"Driver.. too much beeping..."

Sleep eludes me. When next I open my eyes, I detected a slight bluish tint in the night sky. Dawn is coming, but it's only 5am here, local time. Before an hour had passed, everyone boarded the bus again and rumbling up the winding mountaineous road towards the Laos-Vietnam border. I thought I could still catch a nap but for no apparent reason the driver kept sounding the horn. The horn soon woke up the others as well. Soon, I realised that the reason why he was doing this is to warn any incoming traffic as the bus rounded a blind corner.

Soon enough, we were already at the border. As there were a few logging trucks and local buses in front waiting to be inspected, we had to walk towards the border post of Nam Phao and was greeted by mayhem as a crowd was gather along a small hallway trying to pass their passports to the officials behind the Departure counter. Whereas, at the Arrival counter there was virtually no one lining up there. There was no semblance of a queue and everyone was trying to push their way towards the counter. I would probably be still stuck at where I stood for one hour if it wasn't for Debbie which handed my passport through a door to the officer. She even waited until each and everyone of us had gotten our passports back.

First Annual Medical Bee

Some of the limbs of my body was already aching from yesterday's strenous activities. In fact, there's even a blue-black bruise on my upper left arm. Was figuring out where it came from? Could it be my partner gripped me too hard there while working together in one obstacle to go from one end of the rope to the other end?

Today is the dreaded Medical Bee competition that I was reluctantly elected to join. There is no game plan nor any intensive revision on the medical terms. In fact, I was virtually unprepared for it. I announced that I was playing it for the sake of playing and not for the sake of winning. The competition was divided into two rounds where in the first round, 28 questions were divided among the 8 teams and if the selected team is unable to answer it, the other teams would have a chance while in the second round, it's a free-for-all, grab-it-while-you-can 22 questions round. All the team had to do to have a try is to ring the bell and extend a card up into the air, of course the first-come-first-serve rule applies.

The first round for my team of three sucked big time as 3 out of 4 of the questions given is so super-complicated that we are not able to have any hint of what the answer is. However, we managed to score 4 points by having a go at the questions from other teams' questions. By this stage, I felt so demoralised and bored. Even the other team from my department had a higher score than us. It's all or nothing, we had to excel in the second round if we are not to appear as the lowest score team. During the second round, the first question regarding blood pressure cost us and a lot of other teams a deduction of one point as the answer was wrong. The tide for us somehow turned in the second round as we begin to realise that we had a chance to score points. I contributed by answering a few questions correctly (giga... pneumocytis pneumonia... breast cancer), and wrongly as well (iris instead of lense). My partner also managed to bag a few questions correctly. All it takes is just to ring the bell and put up the card fast enough. Though, wish there were pretty girls cheering for me from the back, haha.

When we least expected it, we were shocked that our team was tied at the second place. A tiebreaker question was presented. We botched our first try but since the other team (which I constantly 'encouraged' and 'motivate') didn't try to answer it, I took the liberty to break the tie. Not a bad competition, had our adrenaline rush when I managed to answer 2 questions and another one from my partner consecutively. Got a medal and a book as the prize. Another round of Medical Bee? Nah... it's time to give the chance to fresh people.

Conquer fear and conquer it all

Had a good rest yesterday. Had resume my download of my favourite TV series and was satisfied with the download speed. Was still in a holiday mood and luckily today though I am suppose to return back to work, I was excused to go to the Dusun Eco Resort for a survey and a try-out session for our Away Day in July. It was a one hour drive to the place which was situated off the Karak Highway just after the Berjaya Hill Resort and after that, we sat on a pickup which brings us up the slope towards the main camp.

On this very day, there were a lot of firsts for me. After testing my sense of balance and trying not to look down on the far ground below while on the suspension bridge, I finally get to try the flying fox which was a simple zip from one end to the other. During the second session, equipped with harness and helmet with a rope tied behind my back, I absail up a wall with rock-hold and upon reaching the mid-way point (no one got pass here as the wall began to slope 70 degrees from the ground), I released myself and close my eyes while my handler slowly control my descend to the ground.

