Ramblings in Retirement

February 2008

Home Alone!

Our Indo-china adventure is over and I have arrived back home in Spain unfortunately alone! Penny had been suffering from swollen ankles during our holiday and on return to the UK she visited the doctor who said that it was a side effect of her angina tablets. He determined to change them but said that she should return in 14 days for him to check all was well! Clearly this meant she was unable to accompany me on the return to Spain. I was also suffering from a very stiff left knee and did not want to go via the NHS for treatment as I was convinced that this would also result in long delays for x-rays (and if it was a cartilage problem, then a possible operation). As it transpired the medical centre in Denia diagnosed torn ligaments and treated me with anti-inflammatory pills.

Our Indo-China Adventure

It is extremely difficult to describe all the wonderful sights and people we came into contact with over our 3 weeks holiday and rather than go into great detail here I will try to give a synopsis which hopefully gives you a flavour of our experiences. I will eventually do a full journey experience, which I will send under separate cover.

Having arrived in Northern Thailand at Chaing Mai we had the luxury of a couple of days rest and relaxation (this turned out to be worthwhile as the actual holiday was quite tiring). A couple of days later we met up with the rest of our group who were to be with us until we got to the capital of Laos in 15 days. We then travelled to Chaing Rai, Mai Sei (“the golden triangle” of Burma, Thailand and Laos borders) and on to Chaing Khong to view the “Opium Museum”. Next morning we crossed the Mekong River into Laos and en-route to our hotel we visited a local hill tribe village and their school meeting the children and the entire group of us dispensed gifts of pens, pencils and notepads (as well as making a donations to help the school).

The next couple of days we were based in Luang Namtha in northern Laos and had a 12km hike going up a mountain to visit another hill tribe and have lunch in the Chiefs hut! This is where Penny dispensed her colouring books and coloured pencils to a grateful audience of youngsters.

Next day, after another long road journey over mainly dirt track we arrived in Hmong Kwai where our hotel was built in the style of the hill tribe peoples (but with a flushing loo and a shower). There was not a lot to do in Hmong Kwai but it was so peaceful with the River OU running through we could easily have spent another night there. Not so, we set off again, this time by riverboat on a 7-hour trip down river to Luang Prabang where the River Ou and the Mekong meet. This town was once the capital of Laos and holds the original palace as well as several important Buddhist Temples. (It is here that after climbing the 320 odd steps to the top and then back that I did my knee in)!

View from top of Temple (300 odd steps up)!

An early rise ensured that we saw the procession of several hundred monks all dressed in orange robes gathering donations of food from willing tourists. My visit to the food market was enlightening particularly upon seeing monkey, frogs, hamsters and a variety of ugly fish for sale. A visit to the Kuang Si waterfall was a highlight although they were not aware that I need the temperature of the water to be 25 degrees before I would enter so I did not have a swim!

We flew from Luang Prabang to the new capital Vientiane (thank god we did not go by boat) but this was not a very interesting city and clearly quite poor. The country of Laos is a communist state supported and financed by China and 80% of the population live in tribal villages mainly in the north. There is no religion, as we know it, most of the people are in tribes who believe in spirits and mythical woodland creatures. The remaining 20% are Buddhist.

Next day a flight to Phnom Penh in Cambodia where we met up with another 4 group members for the rest of the adventure. Phnom Penh is once again a kingdom following the demise of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge and there is an evident pride in the city and its architecture. The royal Palace (Like Windsor Castle) is open to the public as are the temples in the grounds. My lasting memory of Phnom Penh will be the manic and seemingly uncontrolled traffic where 4 lanes meet at a crossroads (without traffic light control) and merge each going their separate way!! We visited the genocide museum in the city, which was the headquarters of the S21 brigade who interned and tortured thousands of people during the Pol Pot regime. This was followed by a visit to the actual “killing fields” where despite the horror of what took place it had been preserved as a living reminder. All in all a rather harrowing day but worth the visit.

We travelled from Phnom Penh to Siam Riep by road stopping by the spider village for lunch where I ate a tarantula, well, its leg anyway!

Siam Riep was to be our base for the next 4 days and is the town nearest the great Angkor site where in excess of 39 temples have been found which date from the 7^th century. Most famous is Angkor Wat a massive temple structure surrounded by a moat and guarded by a high wall. An early morning start (5am) enabled us to see the sun rise over the temple and this was a magical sight.

We visited (and despite my sorely knee), climbed up several of these Temples (although I admit that after 4 or 5 you think they are pretty similar). Having said that, there were differences in architecture and in some locations there was evidence that the jungle had taken over and massive trees grew around the inner sanctums. Angkor temples were started around 600ad and the building continued up to the mid 1200s, when they were abandoned and the jungle took over. In the 19^th century, a Frenchman rediscovered them in the jungle, and since then, restoration work has been carried out. They are truly a wonder of the modern world.

Setting off from Siam Riep we crossed the Tonle Sap Lake and entered a river heading for Battenbang (Cambodia’s 3 largest city). Passing floating villages and crocodile pits and jungle on either side it was a little arduous after 8 hours so that when we finally arrived it was dark and not much to see (frankly it did not look to be much anyway). Off again next morning heading to Pallin which is a border town between Cambodia and Thailand (and incidentally the last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge). We passed vast areas where they were still clearing land mines and it is said that it would take at least another 20 years before the area was declared “safe”!

Finally arriving in Bangkok we overnighted and caught our early morning flight back to Manchester. Among our lasting memories will be the faces of the children, the abject poverty (but contentment) of the tribal people, the magnificent temples and the friendliness of everyone we met. Another memory is that after giving the population 2million tons of bombs (equal to the amount of Laos people killed by the Americans) we have now given them PLASIC BAGS! These litter the countryside all over and being non-biodegradable the debris will only get worse!

I have shot some 10x1 hour videotapes and collected some 600 photos all of which need to be put in some order. I have attached just a few pics which I hope you will enjoy but, as I said earlier, it is my intention to put in print a more detailed review of our adventure together with photos. With any luck you may get sight of this, this year!!

Have a nice Easter Break, hasta luego.