Travel to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 10)

Good gracious..Luang Prabang in 10 parts and not finished yet? Maybe I should not go into too much details or I'll never be able to finish and move on within the year :P

This episode, let me bring you to one of the most temple in Luang Prabang, so because it is perched on top of a hill(300 over steps up) that overlook the whole city.

The view that you get when you arrive to the top is pretty breath taking..partly because of the climb.I do not think it is worth the 20,000 kip entrance fee..but can you imagine going thousands of miles to reach that place and not pay it a visit? If I don't, I must be crazy.

On my way up,I came across two pots of flowers and the flower pot stands. Generous gifts from the USA during the Vietnam war era.





Besides the view,I climbed all the way up to see this.....


and this.....sun set!



It was really not easy for me to take that shot because there were a lot of tourist cramming to take the same shots and most of them were taller than me! See below:


The next morning,I woke up very early at about 6am for a must see event that I had missed out for the past 2 days. Really wonder how I managed to wake so early..
This ceremony is known locally as 'Tak Bak',the giving of alms to monks and it happens every morning because what the monks can eat are given by the local community. Monks make their rounds and have to be back at their temple by 8am and they are not supposed to eat after noon.



What attracts me is the feeling that the culture and the community bonding here is much stronger than in Thailand. I really hope they can preserve this beautiful tradition and not let progress weaken it.

After the rounds,I woke my sister and my friend and readied them for breakfast. Sticking to our rule of not eating at the same place,we discovered our best breakfast on this last morning in Luang Prabang.

This whole place practically looked like a farang town,so of course we must try the authentic farang breakfast!


I was so excited when I happen to stand on the door step of Scandinavian Bakery..I ever read about it on a forum,so I told my sister,"Let's do this breakfast here!"


I cannot use words in my vocabulary to explain my satisfaction. My only regret was: Why din I discover this place earlier?? If I did,would I have had breakfast there everyday then?


All kinds of bread that you would expect to find in a real bakery..

Add on some fresh vegetables from the river bank nearby..

And my favourite ham omelet..the eggs in Luang Prabang simply taste different!

With a bit of spare time left before heading for the airport,I went alone revisit the river that I could not bear to part with..

But confirm last day always got something special. No,this special arrangement was not by me..It was by God,who created everything and make it so beautiful for His sons to enjoy..He gave me music and songs to go with the scenery..


This guy was just sitting at the next table strumming his guitar and singing English,Thai & Laotian songs..His voice was normal,but in the environment,its one of the most touching tunes I have heard for the whole trip!

We chatted a little and he was quite surprised that a Singaporean can speak Thai and find his way around in Luang Prabang. Hey Singaporeans and all global citizens..dun always go Bangkok shopping only,you can also drop by Luang Prabang while it is still holding its present charms!

With a very heavy heart,I handed my boarding pass for my next destination to the officer at the airport. Hopefully I can revisit the place one day and still be mesmerized by the city's charms.

Vientiane...Here I come!

Happy Lunar New Year+Luang Prabang Architecure

Its just past midnight and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a very healthy and wealthy Lunar New Year.

Normally at this time, every year in the past more than a decade,I would be at Kwang Meng Mountain' templein Bishan to pray and subsequently to the Kwan Im temple at Waterloo St. I still remember how it all started when I first obtained my driving license in 1997,I drove my Dad's lorry around filled with my friends.

 It was fun back then as we were the young ones. Now when I see my younger cousins earlier during reunion dinner, my memories shifted back to the past and I decided to blog about it. My cousin got a driving license too,but I do not think he is as adventurous as I was.

Of couse,as the years past us by, my group of friends still carry on the tradition. However,of course some of them got married,have their family and so on..and I am kind of like a Christian now..but yet miss this tradition. I would have carry on, but today,this activity may not hold much meaning for me anymore..not without my friends.

I guess life is just like that, people come and go..or stay.It is not like me to feel melachonic on Lunar New Year's eve,but I do treasure my friends.

