October 2008
From a tour of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia
We have temporarily taken over what was our 'Latest News' page to show overflow from the story of our tour and in particular the many pictures of some of the characters we met on our travels. Hope you like them.
Our first image is not of native folks but tourists, emerging from a local market in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand with their ingredients for a Thai cooking course. With us are our Brit cruising companions, David & Heather from Milliways and Nicole a traveller from Seattle. If you want to learn more about our course, log onto : www.baanthaicookery.com where they may still have pictures from Tuesday 24th August, our day of fame.
Whilst in Chiang Mai in the very north of Thailand we had an opportunity to visit a hilltribe village at Ban Paoo Nanglae. The inhabitants are mainly economic refugees from nearby countries like Myanmar (Burma) and China. It was not a straightforward decision to go as we had learnt from the BBC World Service that UNESCO was not entirely happy about the situation of the women who wore rings around their necks in particular. It was known that the Thai government had refused them an opportunity to leave the country, with the implication that they were being exploited for tourism for economic gain. Eventually we decided to go and were relieved to find these ladies were not housed in cages and appeared to be happy with their lot.
What is a little more worrying though is that they start applying these rings to girls at the age of three. Their necks must be stretched to a point where physical damage is a strong possibility as a typical ring-set for a mature woman weighs in excess of 5Kg and they may be carrying a further 7Kg on their arms. This must surely impair or limit their movement for many every day activities.
There were four tribes represented in this village, the boy below being from the Lahu or Shehleh Laho. This particular group wore black garments so are called Lahu Na - Black Lahu.
This lady spotted in a Luang Prabang street in Laos was engaged in providing food from her cleverly mounted, insulated containers.
Also in Luang Prabang we were able to witness the early morning giving of arms to Buddhist monk students. Dave rose early to see the process started at the major teaching Vat Xieng Thong at around 05.45. After this the monks move off into the town collecting arms from other members of the supporting populace for a further 45 minutes or so.
We have many pictures of Buddhist monks, taken as discretely as possible and sometimes with their cooperation. These three were spotted in animated conversation passing by the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. On several occasions Dave was able to talk to them (they are not allowed to speak to women). Most were undergoing an eight year educational programme, including the learning of English. Most I talked to thought education was the primary objective and that a longer term involvement in the faith was less likely.
This family were praying at a small shrine in the grounds of the large Stupa That Luang in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The picture taken of the front of the shrine appears in the main Update page.
We met the lady below from the Black Mong hilltribe when she visited a rather smoke filled traditional house we had been invited into at in Sapa in the far north of Vietnam. It was a fairly informal environment where she was probably more interested in us than we may have been in her.
Whilst at the old French colonial hill town of Sapa we took a trip by jeep to the village of Ta Phin in the valley bottom about 20km away. On the way there we stumbled across these two boys enjoying the responsible task of moving their familys' buffalos. These animals are vital in the cultivation of their staple crop of rice, both in tilling the fields and also in fertilizing them between crops.
Our jeep's arrival in Ta Phin was spotted immediately and we were surrounded by around twenty ladies like the one below who were keen to take us off to their hamlets nearby to sell us craft goods. They divided into two groups, half clinging to David & Heather, the rest almost joined at the hip to us. It was a pretty effective marketing strategy, as having walked with them chatting away for 20mins, we were obliged to buy from each of them. So, we have rejuvenated our five boat cushions with new and very colourful covers.
The people pressure is much more evident in Vietnam with a population of 85 million people and what seems like about 200 million motor bikes! On that basis, this river ferry in Hoi An in the centre of this long narrow country is pretty empty.
Whenever we had an opportunity we went to performances of traditional theatre and dance. We managed to the attend a performance of the Royal School of Ballet at the Palace in Luang Prabang in Laos, the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi, a performance of the Royal Theatre Company within the Citadel at Hue, two performances by the same group in Hoi An in Vietnam and one at an evening dinner function at Siem Reap in Cambodia. The style, music and story lines were all very similar, particularly the lone young lady receiving the persistent and unwanted attention of an admirer who was eventually dissuaded (common tale of good triumphing over evil). The dancers below were accompanied by a traditional orchestra at an evening performance in Hoi An, Vietnam. Note the visibly expressive hand movements. Also note that one of the dancers is still wearing shoes, a fact not missed by others in the troupe who giggled at her.
Our visit to the famous Japanese, traditional covered bridge in Hoi An in central Vietnam happened to coincide with a photoshoot for the upcoming Miss Vietnam competition. The opportunity to gatecrash all that lighting equipment and get pictures of gorgeous young ladies was of course much more than Dave could resist!
One thing you come to appreciate in Vietnam is that the whole populace seem to need a sleep in the early afternoon. These guys had barely finished clearing away after lunch at a rather good French fish restaurant in Nha Trang when they felt the irresistable call to kip. Another of their colleages was stretched out on the top of the deep-freeze behind me.
We could fill another whole website with pictures of people on cycles, scooters or motor bikes with incredibly large loads, whole families of five or six or just in unusual garb. You'll be relieved to hear there are only two here :-
The young lady above was snapped as she rode past the very imposing Catholic Cathedral in Saigon; note she is sporting a very common white face mask. At first we thought this was for air-pollution protection or maybe they were on the way to or from a bank job. When we saw them in the pure air of countryside we asked and were told it was protection from the sun. It appears that if these races get a sun tan it does not disappear with time but is cumulative!
These young ladies were just behind our tuk-tuk on a Phnom Penh street doing about 40km/hr. Within seconds I had what I think is an even better picture of her smile when she saw my camera but out of context it doesn't have quite the same impact.
Until next time, best wishes to all,
Dave & Di