Lijiang

Our bus was very plush- wide leather seats and 3 TV screens, playing Charlie's Angles (dubbed in Chinese though). However, I began to yearn for the overnight trains... we broke down and had to stop 3 times, and then wait an hour for a new bus to pick us up! The scenery along the way was really beautiful though- lots of rice paddies, huge mountains & valleys, little villages... such a nice change from the busy cities we have been visiting. I also had some interesting (squat) toilet experiences. Firstly, little old ladies not bothering to close the doors; one woman facing bum out (lovely view); a communal trough that everone squats over- so much fun! Haha. We arrived in Lijiang quite late, and followed the narrow cobbled streets of the Old Town to our very cute guest house. That night we explored the town and its beautiful buildings, canals & bridges (and lots of Chinese tourists!). The following morning we got up very early to empty streets, and walked to the top of Lion Hill Park. We watched the sunrise from the top of Wangu tower. Was very pretty watching all the old style rooftops become light. There were a whole heap of Chinese men taking photos with massive lenses & tripods (compensating for something?). We sat in a little cafe to warm up with hot tea, and became the subject of a few photos from passers by! There was some Naxi (minority group) dancing going on in the town square which we enjoyed. We then explored Black Dragon Pool, which is a lovely big park & lake area. We wandered around the peaceful gardens, with the stunning Jade Dragon Mountains in the background. Was so nice being away from the hectic-ness of Chinese cities. There was a Culture Research Centre that we had a look at, and a young Naxi guy was more than happy to explain the Dongba culture of the Naxi people. It was really interesting. After a huge morning, I lazed around in the afternoon, before enjoying the dusk view of the town from Mel's balcony high on the hill. In the morning, we got organised to leave for our 2 day trek.

kunming

The train journey was quite uneventful. I was really tired from my busy few days, so I was looking forward to a big sleep... Didn't happen though! For some reason, the join between two carriages was squeaking extremely loudly, and I was on the bottom bunk, second row from the end, so it kept me awake all night! We arrived in the city of Kunming around midday. After manouvering our way to a taxi to the hotel, we ate lunch and then went for a walk around the city with Jackie. There wasn't much to do in the place; I think most travellers use it as a base to get to more interesting towns & sights. The highlights of our walk included a big lake surrounded by concrete bridges & pathways. Although Emma got her fortune told by a budgie which was exciting! And we passed a giant fibreglass dumpling that I had to pose with. We all sat around in the French Cafe for a while, enjoying tea & sweets. It was a really cute little place to relax in, with cosy lounges & free internet. I meandered back to the hotel, catching the bus all by myself (how independent!). We ate dinner at a restaurent next to the hotel, recommended by the manager. The place was packed, mostly with drunken Chinese businessmen, inlcuding the mayor of a nearby town. Included with our meal was a very tacky minority people show (the population of Kunming includes a lot of minority groups). There was dancing, singing by 3 guys in a boy band style set-up, walking up a ladder of knives (most probably blunt), auctioning a few ceramic pots, calling men up on stage to have a shot of booze and some 'traditional' space-age silver outfits. It was entertaining I suppose, and at the end Helena & I got up on stage for the clapping finale! The next morning I had a much needed sleep in, however it meant getting the dregs of the buffet breakfast. We explored the Bird & Flower market, which sold lots of things including souveniers, army memorabilia & weaponry, pets (spiders, snakes, turtles, pigs, birds, rabbits), some flowers (but not enough to name the market after them) and local supplies (sign making stalls, etc). Not that exciting, but still nice to walk around. Afterwards we went back to Cafe to be lazy for a while, and exchanged some books (I have read a LOT since I've been away). We had a group dinner that night, with some new people joining us for the southern part of our trip (including an 80yr old guy, keen for the trekking part!). The following morning we boarded a bus (my first bus journey in China), headed for Lijiang.