Ok,enough of the Lunar New Year..Let me show you more of Luang Prabang:

Today I am going to touch on the aspect of Luang Prabang that amazes me very much: its architecure. If I am not wrong,the Laos Government is also having a struggle of whether to allow the buildings to go higher to cater to the demand-which at the same time will cause them to lose the UNESCO World Heritage Site status of to still keep its charms and let the demand overflow.

I was very impressed by the buildings..many of them older than me..or even older than my dad!

Personally,I think the buildings..at a maximum height of 2 storeys max fits just right to give the city its rustic charms and I hope that they will keep it this way for the future generations to enjoy.

However if one day they can no longer keep the city like it is now..I am glad I have managed to 'freeze' this era with the follow photos for our future generations to refer to.

Now that you have seen the architecure, do you think this heritage should be preserved?

Travel to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 9)

The next morning, my sister was not going to wake up anytime soon and I decided to explore the city on foot with Aey. Getting sick of temples,we decided to open our eyes to other adventures..
How about going onto the uncompleted bridge? :)

Just Do It! Altough there was a guy wanting to bring us across by boat,we took the risk on the flimsy bamboo,uncompleted bridge.

We had always viewed the rows and rows of vegetable from across the river..but now I can finally touch them..It calls for a smoking celebration!


After crossing through the farm,we climbed up a very steep slope and discovered a paradise of sorts..It looked like some kind of resort under the shades of bamboo(I mean real bamboo plants) and part of it was still under construction..the bamboo huts etc..but this place is in the perfect setting,shaded and in cool weather,overlooking the other side of the bank(where we came from)..




Oh..so it is a restaurant! Name of it: Dyen Sabai..well,we were hungry..so time to order our breakfast/lunch.I order apple fruit shake, fresh vegetables,fried rice and my friend ordered his favourite fried egg with minced pork..but we were surprised the egg was below the rice.It was quite creative! See the pic below.


I went back and got my sister to the same place again..I guess she was really happy about this place too..It was already like 3pm..but guess what she ordered for her past-lunchtime' kind of lunch?


Well..life is always full of ironies..American breakfast and mango crepe'..while she is slowly taking her time to eat,my friend and myself being too full or too tired made ourselves feel at home..

On our way back,we managed to snap a few pictures of monks building the bridge and kids playing around it. Life here is simple,but they have their fun too!

Travel to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 8)

We arrived back to Luang Prabang City at the onset of nightfall and walked the night market as usual. At the other end of the night market,we found some sandwich stalls. Enticed by the wide variety of ingredients,we decided to try..half a sandwich each. Its like a generic version of Subway.Ingredients includes pork floss,ham,chicken and egg strips,lots of vegetables and mayonaise.

After that,we managed to get directions from a local to a back alley. To our surprise,the back alley sells all kinds of food at a not so inflated pricing. Our particular interest is the roast chicken. They have roast fish too,but I guess roast chicken should go better with beer.

Eating it hot on a cold night should bring you long lasting memories :)
Unfortunately,our memories were eroded some what by the amount of beer we consumed in celebration of the destinations we visited earlier in the day.

We got pretty drunk..but my friend Aey managed to grab my camera and took the following shot..

Of course,the next day,he could not remember he took photo of this girl..luckily,my non-drinking sister was able to vouch for me :)
For me,I could not really remember how I could walk back to our guest house..If I did not remember wrongly,I bought some more beer at the guest house(because there were no TV!)..but I fell asleep before I could finish half of it.

Travel To Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 7)

After the Pak Ou Caves, Weaving Village, and temple(s) visit,we barely have time to visit our last destination: Kouang Xi Waterfalls..Together with the Bear Rescue Centre along the way.

The water is cool and is of a greenish blue tone and provided us with many photo taking opportunities as we climb all the way up to the Highest(and strongest) waterfall at the end. The mists created was so strong that it got my camera lenses wet..

