Just a few hours away from Delhi, is the city of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. It sits on one point of “The Golden Triangle” that comprises of Jaipur, Agra and Delhi. This makes a short trip here just perfect. So, how do you make the most of the city if you have just 2 days in Jaipur? Below is our suggested 2 day Jaipur itinerary and recommendations for places to visit in Jaipur in 2 days.
We were about to take the bus from Vientiane to Hanoi overnight, as part of our five-month trip around Asia. In Vang Vieng, we had been tubing and watching TV. Whilst in the capital, Vientiane we had been soaking up the culture and wandering the street markets. We join our heroes as they climb aboard their worst travel experience to date, “the journey from hell”.
Vang Vieng; the town that culture forgot. At least, that’s the way it was when we visited in November 2009 as part of a five month trip through Asia. We arrived from Luang Prabang. You can read all about in our blog; BBQs, Buddhas and Beautification in Luang Prabang.
(Here, again, our camera failed us so we have few photos, and they are mostly of us dancing in a bar, a little worse for wear.)
You know that scene in zombie or bodysnatcher films with brain-dead beings wandering shopping malls. You know the ones, they all look vacant and walk into things. Vang Vieng in Laos is a lot like that. Every morning happy, smiling backpackers would leave on 4x4s, clinging onto large tire inner tube’s, and every evening they would return soggy, grazed bruised and dazed. The rest of us sat, undead, in the video bars.
Dotted throughout the tourist town, you could hear familiar voices emanating from the cafes. Ross and Rachel got together and broke up, got together and broke up in one, Peter and Brian Griffin sang swing numbers in another, and abrupt shouts of “Doh!” erupted every so often from a third. Basically, these places specialised in cheap grub and comfy tables surrounded by cushions. Above hung screens, constantly replaying DVDs of popular American TV shows.
When all you have done all day is watch a whole season of Family Guy and inhale a bowl of cheap chicken super noodles, you have to wonder if you’re really making the most of your travelling experience.
This is the main reason people visit Vang Vieng. If you’ve never heard of tubing, let me try to explain. You take a giant rubber ring and get driven to a river, in this instance, the Nam Song river. Then you get really drunk in the bar that is next to the river. After an hour or so of imbibing your poison of choice (ours was Pimms and lemonade) out of a small plastic bucket, you make your way slowly down to the water and jump into your rubber ring. This carries you downstream.
Soon another bar comes into view and helpful staff toss out a rope to pull you in. You order another bucket of alcohol to swig on and play on the rope swing, slide or greasy pole that they have. Repeat this process again, and again, and again, moving along from bar to bar throughout the day.
Back in your rubber ring, further downstream, you start to realise that the sun is beginning to set and a huge number of mosquitoes are excitedly surrounding your unprotected flesh. You start to think that it is time to get out and take your 4×4 of shame back to town, soggy, grazed, bruised, dazed and with an arm full of colourful string. (More about that string later).
For a more normal river experience, check out The Slow Boat from Thailand to Laos – A Two Day Treat
Hating ourselves for wasting two whole days staring at a TV screen in the video bars, we decided to hire two bikes and pedal to a nearby cave. We whizzed through the zombie-filled streets and crossed a small bridge that leads straight into a field. The hills opened up in front of us. It was an immediate relief.
The path was bumpy and despite the bike’s soft seats, quite punishing on our backsides. Halfway to the cave, we stopped at a cafe for a cold drink. They kindly offered us a seat but we needed to give our battered bottoms a rest.
To be honest, I don’t really remember the cave and have no photos, but I do remember the joy of saying goodbye to the bicycles and climbing into the cool darkness of the cave beyond.
With such a concentration of backpackers, there was a party every night in Vang Vieng. Some bars/pubs adorned tubers arms with string during the day, which they could use to get free drinks in the evening. We visited a few bars during our time in Vang Vieng, some serving cheap local booze, and some claiming to serve “happy” products. A “happy” pizza, banana shake or toastie is something that contains magic mushrooms. Contrary to this seemingly relaxed stance on drug taking, Laos actually has very strict drug laws; you can lose your life if the charges are serious enough. There was no way we were going anywhere near that nonsense!!