Chengdu

The train was much the same as the others- we played cards, ate too much food, read books... nice & lazy. We were woken by the train staff at 4.45am the following moring!! We arrived in Chengdu at about 5.30, so we killed time till the breakfast places were even open. We spent the morning at the Giant Panda Research & Breeding Centre. It had big enclosures for the pandas, so it wasn't too zoo-like (but still very touristy). We saw adult, sub adult & baby Giant Pandas- they were all extremely cute. They just sat there munching on bamboo non stop, then reaching around on the ground to get more bamboo, then continued the cycle. We were able to get quite close (with abarrier of course). There were even adorable 3 month old cubs, being fed bottles of milk by the staff... awwwww. We watched a very graphic film on the panda breeding at the centre... way too much information. Although it was set to an Enya soundtrack which softened the mood a bit! We ate a vegetarian lunch at the Wengshu Monastery in town, which was very nice. Some of the dishes were made to taste like meet though, which was a bit odd. We explored the picturesque streets & shops nearby, and headed to Tibetan Street, which was not as I imagined. It was really sad as Tibetan people & monks were begging for money and kept following us around. The Chinese probably owned all the shops & got the profits anyway. Our next stop was Jin Li Street, another very pretty, traditonal style collection of lanes. We inspected the shops & food stalls, before returning to our rooms. I watched the Culture Show that night, which showcased Sichuan (The province Chengdu is situated in) opera & entertainment. Was a fun night! the performers had very unique talents, especially the amazing hand shadow puppets! There was also singing, musical instruments, a comedy piece, fire spitting, acrobats & puppets. I had dinner at a local BBQ place- huge plate of spicy vegies & meat for $1.50! I was exhausted after such a long & busy day, but I got up early again the next morning as there is just too much to see in Chengdu! I went for a big walk by the river (it is possibly a canal) to a huge park. I passed a dead kitten on the way which was sad. The park was really nice, with little bridges crossing the lake, and the mandatory old people doing weird 'exercises.' I met a few of the girls for lunch, before we headed to the People's Park, however we didn't have enough time to explore as they were due to go to a cooking class. We walked back part of the way, again running into a food market with dead chickens and raw meat. That night I had delicious local BBQ dinner again, and a 50 cent longie of beer. I then met 3 of the girls on Jin Lin St at one of the bars. There were a lot of Chinese tourists about, and we were the subject of many of their photos! Some people tried to be sly about it- filming the building, and then slowly moving to us, while others posed with us at our table! So funny. The next day I got up very, very early, and Mel and I headed to the People's Park. There was a bit of tai chi, yelling, a lady hittng a tennis ball at a wall (she was so hopeless, but kept it up for over an hour), and some amazing old ladies- one was about 60 I reckon, and she was doing kicks over her head and stretching down to the ground with her arms bent; I was so impressed. We sat at a tea house on the lake, and enjoyed about 4 cups of tea while watching the loacls. There was a cute old man making bird songs, a lady cutting her toenails while sitting with her friends and some big card matches. We wandered around after that, and there was a lot more action. A high energy aerobics class, badminton (we joined in, and I had a huge rally going on with the old man), ballroom dancing, hacky sack... they have so much energy! There was a random haunted house for some reason in the park, and it was only $1, so we checked it out- hilarious! A little old man led us through a series of dark, underground tunnels, which made us think "what the hell are we doing??" He showed us to the entrance of the 'haunted' part, then disappeared. We were a bit freaked out being alone! The actual monsters and stuff tht popped up were so tacky, but we wanted to get out of there, it wa really claustrophobic! We met up with the group to have famous Sichuan hot pot for lunch. Basically, you throw raw meat and vegies (and quail eggs) into a pot of boiling water sitting in the centre of your table. However, our waitress put about 5 plates of food in at once, so it was too full to boil properly, and one of our gas outlets was broken. So with the technical difficulties, the meal was all a bit too much effort, and a bit overrated! I'm glad I tried it though. We then headed off to catch another overnight train!

