Morning Everybody, we hope you've all had a fab Christmas. Ours was slightly unconventional to say the least, we had to keep reminding ourselves it was Christmas Day while we had a massage, had a rematch of underwater swimming and then went to the closest thing we could find to a traditional Christmas dinner (it had turkey in it). A four day Christmas treat at a luxury resort was pretty budget blowing so we made sure we got every pennies worth by not leaving the grounds for the entire time! Five pools, a golf course with driving range, eight restaurants, cinema and goodness knows what else kept us entertained well enough though. For the most part we just enjoyed dipping in the pool and going to the spa. Which reminds me, fresh from his hair salon experience Tony has now well and truly found his feminine side and had an hour long facial at the spa and then told me all about the various fragrances etc used afterwards! Shame then, that that evening before dinner we popped by the driving range and he hit 100 balls which made him so sweaty his white shirt was soaked through, so much for the cleansing then!
The next two days couldn't have been more different. We checked out of five star luxury and headed to the top of the highest mountain in SE Asia - literally. I was sold the trip based on information describing Mt Kinabalu as one of the easiest mountains in the world to climb and as long as you've got determination and stamina anyone can do it. Well let me tell you now I beg to differ! I haven't climbed many mountains I must admit, but if this was meant to be one of the easiest in the WORLD I may not be climbing too many more! At 4095.2 meters the summit is higher than anyone can ski in Europe or even in the US that we know of. The trail to the top is only 8.7km which should give you some idea of how steep it is. We set off at 9.40am on day one and were booked in to the last available accommodation at 3272m which was just about the top of the tree line. Unfortunately what was probably a pleasant trail at one point had been turned into a set of steps that were like doing stairs two at a time for three hours! The last hour and a half was spent much more comfortably over the natural terrain of boulders and stones. We arrived at Laban Rata and checked in to our room - I had bottom bunk Tony had top, the generator was broken so showers were out of the question as I could barely even wash my hands in the water it was so cold.
At 2am we had a light breakfast before heading off to do the final 2.7km climb to the summit in time for sunrise. I actually loved this part of the climb, we only had head torches in the pitch black and the going was pretty steep but it was really exhilarating and best of all it was cold, it was blowing a gale which meant we had hats and gloves and everything! I know to most people that sounds horrible but for someone who's thermostat breaks down at temperatures above 30*c it was fabulous! We made it to the summit about 5.35am and the sun popped up on the hour and all was good with the world.
That was until we had to come back down again. We were to walk the entire 8.7km downhill that same day, the top was so steep I had a few wobbles where I thought I was going down the quick way. A quick stop at the overnight shack for breakfast and we were off again. For anyone else with prematurely ageing knees or hips you'll know that the way down is so much worse than the climb. To cut a long story short it was such a hard slog all the way down, I won't go into it too much because I'll only end up using expletive after expletive! At the bottom I was hardly mobile without my walking stick that the guide had made me take the day before (at the time I thought he was a cheeky git but it turns out he saw the cripple in me!). But we finished in high spirits, mainly at my expense and headed back to town with our certificates of achievement in tow, feeling pleased with ourselves.
That was over 48hrs ago now and I can still hardly walk! Tony was really struggling yesterday too which made me feel a bit less ridiculous, but he has just shown me that he is now able to jog across the room (sort of!) so his recovery seems to be going better than mine. We tried a massage yesterday but it only caused pain!
We have flown to Sandakan today, I was tempted to ask the airline for special assistance! We are here to see the orang-utans, elephants, monkeys and crocs.
Happy New Year to everybody, see you all in 2011
Love Mr and Mrs McK xxx
Friday, 31 December 2010
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Merry Christmas
Good Morning Blog Fans!
We would just like to wish you all a very merry Christmas, hopefully everybody has been able to get to where they should be and the weather hasn't ruined anyones festive plans.
It's a positively balmy Christmas day here, the resort is decorated to the max and has non stop festive tunes pumping out in all public areas but it still feels like August to us.
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing we hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.
Lots of love Mr and Mrs McK xxx
We would just like to wish you all a very merry Christmas, hopefully everybody has been able to get to where they should be and the weather hasn't ruined anyones festive plans.
It's a positively balmy Christmas day here, the resort is decorated to the max and has non stop festive tunes pumping out in all public areas but it still feels like August to us.
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing we hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.
Lots of love Mr and Mrs McK xxx
Friday, 24 December 2010
Caves, Bats & Hair Styling
Morning All
We left you with the news that we were flying to Guning Mulu National Park. The flight was 30 minutes from Miri and as we flew inland huge banks of clouds started building over the forest. As we descended all we could see out the windows was a few tree clad hills peaking up through the clouds. It was a bit worrying entering the clouds, knowing that we were already below some of the nearby hills. Then our little prop plane started getting a right old bumping & shaking until the pilot suddenly gunned the engine and went up again. After a second similarly aborted attempt at landing he announced that the cloud was down to the ground and we would have to circle until there was a break in the cloud. Ten minutes later a break appeared, and like a dueling fighter pilot he dived through the gap and headed for the air strip. As soon as the wheels were down he put on maximum air brakes and foot brake before doing a handbrake turn at the end of the runway. No wonder he'd wanted to see the runway, Linford Christie could probably cover it in 20 seconds!
That first afternoon absolutely poured down so we lazed around a bit and made plans for the next couple of days. It's the rainy season here but that was the first time we've had really consistent rain rather than a heavy but short afternoon shower.
We spent the next couple of days doing short treks and river journeys through the national park. These included a forest trail to a small waterfall (alledgedly good for swimming below, but in reality the walk was better than the destination) and a tree top suspended canopy walk. We also visted 4 different caves, each pretty spectacular in their own right. Deer cave in particular was a sight worth seeing. The locals claim it's the largest known cave in the world and home to between 3 or 4 million bats. We walked through it in the late afternoon, and 3-4 million bats make an awful lot of guano with enough ammonia to clear the stuffiest of blocked noses. On leaving this cave we hung around just below the entrance in the hope of seeing one of natures phenomenal shows; the bat exodus. After 20 or 30 minutes a few small groups of bats exited the cave. We were just beginning to think that this wasn't all it was cracked up to be when the main body started leaving. For the next thirty minutes bats were pouring out of the cave and circling above before heading off for their nightly feast. Luckily for us they were not vampire bats and were only interested in insects. I have to admit though that it was pretty special and a we did feel quite privileged to witness this event.
We flew from Guning Mulu to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah yesterday (Wednesday). Although Sarawak and Sabah are part of Malaysia, they are semi autonomous and have their own immigration checks and passport stamping procedure. As such I'm claiming Sabah as the eigth country we've visited on this trip.
