Hitchhiking 101

So, it seems there are a few places more difficult to hitch in...Asia being one of them. I guess because of the huge amount of backpackers here, especially on the routes I did in Laos. It seemed there were less offers of assistance on these roads. many drivers expected I wanted to be walking (which I did).

In many Asian countries there are private vans and cars with paid drivers. Don't bother flagging these cars down, they charge a rate to take you to your destination, much like taking a bus and quite the opposite of what you want to achieve.

Here are some basic rules 'of thumb' -

1. Be prepared to walk. In countries where hitchhikers are not common, it may take you a while to find a hitch but there is no point getting sad about it!

2. Wear bright fun clothing, a smile and have a clear sign. Taking your sunglasses or hat off when cars come may also help in the trust department as people can see your full face. Use a friendly wave and point in the direction you want to go rather than sticking out your thumb - it helps!

3. Choose a good location. Make sure you are somewhere drivers can see you..and have time to think about picking you up..and that there is enough space for them to stop safely. You don't want to cause any major traffic accidents!

..and preferably not here...

4. Be careful walking on highways..try to find a lift before, at toll roads, service stations, restaurants etc You'll be amazed what a simple chat can achieve (provided you speak the language!)

5. Speaking of safety, ensure you have your intuition and judgment skills switched on, you can easily assess the feeling of a person from one look - remember to do this! If you don't feel safe, the person is too eager to get you in the car or there is something else, simply don't get in..you'll always get another lift!

A Long Walk - Luang Prabang - Vientiane

Whew..I'm kind of buggered..but it's done - my solo experiment walking from Luang Prabang - Vientiane.

Tab's little feet have been so happy, so content, so...lazy..for so long, it's time to let them do more of the work. I travelled from the north to the sunny south of Laos, one colorfully dressed, flowy foreign woman walking the heights and the hills of the breathtaking landscapes, low valleys, tiny towns and dizzying mountains of Laos.

So why walk when you can have the totally bland, impersonal and regulated experience with 60 other foreigners?

Something that has become increasingly uncomfortable for me travelling well-travelled countries, is tourists. The sheer mass of Western bodies moving through Asia is incredible. But the way that people travel. Without the thought that they can have a different experience, happy to be led from bus, to taxi, to hotel..without a thought

This really frustrates me. So, I got off the bus and decided to walk.

The road from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng is full of mountainous passes and green countryside. Tiny villages on the way with gorgeous cheeky children and laughing people...to be honest, they were mostly laughing at me. It's a strange tourist who decides to walk these parts.

Along the way I was given rides in trucks, utes and a very nice man on a scooter took me to a hillside wedding party, haha, after beers and lots of lovely kids and people, dropped me to the highway again!

The time spent communing with sun-beaten country roads gave me a lot of time to think...mostly about contentment, the kind that is found when you simply have to put one foot in front of the other..when there is no other choices to make but keepin' on walking or sittin' down :) Ah, the utter simplicity.

So now back in Vientiane, I am now happily about to head back to the quiet and solitude of Dreamtime..I'm ready for more bliss!

Luang Prabang - World Heritage city of holy carrots

Beautiful Luang Prabang - a quiet and relaxed city with a beautiful feel and surrounded by mountains and holy temples, waterfalls and night markets. The former capital of Laos, Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage city, a really charming little city with French architecture and clean streets..

..but the effects of mass tourism can really be seen here. I was told the city has dropped in its standing as number one world heritage city to number ten. A pity for the people living in this gorgeous area.

I wake up early in the morning to take a peek at the amazing sight of morning alms giving. Monks and locals line the streets on each side to offer a blessing and food for their morning (and only) meal of the day..it was both beautiful and awful watching tourists snapping photos of this local tradition. Merchants quick to get in on the tourist happy hour, have sold unsafe food which has resulted in monks getting ill..and now there is resistance to continuing this tradition. They strongly advise observing from a distance...it's nicer that way.

