{"blogs": ["Northland, NZ", "South America", "Asia"],
 "posts": [
{ "date": "16-Dec",

"title":"Leaving Bangkok",
"text": "Well, Yesterday, I arrived in Bangkok.  Checked into a hostel, popped out for dinner (Pad Thai $3 - yummy).  I'm tired after 10 hours on a plane, and needed sleep.<br /><br />I've booked a tour from Bangkok up to Laos, through to Cambodia and ending in Vietnam.  It's a hop-on, hop-off type deal, so I'll be able to explore some places by myself, and get guided tour and transport around others. <br /><br />First thing this morning was checking in with the tour group and travelling to Ayutthaya by bus.  Six people in the group, four girls, two Danish, a Pom and an Aussie, a guy from New York and me, with our guide Kit Kat.<br /><br />Ayutthaya is about 90 minutes north of Bangkok, and was the capital of Siam from 1350 until the Burmese destroyed the Siam kingdom in 1760s.  The Ayutthaya Historic Park, a World Heritage site, is an island surrounded by a network of rivers.  It's covered in ruined temples, so we jump in a water taxi and visit a few.<br /><br />The first site is Wat Mongkhon Bophit, an active Buddhist temple, housing a 13 meter tall Buddha image, and other art works.  The next temple is a simple affair with 400 Buddha statues lining the walls of a courtyard.  Some of these have been damaged by the invading Burmese.  The final spot is full of beheaded Buddha statues, the heads knocked off, and the jewels used for their decoration stolen.  <br /><br />The last location is the Wat Phra Ram.  Again, this is a temple site, ruined by the Burmese.  One curious feature is a fallen Buddha head that has had a tree grown around it.  <br /><br />As we were wandering around the desecrated buildings, we saw a few people getting ready for a festival later that evening.  The highlight was a group of pink elephants getting ready.  We were able to get right up close, and touch them.  In Thai tradition, a pink elephant (also called a white elephant) is sacred.  They are often symbolically given to the king. They are not albino, but are a rare colour, red-brown through to pink.  The ones we saw were coloured with chalk, which is harmless and washes off easily.  <br /><br />After the elephants, we popped into a market to pick up some grasshoppers, but didn’t eat too many – not wanting to spoil the appetite before dinner.  Then onto the overnight train to Chiang Mai.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA140010.jpg", "caption":"Water taxi on the river in Ayutthaya"}, {"file":"pics/AA140030.jpg", "caption":"Buddha – 13 meter tall statue"}, {"file":"pics/AA140063.jpg", "caption":"Buddha statues"}, {"file":"pics/AA140090.jpg", "caption":"Temple with the river behind"}, {"file":"pics/AA140093.jpg", "caption":"Beheaded Buddha statues"}, {"file":"pics/AA140105.jpg", "caption":"One of the Buddha heads which the tree has grown around"}, {"file":"pics/AA140177.jpg", "caption":"Pink elephant"}, {"file":"pics/AA140210.jpg", "caption":"Pink elephant"}, {"file":"pics/AA140233.jpg", "caption":"Pink elephant"}, {"file":"pics/AA140254.jpg", "caption":"Pink elephants"}]}
,
{ "date": "17-Dec",

"title":"Chiang Mai",
"text": "Despite having a sleeper bed on the train, and getting some decent sleep, we all are tired today.  It’s a wait at the hostel to get rooms, before having a little wander around Chiang Mai shops and markets. <br /><br />Then it’s out to dinner with the group and on to a ladyboy cabaret.  Was entertaining for the hour or so, these ladyboys, dancing and lip-synching to some pretty good tunes, with the fabulous costumes.  Walked through the night markets on the way back, food stalls, clothes, arts and crafts.  It’s nice up here, the vendors aren’t aggressive and pushy.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA140314.jpg", "caption":"Ladyboy Cabaret"}, {"file":"pics/AA140361.jpg", "caption":"Ladyboy Cabaret "}, {"file":"pics/AA140367.jpg", "caption":"Ladyboy Cabaret"}, {"file":"pics/AA140445.jpg", "caption":"Ladyboy Cabaret"}, {"file":"pics/AA140466.jpg", "caption":"Ladyboy Cabaret"}, {"file":"pics/AA140479.jpg", "caption":"Ladyboy Cabaret"}]}
,
{ "date": "18-Dec",

"title":"Chiang Mai",
"text": "Today 3 of us head out to visit the tiger park with Kit Kat.  Here they have a large number of tigers, and you can get into cages with them.  <br /><br />We first see the big tigers, and they are big.  These massive, sleek beasts lie sedately, allowing visitors to come right up and pet them.  We are warned to not touch the heads or front paws, and to approach from behind them. Each group has a guide, who helps control the tiger.  <br /><br />I feel somewhat uneasy about the ethics of this; these are wild beasts after all. They ought to be prowling through the jungle, rather than kept caged for our amusement.  The park claims they are not sedated, only that they have been exposed to this since an early age.<br /><br />So, we got up close to big tigers, medium tigers, and the cutest little tigers (about 9 months old).  We also saw 2 week old kittens, about the size of regular domesticated cats.<br /><br />After the tigers, back into town and out for dinner.  Then we boys went to a Thai kick boxing fight.  There were seven fights on the card; 2 female fights, a special fight and 4 male fights.  These weren’t top tier fighters.  The ring was in a courtyard surrounded by bars, with seating going back 6 rows at most. <br /><br />The first fight was two skinny scrawny looking lads, in a 105 lb weight range.  They were vicious, attaching with real ferocity.  As the fighters got bigger, they seemed to be more cautious and more focused on defence (probably because getting hit hurts a lot more).  There were a couple of knockouts, and one fight stopped early.<br /><br />The special fight was 5 blindfolded boxers in the ring at the same time.  With a referee who would push them towards each other, and who would get mistaken for a boxer and catch a few blows.  It was pure comedy, boxers swinging wildly at thin air, tripping over other boxers, attacking the referee.  They didn’t seem to be throwing too many hard punches, and I don’t remember any kicks, but we were laughing the whole time they were in the ring. <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA140522.jpg", "caption":"Young tiger"}, {"file":"pics/AA140662.jpg", "caption":"Me and adult tiger"}, {"file":"pics/AA141011.jpg", "caption":"Me and baby tiger"}, {"file":"pics/AA141117.jpg", "caption":"Thai kickboxing - ouch"}, {"file":"pics/AA141177.jpg", "caption":"Thai kickboxing"}]}
,
{ "date": "19-Dec",