Tomorrow (Christmas Eve) we head to the five star Pacific Sutera Resort in Kota Kinabalu for a bit of Christmas luxury. We've booked in for three nights in order to make the most of the golf course, the spa, the gym, the Olympic swimming pool and the messing around pool with pool bar. In order to look presentable I decided today to get a haircut. Unfortunately all I could find was a 'salon' with a couple of nice Gok Wan type chaps. A bit over the top for a grade 1 buzz cut all over, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Now it normally takes me or Carol 5 minutes to complete the job but that was never on the cards in the Gok Salon. After 10 minutes of using the clippers . . . . and a comb!!!! I thought he was finished; but no!
I'll hand you over to Carol for her version . . . . .
The salon was in a massive hypermarket so I decided to have a browse while I was waiting for Tony to finish. I headed off and said I'd let him know if I left the level we were on. A few minutes later I popped by and said I was off to the other end of the mall but I'd see him back at the salon. A few more minutes later and I was back outside the salon and it looked like he was nearly finished because the guy was putting the clippers away, so i decided I'd wait outside. A couple more minutes passed and I turned around to see where he was and I couldn't believe my eyes - he was having his hair blow dried! At this point I'm now on my own in the middle of a huge mall absolutely bent double, crying with laughter! I compose myself and look around again and I can't see him anywhere, then see that he is out the back having his hair washed, this I thought was a nice touch to get rid of the stray hairs. The next time I glance over I see Tony walking back to the cutting chairs wearing a towel turban! This completely finishes me off, I can hardly breath and am now attracting the attention of onlookers. Tony spots me through the window and quicker than you could say towel turban it's gone and he is using the towel to dry his hair, trying to act like nothing happened.
Back to me. . . . . Having finished cutting my hair Gok picked up a hair dryer and said he'd use it to get rid of stray hairs. This was new to me but made a bit of sense so I thought ok, let's go along with this. He then removed the gown, but instead of going to the till he strolled to the back of the salon telling me to follow. Though slightly confused I followed him. He then indicated I sit in the chair by the hair washing basin. I told him I didn't need it washed but he explained it was also to get rid of any remaining stray hairs. Fair played I thought, you can't knock the guy for being thorough, although I did have to insist that he didn't shampoo also! He then wrapped my head in a towel and directed me to the front of the salon again. I was now caught between the embarrassment of everybody who walked past seeing me with my towel turban, and the hilarity of seeing Carol rocking with laughter. I asked him what the next step was, and when he said he needed to blow dry my hair before applying some products it was all I could do not to laugh in his face. I quickly removed the turban, handed him his money and joined Carol outside. For the next five minutes she could barely talk due to laughing so much. Even 10 hours later when she insisted on adding her version of events the tears were rolling down her cheeks again!
Our plans for after Christmas include climbing Mount Kinabalu before heading down to Sandakan and Sepilok on the east coast, but more on that next time.
That's all for now folks.
Lots of love
Mr & Mrs McK Xxx
We left you with the news that we were flying to Guning Mulu National Park. The flight was 30 minutes from Miri and as we flew inland huge banks of clouds started building over the forest. As we descended all we could see out the windows was a few tree clad hills peaking up through the clouds. It was a bit worrying entering the clouds, knowing that we were already below some of the nearby hills. Then our little prop plane started getting a right old bumping & shaking until the pilot suddenly gunned the engine and went up again. After a second similarly aborted attempt at landing he announced that the cloud was down to the ground and we would have to circle until there was a break in the cloud. Ten minutes later a break appeared, and like a dueling fighter pilot he dived through the gap and headed for the air strip. As soon as the wheels were down he put on maximum air brakes and foot brake before doing a handbrake turn at the end of the runway. No wonder he'd wanted to see the runway, Linford Christie could probably cover it in 20 seconds!
That first afternoon absolutely poured down so we lazed around a bit and made plans for the next couple of days. It's the rainy season here but that was the first time we've had really consistent rain rather than a heavy but short afternoon shower.
We spent the next couple of days doing short treks and river journeys through the national park. These included a forest trail to a small waterfall (alledgedly good for swimming below, but in reality the walk was better than the destination) and a tree top suspended canopy walk. We also visted 4 different caves, each pretty spectacular in their own right. Deer cave in particular was a sight worth seeing. The locals claim it's the largest known cave in the world and home to between 3 or 4 million bats. We walked through it in the late afternoon, and 3-4 million bats make an awful lot of guano with enough ammonia to clear the stuffiest of blocked noses. On leaving this cave we hung around just below the entrance in the hope of seeing one of natures phenomenal shows; the bat exodus. After 20 or 30 minutes a few small groups of bats exited the cave. We were just beginning to think that this wasn't all it was cracked up to be when the main body started leaving. For the next thirty minutes bats were pouring out of the cave and circling above before heading off for their nightly feast. Luckily for us they were not vampire bats and were only interested in insects. I have to admit though that it was pretty special and a we did feel quite privileged to witness this event.
We flew from Guning Mulu to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah yesterday (Wednesday). Although Sarawak and Sabah are part of Malaysia, they are semi autonomous and have their own immigration checks and passport stamping procedure. As such I'm claiming Sabah as the eigth country we've visited on this trip.
Tomorrow (Christmas Eve) we head to the five star Pacific Sutera Resort in Kota Kinabalu for a bit of Christmas luxury. We've booked in for three nights in order to make the most of the golf course, the spa, the gym, the Olympic swimming pool and the messing around pool with pool bar. In order to look presentable I decided today to get a haircut. Unfortunately all I could find was a 'salon' with a couple of nice Gok Wan type chaps. A bit over the top for a grade 1 buzz cut all over, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Now it normally takes me or Carol 5 minutes to complete the job but that was never on the cards in the Gok Salon. After 10 minutes of using the clippers . . . . and a comb!!!! I thought he was finished; but no!
I'll hand you over to Carol for her version . . . . .
The salon was in a massive hypermarket so I decided to have a browse while I was waiting for Tony to finish. I headed off and said I'd let him know if I left the level we were on. A few minutes later I popped by and said I was off to the other end of the mall but I'd see him back at the salon. A few more minutes later and I was back outside the salon and it looked like he was nearly finished because the guy was putting the clippers away, so i decided I'd wait outside. A couple more minutes passed and I turned around to see where he was and I couldn't believe my eyes - he was having his hair blow dried! At this point I'm now on my own in the middle of a huge mall absolutely bent double, crying with laughter! I compose myself and look around again and I can't see him anywhere, then see that he is out the back having his hair washed, this I thought was a nice touch to get rid of the stray hairs. The next time I glance over I see Tony walking back to the cutting chairs wearing a towel turban! This completely finishes me off, I can hardly breath and am now attracting the attention of onlookers. Tony spots me through the window and quicker than you could say towel turban it's gone and he is using the towel to dry his hair, trying to act like nothing happened.
