We said we were never going to go to Vang Vieng, we’ve been told many a horror story of people ended up injured from their tubing and partying experiences and we thought we’d just skip it and explore another part of the country. However chatting to fellow travellers we got the impression that Vang Vieng offers more than the opportunity to go tubing down the river and get inebriated on toxic substances.

We took a bus journey to Vang Vieng which was around 5 hours from the capital and arrived at a decent enough time to start looking for accommodation. There was a group of us looking and we all managed to get into our first choice La Jardin Organique, Dave and I ended up sharing with Corrine to lower our costs for a few days and so it was 100,000 kip between the 3 of us which wasn’t a bad deal at all considering the costs in Vientiane. They have a good selection of accommodation here with bungalows, guesthouse style rooms and cheaper rooms for 40,000 with shared bathrooms, also the owners are very accommodating indeed and the female owner certainly seems to be the one negotiating prices with tourists over her husband!

With accommodation sorted early on we set off in search of finding some kind of trek/kayak trip that would cater to our needs. We went to a few companies along the main back street of Vang Vieng and found a company located around 10 minutes walk up the street from Le Jardin Organique on the right hand side, there are so many but these guys offered a 2 day tour that included hiking, caves, waterfalls and kayaking. The more of us that were interested in booking the tour then the price would come down, so after a good mint and lemon shake at the organic cafe in town we opted to book the trip and later on found out that Doug and Emma would also be joining us so that would shave off some of the cost. The total came to roughly £50 for the two of us to do this trip with food and one night’s accommodation included. That evening we went back to the organic cafe and enjoyed some good home-cooked soups and curries.

We met the next morning at 8.30 am for the tour and hopped onto a song thaw along with others who were going on a one day kayak and cave tour of the area. We all got off at the same point but the kayakers went one way and we the other. We started with a Buddhist cave in a village around 15km north of Vang Vieng along the Nam Song river, the cave is called Phu Kham cave and hosts a reclining Buddha along with a shrine and other symbolic Buddhist monuments. We were there for 5 minutes or so and our guide then started the trek. The first part of the trek was very steep indeed and took us up a karst peak, through dense jungle like foliage and we had a few clear moments where we could look out over the area, but otherwise it was quite hard work and in the heat we sweated lots. The walk led us to another cave, this one being much more interesting than the first, with no other tourists around for a start which is always a treat! We were led through one part of the cave where new stalagmites and stalactites were forming and the light shining into the cave was beautiful. Our guide started to get a barbecue going and said lunch would be around15-20 minutes later. So we explored the cave, Doug enjoyed the spa like water coming from the river and we cooled down after the heat of the walk.

Lunch was really simple but very good indeed; barbecued kebabs with vegetable fried rice, a baguette and bananas, it certainly filled us up and did the trick. After lunch we continued to walk through the secret eden forest area which is a valley in the middle of the peaks where no-one goes through other than the villagers as it’s surrounded by steep peaks all around. It was once an area where a hill tribe village lived and no-one knew of their existence until the Indo-Chinese war and then they left for more mainstream areas…we do try to remember this information when it’s told to us by our guides! We then carried on back up the peak and out to the other side, followed by a further hours walk to the eco-lodge built next to the river where we had stopped earlier in the day to drop off our bags. We got into the river to cool down and waited for our rooms to be organised, there seemed to be some confusion as to where our accommodation was but after a while we found ourselves in a wooden lodge which was simple but did the trick. We enjoyed a good local meal cooked by our hosts, accompanied by our guide Noi and this was followed by some card games.

