Author archive
22 September 2008
Above: Approximate route for the day. Highland on two wheels I hired a motorcycle and driver for the day to take me around to various Minangkabau cultural sights, especially the beautiful architecture set amongst the green countryside. Travelling with me was a 21 year old English student Mike and his driver. Strangely he’s studying English […]
21 September 2008
“Maiden” flight I woke at 0430 in order to make my 0750 flight to Padang comfortably. While checking-in, I checked out my fellow passengers. It was largely a a maid-and-worker flight. There were a few couples helping their maids with the process eg. making sure they weren’t pinged with baggage charges unnecessarily. It felt good […]
20 September 2008
Above: Stations on the KL monorail have sponsored names. My hotel is at “Medan Tuanku MAA Assurance” My AirAsia flight from Vientiane to Kuala Lumpur departed at 1110 today. Landing at 1445 I bused and monorailed to my overnight at the cheapie Tune Hotel before flying off on another AirAsia super-cheap flight tomorrow bright and […]
19 September 2008
I spent my last evening in Laos beside the Mekong with Lao Beer and watch the sun set … only to be interrupted by: Women selling dried squid which they would warm over the coals for you (yummy with beer), and The tap-tap-tap of spoons against semi-hatched eggs by the young couple sitting opposite me. […]
18 September 2008
I hired a bike to explore the surrounding countryside today. The cheapest bike was a girly bike with a big comfy soft seat, a useful basket and a pillion seat. It was more comfortable than the mountain bike I hired in China. At night most restaurants play DVDs of Friends (or Family Guy, Simpsons) while their […]
17 September 2008
This morning I left Luang Prabang by bus for Vang Vieng. The 6 hour journey was very windy and the bus crawled at seemingly cycling speed for much of the time. I felt chucky as I had taken my motion-sickness pills a bit too late to be effective … and they may been past their […]
16 September 2008
This morning I woke at 5am in order to see the monks “collect their alms” (I have forgotten this term since school … I was thinking “beg for food”). Residents line up by the roadside to give monks food … typically they roll balls of rice to deposit into the monks pots as they file […]
15 September 2008
Luang Prabang is one place many people rave about … it is a riverine town on the side of the Mekong and home to an eclectic mix of Lao shophouses, royal palace, temples and colonial mansions. By day, one can explore these sights. But by night … the street gets converted into a handicraft megamart, the […]
14 September 2008
Above: The Chinese-made Xian MA60 aircraft. I travel from Xieng Khouang to Luang Prabang today. It was was meant to be a half-hour direct flight departing at 1340. But it turned out be two flights and a 2h20 transit in Vientiane (totalling over 3h30). Because I had booked about 6 months in advance, the airlines’ […]
13 September 2008
Today I took an excursion with several others to the three Jar sites which have been opened up and are safe … meaning no mines within the marked paths. While on the road, our English member pointed out this large fruit … she described it as looking like a melon on the outside with a […]