Back to me. . . . . Having finished cutting my hair Gok picked up a hair dryer and said he'd use it to get rid of stray hairs. This was new to me but made a bit of sense so I thought ok, let's go along with this. He then removed the gown, but instead of going to the till he strolled to the back of the salon telling me to follow. Though slightly confused I followed him. He then indicated I sit in the chair by the hair washing basin. I told him I didn't need it washed but he explained it was also to get rid of any remaining stray hairs. Fair played I thought, you can't knock the guy for being thorough, although I did have to insist that he didn't shampoo also! He then wrapped my head in a towel and directed me to the front of the salon again. I was now caught between the embarrassment of everybody who walked past seeing me with my towel turban, and the hilarity of seeing Carol rocking with laughter. I asked him what the next step was, and when he said he needed to blow dry my hair before applying some products it was all I could do not to laugh in his face. I quickly removed the turban, handed him his money and joined Carol outside. For the next five minutes she could barely talk due to laughing so much. Even 10 hours later when she insisted on adding her version of events the tears were rolling down her cheeks again!
Our plans for after Christmas include climbing Mount Kinabalu before heading down to Sandakan and Sepilok on the east coast, but more on that next time.
That's all for now folks.
Lots of love
Mr & Mrs McK Xxx
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Longhouse Losers!
Hello again.
We've got a few days catching up to do but I'll try not to go on. Tuesday we set off in search of a traditional longhouse of the Iban people of Sarawak. On the way we popped in to Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre which is in another of Borneo's many national parks. Here they rehabilitate orphaned or caged orang-utans and then set them off to live in the semi-wild. They call it semi-wild as they still put food out for them in the season where the trees aren't in fruit so that the poor fellas don't starve. They have 27 apes at the moment and make no guarantees that you'll see any of them. We were lucky this time and saw four of them moving from tree to tree. One of them was a female that had an almost new-born baby clinging on to her like it's life depended on it. We were only there about 45 minutes but it was a real treat to see such amazing animals just getting about their business.
Onwards then to the longhouse. We had been picked up by Jo our guide who told us that nobody else was joining us on the trip so we had our own personal guide again. This has it's advantages and disadvantages as we were to discover that evening. We were driven halfway across Sarawak in a Proton that must've been at least 20 years old and the shocks and springs felt like they were the originals! On arrival at the longhouse we were introduced to the chief who was apparently either 95 or 97 years old. He had the traditional tattoos of the tribal folk including three that meant he had killed before, in times gone by these would've been enemies from other tribes that he would have beheaded but apparently they don't do that anymore and he had earned his fighting for the allies against the Japanese in WWII - reassuring!
After a quick look around we were shown to our quarters which was a cross between a barn and a cattle shed, although I must admit it didn't smell of poo! The long shed was separated into about 20 pods that were the size of a double "mattress" and not a cm bigger! That was it, no frills, in fact we both agreed that our treehouse was more luxurious! After about ten seconds I was thinking that I'm too old for this so goodness knows what Tony was thinking!
After dinner we walked back over to the longhouse to see all the locals and have a chance to stroll around looking at how they live their lives. The longhouse is a huge wooden building kind of like a terrace of houses that are all linked at have a verandah that is open and where most of their daily routines are carried out. When we got there everything got a bit awkward. First of all the ancient chief did a welcome dance in full tribal dress, then a young girl of about 20 did another and finally a young man did another. Well I say finally, that was in fact wishful thinking as next up was yes, you've guessed it - us! Luckily for us the dance was more of a shuffle with some twisty hand movements. Anyone that watched An Idiot Abroad on Sky1 will know exactly the sort of thing! All five of us shuffled our way around the dance mat to the great amusement of everybody.
Next thing you know everybody produces bags of souvenirs that they lay out as quick as a flash and we are sent on a circuit to have a look and see if we want to buy anything - awkward! We spend the whole evening wishing we were a group of 20 after all. After buying the odd bit of tat that we didn't want the locals packed up sharpish and all disappeared off to their own houses, the only ones left were some guys that were slightly worse for wear after an evening on home made whisky that wanted us to join them. We had two shots in the hope that they would help us get through the night.
Now I don't know if we've mentioned this but it's pretty warm here, 30*+ everyday with approximately 99.9% humidity (I estimate) and a shed with absolutely no air isn't the best place to spend the night, that's not to mention the twenty or so cockerels that all want you to know it's morning from about 3am which was about ten minutes after it cooled down enough to sleep!
A lesson in blowpipes used for hunting was a laugh the following morning. We were aiming at a dartboard they'd hung on the wall and were both surprisingly reasonable at it. Tony thinks he won as he scored a nine which is one off of the bull but his 2nd dart was a 4 which meant my 6 and 7 were good enough to call it a draw. I only just persuaded Him that UK customs really wouldn't appreciate a blowpipe in our luggage no matter how much he told them it was just for fun, luckily we were told how they make them and it only takes a year by hand!
We are currently in Miri, close to the Brunei border and are staying in the Imperial Hotel with some deserved luxury. Today we did a day trip to Brunei to see how the Sultan is getting on and it turns out he's doing pretty well for himself, gold plated palaces and mosques are a pretty good sign I'd say! The mosque in particular was worth the trip and made a nice change from temple after temple throughout the rest of SE Asia.
Tomorrow we are flying to Gunung Mulu National Park which is famous for it's caves and trekking opportunities. More sweating for us then!
Love to everybody.
Xxx
We've got a few days catching up to do but I'll try not to go on. Tuesday we set off in search of a traditional longhouse of the Iban people of Sarawak. On the way we popped in to Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre which is in another of Borneo's many national parks. Here they rehabilitate orphaned or caged orang-utans and then set them off to live in the semi-wild. They call it semi-wild as they still put food out for them in the season where the trees aren't in fruit so that the poor fellas don't starve. They have 27 apes at the moment and make no guarantees that you'll see any of them. We were lucky this time and saw four of them moving from tree to tree. One of them was a female that had an almost new-born baby clinging on to her like it's life depended on it. We were only there about 45 minutes but it was a real treat to see such amazing animals just getting about their business.