Instead, we went for good old fashioned cheap, local, nasty booze!
The evening of our tubing experience, we hit the bars for our free drinks. It was hot and sticky, and the bar we chose had a slightly rank sheen to the walls, but the drinks were cheap and the music loud. We were up on the benches in no time, dancing and meeting new friends…like this even drunker lady.
On another evening, we saw something setting up on the defunct air strip. Our guesthouse backed onto the area so we were in prime position to check it out. There was a market going on and so we went to have a look. Secondhand clothes, shoes and trinkets were on sale. All things that locals might actually buy, and none of the tourist tat, or waterproof phone cases, that were on offer in every shop we had seen thus far.
We played a game that involved throwing a dart at a rack of balloons. Pop and balloon and win a can of Red Bull. A very simple game that wasn’t clearly rigged like most games in U.K. fairs…we still didn’t win though. I don’t think hand/eye coordination is our thing.
Vang Vieng has to be the strangest place we have ever visited, and yet, we didn’t even visit it. As our double decker, backpacker bus wove its way out of town, the cityscape changed dramatically. Gone were the perfectly maintained streets with their clean pavements and video bars. Instead were mud roads with no discernible pavements or markings. Ramshackle food stalls, and dwellings crowded the side of the road and local faces gazed after the bus, probably wondering why none of us had been to visit their side of town. I felt a horrible guilt that I had made no effort to go beyond the backpackers borders. It was somewhat of a learning curve and we vowed that we would try harder in future to leave the comfort of the easy and expected.
Check out all our travels on our five month adventure through Asia.
Apparently Vang Vieng was all but dismantled from the zombie-land we visited. The town took back its personality and started to rebuild its tourism industry from the ground up. Gone were the video bars, and the tubing and accompanying bars were regulated. It has reinvented itself as a place for adventure activities. You can raft the river, whizz down a zip-wire, rock climb or explore magical lagoons.
I hope that when you visit, you will find a place that speaks of its Laotian life, as well as throwing the occasional booze-fuelled party, just for old-time’s sake.
Rosie xx
Arriving in Luang Prabang, after our two day boat trip from Thailand to Laos (read all about our slow boat experience) we were a overwhelmed by the surge of touts, and underwhelmed by the weather. Two days of sunshine and no hassle quickly turned into lots of pestering and a drizzly day.
Happily, the town quickly changed our minds.
Luang Prabang is the most wonderful little town. There are wooden signs on the front of shops and restaurants so finding your way around it so be easy. We went for a hotpot called Lao Lao Garden on the first evening. Here you cook your own meat seafood and veg before plunging them into the moat of broth running around the outside. The grill rises up in a cone that is fitted over a ferocious bucket of coal. It was a really fun way to enjoy dinner.
We read, on a wooden board, that the whole town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an amazing example of the blend between traditional Laotian architecture and French colonial style. It is obvious to see as you walk through the town and it really is a beautiful place compared to most of Laos.
Our favourite spot sat atop a hill looking over the town. As we took in the view we watched a small plane descending into the airport, the drone just reaching us through the drizzle-filled air. It was a lovely moment of calm. We discussed hopping into a tuktuk to go bowling (the only entertainment we had heard about) but decided to go for dinner in a restaurant with a real log fire instead. Oh yes, we know how to party.
Around Luang Prabang are temples galore. We spent a surprisingly chilly day slowly meandering between them. I think the slow pace of the slow boat had rubbed off on us. We took a slow walk up Phousi Hill. We head upwards, step by slow step, stopping regularly to take in the view and catch our breath. The hill reaches up to 100m above town. and we climbed over 300 steps up to the top. On the way up we found lots of shrines and Buddhas, all bedecked in gold. On the summit was the That Chomsi temple, reached by taking a stone bridge edged by two long dragon statues.
Having overspent a little in Chiang Mai and Pai on activities and cocktails, I was on a push to save money. This meant that during the day, for lunch and breakfast, I ate plain rice topped with the chilli sauce that was on every restaurant table. This worked out at about £0.15p a meal, well done me!
