Singapore

I arrived at the airport with no problems, and enjoyed a pleasant time in the the very nice Singapore airline lounge at the Bangkok airport. The flight was also very good, indeed it was the best flight I have ever taken. The lovely stewardesses addressed me by name, and constantly served me drinks, including excellent champagne. The food was also very good, with my dish apparently designed by Gordon Ramsay. Add this was in business class too - I wonder what first class is like! The Singapore airport is excellent, and It took me less than an hour to get out onto the train system. The train was veryh clean and very efficient. I got off on the train in the center and noticed everything was very clean and organized. I felt like I was in the West. I arrived at my hostel after a bit of a trek and then headed off to Chinatown to eat dinner. I found lots of food stalls and had some noodles for dinner. Chinatown is a delightful area. I went into a Hindu temple there, which was interesting. There are quite a few Indians in Singapore. Prices are much higher here than in Thailand.

Bangkok - Day 3

I walked this morning to Wat Pho, location of the largest reclining Buddha in the world. I took the back route to avoid touts. The temple was like most of the others. The Buddha was indeed very large. I then took the boat across the river, to another temple, Wat Arun, which looks terrific from a distance, but is less interesting up close. I didn't bother paying the entrance fee. I'm all templed out now, at least of Thai temples. I can never get enough of Chinese temples. I caught te boat down the river to where the skytrain connects. I hopped on to go to a mall. I had run out of thin to do in Bangkok (short of day trips), so decided to go see a movie. I had lunch at one o e foodcourts again, which was excellent. And then went to the most luxurious movie theater I have ever seen. Tickets were half the price of the ones back home. After the movie (Wanted, which was excellent), I returned back the guesthouse and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. I traded some books in for Duma Key (Stephen King), anf got a terrific deal. I don't think the guy realized how much the book really cost.

Bangkok - Day 2

I had breakfast at a street cafe near my hotel and noticed there was a Thia man sleeping on the street next to it. I was informed by a lady working there that he was a very bad man. The employees of the restaurant tried to get some tourists to pour water on him. They didn't bite. He was eventually woken up after he was kicked several times, and then twice tried to attack the lady who said he was bad. He was restrained both times and eventually left. I realized one of the cafe's female employees was a transsexual after she spoke with a deep male voice. I eventually got going and began to walk towards the Dusit palace, yet another royal abode. On my way, I was approached by a man who told me it would be closed until two (sure...) and that I should take a tuk-tuk tour around the city for ten baht. I declined. He did point me towards a wat with a very large Buddha statue, which was nice. I first went to the zoo, which was next to the palace complex. There were lots of schoolchildren there. Thai schoolgirls wear very provocative uniforms consisting of a miniskirts and tight, white blouses that turn see-through with sweat. There were a variety of animals in decent enclosures at the zoo. There, I had a disappointing lunch that was too expensive. Next door to the zoo is the Dusit palace, which I then went to. On the palace grounds are a variety of houses built for the royalty in the late 19th, early 20th century. Each one of those houses had some sort of exhibition involving the king. At each one I had to take off my shoes and put my bag in a locker. It became very tiresome. At the Vinanmek house, I had to all of this, and put pants on. I was also forced onto a guided tour. I have never gone to any tourist attractions that require so much preperation before going in. It is extremely irritating. The Vinanmek house was very nice though, being the largest building made of teak in the world.

Bangkok - Day 1

I got off at one station before the main one to avoid touts who would undoubtedly harass me. I got a taxi to my guesthouse, and arrived with no problem. Unfortunately my room was not yet ready when I arrived, so I could not take a sorely needed shower. I decided to walk to the Royal Palace, which is relatively close, while I waited for my room to be ready. While walking there, I walked past the infamous Kaosan road, which looked like a backpacker ghetto from all the signs (not a single one in Thai). Once I got to the palace, a man speaking English approached me to say the palace was closed and would only open at noon. I had been warned about these people (generally out to scam you), and politely told him I would go anyway. The palace opened at 8:30 after a ceremony by the guards next to the entrance. Upon entering the grounds, I was confronted with one of Thailand's irritations: being forced to wear pants at tourist sights. I had to wear incredibly baggy pants in order to be let in. I first went and saw an exhibition of the royal family's jewels, which was interesting. I mostly enjoyed it because it was air-conditioned. I then went into the Jade Buddha temple, which was already swarming with tourists. It was impressive, but a bit garish. The jade buddha was tiny. The rest of the palace was a disapointment though, as you could not go into any of the other buildings. I went back to the hotel, and was delighted to find my room was ready. I took a wonderful shower, and then took a boat down the river to Chinatown. I wanted to see if anyone spoke Chinese there and eat in one of the stalls for lunch. Bangkok's Chinatown is a warren of small streets and alleys, teeming with street stalls. I tried speaking Chinese to some of the vendors, but they did not understand me. I finally ate some berbecued pork soup for lunch, which was very Chinese. The stall's owners did not seem to speak Chinese though. I walked around for much of the afternoon, heading towards the commercial area. I took a subway/skytrain ride and went to Jim Thompson's house, who was a silk seller, and had a beautiful traditional Thai house built for himself. It was lovely inside, and decorated with lovely antiques. I went to the giant mall next door (actually three malls connected to one another), where I ate dinner at a food court. The food court was recommended in my guidebook, and the Tom Yum soup I had was delicious. As I left the mall, I was confronted by a phalanx of screaming girls surrounding a stage. I stayed for a few minutes to find out that a Korean boyband was having a free performance there. It was very strange. The girls were screaming and pointing. What purpose does screaming serve other that hurting people's ears?