Onwards then to the longhouse. We had been picked up by Jo our guide who told us that nobody else was joining us on the trip so we had our own personal guide again. This has it's advantages and disadvantages as we were to discover that evening. We were driven halfway across Sarawak in a Proton that must've been at least 20 years old and the shocks and springs felt like they were the originals! On arrival at the longhouse we were introduced to the chief who was apparently either 95 or 97 years old. He had the traditional tattoos of the tribal folk including three that meant he had killed before, in times gone by these would've been enemies from other tribes that he would have beheaded but apparently they don't do that anymore and he had earned his fighting for the allies against the Japanese in WWII - reassuring!
After a quick look around we were shown to our quarters which was a cross between a barn and a cattle shed, although I must admit it didn't smell of poo! The long shed was separated into about 20 pods that were the size of a double "mattress" and not a cm bigger! That was it, no frills, in fact we both agreed that our treehouse was more luxurious! After about ten seconds I was thinking that I'm too old for this so goodness knows what Tony was thinking!
After dinner we walked back over to the longhouse to see all the locals and have a chance to stroll around looking at how they live their lives. The longhouse is a huge wooden building kind of like a terrace of houses that are all linked at have a verandah that is open and where most of their daily routines are carried out. When we got there everything got a bit awkward. First of all the ancient chief did a welcome dance in full tribal dress, then a young girl of about 20 did another and finally a young man did another. Well I say finally, that was in fact wishful thinking as next up was yes, you've guessed it - us! Luckily for us the dance was more of a shuffle with some twisty hand movements. Anyone that watched An Idiot Abroad on Sky1 will know exactly the sort of thing! All five of us shuffled our way around the dance mat to the great amusement of everybody.
Next thing you know everybody produces bags of souvenirs that they lay out as quick as a flash and we are sent on a circuit to have a look and see if we want to buy anything - awkward! We spend the whole evening wishing we were a group of 20 after all. After buying the odd bit of tat that we didn't want the locals packed up sharpish and all disappeared off to their own houses, the only ones left were some guys that were slightly worse for wear after an evening on home made whisky that wanted us to join them. We had two shots in the hope that they would help us get through the night.
Now I don't know if we've mentioned this but it's pretty warm here, 30*+ everyday with approximately 99.9% humidity (I estimate) and a shed with absolutely no air isn't the best place to spend the night, that's not to mention the twenty or so cockerels that all want you to know it's morning from about 3am which was about ten minutes after it cooled down enough to sleep!
A lesson in blowpipes used for hunting was a laugh the following morning. We were aiming at a dartboard they'd hung on the wall and were both surprisingly reasonable at it. Tony thinks he won as he scored a nine which is one off of the bull but his 2nd dart was a 4 which meant my 6 and 7 were good enough to call it a draw. I only just persuaded Him that UK customs really wouldn't appreciate a blowpipe in our luggage no matter how much he told them it was just for fun, luckily we were told how they make them and it only takes a year by hand!
We are currently in Miri, close to the Brunei border and are staying in the Imperial Hotel with some deserved luxury. Today we did a day trip to Brunei to see how the Sultan is getting on and it turns out he's doing pretty well for himself, gold plated palaces and mosques are a pretty good sign I'd say! The mosque in particular was worth the trip and made a nice change from temple after temple throughout the rest of SE Asia.
Tomorrow we are flying to Gunung Mulu National Park which is famous for it's caves and trekking opportunities. More sweating for us then!
Love to everybody.
Xxx
Monday, 13 December 2010
Monkey Business
Morning All,
Hats off to Air Asia, the local equivalent of Easy Jet. Three flights in one day, no significant delays and we arrived in Kuching, Borneo as planned on Friday evening.
On Saturday we did a little stroll around the town. It's actually the capital city of Sarawak but feels more like a town than a city. Sunday saw us head up to the Bako national park north of Kuching, and what a wonderful day it was. A short drive followed by a 20 minute boat ride took us to the start point of a number of marked trails. We'd already decided which trail we wanted to do, the one which claimed to have monkeys along it! The Gibbons in Laos had been heard but not seen so we thought we'd try again here. . . . And we didn't have long to wait before seeing some of the local primates. As we headed across the beach we immediately saw 3 or 4 Probiscus monkeys sitting in the mangrove trees munching on leaves. They could only have been about 25 metres away, and while certainly aware of our presence they were quite happy to carry on snacking. Minutes later we were accompanied by a little troop of Silver Leaf monkeys scampering across the beach. This all before we'd even got to the start of the trail. As we moved along they trail we saw quite a few families of Probiscus monkeys. Again they were not shy in our presence, moving along branches and leaping through the trees above us. It was so lovely to see them in their natural environment, you could almost imagine David Attenborough whispering a commentary beside us.
There are numerous signs and instructions about not feeding any wildlife so as to avoid the animals becoming dependant on humans. Unfortunately the Long Tailed Macaques have not read these. We stopped for lunch at the Park Ranger HQ. We were advised to avoid the tables on the edge of the decking as the Macaques are known to steal food from tables. Sitting slap bang in the middle next to four Aussie women we thought we were pretty safe. We finished our meal with no problems, as did the Aussies. . . almost! They had a few cans of Pepsi plus one muffin on their table when the Macaques stated putting in an appearance in a tree to the right of the decking. While we were all keeping an eye on these fellows another sneaky devil came strolling along the balustrade at the front of the deck. As we turned to look at him he suddenly charged across three tables, through the middle of the Aussies, knocking plates, cutlery and cans of drink in all directions, before scarpering up the nearest tree. After the initial shock had worn off they realised they were now minus one muffin! What a brazen cheek eh?
Other flora and fauna seen during the day included: a beautiful green Pit Viper, a pretty venomous snake but generally shy unless provoked, ebony trees and the carnivorous pitcher plants. We also saw a couple of wild boar, and a pond full of tiddly little cleaner fish. We'd paid US$3 for a 30 minute foot spa from these fellows in Cambodia and now we got a free natural treatment.
Tomorrow we are heading up river on a two day trip to visit the Iban tribal people.
Lots of love
Mr & Mrs McK xxx
Hats off to Air Asia, the local equivalent of Easy Jet. Three flights in one day, no significant delays and we arrived in Kuching, Borneo as planned on Friday evening.
