Border crossing to Cambodia 柬寮边界

Today I will continue my conquest of Cambodia. I woke up pretty early today as I'll be leaving Laos by boat and bus. I bought the bus ticket to Phnom Penh ($30 or 230,000K) yesterday. It is so freaking expensive! It just cost slightly more than the price of sleeper bus from Vientiane and Pakse. It cost more than the boat trip from Huay Xai to Luang PraBang! The only difference it included the boat transfer from Don Det to Ban Nakasang pier. (My trip later in Vietnam I met few Malaysians, they admitted that traveling in Cambodia is really expensive!) 

It was one of the most toughest roller coaster bus ride! We spent our whole day on the bus. 

My Itinerary was as the following :

- Walking to the river pier @ Don Det island

- Catching the boat to mainland @ Ban Nakasang town

- Waiting and settling the Cambodia Visa
- Taking a minivan from Ban Nakasang to Lao border @ Dong Kalaw (8am-10am)

- Walking across Cambodian border @ Trapeang Kriel
- Taking the Cambodian bus to Phnom Penh (12pm-9pm)
- Taking a tuk-tuk to White River II Guesthouse

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All of us took a boat from the sunset side pier at 8 a.m sharp, surprisingly they were really punctual. The boat soon left the pier and headed to the same Ban Nakasang pier. After getting off from the boat, we were informed to wait at the same bus terminal again. This is the time to settle all the Visas and "border fee". Amongst the backpackers, I was the only person that exempted from paying visa fees since I have a Malaysian passport. However, from what I recalled, there is an exit clearance fee that is compulsory to be paid to the bus agent. (25,000KIP=US$3). My remaining Lao money was placed in between the departure card and passport. 

All different passports are categorized on table.  

Bus ticket to Phnom Penh.

We were arranged to take this mini van to get to the Lao border.

Don Khon Island Day Trip @ 4000 Islands (Part 2) 東闊島

On the next day, I just thought of staying another night in here since I didn't have much Kip left. If I need more local money, the only way is to go for “ATM Service by boat”. After yesterday’s incident, I was paranoid if this method is safe too. I have almost lost my confidence with the villagers here. I did not really plan where to go so I just follow the flow. I knew most of the traveler spots are located in Don Khon island so the best way to explore it is by bicycle.

My itinerary was as following :

- Rent a bicycle @ Don Det
- Ride to the French bridge @ Don Khon (2-3km)
- Ride to Li Phi waterfall
- Lunch by the river
- Dolphin watching
- Tubing

The view of a Lao kampong from my chalet. One thing I noticed they prefer to build taller stilt houses for living where as the low houses (chalets) are meant for the backpackers. My own understanding on such stilt houses built is to withstand any big floods during the wet season. But the height of the pillars are way too high, I supposed they are going to renovate the bottom floor for other usage. 

Don Det island is small enough that you can walk. But in order to reach Don Khon island, riding a bicycle is essential especially under the midday sun. 
So I rented a bicycle from the chalet owner. There is a bridge built to link Don Det Island to Don Khon Island. 

The dirty road along the way.

A) FRENCH BRIDGE

After about 20-30 min ride (2km+), I reached the bridge. I was told to pay for the bridge ticket. 
Note : This ticket includes the entrance ticket for Li Phi waterfall.

TICKET         : 25,000 KIP 
TIME              : 08:00 AM - 19:00 PM

Most Frightening Experience @ 4000 Islands (Part 1) 4千島驚魂記

After my early breakfast in Pakse guesthouse, I took a minivan to a town further south, Ban Nakasang. The journey was about 2½ hours. All of us reached there around 10.30am and waited helplessly at the tourist bus terminal without knowing what to do next. Sooner we all were informed to walk to the river pier.

We reached at the "river pier" and we had no other choice but to cross the wooden plank. I noticed it was troublesome for people who carry a luggage along! Each of us were arranged to go on two different boats - Don Det and Don Khon, as they are moving to different island anyway.

On the boat heading to Don Det island.

The view from the boat is some lowland islands surrounded by forests. Apparently I can't notice any single concrete building. I supposed these islands are still remained largely undeveloped to maintain its natural resources and the whole ecosystem here. I have the feeling my life is going back to nature. Life seemed to be getting easier here and everything is back to the basics. 

Our backpacks were unloaded from the boat. I grabbed mine and walked away from the backpackers and a few locals were busy persuading backpackers to stay in their guesthouses.

Where is 4000 Islands? 4千島在哪裡？

As I mentioned earlier in Pakse(Laos) post, I didn't expect to travel to southern Lao. So I did not do much research about this place called 4000 Islands (Si Phan Don). Before going there, all these questions were running through my head :

- Why is it called 4000 Islands? 