"title":"Travel to Huay Xain in Laos",
"text": "Today, we travel to Huay Xain in Laos.  Some of the group stay on in Chiang Mai, so there are only three of us heading up.  On the ride to the border crossing, we stop at Wat Rong Khun, the White Temple.  This is a newly built temple, only 13 years old, but undergoing repairs for earthquake damage.  It’s been built and funded by Thai artist Chalermchai Kositpipat.<br /><br />It’s stunning.  Made of stone and wood, all painted white and covered in tiny mirrors to enhance its glow of purity.  Although it is much smaller, the whiteness brings back memories of visiting the Taj Mahal.<br /><br />The entrance to the temple is a path over a bridge starting from the grotesqueness of hell, leading upwards to the innocence of the temple.<br /><br />Inside the temple (where I wasn’t allowed to take photos) is painted with a bizarre mix of Buddhist imagery interspersed with modern icons, Superman, Elvis, etc.<br /><br />We see Chalermchai Kositpipat buying a cup of tea, and he is gracious enough to pose for a few photos.  I then insist we also get some photos with a cardboard version as well. <br /><br />We cross the border at one of several Freedom Bridges across the Mekong River. It’s easy, no queues and we are in Laos.  We take a very slow tuk tuk ride to our hostel, where Kit Kat tells us it’s his birthday.  We take him out for dinner, alongside the Mekong.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA141214.jpg", "caption":"The white temple"}, {"file":"pics/AA141229.jpg", "caption":"One of many grotesque heads hanging from a tree by the white temple"}, {"file":"pics/AA141234.jpg", "caption":"Simply beautiful"}, {"file":"pics/AA141248.jpg", "caption":"The hands of hell"}, {"file":"pics/AA141261.jpg", "caption":"Figure at the start of the bridge to the white temple"}, {"file":"pics/AA141329.jpg", "caption":"Sunset over the Mekong river, from the Laos side looking to Thailand"}]}
,
{ "date": "20-Dec",

"title":"Down the Mekong",
"text": "Up early this morning to get a boat ride down the river.  We get a boat to ourselves, a long boat, that would easily take about 40 people, but there are only 5 of us, with an Aussie hopping on the tour.<br /><br />Our sail today is about 7 hours.  The boat does 11 knots.  There is nothing to do but sit and watch the world slide by.  Thailand on one side, Laos on the other, until the river turns eastward into Laos. It’s peaceful and relaxing.  There are a few other boats on the water: long boats like ours, fast boats that do the same trip in half the time, (but the passengers wear motorbike helmets and the smaller boat looks incredibly uncomfortable), local fishermen in canoes.  The morning is beautiful, but cool, with mist on the river and in the hills making for some stunning views.<br /><br />The family that own the boat live on it, sailing up and down the river.  They have a cute little 2yr old running around.  Lunch is served on board, a delicious soup and Laos chicken and veg dish.  We have to stop shortly afterwards to restock the beer supplies.  The weather clears and we spend a bright warm afternoon chugging slowly down the Mekong passing the occasional village, buffalo on the shore.  Kit Kat teaches us some basic phrases in Laos, some will be useful, others less so (Pumpkin = Marq Fuck). <br /><br />We stop at one of these villages, Ban Pak Nguey, for the night.  It has a population of 105, but more than enough kids to join for a game of soccer.  There is a dusty field at the school and a gong to call the kids to the field.  Soon, the dust is been kicked up as kids from 6 to early teens join in the game.  Several of the kids are actually quite good, and Kit Kat (in full German strip) is also keenly involved.  We play until it gets too dark.  <br /><br />While freshening up before dinner, a small group of girls start singing and dancing outside the front door of the house we are staying at.  They are probably 7 or 8 years old. So cute, as they perform song after song for us.<br /><br />Dinner is twice as much food as we could possibly eat.  Laos’s food is simpler in flavour than Thai, not especially spicy, but delicious.  <br /><br />After dinner, we start the Laos beer drinking.  The way they drink is to have a communal pourer and glass (or two).  They move the dining table out into the dusty street, next to a small fire, for us to sit around and drink.  The pourer is continuously filling the small glass, passing it around from person to person for them to drink.  It’s probably only 100-150 mls at a time, but the beer bottles soon start to stack up.  After a few rounds with us as the pourers, one of the local girls is enlisted to pour for us.  She looks about 12, but Kit Kat insists she’s 22, and she doesn’t hold back on taking her turn with the beer glass.<br /><br />While we are drinking, the locals are preparing a traditional Basi (welcoming) ceremony for us.  We are taken back inside and sit around a small shrine made of flowers.  The locals all sit around behind us.  We are then asked to place our hands on the shrine, the locals touching our backs to also connect themselves to the shrine. The head of the village delivers the welcoming speech, almost a chant, in Laos.  We then have to eat a dessert, sticky rice, banana, and boiled egg.  While eating this, a local whiskey is been served to us, Laos style. This tastes like a raw grain moonshine – no real flavour, just a massive hit of alcohol.  Two shots are passed around.  In Kit Kat’s words, we have two feet, two arms, two eyes, two nostrils, two ears and two balls, so we have two shots.<br /><br />The final part of the ceremony is for each local to tie a cotton wristband onto each of our wrists, with a little chant.  The elders go first, and by the time the kids are tying them on, our wrists are covered with them.<br /><br />Back outside, to the beer table, and the local kids put on a show for us, with some songs and dancing, before Kit Kat entertains them with a song in his local regional language. <br /><br />We present the kids with some school books that we had bought for them.  One by one they come up to accept a few books, and the gratitude in their eyes and faces is delightful.<br /><br />The whole experience is truly awesome.  The Stray tour company move the homestay from village to village, ensuring the benefits of us turning up are shared around.  <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA141370.jpg", "caption":"The long tail boats – just 5 of us on one of these for 2 days"}, {"file":"pics/AA141383.jpg", "caption":"Laos on the right, Thailand on the left"}, {"file":"pics/AA141492.jpg", "caption":"Leaving the long boat and heading to Ban Pak Nguey"}, {"file":"pics/AA141532.jpg", "caption":"The trail to Ban Pak Nguey"}, {"file":"pics/AA141578.jpg", "caption":"Soccer with the locals"}, {"file":"pics/AA141541.jpg", "caption":"Game on"}, {"file":"pics/AA141580.jpg", "caption":"The header hit the crossbar"}, {"file":"pics/AA141617.jpg", "caption":"Soccer in the dust"}, {"file":"pics/AA141678.jpg", "caption":"Schoolkids sing and dance in front of the fire"}, {"file":"pics/AA141682.jpg", "caption":"Schoolkids sing and dance"}]}
,
{ "date": "21-Dec",

