Los Angeles-Final thoughts

This will be the final post from our Journey to the East. We hope you all have enjoyed sharing our adventure.

While our Journey to the East did not fulfill our wildest fantasies, it was the culmination of a life long dream to see the sights; especially Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Traveling in SE Asia is easy for the independent traveler. Transport is convenient but not always comfortable. Lodging is cheap and easy to find. Food is generally tasty and healthy. However, at times the heat, noise, dirt, pollution and crush of humanity were overwhelming. There is much to see and it would take a lifetime and a lot of stamina to see it all. We can't say we enjoyed every minute of this trip but it was all interesting.

Thailand
Thailand deserves all the kudos it gets. We did not spend much time there but plan to go back. What we did see lived up to our expectations. The people were generally friendly and helpful, the food was great and there are many cultural and scenic wonders that should be on every travelers list.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a fascinating city with something for everyone. We saw a side of HK that many tourists don't see thanks to the guidance of Ian and Tiara who scoped out the city before we arrived and tailored a tour that fit our sensibilities. If you have a chance to go there it is a worthwhile stop.

Kuala Lumpur
We hadn't planned to go there but with convenient flight connections on Air Asia it made sense. I am glad we went there but would not make it a primary destination on its own. If we had not gone we would have missed the Elephant Sanctuary which was one of the highlights of our trip. The rest of the country bears further exploration and we hope to return there someday.

Angkor Wat-Cambodia
Angkor Wat should be on every traveler's life list. It is one of the wonders of the world. Cambodia is a rapidly developing country that should be visited sooner rather than later. I would have liked to spend more time in the north and may go back someday.

Vietnam
Vietnam is a country of awesome beauty. We saw some beautiful beaches, charming towns and some of the most dramatic scenery in the world. However, I can't recommend it as a destination unless you have a high tolerance for hassles, lying and generally unfriendly people. Perhaps this was just our experience but I have never been lied to so much in my life. It also seemed like everyone was trying to scam or rip us off.

Laos
Laos may be the jewel of Indochina. It is just now developing as a tourist destination. Outside of a few major tourist areas it is unspoiled and offers the intrepid traveller experiences that are hard to find. Our trip up the Nam Ou river is one of my fondest memories of our travels. Get there soon before its gone.

Korea
I wish we had the time and energy to see more of Korea. It is a dynamic nation with some beautiful scenery and some of the friendliest people you will ever meet.

Tomorrow we return to our home in Mt Shasta to begin planning our next journey. Top of the list is an African safari. We have done a little preliminary research and are looking at a 42 day overland camping safari that visits several game parks between Capetown, South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya. Stay tuned for a new blog where we will share our next adventure or better still, contact us for the details and join us on our Journey to Africa.

Eddie Bauer?????

So you are probably wondering what Eddie Bauer has to do with our Journey to the East. Well not a whole lot. We are just proud parents congratulating our son/stepson.

Chris James, son of Deb and Bill James is featured in the summer Eddie Bauer catalog. You can check him out at http://www.eddiebauer.com/home.jsp. He is the very handsome guy in the blue shirt on the home page. He is featured in other parts of the web page and catalog. While I, Richard, can take no credit for his looks, I am very proud of him for many reasons. Aside from being a great looking guy he is also one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. To top it off he is a great athlete and a good person. He is one of my favorite people on the planet, is one of my personal heroes and I am proud to call him my friend.

Deb is also very proud.

Way to go, Chris!

Seoul Searching

Insadong street scene

With mixed feelings of relief and that wdisappointment that we had not seen all we came to see, we left Bangkok bound for Los Angeles via Seoul, Korea where we had a six day layover.

Seoul was almost totally destroyed during the Korean War to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. It is a modern city which could easily pass for parts of Los Angeles. Deb thinks it looks like Hawthorne. It is full of very urbane young professionals all stylishly dressed and conspicuous consumption seems to be the new order. There is great public transit and despite the sprawl it is easy to get across the city rapidly. Seoul is one of the largest cities in population in the world with over 23 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area and encompasses the second largest urban area in the world.

Rush hour on the subway

Seoulites are the friendliest people we have encountered anywhere in the world. If I stopped to look at a map or looked confused about a subway stop someone would always offer to help.

The city is full of palaces and temples that were destroyed during the war but have since been restored to their original glory.

Deb at Chandeokgung Palace


Korea National Museum

Food was challenging in Korea. We were not fond of much of the local cuisine and found it difficult to stomach. The national dish is kim chee which is fermented cabbage in hot chili sauce. With apologies to our Korean friends we often walked down the street wondering if the odor was sewer gas or kim chee.

Korean meal with ?,?, fried fish, snails, ?,? and ,?