- What to do in these remote islands? Is it safe? (My main concern)

- Which island to stay? Don Khong? Don Det? Don Khon? 

- How can I reach these islands?

- Any flood when heavy rain?

After reading LP (Lonely Planet), I started to have some clues. All I read on book : it's a backpacker's mecca, thousands of uninhabited "islands" on the river, waterfalls and dolphins. Please bear with me, if the explanation below maybe not be accurate or correct. It is my understanding on based on the info I found.

WHAT AND WHERE IS SI PHAN DON (4000 ISLANDS)?

Si Phan Don is an archipelago islands located in the Mekong River. Due to various geographical conditions, the endless flowing Mekong River from the Tibetan Plateau started running trans-boundary through China, Burma, Thai and reaching the most southern part of Laos, in which this area is located in a lower basin. Ultimately, this topography has resulted a wide stretch of the river that branches off into many smaller streams, forming thousands of islands/islets, rocky waterfalls and sandy deltas all the way south to Cambodia. Thus, the local simply called the whole region as "Si Phan Don" (literally "Si Phan" means 4000, "Don" means islands Laotian), a pretty cool name indeed. As why they called it 4000 islands instead of 1000 Islands or 5000 Islands, I heard that Si Phan Don sounds smoother in Laotian.

Vat Phou UNESCO Heritage site @ Pakse 百色

HOW DID I GET HERE?

Southern Lao was not on my initial plan. After much consideration, I decided to travel to the southern city - Pakse. At Vientiane guesthouse around 6pm, there's a tuk-tuk came to pick me up. Sooner I came to an unknown bus station. According to the guide, it should be the Dong Dok, southern bus station (9km away from town) and serves everywhere in southern region. We got down from the bus and went to the counter to collect our bus ticket.

They have VIP buses going to Thailand and China.

Below shown the interior of the sleeper bus in Lao. On this "double-sized" bed for two, they provided a pillow and a blanket for each and the bottom is a one-layer firm mattress. It wasn't a comfortable sleep I would say cause the size is suitable for two average size Laotians. I could hardly move my body as I was at the aisle side. I was arranged to sleep beside a German guy. To have a more comfy sleep, I just moved my stuff to back with a larger sized bed for four after the local Laotians had left the bus in the midnight. It was still a shaky ride all the way to south.

About 6am on the next day , the bus has arrived in Pakse town and it was still very early the sun just rose. I was the only foreigner that will stay in Pakse. The rest of them are going to 4000 Islands so they gonna do a bus transit there. As usual there were a few tuk-tuk drivers awaiting us once we got down from the bus. I have got a recommended guesthouse by a German couple so I was deciding to go there by foot. But the main problem is my phone does not have any network and the bus just stop us in an unknown bus station. At that time all my mind thought that the guesthouse might be quite a distance away.

I just ignored these annoying locals and grabbed my stuff and walked out of the bus station. Sooner a smart tuk-tuk drove passed me and kept telling me he knew the location of this guesthouse and charges me for only 10,000K. Without much hesitation, I just agreed and hopped on the back.

I just decided to stay in the dorm for only 30,000K per night. The room looked very clean with a shared bathroom. It is a large sharing room indeed. And I was the first person to occupy it.

It looked like a bungalow house to me. But it is quite comfortable.

VAT PHOU 

The Land of Million Elephants @ Vientiane 萬象

HOW DID I GET HERE?
In Vang Vieng, I left the villa and walked to the tour company to catch the mini van to Vientiane. Before getting on van I was able to eat my breakfast, noodle soup (15,000K).

I lost backpack rain cover few days later.

The interior of the mini van, it was by far the most comfortable trip in Laos.

I met a Chinese backpacker from ShenZhen, Yvonne. We met before in LPB and I didn't know she was going to Vientiane too. We had many topics on the way. The mini van was so comfortable till we fell asleep. After 4 hours ride, we were dropped off somewhere in town near to Talat Sao (according to map). 

We decided to share a room since the room price here is not that cheap. I know the next day she'd be going to Thailand by bus where as I'll be taking a sleeper bus to go Pakse in the late evening.

We have been searching a better condition guesthouse for hour under the hot sun. Finally we made up our mind to stay here for 1 night.

The Town of Mountain and River @ Vang Vieng 旺陽

HOW DID I GET HERE?