"title":"Down the Mekong",
"text": "Breakfast the next morning is an odd affair, served outside on the table in the street, with the elders standing by, watching us eat. There’s not a lot of time, as we need to head down river again.  We embark at 7:30 for an 8 hour trip.<br /><br />It’s much the same as the day before, just chugging down the Mekong, spotting buffalo, and an elephant on the shore, passing village after village. <br /><br />We stop at the 4000 Buddha caves.  These are a couple of natural caves where the Laos King hid out during the Viet Nam war.  They also moved 4000 statues of Buddha from various temples into the caves. <br /><br />I quiz Kit Kat on Laos’s involvement in the Viet Nam war.  Laos was invaded by the North Vietnamese, and the US fought to prevent attacks on Ho Chi Minh from Laos. Wikipedia says “Laos, the most heavily bombed country on earth was hit by an average of one B-52 bomb-load every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973. US bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the Second World War.”  Unexploded bombs are a massive problem in parts of the country.  It’s estimated a third of US bombs didn’t actually explode and there are millions of them still left lying around. <br /><br />We sail down to a town called Luang Praban.  This is Kit Kats home town, so we get to meet his girlfriend and adorable 2 year old son.  She runs a Lao Massage shop, so the four of us get massages, side by side.  The masseuses don’t speak much English, and we make best use of our limited Laos vocabulary to entertain during the massage. <br /><br />Dinner is at the street market, 15,000 kip (NZ $2.50) for a bowl which you can fill from a buffet of local food.  Delicious, although trying to try everything means the bowl is a conglomeration of all the local flavours.  Then it’s out to a gorgeous garden bar for a couple of drinks. <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA141771.jpg", "caption":"Buddha statues in the cave"}, {"file":"pics/AA141795.jpg", "caption":"Dinner, help yourself for $2.50"}]}
,
{ "date": "22-Dec",

"title":"Luang Praban",
"text": "Today starts with a nice 20 minutes kayak ride down the Mekong River to an Elephant ride.  We spend about 30 minutes on an elephant. Wandering up through the jungle and back to a natural waterfall.  Here the water cascades through a series of natural rock pools, spectacular by itself, but even more so when wading through them on the back of an elephant.<br /><br />A walking elephant isn’t the most stable place to take photos from, but I get a few.  After the ride, we feed the elephants – the dexterity they have with their trunks is truly amazing.<br /><br />It’s then back into the kayaks and down river again.  Paddling past people washing themselves and their clothes in the river, past an elephant having a wash, past villages and farms.  The paddling goes on and on, the river is wide and the current slow but the views are awesome.  <br /><br />Right at the end, we hit a bit of white water. Right at the end, when we are tired, with blisters just starting to develop.  We get pushed by the current onto the wrong side of an island, so have to drag the kayak across and carry on for the last 100 meters of the trip. Annoying end to it.<br /><br />It’s then back into town were we meet up with most of the people hopping on the tour tomorrow.  Dinner across a footbridge on the other side of the river.  There are about a dozen more joining our group of four.  Mostly young backpackers, Aussies, Poms, Norwegians, Danes.  Then out to a local tourist bar. Big place, heaps of people, good music, young crowd.  <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA141836.jpg", "caption":"Brandon and I, elephant riding"}, {"file":"pics/AA142024.jpg", "caption":"The natural water pools, for the elephants to play in "}, {"file":"pics/AA142099.jpg", "caption":"Brandon and Sam, kayaking"}, {"file":"pics/AA142137.jpg", "caption":"Elephant in the Mekong river"}]}
,
{ "date": "23-Dec ",

"title":"Vang Vieng",
"text": "Today is a travel day, and our group has swelled to 16.  The most impressive is a couple from New York in their late seventies travelling through Laos for the second time.  Incredibly funny and with the most amazing can-do attitude.<br /><br />Unfortunately for Kit Kat the bus he’s arranged is broken down, and the driver’s phone is flat, so we are waiting around a while for our pickup.  He arranges two vans instead of the bus, which makes for a quicker trip.  <br /><br />We are driving across the mountains, the scenery is spectacular in places.  This is the main road in Laos – there is lots of roadwork and the ride is rough and bumpy and twisty.  Fortunately, nobody suffers car sickness.<br /><br />There are a couple of quick stops on the way, before we arrive in Vang Vieng.  Most of the group is hopping off here for Christmas. It’s a small party town, very touristy.  Its reputation has improved over the past couple of years as the Laos government has cleaned the place up a lot.  There used to be a lot of tourist deaths here, lots of heavy drinking and dodgy drugs by the river didn’t make for a good combination.<br /><br />So, Kit Kat will journey on tomorrow, while we’ll wait for the next guide in a few days’ time before hopping back on. We have a big farewell dinner, he really has been an awesome guide, funny, enthusiastic, knowledgeable.<br /><br />The bar he takes us to after dinner is typical of the places here.  Free drink on entry (really disgusting, I think it was a rum).  There are beer pong tables in the bar and while there are loads of young kids, I don’t see any getting too messed up.  It seems every pool table in town is as flat as Mount Everest.  I’ve seen balls take 90 degree turns as they come to a stop.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA142268.jpg", "caption":"Hot air balloon over Vang Vieng"}]}
,
{ "date": "25-Dec ",

"title":"Christmas in Vang Vieng",
"text": "There are a group of 14 of us that get together for Christmas dinner.  We’ve found a restaurant run by a Belgian and a French guy, where we book in for a roast duck Christmas dinner.  We’ve organised a secret Santa, so everyone gives and gets a present.<br /><br />The restaurant has a nice outlook, over a footbridge across to an island in the river, and the mountains behind make a perfect spot to watch the sunset before tucking into dinner. The 79 year old New Yorker refuses to make a toast (I’m the oldest – I always have to do it), so Tiana, the youngest stands up and says a few words along the lines of: It being her first Christmas away from her family, and she couldn’t imagine a nicer place or group of people to spend it with.  Dinner is great, and we get into some good wine, which is rare to find in these parts.<br /><br />I drew one of the travellers I’ve been with since Bangkok in the secret Santa, and find a t-shirt with her favourite local saying.  “Same Same. But Different”.  It’s what the local hawkers of fake products will say when asked about their goods.  Is it a real Rolex?  Same Same.  But Different.  I get given a book I’ve already read, but won’t mind reading again.<br /><br />After dinner, we stop in at a bar we see on the way home.  Fat Monkeys.  Famed for selling shotgun beers, and t-shirts with their slogan “I came, I saw, I shotgunned”.  The biggest bar in town also sell slogan t-shirts.  “Drink Triple, See Double, Act Single”.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA142277.jpg", "caption":"Xmas sunset 1"}, {"file":"pics/AA142305.jpg", "caption":"Xmas sunset 2"}]}
,
{ "date": "27-Dec ",

