Where´s the rain in Spain..

Currently melting in the city of Cordoba in southern Spain, where temperatures reached a scorching 47 deg (thats Celcius) when Shaheen and I arrived from Granada yesterday evening. It feels like someone is blowing a hairdryer in my face. Ice-cream shops are doing a roaring business here, right up until midnight.

This is my 5th day in Spain and i´m trying to immerse myself in the Spanish culture... For a start, Spaniards have their meals really late - lunch is about 2 or 3pm and dinner is about 10pm. In between, they have some tapas and beer. Suits me fine! There are more people out on the streets strolling, eating and drinking at midnight than at 2 in the afternoon.
I also watched a bullfight on TV last saturday. Very gory. Not sure i want to watch it live now...

The Spanish language classes i took last year proved to be quite useful (its all coming back to me now..slowly) in asking for directions and paying at shops/ restaurants but verb conjugation still stumps me.

I´m giving up the picture loading for now -the computers here are dead slow. And ironically, there were more internet cafes available in Laos than in Spain!

Domestic travel

Barely 3 days at home and i'm getting withdrawal symptoms from being a tourist so i took my camera for a walk/train ride to get my fix of photo-taking :-)

Back in the land of glass, steel and concrete...

and airconditioned underground walkways.. So cool, so shiny, so clean, you can eat your dinner off the floor.

Team-building dinner at a Japanese restaurant - oh wait a minute, i'm not in the team anymore...

Ok, so here's one just of my erstwhile colleagues .. Ryann, Lili and Grace. Now that i'm unemployed, they treated me to dinner!

I had to run some errands in the business district this afternoon. While i was strolling along leisurely (as one would when you are jobless), just taking in all the changes that have taken place in the past 2 months, i couldn't help but notice the relentless pace of life in Singapore. Laos must be on a different planet - Nobody peddling leisurely on bicycles, or hawking noodles/fruits/petrol/everything else on little push-carts on the streets (or chipping ice for that matter :-) )

Manicured ladies in smart suits and clad in leather shoes and matching handbags, men with their expensive ties and MontBlanc pens peeking out (its very discreet, mind you) of their shirt pockets were walking briskly and jabbering away or furiously punching text messages into their mobile phones.

People were in a hurry ALL the time. Rush hour was worse. A sea of tired, gloomy faces greeted me all around - all their energy sapped away from a hard day at work -Ugh!! Everybody tries to makes a run to squeeze into packed trains before the doors shut. It makes me wonder if i used to be like this when i had a job and all i cared about was getting from point A to B in the minimum amount of time, and multi-tasking on 5 different things along the way.

Oh boy, i can't wait to get back to the real world...

Home!

Mum and dad - look pleased to see me! I think they were relieved to find i'm still alive and kicking. Just a little thinner and more tanned but apparently none the worse :-)

I'm back home for a few days to get organised before leaving for London - can't wait to see my friends again!

Bangkok

After leaving Luang Prabang, i took a 2 day journey on a slow boat to Northern Laos to cross over the Mekong river to Thailand. From Chiang Kong in Thailand, it was another couple of long bus journeys before i arrived in Bangkok yesterday.
So here i am in this noisy, chaotic city and somehow it is not very appealing - i think i'm too used to the idyllic and peaceful countryside of Laos!

Flying home tomorrow evening....

Lazy Sunday in Luang Prabang

I really like the guesthouse concept - its almost like staying in somebody's home. Its small, cosy and family-run. You can watch TV with them, play with their dog or just chill out at the balcony with a book. The kids will be playing in the street, and someone's cockerel will inevitably be crowing! At night, there are always groups gathered in someone's house sharing some food and Lao beer. It really gives you an opportunity to witness normal Luang Prabang life.

The one i've been staying at for the past 4 days is in the middle of a residential neighbourhood Ban Ho Xieng -a pretty lane lined with flowers. Today, it was fun to just watch the family go about their Sunday chores. The ice-cream man also came by so i had my first cone in weeks :-)
















Little kids helping their dad scrub down a pot.















Then they got tasked with cleaning the motorbikes with sponges.















Little boy discovers the water hose!















He lost interest in the cleaning after about 30 seconds and turned the hose onto his parents (out of the camera view)















Little boy got a smacking from his dad for soaking everyone. What happened afterward was he started crying and throwing a tantrum. He threw the water scoop on the floor and flung the sandals over the wall to his neighbour's house in a rage - and started bawling. I stopped taking pictures because i was in hysterics.

Introducing my Laos travelling buddy

I met many nice fellow travellers along my journey and one of them is Xiaodong, from Beijing -whom i had met on a bus in Vietnam. We decided to travel together in Laos.

Not only did we share many long, interesting conversations (ok debates) about politics, philosophy, "the meaning of life" and such, he is also extremely useful to have around - he can hoist heavy backpacks onto the roof of minivans, take GPS readings, is an experienced kayaker (and therefore did more than his share of the paddling in Vang Vieng), and also fixed my bike when the bike chain came loose on our cycling trip in Si phan don. He got his hands all dirty and greasy and didn't complain one bit. Bless! :-)

40-Love

I have arrived at the conclusion that Laos is a far more technologically advanced country than Singapore where insect control is concerned.

Look what the locals are using! While in a shop, i noticed the shop attendants holding on to this while watching TV. I enquired what it was and she explained that it was a mozzie/fly swatter. Press a button at the side and a tiny current passes through the racket - fries all assorted flying insects to death.