The day before I bought the minivan ticket from the guesthouse (GH) at Luang PraBang (LPB) to VV (Vang Vieng), it costs 125,000Kip. This tiny little town, Vang Vieng (pronounced as "Wang Wieng") is a popular stopover town before going to Vientiane. The whole journey took about 6-7 hours. It was one of the toughest ride in Lao I have encountered. Before getting on the van, we have been warned about the motion sickness due to the roads ahead. Fortunately I was arranged to take the front row seat just beside the driver. This is the minivan that can take up to 16 people. All our backpacks are just stacked and tied firmly on top of the van.

What made the journey even more unpleasant was the driver just off the A/C from time to time when the minivan is going up the mountain or when making certain turns at the corners. The uneven road surfaces, some steep winding roads up and down through the mountains and the continuous poor air ventilation within the van had made all of us felt some kind of motion sickness or dizziness too. Lucky I didn't smell any unpleasant odour coming from the back...

However, the scene along the hill was awesome. We did made a stop somewhere at the hill for an early lunch and get some fresh air before continue our ride down the hill to Vang Vieng. Once we reached the lowland, everyone felt much relieved as the A/C was on again! I had the feeling of going to countryside as the lush green paddy fields at both side of the road along seemed so welcoming. There are times where the driver sounded his horn over some random domestic animals such as cattle and chickens on the road! They were just roaming around the adjoining farmland area probably trying to seek for food. It was the funniest sight for us that lived in city! Sadly no picture taken.

Finally, we reached the bus station. Again we had no choice but to take their tuk-tuk to the town (1-2km away - 10,000K).

I checked-in a comfy villa with a hammock just outside my room. The room rate is however slightly more expensive (80,000K) consider it is quite a distance to the happening street. 

The exterior of my villa.

Most Respectful Alms-Giving Ceremony @ Luang PraBang 龍坡邦

THINGS TO DO HERE:
Besides the main traveler spots in town, I would say there are plenty of things to do here. I have arranged some interesting things I did here and tasted the street food :

A) Alms-giving ceremony

B) Morning Market
C) Night Market - Walking Street
D) Street Food

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A) ALMS-GIVING CEREMONY
In LPB (Luang PraBang), one of the most beautiful cultural sights in the morning is the alms-giving ceremony (“Binthabat” in Laotian). The eye-opening Binthabat ceremony takes place every morning at 5:30 am last about 30 minutes. From what I know, in Buddhism the main purpose behind such ritual practice is that the more we give without seeking something in return – the better our life will become. This out of fun culture practice is to pass our food offering to the passing-by monks after the dawn. The giving of alms, can be rice, fruits or needy items, are both a cause for accumulating merit and to aid the basic livelihood of the monks, whom are an important part of the Buddhism culture.

I woke up before 5am when the sky was still dark. I walked about 10 min and came to the main crossroad. Soon I was approached by a local Lao lady, she told me to follow her as I thought she could show me the place where the alms-giving gonna take place. I met an American guy and we were both brought to somewhere close by. 

Before I could decide, she just passed each of us a woven rattan container (that is filled with sticky rice) and a basket of Lao food wrapped with banana leaves (not sure what's in it?) . We did not know how this ritual works. Since she passed this to me, I just thought of giving it a try. I paid for 20,000kip. 

She helped us to tear the sticky rice into some smaller pieces so that the rice can be equally given to each of the monks that are passing by. We were told to take a seat on the woven mat .

The American guy and I were waiting until 5.30am and the ceremony has finally begun. I noticed a batch of monks in light brown/orange robes with bare foot were slowly walking in line approaching towards us. 

Mekong Sunset, Bamboo Bridge, Kuang Si waterfall @ Luang PraBang 龍坡邦

Some other traveler spots around LPB (Luang PraBang) that can't be missed :

AROUND LUANG PRABANG :

A) Mekong River

B) Bamboo Bridge (hot/dry season only)

C) Kuang Si waterfall
D) Some other temples

A) MEKONG RIVER SUNSET

After Vat Xien Thong visit, I had a stroll along the riverfront of the great Mekong river. I knew it gonna be a nice place to watch the sun going down soon. The sunset here happens around 6-6:30pm. I decided to look for the cheapest restaurant with a great view overlooking the river.

A local tuk-tuk that could fetch you going to the outskirt or even Kuang Si waterfall.

The beautiful blossom bright red flamboyant tree (Delonix regia) can be seen anywhere here!

Dark Wooden boutique hotels along the Mekong river. 

I supposed these design of the hotels are derived from the French colonial architecture.

There are some really boutique hotels along the street with restaurants just beside the river.

Tuk-tuk service from the restaurant.