I spent a lot of time wandering the markets and the streets considering my next move..it's a nice, sleepy town that shuts downs completely at 11pm, but there are so many tourists, so many bars that it was hard to relax. It was nice swimming in the river with the kids, hanging out of the banks of the Mekong and eating fried pork and chicken at the markets.

Since deciding not to travel to India this time around, I'm making my way back to Dreamtime! But I want to do it under my own steam! With my own two happy feet...

Slow boat to China? Or Luang Prabang!

Those of you who haven't heard Josh's catchy travel epic 'Small boat to China' might not understand why I stress the word 'catchy', after two days on a river boat singing this song at the top of my lungs..I sure do.

Sorry Josh, the Finnish and I butchered your song, but you are now officially internationally recognised - by blonde Scandinavians :)

Fresh of the bike and into a two day journey by slow boat - from the hills of Pai to the heart of Laos, Luang Prabang. A wide offshoot of the Mekong river snakes through hills and mountains taking chugging river boats crammed with tourists merrily along. I was fortunate to meet two beautiful Finnish girls, Paula and Nadja, packing bottles of rum and chicken sandwiches - I couldn't have been luckier.



Laos immigration at this border crossing was a complete joke. If you plan to go this way, try to be prepared for around 3 hours of unorganised choas in a small concrete space with 200 confused, hot and tired international travellers..

And then we were squeezed onto a boat..

Finding a nice patch of floor we settled in, a 7 hour trip the first day, an overnight at Pak Beng and another 9 hours the next day.

The girls cracked the rum...

Most of the river travellers were freshly filtered from Pai, there were a lot of old friends and new ones. A chilled chilled crew and plenty of room to smoke, stretch, chat, wander..whiskey in the front deck, rum on the cushions and joints passed in steerage. What a nice way to travel down a river :)

Luang Prabang is a city of monks and temples - - - goody - - -

Big Brother Mouse

It's incredible to think that some children have never experienced the sensation of being caught up in the terrible excitement and wonder of a good children's book. That they have never had their minds open to the possibility of witches, goblins, giants and fairies. That they have never imagined a big, red dog, or a caterpillar who ate everything or a spider who had a big heart!

Wow, as a book lover, I can't imagine a child's life without books to expand my imagination!Big Brother Mouse helps kids in Laos to do just this. They translate, edit and publish books for kids and make literacy their number one priority. While I was in Luang Prabang I dropped into the center and volunteered for an English class. The kids I had were from 7 - 16 and we had a great time doing tongue twisters and a pronunciation session. Afterwards I read them my favorite book! Possum Magic!You can volunteer for an English class or simply buy a book or two!





www.bigbrothermouse.com
To reach the shop, walk down the main street of Luang Prabang. From the Night Market area walk towards the end of the peninsula. Take the third left (not counting small alleys), immediately after 3 Nagas Restaurant. They are down on the left.

Golden Triangle Motorbike Trip

I got seriously lucky on this one - most people go to Asia to ride elephants!

Wandering the streets of Pai, I looked up to see an old friend from Hanoi..surprise...to be honest, I looked to check out a sleek black roadbike and then my friend's face appeared.

Stix is my road tripping, Minsk riding friend from Hanoi, with his motorbiking fiend, Tom, the pair hired 650cc Ninjas to complete the Golden Triangle track.

The Golden Triangle is the area that overlaps the mountains of three countries, Burma, Thailand and Laos..equalled to the 'Golden Crescent' of Afghanistan, it has produced the most opium in the world since 1950..today the bad guys have mostly fled and the countryside has returned to it's usual sleepy pastorial pace..and leaving it for the motorbike fanatics to enjoy!

It has been called the best motorbike riding road in South East Asia, perhaps the world!

Seriously fast bikes, seriously amazing roads..and one lucky little Australian who managed to wrangle her way onto the back of one :)

Three days around the circuit through UNESCO World Heritage sites, crossing over mountain passes, north to the Burmese border and the highest mountain in Thailand...

1,800 turns...yep, someone counted them.
Silent screams..from me..
170km per hour was the fastest speed I saw

- and at this point I closed my eyes -
I was told we went much faster.


