A Day in Morioka

Well, yesterday I paid what could well be my last visit to Morioka. I needed to collect my new spouse visa at the Immigration Office - my contract is nearly finished but I will be in Yokohama for 6 weeks from the end of March, and return a heavy bag of text books to my company's office.
It wasn't a smooth day by any means, I left with barely enough time to make my train, and then on the way to the station the bag fell apart, and books lay on the road as light snow fell and I had to pick them up and carry them in my arms to the station. Bought my ticket, ran to the platform to see the train pulling away. 30 seconds too late. Some days are like that. It was over an hour until the next train. I bought a bag to carry the books and read a good deal of 'A Dance with Dragons', which I stalled at reading last year but am determined to finish sooner or later. I am 60% of the way through. Still confident it will get finished before the next book is out though!

In Morioka there was a severe wind-chill factor and at no point, inside or out, did I even consider taking my thick jacket off. To get my visa I first needed to pay a fee, which you do on a different floor and you get a stamp that you hand to the staff at the visa office. It looked like a normal postage stamp and for all I know, it was. The photo I had given them was the same as the one on my residence card for the previous 12 months, and they wanted a new one and directed me to go to a nearby building and get more photos taken. However, I pulled out a different passport sized photo from my money belt and they accepted that. Hassle, averted!

I was lucky enough to bump into some fellow employees at the visa office who gave me a lift to the company office, my bag of books was going to be a pain to carry the 2km or so. After returning the books I wandered around to find the 'rock splitting cherry tree', something of a 'natural national treasure', located outside a government building. Not so impressive until spring hits and the cherry blossoms are in bloom, you can see by the photos it is pretty well-regarded!

Then to the building 'Aiina', where I met my good friend and long-term resident Dean Rueztler, to record a conversation. What? What's all that about I hear you say? Well, some time ago I said I was looking into getting a podcast happening. Finally, I have started. Look to mid-April for the first one to be available for free down on the net, it may or may not be the one I recorded yesterday with the man below, Dean. We waxed lyrical about living in Japan, the best and the worst, the frustrations and so forth. It promises to be a great listen!

And then there was time for dinner and political talk before I made my way back to Ichinoseki. I'm here until nearly the end of March (28th I leave, nightime bus). And I realised, well, my time is coming to a close in Iwate. I had my last day at my other school on Wednesday - stay tuned for more on that tomorrow. Oh and before I go...

Short Journeys: Laos

is now available for only 85 cents on Payhip (same price now for Short Journeys: Ethiopia and Kazakhstan too). Second edition includes a couple of useful websites, a few changes and tinkering and perhaps one or two new photos. Also, you'll find previews available for all three books on Payhip too. Short Journeys: Laos also added to Lulu for $1.99.

More information on the podcast will be coming. Keep your eyes peeled!

Top Ten Destination Number Four - Laos

Main street of Luang Prabang

Golden Stupa in Vientiane

Moving back to Asia, number four in my top ten of countries I’ve visited is Laos. My favourite country in South East Asia without a doubt, Laos has a little something for everyone except for perhaps the shopaholic. Nestled between China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Burma, Laos is not the most frequently visited country in the region, but that suits visitors to Laos just fine. Laos is a relaxing and slower-paced change for those coming from Thailand and Vietnam in particular, it’s a bit cooler and dryer, it provides the visitor with plenty to see and do, some good food, and a welcoming smile. In short, Laos the perfect getaway!

The capital, Vientiane, although not the most exciting of capitals, has a mixture of French-colonial old world charm mixed with temples and wide boulevards. Set on the Mekong, which provides much of Laos’ life, the capital is more of a big provincial town rather than a capital.

Visit and marvel at the Golden Stupa, see the replica of the Arch de Triumph, or stroll the banks of the Mekong at dawn or dusk which makes for a truly beautiful scene (and photo). Vientiane is just over the river from Thailand, and the perfect introduction to Laos.

Vang Vieng

Looking for excitement? Well, you might just find it in Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng has been a tourist Mecca over recent years, and that’s because of the tubing. Unfortunately, this is also the uglier side of Laos tourism. Hundreds if not thousands of young mostly white tourists descending on the town to go ‘tubing’, in itself a perfectly respectable activity involving sitting on a tyre’s tube as you float down the river. However, they lined the river with bars and it became a place to get absolutely trashed and party. On top of that, every year people died because they jumped into the river and hit a rock, or drowned. Tubing was stopped last year after another death, now it may have reopened but in a tamer form.