Another good part of the tour was that we could choose our own breakfast from the menu at the eco-lodge, this was a first on a tour!! We had a bit of a wait for the tour guide and kayaks to turn up and whilst doing so the rain decided to come down, our fist rain shower in a long long time, it was really refreshing. The rains don’t last very long so we were able to get into the kayaks and start the first leg of this part of the tour. This time we were heading in the direction of Vang Vieng as we would eventually land up there later in the afternoon. The first part of the kayak took only half and hour and we got off to start trekking again, we were all aching a little from the steep climbs of the trek the day before but today we were promised it wouldn’t be so steep! This was the case though and after half an hour of walking we landed at our third cave of the trip, it was huge, we were able to walk through one entrance under the peak and out to the other side. During the wet season water comes crashing through from a river located further up the hill and right now it was completely empty with only large tree branches and trunks as evidence that water does come through at great speeds and volume. It was very cool indeed, we walked with head torches and took in the scale of the cave, not as bit as one’s we’d seen in Tha Khaek but impressive in other ways. On the other side we climbed out into the sunshine and our guide asked us if we wanted to go to another cave or to the waterfall up the hill. We opted for the waterfall and began the walk upwards. It didn’t take too long to reach though and when we got there we met a few other people on tours, including Ann who we’d met in Tha Khaek. We enjoyed another dip in a deep pool, it was much colder than the river temperature so it wasn’t long before we were sat warming up on rocks and enjoying another kebab and rice style feast.

The last part of the tour was kayaking all the way back to Vang Vieng, it was around 13km or so to get back and we took in a few rapids along the way, they were pretty tame though but we had fun going through them all the same. We passed through where the tubing starts and were faced with hundreds of happy go lucky backpackers enjoying the Vang Vieng tubing and zip lining into the water. It is a pretty mental site, from the peacefulness of the valley and mountains to an Ibiza style day by day party, music blasting out and everyone getting wrecked, really odd! As we got closer to Vang Vieng we passed more and more tubers coming to the end of their little adventures and we landed at the bay just where La Jardin Oraganique is located, perfect for us. We had already pre-booked a room there so we were able to check in straight away, they had an even cheaper room for us 80,000 kip between the 3 of us and it wasn’t any worse than the last other than it wasn’t in a bungalow.

Later on we attain town at a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant which didn’t really live up to it’s reputation, although opting for the local barbecue was the best option, for those after western tastes don’t expect to be in a rush. Still this is Laos after all!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

The tummy bug came back to haunt Helen and once again she was caught on a day of travel…always carry Imodium as it comes in very handy for those long bus journeys!! So it wasn’t the best night and we were a little worried about the journey as our next destination; Tha Khaek was a good 8 hours or more away. Still onwards we travelled as sometimes just getting on with it needs to be done, especially when we’re on a time schedule of sorts. The first part of the journey was the boat back over to the mainland where we were directed to a bus carrying passengers to Pakse. It took around 2 hours to reach Pakse and when we arrived at the bus station we were moved onto another local bus with one other traveller, Floss. The middle aisle on the second bus was full of rice bags so we took a few seats at the front and waited…and waited. It was another hour and a half before leaving the bus station with more locals boarding as we drove out of the bus station.

It was a very long bus journey indeed, we don’t really know how many times we stopped, started, the bus driver got off for food, more locals got on, but by the end of the journey the middle bags of rice were loaded with people all the way through the bus. These journeys are always the one’s we remember though and we definitely recommend taking local buses when you’ve got the energy. We arrived at Tha Khaek bus station at around 11.15 pm, along with Floss we picked up a tuk-tuk into town which is about 4km away. The tuk-tuk was packed with a family, two other men, one large epson printer, us and our bags! The Travel Lodge, our first pick was closed up and full with some guests sleeping on the floor, so we drove around the town and the driver took us to a guest house where there was one room available. Floss took it and we decided to go in with her, it was an old office that had two single beds, one fan and polystyrene around the walls to insulate it. There was also a strong stench of garlic, but as it was now midnight and only costing 50,000 kip between us all we took it for the night.

