North Luzon

Trip to North Luzon (Philippines) This is a vast expanse of misty mountains, the regions trophy piece is the central mountainous area known as Cordillera with their famous rice terraces in and around Banaue and Bontoc. The Hippi-esque Sagada has a few terraces but its main attractions are hiking, caving and the laid back ambience so it was time for me to check this part of the Philippines out. I left with a very comfortable bus (with Wifi) Manila to travel the 5 hours to Baguio which in my eyes is only worth the visit for an overnight stay to the Cordillera area. This is a university city with many shops, restaurants, faith healers, live music bars and a major air- noise pollution. I walked around in the Burnham park and visited the Orchidarium which is more a garden centre than Orchid farm. Later on I heard that the surrounding mountains are quite nice but I only passed them by bus on my way to Sagada. The next morning a 6 hour bus ride from Baguio to Sagada was on the agenda. On both sides of the road you could see green mountains due to the trees, vegetation, and terraces with vegetables, plants, flowers, rice beds or other crops. The road is called The Halsema Highway named after its founder who did a great job making this area more accessable with a concrete road and putting it on the tourist map. It was still a very bumpy ride with lots of curvy bends, going up and descending the mountains but it was worth every minute and by 15.00 we arrived in the hill side village of Sagada. This one road village has a very chilled, hippi-esque feeling with little shops where they sell their trade mark weaving products (mostly bags, purses and phone covers) or chill at one of the many places for a meal and in the evening Munshkin has live reggae music (only once a month so I was very fortunate) In my two days visit I went to the Echo Valley with the coffins hanging (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_coffins) on the mountain wall and I did the cave connection with a group of Israeliers. You enter the Sumaguing cave and walk, climb and wade through water to the Lumiang cave. It was a fun experience and the best cave for me as you had to work hard to get to the other end and meanwhile you could enjoy the cave formations.

 The next day I had to travel from Sagada to Batad with local transport which in the end turned out to be a real adventure I left in a Jeepney for the 40 min trip from Sagada to Bontoc. I was seated inside with mostly mothers and toddlers. Some Westerners were seated on the roof which I'm sure has better views but less safe. In Bontoc a mini van was waiting for more passengers so half an hour later we set off for the 1,5hr trip with the most stunning views I've seen so far. The big mountains were covered in a green carpet of trees or rice field terraces. If this was the beginning well then I was in for a treat. When we were almost at our destination Banaue the colour green got more vibrant and the views even better; these were real rice terraces that's for sure. In Banaue I first secured my bus to Manila followed by an investigation what to do next. Other travellers adviced me to go straight to Batad as it has the best views there so I took the last jeepney for the day heading to Batad for some serious hiking. Inside the car between the seats there were 9 bags of rice and two boxes of chicken for a wedding next week in the village. While waiting for the jeepney to leave I started to talk to a lady called Hariet with her lovely baby daughter Louise. She used to be a guide of the area (Batad) and suggested I should walk back to Banaue in 2 days. She would help me to find a guide when in the village. But first we had to get there, the jeepney left and 5 min later it started to rain so covers down to stay dry! We left the main road and soon it turned into an off road adventure. The Camel Throphy could have started here for one of their annual trips, I was pleased to see that the driver knew what he was doing. After 45 min we had to get off in the pouring rain and get ready for a 30 minute decent on foot to Batad. On arrival I could see what everyone was talking about and why you have to come here as the rice fields are shaped in an amphi theatre shape and the village is clustered around it. That evening I had dinner with an amazing view and company of many travellers followed by a massage from Gladys.