Xi'an

After arriving in Xi'an around midday, Jackie took us on a walk around the busy city. We headed to the Muslim Quarter, which had lots of little shops & food places. I enjoyed some yum spicy bread & lamb for lunch, then we wandered around the surrounding side streets, full of locals. A few of us were in dire need of a massage after the desert, so we went to a Massage by the Blind place. Was excellent, although my massuese could DEFINATELY see. Ah well! That night, we went to Bar Street which was dead being a Monday. Eachplace we walked past the spruikers would yell at us to come in. We had drinks & snacks at a few places. First a cute cafe, followed by a bar with swinging chairs! All was good until 2 young Chinese 'musicians' came on stage. One guy had a guitar with stickers of baby Disney characters on it, the other had an electric drum kit. They absolutely destroyed 'Knockin on Heaven's Door' with the drummer talking on his mobile halfway thru! It was too loud & terrible, so we went to a cosy tribal style cafe, before calling it a night. I woke up early the next day to see the locals, mostly elderly, out exercising in the park. It ranged from the traditional to the bizarre... tai chi, sword exercises, banging hands on chests, massaging ears, walking around backwards, shouting, push ups with no shirt, banging into a tree over & over, clapping, line dancing to techno music... very entertaining. It was nice walking throught the pretty gardens. A garbage truck passed us, palaying "My Heart Will Go On." I then met up with the whole group to visit the famous Terracotta Warriors. We watched a movie first on 360 degree screens, telling us all about the history of the site. The 6000+ terracotta warriors were built over 2000 yrs ago by an emporer who wanted them in his tomb for afterlife protection. It took over 40 yrs & 720 000 people to build them all, but only 1 year after he died the tomb was invaded & destroyed. Kinda funny. Anyway, the broken relics were found about 30yrs ago, and they have been restored. Its pretty impressive seeing the 2000 soldiers on display in the main pit, but after a while it got a little boring (there are only so many different photos you can get!). Headed back into Xi'an and explored Culture Street (lots of souvenier shops). We rode bicycles on top of the wall which surrounds the city- 14km all up! Was completely flat though, so fairly easy. Was cool to see the city below. Some of the apartment blocks were very derelict. We watched the 'sunset'- basically the sun disappearing into the pollution haze. That night we went to an all-you-can-eat buffet (what a pig!). In the morning I had a little wander around with another girl. We took a wrong turn and ended up in the local food market- first was fresh seafood & nuts, but as we got further in we found raw meat... including whole dog & sheep carcasses- so disgusting! We got out of there, and bought some dumplings, the boarded yet another overnight train, this time heading for Chengdu.

zhongwei & the tenga desert

During the train journey, I saw a lot of different scenery- mountains, dry plains, narrow channels... however the most interesting part was passing a massive military operation! It seemed that they had been camping for a training exercise, but they were loading a lot of trucks & cannons onto a cargo train, with about 30 tanks in the background! A little unnerving. On arrival in Zhongwei, we walked through the centre of town, which was bigger than I expected (although nothing compared to Beijing!). A day trip out of town took us past high mountains, where we stopped at a tiny village on the Yellow River (more a collection of a few mud houses than a village really). We went goat-skin rafting, which was exactly as it sounds. Inflated goat skins tied together, with some sticks & cushions on top. You could actually see the shape of the goat's legs still! Was a very unique, peaceful & cool experience- floating down the river, seeing nothing except mountains, several houses, sheep and goats. The only downside was the extreme cold & slight drizzle. We ate dinner in the local food markets which was delicious- dumplings & filled pita bread for under $2! The whole day we didn't see one other tourist which was great. The next morning we left for our camel trek & overnight stay in the Tenga Desert (right on the edge of Inner Mongolia). We stopped on the way to see a very ancient part of the Great Wall made out of packed mud. We met up with our convoy of 20 camels and 4 drivers. It was really fun trekking on the camels! It was nice & slow, and VERY bumpy going down the hills. We passed through low scrub at first, but soon it was just sand dunes into the distance! After about 2 hours we stopped for a break. We ate lunch, collected firewood for the night, went sand-toboganning & played hacky-sack. Once the drivers had rounded up the camels after letting them roam free for lunch, we travelled a bit further then set up camp for the night. After collecting more firewood & putting up the tents, we sat around the fire drinking & toasting marshmallows. It got quite cold so we stuck close to the flames. Our BBQ dinner took about 4 hrs to cook all the food, as it was so tiny! I tried very strong rice wine (yuk!) that the camel drivers were drinking like water! One of the girls in the group was celebrating her birthday, so we had firecrackers & cupcakes & a singing candle. We retreted to our freezing tents, and I was grateful for the 6 layers of clothing I was wearing! After a pretty shocking sleep on hard, slopey ground, I got up early & explored the surrounding dunes. After the drivers had a few big swigs of rice wine, we were ready to leave. We trekked for about 2 hrs, then met up with our minibus & civilization! I really enjoyed my camel experience! We killed time back in Zhongwei, before buying some 'Great Wall' red wine & having a bit of a food stall crawl at the markets. After stuffing ourselves, we boarded the night train to Xi'an.