There are many tourist attractions to keep one occupied such as the aforementioned temples and palaces. We visited the Korean equivalent of Knott's Berry Farm which was called the Korean Folk Village which featured recreations of villages from the Joseon dynasty which last from the late 14th century to the turn of the 19th century. It was interesting as well as entertaining.

Traditional dance at Korean Folk Village

Korean Folk Village resident

Our favorite site was the Inwangsan mountain. This is a mountain that is sacred to the Shamanists and Buddhists alike. It rises in the northwestern part of the city and is accessible by subway. Our initial impression was not too favorable as the approach is walking between high rise apartments that didn't feel all that holy. Once we reached the mountain proper we were amazed by huge eroded boulders, shrines and the overall ambience of the place.

There were numerous shamanistic rituals going on at various sites on the mountain. This involved incense, chanting, and offerings to the gods. It was a powerful place and was our best day in Seoul.

Shaminist ritual

Deb at the top of Inwangsan Mountain

Koh Kood

After a few more days in Luang Prabang we were tired of the heat and smoke so opted to spend our last week in Thailand on the island of Koh Kood. We caught a bus to Vang Vieng to sample the river tubing but the river was slow, polluted and lined with raucous bars playing music way too loud. We took a combination kayak/bus tour from there to the capital Vientiane. The kayaking was more a float but the river was clean and beautiful with large boulders lining the river.

Richard shoots a rapid sans kayak on the way to Vientiane

Vientiane was unmemorable but for an excellent dinner in a French restaurant. We hopped the border on a bus over the Friendship Bridge in to Northeastern Thailand and caught a night train and bus down to Trat where we boarded a speed boat for Koh Kood.


My dreams were cut short by the sound of thunder and rustling in the grass roof over my head. As I came awake I realized the rustling was the sound of giant rain drops pelting the roof. I looked across the azure waters of Bang Bao bay to see the rapidly advancing storm clouds.

Advancing storm clouds in paradise

I jumped out of the hammock and ran up the hill to grab our drying laundry before it got any wetter. It started to rain like it did in the time of Noah. I pulled a deck chair under the eaves of our bamboo bungalow and looked down across the grassy slope to the water of the bay that was now being churned up by raindrops the size of marbles. Water was soon streaming off the roof and I watched as the trees shimmered in their new coat of sparkling water. I settled back into the chair and let my mind roam over our last four days in paradise.

A walk up the rickety pier in Koh Kood

We landed on Koh Kood and soon found a beautiful little bungalow at bargain rates that offered a fan, private bath with cold shower, and a stunning view across the bay. "A" the proprietor also offered us the use of a sea kayak and snorkeling gear.

Richard relaxing on the deck of our bungalow

Our first two days were spent lazing around. We were "traveled out" and needed some time for R&R. It was and idyllic place with hammocks strung under palapa roofs by the shore.

View from the hammock

We managed to rouse ourselves for a swim when it got too hot and food when we got too hungry.

"A" is master of the grill

On our third day, we were rejuvenated enough to paddle a kayak to the next bay. It was a beautiful hot sunny day. The heat of the sun loosened our paddling muscles as the kayak skimmed through fhe glassy water of the bay. We rounded the point to spot a deserted strand where we beached the kayak under a palm tree. I dove in the water to cool off but the water was at least 90 degrees and not too refreshing. I floated for awhile in the womb like warmth and finally dragged myself onto the sand when a cooling breeze came up. Meanwhile, Deb had gone beach combing and soon came up the beach with some new "treasures" she had found. I noticed I was being chewed on by some small black flying insects so we jumped into the kayak for the paddle back.

We got back in time to catch "A" making a seafood lunch for some of the other guests and we were able to convince him to make enough for us. After a few beers and a nap in the heat of the afternoon we grabbed the snorkeling gear and swam along the rocks to the west of our bungalow. There was a surprising number and variety of fish as well as some nice patches of coral.

The next morning we paddled the kayak across the bay to another snorkeling spot that "A" had told us about. There were even more fish and better coral than the day before. We saw some fish I had never seen before including a cuttlefish which has to rank as one of the most bizarre creatures in the sea.

When we returned to the bungalow, "A" told us he wasn't cooking but invited us to go to dinner at a friends. After several cocktails on the deck he told us to wade back across the estuary and he would pick us up to take us to dinner. It was now dark and the tide was in so we took a kayak across the narrow channel of the estuary and walked up a jungle path to find A and his friend with two motos. It was a beautiful tropical night with just a crescent of a moon in the western sky as we raced through the jungle to dinner. A wanted to treat us to a traditional Thai hot pot dinner. The hot pot is a device that consists of a ceramic bowl of charcoal topped by a pot that is a grill in the center surrounded by a moat. Broth is placed in the moat and a cornucopia of vegetables are cooked in the moat. The grill is used for cooking a variety of marinated meat, chicken and seafood. The combination of soup and barbecue was one of our best meals in Thailand.