Rice terrace in Batad

Locals in Pula

Views near Batad

Day 2; I woke up with the sound of rain which wasn't what I was hoping for. My guide Joseph was already waiting for me when I arrived downstairs. An hour later we set off in the rain heading for the Magadam waterfalls, we walked through rice fields took steep steps to decent down to the river. I was already stunned by the views, vibrant colours of the fields and how big this area was. Here the rice terraces were constructed by humans many years ago and are made from stones and cement. After the waterfall the climbs started as we had to cross two mountains to reach our lunch destination Cambulo. The rain had stopped but I think I was wetter from sweat than what had been coming from the sky. Till we reach the village for lunch I walked on rice field edges and balancing on small steps to climb or go down the mountains. Joseph had given me a stick that morning for support and now I could see the benefit of it. I was ready for a meal when we reached Cambulo to fuel up for the next 3 hrs. Again it was worth it as the views only got better, I made so many pictures but feel it doesn't project the real picture I saw in front of my eyes. At the end of the day, we covered 15 km of this rice field hike when we reached Pula and I was pleased as my legs couldn't face another climb. It was a great day with a good inside of the life of The Philippinos who live here. Joseph and I discussed many issues and I've met some locals too who work hard to earn a couple of meals a day. What I've seen they don't have much and only eat rice and some vegetable as meat isn’t always available in their small village, live in wooden huts with no walls, no running water and electricity but they seem very content and happy. Joseph told me that he doesn't have a bank account, works in the raining season in another part of this area to earn money to support his family of nine kids. He has healing power but doesn't want to use this to make money as he's afraid he will lose the power.

Joseph with his 'betel nut teeth' smile

Batad

Day 3; I've done several hikes and saw lots of country side so far during my trip but these 2 days have been the most challenging for me and of the beaten track as the first 2 hrs we didn't see anyone else. I didn't know what to expect. As for the rice paddies; for me The Philippines have the most beautiful, stunning, groomed, colourful and divers ones I've seen. I am thankful that someone informed me about this country, area and trip as this country is a big surprise for me and feels people have been keeping this as secret from most of us.

The Chiang Mai loop

During my trip I’ve received some great travel tips from other travellers who told me that the Northern part of Thailand is very beautiful. I decided to do a loop on a scooter and find out for myself. I first had to travel from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai which was a 6 hour bus trip to get me there. Mae Sai is a border crossing into Myanmar that is used for many people as a ‘visa run’ as only a small river is in between the two countries. This is a one street city with many little shops, food carts, a massive day and night market and at the end there’s the big blue building which is the immigration office which leads you into Myanmar. By night this place is very quiet as the food carts leave by 8pm - you have to get your food elsewhere or eat early- . Along the river is the tourist area with many guesthouses and restaurants and bars to keep us busy in the early hours if needed. With my rented Honda I set off on day one slightly anxious as the border route isn’t signposted and heard it could be a hairy road to take you there. But everyone was raving about it as it has beautiful views of Myanmar and the mountains. Leaving Mae Sai behind and heading for the hills was my first task till I hit the first check point. The police man asked where I going and if I was on my own, he said be careful as the road is quite steep but there are 2 more check points along the way. I felt a bit more comfortable knowing that I was noticed but not about the steep hills? Well the rest of the journey went well; I had stunning views of the mountains which are very green and change from a jungle scenery to a patchwork of colours and fields with different crops. The road was now and then steep but my Honda got me up and down the hills so my first stop was Doi Tung which is a busy strip in the middle of nowhere with many tourist busses to visit the royal palace, botanical gardens some eateries. I had a rest there and continued to my destination Mae Salong. I stayed 2 nights in Mae Salong which is a mountain village and gives you a good impression of China as most of the people are from China, many signs are in Chinese and they speak it as well. The place is very quiet but a good base to explore the Aka, Luha minority villages, tea factories, Chinese museum and a couple of temples. One day I went to Tha Ton which is a town along the Mekong river and was 50 km ride away but worth the views and experience. From here you can take a boat to Chiang Mai over the Mekong river too. The last day I had to travel the same way back but this time I know where I was going. I met a French fellow traveller in the morning so we drove back together in no time and had a late lunch in Mae Sai. . I agree that the North Thailand is beautiful and you could easily spend more time traveling in this part of the country which is very different then the partying or beach life in the South.