"title":"Vang Vieng Hot Air Ballooning",
"text": "Book in for a hot air balloon ride today.  We’ve seen them floating past each morning and evening, so three of us decide to give it a go.  <br /><br />We head out late afternoon, and arrive at the same time as the balloons.  Nothing to do but stand around while they get set up.  Tipping each basket on its side, and attaching the balloon, which is rolled out flat.  It’s initially inflated by a couple of petrol powered fans, before the pilot climbs into the basket and fires the burners to heat the air.  Slowly the balloon starts to inflate.<br /><br />The pilot climbs inside the basket and fires the dual burners.  Two huge flames erupt and heat the air inside the balloon.  It starts to take shape, and slowly rises upwards, the basket straightening as it does.  Seven on us climb inside, and as the pilot fires both burners on full throttle, I have to turn my face away from the heat.  It’s ferocious and at first seems futile, but slowly the basket starts to slide across the ground before lifting off completely.<br /><br />I’ve heard people describe hot air ballooning as peaceful, serene.  Perhaps it is, if you get higher up, or into updrafts.  Every few moments, the peace is interrupted with a noisy hot burst of the burners to keep us afloat.<br /><br />We drift slowly across Vang Vieng, perhaps 100 to 200 meters up.  The views to the late sun over the mountains are awesome.  The aerial view of the town is interesting, as we pick out the place we stay, and the places we’ve dined and partied.  The river runs between, and we see kayakers, as well as the local boats and fishermen.<br /><br />It takes a half hour to drift over to the other end of town and we come across the balloon catchers.  These are the guys who helped launch us, and are now waiting for us to land.  As the balloon drops slowly towards them, we throw out ropes for them to grab hold of so they can hold us down. The hot air is released from the balloon and it slowly falls to the ground to be rolled up, packed up, loaded onto the truck and is ready to go for tomorrow’s trip.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA142469.jpg", "caption":"Blowing up a balloon"}, {"file":"pics/AA142498.jpg", "caption":"Fire"}, {"file":"pics/AA142513.jpg", "caption":"Up Up and away"}, {"file":"pics/AA142571.jpg", "caption":"Vang Vieng from the air"}, {"file":"pics/AA142763.jpg", "caption":"The market from above"}, {"file":"pics/AA142618.jpg", "caption":"Looking towards the sun, rice fields, forest and mountains"}]}
,
{ "date": "28-Dec",

"title":"Vang Vieng to Vientiane",
"text": "Today, we travel to the capital of Laos, Vientiane.  It’s on the big Stray bus, fully loaded with 17 of us on board.  Before leaving Van Vieng, we stop in at a nearby cave.  Walking up the 500 or so steps we enter the natural cave.  It’s big enough to walk through, getting as high as 15 meters in places.  It’s made of 3 large, connected chambers, there are stalactites hanging down from the ceiling.  There are walkways on the floor, and stairs in places, to protect it from all the visitors’ feet. In one of the caverns, a Buddhist shrine has been carved.  At the end of the caverns, is a little terrace, in the cliff face, accessible only through the caves. It’s nice to standout in the breeze after climbing all those stairs and walking through the stifling caves.<br /><br />Back to the bus, and the road is through the mountains.  It has lots of twists and turns, and it’s in fairly poor condition.  It’s a bumpy uncomfortable ride for most of the way.   It gets easier as we get closer to the capital, a city of about a million people.<br /><br />Some of the tour options end in Vientiane, so we drop Sam off at the airport, and others by the bus station for the overnight trip to Bangkok, before taking a quick tour around some of the landmarks.<br /><br />First stop is a museum dedicated to raising funds for clearing mines, and supporting people who have been injured by mines.  There is a 10 minute video, telling the story of a father of two, who was seriously injured by a mine while lighting the cooking fire.  All of a sudden, a little unexploded cluster bomb underneath his fire exploded.  He lost most of his sight, and was maimed in the legs and arms.  The impact on his family is devastating.  His wife now needs to provide for them all.  It’s a well done, incredibly moving story.   The museum raises funds for teams to mine sweep villages, fields and roads making them safe for the locals.  With what they are able to do, it will take decades to cover all the inhabited areas, let alone all the wild forest and mountain areas.  Unfortunately, America (the source of the bombs) has just withdrawn the $25 million a year they currently provide.<br /><br />We see the Pha That Luang, a 44m tall Buddhist stupa, a symbol of Lao nationalism.  The site has contained a number of temples, since the original Hindu temple built in the third century.  The site has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, as it’s been trashed in various wars.  The current stupa was built in the 1930’s.<br /><br />The second site is Patuxai, a monument modelled after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.  Unfortunately, we are too late to climb to the top, so just have a look and walk around the fountains.  <br /><br />Then it’s off to the hotel.  Prices here are much more expensive than other parts of Laos, and the quality is lousy as well.  The place we’re in is close to the Mekong River and night markets.  We have a look around, before heading out to dinner.  The restaurant sells a local delicacy, frogs.  These are the whole frog – not just the legs, like in France.   <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA142827.jpg", "caption":"Inside the cave"}, {"file":"pics/AA142864.jpg", "caption":"Pha That Luang"}, {"file":"pics/AA142898.jpg", "caption":"The Stray tour bus"}, {"file":"pics/AA142916.jpg", "caption":"Dinner – ribbit "}, {"file":"pics/AA142932.jpg", "caption":"Vientiane night markets"}]}
,
{ "date": "29-Dec",