Vientiane - Bangkok

I spent a dull morning in Vientiane visiting two of the cities' three sights of interest (no joke, there really are only three things to see). The first in an unfinished arch based on the Ard de Trimphe in Paris, but with Asian touches. The description board inside gave me a chuckle by describing it as ugly - monstrosity would be more appropriate. From there, I walked to a famous temple, which after so many other temples, was only moderately interesting. This is despite is being the most important temple in Laos. I had lunch at an excellent Cafe, where I had a sandwish, and hung out there for a couple of hours, as I was only getting picked up at 3:30 to go across the border. To my dismay, I was picked up by a Sontheauw. Thankfully, I was not too uncomfortable for the forty-five minute ride to the Friendship Bridge. The crossing went off without a hitch, and everyone got their train tickets.

One of the guys in our car said second class was bad, especially in the top bunk, which is what I had booked. In China, the top bunk is the most desirable for privacy reasons, but in Thailand it is actually cheaper. First class tickets were very expensive. The train definately had a different layout ot Chinese ones, but I was pleasantly surprised with second class. There only two bunks per side, unlike hard sleeper with three, and they were actually quite soft. Everything was very clean, and people were quiet. There no loud, drunk Chinese people talking loudly. The only problem was that they did not turn out the lights for the whole trip. Every compartment had a curtain though, and I made sure to use my blindfold. I slept extremely well, and woke up very refreshed the following morning.

Vientiane

Vientiane is quite dull, with very little to see. I walked around a little bit yesterday without any destination in mind before retiring to my room for the afternoon. It was too hot outside and my skin was still very sore from the sunburn I suffered the day before.

Vang Vieng - Vientiane

I went back to the organic farm restaurant for breakfast, this time ordering a mulberry pancake, which was quite tasty. After breakfast, I took all my luggage and went to the travel agent to wait for the pickup that would take me to the river for kayaking. I was dismayed to see that we would be using a songthiaew for the transportation. For some reason, every time I have gone in one for a long drive, I have gotten severe motion sickness. It was no different on this trip, and I felt quite ill by the time we arrived. We began kayaking on the river and went through a total of three rapids, which were quite fun, before stopping for lunch at some rocks on the side of the river. The two guides grilled kebabs for us, which took ages. I would have preferred a sandwich so we didn't have to wait for so long with nothing to do! While waiting for the food, we saw several other groups come down the river, including one that had most of their kayaks capsize on the rapids nearby. Apparently capsizing is a regular occurrence, and I am very glad that our group managed to avoid it. Following lunch we took off again on a rather placid stretch of the river. Ir was incredibly sunny at this point, and I felt my legs burning, but had not put any sun screen on. I've never been burned on my legs before, but the nature of the kayaks (with the legs sticking out front), ensured that they were fully exposed to the sun. I went swimming in the river for a bit as well. For the transfer to Vientiane, we were picked up by an overloaded Songthiaew. I had to share a seat in the front with a Lao woman. It was very uncomfortable. I also began to feel my legs burning at this point, and knew I had a horrible sunburn. after two hours of agony, we finally arrived in Vientiane, where I wandered around, looking for a hotel. The first one I went to was full, but the second had one single room left. I was very lucky to have gotten this room, because I saw lots of people wearing backpacks wandering around the city while finding a place to eat. I ate a Lao restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet. I ordered a noodle dish, and the waitress laughed at me when I was eating it wrong. Apparently, I was supposed to mix it up first before eating.