Me and my bike

Tha Thon views

ThaThon

Cookery Course in Chiang Mai

One of the things you should do while visiting Chiang Mai is joining a cookery course to learn some of the Thai dishes and its ingredients. I joined one at Thai Farm which is outside town and based in a big garden. The kitchen is open plan with a big table to enjoy your home made dishes and facing a vegetable patch. I joined a mixed group with Irish, Mexicans, and various Canadian based so it was a cacophony of languages and cultures. Our teacher was a young Thai lady called Goong who is a bright, energetic, fun and loving person who made the day even more interesting. Her English was very good and she was eager to learn more so we also tried to achieve that at the end of the day. I never will forget her hick-ups: She pointed into the direction of the toilets and said there are the ‘happy rooms’ we thought it was quite funny but unusual. Later on we found out that she meant ‘a pee room’! When we were outside in the garden and passed a banana tree she said these are Thai bananas which are thick and small and are different than the normal bananas which are tall and big. She bursted into laughter straight away and I’ll let you figure out why.

 During the day I prepared the following 5 dishes:

Thom Yok soup

Yellow curry

Stir fried chicken with basil

 Pad Thai in take away bag!

Pumpkin in coconut milk

 I ate all 4 of them and took the pad thai home for dinner (in case you were still hungry), of course I tried other dishes which my fellow students prepared and learned how to prepare sticky rice as well. It was great experience and at the end of the day Francois and I surprised the group incl teachers with a beer which was very much welcomed by the group. I returned back to my hotel with a very full tummy, recipe book and a doggy bag with my pad thai which I never ate.

Hiking trip in Luang Namtha / Laos

Together with Swiss Simon I’ve arranged a 2 day hiking trip into the Luang Namtha protected area (big forest). It was just the two of us and Si an English speaking guide. The day started with a visit to the morning market to buy supplies for our trip. I'm used to markets but this one felt different. Locals were selling their fresh products like, tomatoes, green pumpkin, small green eggplants, bamboo, cabbages, herbs (dill, coriander, wild basil). But in one part people were selling many little dishes I've never seen like bamboo (marinated and cooked), rattan (looks like bamboo) duck or pork packages in banana leaves, grilled or stuffed fish. I didn't know where to look and wanted to try everything! We bought some of it for our lunch so I was able to try some of them.

Then my eye caught some hairy pieces of dry meat and I was told it was buffalo skin; this would taste delicious fried with our LaoLao for tonight so Si bought this as well.

When Simon and I signed up for the 2 day trekking we weren’t aware that it also included a cookery course from both our guides! During the trip they were picking herbs or spices along the way and used it later on for our food. They were constantly busy preparing dishes for dinner or lunch the next day.

The food in the North has more taste and uses many different herbs to compliment a dish. They hardly eat the famous soups here for every meal so I was pleased to taste these new dishes and learn to prepare them too.

We took off with our guide Si for a 45 min tuktuk drive to the park. There we met the park ranger Cun (a young guy with big smile and cheeky eyes) and the village head who chooses the person from the village to be the park ranger for each trip. This could be a man or a women depending on which work needs to be done that day in the village. Working as a park ranger is extra money for the family in the village.

We walked for 1, 5 hr. and decided it was time for lunch. We sat near the river on banana leaves and some of them served as a tablecloth. The lunch menu was jungle made salad (Rattan, salt, fern, chillies, lemon). chicken laap, duck in banana leaves, steamed bamboo and of course sticky rice. You eat with your hands and roll a ball of the rice which serves as a ‘spoon’ to get another dish or just dip it into a sauce. .

When finished Cum and Si went to the river to catch some fish. Simon had a try too and caught a little one too. . During our hike we suddenly heard children's voices in the forest and saw 8 pairs of flip flops on the track. Si told us that the children were looking for bamboo roots which you'll have to 'dig' out of the soil with your feet. We continued for another 1,5 hrs. walk and reached 'camp' ; a big wooden hut with some mattresses hanging from the ceiling and nothing else. The kitchen were some pots, pans and serving bowls the rest would all be prepared outside at the open fire. It was close to the river so we had a swim and the boys continued with fishing; result 3 big, 8 medium, 4 small and one frog. Back at the camp a 4 hrs. cooking session started in front of my eyes prepared by my 3 boys. First of all the chicken was de-boned and  pressed in-between halved bamboo branch and roasted over a fire. Than a bamboo trunk was transformed into a large cylinder as Si and Simon were preparing a banana flower soup - one for the Falang (non spicy) and a Laos one (very spicy). . First water was boiled in the bamboo trunk, salt and the chicken bones added. When the water is boiling add, garlic, banana flower, coriander, green eggplant, lemon grass, dill, chilli. . Continue to boil it for another half an hour and enjoy this very delicious soup.