Like a petrified koala, I spent two days with a death grip on Stix' belly, breathing through the turns and curves and silently screaming in pure...fear, joy, exhilaration...

At a beautiful moment, we stopped for tea in a tiny tea house on the edge of the Burmese border surrounded by hills full of history and still vibrating..it's the highest point I've been so far...the top of the world.

The next day, a sudden storm at Mae Hong Son saw the skies turn black. After talking to locals, the boys decided it would be to dangerous to go on and we turned around. Outrunning a storm..you need a good bike. It was pitch black in the rearvision mirror and blue ahead..for most of the way..and then, we were cut off and directly in the path of the storm. The dry season trees let go their leaves and branches and trees fell with the stinging, icy rain and the sharp winds..intense.

Wet, and tired, we made it back to Pai the next day after a short nights sleep in Soppong. What a trip. The boys headed south the Chiang Mai and I spent the rest of the day in a daze in Pai waiting for my bus to the border..

Mostly, I hobbled around taking pictures of this lovely town, said goodbye to the friends I had made, eating and drinking tea..and straight to the nearest massage palour for an hour of bliss before the next part of the journey appeared!

And it's going to be a two day journey on a slow boat to Laos...

Pai in the sky

Welcome Home - the sign should say as you burst out of weaving roads in into the Utopian city of Pai. Thailand's worst kept, most freely shared hippy secret :) it's the official home of peace and love in Thailand, tucked in the rolling hills and verdant valleys of the North.

Firstly, I haven't thrown up on a bus since a primary school trip to the Big Pineapple. My big night in Chiang Mai brought me to this ruin, the road curves and hairpin twists on the journey up - are never ending. It's hard to be discreet when sharing your insides with 10 other tourists on a mini bus..a kind old lady with purple plaits gave me a mint..hehe. just the start of the kindness :)

Nevertheless, I made it to the far north. Pai is an old secret, a small hippy village in the style of Uki, Kuranda or Nimbin..yes, there are beautiful villages like this everywhere in the world.

As I fell through the door of the mini-bus a delicious sight filled my eyes..I am most comfortable surrounded by people whose preference lean towards rainbow colors and tie-dyed hemp. Around me were the smiling faces of 'family' from many countries, all colors, shapes and sizes and dreadlocks, on bicycles, on foot, barefoot and browsing bamboo covered rainbow shops..I took a deep breath..the city was covered in a smile!

My first day was spent luxuriating in the highest point of bliss I have experience in a long time.

1. being stationary!

2. swinging on a hammock absorbed in 'Kafka on the Shore' - wow, what a book..

3. and most importantly - and best said in prose -

ahem - framed by rolling green hills dotted with leaf covered bungalows... bamboo bridges crossing sunflower laced rivers... dirt fires burning freshly caught fish with smiles.
An invitation to your place, his place, their place..large drinks in large backyard pubs, red dust staining the hems of my pants and blending my bare feet with the earth. Green grass, pizza, wheatgrass, green grass pizza and smiles, smiles, smiles..from new brothers and sisters..

Pai will sit in my memory as one of the jewels of all my travels..

I spent hot days wandering sun soaked streets = more smiles. Jewellery making and chit chatting about life and change with Sandy the Chai tea lady, joking with a Thai rastafarian and learning how to work with leather, sharing music, the source of inspiration and endless rounds of 'Don't worry be Happy' with the Estonian - someone who wandered in here 4 months ago and hasn't left yet...haha, I think it happens frequently.

And at night, local live jams (Josh, these are times I miss you most!), friendly faces and new friends bonding you instantly to the town..after 2 days, I felt as though I had been a part of the water, moss and rocks for 2 years...I'll be back )

Tonight, I take a slow boat up the river, or maybe it's down...yes, down the river to Luang Prabang, Laos.. at which place I have instructions to walk along the Mekong 2km, turn left at the wishing well and find the banana place..or something similar..I'm not worried, there are a few hours left for me to savor this delicious place before turning and leaving..