On Saturday we did a little stroll around the town. It's actually the capital city of Sarawak but feels more like a town than a city. Sunday saw us head up to the Bako national park north of Kuching, and what a wonderful day it was. A short drive followed by a 20 minute boat ride took us to the start point of a number of marked trails. We'd already decided which trail we wanted to do, the one which claimed to have monkeys along it! The Gibbons in Laos had been heard but not seen so we thought we'd try again here. . . . And we didn't have long to wait before seeing some of the local primates. As we headed across the beach we immediately saw 3 or 4 Probiscus monkeys sitting in the mangrove trees munching on leaves. They could only have been about 25 metres away, and while certainly aware of our presence they were quite happy to carry on snacking. Minutes later we were accompanied by a little troop of Silver Leaf monkeys scampering across the beach. This all before we'd even got to the start of the trail. As we moved along they trail we saw quite a few families of Probiscus monkeys. Again they were not shy in our presence, moving along branches and leaping through the trees above us. It was so lovely to see them in their natural environment, you could almost imagine David Attenborough whispering a commentary beside us.
There are numerous signs and instructions about not feeding any wildlife so as to avoid the animals becoming dependant on humans. Unfortunately the Long Tailed Macaques have not read these. We stopped for lunch at the Park Ranger HQ. We were advised to avoid the tables on the edge of the decking as the Macaques are known to steal food from tables. Sitting slap bang in the middle next to four Aussie women we thought we were pretty safe. We finished our meal with no problems, as did the Aussies. . . almost! They had a few cans of Pepsi plus one muffin on their table when the Macaques stated putting in an appearance in a tree to the right of the decking. While we were all keeping an eye on these fellows another sneaky devil came strolling along the balustrade at the front of the deck. As we turned to look at him he suddenly charged across three tables, through the middle of the Aussies, knocking plates, cutlery and cans of drink in all directions, before scarpering up the nearest tree. After the initial shock had worn off they realised they were now minus one muffin! What a brazen cheek eh?
Other flora and fauna seen during the day included: a beautiful green Pit Viper, a pretty venomous snake but generally shy unless provoked, ebony trees and the carnivorous pitcher plants. We also saw a couple of wild boar, and a pond full of tiddly little cleaner fish. We'd paid US$3 for a 30 minute foot spa from these fellows in Cambodia and now we got a free natural treatment.
Tomorrow we are heading up river on a two day trip to visit the Iban tribal people.
Lots of love
Mr & Mrs McK xxx
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Where are those Gibbons?
Morning All
So, new flip flops eh? Not such a bargain after all. And I may even be back to the smelly Tevas for travelling yet! Two days of use and the padded soles have fallen off! The upside is they only weigh a gram now so I don't need to grip them with my toes to keep them on. This has resulted in a proper walk again and Carol can remove her ear plugs as my flipping and flopping is just a whisper now. The downside is that I've only got 1mm of leather between my feet and the road, so not too comfortable for any walk over 400 metres. It turns out you can't get a genuine bargain pair of leather Nike flip flops for under a fiver after all.
Our slow cruise up the Mekong took us from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai. We'd splashed out on the luxury boat which certainly meant no worries about overcrowding as we were two of only seven customers, matched by seven staff. This on a boat that can sometimes have up to forty people squeezed on board. Day 1 was a 10 hour cruise, arriving at a luxury 5 star resort near Pak Beng around 5pm. We had a gorgeous hillside wooden cottage with thatched roof offering stunning views up & down the river. First things first though, Carol insisted on the sitting tenant being evicted. Now I'm not normally squeamish about picking up spiders, but let me tell you, this fellow was big; and possessed a huge pair of fangs too. If you sat him on your hand he'd fill your palm and have his legs dangling over the sides! After a few minutes of chasing and moving furniture we finally cornered him, scooped him up and lobbed him out the window. We hoped he wasn't baby spider and that mummy spider wasn't somewhere else in the room watching events.
It would have been lovely to have spent the following day there, but it would have been very expensive, and we had an appointment with some gibbons. Day 2 cruising took us through lovely hills and mountain scenery, and a couple of stops for visits to the minority hill tribes. The Hmong village was particularly nice. The young children trying to sell us stuff really made us smile. They were not aggressive, spoke no English at all, but flocked around in the usual way offering embroidered bracelets for 5000 Laos Kip (about 40p). As our smallest denomination was 20,000 Kip, and there was no way the kids would have change, I handed over the 20,000 note and suggested we buy 4 items. Somehow, I don't know how for such an intelligent person, Carol lost count and picked up 5 items and the kids reacted as one. You'd have thought they'd just been told we were into devil worship and needed a small child to sacrifice. As one they all backed away, smiles replaced by looks of worry, and all gently 'oohing' and shaking their heads. We had no more small change so couldn't just offer the difference. Giving back one item wasn't cutting it either as none of them wanted to take back an item. In the end we had to get our guide to explain to the kids that it was just an accident.
Even with the above incident we ended up as heroes in this village. As we headed back down the hill to the river, an elderly lady of maybe 75-80 accompanied us. She was discussing something with a guide from our boat and talking to us in sign language. The gist of it was she could no longer see close up to do her embroidery. Back at the boat I offered her my reading glasses and she was delighted with them. She stood at the bank giving us the double handed, prayer like thank you until we were out of sight. If I'd done this earlier Carol may have even got her 5 little souvenirs without causing a diplomatic incident.
We arrived in Huay Xai around 4.30pm and checked in with the Gibbon Experience office as requested. Luckily they were still expecting us. The following morning (Monday) we had a safety brief before setting off on a three hour drive into the Bokeo province forest reserve. I can tell you from first hand experience that 4x4's may be great for off roading, but only when your sitting in them. If your on a bench seat in the back of a pick up, they are not so much fun. Luckily for the ladies in our group us four chaps were all gents and offered to sit in the back, giving up the comfortable seats for the girls benefit. There then followed a one hour up hill hike even further into the forest. Arriving at a little camp, we were split up between the various tree houses.
There are 5 tree houses in total, sleeping anything between 2 and 8 people. As we are on honeymoon they very kindly gave us a two person tree house which was also the closest which got no objections from us as we were both pretty sweaty from the walk. So, how to get in to a tree house fifty or sixty metres from the ground? Fitted with a harness you walk up through the tree clad hill behind the tree until you are above the height of the tree house. There you find (with the help of your guide) a zip line. Once hooked on to this you slide (or zip) down to a platform at the front of the house. Simple really. And it's the same for leaving but obviously on a different zip line. We were so lucky with our position. Literally below our tree was one of the longest zip lines in the forest at just under 400 metres. This led to a second line of approx 250 metres. Two further lines of similar length completed the circuit back to our tree with only a couple of minutes walking. Two of these lines were truly breathtaking as you glide 150 metres above the forest canopy zipping from one side of the valley to the other.
