Laos

I vacated the Bangkok homestay hostel in the evening though my train was scheduled to depart in the night to Vientiane border as I intended to take a long walk around Thai. Hostel mates and me exchanged good bye’s, all the best’s, facebook and couch surfing ID’s and I never knew I would meet few in Lao and Cambodia. After a 15 km walk I reached the train station without much hassle. I met Rick an Australian who has been working on a farm in Thailand on a Volunteer visa and we happened to be in the same compartment. In a while an old man in his 70’s sat next to us and he looked like a Brit, but he happened to be a Scottish. He was a history professor at Stanford, traveled over 70 countries so far, Cartoonist, an out cast without spouse or children, holding 4 passports..etc. Can I think of a better travel buddy? We stayed awake most part of the night chatting (more of me questioning and he answering) and in the morning the train was delayed by 3 hours, hence the Scotsman had to bare with me for another interview session. I was under the impression that he was travelling with us to Lao until we landed at the border. He was on his way to china and caught hold of a moped guy to get dropped somewhere along the mecow river in the hope of finding a boat. This is what differentiates a tourist and a traveler. I got my passport stamped for 1000 INR and was on my way to Vientiane in a tuk tuk.

Vientiane has two shades, ugly and gorgeous and we were dropped at the uglier side of the city. I started looking for a minivan to take me to Vangvieng, 5 hours drive from Vientiene. A mediator approached me at the bus station and asked me if I wanted to go to vienvieng in his cab and his cab looked neat and he said it was suppose to depart in 30 mins. 30 mins turned out to be 3 hours. I met Florian, a political scientist from Germany working closely with the Lao government to cultivate legal puppy (dope or grass or drug). He happened to be my travel buddy for the next 4 days in Laos.

Vienviang is a small village in Laos with beautiful landscapes, cheap hostels, relaxing climate, more Europeans than the local population..etc. I would not mind spending my retired life here. The prices goes like this, $1 to stay in a hostel per day with free WiFi, a breakfast consisting of a big egg sandwich with cheese and a big cup of cappuccino in front of the meckw river and random shaped huge hills at the backdrop costs 40 INR. The favorite pastime for a traveler here is to hire a tube for $1 and jump into the river, he is pulled with a rope at the first bar he finds and picks a bucket of vodka or whisky (literally a bucket with cubes, 180 ml vodka and sprite) and he keeps drinking and floating along the river and into the alcohol and this process is continued until he is completely slouched and found on the riverbed the next day.  

Myself and Florien hired a moped for 2$ each and setout to explore the village. Florien has never driven a moped in the past and to add to the misery the roads were in a horrible state, and it is a perfect combination for an India to showoff his capabilities in front of an European. I always stayed ahead of him, did not slow down at potholes..etc and he was amazed looking at my driving skills (I could laugh at myself).

Vienviang is also know for the caves in between the river and there are probably 20 or 30 of them and we met Nicha and Candice at one of the caves. They were 2 cute girls going be ladies soon from Thailand on a short vacation to Lao. We had a delicious lunch together and headed to blue lagoon as it slowly started to rain and within few minutes it was poring with roar and lightning. But that did not stop us from going to the blue lagoon, climbing another cave, maybe 1000 ft from the ground, slipping, falling, Florien’s camera slipping from his hand and a beautiful sight to see a Sony digital camera sinking 1000ft in the rain and landing on the ground and to see lenses, battery, body all spread across on the ground. After a good cheer up session to Florien we headed back to our hostels and freshened up and met in the evening for a party near the river which went on till late night.

The next day it was time to depart and bid adieu to all. Florien was leaving to another city in Laos to report on duty, Nicha and Candice to Thailand and me to Vietnam. 

Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos

 

It was a hectic day, got back from the office, packed my stuff in the last minute as always and did not have any proper plan as to what I will be carrying or infact what kind of clothes I need. I just dig into the wardrobe and dump 2 shirts, 1 jeans, 2 T-shirts and 2 3/4^th’s as that was all I could find. But I had made a mental note to carry my tripod stand which occupied 1/4^th of my backpack. My entire packing was done in 30 mins and I was all set to depart to catch the 1.30 AM flight to Bangkok, My mother was sitting in the hall and watching me pack my stuff. I could sense her current frame of mind, she doesn’t like me travelling, but at the same time she does not want to start an argument when I am leaving as she knows it will not make any difference. In spite of it she still manages to watch tamil soap opera serials on the television and turns her attention towards me when there is an advertisement played in between. I bid goodbye to her and my friend is waiting for me downstairs to drop me till makhri circle and from there I will take an airport shuttle (no taxi as I am travelling on a awfully low budget). I reach airport by 9 and still had lot of time. I sit at an empty couch next to coffeeday with a cup of cappuccino and start thinking if my acts are really crazy, if this tour to 4 countries in such short duration and budget is really doable. But I encourage myself telling I will give the best shot and if not able to do it I am not going to loose anything, but still I can sense a bit of apprehension in my stomach for different reasons, like should I stop spending on travelling? Am I suppose to save my complete earnings for an uncertain future,..etc (empty mind is devils workshop) and when I start thinking deeper I realize these fears are something that is enforced by the society and not the ones that I have, I can think about it but not feel it, yes I need to save money and I have saved enough to take care of me and my family for 2 years (a good duration to hunt a new job or start something new) and I have insured for my mother’s health (I am true believer of the quote “any penny remaining in your bank account after your death is the additional work you have done for no reason”), hence the ambiguity is taken care of. The next thought is if I keep on earning and saving my earnings for the future when am I going to lead my life? And I am sure life after marriage will not be the same as you always have someone answerable to, hence today is the right time to travel and see the world.

 

When these thoughts were drilling my common sense an unfamiliar face comes and introduces himself as singer Vijay Prakash and says he has worked with AR Rehman and has infact given one of the biggest hit song “hosanna” in 2011 and says he is a big fan of me and I am his role model and he wants to take a picture with me to put it in front of his studio….. ok I am kidding. When these thoughts were drilling my brains I see a familiar face and in a jiffy I realize its Vijay Prakash and I like this guy for the song “Om Shivham” he has sung in the movie “naan kadavul” and I am also surprised that none in the airport recognized him. I go to him and say I like his song Om Shivoham and he thanks me politely with utmost modesty and says he will talk to me once he collects the boarding pass. I was sure he would not come and talk to me again as there was no reason, but he did and patiently answered most of my stupid questions. I finally took a picture with him and he went to catch the flight to Singapore for “Maatran” audio release. My flight took off to Bangkok on time.

Bangkok – I am given z security in the airport

            I have 50 rs in my wallet and I had decided to pull money from the ATM in the airport once I reach Bangkok and to my surprise there is no ATM in the airport until you cross the immigration!! The money exchange in the airport accepts credit card but unfortunately my credit card doesn’t work, I start to panic. I knew I could come out of the situation, but the fear is still there!! I come out with 2 plans, 1^st approach the security and ask him to accompany me till the ATM to draw money with my debit card and second - ask someone in the airport to pay on my behalf and I will return it once the immigration is done and I always have my Samsung Galaxy note and Nikon 32100D to hold as collateral J. There were 3 security guards at the entrance and I explain my story to them. Two don’t agree but the third one gives a thought. He goes inside a cabin to talk to someone and comes back. I am followed by a security behind me till the ATM with strict instructions that I am suppose to follow the guard and not move away from him. Finally my debit card works and I come out of the airport by 10 am after the hectic immigration procedures. One hour bus ride in 556 with 5 km walk took me to Kha Son road, this is where you can find cheap hostels, dorms and backpackers around the world. I freshened up in the dorm I had booked which was value for money, a bunker bed, air condition and free WiFi is all you need. Most of the backpackers in the hostel were Europeans (mostly French), especially in their early 20’s, this is what I like in them, they start travelling at a very young age and get to see different cultures, people..etc. There were none who were going to Lao from my hostel. I took a long walk in Kho San road ( I didn’t like it) and went to Wat Phra Kaew Emerald Buddha temple in the evening, one of the 100 wonders of the world ( and my 7^th) which was impressive. The nights in Kao san road are amazing, with lot of restaurants the serve almost every possible cusine in the world, thai foot massage, fish massage, shops selling printed and digital T-shirts, crowded tourists across the globe taking a stroll and the best being the kids of 12 to 15 dance in the middle of the road at midnight, which is a true delight in itself.