On our last evening we took a stroll through the night market. Here we found an abundance of cheap, very cheap, very delicious things on a stick. I think we had chicken, I know we had a fish, and both were surprisingly well kept. We took seats at communal table and chatted convivially with the other diners.
Then there was the pancake.
The popular route that backpackers take through SE Asia is often known as the “banana pancake trail”, but as I hate bananas, I mixed things up a little. In Laos, they make your crepes folded in a super crispy parcel and then cut it into squares. I tried a few variations of these but the one that I still think about was the Nutella and mango. Sweet, gooey, chocolatey….I tried and failed to find another pancake as good as this for the rest of our trip….I am still trying.
Bellies full and wallets fuller than expected, we decided to buy a souvenir lamp. We rarely buy anything on our travels but we were both taken by small wooden and paper lamps. They have been with us ever since (nine years and counting).
Something I almost forgot about!
Our trip was bound for the beaches of Vietnam so we thought we would get a little beauty day. It was super cheap and after two days on the slow boat, we needed a good rub down. As well as a full body massage, I was going for a bikini wax and Mr Fluskey was getting his back done.
We lay side by side, ready to be taken to a state of relaxation, but it wasn’t quite what we expected. The ladies pulled, pushed, bent, slapped and squeezed us. Bankers in London would pay thousands for this! I think it was mild torture. Mind you, if the massage was mild BDSM, then the waxing was extreme pleasure pain….without the pleasure.
The wax used at the salon was a cold, honey wax. This pulls painfully on your hair even as it applied, and then isn’t actually any good at removing hair! I managed one failed strip before I told them it wasn’t happening!! Mr Fluskey, however, already had it slathered across his back and so he endured 15 minutes of abuse as they tried to de-fluff him. He winced and whimpered whilst they all giggled at him. OK, I giggled too. He was left red, raw and with only a little less hair.
We left the salon limping and wondering what on earth had just happened to us.
Check out all our travels on our five month adventure through Asia.
Luang Prabang was undoubtably the highlight of our time in Laos. It is a very interesting and charmingly relaxed town. However, with the expansion of the airport (you can now fly into Luang Prabang from Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Cambodia and Vientiane) it is sure to be receiving many more tourists than when we visited, ten years ago. I suppose that what we are saying is go…go now…go quickly before it turns into a city ravaged by over-commercialisation. Luang Prabang is a pretty special place and it would be good to catch it while it retains that magic. Next on our travels we went to Vang Vieng, read all about it in Tubing, TV and Too Many Drinks
Rosie xx
The south-east Asian backpacking circuit is well established. From Bangkok, travellers head north-west to Chang Mai, Pai and go trekking in the golden triangle, before heading east into the small country of Laos. Most travellers cross the border and then get on “the slow boat to Laos”. That is exactly what we did on our five month trip across south-east Asia.
We bought a package from Pai. We had a van transfer to the Thai border, one night in a hotel there and then the boat tickets. The van transfer took an age. We were on the road all day and worked our way through far too many box sets on the iPod classic. (Seriously, how did we both watch such a tiny screen!)
We got to our guesthouse that backed onto the water and it was a bit rubbish, but then that’s what you get when you don’t pick it yourself. We made the mistake of going for dinner with the rest of the group and got eaten alive by huge swarms of river-dwelling mosquitoes!
It was with frustration and disappointment that we realised something was wrong with our camera. It was refusing to take any photos. We later learned that the memory card had caught a virus in a Bangkok internet cafe. It probably isn’t the only thing to leave Bangkok infected!
We stocked up on food and drink from local vendors before climbing aboard the long wooden vessel. There were benches to either side of a central aisle but the back section was a nice open space, and drenched in sun. We decided to indulge in a spot of sunbathing.
The slow boat to Laos is exactly that, slooooooow! It takes two days to chug along the Mekong River from the Thai/Laos border to Luang Prabang down river. Plenty of time then to get to know our fellow passengers. The boat was only about half full and so there was plenty of room for everyone. A group of louder, younger, drunker backpackers hung out at the back, and so ensued a six hour boat party. The cheap booze flowed on deck, as the sluggish Mekong River flowed beneath. It was a most leisurely way to spend a day, even if it did lead to a hangover and slight sun stroke.