"title":"Vientiane to Kong Lor",
"text": "More people leave the tour group, some back to Bangkok, some to stay in Vientiane until the next bus comes through.  There are only 4 of us continuing on, so we are in a mini-van.  Much more comfortable and much quicker than the bus.  There is a couple from Norway, a Dutch girl and me.<br /><br />Today, we head to Kong Lor, it’s mostly driving – there’s not a lot to stop off and see.  <br /><br />When we get to Kon Lor, it’s a tiny little village, which has only just begun to develop as a tourist area (supported by aid from NZ).  It’s a village of perhaps 150 houses.  There are about 5 guest houses and 4 restaurants.  The one we are in is quite new, neat and tidy and all of $9 a night.<br /><br />The nearby land is farmed.  The crop at the moment is tobacco, and they get a crop of rice and corn each year.  The corn and tobacco is sold for income, the rice is kept to eat.<br /><br />Sadly, one of the local monks has passed away recently, so the village is in mourning, and has been for 3 weeks, ending tomorrow with his cremation. The roads are lined with flags to show respect, and the locals spend time at the temple paying their respects.  This means that the restaurants are sporadically closed.  The sound of chanting comes from the temple – amplified it can be heard right across the village.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA142958.jpg", "caption":"Local farmers heading home on the tractor – note all the flags showing respect for the monk"}, {"file":"pics/AA142968.jpg", "caption":"Farmers in the tobacco fields"}]}
,
{ "date": "30-Dec",

"title":"Caving in Kong Lor",
"text": "The reason we came all the way out here is to visit the Kong Lor Cave.  This is a natural cave tunnelled by the river, for over 7 kms under the mountain.  We are going to take a boat up river all the way to the other side.  <br /><br />As we walk to the end of the village, and the cave mouth, we see visitors coming from the village on the other side of the mountain.  They’ve taken the same boat ride we will and have come across to visit the temple with offerings.<br /><br />The cave is literally a hole in the mountain.  At this time of year, the river is pretty low, so it’s easy to walk on the riverbank right into the mountain.  Inside the boats are waiting for us.  Long boats, that sit shallow in the water.  There are a couple of boats waiting for us, which we climb into and away we go.<br /><br />It’s dark inside, and massive.  The cave is 100 meters wide at some points, and 100 meters tall too.  The path the river takes twists and turns, there is the occasional stony beach otherwise it is rock walls.  It’s eerie, and I’m aware of the weight of the mountain above us.  I peer into the dark, desperately expecting to hear “Myyy preciousss”.  <br /><br />After about 10 minutes, we pull over to a section where there is a walkway through a section of the cave above the water level.  Here they have placed lights on the stalagmites and stalactites.  <br /><br />Back into the boats for a half hour or so, and we reach the rapids.  A small 10 meter stretch, where we have to get out and wade though the water, while the pilot hauls the boat up the rapids.  <br /><br />It’s another 15 minutes before we reach the end of the cave, the light illuminating the rock walls before we round a corner and see the exit hole over seven kilometres away from where we started.  Chugging along, we enter the light to find a dead calm tree lined river.  After an hour in the darkness, it’s a beautiful contrast.<br /><br />We stop ashore, and wander into the village.  It’s tiny, about 30 houses, with their farms and crops and animals and kids all around.  We join some local kids in a game of throwing shoes at rubber bands, and loose badly.  <br /><br />Then it’s back into the boats for the return journey.  We’re downriver on the way back, so it’s a little quicker, and we’re able to slide the boat down the rocks on the rapids without getting out, so it seems like next to no time before we are climbing off the boat for the last time.<br /><br />It’s a stunning cave, massive, beautiful, surprisingly navigable by boat, and a hell of a lot easier than the 8 hour trek over the mountains.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA143016.jpg", "caption":"Tobacco plants"}, {"file":"pics/AA143189.jpg", "caption":"Entrance to the cave"}, {"file":"pics/AA143028.jpg", "caption":"Just inside the entrance of the Kong Lor cave"}, {"file":"pics/AA143056.jpg", "caption":"Inside the Caves"}, {"file":"pics/AA143074.jpg", "caption":"Limestone columns in the cave"}, {"file":"pics/AA143089.jpg", "caption":"Emerging into the light"}, {"file":"pics/AA143095.jpg", "caption":"Beautifully still river bank"}, {"file":"pics/AA143104.jpg", "caption":"Perfectly serene scene "}, {"file":"pics/AA143129.jpg", "caption":"Farm field just outside the village"}, {"file":"pics/AA143165.jpg", "caption":"Reentering the cave on the return journey"}]}
,
{ "date": "31-Dec",

"title":"Kong Lor to Tha Kek",
"text": "Today, we are heading to a town called Tha Kek for New Year’s Eve.  It’s a fair drive, so we are away early.  We’ve only being going to half an hour before a turkey flies into the side of our mini-van.  It just kept going, and smacked into the drivers mirror.  The mirror was demolished, but there was no other damage to the car.  Fortunately, the turkey seemed to be OK too, although a little dazed.  Weird way to start the day.<br /><br />We stop at the Great Wall of Tha Kek on the way into town.  It’s an old ruined stone wall that used to surround the town.  It was built about 1500 years ago, to protect the town from Thai invaders.  Most of it is gone now, but we can see some parts still standing.  The wall towers over us in the jungle, and stands 20 meters tall in places.  It’s made of massive stone blocks.  Now that I’ve seen this, is there still a need to see the Great Wall of China?<br /><br />Check into our hotel, placed right on the Mekong River.  We have time for a wander around town before heading out to a restaurant for dinner.  The steak comes recommended, and it is fantastic.  There is also wine available, which makes a nice change from the beer.  <br /><br />After dinner, we walk through town, but there doesn’t seem to be any lively parties.  We stick our heads into a really bad karaoke bar for one drink before deciding it’s too painful to stay there.  We find a table by the river and buy some beers from a lady also selling cooked pigs nipples.  Disgusting fatty, chewy lumps of meat.  Not recommended.<br /><br />So New Years is sitting on the banks of the Mekong, drinking beer and playing cards.  At midnight, we get a nice firework show from the Thai shore across the river to go with the fireworks that the locals have been setting off since about 9pm.  It’s now 2015.  Happy New Year.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA143224.jpg", "caption":"The Great Wall of Tha Kek"}, {"file":"pics/AA143254.jpg", "caption":"Freddy, Kao, Erland and Uda walking down to the river "}, {"file":"pics/AA143321.jpg", "caption":"Fireworks over the Mekong River"}]}
,
{ "date": "1-Jan",