Phou Si Hill, Ho Kham, Vat Xieng Thong @ Luang PraBang 龍坡邦

Luang PraBang (LPB) city is declared as UNESCO Wolrd Heritage site since year 1995. LPB was once the capital of the Lan Xang (Land of a Million Elephants) Kingdom that ruled Laos. Most of the traveler spots are in the old city area on the small peninsula surrounded by the Mekong river and Nam Khan river. Within the old city, there are quite a number of Buddhist temples. Every morning, there are many monks from different monastery walking along the main street collecting alms. Vat Chom Si on Phou Si hill is also an important landmark. I have spent a few days taking my own time exploring this beautiful ancient city.
Note : Most traveler spots have an entrance fee. Even walking across the bamboo bridge needs to pay for it. Nothing is free in here. Luckily the tickets are no expensive. There's no free map provided in LPB. 

TRAVELER SPOTS :

a) Phou Si hill (Vat Chom Si)  

b) Royal Palace Museum (Ho Kham)

c) Vat Xieng Thong

AROUND LUANG PRABANG :

a) Mekong River

b) Bamboo Bridge (hot/dry season only)

c) Kuang Si waterfall

THINGS TO DO HERE:

a) Alms-giving ceremony

b) The food in LPB
c) Morning market 
d) Night market

PHOU SI HILL (VAT CHOM SI)

After a good sleep the next day, I decided to explore this city by foot.The guesthouse is located near to the landmark – Phou Si hill. On the peak on the hill sits a holy temple - Vat Chom Si. According to info, Vat Chom Si is regarded by Laotians to be one of the most sacred places in LPB. Hence, tourists should dress appropriately before walking up the hill.

TICKET         : 20,000 KIP

TIME              : 09:00 AM - 18:00 PM

I walked along the Nam Khan river, this is the view during the hot season.

This restaurant has ethnic group performance show at night.

To climb up Phou Si hill, there are 2 entrances, one the main entrance is facing the Royale Palace Museum at Sisawangwong road.  Another back entrance is located somewhere towards the bamboo bridge along Kingkitsarath road. I just looked at my LP and slowly find my way to the back entrance at the hillside. 

In the Middle of Nowhere @ Pak Beng 北賓

After a long long boat trip, we finally reached the river jetty @ Pak Beng before sky fall. All of us were required to stopover in this village for 1 night and continue our slow boat trip to LPB on the next morning.

Once we jumped out from boat, we were immediately surrounded by few local villagers. They were hard selling their cheap rooms and few were holding a big cardboard with photo showing the rooms. I decided to go for a single room that costs (200B).

Before this I heard some backpackers have paid for 300B-400B on boat after the staff threaten us that most guesthouses in the village do not provide any proper power supply at night! Those naive foreigners immediately agreed upon signing up with him. I read about the price difference before getting on board. Obviously this tourist scam is not going to work on me. For sure he gonna charge them double on boat since he earned some from the commissions! What a money making business... 

Apart from this, I was also quite doubtful with the words of the staff regarding the power supply at night. So I asked the guesthouse owner about this. He just smiled and denied," Of course we have electricity!" It seemed to him that my question didn't make any sense to him. It is later I read that the facilities (i.e. accommodation, water and power supply) here had improved tremendously due to the development project from tourism. The village itself is a popular stopover point for people who are traveling by boat.

It was quite a relief to see the interior of the room. The room was quite basic and clean, with A/C and bathroom. It is just fine for a night stay.

Thai-Lao Border crossing @ Huay Xai 會晒

Today I gonna start my journey in Laos. My first travel destination in Laos is the ancient city - Luang PraBang (LPB). I have decided the best and safest option taking a slow boat to there since time is on my side. I knew it gonna be REALLY a time-consuming journey to reach there. 

Here is my 2 Day 1 Night itinerary :

DAY 1

- take the earliest bus to Chiang Khong [2.5 hours]

- go to the Thai Border check point.

- take a river boat to cross the Mekong River to Huay Xai

- get my passport stamped @ Lao Immigration check-point

- look up for any tour boat that goes to Luang PraBang by Slow Boat option

- exchange some Lao currency(Kip)

- get into the slow boat to Pak Beng [7-8hours]

- reach Pak Beng get a cheap GH (guesthouse) room

DAY 2 

- take the same slow boat to LPB 7-8hours

- get a cheap GH room in LPB

The green colored useful master map of Indo-china courtesy from TAT. 

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HOW DID I GET HERE? 
DAY 1 CHIANG KHONG (THAI BORDER)

It was almost 6 in the morning where the sky here started to turn bright. I caught the earliest Chiang Khong bus from the bus terminal. It is a local 3rd class bus without A/C (65B).

The journey took less than 2.5 hour to reach CK. The bus just stop me somewhere along the main street. I checked AppleMap but I wasn't sure where is the exact location of Thai Border Checkpoint. But I knew it is somewhere 1-2km away. To be on the safe side, I took an expensive tuk-tuk (40B) to get to there. 