We stopped in Pakbeng and checked into an utterly nondescript guest house. We popped out for some dinner but the long hours of day drinking had taken their toll. Others hit the bars in town but we hit the sheets and slept until the early morning wake up call for the boat.
The next morning, we were up and out bright and early, ready for another day on the water. It was with confusion and mild horror that we saw the waiting boat. Nearly every seat was taken. Where on earth had all these extra people come from!? We scampered down the gangplank and grabbed two of the only seats that were left. No longer was there room for everyone to stretch out, sunbathe or host a dance party. Instead, we were sat on a hard wooden bench, with only our cheap travel pillows for comfort. It was very different, and although still perfectly pleasant, nowhere near as fun.
A quick note: From looking at recent photos of the slow boat to Laos, it looks like the hard wooden benches have been replaced by padded seats with full back supports. This is probably a lot more comfortable but it must be harder to socialise with those around you.
After such a long day of relative peace drifting along the Mekong, stepping off the boat into a hoard of touts was a little overwhelming. They swarmed down the concrete slope and we had to haul our stiff limbs and heavy backpack past them. We made straight for the cheapest guesthouse in our guidebook and it was with great relief that we checked in. The guest house was odd, we had to pass through the families front room, clamber through a hatch and then the rooms were lined up along a wide utility corridor. At 40 kip we weren’t complaining. It seemed that Laos was going to be that little bit cheaper.
Want to read more about our five month trip across Asia? Check out even more of our adventures.
Taking the slow boat to Laos was somewhat a rite of passage into the backpacking world. There are other options so as a quick comparison, from Thailand to Luang Prabang, you can take:
I would happily take the slow boat to Laos again, if I had the time. Sometimes when you are travelling at a million miles an hour, having the time to do nothing is a welcome breather. I guess that is why we love train travel too, it is the transport that gives you the time to take it all in (without the car sickness).
Rosie xx
So as a traveller you go trekking Northern Thailand. Why? I don’t really know, it’s just what you do…so it’s what we did. Trekking in this area of the world is a great way to get out and see the jungle of the Thai/Burmese border, see life in the hill tribes and is a rewarding physical challenge.
Having done quite a bit of research, we decided not to do the normal trek from Chiang Mai. This backpacker route takes you up to a Kayan tribe village and then, if you opt for the three day option, often brings you back on a bamboo raft. The Kayan people are very famous for their tradition of wearing a large amount of metal rings around their necks. This slowly changes the shape of the clavicle and so the neck looks longer. This creates a very tourist-friendly photo opportunity, which will cost you a few Thai baht. You can also purchase traditional handicrafts and of course, a commission from your trek will contribute towards the village as well. These villages receive so many visitors that we didn’t think they needed our visit too.
Trekking Northern Thailand from Pai takes a different route and visits different villages. This helps spread the money throughout the region, the poorest in Thailand. Plus, it meant taking a bit of time out in the odd little town of Pai.
Read about our time spent in Pai, Thailand
Sitting in the tiny minibus we assessed the other trekkers with whom we would spend the next 36 hours. It didn’t bode well. The rest of the group consisted of five people in their late-twenties, conversing in French. They joked, they debated, they chatted and they made no attempt to include us. Even more worryingly, they were all extremely lithe and looked much fitter than us.
Trekking Northern Thailand began with a walk up a long, steep and miserable road. It was already very hot and the heat from the sun blazed down upon our heads, while the reflected heat from the road burned up from below. I have never been a fan of walking uphill and was quickly lagging behind, huffing, puffing and swearing. If you’ve read ‘A Walk in the Woods’, by Bill Bryson, then just picture a short, blonde Katz. Someone found me a stick and my progress (and mood) improved considerably. At what seemed like a totally random point, we turned off from the road and strode into the trees.
We pushed upwards until we hit the top of a ridge and the view fell away. Suddenly the jungle canopy rose and fell before us like a sea. It was beautiful, but all those peaks and troughs meant there were plenty more uphills and downhills to come. This really was going to be a trek and not just a nice hike in the woods.
The humidity rose as we descended the bank, between the trees.
We began to sweat.