"title":"Tha Kek to Xe Champhone",
"text": "A small village, Xe Champhone, is where we will be staying the night in a house, rather than hotel.  <br /><br />First stop is to the market to buy some food for tonight’s barbeque. Chicken, fish, pork, vegetables.<br /><br />We stop off at a few places on the way.  Frist stop is in Ban Done Deng, at Nong Dao (Turtle Lake).  This is a lake with hundreds of soft shelled turtles, some of them over a century old.  The locals believe they are sacred, and work to protect them – guarding them at night, and bring back any that wander too far away.  <br /><br />We buy some food for them, and spend some time feeding them.  There is a bridge out to the middle of the lake, with a small temple at the end.  The turtles are so revered that when one dies, they use this temple to perform the same funeral as they would a person.<br /><br />The second stop is at Old Wat Taleow, a temple bombed in 1969, during the Vietnam War.  There are bullet holes in the ruins, but enough of the structure remains to protect the frescoes and a statue of Buddha inside. <br /><br />Next stop is the Hotay Pidok Library.  This is another temple – the highlight being a 200 year old wooden building, built on stilts over the river. It houses a collection of Buddhist scripture, written on palm leaves dating back to the 16th century.  Also collected here is a history of Laos along with instructions on how to weave and dye the different regional skirts in Laos. <br /><br />Final stop for the day is at the edge of a forest, housing wild monkeys.  We’ve come prepared with bananas, and as we walk in, the monkeys slowly emerge for a feed.  We see about 40 different monkeys, including some young ones.  There aren’t many people that come up here, so they wary of us, but eventually won over with the offer of a banana.  They are cute and it’s cool to see them in their natural habitat.<br /><br />Then it’s back to our house, it’s in a small village of about 100 houses.  We have a wander through.  It’s market day, so the town is out and about looking at the wares the traders have bought in, mostly on overloaded motorbikes.  <br /><br />The barbeque is cooked, chicken legs, fish with lemon grass, pork chops, some fried greens and potatoes.  It’s fantastic.  <br /><br />We’re all tired after a long day, and just as we’re looking to head to bed early, the party starts next door.  They’ve got karaoke going, and they just cannot sing.  It’s painfully bad, but they do eventually stop around midnight.   <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA143383.jpg", "caption":"Feeding the turtle"}, {"file":"pics/AA143401.jpg", "caption":"Turtle’s hungry"}, {"file":"pics/AA143421.jpg", "caption":"One ugly turtle"}, {"file":"pics/AA143499.jpg", "caption":"200 year old wooden library "}, {"file":"pics/AA143503.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143513.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143515.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143535.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143536.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143544.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143552.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143554.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143559.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143562.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143567.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143585.jpg", "caption":"Monkey"}, {"file":"pics/AA143648.jpg", "caption":"Children playing in a field as the sun sets"}]}
,
{ "date": "2-Jan",

"title":"Xe Champhone – Pakse",
"text": "Today is largely travel day.  We stop at a waterfall on the way into Pakse, the third largest town in Laos.  The waterfall is by a big coffee plantation, the local climate is very good for coffee, and the local beans have great reputation in the region.  Pakse has a small town feel though since it’s only got 88,000 people.  We get in late, hit an Indian restaurant, of which there are a few in town, unlike other places I’ve stopped.  <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA143683.jpg", "caption":"Waterfall"}, {"file":"pics/AA143687.jpg", "caption":"Waterfall"}]}
,
{ "date": "3-Jan",

"title":"Pakse to Don Det",
"text": "Today, we travel to Si Phan Don, literal translation: 4,000 islands.  There are a lot of islands in this part of the Mekong, some of them quite large.  We stay on Don Det, it’s about 7.5km to walk around the island.<br /><br />But before getting there we stop at Wat Phou, a World Heritage Site.  This is an ancient temple, originally built in the 6th century as a Hindu temple, and later adapted to Animism and Buddhism as those religions took hold in the area.  There is a road from here directly to Angkor Wat.  <br /><br />The temple is in pretty bad shape now, and there are restoration/rebuild efforts going on at present.  We walk down a long, old stone path beside a lake to the front of the temple.  There are two partially collapsed buildings, one on each side, and the path continues up the hill lined by frangipani trees.<br /><br />The steps are old, worn, crumbling, and steep as we climb up.  Looking back down the steps, we get a great view of the lakes and buildings below as well as the local area.  At the top, a natural spring flows from a crevice in the cliff face.  All that remains of some of the structures here are piles of stones.  Others, like a little temple housing a statue of Buddha are still intact and maintained, but the carvings on the outside depict Hindu gods.  <br /><br />Off to the right, we walk a hundred meters, and find an Animistic elephant carving on a rock. Another is a crocodile carving which has been used for human sacrifice a thousand years ago.<br /><br />We are lucky to get a ferry across the Mekong River; it saves about 90 minutes driving, and they aren’t always available.  It’s about a twenty minute ride, with the van and us on a trimaran.  The outer boats are old transport boats left over after the American War.  <br /><br />After a couple of hours drive, it’s onto another boat ride over to Don Det.  No van this time, there are no cars on the island.  Scooters and pushbikes, but no cars.  The boat ride weaves between some of the small islands, and gets us to Don Det after 20 minutes on the river.  Don Det is a small town, totally tourist oriented.  The place we are staying is right on the corner of the island, we have 270 degree views of the river and its stunning sunset.  I’ve hopped off the tour, to spend a few more days here.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA143703.jpg", "caption":"Ruined building"}, {"file":"pics/AA143715.jpg", "caption":"Steps leading up"}, {"file":"pics/AA143729.jpg", "caption":"The view from the top"}, {"file":"pics/AA143744.jpg", "caption":"Hindu carvings"}, {"file":"pics/AA143755.jpg", "caption":"Elephant carved into a large stone"}, {"file":"pics/AA143765.jpg", "caption":"Motorbike ferry, leaving just as we arrived"}, {"file":"pics/AA143767.jpg", "caption":"The van on the ferry"}, {"file":"pics/AA143819.jpg", "caption":"Sunset at Don Det"}]}
,
{ "date": "4-Jan",

