Discovering South Asia -- 2013

As I left Singapore on Feb 12th, I was feeling a mix of emotions all over my body. My apprehensive, cautious mind was telling me to start looking for another job, save money and prepare for the future. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that was making my limbs go weak and draining the energy out of me. I had never left Singapore for more than a month at a time and there was an overwhelming sadness overpowering me as I was going to miss my friends. I tried to distract myself but it just wasn't working. Doing anything was hard since I was distracted and doing nothing was harder as I needed to be distracted. And finally there was the heart. My heart was leaping with excitement and anticipation at the months ahead. Travelling across South Asia, meeting new people, catching up with friends back home and most of all COMPLETE FREEDOM. I was totally looking forward to a life of no deadlines, calendars and task list (I was gonna b proved wrong just 2 days into my travels). 

As the old adage goes, "Follow your heart" and that's exactly what I did. 

Fast forward a week and here I am in Bangalore, smoking weed in a friend's house. My adventure has just begun and there's still a long way to go.... 

Life is good... 

My rough travel map is below, check it out and follow me! :-) 

View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint

Meditate your way to a better living?

Today I tried something new, MEDITATION.. Well i have meditated before back in India but only when I was a kid and it’s been almost 8 years since that happened. I started having an interesting problem recently, excessive sweating. I am not sure how this happens, but everytime I head out of the house and starting walking towards the MRT station, I start sweating like a pig in less than 3 min. My shirt is drenched and it looks like one of the cards from the ink-blot test. I mean it is ridiculously hot and humid in Singapore but still this had never happened to me before.

I googled “excessive sweating” and the ever-trusting wikipedia chirped out a page on hyperhidrosis. Now this got my attention since I have never heard of this particular phenomenon before. The wikipedia page turned out to be quite unconvincing and I thought maybe it was my heart beating too fast which made me sweat too much. I googled this in turn and stumbled on a page across meditation. It claimed that regular meditation helps to relieve stress, clear your mind, increase productivity and lower your heart rate.

Now, I have always been a skeptic when it comes to meditation, yoga, homeopathy etc.
(Jeez, can you believe I am from India!?) but I was willing to give it a try. I googled meditation (yeah, google is my go-to guy for everything in my life) and again got onto wikihow which guided me on the basic steps. Following them, I sat upright and started regulating my breaths. To clear my mind I focussed only on my breath and counted it. Scattered thoughts crept into my head time and again but i managed to push it out and focus solely on my breath. I counted slowly until 60 (took me about 3 min I think) and opened my eyes to the light.

The effect was almost instantaneous, I had this feeling of paralysis where my mind gave up its control of the body and was blank, yet at the same time so alert to all the sound, light, shadow and movement around keeping me ready to spring into action if required.

I felt like i had achieved Zen, though this was probably nothing compared to what could be obtained from prolonged meditation over many years. My focus on immediate activities after the meditation has also significantly improved which enabled me to finish this blog entry in less than 10 min although facebook distraction snaked through for a few moments there.

I think I really love the whole concept of clearing my mind and letting free of all the annoying thoughts that gnaw in my head. I plan to start meditating 10 min every morning and evening. Would you care to join me???  

First time in Nepal..

Street Art in Kathmandu

I had just finished my final exams and I was already ready to head to Nepal. This was going to be my first graduation trip and I was going with Jivi, a close classmate of mine from University. I tried to catch up with all my friends in Singapore before i left for Nepal since I was wasn't going to return back to Singapore for a whole 3 months. My flight to New Delhi was through Kuala Lumpur by AirAsia. I was greeted by my cousin Mahesh in the airport and stayed the night at my aunt's place. I was really glad to be back in India after nearly a year and eat some delicious home cooked food. We drove around India Gate, Connaught Place and Palika Bazaar taking in the sights and sounds of the "New Delhi". Delhi had changed a lot since the last time I was here and I was taken aback and glad to see such a developed city at the core of my country. The next afternoon, I boarded my flight to Kathmandu by SpiceJet. This is a low-cost no frills budget airline in India though it is not cheap by any standards. 