Beijing Part 2

After checking out of my crappy hostel (yay!) I went to the meeting point hotel for my China tour group. Was luxury! I went out and got lunch, and a Chinese girl got talking to me as she was passing my table. She was very friendly, and I think she wanted to parctice her English... we ended up chatting for about 1 and a half hours! I went back to my hotel room, where I had flowers waiting for me that Kearrin had arranged to be delivered! Very spoilt! Met with my group and leader, then we went to a Beijing (Peking) duck restauarnt. Had a massive banquet, with the famous Beijing duck- the chefs carve it in front of you, before we placed it in little pancake things, with a dipping sauce... delicious. But all the food was amazing. In the morning we headed out to the Great Wall, to the Simitai section. This part is a bit quieter than the main section, which was a bonus. When our local guide was quizzing us about the wall, and asked why it was built, every Aussie answered "To keep the rabbits out!" (Too much TV!) Was really cool, you could see the wall winding along the mountains into the distance. I climbed quite quick, which was difficult as it was very steep in some parts. The view at the top (well, as far as we could go) was spectacular! I enjoyed the solitude, before heading back down. I caught a flying fox down to the exit point (was pretty tame). We drove back to Beijing via the Olympic Park; they are building some very bizarre stadiums! We enjoyed another banquet dinner, even better food than the previous evening! A few of us headed out to explore the city; we found a cosy little bar & enjoyed a beer & popcorn before calling it a night. The next morning we had a local breakfast of dumplings & pancakey thing. [My stories tend to all involve food, as it is so good over here!] We also saw a random police speech/gathering out the front of KFC, complete with the SWAT taem! We hired a local guide to show us around Tiananmen Square & the Forbidden City museum. There were a LOT of people at the square, including a few school groups & some very cute toddlers. Our guide told us some very interesting facts about the Forbidden City... there are 9999 rooms in the palace as 9 was considered lucky, one of the Emporers had about 3600 concubines. The City was very impressive and large, however the 2 main biuldings were closed for renovation which was disappointing. There was a nice garden area which the Emporers used for relaxing, which I enjoyed. We went to lunch- yet another shared banquet, and again better than the others! After stuffing ourselves silly, a few of us went to emplore the hutongs, which are small tradiational alleys. They used to be all around Beijiing, but many are being destroyed to make way for new buildings. It was really nice, walking by a lake & going through the quiet hutongs. You wouldn't guess that the madness of Beijing was only a few blocks away! That night we saw a Chinese Acrobat show, which was amazing, they were so talented! There was a bit of everything: tiny guys doing flips off a see saw; three extremely flexible girls; intertwining together; a crazy balancing act; girls doing tricks with Yo Ho Diablos (they are making a comeback!); leaping through hoops; then bicycle tricks- human pyramid & 12 girls on 1 bike! I was so impressed. We boarded the train the next day, headed for Zhongwei.

beijing- 14 million people + me

My first impressions of the city... cold, rainy, absolutely huge place, massive police prescence, but even bigger McDonald's prescence! Didn't have too much difficulty in finding the youth hostel I had booked, although I wish I didn't find it- not the nicest place! Bathroom was disgusting, but had my own room so it was OK. Martin, my friend from Xiamen, turned up in Beijing so we did a little sightseeing together again. We explored Wangfujing Street, which is a lrge pedestrian-only street right near my hostel. A lot of fancy shopping complexes there. We battled the crowds at Tiananmen Square, and went in the entrance to the Forbidden City, but I didn't have the stamina to go into the Museum Palace. For dinner we went to a famous dumpling restaurant- pork dumplings were delicious! My new favourite food. The next morning, we persevered through the rain and headed to the Summer Palace. It was a good call, as the weather cleared up but there still weren't too many tourists about. The palace was a very beautiful place- a huge complex set around a lake, with lots of buildings, gardens and temples. The architecture was stunning, particularly in the Tower of Buddhist Incense and Garden of Virtue & Harmony. It was a very peaceful place when walking through the gardens & windy paths. After a tiring few hours of walking around, we headed back into the city via bus- certainly an experience! It is extremely cheap to catch the bus, so a LOT of people do it. I had to stand the whole way, crammed in the aisle, yet at each stop more people would get on! They were almost hanging out the door. We got off halfway and switched to the subway, which was much more comfortable! On the Sunday, I caught the bus to the Temple of Heaven. There was another man who got off at the same stop so we explored the place together. Was very beautiful there, very peaceful, and not too many tourists again. And it was perfect weather too! Enjoyed the morning just wandering through the trees & temples, and admiring the temples & structures. Had a hot-pot style lunch, where you cook your own food in boiling water, but I think we chose dud ingredients- not very tasty. After filling in the afternoon at my hostel, I had dinner at Wangfujing Street.