Enjoy the photos:

Travel to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 6)

Now we arrive at our next destination..The weaving village Bang Xanghai.

The 1st welcome we received upon arrival are rows and rows of home made Lao Whisky..hmm..i thought this is a weaving village??
The extraordinary point about these whisky is shown below..I was given a small cup to try..and then I saw what was it made of..

I decided that the whisky is not really my type(s)..so I declined to purchase and walked in..saw some chickens..

..of course against a backdrop of fine cloths that were freshly woven from silk and other materials. Of course,my sister also took the opportunity to show off her weaving skills..

but along came a native competitor... :P

We ended up buying some silver(instead of cloth) in a weaving village..were we drunk from that small tiny cup of whisky we tried earlier? Or because we met a formidable salesgirl(see her facial expression when we tried telling her we were not buying)??

Soon,its time we move on to the next destination..but that's not what I am going to talk about at the moment. I would like to point out that cars here are Left Hand Driven..

Most of the roads in Laos( I read about 70%) were unpaved..the 30% paved ones consists mainly of 2 lanes..one in each direction. I had observed that the seafarer's rule was practiced more as a rule of thumb. Look at the picture below..slow moving vehicles like the motorcycle will not move to the side to give way..they will still stubbornly in the middle of the lane and it will be the driver's prerogative to overtake. That means no one will ride/drive to the side for you to overtake..they will stick right in the middle of the lane..and you find your own opportunity to overtake at your own risk by cutting into the other lane.

We were on our way to the various famous temples in town..but I shall not touch too much on that. The next update shall be on our visit to a very beautiful waterfall..please stay tuned :)

PAYM Policy Forum Series- New Media, A Boon or Bane?

I managed to take part in my 1st ever forum yesterday 10th Jan 2009 at Singapore Arts Museum.

Without knowing what such a forum is all about,I was full of anticipation before the event. 

When I arrived at the registration counter, the friendly guy asked me which group I would like to participate in? New media and politics, New media, family & community or New media,ethics and responsibility? I do not know which group to choose,so I asked him to just assign me. He grouped me under Ethics and Responsibility and gave me a yellow sticker to identify myself with fellow group mates.

Next,they encouraged me to have a bite at the buffet..mee siam,spring rolls,some puff..standard stuff,but I was quited pleased with how well organised everything was.

I sat down at my table and looked through the 'goodie pack'..A set of 5 highlighters arranged in a flower shape, a water bottle..(Gosh..at 1st I thought it was plastic,but this is the more expensive metal bottle in shiny black covered in a black nylon bag!).

Three panelists introduced for this forum:

1. Mr Cheong Yip Seng, Chairman of AIMS(Advisory Council on the Impact of new Media on Society)

2. Ms Irene Ng, MP for Tampines GRC

3. Mr Poh Yang Cheng, Manager of TOUCH Cyber Wellness & Sports.

I feel that it was a very fruitful and engaging event because I participated in the discussion(s) at my table after the opening addresses by the panelists. To summarize what the panelists addresses were, they basically outlined the new media, quoted examples of Malaysia's recent shocking election results because the ruling party did not engage the voters on issues like cost of living,corruption..etc. and also how a Filipino president was overthrown because people were able to mobilise the the public using SMS.

Mr Cheong also managed to expressed his 'minor' disappointment in the government rejecting 1/3 of his council's recommendation..or like how Ms Irene Ng put it.."the government accepted 2/3 of the council's recommendation". the main point of contention seems to be the Government's stand to accept feedback from their main stream platform..REACH. The irony was that i asked around  my table of 8 which includes a Malaysian,an Indonesian,some PA youths..non of us have visited or know about REACH :)

I shall input the link here for all my readers' benefit:

http://app.reach.gov.sg/reach/default.aspx

Of course, there were people who mentioned about having to input his NRIC number to leave a comment and this draws laughter across the floor. From Ms Ng's explanation, I supposed our Government's fear of the Internet is that people can hide behind the anonymity and like what my group mate Harold Fong said "get away with murder".