The next part was really a heart killer as I am supposed to ascend several flights of step up to a platform high above the ground and with the help of a rope, to go down it fireman style. It was not the fear of height that took me but the fear of falling. I must have looked pretty funny standing backwards with my toes on the platform and refusing to listen to the guide's advice to extend my leg. The guide was telling me to hold the rope with my right hand (with double gloves) behind my back and the other rope with my left hand, but it was hard to do it as I was looking for another rope (which was already attached behind my back). Finally I lost my foothold and started to slide down the wall. I asked the guide whether I can go down now but he asked me to say my name out loud first and ask permission to go, which I did. And so I went, down and down and down. Managed to save my dignity by not slamming my face on the wall on the way down and I was so glad when I reached the ground.

With only a few moment for break, we proceeded to the obstacle course which really test our sense of balance to the max. It was no big deal as a little fall won't do much harm to me. Just had to know how to land if you know you are going to fall. After passing through the 12 obstacles, it's lunch time for us and soon after, it is raft building competition between 2 teams. Tried to remember how they managed to build a raft in Lost, but reality check... they have a few days to do it but we only have 30 minutes, not to mention the materials that we used (bamboos, ropes and liquid containers) is limited. Finally, with 4 people each on the raft we are to row it from one end of the pool and back again. The rest of us who weren't on the raft soon enough try to shake the raft so the occupant would collapse into the pool. I had my try on the raft after everyone was in the pool but into the water I went as one rascal overturn my boat. Somehow, they liked me better in the water as everytime I got myself up onto the raft and no matter how I tried to lie down for better balancing, I ended in the water. The raft we build was really unsinkable, only the people on it were. Sigh...

Drenched with water, we proceeded to a cleaner pool and took a really good swim here before going for a much cleaner bath in the shower room. If right after lunch I felt really sleepy, I was fully awake and alert now. But in the car on the return to KL, I started to doze. What a great day...

2 days is not enough

This is it. The seventh and last day of my Indochina trip. Tonight I will be leaving back to Kuala Lumpur. Eager to start the day, the first thing that I did was to retrace my steps back to the guesthouse that I was brought 2 nights ago so I could find Debbie and gang for breakfast but the Old Quarter is filled with so many intercrossing streets that soon I gave up. I only managed trace Hang Dieu on the map but not the street I was looking for as I didn't even know the name. Finally, I settled down in a cyber cafe to check my mails and chat with whoever who is online. Next I follow back the streets that I had previously 'mapped' and 'explored' and managed to find the place where I bought my breakfast yesterday. I ate my breakfast here and was accompanied by a French guy who was working in Hanoi. I went souvenir hunting after that and returned back to the guesthouse. I still have 20 minutes to start packing my bag before meeting with Tuong.

Like yesterday, we went for lunch at one of Tuong's favourite restaurant and like yesterday we ate pho. We proceeded to the HCM Masouleum after that. Mirrored after the tomb Lenin was embalmed in, the grey squarish structure housed the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh which is still lying in state in a glass coffin after almost 40 years since he passed away. Unfortunately, I am unable to witness this sight as the Masouleum is only opened in the morning and since it was around 1pm, we had to find someplace else to go. We did visit the Ho Chi Minh museum adjacent to the Masouleum and also the house on stilts of Uncle Ho (as he was fondly called in the country) where he spent his time as president instead of the palace just a couple of minute walk away. From what I read about him, he really lived a simple life and served his people well.

Time is rather short as I planned to check out from the guesthouse at 4pm. But on the motorcycle I managed to catch a glimpse of the Flag Tower, Lenin's statue and also the Malaysian embassy.

Hectic Hanoi

I thought I would suffer a terrible bus lag which required me to stay asleep until noon but turned out that I was awake early to greet the cool morning atmosphere of Hanoi. What seemed to me to be a dark maze of creepy street with danger everywhere yesterday night transformed in the day light to a bustling street fill with the sound of beeping/horning/honking and shops of various trades which was the Old Quarters of Hanoi. It was just a perfect morning for a stroll and a little exploring.

