Last days in Laos.... and the Thai-Burma railway.

A busy week.

• A visit to Hell.
• Accosted and accused of trespassing
• Accosted and accused of shoplifting
• Delayed flights and nearly missed connections, jumping gangplanks....

Now I've heard "drama queen" mentioned in relatin to my name on more than ONE occasion (not pointing at Shelley and the other w-t-w ladies). But, I'm not exaggerating. I swear.....

This is in Vietniane in Laos, at That Luang. The hottest place on Earth. I believe it is located directly next to Hell. Except for the fact it's pretty and has good food.

How can one lady look so hot you ask? I've been asking myself this every day of my trip. I think the giveaway in this photo is the sweaty brow and sweaty arms... eww. And to think I've spent weeks if not months in this state (Addit: having more money than my first backpacking shenanigans means I can fork out for aircon - and do so gladly. Who needs to buy a house back in Oz anyway, really???)


Praise the lord above for meeting Stella in Vang Vieng. There isn't a lot to do in Vientiane - but once we desweatified at the end of each day, we did hit the many and cheap French restaurants in town, for copious amounts of wine and souffle. And the cafes for cake and coffee.....

And we found this odd Buddha Park about 30km out of town (in a tuk tuk is a bloody long hot dirty sweaty way I can tell you).....

Stella and I agree that this is the biggest buddha we've ever seen. Size matters.

It was where iconography and ideologies collided in concrete and moss:

I was wrong before. The buddha park is next to hell, as it was even hotter.

I was sad to say goodbye to Stella, but I had a date with a grumpy oaf in Bangkok, and she had to get to Hanoi...... armed with some of my books on War and History of Vietnam and Cambodia, and me armed with a book on past lives and reincarnation (don't you love book swapping?? you just vener know what you are going to get). I finished it on the plane to BKK and left it on the seat for the next lucky traveller.....

SO anyway, I got to BKK airport and found the metered taxi desk (very important) and of course got the driver whose amphetamines had started to wear off.... It's MUCH better if you get them when they've just taken them - their reflexes are much more acute.

Anyway, he was falling asleep and weaving over the road, his head touching the steering wheel from time to time, on top of the highest freeway - so I couldn't stop the cab and get out. Also didn't want to annoy him. They have guns. So I had to partake in that game loved by travellers everywhere - the "talk utter shit to the taxi driver to keep him awake and alert" game. I was also thanking the lord that Traff lives in Sukhmvit and not the other side of the city, which shortened the journey by 45 minutes...... I did ring Trafford (international rates and all) and ask him to tell my family that I love them and I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye, in the event I didn't make it to his place in the next 15 minutes.....

Which I didn't. According to Trafford I "spent too long in Laos". When I finally got inside his place, he was in bed asleep. The conversation went like this:

Kathryn: "Trafford. Why did four security guards just accost me in the foyer and escort me from the premises".

[Trafford opens one eye. Looks me up and down.]

Trafford: "Because. You look like that.".

Kathryn [horrified and indignant]: "I look fine. These are $350 Camper shoes!!"

Trafford: "Umm yeah. The hair? The clothes? The mud? You look like you've spent a week in the back of a ute."

Kathryn: "Well, dur. I've been in Laos".

Trafford: "Have a shower. Get changed".

Kathryn: "Flight delayed too hungry need key going to supermarket back soon".

[Trafford goes back to sleep].

10 minutes later.....

Kathryn: "Why the fuck did I just get escorted from the supermarket for lingering over the hair products aisle??".

Trafford: "Did we not just have this coversation, or did I dream it? Get changed. Have a shower."

Kathryn: "But how can I do that without hair products?"

You get the idea..... I didn't think I looked that bad. I had worn the same pair of trousers for a week but they were the cleanest ones I had. I had a nice shirt on. My hair may have been in pigtails and strapped down with a piece of cloth, but in Laos I looked clean. The Bangkokites are a bit previous though, esp. in the expat area.......... lesson learnt. The next day I upped the dress code a little and wasn't escorted anywhere by anyone. I was almost disappointed.....

I hired a driver and went to the Konchanaburi province - pretty much to the Burmese border. It is a long way, and I could have gone by public transport, but it was a long way away, and I didn't want to much around....

Kathryn on the River Kwai

The Bridge over the River Kwai - which isn't actually the River Kwai at all, but it made for a good title of a book and a movie.... Kwai is Thai for River... LOL.

I really wanted to go to Hellfire Pass and walk it and the 4km trail that's open to the public of the Thai-Burma railway. The Australian government really outdid themselves with the museum at hellfire pass - it's excellent. I was impressed. As with all the war stories I've encountered on my travels, it's a sad and disturbing tale.

It is however set in a beautiful place. I encountered this little man on my walk through the pass....

Due to a huge landslide, the trail was closed at the halfway point unfortunately. The section that was open though was still tough going - steep and slippery but with amazing views and sections of railroad appearing here and there.

This is in Hellfire Pass - the easiest section of the walk.

You can see the old sleepers still.... It was called Hellfire Pass as the men had to work all day and all night, and were so starving that they looked like skeletons. They used bamboo torches to work at night, and the flickering lights made them look like creatures from hell. Also, the flickering lights on the walls made it look like the cavern of Hell. It rose similar feelings in me as standing in Anzac Cove in Gallipoli.

I thought this was really nice - one of the Regiments from Australia who worked on the railway came back in the 80's and relaid this section of the track as a team....

Then, back to Bangkok. I spent the following day preparing for a few days at the beach - books needed to be purchased, sunscreen sourced, and so on. I really upped the dress code, and rode to Emporium on a motorcycle taxi with a Starbucks in one hand, a handback in the other, sidesaddle. Oh yes, I'm a local now......