The following morning we packed up and walked around looking for other possible, affordable places to stay whilst en-route to the Tourist Information Center. We don’t always go to these places as often the tourist information can be less than helpful but we had read in the Lonely Planet that they offer well-priced eco-tours in the area. There was a hotel a few houses down from the office on the right and they had rooms available with en-suite for 50,000 kip/room, the 3 of us decided we would move here. Walking a little further up the street we found the Tourist Information office and it was closed, with a sign saying opening times 1.30-4.30pm, we hung around for a few minutes and along came a man on a scooter, he unlocked the office and in we went. They have a good brochure listing 1 to 3 day treks and sights in the region, our main purpose of visiting Tha Khaek was to visit the mighty Konglor cave, but to do this as a one day trip would involve a lot of time spent in a mini-van or on a bus and the 3 day trip with the cave included was no longer on offer. So we settled for a 2 day trek in the Phu-Hin Bun national park where we would walk for 2 days, visit a few caves, stay in a local village and visit striking lagoons. This was pretty good value for money at around $82 each for 3+ people, Ann from France arrived at the same time and booked the trip along with Floss and ourselves and we hoped more people would book on for the following day as we would get some money back in this instance.  In comparison Green Discovery Laos who also operate tours in this area of the country are nearly double if not triple the amount of the tours offered by the tourist information, they do seem to offer some very good options such as 3 day kayak, biking and trekking but they are priced way above our budget and cost more than the higher priced tours we did back in Vietnam.

We moved to the new hotel and spent the remainder of the day exploring Tha khaki; visited the market, where Helen bought a piece of traditional Laos–style material that would work as a sarong for bathing purposes, and we walked up to the Travel Lodge to arrange accommodation there for our last night in Tha Khaek. We took a back-lane around the town and watched the locals get home from work, kids playing in the street and many people offering us their hello’s along the way. We stopped off for some western food at the main square in the centre of town and then walked back to the hotel to rest and pack for the following day. Unfortunately for the rest of the evening Helen’s tummy bug hit an all time high of toilet visits and restlessness, we were worried about the trip and vowed to get some anti-bacterial antibiotics in the morning.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

The bus was due to depart from Siem Reap at 6am and we were informed to be at the ticket office for 5.30am. We arrived on time and several other travellers were waiting for the bus which was a medium sized coach but enough room for everyone on board, even if the bags were all thrown on the backseats! We paid $8 each for our tickets which was the cheapest we could find to Kratie with a change of buses in Kompong Cham, Doug and Emma were heading for Ban Lung and had to pay $19 each for the VIP bus, hotel pickup and a breakfast. It started in the usual way, drive around the area for at least an hour picking up passengers and packages to transport and then finally one last stop, it was to pick up Emma and Doug from a tuk-tuk, two hours later than they should have set off on the coach. Maybe the bus at Kompong Cham will be a VIP bus we thought!?

After 5 hours we arrived in Kompong Cham for our next bus connection and to all head off in different directions. The bus never materialised, either it left before we arrived or was non-existent, so we had to hassle the “travel coordinator” from our bus about what to do as the station office was no use and the bus driver had no inclination of trying to help. He arranged for us to go with another bus company on the other side of town, so the bus dropped us there. We would have to wait for 2.5 hours until the bus arrived so most of the stranded passengers (about 8 of us) headed for some food, fried rice with beef or noodles was pretty much the only option. Helen wasn’t feeling too good so she had plain boiled rice.

Finally a bus arrived, which incidentally looked pretty swanky, and we were informed we were all on the bus as it would stop at Kratie and then proceed up to Ban Lung. However there were not enough seats or luggage space in the hold on the coach so 5 people had to sit on their bags in the isle. Luckily people disembarked fairly quickly at random stops along the way so we all got seats within the hour. After a long journey we finally arrived at Kratie with an ounce of sunlight left in the sky and we found our preferred option for accommodation, the Balcony Guest House, over looking the Mekong River. Success, they had rooms with shared bathroom for $5. The room at the front of the building with a double bed was very large and had a huge ceiling with fan, it felt very Mediterranean in style and we loved the 70′s retro concrete building. We didn’t go far that evening and opted for some food from the Balcony’s restaurant which was pretty nice (real Heinz Baked Beans we think!!), but a bit overpriced for the portion sizes we received, washed down with some homemade Ginger Ale which tasted pretty boozy!