34hr train trip to Beijing

My hard sleeper was actually very comfortable! I had the bottom bunk, in an open-ended cabin which sleeps 6. There was only one other guy (Chinese) in the room, so it was nice and quiet. However I was in the middle of organising my stuff when it hit 10.30pm- lights out! Luckily I had a torch. I was woken in the morning, very early, by the train staff opening the curtains up. As I was about to eat some breakfast, a man came over with his little girl. He looked quite amused & interested in the fact that I was on the train, although he spoke no English. I had a little Chinese phrasebook that one of the guys on my last tour had given me, and it came in so handy! For about an hour, we just pointed at different words and phrases- it was so entertaining! He made himself right at home, sitting on my poor bunkmate's bed, and putting his stinky feet up on mine! After trying to explain that I wasn't married (one of the questions in the book) I showed him a photo of Kearrin, and it got the thumbs up! Go Kiz! I got my Vegemite out, and offered the three of them a little taste on some crackers. They seemed to enjoy it, although they weren't keen for seconds! After they went back to their cabin, I relaxed for a few hours- reading, taking photos, listening to music... was really good. Nap time arrived in the early afternoon when the curtains got closed. I was also visited by anothe family, with the young boy asking me a few questions in English- he was getting a real kick out of it. They gave me some sunflower seeds to eat, which was generous I thought. Later in the evening, a lot of the Chinese women changed into their flanelette PJ's! I thought I was going to get a good night's sleep, until 2 new passengers arrived in my cabin, who turned out to be chronic snorers! After being woken up VERY early by a loud conversation between the guard & the snorers, I prepared for my arrival in the nation's capital, Beijing.

xiamen, my intro to china

Inside Xiamen airport, I saw only one other Westerner, and he was leaving, so that's a bad sign! I bought a map of the city, and tried to ask the ladies at the information desk if they knew where any of the hotels were that I had found on the internet. They barely spoke English, but they pointed me to a hotel across from the airport. The hotel was completely full (but way out of my price range anyway), however the girl at the front desk told me to head to the train station, as there were more places there. She called a cab for me, and after a bit of hassle with the driver (who spoke no English), I made it to Xiamen Zhan (train station). I headed to the info desk there, to see if they could help me, and again was directed to a nearby hotel. To my dismay, the hotel told me there were no rooms available there either! Apparently, I had arrived in the middle of China's National Day celebrations, where the Chinese are on vacation for an entire week! I began to panic, as it was about 10.30pm, I had no bed for the night, and it looked like every hotel in the city would be full of Chinese holiday makers! Thankfully, they discovered they did in fact have one room left, and I snapped it up (even though it was $50- ruined the budget with that one!). It was nice to enjoy a comfy bed & proper shower after my crappy Bangkok hotel. In the morning, I asked if there was anywhere to use the internet, as I was keen to find another cheaper hotel in Xiamen. They led me into their office to use the business computer! After ringing around, and hearing "We are full" too many times, I decided to try and buy a train ticket out of there. To my surprise (and joy), I was able to book a hard sleeper ticket to Beijing for that evening. Afterchecking out of the hotel, I was going to wander around & fill in time before the train left at 10pm. I didn't get far along the streetwhen a young Chinese guy introduced himslef & we got chatting. Martin was from a differnt part of China, and was also visiting Xiamen. We did some sightseeing, heading to Gu Lang Yu, a small island off the coast of Xiamen. We caught the speedboat across the harbour which was fun! The island was very popular with the Chinese tourists, it was pretty busy. We walked around the paved streets (there are no cars or bicycles on the island) and visited a small museum. The beach was packed- a few people swimming close to the shore in the dead flat water, some on paddle boats, and a lot sitting in deck chairs. I am glad I went to Gu Lang Yu, it was much nicer & more interesting than the highrises around my hotel. Martin & I caught the jam-packed ferry back to the mainland, then wandered around the famous walking-street in downtown Xiamen. We were desperate for some dinner, but there was mostly just clothing stores. The few restaurants that we found were far too busy. We ate some food off the street- some yummy meat on a stick (when I asked what it actually was, Martin's answer was simply 'meat') and delicious pastry-custard scrolls. After catching a taxi back to my hotel, we found a tiny local restaurant to eat dinner- was delicious! My first proper Chinese meal! Time was ticking away though, and I ended up running to the station to be sure I wouldn't miss the train (although Martin carried my bag for me so it wasn't too hard!).