Having said that, you are not obliged to go tubing, and the area around Vang Vieng is really beautiful with rocky hills, winding rivers and greenery as far as the eye can see. Go hiking or rock climbing, or if it the idea tempts you, hot-air ballooning and you’ll see a different and breath-taking perspective on Vang Vieng.

Craters Restaurant, Phonsovan

I found the most interesting place in Laos Phonsovan. This dusty town is centred in a place which was heavily bombed from around 1964 to 1973 by America, and 30% of the bombs didn’t explode on impact. Today, there are still many out in the area in the fields, which could go off by someone treading on them. MAG is the institution in the area that has taken up the responsibility for removing these unexploded ordinances from the farms and countryside, aided by a team of mostly local volunteers. Visit the MAG centre in town and learn about the work they do.

Plain of Jars

Around Phonsovan, and the main reason tourists head there, is the Plain of Jars. Scattered over three sites are these giant stone jars which date back thousands of years. Their purpose is supposedly a mystery, although most concur that they are graves. It’s a breath-taking and eerie site, although other tourists taking photos make alter the errieness somewhat! I took a tour, which is pretty standard, and there’s no issues from unexploded ordinances if you follow the marked tracks and listen to your guide. The tour takes in a few other sites such as a Russian tank, and you’ll see places decorated with the shells of bombs and the like. For example, back in Phonsovan, Crater’s Restaurant.

Mekong River at Luang Prabang.

Finally, I visited Luang Prabang, a quietly beautiful town on the Mekong heading into the northern part of the country. There are plenty of restaurants and hotels here, but it’s a very relaxing place to go and the perfect place to while away a few days or a week doing very little. Day trips include a boat up the Mekong to visit the Pak Ou caves, taking in an interesting unnamed village on the way, or visiting the Kuang Si waterfalls, which are truly beautiful and a great place to take a swim and escape the heat. It’s like some lagoon in a tropical jungle.

Kuang Si Waterfalls

The town itself has a museum and plenty of temples to keep you busy. There’s a fashion show on some nights, and plenty of night spots if you are so inclined. You may be best advised to avoid the people pushing opium though! The buildings have a colonial air on the main strip, and you can sit at a restaurant on the street and wonder if anyone actually lives in Luang Prabang. Alternatively there are a host of river-side restaurants and at dusk the sunset over the Mekong is as stunning as any sight you’ll see in South-East Asia.

For this traveller, Laos was the perfect South-East Asia getaway. If you are interested in more information, tips and my thoughts on Laos, I have an ebook out on Laos – Short Journeys: Laos, available for kindle now.

Next time… well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it. Stayed tuned as next time we hit the top three, in about a week or so.

The top ten so far:

10 – Slovakia

9 – Romania

8 – Mali

7 – The United Kingdom

6 – Japan

5 - Central Asia

4 - Laos

Short Journeys: Laos

Hi everyone. My latest kindle addition is up and ready, so if you'd like to read about my time in Laos, my opinions, and a little information too. Here is the front cover:

And a link to the amazon page where you can buy the book:

Short Journeys: Laos

And some snippets from the book and photos.

Introduction: Why go to Laos?

Laos is found in the depths of South-East Asia. It borders China to the north, Thailand to the south, Vietnam to the east and Cambodia to the south-east. It’s right in the thick of it, you might say. It’s not everyone’s first, second or even third thought when they think of South-East Asia, but, perhaps that’s what makes it special - because it is special, very much so.

The peaceful Luang Prabang, perched on the Mekong and the gateway to less-explored north of the country, is one of the most relaxed and calm places to visit in all of South-East Asia. The unassuming capital, Vientiane, is a delightful spot right on the border with Thailand, and out in the east is Phonsovan. Phonsovan is famous for the Plain of Jars, a collection of huge stone jars dotted about the plains near Phonsovan. It’s also in an area that was heavily bombed in the 60s and 70s, and some 30 percent of them didn’t explode on impact. Laos is one of the most bombed/mined countries in the world. The way the community has dealt with the problem of unexploded ordinances is eye-opening and perhaps inspiring.

The Mekong River

Well, it’s a mighty river flowing through different countries winding its way across land to eventually meet the sea in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. In Luang Prabang you are more than a thousand kilometres up stream, but it’s still beautiful. Walking along the banks is a nice experience in the late-afternoon when it’s cooled down ever so slightly. You’ll find the occasional long bamboo bridge which the locals use to get from smaller villages to the town.