As if on cue, a fly flew in and buzzed about in the shop. The shopkeeper happily demonstrated its use for me. With one graceful stroke (not unlike Federer), she burnt the fly into a crisp! The poor fly fell to the floor and struggled for abit before finally giving up. The shop attendant swept it away nonchalantly. I could smell it too.

Its a wonderful little gadget! Not only do you get rid of the pesky little flies, but you can also practice your tennis strokes at the same time. I have a crazy idea to start an import business for this in Singapore.

Any takers?

Kuang Si Waterfalls

It was a bit of a hike through the forest to get up to one of the pools at the upper tiers but the view was worth it.


And so was the swim.. very refreshing!

Kayaking

Spent today tubing through a limestone cave and kayaking/rafting down the NamSong river. Lots of spectacular mountain scenery on the way.





And here's me posing when i should have been paddling hard!

My cambodia ducks picture -again

Improved!
i had duck noodles while in Laos. Reeeally tasty! :-)

Sunset in Vang Vieng

Rice fields and farms nestled among the Nam song river and mountains.

Rainbow after the downpour in the afternoon. I haven't seen one for the longest time. That, and the beautiful sunset was a perfect way to end my day! I love Laos!

Bus to Vang Vieng

price of VIP (clean, comfy, air-conditioned and punctual) tourist bus (3hrs) to Vang Vieng from Vientiane US$5
price of local bus (4hrs) - US$2

Experience of sharing the bus with monks, locals, stacks of Beer Lao, sacks of potatoes, and chickens while listening to Lao rap music.. - Priceless!

And so is the smell actually ;-)

The bus meandered through the villages, picking more people up on the way, so some people actually had to sit on plastic stools in the aisle. The old uncle in front of me had a bad throat and kept spitting out of the window. When he wasn't doing that, he was busy smoking!! As it got closer to Vang Vieng, we passed through some villages on the mountains and they were very pretty, even when it started pouring. It was definitely an interesting and enjoyable ride today!

Wa Laos!

My first photo of Laos. I wanted to take a picture of the Laos immigration control (it was essentially a hut in the middle of a thick jungle!) but i didn't want to annoy the stern border officials. We had to drive for miles on a dirt track to get there and to get out onto the Laos highway.
At Don Khong island, Si Phan Don - (4000 islands), in the far south of Laos.

Spent a lovely afternoon cycling around Don Khong island - it has lots of peaceful, quiet little villages with ricefields. I had to swerve a few times to avoid the chickens and dogs on the roads.

The little kids all shout "Sabaai-dee" in glee when we cycle past. Even the adults are very friendly and welcoming with their smiles!! I like Laos already :-)

Livestock (pigs at the bottom, chickens on the roof) on a "sawnghthaew". These little pickup trucks are the local mode of transportation around southern Laos. The one i sat on this morning to get from Chempasek to Pakse had 31 people crammed into it. Really! And i was told it was a bonus that there weren't any chickens on the same vehicle.

And more..

The kids don't have many toys at the orphanage. No Lego, plush toys, toy soldiers or barbie dolls - I am amazed with their creativity in using whatever they can find in the yard to play and entertain themselves with! Twigs and fruits to play "5 stones", gunny sacks to hop around in - anything!
Reasey, Leak and Ratha
First 2 days i was at the orphanage, i must have drove the kids crazy making them repeat their names constantly - but now i've got them down pat!


No helmets.
Mr Hong - the very nice motor-driver who shuttled me to and from the orphanage every day without fail.

And Gionata - who is currently motor-biking around the world so check out his web page www.partireper.it for his adventures -even better if you can read Italian. He took over the volunteer teaching at CCPCR after i'd left.

More pictures

The kids of CCPCR (Cambodian Centre for the Protection of Children's Rights) all love having their photos taken. Each time i take out my camera, they get pretty hysterical and ham it up straightaway! This is cute little Srey Leak - she is only 6 and spends all her afternoons clambering around the older kids and playing while i'm trying to teach them English!!
Rathanak and Raksa - 2 of the 4 boys at the orphanage.


"Family photo" on my last day with some of the kids (Thank you Gionata - i love this picture!)

Last look at Cambodia .. for now

Haven't been able to get onto the internet until today - I made it to Laos on the 29th of June, and i'm now in the town of Pakse. Just trying to catch up with all my emails and picture-posting!

By my last week in Phnom Penh, I had started to get attached to the city. i had managed to learn enough Khmer to converse with the children at the orphanage. Actually, they don't exactly teach you phrases like "Stop talking & Sit down!" or "Put the books away" in the Lonely Planet Khmer phrasebook but no matter :-)

At the guesthouse where i stayed for 2.5 weeks, the staff, as well as the people who worked at the internet point, and the indian restaurant just round the corner all knew me as the "Tall Singaporean Girl Who Speaks Really Bad Khmer". i've grown a little attached to Phnom Penh now so i might just have to go back again!



Sunset in Stung Trieng - a remote little town in the northeast corner of Cambodia. Its the nearest town to the Laos Voen Kham border.

This is the ferry boat to go across the river from Stung Trieng so we can take a minivan to the Laos Border. There were these 3 motorbikes in the picture, and another 3 behind me. And loads more people! Check out th picture below - that was the front of the boat.