back in bangkok

After being woken up quite early to have the bunks refolded into chairs, we arrived in the city of Bangkok at around 6.30am. This also marked the official end of my Laos tour, however most of the group was would be around Bangkok for the next few days. It was far too early for anyone to check into their rooms, so we enjoyed a massive buffet breakfast at the Royal Hotel, before headed to a very sleepy Khao San Road. I went to the internet cafe to sort some credit card stuff out (still!) and when I returned to meet the others at about 8am they had already started drinking beer! As there was again nothing else to do, I agreed to join in. Not the smartest start to the day! I went to find a cheap hotel room, whilst the others kept drinking! One of the boys left for his flight home very pissed. That night I watched the Kiwis in the World Cup, but I am afraid I got too over it and didn't stay to watch Australia! Had some more drinks, then headed to The Club on Khao San. Was a pretty fun place- good dance music, cool lighting, an empty dance floor to run amok, and we had glow sticks! Was lots of fun, until we decided to drink Sang Som buckets! As always, this was a bad idea. I remember the night, up until the point where I was sharing my 2nd bucket... Next thing, I woke up in the morning in my hotel room (which is a good sign!), with a bottle of water next to the bed, so I had gone home via the 7-11! Felt very very ill the next day. Left my room when I felt ready, at about 1.30pm! I headed to the Pinklao Shopping Centre with Adam, a guy from my group. We went to the cinema and saw 1408, a John Cusack movie. Was really scary & really good- go see it when it comes out. It was good to sit in the air-con whilst I was feeling so seedy. Before the movie started, everyone in the cinema (us included) stood for the playing of 'We Love The King'- a montage of photos & a song of how much the Thais love their King. We had a wander around the shops afterwards, and I saw a camera that I really wanted to replace the one I broke in Vientiane (I am hate not being able to take photos!). However, I had no money in my account so no sale! We headed back to Khao San & I tried to stomach some dinner. I was still feeling pretty crappy from the night before so went to bed early. In the moring, I met up with the people who had stayed on in Chiang Mai, and we went back to the shopping centre, I bought my camera (yay) and the girls bought some clothes etc. There was a random Thai rock bad playing centre stage, but they were pretty hopeless! It sounded just like they were tuning their instruments or jamming, not properly playing, but heaps of people were watching them! back at Khao San, it was very very empty. Hardly any stalls were out, and lots of police were around. I am not sure if it was quiet cos it was a Monday, or whether something serious was going on. Whatever the reason, it was boring! Had a last dinner with the people from my tour group, before some drinks at Gulliver's. When they all headed out to find a Ping Pong show, I went back to my hotel. The next morning I had a lot to organise, as I was flying to China in the afternoon! I finally got my replacement credit card at last. After a last farewell, I boarded a mini bus headed for the airport. After checking in, I wandered around the expensive duty free shops, had some Hungry Jack's & went to my departure gate. It was tucked away in a tiny forgotten corner of the huge airport. After a LOT of waiting, the check-in staff arrived, after the original departure time. Everybody was very pushy, with no regard for the queue! Once we were through the desk, we had to board a standing-room only Air Asia bus to get to the actual plane! Took about 5minutes- that's how huge the sirport is. And to my amusement, I was right near the bus door, so all that pushing got the other people nowhere! There was no allocated seating on the flight, so I chose an aisle seat. Some of the Chinese men on the plane were real pigs. One had his dirty feet all over the seat. Another man was eating an orange and spitting the seeds onto the floor. Then, on landing, immediately after the plane landed, whilst we were still going really fast, he stood up & got his bag out of the overhead compartment so he would be first off! He left the door open, and the poor flight attendant had to get up & close it. She yelled at him, but fell over cos we were going so fast. I felt so sorry for her. I made a big point of thanking her as I was leaving the plane. After exiting via the staircase, I was in China!