Students at work

We were picked up at the airport by Ali, a friendly Nepalese guy from our hostel. We stayed the night at Elbrus Home which is just opposite the Himalayan Bank in Thamel. This was a very nice hostel to stay at though it was on the steeper end at 700 NPR a night. Early next day we headed to the Annapurna Conservation Office to get out permits. For once being an Indian paid off and I had to pay just 200 NPR for the permit when my friend who was a Malaysian had to pay 2000 NPR. It was a bandh in Kathmandu that day and many of the shops were closed. There was also a peaceful street art demonstration by some students and this was a great initiative equally fascinating that the paintings represented their protests against the government in a simple and meaningful way. We headed to Pashupatinath temple later that day which is about 6km from Thamel. The tradition of burning the dead bodies next to the temple is carried out over here. After we got back, I came across a Pakoda stall which was next to the Yak Mountain Gear shop. I am giving special mention to this place since the pakodas were delicious and I would come back here everyday after this. It's also really cheap at just 10NPR/4 pieces and is such a bargain for the taste. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone with a stable stomach. 

Pashupatinath Temple Gopuram

Burning dead bodies next to stream

Beginning of trek

Early next day we went to the local bus stop and set off on the bus to Besisahar. We were a little worried about buses not running on account of the bandh but there wasn't any problem. We reached Besisahar and caught a connecting bus to Bhulbhule. On this bus we met 2 German guys, Felix and Max who would later be trekking with us for most part of the circuit. We came across the Permit checkpost at Bhulbhule and after getting it stamped, started our 2 week journey over the great Thorong La!

Fund-Raising Project, Savong's Orphanage

Subsequent to the previous blog, Loic and I along with the help of my American friend who is on exchange in Singapore, Stefan decided to start a fund-raising project to help procure the necessary items for the orphanage which is slated to open in Sep 2011. Below is the complete breakdown of the funds required! 

No                Description              Quantity             Unit Price             Total           
1                      Fans                         5                       $45                   $225 
2                  Water tank                    1                      $250                  $250 
3                  Mattresses                    5                      $120                  $600 
4                    Pillows                        20                      $5                     $100 
5                 Mosquito Net                 5                        $15                   $75
6                   Lockers                       5                        $85                   $425
7                     Plates                       40                     $0.85                  $34
8                      Pot                            1                       $25                    $25
9                      Pan                           1                       $8                      $8
10                  Boxes                          2                       $5                     $10
11               Motorbikes                     2                     $1500                 $3000
                                                                                                          $4,752 


They also regularly need $680/month for providing the children food and $200 per month for the staff's salary. 


Thanks so much for checking this out and I really hope you can take some time off your day to make a change in the lives of these children. For more information about my experiences and photos of the orphanage/school, please visit my previous blog entry "Volunteer at Savong Orphan Center, Cambodia"

or to Savong Foundation's Facebook page at 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Savong-Foundation/138441669535877

Also for people visiting my blog directly you can contribute for this cause through the paypal widget above.

This NGO is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-corrupt organization. We assure you that any form of donation will only go towards the construction and we engage to provide any form of proof. Savong Orphanage Centre is officially recognized by the Ministry of Education of Cambodian Government. Education qualifications issued by SOC are accepted throughout Cambodia as a formal accreditation. 
More Info: 
www.savong.com 
www.savongorphanage.com

Volcanic Splendor - West Java

Jakarta from our hotel.

This trip just happened so sudden and spontaneously that within a few hours of discussion, we had booked our tickets to Jakarta. Our primary objective to go to Jakarta was to check out Iron Maiden playing Live at the grounds. My friends and I are huge Iron Maiden fans and we have been looking forward to this for a long time. They were playing in Singapore as well but the tickets were too expensive for front row standing. So when I checked out that the tickets for the Jakarta concert were 120 dollars and the flight was 40 bucks return from Singapore, we immediately clinched the deal. 

Jet Star has frequent flights everyday to Jakarta and booking it a few weeks in advance will ensure that you get the cheapest of tickets. 