Home made fish paste: grill the fish (even better on open fire) and crush these with green eggplant, chillies, coriander and sourer leaf (lemon) in a pestle and mortar. Eat this with sticky rice and other fish dishes, even nice for breakfast.

At 8pm we finally sat down for dinner with all these lovely dishes which took 4hrs to prepare but Si said it was especially for us as we were just the 2 of us, we had to wash it down with some LaoLao in real Laos style Sokdee!!

After some chats around the fire we retired to our 'bed'. I woke up a couple of times as the mice had a party in our room and the next morning I heard that even a bird had joined in the fun. 

In the morning the cooking continued as Si was preparing lunch with chicken and green pumpkin, fried potatoes and carrot with herbs before continuing with breakfast – omelettes with jungle made tomato sauce. Last night we forgot to eat our buffalo skin so we added this to the breakfast too; Si put the pieces into the fire so the outside was totally black, he took them out and bashed with his big knife on the piece till all the burned black dust disappeared and a crispy skin was left. In the UK you could compare it with pork scratches, it tasted ok as the crispy outside was nice but inside it was a bit like a gel and tasted very salty! Not so nice with your breakfast so I took a piece to take with me to try later with a beer.

We walked that day for 3 hours mostly downhill to get back to a village for a riverside lunch to finish this 2 day hiking trip which more felt like cookery and eating course in the jungle..

Market with lovely dishes

Wobbly bamboo bridge

Lunchtime fishing catches...

The Falang and Laos soups

Our accomodation

Breakfast - incl buffalo skin- 

Preparing the buffalo skin....

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is a bizarre contradiction of riverine landscape of black karst and sleepy rice fields and late night party scene on Don Khang (aka Party island). Till August 2012 this place was packed with tourist who mostly came here to ‘tube’ down stream of the Nam Ou river and stop at every bar for a drink which resulted in accidents and even regular deaths due to accidents. This time the government did take action and closed all the bars down along the river and there’s a curfew at 23.00 in town.

I arrived with a sceptical feeling due to these reports and experiences from other travellers at Vang Vieng with my new travel companion Kiki (a Dutch teenager traveling after high school). I noticed immediately that the town was very quiet but packed with little shops, bars, restaurants and many food carts in the street. Where was everyone was the first thing I’ve asked myself?

The atmosphere of the town itself is one of lethargy by day and debauchery by night: tourists sprawl out in the pillow-filled restaurants, termed "TV Bars", watching re-runs of US sitcoms, Friends and Family Guy episodes until the sun goes down while sipping on a fruit shake, beer or eat some Western food. In the evening it’s time to party.

The next day I went tubing with Kiki and some other travellers and I was surprised that I really liked it. The landscape is beautiful and you’ll pass it slowly in your tube downstream. There are only 2 bars re-opened after the closing down so very hard to get drunk or get into a party mood. The trip downstream can be done in 2-3 hours if you don’t stop and paddle your way down but we managed to do it in 6 as we enjoyed it so much and had regular stops to rest.

In the evening you have dinner at one of the many restaurants who show movies or the US sitcoms but if you opt for a quieter environment than this is possible. Again there’s a curfew so around 22.00 the restaurants close but only ‘crazy monkey’ bar has a license to serve alcohol till 23.45 so that’s where everyone is heading for a last drink. However if you prefer to continue drinking and even dance than you need to head The Moon which is a local disco on the outskirts of the town and much fun till 2am.

Sadly after two lovely and relaxed days in Vang Vieng with my fellow travels a very grey cloud appeared on my horizon as in one day I had the following experiences.

During the day my debit card was swallowed by the ATM luckily after an hour anxious wait a kind bank employee retrieved it from the insides of the machine so I was very much relieved and happy to be reunited with my plastic card.

