Planes, Trains and Automobiles (Tuk-Tuks, Taxis and Buses)

Oh, how I love Bangkok. Her smell, her counterfeit goods, her street markets and her crazy tuk-tuk drivers. There is no more wonderful city than Bangkok. She is my home away from home. She is my mistress. And if I keep on this current pace visiting her so frequently, the Thai people might make me a permanent citizen.

Our first day in Bangkok was a combination of shopping, temples, embassy visits, travel booking and the obligatory meal (or three) of banana pancakes.

As my previous entry stated, our “original” plan was to fly from Bangkok to Burma (Myanmar) on our first day and start our holiday there. As we should have known, getting a visa in Bangkok was not as easy as we thought. We took a crazy tuk-tuk drive (200 Baht) through town during rush hour (a.k.a., anytime) only to find a line nearly stretching out the door when we arrived. If we had gone to the embassy first thing in the morning we would have been set. It happens to be that the Myanmar embassy isn’t open on weekends -- or during the lunch hour(s), early in the morning, or past 4:30 in the evening. We had to make some quick modifications of our travel plans.

Yet again, Myanmar had eluded me (if only for a week).

We were beat. And the only thing to help make us feel better was a trip to Pantip Plaza – the computer shopping center of SE Asia. This is where computer geeks like myself make their annual pilgrimage. It is a quest in search of cheap computer parts, pirate software and DVD movies. Having stayed in the hotel next door on a previous trip to Bangkok, I knew of a respectable place to get a massage nearby. After 24 hours on a plane and 12 hours in Bangkok, both of us needed it.

Back on Kosan Road (backpacker’s paradise), we booked a night-train ticket out of Bangkok, got manicures and I enjoyed a $2.50 hair cut. Chris would have joined me in the hair cut, but decided against in on account of he has no hair.

Our plan was now to forget about Myanmar and for the moment get out of the city. We booked two sleeper class tickets on the night-train to Nong Khai – on the Thai/Lao border to the north. It was a 12 hour train ride that took us just under 500km away from the chaos of Bangkok. At 588 Baht ($15), this was a very good way to travel. We got a good night sleep in our upper bunks and woke to an egg and toast breakfast as we pulled into the train station.

From the train station, we grabbed a tuk-tuk to the Thai boarder. The tuk-tuk drivers try to convince you that you should stop at one of the various commission-based Visa shops, which basically charge you an extra $20 to give you the same paperwork you can get at the Lao immigration office yourself. We elected not to donate that money to the Thai people. When we got to the Thai Entry/Exit point we had our passports stamped with an exit visa and wandered over to a waiting bus (20 Baht/fifty-cents) that took us across the Friendship Bridge into Lao.

The bus stopped at the Lao Customs point where we found the Lao visa process to be very easy. The entire process took about an hour and only cost us $31. While I arranged our tuk-tuk into Vientiane, Lao’s capital city, Chris paid 5 Baht to experience his first squat toilet. I think I speak for us all when I say there is no chance of Disney World putting in any attractions based on the fun that an Asian squat toilet can bring. In fact, the look on Chris’s face spoke worlds to his experience. I’ll try to post that picture later.

The tuk-tuk into the bus station cost 150 Baht for the both of us. When we stopped at the bus station we found the public bus that was going to Vang Viang. Tickets were 10,000 Lao Kip. We had no idea how much that cost at the time. Turns out it’s only $1 USD.

In a matter of 48 hours, Chris and I managed to fly 8,000 miles, take a half-dozen tuk-tuk and taxi rides through Bangkok, ride a night-train for 12 hours, take another tuk-tuk, a bus, a Songtheaw, and yet another bus. I’m not sure how far we traveled in that period of time, but let me tell you … we were ready to relax. Vang Viang, Lao would be the perfect place for such activities.

Cruising at 34,000 Feet

NOTE: This is an older entry that I didn't post right away. It was written on the flight over.

The current weather report for the immediate area outside our aircraft is -46 degrees. I’d ask to crack a window open to get a little fresh air, but I’m afraid I would wake up a few of my fellow travelers.

We’re crossing over Alaska at the moment and it still amazes me at how much I didn’t pay attention in geography class. Alaska is one huge mass of land. And despite what all maps of the United States may suggest, Alaska and Hawaii are not in tiny boxes southwest of California. Fortunately for Chris and me, we’re sitting in bulkhead seats immediately in front of the digital map display that reminds us of exactly how far we have to go. It’s like the airplane is taunting us.

At this point, the flight has become second nature to me. I’ve learned how to deal with the constant droning of engines, crying babies and horrible airplane food. What I can’t figure out is how to deal with the guy a row over from us that is snoring so loud you can probably hear him on the ground.

In the past 2 years I’ve taken a variation this trip 4 times. Some of you are probably wondering why I continue to subject myself to the tortures of these flights – others simply want to know how I do it. I’m not sure what the answer is to either of those questions.

What I do know is in a few short hours (23 hours total), we’ll land in Bangkok, the first city on a rather quick whistle-stop tour of SE Asia. We will land at the airport a bit before midnight, and once we clear customs and immigration, we’ll set out to find a place to stay for the night. We won’t have much time to recover from our flight before we have to get up in the morning, in our quest for a visa to Myanmar (Burma). We should be able to secure one in 24 hours. That leaves us a full day and night to explore the city, see some of her sights, get a hair cut and tip back a few cold bottles of Thai beer.