Right now I'm sitting in an internet cafe with my ears tingling with the sounds of Oka and Josh's melodic new one..

I've just returned from a two day road Triiiiippppp....
.....on a 650cc black Ninja (the 'black' part is apparently the most important).

We followed the snaking asphalt that carves tracks between Laos, Burma and Thailand, forming the 'Golden Triangle'. We moved at the speed of vibration, my brain rattling to the Burmese border and back again... mountainside, countryside...actually, I'm still vibrating.

Chiang Mai

The beautiful city of Chiang Mai is about 700km north of Bangkok and surrounded by mountainous territory and jungle with tribes still dotting the high hills.

It's been a long awaited visit, Anna and I heard so much about it 7 years ago, but never made it this far north. Arriving in the cool light at an ungodly early hour of the morning, I tracked down the Canvas Cafe, a local public art-house, and dumped my bag..which for some reason is getting heavier and heavier!!

The Canvas Cafe is lovingly decorated with art, roosters welcome you at the front and there's a small green jungle out the back. Lek and Nong and their cute monkey child helped me out with a drink and a tip to the local art gallery and store. They have owned the house for four years and play host to alternative events in Chiang Mai including the Cycircus (a travelling troupe of musicians and clowns I juuuust missed)!

Chiang Mai is a city of temples, with 308 wats dotted around the 700 year old city, it's easy to walk and walk and walk. The four canals that border the old town are ringed by the ancient Thae Phae gate. It's an easy enough place to get around, mostly eating and visiting markets...if I was staying longer I would hire a bike though. (Never mind, Thai foot massages are cheap and everywhere!)

On my last night we were sitting watching UP..a mind blowingly beautiful animation! It's incredible to think that there are movies like this. Adventure, floating houses, conservation and an 80 year old main character! I was as entranced as the chubby little baby, Abaydi.

I went from this colorful mind-candy for a car ride with a couple of people I met through the house. Northgate Hotel has live jazz jams every Tuesday night and tonight jazz saxaphone, trumpets and a funky drum section were rocking the tiny corner bar. I sat and played congos in the corner for an hour and had a blast.

O and her brother Tomo were two of the Thai out with us, their mother had died recently after a long illness and they were out with their friends before 7 days of funeral ceremonies. They said monks would come to their home and chant, ensuring the spirit leaves as it is meant to.

Before I left, O said to me with a serene smile, that she knows her mother will be back again and hopes she can see her mother's spirit before she leaves. It was incredible to see how they were so trusting and content with their beliefs. I can only hope to be as calm and positive when my time comes to experience loss.

Learning, loving, canvas art, padding streets, smiling dogs, teeth cleaning, hippy babies, light and lots of it, sausages, fruit shakes, new leather, new string, new faces and plently of things to smile about!

From here, it's a 7:30 bus and a 3 hour straight shot to PAI!

Canvas Cafe
Phrapokklao Rd
Soi 9

Bangbang Bangkok

Time's up again...visa run!

From the serenity of Laos to the concrete intensity of Asia's busiest city - Bangkok. It's been 5 years since my last visit and the streets are as colorful and crowded as ever. Bangkok is a beautiful, clean and bustling metropolis full of gorgeous glittering temples, monuments, impressive palaces, exotic foods, clean streets and orderly traffic...it's big and it's noisy, polluted and packed to the gills with backpackers.

Luckily, I landed directly on the soft cushions of Tu's Thai oasis. Another lucky find all those years ago, Tu's place is a sanctuary of calm. He's opened his house to travellers and hippies since 1988 when he was a travelling hippy himself following the trail to America and back...

Now the house is full or instruments, history, stories of The Grateful Dead, Jerry Lewis and other amazing artists, sitar playing, percussionistas, Rainbow kids, tailors, healers and artists..it's a wonderful place to recover and get back into the tie dye and inspired! I love Tu and there is always something happening in the house..

After Bangkok I'll be going to the city of Chiang Mai for a few days in the mountains..I've always wanted to go :)

So here I go!