Around The World 2011 Day 20: Luang Prabang, Laos to Bangkok, Thailand

This is it.  We are flying out of Laos this morning, over to Bangkok, where we have a long layover before we head to Rome.  But first... breakfast.

I will miss this breakfast view.  It seems like every place we have stayed for 20 days has had a lovely breakfast view.  Barbie and I have made an effort to fill our walls with artwork that pleases us, but I generally eat breakfast at my computer.  Perhaps I will be a nerd and created a slideshow of Southeast Asian landscapes for my breakfasts.

One thing I have learned traveling around the world, it is important to bring what you have seen home with you.  This is why we have three collage frames in our living room that contain 21 travel pictures each.  (Sure to be updated when we get home from this jaunt.)  And there is always the floating display of random travel photos on the Apple TV that entertains our guests during our casual get togethers.

Enough though about home.  I am sitting in Laos (silent "s") eating a peanut butter and nutella crepe.

The last breakfast in Southeast Asia.  I suspect I will not see dragon fruit, in the bottom left corner, for some time.

The end of a fam is like the end of camp.  Eleven people together all day every day for two weeks, and then everyone goes home.  The four people in this final ride to Bangkok with us -- Dori, Michael, Matthew & Esther --  are probably the four we became closest to on this trip.  We liked everyone, but these four got very close to our hearts.  Seeing them in the van for our final ride to the airport was a joy with that slight aftertaste of sadness.  We are going to miss them, but we are also going to make a serious effort to stay in touch.

This will be my last candid shot of Lao kids.  Maybe I will start shooting pics of American teens when I get home.  That would be quite the Waste post.

We fly yet another airline for the first time.  Let me think; Thai Air, Lao Airlines, and Bangkok Airways.  So far we have not flown an airline this trip that we had flown before.  But that is about to change as we soon leave Asia for Europe.

It is funny to consider that Laos to Thailand is an international flight, considering how close the cultures are and how close Laos came to being a part of Thailand.  Had the French not demanded the territory at the end of World War II, all this might be Thai.  I know the Lao are proud to have their own country, but I also think that they would be living in a democracy had the French not clung to outdated concepts of empire at the end of the war.

This customs/immigration officer was a sweet guy, who came over and goofed around with this little boy.   He gave his arm a boy do you have big muscles squeeze.

Our Bangkok Air plane features a snazzy paintjob.

Bye Bye, Laos.

Hello Thailand.

The front bubble of the 747 makes it both the most distinct and likable aircraft ever made.  How can you not love the 747?

On the bus that takes us from our propeller plane to the terminal.

So... for our 7 hour layover, Barbie recognized that we were on the only Air France flight of the day, which meant that we would have to sit and wait for several hours for the desk to open for us to check-in.  With that in mind, and after seeing the brand new St. Regis Bangkok Hotel a few weeks ago, she decided we would get a room there and use it for the half day we spend in Bangkok.  This also comes with the plus that she gets to see how well the St. Regis might treat her clients.

And since Dori and Michael have a similar layover to ours, they are joining us at the St. Regis.  After hugging Esther and Matthew good-bye, camp lasts a few more hours for Michael, Dori, Barbie and myself.

First St. Regis test, the pick up.  (For the record, I prefer the French pronunciation Sann Resh-ee.)  The St. Regis is supposed to be waiting for us at the gate to fast track us through customs.

The pick up went perfectly.  We were given fast track passes and while all the normal people went toward the normal customs lines...

...we went here.  It turns out that we got the same privileges as flight crews, and walked through customs here, several hundred meters closer to the gate, instantly and without waiting in a line.

There are no sweeter words in an airport than Fast Track.

We felt welcome all right.

Interestingly, this message popped up before any bags were arriving.

And this message popped up just as the first bag arrived.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is easily one of my favorites in the world now.  And personally I think that metal and glass never goes out of fashion, because the glass makes it feel open and when is open space out of style?

The St. Regis uses a Mercedes Mini Van, of course.

