North Thailand and Laos

All roads in South East Asia lead in and out of Bangkok it seems, you're either ending or beginning your SE Asia adventure here.  It's vibrant, raunchy and crazy streets either suck you in, or turn you away...either way, I found my hostel just 2 blocks away from the infamous Khao San Road, the mecca of backpacker heaven.

Ronald McDonald welcomes me to Thailand....nice guy, doesn't say much though

Khao San Road

The epicenter for backpackers in SE Asia, Khao San Road offers so much if you can handle the insanity that it throws at you.  Fake ID's range from passports, Harvard degrees, birth certificates and everything in between.  Ladyboys, bars and food stalls are everywhere..it's tough not to turn around and bump into one of these....

One of the most unexpected surprises I've had thus far happened to me at The Club on Khao San Road.  I ran into Nomadic Matt, who was one of the people who inspired me to take this trip in the first place.  He's turned his passion of traveling into a successful career!  Yes that's right people, he travels for a living!

Nomadic Matt is on the far left...the rest is the crew I was traveling with at the time...miss you guys!

Luckily I avoided the flooding in Thailand by about a week, many shops including our hostel still had flood measures in place.

There is actually quite a bit more to Bangkok then KSR and it's surrounding madness, such at Wat Pho, the home of the 15 meter high, 46 meter long prone Buddah!  Being across town, we took a tuk-tuk...naturally

With haggling you can take one of these things clear across the city for $5

The Monopoly guys makes his appearance....

The reclining Buddah:

Vibrant coloured tiles line the temples

Another highlight was the Golden Mountain:

Zoomed in from the base

Funny story about these monks, my friend and I were walking up as they were walking down and they were taking a ninja picture of us!  So I busted them and said now they owe us a picture!

Stupa on top of Golden Mountain

Sunset over Bangkok

Me and the gang also did a day tour which consisted of seeing the floating market, the bridge over the River Kwai and ....tigers!

Crazy looking fruit...I sampled them all!  The spikey ones on the far left were the best....reminded me of lychee 

After a tasty meal it was onto the next portion of the tour, the bridge over the river kwai.

The River Kwai

Although not much to look at, learning about the significance of the bridge was very interesting.

Now I’ve done some pretty cool and crazy things on my trip so far, but the next stop on the tour is going to be one that sticks out.

Yes you are seeing me pet a live tiger

Having a 700lbs tiger roll over so you can scratch its’ belly is quite the unique experience

This guy woke up when I started to pet him...you can’t see it from this angle, but I totally messed myself

This one was absolutely enormous

Starting contest with a tiger...the monk won

Awwww tiger want its’ bottle?  Ya tiger likes its’ bottle.

Now I know what you’re thinking, how is this possible?  Even with the thick chain they are still within biting/clawing/eating distance of humans...how is this safe?  Well as per the people at the Kanchanaburi tiger sanctuary the tigers are brought up around humans so they are used to human contact.  Also they are fed several smaller meals a day rather than one big one, which prohibit them from ever being really hungry and having a Shawn kebob for lunch.  There are other people who claim that the tigers are sedated, which is why they appear very docile and sleepy all the time.  Whichever you believe, it was an amazing experience to get so up close and personal to these beautiful yet powerful and extremely dangerous animals.  Being face to face with something that’s higher on the food chain is.....quite the experience.

Moving on from Bangkok I headed north to the quieter and scenic Chiang Mai.  First stop, Doi Suthep Temple

Mom this one is for you

Buddha made entirely out of lime Jell-O

This has nothing to do with anything...but walking around town one day I ran into these two statues (Predator and Alien) made entirely out of scrap metal...screws, chain, bolts etc.  (Terry if you don’t print this out and put it on your fridge we are no longer friends)

3 day jungle trek booked, let's go:

My friends Pras and Heidi navigating over a river

Were there creepy crawlies in the jungle?  You better believe it....this thing was gnarly

One cool thing about the trek was there was no real main path, but several smaller paths that twisted and turned up and down mountains.

Kids in one of the tribal villages we stayed in

The hut we stayed in....the village was very small and very simple...very non-touristy

The crew kicking it after a long day of hiking

Bliss...

Sunset in the jungle

Early morning mist sweeps through the valley

Farmers growing lettuce

More creepy crawlies....cool looking web

Random enormous tree in the middle of nowhere...the guy standing beside it is 6'3"

Mmmm green mango's

One of the must do’s while in Chiang Mai is elephant riding or mahout training.  Our trek included a few hours with the beasts so that was good enough for me.  The mahout training is where they teach you how to bathe and feed the elephants along with commands to help you control them. 

Most people preferred to sit in the basket since it was safer...obviously I opted for the non-safe but cooler option of riding on the back of it’s head/neck!