Manas Monument - Jakarta

We had great fun in Jakarta at the concert which took place at Ancol Bay - Dreamland which is a freaking huge recreational area full of hotels, restaurants and bars. We stayed at the Jalan Jaksa. I had heard a lot of unpleasant things about staying here with prostitutes and transvestites troubling you, but honestly we had no problem even in the middle of the night when we returned back to our hotel. We had a really enjoyable stay at Le Margot hotel. This is a little upscale for the backpacker quarter it is located in but quite a good value for its price. The rooms were quite simple with a TV which gets most English channels. Watching the Maidens play on stage was awesome! Chanting to the songs of "Hallowed Be Thy Name", "Blood Brothers", "Dance of Death" among others was truly an unforgettable experience. The night after the concert we went to Club Stadium. This is a place you wouldn't wanna miss though the details of what happened in the club can't exactly be revealed in this blog.. :)

View of the crater - Papandayan

We moved on to Bandung from Jakarta to check out the volcano landscape surrounding this interesting city. The first night in Bandung was spent strolling around Braga which is an area known for its clubs, karaoke and live music bars. Entering most of these clubs/karaoke bars you find yourself taken in and shown a group of beautiful girls waiting amongst the misty interiors. However, tonight we would restrain ourselves and head back to our hotel. We stayed at Patradissa hotel which is conveniently located very close to Bandung Train station.

Smoking sulphur rocks 

Exploring the crater

Deposits of sulphur and boiling water

Panaromic crater

More Volcanic rocks and Sulphur deposits

L-R: Hari, Shiva and Dipak on the crater

Sulphur deposits on a volcanic rock

We rented a car with a driver and drove up to Gunung Papandayan, This is  a very active volcano which is about 90km south of Bandung. The car goes all the way up to the entrance of the climb towards the crater. Its a real easy climb and you are able to walk across the huge crater which is about 2 km wide. Walking across the crater, you find yourself in the midst of boiling water, smoking rocks and sulpur deposits. We came across multiple fumaroles and climbing down one of them, I could really feel the heat raging beneath the surface. Standing close to one of the fumaroles, I was lost in the water vapour and sulphur smoke that was coming out from the earth towards me. We walked around for a few hours exploring the crater. I have climbed a couple of volcanoes already but this was something different and truly unique. Being in the crater made me realize the awe of the energy that is churning under our feet at this very moment. We found black and red volcanic rocks all over the place including bright yellow sulphur deposits. We broke off some sulphur samples clinging to the rocks to take back to Singapore as a souvenir. 

During this night each of us in the group had our own unique experiences. Like we say "What happens in Bandung, stays in Bandung". 

Volunteer at Savong's Orphan Center, Siem Reap

At Savong's Orphanage

I have already been to Cambodia 2 years ago and visited the Angkor Wat and other temples, Phnom Penh etc. So this visit, my main objective was to volunteer at Savong's orphanage and School. We stayed in Savong's house for the night and he welcomed us to stay for the remaining nights as well. Savong is this amazing guy, who has lived in poverty since he was a kid. With his eagerness to learn and educate himself, he decided to go live in a pagoda at a very young age and became a monk for 4 years learning Buddhism, philosophy and the ways of life. But however, he wanted to really make a difference in the lives of the poor children and realized that education was they key factor. Thus he got out of the pagoda, returned to live with his family and started teaching English to children in the neighbourhood who were eager learn. His dream however was to build a school providing free education. This is when his life took a turn and he met Duncan Stuart, a guy from new Zealand who decided to help out Savong. Together they created Savong's school in 2005. Soon Savong realized that some children were so poor or they were orphans having lost their parents in the genocide. Thus he built Savong's orphanage for the excessively poor children or orphans. Currently the orphanage hosts 38 children. The first day we visited the orphanage in the afternoon. 

Teaching at Savong's School

Before I event left for my trip, I sent out a facebook message to all my friends and appealed for donation of clothes, books, toys etc. I received a great response and many of my friends donated generously. I had collected all these items to distribute to the children in the orphanage and to the needy in the neighboring villages. The orphanage is located about 15 km from Siem Reap town. As soon as we reached the orphanage the children came running to us and politely led us in to the orphanage asking questions about us on the way. I was pleasantly surprised at how well some of them spoke English and how enthusiastic and polite they were. There were children of all age groups, right from a 9month old infant to a 22 year old adult. Since it was a Sunday, the older children were working on a construction site so only the younger kids were at the orphanage. We spent the next few hours playing with them and gave away all the clothes. It was amazing to see how they were always smiling, happily playing around and so thankful. They called Savong as "Dad" and I was moved to see how well he connected with the kids. This was just the beginning of the life-changing journey I was going to be taking in the next few days. 