There are those that say that going downhill is harder than walking uphill….I am going to throw in my two cents and say that it is not. Walking down the hills, I could work with gravity. Going back up, it was DEFINITELY against me. After a few unhappy hills, we finally got to one that was very steep and where I could use my hands; I do love a scramble.
After a couple of hours we came across a stream. Our guide told us that he hadn’t passed this way since the rainy season, and we would have to help rebuild the little bamboo bridge. They set to work as we sat down to lunch. The fare was simple, fried rice from a little plastic bag. It felt seriously odd, eating out of a bag, but it was tasty and carb-filled. What more can you ask on a trek?
Check out all our travels in Thailand
After lunch, we pushed ahead and temperatures went up again. It was with great relief that we heard the thunder of water on rock. This must be the waterfall mentioned in the tour office. We were given the option to get under the water, and a few of the group did, but I opted to stay dry. I’m not a fan of a soggy undercarriage. So, I dipped my feet, legs and hands in to cool off before we were whisked off just ten minutes later. I wondered if my slow pace was messing the group up somewhat. Oh well, what could I do?
We hiked on for the rest of the afternoon, with a quick stop for a slice of giant melon.
We finally spied the village in the distance. One last descent got us there in about 30 minutes, and by that point my feet were screaming. Knowing that I had no appropriate footwear for a trek, I had bought some trainers in Chiang Mai. They looked like proper walking shoes but I quickly learned that they were not..at all! The bones on the outside of my foot were really sore and it was starting to make me limp in a very odd way. I couldn’t wait to sit down.
Our home for the night was in a large long house on stilts. We were all in one room, on individual mats. There wasn’t a pretense that the village is a super traditional tribe or anything. In their family room, next door, was a TV blaring away with a small satellite dish and the people living there weren’t in traditional dress, just their every day clothes. I thought this was pretty refreshing.
We ate dinner and then met some of the local kids. They were really fun and we loved playing silly games with them. I have read blog posts that warn against this interaction but I don’t see what the harm was to be honest. This village doesn’t host people every day and it is not their only source of income. They weren’t asking for money either, just wanted to play.
Once the kids were called in to bed, and the lights were turned off, we got to see the sky properly for the first time. I was entirely blown away. Growing up in the UK, surrounded by light pollution, I thought I had seen the stars. I had no idea what the night sky could really look like. The galaxy stretched for light years, with swatches of purple across the inky blackness. We could actually see the milky way. No longer was it just a concept from science lessons! It was genuinely mesmerising, and if we weren’t expected to rise early, I would have stayed up to enjoy it for longer.
Staying in a Thai village in a bamboo hut sounds rather romantic doesn’t it? The issue with the stilts is that all night, animals will wander under your head and snuffle, crow, snort and generally make a whole lot of fuss. I barely slept. The cockerels started at about 3:30am and I looked around in dismay at my fellow trekkers. They were all sleeping soundly and didn’t stir until gone 7:00! Once everyone was up and moving, we got up and prepared for our second day of trekking.
Saying goodbye to the village, and setting off, on feet that very quickly became painful again, we were soon in dense forest. I was quite sad that we hadn’t managed to bond with our trek buddies, as there was a real divide and it put us in a strange mood. Thank goodness we only picked the one night trek! We walked down a river bank, following a clear stream. We had to cross it at one point and Mr Fluskey, in his hardcore walking boots, stood in the flowing water to help fling me over it. He saved my poorly protected feet from being drenched. What a hero Mr Fluskey is.
We came across a rather deadly looking snake. It was the first snake I had seen in the wild and I was genuinely a bit scared, but at least it stood out and I didn’t accidentally stand on it!
We stopped for lunch in another village. It was more plastic bag fare, instant ramen noodles this time. It reminded me strongly of being a student. The villagers didn’t seem fussed that a bunch of pale, grimy backpackers were going into one of their houses, and just kept working.
The rest of the trek was just an exercise in odd hobbling. I was having to walk in weird and wonderful ways to avoid the pain in my feet from being too bad. It was with such joy that we saw the little minibus driving along a long open road to collect us. I was so thrilled to change my shoes back at our little A-frame hut and get stuck into some delicious food.