"title":"Cycling Don Det to Don Khong",
"text": "Don Det is a really tiny tourist town.  It’s got about 4 streets, all full with guesthouses and restaurants and tour operators.  It doesn’t have real roads, only paths.  There are a few scooters and plenty of bicycles. <br /><br />Today, we decide to rent pushbikes for the day ($0.75).  There is a recommended ride, across to a larger island called Don Kong.   The ride is fun, down a dirt/stone path dodging people, chickens, scooters, and shoes left outside front doors.  The ride is about an hour long, along the pretty coast before cutting across the middle of the island through farmland.  There is a bridge between Don Det and Don Kong, and the toll ticket also gets us entry to the waterfall.  It’s another short ride before we park our bikes with all the others and head over to the waterfall. <br /><br />The waterfalls are not quite what I expected.  The Mekong is really wide here, and it flows down a series of rocks in a number of different paths, making for a huge series of individual falls.  Not particularly high, but very wide.  It is the dry season at present, and I expect this area will look completely different during monsoon season.<br /><br />A short walk from the waterfalls is an area they call the beach.  It’s a sandy spot on the shore of the river, only about 15 meters wide, but the sand runs back about 30 meters.  There is a little bay of water suitable for swimming, but further out, the river rushes by quickly.  There is a bar, and some bungalows with hammocks.   Most of the afternoon is spent in a hammock with a mojito.<br /><br />As the afternoon wears on, the bike ride back becomes more urgent.  We time it about right, arriving back just after sunset.  The sunset is spectacular over the river.  Unfortunately, I’ve run out of space on my camera and have to give up taking photos before I wanted to. <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA143877.jpg", "caption":"Mekong waterfalls on Don Kong"}, {"file":"pics/AA143893.jpg", "caption":"Mekong waterfalls on Don Kong"}, {"file":"pics/AA143899.jpg", "caption":"Mekong waterfalls on Don Kong"}, {"file":"pics/AA143928.jpg", "caption":"Freddy on a bike"}, {"file":"pics/AA143966.jpg", "caption":"Sunset, taken from the bridge between Don Kong and Don Det"}, {"file":"pics/AA143984.jpg", "caption":"Sunset"}, {"file":"pics/AA144033.jpg", "caption":"Fishing in the Mekong"}, {"file":"pics/AA144048.jpg", "caption":"Wow"}]}
,
{ "date": "5-Jan",

"title":"Kayaking Don Det",
"text": "Today, we go for a kayak trip down the Mekong.  There are a few sections to paddle, separated by a walk across the board in Cambodia, lunch and a visit to another waterfall.<br /><br />I get a couple of pictures before disaster happens, Freddy and I capsize our kayak.  Fortunately, not in deep water, so I am able to stand, but my camera gets completely submerged in the Mekong River for a few seconds.  I rip the battery out straight away, and get back in the kayak.<br /><br />The waterfall is awesome, but I don’t get any photos – I’ll let the camera dry out completely before trying to power it back on.  It’s got some weather sealing protection, so hopefully it’ll be OK. <br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA144058.jpg", "caption":"Erland and Oda in a kayak before I capsized"}]}
,
{ "date": "7-Jan",

"title":"Don Det to Siem Reap",
"text": "Today is one of the worst travel days.  <br /><br />We take a boat off Don Det, then a van ride to the Cambodian border.  Through immigration, which is a 3 step process.  First a temperature check to make sure we aren’t running a fever.  Cost US$ 1.  Then buy a visa, cost US$ 35.  Then use the visa to get through immigration, cost US$ 5.  Fortunately, we’ve started early, so there are no queues.  <br /><br />I’m now in Cambodia.  Next step, wait for the ride.  It’s a dodgy old van to take us to Siem Reap, about 7 hours with a stop for lunch.  The van is fully loaded with passengers, there’s no leg room, and it’s hot and uncomfortable as we bounce along the potholed road.  Luckily, I get the front seat after lunch, so it’s a lot more comfortable for me (although it means I get a better view of the crazy traffic – sometimes it is better to be in the back and not see how close we get to hitting tractors, scooters or buffalo).<br /><br />We arrive in Siem Reap just after sunset, and are surprised as we turn a corner and see a modern street - a Hard Rock Café amongst other modern western looking restaurants.  We turn aside from this contemporary boulevard and cross the river to the cheaper part of town.<br /><br />We stay just a short walk from the imaginatively named Pub Street.  It’s a couple of blocks full of touristy bars and restaurants and some markets.  See roasted tarantulas for sale for the first time, and decide that they are beyond the limits of my culinary exploration.<br /><br />As we head out to dinner, I experience a first since arriving in South East Asia over 3 weeks ago.  Rain.  Well, a shower.  It lasted all of 2 minutes, but it’s the only rain I’ve seen.<br /><br />", "images": [] }
,
{ "date": "8/9-Jan",

"title":"Angkor Wat",
"text": "The recommendation is to visit Angkor Wat early, so this morning I find myself rudely awoken by the alarm at 4:30am and climbing into a tuk tuk for the 6km ride up to the temple.  There is plenty of traffic on the road, lots of tourists doing exactly what we are doing. <br /><br />Angkor Wat is one of the Unesco World Heritage sites, the largest religious monument in the world.  It was originally built in the early 12th century as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, by Suryavarman II, one of the Khmer kings.  Work on it stopped after his death, and parts of the bas-relief remain unfinished.  Not long after, the region was invaded, and nearby temples Angkor Thom and Bayon were constructed a few kms to the north by the conquering Cham people (the indigenous people of southern Vietnam).<br /><br />Angkor Wat is surrounded by a 190 meter wide rectangular moat.  We sit outside the moat, in the dark watching.  The sky lightens before sunrise, revealing the silhouette of the temple.  We walk across the bridge and inside the outer walls of the temple.  There is a paved walkway from the wall up to the temple, and in the grounds to the left and right are lakes.  At the lake on the left, a mass of people have gathered, waiting for the sun to appear.<br /><br />When it does, it rises behind the temple, a breathtaking view.  We take a couple of photographs, before wandering around the temple itself.  <br /><br />The temple is huge. It’s a five towered structure which contains more stone than the Great Pyramid in Egypt, which was transported over 35kms from where it was quarried.  Almost all surfaces are carved, with various depictions of Hindu mythology.  Warriors, elephants, gods (Devata) are beautifully carved into the walls.  Given that its 187 by 215 m, it’s impossible to take in all the details, but we spend a couple of hours wandering around the temple.<br /><br />Then it’s back to the crowd of tuk tuk drivers, to find the one we’ve hired.  Clearly, they’ve done this before as some have hammocks set up in the tuk tuk and are relaxing.  Next stop is Angkor Thom.<br /><br />It’s a short little ride away, and is a temple built a couple of decades after Angkor Wat.  Unfortunately it’s under repair; it’s covered in scaffolding.  We wander around, climb up steep staircases to admire the view from the top of the stupas.   The feature of Angkor Thom are the faces made into the walls.  These are believed to depict the king at the time.  All that remains of the temple is the stone structures.  There is evidence of a wooden town built around the temple.<br /><br />Wandering further on, we walk down the elephant terrace, a long walkway with depictions of local animals.  Elephants, monkeys, tigers, snakes – but it’s most well-known for the elephants with the trunks made of separate stones.<br /><br />We also visit the Ta Prohm.  It’s a smaller structure than the others we’ve seen, but it’s impressive how the trees have grown over it.  It’s a Buddhist temple, built starting 1186, a temple of towers, courtyards and narrow corridors.  Even though there are plenty of people around, the ancient trees with their roots embracing the stone bring a feeling of discovering something new, like Indiana Jones.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA144154.jpg", "caption":"Looking across the moat to Angkor Wat"}, {"file":"pics/AA144225.jpg", "caption":"Angkor Wat"}, {"file":"pics/AA144306.jpg", "caption":"Sun rising behind Angkor Wat"}, {"file":"pics/AA144327.jpg", "caption":"Sun rising behind Angkor Wat"}, {"file":"pics/AA144339.jpg", "caption":"Carvings at Angkor Wat"}, {"file":"pics/AA144379.jpg", "caption":"Faces at Bayon"}, {"file":"pics/AA144386.jpg", "caption":"Bayon Face"}, {"file":"pics/AA144391.jpg", "caption":"Carving at Angkor Thom"}, {"file":"pics/AA144398.jpg", "caption":"Stupa"}, {"file":"pics/AA144423.jpg", "caption":"Elephant Terrace"}, {"file":"pics/AA144441.jpg", "caption":"Tree overgrowing the temple 1"}, {"file":"pics/AA144472.jpg", "caption":"Tree overgrowing the temple 2"}, {"file":"pics/AA144482.jpg", "caption":"Tree overgrowing the temple 3"}]}
,
{ "date": "10-Jan",