I came to the Thai Exit checkpoint, there is no people waiting at the counter. It was so smooth and within a minute I'm done! I walked further down to the river pier and I could see few motorbikes and people were transported on boat and a China car-plate 4-wheel drive was transporting on a huge bamboo boat coming towards the Thai border. 

I paid for (40B), me and my backpack, to cross the Mekong river to the opposite side, Lao immigration checkpoint. The Mekong River looked muddy and water is unclear to notice any fish swimming below.

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HUAY XAI (LAO BORDER)

After 5 minutes on the boat, we finally set our foot in Laos DPR! It was my second trip to Laos by boat. My previous trip to Lao was last Jan where I joined a Chiang Mai tour group to Don Sao island, located opposite Golden Triangle. (Passport was not needed)

As soon as I reached Lao checkpoint river border @ Huay Xai, there were quite a number of foreigners waiting anxiously to settle their VISA. I was approached by a guy who seem to be a travel agent there. He just nicely told me to proceed to the counter since  I have a Malaysian passport so I do not need a VISA to enter Laos PDR. Without a Lao VISA, I could just walk pass the crowd and get my passport stamped within minutes! It is as simple as that!
(Note: Malaysian and A.S.E.A.N passport holders do not need VISA application or additional charges.)

I also checked with the guy about the Slow Boat to Luang PraBang. He quoted the price 950B, takes 2 days, including a night in a remote village Pak Beng, which is almost the same price in book. The accommodation in Pak Beng is excluded from the price.

I agreed with the price, I just needed to wait until 11am and he needs to send me to another river pier (1-2km away) to take the slow boat.

The slow boat trip (2 days 1 night) from Huay Xai-Pak Beng and Pak Beng-LPB will take about 7-8 hours for each day during hot season.

WHAT TO DO IN HUAY XAI?

There isn't much to do in this border town. I decided to have my early lunch here while waiting for the time to come. Many Thai imported food can be seen in the small grocery shops along the main street. There are also some Malaysian imported biscuits selling here. No doubt the prices here are slightly more expensive than in Thai since most of them are transported across the border. 

I exchanged some Lao money just in case. According to the local, Thai Baht is widely accepted in northern Lao: Pak Beng and Luang Prabang. I supposed it is because there are some close local businesses cross the border among the Thai and Lao people. 

(Exchange rate US $1 = Lao 7500-7600 Kip = RM3.20)

My lunch : Fried rice with chicken + egg 15,000K (RM6.20), not cheap though.

After my lunch, I just waited at the tour office. I noticed they did offer various transport options : Slow Boat, Speed boat, VIP bus and Minivan. They could also arrange a mini van(bus) to go to LPB and Luang Namtha (a remote village, close to China border). If travel by VIP bus, they can reach LPB, Oudomxay, Luang Prabang and even Vientiane (capital of Lao). 

It is pretty common to see these bottles of cobra whiskey for sale in here and LPB but these are less seen in Thailand nowadays. 

I was waiting at the tour agent office.Animal parts were hanging all over the wall.

I arrived at the river pier by bike. There are some backpackers seem to be going to LPB too. We all waited quite some time and a row of slow boats were orderly parked at the pier. 

At almost 11 plus, the boat kick started its engine and we are ready to depart! 

The passenger seats are obviously some standard car-cushion seats that are in quite new condition. I also read from the wikipedia, a soft blow-up cushion is longer needed as previously they were just  using all wooden hard benches. Nevertheless, all these car cushion seats are movable and can be easily rearranged according to the space in the boat. I occupied 2 seats since a Japanese guy switched his seat. It is not a luxurious boat and no live jacket is provided. (Safety might be a big concern especially in the wet season) Also I read there are incidents during dry season where the river level @ Mekong river became really low and at some point of time the boat couldn't move forward. The people on boat might need to get down and push the boat going further! 

But I feel I was really lucky as it was a smooth sailing journey all the way. I don't really feel much discomfort throughout the journey despite the usual hot tropical weather.

It was a long long journey to reach PB. 

This is my second time taking a slow boat in a foreign country. It was an enjoyable and slow-paced moment. The endless mountainous lush landscapes and thick forests were continuously flashing before my eyes. This Mekong river scene was pretty decent to me who lived in the city. From time to time, the boat would stop by a village or to pick up some locals from villages along the river.

Enjoying the scene around, talking to backpackers, reading book, drinking beer, eating snacks, taking a nap can kill time much faster! Everything seemed to be so slow-moving. C'est la vie...

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