Terracotta Army - Xian

Xian is the capital of Shaanxi province in China and is one of the oldest cities in China with more than 3000 years history. This place was in my list and I wanted to visit the Terracotta warriors, in fact I was more eager to see the Terracotta warriors than the great wall. Xian is 1400 Km, 15 hrs by train from Nanjing. The cost of the train ticket was just 154 RMD and I was more than happy to book a two way ticket, starting on a Friday and getting back on Sunday morning. The adventure started even before the tickets got confirmed. The train that I was suppose to board goes till Lahsa in Tibet. As Lahsa is at a very high altitude a medical certificate is mandatory, but they were demanding a medical certificate from me even after me explaining to the travel agent that I would be getting down in Xian and Lahsa was 2000 Km’s from Xian. Till Friday morning nothing was working out and to be on a safer side I packed my bag and pushed off to the office. When I returned from the office the receptionist in the hotel told me that my ticked had arrived and the train was scheduled to depart at 7.30. It was already 6.30. I managed to reach the station by 7.20 and did not find time to have my dinner or pack anything on the way. While standing in the queue I could see KFC in front of me and my mouth was watering and an announcement was made and the people in the queue started talking among themselves.. My train was delayed by 20 mins. I ran to KFC, got two chicken burgers packed and entered the platform on time.

I was very impressed to see the train on my previous trip to Beijing, pushback seats, high speed engine without much notice, a beautiful lady to assist you if any help is needed, it made you feel you were in a low cost airlines. Hence there was no second thought in my mind to take a train to Xian, but when I had the very first glimpse of the train I got the true picture. Beijing is the capital and the government is more concerned in taking care of the reflection, but Xian is in a different province and who cares.. Though the train was a bit better than the trains we have in India, it was over crowded, we could see people resting in the toilets, beggars entering the screened-off area asking for money, vendors selling humming food inside the compartment and the passengers spilling the food all over the place.. all these was new to me in China, but it doesn’t bother me much as I have seen worse in India but  one thing that made me stay awake was, though smoking inside the compartment is prohibited, nobody cares. Almost the 60% of the people in train were smoking, not even near the door but at their respective seats. The stench of food and the smoke cloud made sure I had a wakeful travel. The train reached Xian at 11 AM. I immediately got down and went in search of the bus station and I had done my research well, bus 915 would take me to Terracotta warriors for 8 RMD and was 1 hr drive. I boarded the bus without any hassle and took a short nap. The lady next to me woke me up and I was in front of the terracotta museum.  

                When I saw KFC it reminded me that it was 12 in the noon and I had not eaten anything since last Night. I showed the picture of hen in my mobile to Order chicken burger and one coke, the waiter took the order and said “You will receive your Burger in 1 min”!! wooow she could converse in English. One burger did not fill my stomach and I went to the same counter and asked what else was there in Chicken and I ate 2 pcs of Chicken Nuggets.

                The entry ticket to get into the terracotta Museum is 160 RMD (1280 INR). Terracotta means a Clay sculpture. "Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife, and to make sure that he had people to rule over. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits.