You know I love advertising.  And a white iPhone 4 billboard in Bangkok is something I refuse to not share with you.

We have arrived for a very short yet surely sweet stay.

As always, the first thing I do in a hotel room is look out the window.  And then take a picture of what I see.

Our room looks down on the Four Seasons and Bangkok's Sky Train,their super-clean and fast subway two stories above the streets.

Speaking of the Sky Train, we never took it during our four days here.  Now that we are spending a quarter of a day here and on our agenda is getting Barbie a Hard Rock Bangkok shot glass.  The St. Regis concierge suggests the Sky Train is the best way to get there, and off we go.

This elevated train had been around 12 years, and still looks like new.

Well... was I not going to take a picture of this ad?  Ladies, you can now change a pattern attached to your bra to fit your mood!

Barbie was super-impressed at the organized arrows suggesting people allow riders to exit and then board the train on from angles.

Not sure why this Sky Train shot came out turned 90 degrees, but I love the effect.  These train cars are sparkling clean and air conditioned like a refrigerator.

It was not easy finding it, but when we did.  My recommendation to find anything in Bangkok is to give yourself an extra ten minutes, because they name malls and areas that cover a few blocks and tell you that your destination is in, say, Siam Square, which ends up being four square city blocks.

We wasted no time inside.

Note Barbie's reflection in the Hangover 2 ad.  Funny that Hard Rock is pushing the connection, when the kid in the Hard Rock hoodie endures all kinds of abuse in the movie.

She has made it.  We should have come here during our first stay in bangkok, but I missed it on the map when we were very nearby.  This quick stop makes up for the omission.

Barbie orders, as always, the nachos with pulled pork.

I ordered as always the BBQ Cheeseburger.

After three solid weeks of Thai & Lao food, that burger tasted goooooooooooood.

On the way back to the Sky Train, I could not help but see a hint of Blade Runner in the streets.

This street meat picture displayed for the pleasure of our Nate.

Sky Train stations are open and airy and basically awesome.

The turnstile takes your ticket on the way out, which means you do not get the litter of used tickets that plagues many subways/trains.

Back at the St. Regis, I work on the Waste while Barbie gets a mani/pedi.

Again, a hotel room succeeds or fails on whether or not one can lay on the bed and watch the TV without turning one's head.  The St. Regis Bangkok Hotel is a grand success.

Day turned to night while I sat in that room, and everyone took a wonderful shower.

Soon enough, we had to head back to the airport.

The gang says good bye to the St. Regis.   I cannot tell you how many St. Regis employees said, "We hope you stay longer than four hours next time."  I cannot tell you, because I cannot count that high.

Suvarnabhumi Airport, a jewel of air travel. 

The St. Regis had four valets ready with four carts, since there were four guests in the van.  Experience five stars, a real five stars, just once in your life.

I really do like airports, especially when they have style. 

Natalie Portman is apparently the face of Dior over here.  Or should I say Topless Natalie Portman.  This in the country where a man must wear long pants to enter temples.

Our gate is at the end of the line. 

Barbie boards our 777 to Paris, wearing her Colossal Waste shirt!  Mark your calendar.  This date marks the first official appearance of a Colossal Waste shirt on Colossal Waste.

Bye Bye Bangkok.  I fell asleep soon after this Air France flight was in the air.

Unti tomorrow....

Around The World 2011 Day 19: Luang Prabang, Laos

Today is our last full day in Luang Prabang, which also makes this the last full day of the fam trip portion of Around The World.  (For those who care, I believe we are going around the world in 53 days, but that is not based on careful analysis.)  We will start our day with a cruise to the Pak Ou caves, place a meal here and there, and then in the afternoon we plan to do the thing that I most want to do and was not part of the Hills of Indochina itinerary; climb Phou Si Hill.

But first, we eat.

Today I planned a banana, nutella, peanut butter crepe.  And I thought so far ahead as to pre-cut my own banana.