Deb, Richard and A

After dinner we zipped back through the jungle. Just as I was noticing flashes in the trees, A stopped the moto and told us that the flashes were fireflys. It was a magical moment in the jungle listening to the buzzing of night insects while watching the fireflys flick on and off. We finished our trip through the jungle and got back to our kayak. By this time after several cocktails and beer with dinner neither I nor Deb were any too sober. We had a slight mishap when landing the kayak. As Deb stepped out of the kayak she grabbed at a stacked stone pillar as the boat was pushed away from the shore. She did the splits between the shore and boat and a rock toppled off the pillar and bounced off her head. Fortunately she was not knocked out nor did she fall in the water as I quickly paddled the boat closer to shore. We managed to get ashore without further mishap although Deb had a tremendous lump on her head and a headache to match. We passed out watching a firefly that had followed us home blink on and off on the ceiling of our bungalow.


The next morning we reluctantly left the island by slow boat bound for Bangkok, Korea and home.

If you are going to Thailand and want to stay in a rustic tropical paradise contact us and we will tell you how to find "A" and his nature resort.

Los Angeles

Just a quick update to let all of our readers know we made it out of SE Asia before the problems in Thailand. We are currently recuperating from jet lag and a nasty cough for Richard. I hope to be posting a few more episodes soon about our adventures in Thailand and Korea so stay tuned.

Back to Luang Prabang

After spending the night in Xien Kok we find the only transport available to go down the river to Houei Xai is by long tail fast boat. These boats are notoriously dangerous and several people have been killed in crashes. To make matters worse, we are in the infamous Golden Triangle of opium production and people occasionally just disappear and there is still sporadic bandit activity this far up the river. Reluctantly, we decide to retrace our trip as far as Odomxai and pick up the river again at the town of Pak Beng.

The four hour ride from Odomxai to Pak Beng takes us through mountain scenery where there are still some remnants of once great forests. It is still beautiful despite many areas that look liked a war zone. Denuded mountainsides, some still smoldering from the slash and burn agriculture practices are interspersed with fallow rice fields and numerous small villages. It is a rainy day which provides relief from the piercing tropical sun and knocks down the dust and smoke to provide clear views of the dramatic landscape. The road traces the meanders of the Beng River down to its mouth which is the confluence with the Mekong and the town of Pak Beng. Pak means mouth of the Beng River. It is charming port town with several guest houses and restaurants. We find a beautiful room with views across the canyon of the Mekong. The town is empty of tourists and we have a lunch of very decent Indian food on a deck high above the river.


We explore the town’s one street and return to the river near sunset to see a boat come in and drop off about 20 passengers. It dawns on us that the town is just a stopover for north and south bound boats. This revelation is confirmed when the south bound boat arrives an hour later and disgorges 100 people get. The town is instantly full and as night falls we hear the sound of several generators fire up to provide electricity for the next four hours.

The next morning we find ourselves crammed on a boat with the other 100 southbound passengers. We anticipate the crunch and board early to snag a pair of cushy bus type seats while the other passengers only had the option of hard wooden benches.



The Mekong flows through an open canyon with forested slopes towering above. The low water of the Mekong has revealed a phantasmagoria of wildly eroded limestone; some that rise 30 to 40 feet out of the river. Some parts look like a mini Bryce Canyon. The high water marks 40 feet above water level suggests a raging mobile sea that during rainy season must be at least 400 yards wide and hundreds of thousands of cubic feet per second while at its current level it is little more than 100 yards wide and maybe only 50000 CFS. The river is muddy brown from the thousands of tons of suspended silt. It looks like one big oozing mud bath.




The morning mist slowly lifts to reveal a mostly clear blue sky with mutton clouds floating overhead. The often sandy banks rise above us at times hosting small herds of water buffalo. Long bamboo poles jut from the rocks beneath the river villages, providing secure mooring for the fishing canoes. As the day begins to warm, Deb suggests I go to the bar for a tall cold beer before the rest of the mob on the boat drinks it all. We sip our ice cold beer as we leave more and more of the Mekong behind us.



The day continues to warm and conversations become more animated fueled by beer and cocktails from the bar as the multinational passengers are forced to become friends because of the close quarters. Cigarette smoke drifts through the cabin diluted by the fresh breeze entering from the open sides of the boat.

The blue sky rapidly turns to gray as we enter a zone of heavy burning. Smoldering hillsides line the river. Ash drifts through the cabin flecking us with black and gray ash. Sunlight is filtered through the smoke casting an eerie yellow-orange light on the scenery and reflects off the wake fractured water. The smoke obscures the sun and gives us relief from the afternoon heat. At first the change causes a flurry of conversation but soon the boat falls silent as everyone succumbs to the common shared misery as the smoke burns the eyes and lungs. After about a half hour we push through the worst of the smoke as everyone looks back into the gray nothingness we have just passed.