That evening we were booked for a sunset hot air balloon flight which ended unfortunately with a visit to the tourist police. Due to the weather the balloon wasn’t able to stay in the air and pass the mountains for the expected view of the river and sunset. After 45 minutes the trip was finished and a start of a very annoying, un-satisfying discussing with the company to get some kind of refund for this trip. I experienced a very nasty conversation with the agent who booked the trip for us who after 15 minutes refused to talk to us and suggested we would go to the tourist police. As we were at our wits end we went there with hopeful expectations. After half an hour of interrogation of the ‘police’ (they are actually military) I realized that they are fed up with tourists and that they won’t cooperate or assist you with your issues. I filed a report but knew this won’t lead to anything, after a finger pointing outburst from the guy who said you can take the offer to have the flight tomorrow morning again or you leave now! We were both shocked and agreed to take the offer and change or busses to leave the next morning to get at least the chance to make use of the $80 price tag. In fairness the sunrise flight the next morning was beautiful and we felt that we got worth for our money in the end...

When we returned to our hotel we were in need of dinner and a beer so we left to go out only to return 2 hours later to get ready for an early start. But the day wasn’t over yet so next disaster struck; my camera was missing from the room but no signs of a break-in! Later we found out that one of the windows wasn’t locked (we never checked this) so I can only assume that this was the entry point for an unwanted visitor. I wasn’t happy at all especially when no sympathy from the hotel owner who said it wasn’t possible that someone had entered the room.

So the next morning I had to visit my ‘friends’ at the tourist police station again as I wanted to have my needed form (proof) for my insurance. As you can image I went there with sand in my shoes as I knew they wouldn’t welcome me after last night. Unfortunately, this was the case and I was told to go back and search the room properly, talk to the owner as they wouldn’t issue a report or some sort of proof that I informed them of my loss.

It was the 13^th March and I felt that Laos wasn’t pleased with my visit or at least the town of Vang Vieng. I took the bus later that morning deflated and ready to leave this country but wanted to give them and myself another change.

My view is that some parts of Laos are fed-up with tourists as they invaded their beautiful country who  - in Vang Viengs case-  don’t appreciate the beauty only trashed the place with drunkenness and accidents. So I can empathise with them on that level but due our presence, Vang Vieng or other places have been put on the Laos map and accumulated work for many locals. I’m afraid that in a couple of years’ time most backpackers will not stop off at Vang Vieng anymore with enormous consequences for the population.

Tubing

kiki and Angel

Elephant mahout experience

Luang Prabang is one of the two big cities in Laos and hosts affordable top-class cuisine but also the nightly food market where you can pile up a plate of vegetarian food for 10.000 kips (£0.80). The colonial buildings and 33 Buddhist temples makes you reach for your camera at every turn. The peninsula is bounded by the Nam Khan river and Mekong Delta so you can take boats to many destinations, kayak or just walk along the river.

After a day of exploring on a bike I’ve visited the Wat Xieng Thong (temple), the Old quarter, the bamboo bridges and the old concrete bridge and finished my day with a meal and browse on the night market. The next day I took a tuk-tuk to The Kuang Si waterfall and had a swim in the very cold water.

The next day I started my 3 day elephant mahout experience just outside Luang Prabang. I wanted to have an experience with animals during my trip and felt that his was the one I would do.  During the 3 days I would learn about elephant background, information and the mahouts verbal and physical ‘commands ‘ to communicate with your elephant. So on day one I learned to sit on my elephant called Sophie’s back, how to control her and practice my knowledge the next couple of days. The day starts at 6.30am when you collect your elephant from the forest where she stayed the night, walk back to the eco-lodge and feed her some sugar cane. Than walk to the river for her (and mine) bath and ‘park’ her at the day centre where tourist will visit and maybe have a ride on her back. As an elephant eats 250kg a day you give her some banana plant trunks and pineapple leaves. Then it was time for me to have breakfast and get changed and return to spend the afternoon with her. One day we went out on a 2 hrs trek into the forest and had a lovely packed lunch there before heading back. When it’s time to take your elephant back to her resting place you first bath her in the river and walk to her ‘bed ‘for the night.