two days in a boat along the mekong river

Although two full days stuck in a boat sounds horrible, it was actually great! It was by far the best form of transport I have taken so far. It had a nice cool breeze, room to move around, comfy seats, space to play cards, beautiful scenery... very relaxing. It was good to do nothing, and not feel guilty about it! The outlook was spectactular- very jungly, with scattered tiny villages, children playing, water buffalo grazing. We stayed overnight in Pakbeng, a very tiny town. There were only a handful of restaurants in town, and I was very frightened that my choice of Indian would backfire on me, but I was fine. The town's power supply is turned off at 10pm, so no lights, but more importantly, no fan!! In the morning, power returned at 6.30am, so I was able to have a warm shower. The annual power boat race was happening that day, and was a very big deal for the village- people headed to Pakbeng from all over, so we had to leave before all the commotion began. The novelty of river travel was wearing a little thin, but a slept for a while to make the day go quicker! Some of the people in my group played cards almost non stop- I have no idea how they lasted 6 hours! We arrived in Houy Xai in the late afternoon, which was a slightly larger riverside village/town. We had a huge deck area of a local restaurant to ourselves which was great. And my meal was one of the first! I bought a bottle of Glen's Vodka to share for $6 (AUD). It didn't taste that bad actually! I stayed up for a while, but there wasn't much happening in Houy Xai so went to bed. After breakfast in the morning, we walked 100m down the street, to the river's edge to immigration. After passing the easiest border inspection of the trip, we got a little boat across the river, and had arrived in Thailand!! We took mini buses for the 4hr journey to Chiang Mai. It felt different to Laos instantly- the cars were on the opposite side of the road & the drivers were crazy again! It was much busier & more developed. We drove through some very flooded roads at some points. I only had 2 hrs to spend in Chiang Mai, before boarding the overnight train to Bangkok. All I really saw was the restaurant where I ate lunch... a little place called McDonalds! Half the group were staying in Chiang Mai for a few extra nights, so after a rushed goodbye we boarded the train. The sleeper seats were upright chairs for the daytime, then at about 10pm they got folded in bunk beds. We began drinking at 5pm cos there was nothing else to do! Three of us headed to the dining carriage to keep drinking once the beds were made, but we got kicked out soon after as the tables become staff sleeping quarters!

luang prabang

After a long day crossing spectacular mountains, we arrived in Luang Prabang in the early evening. It is a nice little town, with everything within walking distance from our guesthouse. Our group dinner that night had excellent service, which was such a nice change! Some of us went to the Hive bar, down by the river. It was a really cool place, playing normal music, including The Streets! I drank Lao vodka, which is quite strong stuff! At one point the power went off, so we sat around in candlelight. As the 12 o'clock curfew approached, we made our way back home. In the morning half the group went to the Tad Sai waterfall, which was absolutely amazing. As we entered the gates, we passed an enclosure with four elephants in it. They reached out at us with their trunks which was really cool. The falls were actually made up of multi levelled terraces, all cascading down into a big pool area. It was so good! The water was so clear & refreshing. The rocks between the levels weren't slippery at all, so we could walk up & down the falls. The current was so powerful when I tried to stand under the waterfall. It was so relaxing just lazing about in the water, and there weren't too many people about either (except for a few dodgy tourists swimming in their Y-fronts!!). The elephants even enjoyed a swim in the pool, although I made sure I stayed upstream of where they were afterwards! After lunch, we hung about in the water a bit longer, then followed a steep walking track up to the top of the hill. Was a nice view from there, and also another section of the waterfall. The day was a close second to the tubing in Vang Vieng! That night I did a little bit of shopping at the markets, before having an early sleep. The next morning I got a massage from the Lao Red Cross, which was excellent! I wasn't sure that I could get any more relaxed, but somehow I did! In the afternoon, I filled in time by drinking beer. We ate dinner at avegetarian street stall, which was the best- 5000 kip (about 60 cents) to fill your plate up with noodles, vegies, rice, etc. They even heat up your selection in the wok so it is piping hot! We sat at big communal tables, and got chatting to some Aussies. Afterwards, I bought a few last things at the night markets, then met the others at the local bowling alley! Unfortunately, I am still hopeless at bowling in Laos! Only could manage one game. The locals in the lane next to us were having a great time- high fives all around for no apprent reason. The best thing about the bowling alley is that is stays open serving beer as late as you want, even after curfew! They had microwave butter popcorn which reminded me of home- was delicious. We caught a tuk tuk home, ready for an early morning.