The gibbons are only active in the early mornings so we spent most of that first afternoon practicing the zip lines and getting to know the other guests. The nearest tree house to us was a 20 minutes walk away and had 8 people in it. Apart from a very short zip line into their tree house the nearest proper lines were the ones next to us hence they were over visiting us.
The tree house itself is fairly rustic to say the least. There is a large wooden floor, open sides all round, and a roof for protection from the elements. Even the shower & loo were alfresco so to speak. While this allows for wonderful views, it also meant we were open to the animals & insects, especially at night. It's dark by 6.30pm at the latest so the only thing to do is play cards by solar lights until you're so inundated by bugs you decide it's time to turn in. Instead of the normal mosquito net we had a 360* curtain. When you're lying behind a curtain and can hear things ferreting around below your tree (maybe a bear or lynx, or just a squirrel or rat) it certainly makes you realise your out in the sticks. Then just when you're nodding off something starts rustling around just the other side of the curtain. Who knows, another squirrel, a mouse, or more likely an owl, but whatever it was, it stole our bar of hand soap the cheeky devil!
The following two mornings saw us up at the crack of dawn trying to spot the gibbons. We heard them chattering away on both days but unfortunately for us we never got close enough to see them. Our next door neighbours (20 mins through the forest) were really lucky and actually spotted them from their tree house. Although they were about half a mile away they had a powerful telescope and were able to view the gibbons feeding and playing in the trees for the best part of an hour. Lucky them.
Tuesday saw us also take a guided stroll through the forest which involved visiting all the other tree houses, doing plenty of zipping, and getting loads of info about the forest from our local guide. We were fairly tired to say the least when we finally got back to our tree house around 3pm having been up at 6am after a slightly restless sleep.
On Wednesday, having risen at 6am for the gibbon patrol, we regetfully started our hike out of the forest at 11am. What a fantastic couple of days and a truly unique experience. Even though those pesky gibbons wouldn't come out to play with us, the whole trip was worth every penny and a real highlight of our trip.
The rest of the day ended up a long day travelling which involved crossing back into Thailand, just across the river from Huay Xai, and then continuing on to Chang Rai, arriving at 6.30pm.
We fly from Chang Rai to Borneo, via Bangkok and Kuala Lumpar on Friday so thought it would be nice to have a day to get organised. So much for those plans. Whilst going for a little stroll we find a shop with washing machines and tumble dryers only 200 metres from our hotel. The owner speaks very little English but we understand we can get all our laundry done for the same price (£1.30) as our hotel want to charge for one shirt or a pair of shorts. Like my Nike sandals it may sound too good to be true, but we still go for it. Soooooooooo, it turns out £1.30 does do all the washing, but despite the signs indicating tumble dryers, none of the machines actually tumble dry. So the rest of the afternoon and evening has been spent moving clothes around our hotel room from bath towel rail to curtain rail, from chair back to door frame in an attempt to get it all dry under the fans before packing for tomorrows early morning flight. The things we do to save a few pounds eh? Ridiculous I hear you all say. (not as ridiculous as spending 33 quid on washing . . .from Carol x)
Looking back on our short time in Laos, we realise we only stopped in four different places; but we have to admit to absolutely loving both the country and the people. The scenery is just stunning, mainly forests, mountains or rivers, and the people are similar to the Khmers and much quieter and relaxed than the Viets with none of the hard sell or bartering.
To quote Carol on a previous blog, tomorrow is a new adventure. Onward to Borneo.
Love to all
Mr & Mrs McK xxx
Ps. Apologies about the extended blog entry but this has been the first chance to update after a brilliant week.
Note from Carol. . . . Tony has really understated the treehouse, it was freaking us both out! After two nights I got up at 6am on Wednesday and the first thing that sprang to mind was how uterlly exhausted I was! The first night they had told us it was really cold at night so being one to feel the cold I wrapped up in longs (tucked into my socks to keep the nasties out!) and a t shirt with a long sleeve top close by if required. At midnight I woke up for the hundredth time and decided the cold snap wasn't to be - my hair was absolutely soaked with sweat! Now that I was awake I needed a wee which was possibly the worst wee of my life! The bugs congregate around the loo (which was a squatter) so I had to shoo them away before a world record quick squat! Needless to say I deliberately dehydrated myself the next day so a repeat of the nightmare was avoided! Something was flying around our tent type thing that was massive - we didn't see it but anything making that much noise must have been huge, it was like a helicopter! In fairness to the company though, nothing got through our curtains to try and eat us and I would go through it all again tomorrow.
So, new flip flops eh? Not such a bargain after all. And I may even be back to the smelly Tevas for travelling yet! Two days of use and the padded soles have fallen off! The upside is they only weigh a gram now so I don't need to grip them with my toes to keep them on. This has resulted in a proper walk again and Carol can remove her ear plugs as my flipping and flopping is just a whisper now. The downside is that I've only got 1mm of leather between my feet and the road, so not too comfortable for any walk over 400 metres. It turns out you can't get a genuine bargain pair of leather Nike flip flops for under a fiver after all.
Our slow cruise up the Mekong took us from Luang Prabang to Huay Xai. We'd splashed out on the luxury boat which certainly meant no worries about overcrowding as we were two of only seven customers, matched by seven staff. This on a boat that can sometimes have up to forty people squeezed on board. Day 1 was a 10 hour cruise, arriving at a luxury 5 star resort near Pak Beng around 5pm. We had a gorgeous hillside wooden cottage with thatched roof offering stunning views up & down the river. First things first though, Carol insisted on the sitting tenant being evicted. Now I'm not normally squeamish about picking up spiders, but let me tell you, this fellow was big; and possessed a huge pair of fangs too. If you sat him on your hand he'd fill your palm and have his legs dangling over the sides! After a few minutes of chasing and moving furniture we finally cornered him, scooped him up and lobbed him out the window. We hoped he wasn't baby spider and that mummy spider wasn't somewhere else in the room watching events.
It would have been lovely to have spent the following day there, but it would have been very expensive, and we had an appointment with some gibbons. Day 2 cruising took us through lovely hills and mountain scenery, and a couple of stops for visits to the minority hill tribes. The Hmong village was particularly nice. The young children trying to sell us stuff really made us smile. They were not aggressive, spoke no English at all, but flocked around in the usual way offering embroidered bracelets for 5000 Laos Kip (about 40p). As our smallest denomination was 20,000 Kip, and there was no way the kids would have change, I handed over the 20,000 note and suggested we buy 4 items. Somehow, I don't know how for such an intelligent person, Carol lost count and picked up 5 items and the kids reacted as one. You'd have thought they'd just been told we were into devil worship and needed a small child to sacrifice. As one they all backed away, smiles replaced by looks of worry, and all gently 'oohing' and shaking their heads. We had no more small change so couldn't just offer the difference. Giving back one item wasn't cutting it either as none of them wanted to take back an item. In the end we had to get our guide to explain to the kids that it was just an accident.
