At the Airport in the qantas lounge having a few bevies and food as I took the no food option. Internet is free. Drinks are free and so is the food. How long has this been going on. Have the Santa hat on and feeling vey much like a dirty backpacker in a very nice establishment.
Arrived in Bangokok, and couldn't get over the toll and express ways they have to ease the horrendous traffic congestion. Driving in Bangkok is like running to the bar when they have announced that happy hour finishes in two minutes.
Found a nice quite room to stay not far from Khe Sahn Rd and also managed to find a bar that had the boxing day test Live from the MCG, well, I was like a kid in a candy, shop. A few beers and when Shane Warne came on to bowl to get his 700 hundred wicket, I thought I was going to get escorted out.
Here is Khe Sanh Rd at 8 am on Boxing Day when, I was in search of the Cricket
Laos December 27th
aussies built to get from Thailnd to Laos. The story goes that the a bunch of aussie officials were vsiting the region and said "How do w
e get over the Mekong River to Laos to get some cheap beer?.The Thai people said you can't from here. So the Aussies piped up and and said "Ahh! build and bridge and get over it. - And we'll pay as well.
The sunset picture I have attached is taken on the shores of Vientiene in Laos looking at the sunset over Thailand.
Everyone grabs a Beerlao and sits on these old rickety platforms and snaps quite a few didgital shots. The weather is balmy, the beers are cold and sometimes you forget that you have a job back in the rat race back in Melbourne.
Very Cool.
The other snap is of the baker who comes around in the morning s and delivers all the baguetts, to bakerys, mini marts, food stalls etc....
After a few days in Vientiene the capital I moved up to a place called Van Vieng. Its setting is great amongst these huge limestone monoliths with the river in the foreground being the lifeblood of the town. There were dozens of backpacker
s there doing "Tubing".Now tubing is great. You pay $3.50 for the day and they give you a tractor tyre and put about a dozen people with all the tyres into a 4 seater rickshaw. They drop you about 5 km up the river and you get into your tube and drift all the way back to town.
Now thats the concept in a nutshell, but what actaully hapens is that every 100 metres or so there is this guy with the biggest bamboo poll of all time, pulling you and yelling out in that ever so didticntive Lao Twang "Hello Beerlao, Hello Beerleao" The idea is that for $1 you can buy and take with you a large beer, stick it between your legs and neck on it as you float down the "Song" River, and never getting out to go for a pee.
How good is that. But wait for it, Thats not all. On the way there is this place where the bloke has a longer pole than most and pulls you in for a refill. At this place in the middle of nowhere is a Flying fox that drops you about 10 meters above the river and you just drop into it. They have full on music, Cushions to sit on,
Volleyball, and food, not to mention enough Beerleo for a small country. Needless to say that some people never get back on their tyres or they ended up drifting back into town when its a bit colder and dark.
New Years was great in this town of VanVieng. Had a few Sunset beers with the feew dangling in the river, while my $8 bottle of French Chardinay was chilling in the fridge
. Then Home to the room for shower and French Wine on the balcony that over looks the whole town. It was just great. Then Out at about 8.30pm and hit the town. Ran into a Dutch couple at the first bar and Partied with th
em until about 2.30am. Now this is the weird part. Spent most of New Years Eve at a mini Mart and Internet Cafe, But literally dancing on the street. They would not et any of us buy drinks or food it was quite embarrassing. They were excellent and had a ball.
Next Stop Cambodia, will keep you posted.