Savong's School

Katie, Savong and I at the site of the new orphanage

Savong School: Free Education

Housing 38 children in 4 rooms was quite difficult. There was definitely not enough space and Savong wanted to make it a bigger place to welcome more children. But however, the existing orphanage is near a temple and hence they couldn't do any more construction due to Government orders. Thus, Savong paid the deposit to buy a piece of land which was just about 3km from the city. The plan was to house the older children there so that they can go easily to the city to find work or study. We reviewed the construction site in the morning and started construction the same day. However, we still needed to raise money for the new orphanage, to buy the piece of land and also the materials needed for construction. We promised Savogn we would help him and do our best to raise the money. Late in the afternoon we decided to visit Savong's school. 

Savong's school was the biggest eye-opener for me. Its this amazing place where kids voluntarily come and learn English for free. They are also taught Japanese and pretty much anything else they are interested to learn. They rally welcome volunteers to the classrooms to teach English as well. I taught English there for 3 days and I have to say, it was one of the coolest things I have done in my life. There are 3 classrooms based on proficiency level of the kids: the first one was for kids less than 8-9 years old, the 2nd one for kids less than 13 years and the last one for the older kids. My first 2 days, Loic and I taught in the youngest class. We met this amazing teacher Sala who had a great way of teaching through games like Bingo and visual aids. We had such a great time playing Bingo with the kids and it was absolutely amazing!! The School also has a Computer room for older students to learn basic computer applications like MS Office, Adobe Photoshop. However there is a huge shortage of computers and the existing ones were 15 year old models. During my 3rd day I taught English in the class for older kids. We were learning about a lesson the polar bear. I had a great time teaching them the lesson and also taught them some grammar on how to use articles. This was when I realized the irony of life. Coming from a middle class family in India I had access to education in a good school in Chennai. However, I would still dread to attend classes, would intentionally skip classes and trouble my teachers. I was definitely a brat at school making fun of my teachers and cracking jokes. However on seeing these children who are so welcoming and eager to learn everyday of their life, it must really suck for them to not have the money for a decent education. These children really want to learn and are just trying to have a decent living but they don't have the money. The librarian who works in the school is only 22 years old and wants to become a English teacher. However she doesn't have the money to pay for the university and is trying to learn as much as she can through the books. This was really a life-changing moment and I realized the importance of education and the how much I badly wanted to help these children achieve their dreams!! Loic and I promised we would definitely help them and we are already working on few projects to sponsor their education. 

During these few days Julius and Barbara also came and taught some French to the kids. They also were truly inspired and really happy on seeing the eager faces. It was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. Soon it was Julius and Barbara's last night with us so we went out for a farewell dinner and drinks after that. We ended up being out until 3 am partying at Temple Club and Angkor What? on Pub Street. It turned out to be a great night and I was very sad on leaving them. They are definitely missed! We also went to a buffet dinner one night at Savong's persual and it was pretty awesome! It costs 12 USD per person and there was so much food. In addition there was also the traditional Apsara dance performance which was quite enthralling and so uniquely subtle. 

Soon, it was time for me to leave Cambodia but I was taking back with me a treasure of memories. This trip has been one of the most memorable trips I have ever had. Meeting Julius and Barbara by chance and travelling together for a week was simply awesome and I would never forget them. I am sure we will have chances to travel together real soon. it was also very sad to be leaving Loic after our travels together. But of course I was sure that we would be out on the road again in a few months having yet another adventure. It's this common passion for exploring the world and discovering new experiences that drives our souls! With regards to my volunteering experience, It was truly one of the best. I had such a great time with the kids at the orphanage, teaching English at the school among so many others. I vow to return back real soon and promise to help them realize their dreams in the best way I can. 

Loic and I have already initiated couple of fund-raising projects and we are working towards our common goal of helping out these children. They are now a significant part of my life and I will never forget them. 