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

Today we gave up on the idea of yet more bike riding misfortune and decided to use our legs. After an early morning run around Battambang and some breakfast we headed out to look at the french influenced buildings around the town and stop by at more temples. In the afternoon we headed out to the train tracks once more but this time to the abandoned railway tracks. Children playing in the wasteland that was once a French operated train yard, which is now home to people living on the perimeter of the town and is a dumping ground for their rubbish. We headed back towards the hotel with cameras poised. Toyota must have a huge market share in Cambodia, almost every car you see is a Toyota Camry, they love the Camry! More work time on the roof and a few drinks before heading off to the White Rose again for some cheap food, one vegetable and one fish Khmer curry.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

We booked a 3 day 2 night tour with Sinhbalo tours (tour – “SBL8 – Cycle from MyTho to Cai Be, Vinh Long and Can Tho (3D/2N)”) along with new best friends Justin and Jules. We had been recommended the company by other travellers we’d met in Halong Bay who’d actually made the statement that it was the best thing they’d done in Vietnam, so based on this we thought they would be a strong bet for a good cycling tour. Other companies tend to charge more for similar tours and we didn’t want to stretch our budget too much.

The first day involved a mixture of bus, boat and cycling. The bus took us from HCMC to the Mekong Delta and took around 3 hours, as soon as we arrived we took a boat journey along the Mekong to an Island where we were introduced to local life, food and animals! We had some lovely very fresh fruits and tea as well as some baked rice cakes (a little like sweet poppadoms), our guide Duat talked us through the family home and traditions, they were getting ready for festive family celebrations leading up to TET. This led onto a little boat trip through one of the Mekong canals, the whole route to ourselves led us back peacefully to the boat where we had got off. So it was a pretty leisurely start to the day that ended seeing us having lunch at a crocodile and coco-nut farm. Crocodile was not on the menu fortunately but they were there for us all to see and others to tease. The food served was fairly good, but we almost expected a little more, especially after the food of the Halong Bay tour.

We made another crossing of the Mekong river via boat and met the tour bus which had a fine selection of mountain bikes ready for us to explore the area. Our guide lead the way on a 20km ride along roads and trails which included plenty of “hellos” from children along the way, this is something you get used to very quickly when cycling around. Another boat journey landed us at the home-stay for our evenings stay. It was more like a simple eco guest house on stilts rather than a homestead but non the less it provided double beds with mosquito nets. A short walk around the local area gave a flavour of local life and then it was time for our evening meal. This was quite similar to lunch which was a little disappointing as its nice to try different menu items, however it was well received by everyone. Some card games, beer and a glimpse of fireflies in the trees finished the day off nicely and we were all looking forward to the next installment of cycling.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)

Up early at 6.30am and then breakfast was served, consisting of bread, jam, eggs and watermelon. We climbed aboard our stallions for the day (21 speed mountain bikes) and started off the 1.5hr bike ride through the delta area. We passed many little villages and homes with yet more screams of “hello” from the kids we passed, rice fields and cows. The heat of the day was quite oppressive however we had plenty of water supplied by our tour guide and eventually we arrived at a town and increased our energy with a good feed. We were informed that it was 35C by a local who was sheltering from the midday sun.

After a good rest and a rendezvous with the support (ford transit) van we stocked up on bottled water and then headed off along sealed roads towards the suspension bridge. This was a great climb to the top and certainly got the blood and sweat pumping, but we were rewarded with a lovely view of the area, and the best thing about going up, is the knowledge that you go down on the other side! Much speed and fun.

We arrived at the next town and settled into the provided accommodation which was very nice. Our guide met us after some rest time and took us to a nearby restaurant on the water front of the Mekong. The food was again great with lots of variation and options for the vegetarians. We had a walk around the town which was in preparation for TET and very busy, a few beers and then bed time.

On our last day of the tour we started early again with a 6am breakfast followed by a short bus ride to a taxi boat that ferried us to the famous floating markets. The boat journey took around 10 minutes and as we arrived at the markets there was a real buzz in the air, people shopping for their store supplies, pulling up alongside bigger boats in their small long boats, transporting vegetables, fruit and other wholesale items between each other. Some of the boats are huge and in between you’ll find a little lady selling street food from her tiny boat. We stopped at a pineapple sellers boat, got off ours and onto the top of theirs, we sat and they prepared freshly picked pineapples for us to eat there and then, they were so juicy!! After this we got back onto our boat and continued to drive past other sellers and vendors. It was a really impressive and insightful start to the day, just seeing how this type of community trade and all between boats is so different from what any of us expected. It’s good to get to the markets earlier in the morning or as early as you can manage as they finish at around midday having started at something like 4am, by 10am many tourists appear and it gets really busy. We were there at around 7am and there weren’t too many other tourists around.

