Asia Steps

Normally, my Omnifocus program is full of boring tasks I need to do but now there’s a fun new one: research our next Asia trip! So, I’ve already ordered a bunch of books from the public library about Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and a big fat one on SE Asia. Now we just need to go through all of them, pick our favorite destinations and plan an itinerary for our next journey. This would be real easy if there were 35 hours in the day or if we weren’t trying to see all of SE Asia in one trip.

One idea that I am excited about is renting a motorcycle and traveling through north of Thailand. From reading online, it sounds like the roads are in good condition both in the east and west, and lead you through stunning views. The challenge will be, of course, avoiding the masses of young travelers who flock into Chiang Mai area.

I really wanted to finally make it to China. I have been trying to go to China for 4 years now and every time, something else comes up. People seem to think that backpacking through China in winter is a bad idea (a Chinese friend of mine has confirmed it) and since I think NY Fall is cold enough, we decided to  skip that plan. We have been known to change our minds (and route) many times but, for now, it is looking like:

Hong Kong>Thailand (north and islands)>Singapore>Vietnam

To be continued…

One of Laos’s treasures which for the moment seems to be off the beaten path for large masses of tourists is Si Phan Don near the country’s southern border with Cambodia. We made the journey to Si Phan Don from Luang Prabang in the North by flying to Vientiane in the evening, staying overnight and flying from there to Pakse early the next morning. We then continued by bus to the main island of Don Khong. Our next destination was Siem Reap, Cambodia and, since I personally dislike backtracking while traveling, we wanted to find a way to cross the border and continue on by land or by river without taking the bus back to Pakse for the direct flight to Siem Reap.

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After getting very little sleep last night we exited the bus and grabbed a coffee before being picked up by another bus on the way to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The journey lasted no less than 30 hours and we’ve just now arrived in Siem Reap. After trying some recommended hotels that were fully-booked we finally found a hotel for the next few nights. We also secured a tuk-tuk driver to take us around to Angkor Wat and other sites tomorrow and the next day. We’ve just finished our first real meal since breakfast at the guesthouse back in Laos and it was damn good!

We left Luang Prabang Tuesday evening and were about to catch a flight to Vientiane when the power went out at the airport. Now, call me petty, but I think but I like to have my airports all wired 24/7. While I was entertaining all the possible catastrophes of this little episode, all of the airport staff, vendors and tuk tuk drivers were leaving for the day. It was, after all, past 8pm already! After a small delay, we finally took off to Vientiane where we spent a short night in a deserted strange looking hotel. Very early the next morning, we caught a flight to Pakse, the main getaway to the south of Laos. This time there was no power failure at the airport but rather a HUGE airplane size roach walking around the “security check” area.
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Woke up very early this morning to pack our bags, eat breakfast at the guesthouse, settle our bill (Reasonable! $32 for 2 days of lodging, meals, laundry and bicycle rental), say goodbye to our hosts and take the family’s boat to the port town of Ban Nakasang. We then took a series of mini-buses and air-conditioned buses to cross into Cambodia on our way to Siem Reap. The journey included breakdowns of two different buses and ended up with the passengers doing an in-bus, roadside sleepover 50km north of Phnom Penh.

Today is Christmas and it feels like any other day here in Laos with the exception of a few trimmings. Xmas music is played everywhere and Lao waiters and waitresses are almost all wearing Santa Claus hats. Otherwise, it’s sunny, in the 70’s, and not much else is going on in the way that it does in back in New York on Xmas.

After a very nice breakfast by the Nam Khan River, we checked out of our guest house. We then climbed the small Phousi mountain to get a good view over the city around noon. The rest of the day has been spent in several cafes with wi-fi where we alternate between blogging and doing Internet research for the trip while the other person goes and gets massage. It’s so hard to share one computer between the two of us!

In a couple of hours we fly to Vientiane where we’ll stay for a night and then fly to Pakse in Southern Laos. From Pakse we’ll be on the move to Si Phan Don (4,000 islands in the Mekong River). Since we’ll be in transit, it’s hard to know when or where the next Internet access will be.

We’ll really miss Luang Prabang for sure but we feel like we’ve just discovered something new to come back to again. Hopefully it will retain its charm in the years to come.

What? That’s it, we’re here already? Are you sure this plane isn’t continuing all the way to Hanoi? Do I really need to exit the plane now? Let’s just say, that’s how difficult it was to leave the luxurious world of Business Class on a 13.5 hour flight from New York to Tokyo. That was simply the most amazing flight I’ve ever taken!
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I wasn’t expecting to update the blog until arriving in Vietnam but now I am writing using free Internet access at the Japan Airlines Sakura lounge at the JFK Airpoirt where biz class and first class passengers nibble on Japanese snacks and sip wine until their flight. Today we learned that God is Japanese and he speaks Hebrew - as we were checking in at the Japan Airline counter, Kevin was telling me in Hebrew how he would love to fly business class one day. A second later, the airlines rep at the counter informed us that there has been overbooking for our flight and and normally we would have to be on a waiting list but instead, they’ve decided to upgrade us to business class!!! HHHHAAA! 14 hours in pure comfort!

This sort of thing only happens when Kevin is around, he brings a lot of luck into any situation. We’re now going to try this strategy at every gate, Kevin will say in Hebrew how he’d love to fly First Class (we should try that too, no?) and poof! We’ll be upgraded! We’re off to a great start!

Hi Everyone. It’s 8AM here in NY and we’re running out the door to take the subway to JFK. The A train goes from right here at 43rd and 8th Ave all the way to the Air Train which connects to our departing terminal. It’s a long ride but we can bypass the snow, traffic and stay out of the cold. Stay tuned to hear more from us “on the other side”. See you in Asia!

Less than 12 hours left until our flight is supposed to take off at noon today. We hope the storm that’s coming in tonight won’t delay the flight. We only have a 2 hour layover at the Narita International Airport near Tokyo and the connecting flight only flies once a day. If we miss that, we may need to spend another 24hrs at the airport. Normally that would be an opportunity to get out and see some stuff but, expecting temperatures from the 60’s up to 90’s in SE Asia, we weren’t planning on taking any winter clothing on this trip and Japan’s winter is almost as cold as it is here in New York!
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