With a map in my hand, I braved and navigate myself towards the Lake, avoiding touters and locals who greeted me in English which is more interested in my money than a cultural exchange. Despite the fact that everywhere food is sold, I couldn't find one I could try until I saw something that looks like a currypuff. The morning walk was disrupted when it rained. With a raincoat in handy, I headed my way back to the guesthouse to have my breakfast.

It was still raining towards noon when Nam approaches with his motorbike, drenched in the rain. Nam is the head of the HelloHanoi volunteers which would take me around Hanoi. Together with him, Tuong and Quyen we went for our lunch at a nearby stall which served pho, a local noodle delicacy and also the main staple food as it is found everywhere in all its variety. As Nam needed to study for his 3 exams the next day, Tuong and Quyen would bring me around in their motorbike.

The first place that we went was the Temple of Literature where it was reputed also to be the site of the first university in Hanoi, established almost a thousand years before by the Vietnam emperor. Dedicated to Confucius, the complex is echoed with Chinese influence; in the Chinese words that lined the stelae mounted on the top of turtle statues (which recorded the names of successful scholars), in the temple structures, the rectangular pond and the two courtyards. Tuong and Quyen were explaining to me what the various symbols found here meant.

Despite the fact that during this time Hanoi is supposed to be having it's hottest days, it was surprisingly cool and raining. It was the beginning of summer and yet had the attributes of autumn. Tuong and Quyen commented that I was lucky to be in Hanoi in this weather. Riding on the motorbike in this weather was fun with the cold wind slapping on me.

We went back to the Hoan Kiem Lake, which was believed to be the final resting place of a victorious sword owned by a previous emperor after it was returned to a golden tortoise. Hence, the name can be translated to the Lake of the Restored Sword. One of the interesting sight found on the lake was the Tortoise Tower and the other was the Ngoc Son Temple on a small island on the lake and linked by the red Sunbeam Bridge. Besides the temple and pagoda, there was a preserved tortoise on display here.

It was here that I bumped into my fellow travellers from the 24-hour nighmare ride. I was so glad to see the 4 of them that I greeted them in Japanese. I recounted what happened and why I left them in a hurry and they recounted that they returned to the guest house that we were brought to as they were lost in the maze as well. After taking a group photo with them and reminding ourselves that we survived an impossible ordeal, we bade farewell and go on our separate ways.

As it was approaching evening, we walked along the East side of the Lake. I marvelled at the City Hall which stood tall over it's surrounding building and the colonial buildings left behind by the French. I also visited Hanoi's grand supermarket and went to buy some stamps at the Main Post Office. Quyen was kind enough to buy 2 stamps for my souvenir. It turned out that the three of us had a few things in common; we like to read Detective Conan (which over here, Volume 57 has come out), we like to collect stamps (Quyen like international stamps while Tuong like only Vietnam stamps) and we like to blog occasionally. After trying to find a local English newspaper, Tuong brought me to a fast food outlet (BBQ chicken) where I bought my dinner before dropping me off at my guesthouse. Spent the rest of the night in my room as I don't want to trouble the landlady to open the door and furthermore, I feel it's safer here than wondering around the dark maze of creepy street with danger everywhere.

Goodbye Vientiane, Hello Hanoi

“The Lao kingdom of Lan Xang was established in 1354 by Fa Ngum, a Lao prince. Lan Xang, which literally means "million elephants," was an allusion to his formidable war machine. Fa Ngum's descendants remained on the throne at Muang Sua, renamed Loung Phrabang, for almost 600 years, maintaining the independence of Lan Xang to the end of the 17th century. At the same time, these rulers fought off invasions from Vietnam (1478-79), Siam (1536), and Burma (1571 - 1621). In 1694, however, Lan Xang fell prey to a series of rival pretenders to its throne, and, as a result of the ensuing struggles, formally ended and split into three kingdoms -- Luang Phrabang, Vientiane, and Champassack, 1707.