Breakfast, including said crepe.  Amusingly, I asked for a crepe with banana, peanut butter, and nutella.  The cook asked, "All in one."  I said yes.  I was given two crepes, one with banana and one with nutella.  It was not difficult to combine their contents, and Barbie went and got the peanut butter to complete the process.  And I must say, said combination of flavors is fantastic.

Some people know how to live.  Dori chose to have her breakfast by the pool.  A mere 30 feet from the restaurant, by a mile away metaphysically.  She is, as you say, the genius type.

Barbie said, "Let's go," then needed to grab something, which left my by the door with little to do.  I made the most of it and took this picture with the iPhone pressed to the peephole of our door.  If only I coud have arrange to have someone standing on the other side, it would have been even more fun.

We headed over to the Mekong River, and boarded the Nava Mekong, headed to the Pak Ou caves.

Cruising in style.

I definitely have what is now called lens envy.  But if I had Michael's lens I would go absolutely ape-poop with it, taking close to a thousand pictures per day.  It would be an endless obsession that would lead me to rehabilitation facility, for certain.

A boring shot with Slow Shutter, but I am slowly mastering this app.  I am certain that if I keep trying with it I will eventually get the results that I am after, capturing stillness and motion together.

We passed a prison along the Mekong.  When you see a prison, you take a picture.

Lens envy.  This particular shot was taken solely with Anthony Andrews in mind.  He and I both share a passion for photography, and I know he would appreciate this Nikon setup.

For snacks, we get River Weed.  Yum yum.  I never knew how much I liked algae until this visit to Laos.  (Silent s!)

There be our boat's Laos flag, with the moon in the center.   This is the best shot I have gotten of the Laos flag, and I share it so that you see why Nixon's people were sure to give the Lao people a piece of the moon.

Our destination, the Pak Ou caves.

These caves are filled with Buddha sculptures, as these caves served as a place to hide when Luang Prabang was under attack.  And sitting between Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, as well as the interests of China, France and Britain, Laos has been no stranger to attack.

Our guide Oudon (Don) meets up with his mother, who works here.

A woman solemnly praying at the shrine in the Pak Ou cave.

Barbie prepares to give an offering.

If you think that is a lot of Buddhas, just wait.

A view from above.  Buddha, Buddha, everywhere.

Many were brought here to avoid destruction when Luang Prabang was invaded.

One of these Buddhas is not like the others.

Yes, I was shocked to see the pink, plastic Buddha set alongside the wooden, plaster and stone Buddhas.

I love catching an iPhone portrait being taken.  Especially by an Asian tourist wearing a loud red-white-&-blue baseball cap.  Her husband wears a matching cap, making them the idea couple.

We have seen this tradition where you shake numbered sticks until one falls out.  Then you take the fortune that corresponds with that number.

Barbie shook three sticks out simultaneously, and Dori, Barbie and I each took a corresponding fortune.  Apparently all the fortunes predict good and bad things.

I find the Loa children captivating.  Their expressions say very much.

Back aboard, we head back to Luang Prabang along the Mekong.

Chicken coconut soup.  No surprise there, except that it was excellent.  Even on a boat, you cannot mess up this soup.

Steamed egg roll with minced pork and verimicelli; Marinated chicken in screwpine leaf.

Mekong River fish mousse in banana leaf.

SPecial Lao purple and white sticky rice.

Stir fried sliced pork tenderloin with ginger, onion, mushroom and crispy garlic.

Sauteed mixed garden vegetables in oyster sauce.

The perfect dessert, dragon fruit and pineapple.

At the end of our journey, back at the dock, I could not help but take this shot of this small boat.

Then I took this shot again with Pro HDR.  Remarkable difference, no?

After the boat ride, most of our group went on shopping expeditions, either to a metals factory or jewelry or whatever.  Barbie and I went back to the hotel, got rid of anything heavy, and then took a hotel shuttle to Phou Si Hill.  And yes, that is pronounced Pooh-See.  I get to climb P-ssy Hill.  Magical.

Three hundred and twenty steps?  Piece of cake.