                It took 2 hours to see all the sculptures and I was on my way to see Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum which was 5 Km’s from the museum. I spent good 2 hours walking around the never ending open lawns and occasional Pits still going through the excavation process. A bus was leaving back to Xian railway station and I reached Xian at 6 PM. I still had 3 more hours to board the train back to Nanjing. I made use of this time to visit the goose pagoda which was 30 mins walk from the station. To my bad luck the pagoda closes at 6 in the evening. I tried to tell the guard that I was from india and would just spend 10 mins to have a look around and tried to convince him to let me in. He just smiled and showed the CCTV camera. I left the place and came back to the station at 8.30. I would have walked close to 15 km and was feeling very tired. When I was in the queue to board the train in 5 mins, all of a sudden people started to talk something among themselves in disappointment. The train was delayed by 2 hours. I could not find a place to even sit in the station, quite understandable as it holds the world’s largest population. I went out to take a stroll around the station and ended up in front of a small Afghani hotel. I was served tea and the barrier asked where was I from. When I said India he played a song from an old Hindi movie Karan Arjun and was smiling at me to get an approval that I am impressed with his hospitality. Though I was bit irritated (nothing to do with the poor guy, but I was tired) I reciprocated his smile and ordered biriyani though I was not hungry. I wasted half and ordered one more tea, and one more and finally one last. I went back to the station and had one more hour.

                Finally I boarded the train and similar to my onward journey the train was crowded with people smoking all over but it did not stop me from sleeping. I reached Nanjing at 10.30.

The Great Wall of China and Forbidden City

Till I reached China I never thought language would be a big problem to deal with.

Language is a huge barrier, so I had to put lot of effort in doing my research and also have mitigation or avoidance strategy in place for any unforeseen risk as I cannot communicate my need to anyone. Even asking for a basic left and right is a tedious task. Unlike India, here they speak pure Chinese and you cannot find a single English word in between. Can you imagine speaking with words like Bus, Train, Signal, road, Burger, Chicken, Bread, .. etc in your local Indian language, but here they do not understand these words as they communicate in pure Mandarin.

The second challenge is the food. I can manage to eat any reptile on earth provided it doesn’t smell different, but here even the rice has a weird smell that is new to me and find it really hard to gulp it in.

I booked my train ticket from Nanjing to Beijing on the Friday night from Nanjing station. I could go to the station either by Taxi (50 Yuan) or Subway (4 Yuan + risk) and I took the subway. I reached the station without much trouble. The train station here is a bit better than the stations in India, most of the people travelling by train are the lower middle class, we I saw one lady begging with a kid, people trying to board the train without ticket.. etc. The train was very neat and comfortable compared to our trains. I reached Beijing at 7 AM and the climate was around 5-6 C. Now I was pretty confident with my research and in case of any problem I had translated some of the common questions from English to Chinese with the help of my Chinese collogue. I took a train to the Beijing North Station and from there I took a train to “Bedaling”, 80 Km from Beijing which is the nearest station to the great wall. I reached Badaling at 11 AM. On the way to great wall, there is a Jade factory where they manufacture Jade Ornaments and Sculptures and I paid a short visit and reached the Great Wall at 12. Among the top 100 Wonders, Great Wall stands at number 2, which means the magnificence is self explanatory. The fog was blocking the view in all directions. I climbed for an hour and reached close to 3 watch towers and the climb is very steep. Small kids and Old people in their 60’s to 70’s climbing the Great wall was a good inspiration to go further, but the climate was playing a spoilt sport. I got down by 2 in the noon and that is when I realized I had not had breakfast. I got burnt sweet potato for the cold climate with some Taiwan sausage and boarded the return train to Beijing. I also got a T-Shirt that says “I Climbed Great Wall” 

I reached Forbidden city at 4 in the evening and it is a must watch place for tourists. After spending an hour I walked to wangfujing street. This is the place all dead reptiles goes into human stomach . I could see Snakes, Silk worms, King Spiders.. etc fried and kept. I made my mind and tried silk worm and I will not be able to give you the exact taste as I swallowed it for the heck of trying something crazy. For dinner I had Beijing duck (in China there is a saying, if you have not eaten Beijing Duck and climbed Great wall, you never visited China) which was more like chicken but a bit harder. I boarded the return train to Nanjing at 10 PM and was in my room by 8.30 Sunday morning.