In 1763 came the greatest Burmese invasion yet seen. All the Lao lands were conquered, and in 1767 Ayutthaya fell. Taksin, a general of Chinese origin, organised resistance, routed the Burmese and founded a new capital at Bangkok. Taksin attacked the Burmese in the north in 1774 and captured Chiang Mai in 1776, permanently uniting Siam and Lān Nā (a kingdom based in Chiang Mai). Taksin's leading general, Chaophraya Chakri led another Siamese army north in 1778. This expedition captured Viang Chan (former and Lao name for Vientiane), and established Siamese domination over Laos. The Siamese did not come to Laos as liberators. Viang Chan was thoroughly looted, and its most sacred treasure, the Emerald Buddha, was taken to Bangkok, where it remains to this day…” (cited and adapted from Wikipedia)

… fast forward to 229 years in the future, after further wars, colonial domination, a world war and a secret war, I am standing in front of Ho Phra Kaew, the temple which formerly held the Emerald Buddha. There is nothing much to do for my last day in Vientiane, so I decided to visit some historical sites. Now, this temple only housed a museum filled with many Buddha’s image. A brief talk with the museum attendant revealed that no monks stay here as the temple was build on the grounds of the King’s Palace. The Emerald Buddha was housed on a platform right in the middle of the temple. Today, in its place is a replica of the platform as the original one was spirited away to Bangkok with the Emerald Buddha.

There are more roadworks in front of this temple and without the sight of the tractors, one would assume that the road is supposed to be like that, dusty and untarred. With contrast to this, the Presidential Palace which was situated right beside this very road was gleaming white in it’s splendour of French architecture and sporting the largest Laos flag I ever seen.

A brief walk away is Wat Sisaket, the remaining temple in Vientiane during the Siam sacking of 1827. The fact that it was built in the Siamese style of Buddhist architecture rather than in the Lao style kept it safe from being destroyed. This temple featured a cloistered wall with a couple of thousands mini Buddha images housed in the edifices. With nothing else to do, I walked back to the hotel as it was less than a kilometre away.

Earlier, after breakfast at the hotel, I took the hotel shuttle to the water fountain. After changing 20USD for Kipp, I walked to the morning market and bought some Lao souvenirs there. Besides selling souvenirs for tourist, the market virtually sells everything ranging from clothing and electrical appliances. There is even a section dedicated to jewellery, with several menacing looking army official having a drink while on the lookout for robbers. I passed by the Lao National Musuem but was dissapointed as it was closed.

Once back in the hotel, I tried to catch a nap as I wouldn’t possibly be able to sleep during the long ride to Hanoi tonight. The hotel attendant was kind enough to extend my hotel stay until 5pm without any extra charges. Feeling reluctance to leave the comfort of my room, I made my way down to the lobby and had a quick dinner. Doubting whether the ticket woman had cheated me, a man approaches the bell-boy to look for me. Soon, in the jeep with 2 Dutch boys and a Japanese, I was brought to Kew Lod Donnoun, the Southern Bus Terminal and the place where I had wondered and researched about ever since before I came to Vientiane. I sort of expected what the bus would look like when the jeep driver acquainted me with it. Earlier, when I asked Miss Vila to contact the ticket woman, she disclosed to Miss Vila that the bus for today would not be a good quality one as the good one was only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

After all the hassle of trying to find the right agency selling the genuine VIP bus ticket, it seemed that fate has decided for me to sit on this bus if I were to continue on my journey to Hanoi. After reading all the travel blogs and taking note of the Lonely Planet warning on this nightmare bus, I was already prepared for this. At least to my heart's content, the bus was not loaded to the brim with goods bought by the locals. At least one travel agency told the truth that the locals only did their shoppings on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.