The various groups have intense discussions and each table finally presented their conclusions through their facilitators. The panelists then further share their views and knowledge with us and during the final Q&A session, some very interesting points and questions were brought up by the film makers present.

Ms Irene Ng was happy with the feedback she gathered and promised to bring up some of the points discussed in the next parliament sitting. She assured us that the Government is currently pouring in the resources to engage the public in the new media. Mr Cheong also advised that the new media is a neutral platform which is non-partisan and take no sides. However,he predicts that in Singapore for a long time to come will still rely heavily on the mainstream media despite all these ongoing hype..new media currently is unable to equal norr replace the mainstream media in the near future.

I enjoyed the forum very much and gained a wider perspective after the event.

Travel to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 5)

I woke up pretty early the next day, before 8am.

The weather is much colder than usual and I decided to have breakfast by the riverbank again.

As usual,I have to wait...and wait for my sister :)

After breakfast, the 1st attraction we chosen was to visit Pak Ou Caves. A normal journey would be about 1 hour plus journey by boat, but as it was the dry season, we could go by land to as near as possible and cross over by boat. We arrived at a village at the crossing point.

My sister and myself were fascinated by the farm animals that we saw..chicken(and chicks),ducks, piglets..Its like we had never seen them for real and we became excited like kids again!

The fact was apparent to us that we do appreciate the simple village life and everything moves around at a slower pace. People here virtually grow their own vegetables, rear their own meat..and enjoy what mother Nature got to offer them..let me add..catch their own fish too!

These fishes were just caught from the river and they were still alive. As we descend the sandy steps of the riverbank from the village, we have arrived at the crossing point.

Time to board the sampan boat and go search for the caves..

On our way to the upper cave,a bunch of kids tried to sell us various birds and rodent for us to set free..I bought a tiny bird in a bamboo cage from this kid..

The difference about the upper cave is that its totally dark inside and you will not realise what is one the wall until my camera flash bounced off the cave walls..Luckily this is only a stone dragon.. :P

The guard dog(puppy) at the entrance of the upper cave..so cute!

Before we knew it..its time for us to depart and move on to the next attraction : Ban Xang Hai weaving village. We subsequently carry on our journey on the minivan we arrived in and took some scenic photos along the way.

Travel to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 4)

The verdict for the burger: It's wonderful! Altough the patty was pretty thin,it was the most tender that I had ever tried! In fact,I broke my rule of not eating the same thing at the same place by getting another burger the next day..

Next, I moved on to the night market..from 6pm everyday, a main street is cordoned off and it becomes the night market..but different stalls sell almost the same things.

Well..almost the same except when I come across a food stall..you know,when the weather is cold,I tend to get hungry easier. I can't help but wish to find out what this stall is selling and whether if its delicious..

delicious..? Well..nothing beat a bowl of hot soupy noodles filled with lots of fresh herbs on a cold night walking along a night market!

After walking around for the evening,since its the 1st night,I paid particular attention to the "locking time" of my guest house..I must be back before 12 midnight..I reached at about 10.30pm. I do not think I can fall asleep easily..especially there was no TV in my room..

I  have to find a solution to sleep easier..

The Guest House counter had beer for sale..so I got 4 bottles for myself and sat at the stone table just outside to finish it..a bit scared they will lock the door if I return late :P

 :P That did helped me fall asleep..and its pretty cheap..

The next day I plan to wake about 8am and go places..seldom wake so early nowadays..wonder if I need an alarm clock..

Anyway, stay tuned for more adventure..Cheers!

Travel to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 3)

Navigating around Luang Prabang was easy..we got to know

the general layout of the town and we went places..easily.

After a short while,we came across some commotion on the

stream..I looked down and saw some young monks and

villiagers carrying bamboo poles and tools..