We have a loose travel schedule. Our ideal plan will take us from Bangkok to Rangoon (Yangon) the day we are able to secure our visa. We will spend a day in Rangoon exploring a few important temples before we head north to Bagan (Pagan). We will spend the most of our time exploring nearly 2000 temples in the surrounding area. After temple-burnout sets in, we’ll take the Ayeyarady River north to Mandalay. Being that travel in Burma can be…. How should I say this? Unpredictable. With that in mind, we have a few days built in that will allow us to reach Mandalay on next Sunday – giving us the opportunity to fly into Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.

From Chiang Mai we’ll take a mini-bus a few hours north to the Thai/Laos border where we’ll pick up our visa on arrival. Why more countries don’t have this service is beyond me. After that we’re finally ready to relax and enjoy our holiday. We’ll take a slow boat down the Mekong River, stopping off in a few small villages along the way. We will make our exit from Laos via Vientiane, the capital of Laos. From that point, it becomes a relaxing beach holiday on the most beautiful sun covered beaches in the world.

That’s the plan, at least.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong and a lot of things that could cause delays. But what fun would this trip be if we just boarded a coach bus and had someone else manage the logistics for us? As I’ve said many times, “The journey is sometimes greater than the destination.”

Where has Kosan Road Gone?

We got into Thailand late last night, grabbed a taxi to Kosan Road (backpackers take-off point). It used to be a rugged street filled with vendors and hawkers. Now it's turned into a suburban strip mall, complete with wide sidewalks and even a McDonalds. Yes, a McDonalds.

Fortunately, we won't stay long here. Because it takes 24 hours to get a Burma (Myanmar) visa here in Bangkok, we'll have to wait until we swing through Chaing Mai. We decided to go to Laos first, by taking the night train up to the Thai/Laos border. The train is about 10-12 hours, but we have a second-class sleeper compartment to relax in. Hopefully we'll get some sleep that way.

I have another posting on my laptop about our flight and our original plan. I'll try to post that one here soon -- so you know what we were SUPPOSED to be doing at this time. Who says plans ever work out anyway? So what if we're taking Plan B? It was originally Plan A, so I guess that makes it alright.

A fresh hair cut and manicure here in Bangkok got this trip started in style. I'm not sure what the 5+ women in salon though when we rolled in off the street. It seemed like they had a little fun with it. Why I chose red nailpolish is beyond me, however.

That's it for this dispatch. We're just wasting some time in the city before we head to the train station.

Feel free to send us an SMS while we're traveling. It's FREE for you to send.

The Plans Are Almost Set

A trip that will take Chris and me half way around the world, through 3 countries, down several rivers and through a variety of mountain sides and rice fields requires a little pre-trip planning. It requires special attention especially if we want to accomplish this task in just over 3 weeks time.

We will fly from Minneapolis Airport through Tokyo, eventually touching down in Bangkok, Thailand – the gateway to South East Asia. Bangkok can either be the most welcoming and exciting cities on the planet to visit or it can be a nightmare of epic magnitude. It all depends on perspective and a person’s willingness to seek out a little adventure and live outside their comfort zone.

Bangkok, for me, is like a second home. I’ve come to love the city and respect it for what it is. It’s a great place to book flights, train tickets and get your bearings straight before heading out the surrounding areas. It’s also a city that lives up to all the stories and tales you can imagine.

Our packing list is very simple: Individual Items (each pack): 3 lightweight t-shirts 2 pairs of shorts 2 pairs of pants 1 button up shirt/polo shirt 1 long sleeve shirt 1 fleece 3 pairs of socks 4 pairs of underwear 1 swimsuit 1 pair of Chaco sandals 1 pair of running shoes 1 quick dry towel 2 inflatable pillows 1 sleep sack/sheet Various pictures from home Travel Journal (Moleskine Book) Guidebooks (Burma/Laos) Toiletries kit

I’ve been the planning agent for this trip. The original plan was to go to Thailand, chill out on the beach and see some of the sites. While this was an admirable plan, I thought this would also be a great opportunity to hit some of the more remote regions of SE Asia. Burma (Myanmar) and Laos were two countries that easily made their way to the top. As two of the poorest countries on the planet, they fit easily into our budget.

Our goal is to complete our trip for less than $2,000 a piece (including flight). We bought our plane tickets in early January on Northwest Airlines for $910.50 USD (MSP/BKK). We were lucky to be able to book bulkhead seats – with a little coaxing on the part of Chris to get his seat next to mine. We’ll be gone for around 22-24 days (flights taking away a significant amount of time). That leaves us with an amazing budget of about $90 a day to cover food, room, transportation and gifts. This is well beyond the $30 a day that we plan on spending. But the extra money will be bookmarked for picking up mementos along the way. Any pre-trip donations to pick up particular items will most certainly be welcome.

We purchased a few things before our trip that we won’t be able to pick up once we get there. Quality travel clothing and a good pack are both essential to independent lightweight travel. If we pack too much stuff, or carry the wrong items, we’ll be doomed from the start. Since we’ll have to move fast we can’t afford to be bogged down with too many items. For three weeks, everything we need will fit snugly in our rucksacks – about 25 pounds each. Traveling light in terms of clothing and accessories gives us the chance to pack our electronic items (camcorder, laptop and cameras) in much smaller and more secure packs.

We’ll have our pack ready at least a week before we leave. That gives us the chance to lay out all of our items (and have me remove half of them) and pack them slowly, making sure we don’t forget anything. It would be a shame to pack everything up and then forget to bring a single pair of shorts (as I did on my last trip to Singapore).

So as it stands, we’re simply counting down the days before we leave. Our plan is coming together and we should be able to see everything we want in a relatively short period of time. In the meantime, we’re getting the Web site set up so we can post images and stories from the road (boat, plane, train or back of elephant, as it may be).