Ubon, BKK and Laos 2018 Page 2
|
Monday the 12th November 18 and the travellers were making the journey north from Ubon up to Mukdahan. A stop at Crown Airfield was required so that Hamish Campbell could tread in some of his Fathers footstep's. Hamish explored the airfield and camp with others in the group down to the Nash gate. From there, they walked down the Nash road and into the village where the vehicles were waiting on the 212. The convoy then continued to Mukdahan where the travellers booked in to the hotel and then had a welcome meal (below). |
Tuesday the 13th and we were on the road again. We left Neil and Hamish to their own devices and started on a marathon journey to and through Laos. We were to attend the Laos Consulate in Khon Kaen before lunch but we were late and the consulate was closed. A change of plan meant lunch at a Tesco Lotus which was across the road. We returned to the Consulate and all went according to plan as we had our documentation prepared. That night we stayed at the Mantra Varee hotel in Khon Kaen which was not as close to the city centre as we had thought it was. |
|
|
Khon Kaen is a big city but the time we had there limited our chances to explore unfortunately. The next morning, we had to be on the road bright and early to meet the coach we were to be travelling in. We headed off to Nong Khai where we were to cross into Laos. We waited at a gas station for the Coach from Mukdahan that was to be our ride for the next six days. As it turned out, it was the coach that was late but this is Thailand and the clocks run on Thai Time. We took the time to present our drivers and courier with a good tip for their skills. |
In the event as it was the coach that was late, our early start became redundant, so to speak. We arrived at the Nong Khai crossing and dismounted to enter the Thai Immigration for documentation. The coach proceeded through as we walked to the Laos Immigration. On boarding after passing into Laos, we met for the first time our tour guide. Cy is a little Lao chap with a great sense of humour, something that stands him in good stead for his job. More about that later. The picture right shows Cy in his courier role. |
|
|
Our destination was the capital city of Vientiane where we would spend our first nght in Laos. On the way we stopped for lunch then motored to Wat Si Muang. The temple is named after Si Muang, a pregnant woman who sacrificed herself in the pit that holds the central pillar of the structure. There is a small statue of Si Muang behind the building, along with a heap of old bricks that are said to date back to her time (first picture left). Women struggling to conceive travel to pray at this Temple, as doing so can bring about the blessing of pregnancy.
|
| Our next destination was Haw Phra Kaew. Originally a Temple built in 1565/66,it has a chequered history of destruction and rebuilding. Now a museum it originally housed the Emerald Buddha that now resides in the Grand Palace Bangkok. Unfortunately photography is banned in the building housing many of the artifacts. These include gifts presented to the then King, by foreign governments. We passed the Presidential Palace on the way there. Designed by a local architect and built in the French colonial style. |
|
| |
We didn't
spend a great deal of time before moving on to Patuxai, a war monument in the centre of Vientiane. By this time it was late afternoon and we had one more place to visit before moving on to our hotel. Pha That Luang, is a gold covered Buddhist stupa once said to contain a breastbone of Lord Buddha. However it too has been plundered and rebuilt many times so the breastbone if it was there, will be long gone. A domineering structure, its golden covering shimmering in the sunlight is a magnificent sight (rollover). See the sldeshow for lots of pictures.
|
| And so we departed to the Daosavanh 2 hotel, where we would spend our first night in Laos. After settling in we travelled to the Lanchang hotel for our Dinner. It was here we had our first taste of Laos cultural entertainment in the form of a musical singing and dancing troop.The similarities to Thai culture are obvious, but I was impressed by the very high standards throughout the hotel. This includes the quality of build and decor, the food and service and ultimately the music, singing, dancing and costumes. They were far above the average Thai standards. |
|
| |
Bearing in mind the words of our courier Cy below, I've singled out this dancer as an example of the beauty to which he's referring.
I can't testify to her temperament although she did seem a very pleasant young lady. There is another reason why I chose to publish this picture of her and that's because she reminds me very much, of a certain young lady with whom most OCA members are aquainted. I wonder if those OCA members know who I'm referring to? Check out the slideshow for the answer.
|
| So now a little about our Courier. After informing us that he was previously a very poorly paid teacher and his wife made him get a better paid job, which was why he was with us, Cy amused us with jokes and anecdotes about Laos, some quite risque. According to Cy, men in Laos can have up to four wives whom they usually buy from their families. The currency used is usually Buffalo's or maybe Cow's and the amount of animals 'tendered' varies according to a number of conditions. The primary requirement is of course a womans beauty, secondary will be her temperament and so on. We asked Cy how much he'd payed for his wife and he'd payed a serious amount, about 25/30 Buffalo's (he couldn't remember exactly). She was both beautiful and gentle natured. For instance, when they were young and he came home inebriated, she smiled sweetly and didn't chastise him for his failing. But now, some thirty years later, the marriage worked better because as a courier, his job kept him away from home for long period's at a time. (You had to be there) |
Slideshow
A slideshow of pictures are shown in chronological order. Place your cursor into the picture window to freeze the motion, remove it allow the slideshow to restart. Depending on your connection, it may take a while for the pictures to download and the slideshow to start |
|
|