Even with the above incident we ended up as heroes in this village. As we headed back down the hill to the river, an elderly lady of maybe 75-80 accompanied us. She was discussing something with a guide from our boat and talking to us in sign language. The gist of it was she could no longer see close up to do her embroidery. Back at the boat I offered her my reading glasses and she was delighted with them. She stood at the bank giving us the double handed, prayer like thank you until we were out of sight. If I'd done this earlier Carol may have even got her 5 little souvenirs without causing a diplomatic incident.
We arrived in Huay Xai around 4.30pm and checked in with the Gibbon Experience office as requested. Luckily they were still expecting us. The following morning (Monday) we had a safety brief before setting off on a three hour drive into the Bokeo province forest reserve. I can tell you from first hand experience that 4x4's may be great for off roading, but only when your sitting in them. If your on a bench seat in the back of a pick up, they are not so much fun. Luckily for the ladies in our group us four chaps were all gents and offered to sit in the back, giving up the comfortable seats for the girls benefit. There then followed a one hour up hill hike even further into the forest. Arriving at a little camp, we were split up between the various tree houses.
There are 5 tree houses in total, sleeping anything between 2 and 8 people. As we are on honeymoon they very kindly gave us a two person tree house which was also the closest which got no objections from us as we were both pretty sweaty from the walk. So, how to get in to a tree house fifty or sixty metres from the ground? Fitted with a harness you walk up through the tree clad hill behind the tree until you are above the height of the tree house. There you find (with the help of your guide) a zip line. Once hooked on to this you slide (or zip) down to a platform at the front of the house. Simple really. And it's the same for leaving but obviously on a different zip line. We were so lucky with our position. Literally below our tree was one of the longest zip lines in the forest at just under 400 metres. This led to a second line of approx 250 metres. Two further lines of similar length completed the circuit back to our tree with only a couple of minutes walking. Two of these lines were truly breathtaking as you glide 150 metres above the forest canopy zipping from one side of the valley to the other.
The gibbons are only active in the early mornings so we spent most of that first afternoon practicing the zip lines and getting to know the other guests. The nearest tree house to us was a 20 minutes walk away and had 8 people in it. Apart from a very short zip line into their tree house the nearest proper lines were the ones next to us hence they were over visiting us.
The tree house itself is fairly rustic to say the least. There is a large wooden floor, open sides all round, and a roof for protection from the elements. Even the shower & loo were alfresco so to speak. While this allows for wonderful views, it also meant we were open to the animals & insects, especially at night. It's dark by 6.30pm at the latest so the only thing to do is play cards by solar lights until you're so inundated by bugs you decide it's time to turn in. Instead of the normal mosquito net we had a 360* curtain. When you're lying behind a curtain and can hear things ferreting around below your tree (maybe a bear or lynx, or just a squirrel or rat) it certainly makes you realise your out in the sticks. Then just when you're nodding off something starts rustling around just the other side of the curtain. Who knows, another squirrel, a mouse, or more likely an owl, but whatever it was, it stole our bar of hand soap the cheeky devil!
The following two mornings saw us up at the crack of dawn trying to spot the gibbons. We heard them chattering away on both days but unfortunately for us we never got close enough to see them. Our next door neighbours (20 mins through the forest) were really lucky and actually spotted them from their tree house. Although they were about half a mile away they had a powerful telescope and were able to view the gibbons feeding and playing in the trees for the best part of an hour. Lucky them.
Tuesday saw us also take a guided stroll through the forest which involved visiting all the other tree houses, doing plenty of zipping, and getting loads of info about the forest from our local guide. We were fairly tired to say the least when we finally got back to our tree house around 3pm having been up at 6am after a slightly restless sleep.
On Wednesday, having risen at 6am for the gibbon patrol, we regetfully started our hike out of the forest at 11am. What a fantastic couple of days and a truly unique experience. Even though those pesky gibbons wouldn't come out to play with us, the whole trip was worth every penny and a real highlight of our trip.
The rest of the day ended up a long day travelling which involved crossing back into Thailand, just across the river from Huay Xai, and then continuing on to Chang Rai, arriving at 6.30pm.
We fly from Chang Rai to Borneo, via Bangkok and Kuala Lumpar on Friday so thought it would be nice to have a day to get organised. So much for those plans. Whilst going for a little stroll we find a shop with washing machines and tumble dryers only 200 metres from our hotel. The owner speaks very little English but we understand we can get all our laundry done for the same price (£1.30) as our hotel want to charge for one shirt or a pair of shorts. Like my Nike sandals it may sound too good to be true, but we still go for it. Soooooooooo, it turns out £1.30 does do all the washing, but despite the signs indicating tumble dryers, none of the machines actually tumble dry. So the rest of the afternoon and evening has been spent moving clothes around our hotel room from bath towel rail to curtain rail, from chair back to door frame in an attempt to get it all dry under the fans before packing for tomorrows early morning flight. The things we do to save a few pounds eh? Ridiculous I hear you all say. (not as ridiculous as spending 33 quid on washing . . .from Carol x)
Looking back on our short time in Laos, we realise we only stopped in four different places; but we have to admit to absolutely loving both the country and the people. The scenery is just stunning, mainly forests, mountains or rivers, and the people are similar to the Khmers and much quieter and relaxed than the Viets with none of the hard sell or bartering.
To quote Carol on a previous blog, tomorrow is a new adventure. Onward to Borneo.
Love to all
Mr & Mrs McK xxx
Ps. Apologies about the extended blog entry but this has been the first chance to update after a brilliant week.
Note from Carol. . . . Tony has really understated the treehouse, it was freaking us both out! After two nights I got up at 6am on Wednesday and the first thing that sprang to mind was how uterlly exhausted I was! The first night they had told us it was really cold at night so being one to feel the cold I wrapped up in longs (tucked into my socks to keep the nasties out!) and a t shirt with a long sleeve top close by if required. At midnight I woke up for the hundredth time and decided the cold snap wasn't to be - my hair was absolutely soaked with sweat! Now that I was awake I needed a wee which was possibly the worst wee of my life! The bugs congregate around the loo (which was a squatter) so I had to shoo them away before a world record quick squat! Needless to say I deliberately dehydrated myself the next day so a repeat of the nightmare was avoided! Something was flying around our tent type thing that was massive - we didn't see it but anything making that much noise must have been huge, it was like a helicopter! In fairness to the company though, nothing got through our curtains to try and eat us and I would go through it all again tomorrow.