My attempt at Craning an elephant....I almost fell off but it was worth it

The elephant ripped this tree in half with his trunk...it was awesome to feel how powerful it is by sitting where I was

Standard Shawn goofball pose

I was hoping for a more authentic ride for half a day or something but a few hours was still awesome.

I really enjoyed Chiang Mai, much more than Bangkok...the two cities really aren’t anything alike to be honest.  Chiang Mai is not the bustling gong show that is Bangkok, its’ pace is slower and the scenery nicer.  I will be returning to Thailand around Christmas for a few weeks, this time in the south on the islands.  But for now it was farewell Thailand and hello Laos! 

First and foremost you do not pronounce the s at the end of Laos, it’s silent...ok?  Awesome

The cheapest and most scenic route into Laos is the 2 day slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang along the beautiful Mekong River.  It’s somewhat of a rite of passage for the SE Asia backpacker, so I hopped on board.  At this point I was traveling with an entourage of like 10 people, which made the alcohol fuelled 2 day trip rather joyful. 

“Hey Shawn, what else made your 2 day boat trip joyful?”  Well I’m glad you asked....remember my journey in Beijing and how much I loved peking duck?  Well I happened to bring some on board...this time IN CHIP FORM.

OH MY GOD THESE ARE SO GOOD, LAYS I LOVE YOU (Terry if you don’t print this out and put it on your fridge we are no longer friends)

Some of the crew

The slow boat baby

Sunset on the Mekong River....stunning

We arrived in Luang Prabang after dark, which typically I try not to do in a new city as finding your hostel etc is more difficult.  En route to the hostel we stopped off at an ATM to get out the local Laos currency, Kip.  Typically I take out between $100 and $150, and with an exchange rate of roughly 8000 Kip to $1 that works out to be.....

*cue Dr. Evil voice* ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!

 Started off the next day with a wander of the city....

The Vor Prabang, used in a Buddhist ceremony during the Lao New Year to carry the Prabang Buddha from the museum to the Wat Mai Souvannaphoummaram

Woo Xmas decorations

Street food buffet for $1.10?  Ummm ya

haha, a section reserved for people who buy meat....amazing

Temple on top of a hilltop right in the middle of Luang Prabang:

Just in time for sunset...

Spent the remainder of that night at what could be one of my favourite bar/lounges I’ve been to on my entire trip, Utopia.

Run by a Canadian, this place was an amazing blend of  relaxing music, cheap drinks, comfortable cushions, and a wide array of people to meet.  If I ever own a bar, I want it to be like this.

We also explored some nearby waterfalls while in Luang Prabang.

Bear museum on the way up to the falls....bonus points to spot me in the crowd

Surveying the situation...

We're good!

Rope swing....just impossible to say no!

That wrapped up Luang Prabang, next up was Vang Vieng which was a quick 7 hour bus south. 

We arrived after dark again, and rolled up to our hostel tired and somewhat strung out from the long bumpy bus ride only to find out that they had sold our room to someone else.  Shit.  So we went from hostel to hostel trying to find accommodation until finally one place had a room available.  The women at the counter said something along the lines of “we only have 1 room and it’s our villa, it has 2 big beds, an ensuite bathroom and a sitting area”.  My buddy and I looked at eachother and figured it was going to be too expensive, but we asked anyways.  $9 per night each.....uhhh ya

Only snapped this one pic from the porch...but it's awesome believe me

Vang Vieng is known as a party destination where drunken backpackers float aimlessly down a river on a tube.  The river is lined with bars that crank out tunes and booze all day long.  There is water slides, rope swings, zip-lines and diving boards all up and down the river.  Locals throw out ropes with water bottles on the end to reel you in, their accuracy is amazing.  I have no pictures of the tubing itself since I didn’t want to bring my camera and get it wet....but believe me it was a fun few days.  Aside from partying Vang Vieng is actually a beautiful town with a lot to offer.

Typical bar/restaurant filled with cushioned seats for relaxing.  Most of the bars play Friends or Family Guy on repeat, very conducive for hungover backpackers.

On one of our non party days we took a trip to the nearby blue lagoon for some swimming and general goofing off

9 of us crammed together in a tuk-tuk designed for 6....pretty standard

Rope swings galore!

The water was teaming with fish

The crew juts kicking it..

Two thumbs up baby

These plants were amazing, when you touched them they curled up and looked dead....a natural defence mechanism

There was also a nearby cave to explore

This picture does it no justice, the cave was absolutely enormous

Love this pic

And that does it for North Thailand and Laos, an amazing start to my South East Asia leg of the trip.  Next up is Vietnam and Cambodia, two countries that have a very violent history so I expect a different type of experience there.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)