We pass another of the many river villages. Deb thinks they look like resorts with thatched bungalows framed by palm trees gently swaying in the afternoon breeze. Yet we know the trees, smoke and distance hide the gritty reality of the villages. Children scamper in the shallows and wave as we pass.

The river has gentled as we have come downstream. It is now broad and flat with the surface broken by swirls, whirlpools and eddies that hint of rocks and sand bars on the river bed. I stick my head out past the railing to see the bow wave fan out into a wake that stretches from shoreline to shoreline. A fisherman in a small boat tosses his net and as he paddles up on it he gives us a curious look.

As the river broadens even more, we start to see the kharsts along the Nam Ou River that we left several days ago. As we pass the mouth of the Nam Ou we know our voyage is almost over. As the sun sets in the western sky we arrived in Luang Prabang to complete our river to river trip.

Muang Sing to Xieng Kok via Muong Long

A dusty bumpy road jars the 20 people jammed into a bus designed for 12 as we grind our way up and down hills on the way to our connection town of Muong Long. The bus suspension is just a memory and I watch with mild alarm as the driver wrestles the bus around pot holes and sharp mountain curves with a quarter turn of play in the steering. The bus plows through rutted roads ankle deep in dust raising a cloud that trails behind as we try to outrun it. The dust is so fine it filters into the bus and at times the cloud is nearly as thick in as out. My white shirt turns progressively deeper shades of beige as I attempt to protect my lungs with my bandana. We wind through once forest clad mountains now cloaked in shrubs and intermingled banana trees. We pass numerous hill tribe villages where I spy some still-traditional dress. Villages are a combination of stilt house of either spit bamboo or teakwood. There is the occasional two story with teak over concrete. The villages are obviously dirt poor but no one seems to be going hungry.


Good farmland provides rice and vegetables and there lots of ducks, chickens, geese and pigs to provide protein. Fish from the river supplements the bounty of the land. Women carry impossible loads in baskets supported by a single strap on their foreheads that goes around the basket on their backs. In the villages hordes of children clad in a variety of dirty and torn clothes wave at the bus as it passes. The women in traditional clothes hurriedly cover their bare breasts at the sound of the bus.

We stop as the shift linkage on the bus falls apart. We have a welcome break from the bouncing and slamming that the road and bus have been dishing out. We have just enough time to stretch our legs and find a bush while the assistant driver repairs the linkage. The diesel of the bus roars to life calling us back to the bush for the last torturous descent to Mouang Long.



Mouang Long
The bus station in Mouang Long is the center of a bustling market that is more appealing than the one in Mouang Sing. While I investigate the next bus to Xieng Kok, Deb wanders the market looking for food. It is difficult to figure out when the bus will leave because no one speaks English. I stand in frustration when the bus engine roars into life with Deb nowhere in sight. I frantically motion at the driver who ignores me. It turns out he is only repositioning the bus so passengers can mount. I signal that I am going to get Deb and he seems to understand. I find her way down in the market and we rush back to find the driver now sitting in the bus station apparently in no hurry to go anywhere. I make eating motions to the driver and he points me to the market. So we chance going to a soup stand that Deb has spotted that is close by enough to keep an eye on the bus.

A young monk pedals for his morning alms rounds

The soup stand is little more than a shack with a charcoal fire, a big vat of boiling broth and an array of noodles meat and vegetables displayed on the table. We motion to the proprietress who is very cheery and starts pointing to the various food items asking what we would like. We select a variety and watch her first rinse our bowls with boiling water then put boiling broth into the bowls. She adds our chosen items which are cooked as we watch in the still bubbling broth . By now we are starving and the soup is delicious. We top it off with an ice cold Lao beer. As we are slurping the last of the soup I see the bus driver head for the bus. It appears that he was kind enough to wait for us to finish eating. I pay the equivalent of $2 and we rush to the bus for what will be the last leg of our journey back to the Mekong.

The road starts out nicely paved and this is a much better bus; less crowded and with actual suspension to absorb the bumps and pot holes that slowly replace the smooth pavement a few kilometers back. After what seems to be a very short hour we arrive in Xieng Kok. The bus drops us at a crossroads but I am unsure what the road crosses because we are at the end of the road in Northwest Laos. The only way out is back down the road we came or down the Mekong river which is our plan. We find a shabby little bungalow to spend the night. After a refreshing cold shower to wash of the road grime, a cold beer and a short nap, I am sitting on our porch watching the mighty Mekong flow past my doorstep. I look across the river to Burma as the afternoon sun tries to burn through the smoke filled sky.


Richard at the end of a long day on the bus