Overland barefoot from Laos to Cambodia

Cows grazing in the fields west of Vang Vieng

After just a night in Vientiane (we planned to return later for another night) we took a bus early morning to Vang Vieng. VV is a rather small town surrounded by pristine rolling limestone hills hugging the town. We stayed at a charming little guesthouse called SpicyLaos backpackers with simple rooms and beds with mosquito nets. After chilling for a bit, we went walking around for a while towards the river. On crossing the wooden footbridge across the river, we walked around 1.5 km across the field and reached a small hill. Climb this hill at your own risk since its a little dangerous with steep climbs and sharp rocks. A Brazilian guy who was climbing with us got a deep cut needing stitches. That said, if you are careful enough this is an easy climb and you will be rewarded with beautiful views at the top. late in the evening, we came for dinner at a restaurant watching endless re-runs of FRIENDS (some restaurants even had FAMILY GUY running). After dinner, we went back to our hostel, chilled out on our hammocks before crashing for the night! 

Swimming in the stream outside Tham Jong

Early next day, we woke up to a chilly morning. We met up with this American girl, Danielle who joined us to explore caves in the morning. Our first stop was Tham Jong which is south of Vang Vieng. After walking until Vang Vieng resort, you should take a dirt road to the right and walk until you reach the gates. There is a fees of 2000 kip to pay for entrance to the grounds and another 15,000 kip to the cave entrance. After paying the entrance fee, the guy will come to the top with you to open the cave gates and switch on the lights. Its best to go to this cave early in the morning since it gets very crowded by 9am. At first the cave looks really artificial and modern with lamps, guardrails and stairs but don't let a "No Entry" stop sign from preventing you exploring the cave in the dark. The cave went really deep into narrow passages and wonderful caverns in the dark. There was a bit of climbing to do among the rocks but it was worth every bit. once you come out of the cave, you can see a stream coming from the cave flowing into a pond. We went swimming in the stream for a while and swam into the cave. Overall this cave was a great experience and definitely worth a visit. 

After this we got back to the town for breakfast and rented bicycles to get to Tham Phu Kam/Blue Lagoon cave. It was a great bike journey across the fields. Finally, we reached The Blue Lagoon Cave after a few stops for drinks/food with 2 Swedish guys, Marcus and Marcus. This was a beautiful cave, and we once again explored deep into the cave. Just outside the cave, there is a Blue Lagoon, where you have lots of swings and great swimming. We were able to catch the sunset on our ride back to the town and it was beautiful. After dinner we decided to go to Q-Bar for some drinks. This bar is filled with tourists, mostly Australians and they have TV-Screens showing the Tubing videos. Definitely recommend BeerLao and the other buckets of alcohol. 

Inside Tham Phu Kham

Swimming in Blue Lagoon outside Tham Phu Kham

The next day we woke up late in the morning and decided to catch a mini-van to Luang Prabang (30th Jan). On the mini-van we sat next to 2 French kids, Julius and Barbara. Little did we know that we would be spending the next week travelling together. The road from VV-Luang Prabang through the hills is full of sharp bends and make sure you don't eat anything before you get on the bus. On reaching Luang Prabang, we couldn't find any accommodation, so we got a small yet comfortable room for the 4 of us and shared it for the night. We went for dinner at this Indian Restaurant, Fatima which I do not recommend since the food was not authentic and didn't taste as good! 

Alms Ceremony, Luang Prabang

The next morning we were up real early at 5am to watch the alms collecting ceremony of the monks. We made our way into the town near the temples where we saw people sitting on the sidewalk with some food waiting for the monks. To join in the spirit, we got some food ourselves and sat down next to them. Soon enough, Buddhist monks came in a single file with a bowl to collect food. We soon ran out of food and decided to give way to other people. It was such a picturesque and beautiful sight of the monks clad in orange robes collecting alms. We took some pictures and got breakfast in a French restaurant. It was slightly expensive but the food was delicious. We pretty much just walked around the town for the rest of the day and visited many temples. After lunch we decided to go to top of Phu Si, a small hill right in the middle of Luang Prabang. We visited the temples on the way and got a beautiful view from the top of Phu Si. Luang Prabang is surrounded by hills on all sides and looks like its sitting in a deep valley. The scene was so serene and peaceful. After going back down, we decided to change our hostel to a better place. After some negotiations, we stayed for the night at Mekong Charm GuestHouse. The rooms were very comfortable and spacious with bath tubs in the bathrooms. This came with a price of 15$ per person but we decided to shell it out after much thought. We were celebrating Barbara's birthday tonight so we decided to hit a couple of bars. Funny thing is all the bars in Luang Prabang close by 11:30 pm. There was one discotheque which was also closing at 1am. We went to 2 bars next door to Hive Bar since there was a 2 For 1 cocktail offer. We had a great celebration and since the bars closed early, we bought a couple of beers and made our way back to the hotel to continue our celebrations. 