Friday, 3 December 2010
Half Way Already
Hello again.
This week has flown by and Tuesday marked the half way point of our journey. It's hard to believe time has gone so quickly but it's also great to know that we have the same amount of time we've already had to have new adventures and experiences. Here's a quick summary of our week.
We arrived in Luang Prabang on Monday evening after a surprisingly civilised journey from Si Phan Don. We spent Tuesday strolling around town looking at a temple or two and planning how to spend the rest of our time. We also had to try to find an opticians as I realised while we were in Si Phan Don that I hadn't seen my contact lenses for a while, we have the same prescription and I've been wearing Tonys since about the second day because his were more accessible. An empty rucksack later we found zero contact lenses. We asked around and after a few vague and confused expressions a waiter told us that we might find some in Vientiane (the capital city we hadn't planned on visiting). We couldn't believe our luck when the only opticians in town actually had our prescription in stock, this was then dampened by the fact they only had two boxes so we have enough for every other day at the moment until we get to another town. This wouldn't be so bad if Tonys reactaliight glasses worked properly and my prescription sunglasses had the correct prescription in them!
Wednesday was a brilliant day. We were up early and met up with a guide that spent the day with us. We started off on mountain bikes on the dirt roads outside of Luang Prabang, reaching an elephant training camp for rescued elephants where we had a ride through the jungle for an hour and a half. We then paddled down the slowest running river the world has ever known for about two or three hours. It was so slow that if you stopped paddling you just stopped altogether, no lazing around for us then! Then it was back on the mountain bikes to head back to town. We can definitely say that we earned our massage that night and we both think the Laos version is the best yet.
During our trip Tonys Teva sandals have become increasingly smelly and he has tried washing them but they still smell like wet dog, on flights or bus journeys he is akin to taking them off but this has become out of the question due to the stench. Yesterday he bought a pair of flip flops to wear whilst travelling. This has resulted in three things a) a ridiculous walk b) his toes ache from gripping the things on and c) the new world record on the most noise a person can make with each flip or flop! I've never heard anything like it! He as been better today but still needs practice.
Today we've spent the afternoon at Kuang Si waterfall. It's a series of waterfalls and natural swimming pools in perfectly turquoise waters about 30-40km from Luang Prabang. They really were something special but you'll have to take our word for it because we forgot to take the camera.
Tomorrow we head to Huay Xai, our last and most eagerly awaited stop in Laos. Huay Xai is a two day boat journey away and we have splashed out a bit for the trip. We have booked a luxury boat that stops half way at it's own five star resort for a nights accommodation and everything is included. We managed to get it half price as a last minute deal and it's still a bit pricey so we don't expect to see many other backpacks on board!
Huay Xai is where we are booked on to the Gibbons Experience. From Monday to Wednesday we will be living in the jungle tree top shacks with very few facilities so an ounce of luxury before we head off should be absolutely lovely. We may need another dose once we return!
We have both loved it here in Luang Prabang, we had certainly underestimated the level of development in Laos, anyone could be mistaken in thinking they were in an alpine town during summer months here. It seems they have overtaken the Cambodians and the Vietnamese in certain respects, particularly when in comes to the toilets - not a squatter in sight!
Love to everyone
Xxx
This week has flown by and Tuesday marked the half way point of our journey. It's hard to believe time has gone so quickly but it's also great to know that we have the same amount of time we've already had to have new adventures and experiences. Here's a quick summary of our week.
We arrived in Luang Prabang on Monday evening after a surprisingly civilised journey from Si Phan Don. We spent Tuesday strolling around town looking at a temple or two and planning how to spend the rest of our time. We also had to try to find an opticians as I realised while we were in Si Phan Don that I hadn't seen my contact lenses for a while, we have the same prescription and I've been wearing Tonys since about the second day because his were more accessible. An empty rucksack later we found zero contact lenses. We asked around and after a few vague and confused expressions a waiter told us that we might find some in Vientiane (the capital city we hadn't planned on visiting). We couldn't believe our luck when the only opticians in town actually had our prescription in stock, this was then dampened by the fact they only had two boxes so we have enough for every other day at the moment until we get to another town. This wouldn't be so bad if Tonys reactaliight glasses worked properly and my prescription sunglasses had the correct prescription in them!
Wednesday was a brilliant day. We were up early and met up with a guide that spent the day with us. We started off on mountain bikes on the dirt roads outside of Luang Prabang, reaching an elephant training camp for rescued elephants where we had a ride through the jungle for an hour and a half. We then paddled down the slowest running river the world has ever known for about two or three hours. It was so slow that if you stopped paddling you just stopped altogether, no lazing around for us then! Then it was back on the mountain bikes to head back to town. We can definitely say that we earned our massage that night and we both think the Laos version is the best yet.
During our trip Tonys Teva sandals have become increasingly smelly and he has tried washing them but they still smell like wet dog, on flights or bus journeys he is akin to taking them off but this has become out of the question due to the stench. Yesterday he bought a pair of flip flops to wear whilst travelling. This has resulted in three things a) a ridiculous walk b) his toes ache from gripping the things on and c) the new world record on the most noise a person can make with each flip or flop! I've never heard anything like it! He as been better today but still needs practice.
Today we've spent the afternoon at Kuang Si waterfall. It's a series of waterfalls and natural swimming pools in perfectly turquoise waters about 30-40km from Luang Prabang. They really were something special but you'll have to take our word for it because we forgot to take the camera.
Tomorrow we head to Huay Xai, our last and most eagerly awaited stop in Laos. Huay Xai is a two day boat journey away and we have splashed out a bit for the trip. We have booked a luxury boat that stops half way at it's own five star resort for a nights accommodation and everything is included. We managed to get it half price as a last minute deal and it's still a bit pricey so we don't expect to see many other backpacks on board!
Huay Xai is where we are booked on to the Gibbons Experience. From Monday to Wednesday we will be living in the jungle tree top shacks with very few facilities so an ounce of luxury before we head off should be absolutely lovely. We may need another dose once we return!
We have both loved it here in Luang Prabang, we had certainly underestimated the level of development in Laos, anyone could be mistaken in thinking they were in an alpine town during summer months here. It seems they have overtaken the Cambodians and the Vietnamese in certain respects, particularly when in comes to the toilets - not a squatter in sight!
Love to everyone
Xxx
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