Luang Prabang is actually situated on two rivers, the Mekong and the Nam Khan. A confluence of rivers is often a popular place for a town. Walking along either and both in the late afternoon or early morning is a very pleasurable experience. Stop at one of the open restaurants overlooking the river and have a cold drink and take in the serenity. There’s a lot of serenity there!

Kuang Si Waterfall (entrance 20,000 kip, 2011)

For me this was the real highlight of Luang Prabang, a waterfall not that far from town which admittedly a lot of tourists head to. It’s a superb place for a swim and to cool off, and its setting is somewhat idyllic and beautiful.

On said path is a sanctuary for bears which is worth a little look. The company running the bear sanctuary is called ‘Save the Bears’ and the bears there are ‘Asian Black Bears’. They are kept in enclosures of a decent size I guess. I don’t really know what an appropriate size is for a bear to live in, but at least they are safe there and it’s nice to check out.

After you’ve said hello to the bears, keep on going to the waterfall. It’s not that far and it’s a truly beautiful spot. Green and lush, the vegetation parts for the river, and over the top of some rocks the Kuang Si Waterfall heads down to a deep pool of still water, the perfect place to go when the heat is getting  to you. It was regularly in the mid to high thirties when I was there, so it was truly a welcome sight. A small tropical paradise hidden away in the jungle.

Phonsovan - Plain of Jars

Phonsovan was the place I most wanted to visit in Laos, because of the ‘Plain of Jars’ – hundreds of ancient large stone jars spread over three separate areas which has been a mystery for many years. Although really it’s not that much of a mystery, I think, personally, it’s pretty obvious what the jars are, or at least were, they were, for want of a better word, coffins. In fact, this is one of the theories and to me the most logical one.

They are well over a thousand years old, and therefore today they are a tourist attraction, for foreigners and locals alike. Although often they are not high on the tourist’s list of things to see in Laos, I think they should be! The issue that a lot of travellers have is the distance, it’s not in the middle of the Vientiane to Luang Prabang road, and many don’t want to go.

Phonsovan itself is a dusty old town; it has almost a frontier feel, dusty, a little forgotten. At the peak of the day there is plenty of traffic on the wide, main street, but that’s about all there is. There are a few hotels, a couple of places to eat and the MAG centre.

Craters restaurant, main street, Phonsovan.

We had a great guide, informative, helpful, fun. That’s all you really need right? Good English too. We headed out to the third site (Plain of Jars Site III on the ticket) first. We had to walk across fields to get there, and as we did we passed little markers on the ground with white and red paint. They were markers that signified that bombs had been located and removed in the area. Usually they marked out a space and between the markers it was safe to walk. You do have to follow your guide and watch for the markers. Anything that looks like a solid trail will be safe, but don’t go wandering off on your own for hundreds of metres, because there’s plenty of land that hasn’t yet been searched and declared safe as yet. Not that I’m trying to scare people, it’s 100% safe if you just use common sense!

View of the capital, Vientiane

Inside the Gold Stupa, Vientiane.

Laos is a wonderful place... take a look at the book - or why not visit yourself?

Loving Laos

Hello everyone,
I have been doing a little video editing lately, and put together a video on my time in Laos.

Luang Prabang

Editing the video of my time there in April 2011, and I realised and remembered what a wonderful and interesting time I had when I was there. It still receives less publicity and less tourists than its neighbours in Thailand and Vietnam, but in many ways that makes it more special.

 Phonsovan was my highlight of Laos, the Plain of Jars and of course the experience of learning about how the community is coping and working together to remove unexplored bombs and mines. A sleepy little place at times, but still my number one.

The Plain of Jars

Vang Vieng on the other hand was pretty sad, with its excesses and the fact that basically it's been taken over by white people to service their own desires and whatnot. Today I believe it has chilled somewhat. Tubing was stopped at one point early this year, but I believe it's back up but there are less bars these days, which when I was there was the only thing the visitors cared about. Seriously guys, you can get shitfaced at home. Vang Vieng is actually in a very beautiful area though, and if you don't go tubing there's still a lot to see without the drunken 20 year olds.

Vang Vieng

So please, take some time to look at my latest video. I made the decision to not put a soundtrack on it this time, because I think of peace and tranquility when I think of Laos, and a little bit about 'Friends' as well. Here she is, 'Loving Laos'.

Loving Laos - Youtube