Read all about our next adventure in Thailand, The Slow Boat to Laos – A Two Day Treat
Trekking is an amazing way to see a little nugget of a country that you are exploring. It can be a great mental break from the madness of going between one town and another the whole time. Nature has a way of calming you down and the action of walking, steadily, constantly allows your mind the space to wonder and wander. I loved that we didn’t see any other tourists on our trek, I am pretty sure the whole thing was a little more…I struggle to use the word authentic, but maybe beneficial to the communities we briefly passed through, I really hope so anyway. So get those walking shoes on, go trekking Northern Thailand, and see what you can find.
Rosie xx
India is huge. No, really, it is the 7th largest country in the world, you can fit the UK into India 20 times. With all that distance to cover, it may be tempting to jump on a plane and reach your destination quickly, but you will miss out on all the fun. Instead, I am here to convince you that rail travel is the better choice. Trust me, travelling India by train is the best way to see the country, and here’s why.
We can hardly claim to be experts on the life of Pai, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t going to tell you all about our time there! This small town in Thailand‘s north-east is a strange microcosm of backpacking life in the country. A timeless town where the strumming of The Beatles drifts out onto the sleepy streets amidst the tempting wafts of curry paste steam. So what is it about life in Pai that keeps drawing us in? (more…)
The first time I visited Chiang Mai was during our five month trip around Asia. I can tell you that I am struggling to remember much of what we did. It has all blurred into the mists of mis-memory (I think I just invented a word) and is the sum of our photos. But seeing as you are here, let me share with you what I do remember about Chiang Mai.
(more…)
Travelling between Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, and Chiang Mai, it’s second city is easy. You can fly, you can take an overnight bus, you can get a private transfer or, like us, you can catch the night train. It was inevitable that I would be on the night train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.
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Bangkok, a sprawling Asian metropolis of almost 8.3 million people, is the capital of Thailand. Glittering shopping malls and glittering temples abound, and through it all, the Chao Phraya river flows. However, if it is your first time visiting the city, it is highly possible you will end up on the infamous backpacker street in Bangkok, the area through which a never-ending supply of backpackers flow; Khao San Road. This is very special place, a time suck like nowhere else you’ve ever been. If you are not careful, you will end up spending a week on Khao San Road.
A picture is worth a thousand words, that’s what they say So what do you do when you realise you have no pictures to share!? Well, you use your words.
Embarking on our five month trip around Asia, we knew we were lucky enough to have a digital camera and a few spare SD cards. However, we were never really intending to use the pictures for anything more than the odd Facebook album and maybe one or two printed for the walls. Most of our pictures consist of us pulling stupid faces, comedy signs or rude-sounding brand names. Now it comes time to try and write about our experiences, I am feeling a little stuck.
Skipping forward through our travels, I was genuinely shocked to discover that we have a full three weeks of island hopping around Thailand with about three photos! I honestly can’t recall if that was because stunning Thai islands became so normal that we became blase or something else. This is isn’t even the only example, we are missing quite a lot of our travels in photography terms.
It really could be a case of the extraordinary becoming ordinary. South-East Asia is so beautiful, and maybe we just got used to it. We ended up taking stupid photos of us…looking stupid. Like with these tasty but awful sound collon snacks.
We managed to break one of our SD cards by plugging it directly into an internet cafe computer on that Backpacker Street in Bangkok – Khao San Road (yes, we are that old!)
There is also my eternal paranoia that our stuff will be nicked if we go for a swim. I refused to take my camera to the beach, and our terrible old camera phones weren’t up to taking any decent photos.
Finally, there was the digital camera itself, that occasionally decided it was broken. Our two day slow boat trip through Laos, and our two day boat trip around Ha Long Bay, Vietnam will just live on as memories, never to be seen by anyone else.
Here is the issue, sometimes I am useless with my words. I cannot express myself very eloquently.
Mr Fluskey gets slightly irritated by my waving arms and physical demonstrations. I have always been a very flappy talker, using my hands to explain myself. Is it any wonder I studied theatre!? “Use your words”, he cries in frustration.
Should I:
We really want your opinions. Please do leave us a comment below.
Rosie xx