Halfway up sits this Bodhi tree, a gift from the Indian government in 1957, commemorating the 2,500th anniversary of Gautama Buddha's birth.  The Gautama Buddha, known as the Supreme Buddha, sat beneath a Bodhi tree and did not move until he had found the truth.

At the top of Phou Si hill, the views are astounding.

There is the gilded stupa of Wat Chom Si, which I have pointed at form our hotel pool over and over again.

Luang Prabang from the 100 meter tall Phou Si hill.

My guess is that our hotel is around THERE.

Tomorrow we will be on one of those.

The Buddha images inside Wat Chom Si.  A small temple, but considering it is atop Phou Si hill it is a special place to visit.

Barbie loved the smell of the incense up here, and bought quite a bit.  Amusingly, the vendor asked for an amount of Kip that was less than a dollar, and Barbie gave her a dollar to be nice.  And then the lady gave her more incense sticks.

 If you wanted proof that we were 100 meters above Luang Prabang, this is your proof.  For you Yanquis, 100 meters is basically 328 feet.

I forgot to tell you;  it took about 8 minutes to go up and 5 minutes to get down.  Easy peasy.

We wanted to give this little girl a dollar for being cute as heck, but we had no small bills.  Oh... the pain.  Remember to always have change when you walked around developing countries.

We walked by Vat May Souvannapoumaram.  Like I said, Luang Prabang is simply filled with temples.

Finally... FINALLY...  we hopped onto a Tuk Tuk for a ride.  Tuk Tuks are the famed Southeast Asian Taxis that are basically motorcycles with carriages on the back.

Now get this.  You know all those pictures I keep taking of our hotel signs?  Well, when we told our Tuk Tuk driver to take us to La Residence, he had no idea what we meant.  We tried and tried to communicate with him, but we could not.  And he tried asking another Tuk Tuk driver and he had no idea.  But then I remember the picture on my iPhone, pulled it up, and Voila he could read the Lao address in the picture.  In a matter of seconds we were on our way.

So, yeah, take a picture with your iPhone of every hotel that you stay at.

The view on a Tuk Tuk.

 The Monument Du President Souphanouvong.  We have driven past it repeatedly, but finally on the Tuk Tuk we could ask him to stop for me.

There is nothing like an imposing statue of a President.  In this case, the President was the son of a Royal Prince of Laos, and he was clearly savvy as he managed to maintain a position in the new one-party Soviet-aligned government.

“The Red Prince” became the figurehead leader of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, and upon its successful seizure of power in 1975, he became the first President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, a position which he held until his retirement in 1986.

In other words, that statue is of a man born a prince who parlayed his name into being the symbol for a one-party government.  And one party government is a nice way to say totalitarian government.  This Prince was all kinds of savvy.

Barbie and our Tuk Tuk driver.

I never tire of taking pictures of Lao children.  I have noted to others how funny it is that when visiting another country you can innocently take pictures of children playing, but were I to hang around playgrounds in Los Angeles and take pictures of children, I would be very quickly put into the back of a squad car.

There is the sign whose picture gave our Tuk Tuk drive the information he needed to take us home.

Guest photographer Barbie Howard does her own foot photo for the first time, with a soaking me in the background.

Off to the last dinner of this fam trip.

This place looks nice, and it should, as it was specifically chosen by the Trails of Indochina local manager.

Sadly, instead of spending or last meal at a long table as we have gotten used to, we needed to split into groups of two.

Alcoholic Cafe.  A most amusing section of the menu.

As is Whisky and Whiskey.

A toast to Southeast Asia travel.  Tom appears with the hands of Barbie, Michael, Dori, and Yours Truly.

They gave us a taste of soup to get started.  I love when restaurants do this.

My starter, chicken satay.

Barbie's starter, asparagus soup.

My entree, Cordon Bleu.  Fried pork wrapped around ham and cheese.  Bam!

Barbie's entree, white fish.

For dessert, we both got this creative and delicious interpretation of the Banana Split.

A lovely end to a great day.

See you tomorrow.