To my delight, I was not the only foreigner on this bus. In fact, half of the bus is filled with travellers from England, Sweden, France, Greece, Ireland and Japan. This bus should be called the Very International Passengers (VIP) instead. In a nutshell, the first half of the journey consists of a dinner stop in the middle of nowhere; several brief stops to look for a gas station which still opens; a non-stop event where a local shitted in a plastic bag and forcing two foreigners to give up their seat to sleep on the aisle; a stop for the same local to piss outside the bus; a stop for the driver's wife to pray for safe passage amongst the mountain road; several careful crossing over creaking metal bridges; a stop due to a truck breaking down in the middle of road and finally a longer breakfast stop at 3am on the border town of Lak Sao to wait for the checkpoint to open.

Sigh... as predicted, I wasn't able to sleep except for a few short naps. This is definitely the most epicful journey I ever had in my life. Goodbye Vientiane...

A tale of one city

Vientiane is nestled on a bend of the Mekong River. It is the capital city of Laos and yet doesn't feels like one. I was so used to associate a city with the bustling population and rapid development that the very absence of them here would make it unacceptable that Vientiane is indeed a city. In contrast, the capital seemed like a place out of the 70s with signs of modernisation only beginning. There were even less vehicles on the road than we would normally find in other countries. I had come to a conclusion that to the Lao people, when compared to the rest of the country which was mainly involved in agricultural and foresting, Vientiane is as best as it gets to a capital city. The pace of life over here is slow that it earns the city and the rest of the country the nickname of Laos: Please Don't Rush (PDR). And here I am, at the least visited country in South East Asia.

After a short complimentary American style breakfast at the Riverland Cafe, I bumped into the Australian couple. Turned out that Mr Tuha is originally a Laotian who has migrated to the Land of Oz while Mrs Tuha is a Vietnamese who lived in Vientiane in the 1970s. When we were conversing, a mere mention of the Xieng Khuan (Buddha's Park) sparked them to visit the place with me tagging along. They were there a long time ago and it was time for a revisit, this time with a camera. The shuttle van which were supposed to bring us to Nam Phu was changed to a lush Toyota car for the 24km journey there.

At first thought, the Buddha's Park seemed to be an archeological site turned tourist spot but the Buddhist and Hindu inspired sculptures found in the park were actually designed and built only 60 years ago. Apart from the giant reclining Buddha statue which dominate the scene there were numerous sculptures of various characters straight from the text of Buddhism and Hinduism. Each of the statues tells a different story but the main theme I observed is the endless battle between good and evil. Lara Croft would feel happy fighting with the animated version of these statues. With the help of Mr and Mrs Tuha, I managed to pose some battle scenes as well. There was a huge 3-level pumpkin lookalike structure which presented a panoramic view of the park from the top.

After parting ways with the Tuhas at Nam Phu, I continued the self-tour of Vientiane. With noon approaching, there is not much place I could go so I walked to the That Luang. This golden colour stupa is the most important Laos national monument. It is believed that one of the Buddha's relic were kept here. A short detour away was the National Assembly, the Laotian version of the Parliament and the Unknown Soldiers Monument, capped with the Soviet star. After having my lunch at one of the restaurant I came across, I made my way back to DCP on foot with the help of the map through streets lined with the shophouses of French-influence architecture.

The whole evening was spent within the hotel. After enjoying the jacuzzi in the hotel's fitness centre, it was relaxing lying on the couch beside the swimming pool while overlooking the not-so-impressive sunset over the Mekong. Right after the dinner at Riverland Cafe, the rest of the night was spent at the hotel lobby to wait for the return of the Tuha couple so I could return my share of the hotel car fare to Buddha's Park. They would be going south tomorrow so this was the last chance I would ever get. Time passed really slow when there's nothing much to do. Apart from spending time on the sofa writing, also observed that the hotel cater more to customers on business trip and important-looking delegates more than to backpackers. There is not much night life here except for karaoke and a bar but managed to catch sight of lone girls going up to the hotel rooms and came back down before the hour is up. No assumptions made... but after a few hours, managed to return the money to Mr Tuha and retired to bed to put an end to the day.