They are actually building a bridge across to the other side

and it was 3/4 completed. Very interesting indeed.

At about 6pm,we have to return the bicycles and use our 

own legs instead. Walking around is easy to as the temperature

was very cool..I simply love this kind of weather..I guess

about 18 degrees C.

Of course,against what my friend had advised, I ate

anything that I could find. There was this Hamburger

stall at the corner of a junction just opposite the

police post. They claimed that they sell the good 

tasting hamburger at the cheapest price in Luang 

Prabang..I mean how could I not try it??

Travel to Luang Prabang (Part 2)

Let the journey continue..

1st question upon arrival at Luang Prabang Airport..How to get into town??
There is a Taxi counter just outside the airport,flat rate 300 baht for the 4 of us.
Then came the 2nd question, the driver asked "where to?"..Well,I haven really thought about that.I did try to make a reservation somewhere,but its full.

The driver was very helpful,he drove us around and waited patiently for us while we went around asking each guesthouse for the pricing. 1st one we got to was full,USD85..after much negotiation,they are willing to accept USD60..unfortunately,I was not willing to pay :P

The owner recommended us to one of her friend's place when we told her we were only willing to pay only about USD35. She directed us to go over.Silichith Guest House..We took a look at the room..giant bed..spacious room..hot shower..but no TV!

We managed to further negotiate the price to 500 baht per night. We checked in happily :)

Next,time to find something to eat..for lunch.The advice I got from my friend before I went,they found only one place with good food and they went back there everyday to eat..well..

This place that we checked into,they operate an eating place just beside the stream about 20 metres walk away. Let me explain here what is this stream..when we saw it,this 'stream' was like..wider than the Kallang River in Singapore!

When we saw the scenery..we just kept taking photos..it was quite a sight!

Well,the food was great,especially in such a cool weather..but I was determined not to eat there everyday! After lunch,we got energy to start exploring the town.

The nearest temple from my guesthouse is Wat Paphai..well,all the temple looks the same to me. Walking on,we decided to explore the town on a bicycle,so we looked around to rent one. There was this shop that required a USD50 deposit,we gave it a miss. We found one along the main street and we negotiated the price as we only had 3 hours left before they close at

 6pm.

With almost brand new bicycles, our speed increases..

Stay tuned for more later.. :)

Travel to Luang Prabang, Laos PDR (Part 1)

Ever heard of a place named Luang Prabang in Laos PDR(People's Democratic Republic)?

For the past 2 years, I have always wanted to visit Laos,but always procrastinated as I had always imagined it to be a more 'difficult' destination compared with Bangkok.

I know I did not want to wait anymore..by hook or by crook,even if I had to go alone,I made Luang Prabang one of my destination for my December 2008 holidays.



The arrangement was pretty challenging and I would like to thank my friends who had been there before for their advice and the forums that I did my research on before my trip.

My route of advancement was finalised as such: Fly to Bangkok, then fly to Luang Prabang,then fly down to Vientiane,then 'bus' into Nong Khai(north eastern Thailand) and 'train' down to Bangkok before flying back to Singapore.


My travelling partners for my Laos trip includes a friend from Thailand and one from Singapore plus my sister,they accepted my invitation at quite the last minute, but I guess we were all quite pleased we managed to pull everything together and we enjoyed the trip very much.

Allow me to share my trip with all of you over the next few days and please feel free to comment and ask any questions along the way. At the end of the whole series,I will put up a slideshow(special thanks to www.phlook.com for teaching me how to do that) for the series. Now sit back and enjoy the journey..while I try to be your travel guide :)



There are not many ways to get to Luang Prabang that I know of,only by air or by road..I chose to fly in. I guess the airport can only take small propeller aircrafts,I did not see any jet engine aircafts there. Today's post shall have to stop at my arrival at Luang Prabang Airport(got to go work)..I will carry on later,so please stay tuned. Thank you.