all home.

 

Second Indochina War

Our visit to Ho Chi:Min City, or Saigon as they still call it in South Vietnam, provided quite a different perspective on the Vietnam War than we get in school in America.  Most Vietnamese refer to the war as the American War or the Second Indochina War, not the Vietnam War.  Getting your head around the Democratic Republic of Vietnam ( communist ) as the good guys, and the Republic of Vietnam ( allied with the Americans ) as the bad guys takes a while.

We visited Reunification Palace, previously named Independence Palace, and were able to see meeting rooms, dining areas, living quarters, and bunkers used by the Democratic government before the North Vietnamese Army took over the palace to end the war on April 30.1975, or Liberation Day.  It was strange reading captions on photos and descriptions of the war and realizing that when they talked about the allies or the enemy, you had to first determine the regime making the statement before you knew if the Americans were good or bad in that context.  The photos of the North Vietnamese Army crashing through the gates and the American troops being evacuated were pretty amazing.

The War Remnants Museum was basically a memorial of the atrocities that Americans committed against the Vietnamese during the war.  The display on the effects of napalm and Agent Orange on the general population was particularly gruesome.  While no one asked where I was from, I had a general sense of unease touring the exhibits as if I would be held guilty by association for being an American.

For a demonstration on the ingenuity of the Vietnamese people, a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels is worth the long battle with traffic.  The people who built, lived in, and fought from these tunnels are considered heroes of the war.  They were able to live below ground without detection for long periods of time and build traps and weapons with materials either found in the forest or recycled from unexploded ordinances dropped by the Americans.  The propaganda film you watch at the beginning of the tour is extremely negative towards Americans, but the organization that runs the tunnels is thinking of toning it down a bit as the focus is now on friendship with the West.

The opinion of Americans in South and Central Vietnam, especially in the younger generations, has been positive so far.  We have been told that some of the older generations in the North may not be friendly towards Americans because their memories of the war are still fresh, but for the most part, the Vietnamese have been very friendly and eager to sell you something no matter where you come from.  We've decided that if it becomes obvious Americans are not welcome, we'll be Canadian for the day.

Viva la Mexico

As I have said before, throughout our travels the one thing I have really missed is Mexican food.  Now, in the place I least expected it, I am surrounded by Spanish and Mexican options.  I heard you could get anything you wanted in Saigon and now I believe it.

Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

We had two options for traveling overland from Siem Reap to Phnom
Penh: bus or boat. They both take about five and a half hours so we
figured we would splurge and take the speedboat. Inside is very
cramped so you are better off sitting on the roof of the cabin if it
is a nice day. The views of the villages along the river are
different from what you would see from the road. I would take the bus
if I had it to do over again as it is much more comfortable and about
a third of the price. Do not even think of taking the boat on a rainy
day as you do not want to be cooped up inside.

--
Kari Dreyling
http://notresabbatique.blogspot.com

Getting to Siem Reap

The adventure to Siem Reap from Bangkok began with a five hour bus
ride to Aranyaprathet. The bus was air conditioned and not too
crowded so the trip was fairly comfortable. We got off the bus and
had to walk to the border to clear Thai cuastoms. This is one of the
busier border crossings so the lines were quite long.

After officially leaving Thailand, we followed the crowd of other
confused looking tourists to Cambodia immigration. i was surprised at
how little signage or direction there was between the two checkpoints.
If you do get lost or just tired of fighting the crowds you can
always go to the casino between the borders.

Anoyher long line and we were finally officially accepted into
Cambodia. It took about two hours to walk through both checkpoints.

We knew we had a taxi waiting for us from the hotel so we resolutely
ignored all of the touts fighting for our attention. Little did we
know, in all of the confusion we walked right past our driver so he
was now at the trasnportation depot. A quick phone call and some help
from the local tour agent sorted things out and we climbed aboard the
free shuttle with everyone else and their luggage and caught up with
our driver.

After another two and a half hour taxi ride, we finally reached our
hotel. It was a long day, but I think we did it with only a small
amount of confusion.

I highly recommended the Khmer Inn Angkor as a base for visiting
Angkor Wat. The owners are very friendly and can arrange everything
for you.

--
Kari Dreyling
http://notresabbatique.blogspot.com

Floating Market

We took a tour to the floating market outside Bangkok the Monday
before we left. It took an hour and a half to get there so we only
had about an hour to spend at the market itself. Hiring a boat to
paddle you around the market came highly recommend, but we soon found
out that if you were not buying, your trip was not all that
interesting. I say give the floating market a miss and go to the
regular weekend market instead.

--
Kari Dreyling
http://notresabbatique.blogspot.com

Elephant Rides

We woke up at the crack of dawn this morning for our tour to the bridge over the river Kwai. The bridge is a two to three hour drive from Bangkok depending on traffic. On the way we stopped in Kanchanaburi for a visit to the Allied War Cemetery where British, Australian and Dutch prisoners of war are buried who died while working on the railway. The bridge itself is somewhat rickety, but pedestrians and tourist trains still cross regularly. After the bridge, we boarded a traditional bamboo raft for a short trip down Khwae Noi to the elephant farm. Kari got to play mahout and ride on the elephant's shoulders. Lunch was provided at a local restaurant before we boarded the Iron Horse for a hot and dusty trip along a section of the original Death Railway. Another long, but air conditioned ride back to Bangkok rounded out the day. A great opportunity for a nap after all the excitement.

Travel Planning for Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos

We spent happy hour by the pool attempting to plan out the rest of our travel through Cambodia, Vietnam and Loas.  Airfare can be pretty expensive so we are going to try to fly only when it makes more sense in terms of time and go overland the rest of the time.  Right now it looks like we are going to take a bus, tuk tuk, and taxi to get from Bangkok to Siem Reap to visit Anghor Wat.  From there it looks like a bus to Phnom Penh and then another bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City.  Trains look pretty regular throughout Vietnam so that looks like the way to make our way from Ho Chi Mihn City to Hanoi.  Then off to the Plain of Jars in Laos via plane to Vientiane and then a long bus ride to Luang Prabang.  Most likely we will take a train back to Bangkok from Vientiane and then fly on to Hong Kong for our last stop before heading home.  We have quite an adventure ahead of us.