We left the markets after an hour and continued up-river to a point where we met our trusty driver once more, he was there waiting with our bikes ready for us to ride on the last leg of our cycling trip. The last bike ride of the trip was quite tame and took around 2 hours, going through more villages, over more bridges and passing my many children shouting ‘Hello…what’s your name?’ and so on. At around 11am we found ourselves back at the hotel where we had time to shower and check out before starting the journey back to HCMC. The journey back took around 4 hours with an hours break for lunch at a posh service area called the Mekong Service Area where it seems most upper end tours take you too, it was a little like a 4 start resort made up of just restaurants. The food was good and Helen even had her own fish and vegetarian menu, they made some rice balls that came up into big balloons probably the most interesting thing about it. It was also our last supper with Justin and Jules so we toasted to good times in Vietnam.

Back in HCMC we said our goodbyes to our 3 week travel buddies and went our separate ways to our hotels. Later on we managed to get to the post office to send on our winter gear to Australia (we shouldn’t be needing it until then!?) We sent two 2kg parcels costing around $25 for airmail delivery. We ate at Zen once again for a tasty vegetarian feast, walked around the area and then went back to Luan Vu to get ready for our trip to Phnom Penh the next morning.

We left one big bag behind at Cloudland hostel as they offer a free luggage storage service for 3 days (thereafter its 3yuan per day). So we took advantage of this and packed most things into one main rucksack and had the smaller ones for cameras and so on. The bus left from the one bus station in Kunming which is way out of town, it takes around 45 minutes to get there and will cost 50 yuan by taxi. We were lucky as two girls from the hostel were making their way to the bus station so we shared the taxi ride with them. They were also going all the way to Yuanyang so it was good to know there were more travelers making their way there.

The bus left at 10am but it was a chilly start to the day, much cooler than previous days and all the way to Yuanyang this weather seemed to stick with us. There were a few stops along the cliff edged roads, one of which led us to some interesting outside toilets others were drop offs for extra parcels and passports the driver seemed to be transporting. There was a bit of a traffic jam coming into Xinjie where the main buses will stop at for the terraces and we eventually pulled up at 4pm. Greg from Sunny’s Guesthouse was there to meet us, he’d been staying there for some months helping out and as their English speaking guide for the guesthouse. His English was perfect and this in itself was very helpful in negotiating the mini bus fare back to their village. The two girls we had met on our way to the bus also joined us, so all in all we had managed to save a few yuan by sharing taxis and so on.

It was pretty foggy which we’d heard is very common at the terraces as they are set at altitude so often the mist settles into the valleys and takes a day to clear. We stopped at a few vantage points along the way which gave us a hint of what to expect when the weather clears. Sunny’s Guesthouse is one of very few accommodations in the Douyishi village. It is run by husband and wife and their sun Frank, they are currently doing some renovation work (as is often the case in off season China) and they are limited when it comes to heating, but it has amazing rooftop views and is located at the foot of the rice terraces in the village so we were spoilt for choice! We opted for a double room mainly due to body heat, it was freezing!! We did have an electric blanket though so there was comfort in that. The mist didn’t clear but we got a few shots of the landscape before dinner and two of the other guys staying there turned up from a stroll so there was a good group of us around the table. Dining takes place in a separate outer building from the main guesthouse, Frank is the chef and he kept churning out top quality home-cooked organic dishes one plate after the other. We also enjoyed the red rice which is grown in the Yuanyang rice fields. The family ate at the table next to us which is great in itself as they really do welcome you to their home. We stayed up and chatted next to the little fire in the communal area and then settled in for the night in anticipation of a good sunrise the next morning.