"title":"Siem Reap – Cooking Class",
"text": "Enrol in a cooking class today.  It starts with a trip to the local market, where we pick up a few things the restaurant needs.  The back to the restaurant.  The menu is a green mango salad, vegetable soup, stir fried morning glory, fish amok and banana tapioca dessert.<br /><br />The green mango salad (and its cousin the green papaya salad) is a common dish in the area.  It’s essentially finely sliced green mango and carrot in a dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, and coriander.  Mine is topped off with some dried fish, but I’ve seen dried fried pork used too.<br /><br />The vegetable soup was delicious, it was made with the amok curry sauce, and a range of local fresh vegetables.  Morning glory is a local water spinach.  The amok curry is a Cambodian specialty.  It’s steamed in little basket made from banana leaves. It comprises turmeric, galangal, lemongrass, cloves, kaffir leaves, shrimp paste and shallots.  Add a little coconut cream and sugar. <br /><br />After that lunch, didn’t need much dinner.  We’re sitting in a restaurant where the two waitresses don’t speak much English.  I order a gin and tonic.  I get given a can of tonic, and assume the gin will be there shortly as I can see the bottle on the shelf in the bar.  It doesn’t arrive, so I ask about it.  The girls get confused, and take away the tonic – I think I’ll miss out entirely until I spot one of them crossing the road with a tall glass, containing a drink, ice cubes, swizzle stick and straw.  They’d gone to the pub to buy one for me!  <br /><br />", "images": [] }
,
{ "date": "13-Jan",

"title":"Siem Reap to Battambang",
"text": "Today, I’m travelling again.  We head to a small village called Battambang.  <br /><br />On route, we stop at a couple of places.  First is for some of the local history, why it’s called Battambang, which in Khmer literally translates as Loss of Stick.  Legend has it that a farmer found a magic black stick, which he used to become King.  He dreamt that he would be defeated on by a monk on a white horse, so he called all the monks to see him and killed them.  The previous king’s son, however, had escaped and hidden as a monk.  When he was ready, he rode to the king on a white horse.  The king, panicked and threw his magic stick at the monk, losing it forever.<br /><br />The second stop is the bamboo railway.  This is a train ride we take, on a disused piece of railway track (almost all the Cambodian railway is currently disused –it fell into decay during the rule of the Khmer Rouge).  The bamboo railway is so named because the cars are made largely of bamboo.  It’s an open platform car, large enough for 4 passengers to sit on, and the driver, who has a small petrol motor to power us along the tracks.<br /><br />We get seated and get going, at speeds close to 20 km/h.  We’re zooming along through farmland, rice fields.  We see buffalo grazing and kids fishing.  The track is one line only, and we soon come across a ‘train’ coming the other way.  We stop.  The drivers lift our platform off its axels, placing it to the side of the track.  Then the axels themselves are removed.  The car on the track moves ahead a little way, before the driver stops and helps us back onto the track, first the axels, then the car is placed on, the motor drive belt reattached and away we go.<br /><br />At the end of the rail is a small village.  They’ve got some hawkers taking advantage of the arriving tourists.  We wander around the brickyard and buy a drink from the locals before heading back.<br /><br />The railway is fun.  It’s the entrepreneurial locals taking advantage of the disused track.  There are repair works on the Cambodian railways, so the bamboo railway has a limited life span.<br /><br />We get out of Battanbang, into a small village.  We’re staying with a family – they have the cutest little kids.<br /><br />In the tour of the village, the first stop is the still, where they make the rice alcohol.  It’s a pretty ordinary looking affair, but supplies the locals with something to drink – a fairly raw high alcohol concoction. <br /><br />Next stop is the English school.  Here the local teacher is providing extra classes for the kids to focus more on English.  There are about 20 kids, ranging from 5 to about 12.  We are asked to read some of the vocabulary they are learning, getting the kids to repeat it back.  I then get questioned by the kids, and have to write the answers on the board.  What’s your name?  What’s your job?  How old are you?  Are you married?  An unmarried, 44 year old student is definitely unusual.  They didn’t believe me. <br /><br />We have dinner cooked by the family we are staying with, fish amok, barbequed chicken, stir fired vegetables.  Fantastic food.<br /><br />",
"images":[{"file":"pics/AA144658.jpg", "caption":"The king and his stick"}, {"file":"pics/AA144669.jpg", "caption":"Bamboo railway "}, {"file":"pics/AA144709.jpg", "caption":"Oda, the driver and I - shadows"}, {"file":"pics/AA144713.jpg", "caption":"Rice wine stills"}]}
]}