The eco-lodge is a lovely location just outside Luang Prabang and I was lucky to have a room with a view to myself as it was very quiet. Apart from the early start I had time to relax and enjoy the beautiful Laos riverside.

My last day I kayaked back to Luang Prabang with my guide Phat and returned with great memories and a new friend called Sophie.

Elephant mahout experience, www.mahoutecolodge.com

Pictures of my experience :www.dropbox.com/sh/7ssr1rqr0f1q7ky/8ztqjsBA2o

Angel and Sophie

Boat trip to Nongg Khiaw

It’s been a while since I’ve entered Laos for the second time and updated my blog ( and you) on my adventures and experiences. Well I had quite some adventures so I will start at the end and work my way back to when I’ve entered the country.

After spending a couple of days in Luang Prabang I left by slow boat to explore the Northern part of the country which I was told would be worth a visit and very different than the rest. At 9am I arrived at the ‘pier’ to buy my ticket and wait with several others to enter the boat. Finally we (12 Westerners) walked with all our luggage to the small boat which only had 8 seats. There were 4 old car seats and 4 wooden chairs chained to the boat so we all guessed that there must be 2 boats to take us to Nong Khiaw. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case so 8 of us were lucky to get a seat and the other 4 were with the luggage in the back. After a petrol stop (on the water) we did set off with one our boat. The scenery is beautiful from the riverside as the river banks are very green and it’s used as allotments for the locals, they grow their fresh herbs, string beans and cabbages. These locals also make use of the river as it’s a source of income; they dive to the bottom of the river to fill buckets to collect stones or sand as they can sell a truck load of it for 500.000 kips (£40). The river also feeds them; you see many men or children in their ‘Calvin Kleins’ with little fishing nets or fishing rod and a little basket around their waste to catch fish; women will pick river weed from the bottom of the river as it’s a delicious meal when it’s dried and fried with sesame seeds. But last but not least they use the river to have lots of fun and by this I mean the children playing or swimming in it. When you pass with your boat they jump in or try to reach you or just start waiving and jumping up and down to get your attention. Apart from that the views are stunning as along the way we left the villages and had big mountains in front of us to keep our eyes busy to take it all in.

However at some point the boat slowed down and I could clearly see the pebbled bottom of the river so we were ushered out of the boat as it was too heavy for the shallow water. So we took of our shoes and started pushing the boat to the deeper water. The pebbles were very painful to my bare feet so I started walking very slowly, cursing the stones and the boat that we had to get off. I started way behind the rest of the passengers and boat but I just couldn’t face walking on the pebbles. The locals thought it was funny and laughed but luckily one lady with a flat bottom boat felt sorry and said I could hop on to hers and she took me to the boat. So that was a great safe and panic over, we got back onto the boat and could rub our painful feet and dry our clothes. After 15 minutes we were taking in the view again and enjoying the ride.

But after half an hour we stopped again and I thought well this must be a toilet and/or lunch break but I was wrong. The river was too rough for us so we had to get off again and walk till we could catch up with the boat again further down the river. We all giggled and said “what’s next a cycling ride maybe?” This wasn’t the case but we did two more ‘toilet’ stops along the riverbank before we arrived after 7 hours at a rustic little town on the bank of the Ou River called Nong Khiaw. It is squeezed in between some of the most fantastic limestone mountains north of Vang Vieng. Nong Khiaw is simple in layout and small enough to walk around. A large concrete road bridge connects Nong Khiaw on the western side of the river with the village of Ban Sop Houn on the eastern side of the river, where many of the river-view bungalows are found and where I’m staying. I’ve visited the Pha Tok Caves which are set high in a limestone cliff sheltered villagers and Pathet Lao fighters during the Second Indochina war, inside a few signs identify points where command posts were stationed. The trail to the cave passes through many rice paddies and gives you a good inside how the locals live. The "ticket desk” is manned by a local family to support their income so usually it’s a mother with her small children who are camping out there for the day. Here I was able to communicate with some of the children who were playing near the cave and in the river which confirms that I prefer the little villages rather than the cities which are less personal.

I’m now moving on to Luang Namtha which is a beautiful area for several days tracking trips.

Petrol station

views

Nong Khiaw