We woke early but the fog was still with us so we stayed in the warm bed a little longer before getting up to join some of the others for breakfast. They were disappointed as the whole time they were there the fog was too! Still even the fog offers some great opportunities pictorially. For breakfast we enjoyed an eggy bread style theme; egg pancakes with jam (very tasty) eggy french bread (good) and fried egg…it did the trick but was a little too stodgy! Still it was hot food and the air was cold. Nathan from San Francisco had arrived at 5am so he joined us and we chatted about plans for later on hoping to catch the sunset if the fog cleared.

After breakfast we went for a stroll into the village. Still foggy, adding atmosphere to the surroundings, we wandered past the pigs, chickens and cows roaming around people’s houses. There is very much a sense of community here and we learned that the rice terraces belong to the villagers and they share out between themselves what they grow, we figured it must be the same for the animals. The houses are very simple, many with straw roofs and it’s a very basic way of living (although we’re sure they have large flat screen TV’s tucked away in some of them!) It’s a very picturesque place and making our way down to the terraces was really rewarding even in the fog. You can walk into them quite far on the small paths, the terraces can be quite abstract too with left over rice plants sticking out of the water. At times the sun peeked through the cloud and offered some strong reflections, but the fog would soon swallow it up again.

We arranged to meet Nathan, Frank and one of the girls at 4pm to head out in search of some better weather later on. This meant we had the day to catch up on editing, the electric blanket was turned on, we wore all the clothes possible and every so often we would pause for a run up onto the roof terrace to catch the views before going back down again. Helen got pretty cold so along to the Chemical Brother’s Push the Button album she had a boogy in the room to warm up!

We met up with the others at 4pm to go in search of a sunset, Frank had heard that the sun was out in a few areas of the region so we went off to find them. Some of the best views were found at roadside platforms where we could catch the terraces for free, the bigger more well known viewing areas are all charged on entry so we had to toy with the plan…if the weather isn’t going to be good over there let’s see what we can find for free rather than getting there, paying and having no views. When we originally came into the Yuanyang region we managed to avoid the entrance fee by sitting in the back of the mini van and being unnoticed by the gateway keepers. To access the villages alone there is a 60yuan per person fee for tourists, but if it’s foggy, the weather is bad or you can hide behind local drivers then you will miss this fee. We were nearly charged on the second day but Frank managed to talk us out of it.

Finally we reached an area that had clear views and strong sunset colours reflecting off the water filled terraces. It was quite a special moment, we could see the fog coming in on different sections of the terraces. Wow! The terraces go on for what seems like miles, and this was only one section!

We did have to pay Frank for ferrying us around but it was only 30yuan per person so that wasn’t too bad at all, he also took off some money for us as he didn’t take us all the way to other viewing areas, this was mainly because the weather wasn’t as clear there anyway so it did us a favour. Back at Sunny’s we enjoyed another family meal, perhaps not as good as the first night, but there was plenty of choice and we were joined by some more guests. We stayed up with Nathan and Greg sipping on hot tea and chatting away until it was bed time. We were leaving early the next day but had vowed to be on the rooftop for the sunrise.

6.30am and we were on the roof watching the sun rise over the mountain tops and Dave shot some more slow shutter imagery on the Olympus Pen. If we’d have had more time we would have loved to stay for that day as we knew the weather was getting better, but we had other plans to go further north from Kunming and we were happy with what we had seen.

A quick breakfast and we were all squashed into the mini van to take us back to the bus station. This time we shared the journey with 4 others so once again costs were reduced. The bus left at 8.30am and along with Nathan we made our way back to Kunming. It was a much warmer day all round and we arrived in Kunming at 5pm, Nathan shared our taxi and covered the costs as a work expense which we were very grateful for. We said our goodbyes and landed at Cloudland at around 6pm in time for dinner.

A few hellos to other travelers we had met in Shanghai and we went out to one of the local eateries for some great cheap local food. This was followed by a quiet night at the hostel and arrangements to take a bus to Dali the following afternoon.

(Leica M9, Summicron-M 50mm f2.0 & Olympus PEN, 17mm f2.8 & 100mm f2.8, processed in Lightroom 3)