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China and Hongkong

China and Hongkong

Of the top 100 wonders of the world, I had an opportunity to cover 9 in this trip

1. The Great Wall of China

2. Forbidden City

3. Hong Kong Skyline

4. Qin, Terra Cotta Warriors

5. Yangtze River

6. Mt Everest

7. Potala Palace

8. Lijiang and Shangri

9. Li River



but any opportunity comes with a set of constraints and hurdles, in this trip its time and communication. I am staying in Nanjing and the utmost distance I can cover over the weekend is ~ 3000 Km. If I need to cover all the destinations in China I might have to travel close to 16,000 km’s in 6 days by train which seemed to be unrealistic. Hence I charted out a plan to cover as much as possible with the provided time constraint

• The Great wall and Forbidden City are near Beijing and can be covered on the same day and Beijing is 1400 Km from Nanjing… 2 days.. Week 1

• Qin, Terra Cotta Warriors is in Xian which is 1500 Km from Nanjing will take 2 days, 15 hrs by Train.. Week 2

• Yangtze River is in Nanjing…. Half a day.. Planning to hire a Bicycle… Week 3

• I have 7 hrs before I can take my next flight to Najing in Hong Kong and if I can get a transit Visa I will be able to cover the Hong kong Skyline. But I need to convince the immigration… Week 1

• Mt Everest will be dropped as I will club it when I am visiting Ladakh in July.

• Potala Palace in Tibet will be clubbed when I visit Nepal as it is 3000 Km’s (48 hrs by train) from Nanjing and I need some health certificates to travel to Tibet because of the high altitude.

• It is sad that I have to skip Li River and Lijiang as they are 2500 Km’s away from Nanjing (25 hrs by train) and if I am able to get a days off either on a Monday or Friday I could have made it. But I am dropping them for now.

Skyline of Hongkong

I reached Hongkong airport at 10 in the morning and my connecting flight to Nanjing was at 6.30. If I get my passport stamped for 7 hours transit I had a clear plan, take the subway to Kowloon, see the skyscraper, visit the city and get back by 4 back to the airport but getting my passport stamped was the biggest hurdle as they had some security issues in the Airport. I just gave a shot and was trying to cook up some story and the advantage that I had was I had the tickets of my connecting flight. When my turn came at the immigration I explained that I am a Photographer a Travel magazine in India and I just want to shoot the Hongkong Skyline and get back to catch my connecting flight and the most disappointing thing happened. She immediately let me go without shooting another question and asked me to get back by 4 PM so that I do not miss my next flight; all my preparation to answer all possible questions had gone in vain. I took a 2 way ticked to Kowloon for 90 HK$. Within 30 mins I was in Kowloon and the Skyline was 20 mins walk and for me it was 40 mins as I got lost and finally was in front of the skyline. The weather was pretty bad as it was too foggy and raining. To see the view the tourists buy a 150 HK$ ticket from the ICC hotel and enjoy the view from the 104th floor. When I went to purchase the tickets, the receptionist advised me not to buy the ticket as it was too foggy and I will not be able to see the city. I was in agreement with her and enjoyed the view from a café in the 40th floor. Sipping cappuccino at 7 C on the 40th floor with the entire city presented in front of you surrounded by sea is a true delight. I took the subway to the city and got back to the airport at sharp 3.45 PM. This is the third world wonder I am experiencing and had a sense of satisfaction, the kind of satisfaction you get when you strike a line in the To Do list, and it also the thought of the remaining 97 provides a purpose for future travels.