Bangkok

Sadly Bangkok was already the place where Victoria had to fly back from. We had a wonderful trip around Southeast Asia. But all beautiful things come to an end at some point in time. The next day my brother Freddy arrived from Switzerland. He'll join me for the next 3 months to travel extensively to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and China. It was nice to meet him in Bangkok City, the first time since 15 months I met anybody whom I have known before the trip. We spent the days with sightseeing, eating and drinking. China town, boats on the river, the MRT, Lumpini Park, Pagodas, Khao San and shopping malls. We were able to catch on the latest news from each other. Cool stuff.

After 2 nights in Bangkok we took a wonderful 15 hours night train to Chang Mai. The train was pretty good and reminded me uf Eastern Europen trains.

Chong Mek

Is the closest place mentionable to the Khao Yai National park, which was really cool though expensive. There is no transportation in the park, so we had to hitch hike about 5 times that day. But people were helpful and stopped fairly quickly. We took some nice walks through the sloppy marked paths. We were a bit worried because everybody had gear against snakes and leeches. But even the best gear wouldn't have helped against the Asian tigers who also live there. We saw some deers but mostly just a beautiful rain forest.
In Chong Mek we had another fondue which proofed to be a bit strange. Meat was pink even after cooking. But still a nice base to explore the nearby park.

Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon was just a stop over because the ride from Tadlo to Thailand took so loooong. We looked for a nice hotel with a view of the park and ate at the market. Nothing special..... yeah, really just a stop over.



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Tadlo

We reached Tadlo really late and had to change a 50 USD bill to local currency what was not to easy. Tadlo is a remote village in a remote area in a remote country. People are still living in their traditional shacks and bath in the river. Waterfalls are close to the village and offer some sanity to battle the hot weather.
85 percent of the countrys land is not being used . This is partly because of a bad economy and relatively small population but most likely because of unexploded US bombs, that remain from the Vietnam war. The Viet Cong needed a safe heaven, because of the US air superiority in Vietnam. But eventually the same faith was awaiting them in Laos. Nowadays a lot of Laotians die because they have to clear fields or they on purpose take apart the bombs and sell the medal to China.
This gives you a impression of the economic situation of Laos. People were kind and helped you find the attractions and the kids were happy to play with us. Well maybe they were more interested in Victoria, since they don't seem familiar with Latin American clothes. So she got even more attention here then in other places all around Southeast Asia.
In total a beautiful place worth visiting for a few days.

Savannakhet

After a long trip from the South China Sea into Laos we arrived in Savannakhet. At the border Timmy didn't have to pay for his visa while Victoria had to pay 38 USD. More than US citizens or Frenchies.
Savannakhet is a sleepy town in the rural region of southern Laos. We stayed for one night only and ate at the night market at the Mekong river. A really basic set up, but none the less really pleasing you sit around a pot and make your own soup. Similarly to fondue chi noise you throw the raw meat, the vegetables and hard noodles into the water. Then you take bite by bite and dip into a peanut paste. Really good and relaxing after the rather rough trip over the border.
The next day we took the astonishingly slow bus south.

Huế

Huế is close to the demilitarized zone which has seen the fiercest fighting during the Vietnam war aka the US war (that's of course the way the locals call it). Hue's main attraction is the huge citadel (UNESCO World Heritage) in the city center. In this forbidden City the Nguyen Emperors had their seat. Huế was the nations capitol from 1802 until 1945. During the war the US carpet bombed the citadel that's why they have to restore a lot even though the buildings are not that old. But it is still a wonderful place and offers some historical insight. It's hard to believe that some 65 years ago some emperor controlled vast regions and sat on his golden chair receiving visitors. Otherwise Hue is a big lively city with some character.

Hoi An

Hoi An is a well preserved Asian trading port that was granted the UNESCO World Heritage honor. Nowadays there is not much trade going on, but tourism has picked up. Their main good they sell is flexibility. You can go through any kind of fashion catalog from all the big brands in the world and have it done customized for you for a fair price. Since I lost my favoured shirt to the crazy woman, I made a copy of it. I turned out to be great. Other than the colonial architecture and clothes food is the other thing about Hoi An. Little food stalls are everywhere and have impressive menus to fit your mood. We also went to the barber. The guy was really kind and cut hair in the strangest places. As a special service he even cleaned our ears for free.