Loic and I on Phu Si, Luang Prabang

The next morning we woke up to a hangover. However we had heard about teaching English to kids at a place called Big Brother Mouse. This place is real close to 3Nagas Restaurant which is located right on the main street. a short walk away from Lao National Museum. I taught english and learnt Lao as well from a kid over there. This is a great place which promotes literacy among Lao people and encourage learning English. Later in the afternoon after a baguette sandwich for lunch, we booked a van to go to Kuang Si Waterfalls. These waterfalls are located about 25 km about Luang Prabang. 

Us at Kuang Si Waterfalls

We arrived to a Bear Rescue center where some Asiatic black bears rescued from poaching have been housed. The waterfall, just beyond the Bear Rescue Center is breathtaking. Its multi-tiered and at every level you got a naturally formed swimming pool, perfectly safe for swimming. We climbed to the top of the falls and got a great view as well. After spending the entire afternoon here, we got back to the town to take a bus to Vientiane. We decided to skip Pak Ou caves since we had already been to some amazing caves at Vang Vieng and we heard that the caves here were not so great. Besides its about 150000 kip/person to get to the caves which is quite expensive. The bus to Vientiane was an overnight journey so we left at about 7pm by a VIP bus. The bus cost us about 100000 kip per head and was quite comfortable. We reached back to Vientiane around 7 am in the morning. 

Julius & Barbara at Kuang Si Waterfalls

The next day in Vientiane, we rented bicycles and went out to visit Lao's famed That Luang. Its the iconic architectural symbol of Laos and it shines in the sunlight during the day in all its grandeur. We spent a couple of hours walking around the temple complex and the other nearby areas amazed at the architectural wonders. Its truly a marvel to see the ceiling/wall paintings in one of the temples depicting the story of Buddha' s journey to enlightenment. later, we biked over to the morning market to shop around a bit and then headed back to return the bicycles. We were all taking a bus to Pakse the same evening. We all tried to get tickets on a sleeping bus but there were only 2 tickets left so we decided that Julius and Barbara have the ticket and we could just take a local bus. Our bus journey to Pakse was a very unique experience. The bus was filled with mosquitoes and over-booked. A couple of people were sitting on the floor. There was redundant Lao music playing on the T.V and unfortunately our seats were right next to the damn speakers. We tried to sleep for a few hours but to no good. After putting up with the "noise" for hours, I finally went and gestured furiously to the driver to turn the music off. We managed to get a few hours of sleep before they turned it back on at 5 am. DAMN! Tired and worn down, we finally reached Pakse at 7 am. Though the bus journey was not so comfortable, I really loved it since we met a lot of Lao people and traveled with the locals which is the best way to travel. It was definitely a great experience that I would remember for a long time! 

Tad Fane Waterfall

On reaching Pakse we checked into this hotel whose name I can't remember but its in the backpacker area. Eventually we met up with Julius and Barbara and we all checked in together. Since we planned to stay in Pakse for just a day, we decided to make full use of it. Without further ado, we went to the bike shop at Lankham Hotel and rented bikes. We got a map of Bolavean Plateau and decided to go to Tad Fane first. To get a great view of the waterfall up close, you can climb down the cliff. Although, its a little steep climb and exercise full caution while going down. We then biked until Paksong and crossed left to go on the road along to Tad lo. We first visited Tad Hang which is a beautiful waterfall over the rocks. We swam there for about 2 hours and it was wonderful. The water was at a perfect temperature and the rocks made it challenging to walk about. Tad Lo is a pretty small waterfall, yet an amazing place to hang out or have a picnic. We hung out at the resort next to Tad Hang for a couple of hours enjoying the sounds of the waterfall. We then heard about this waterfall over a cliff called Tad Song. This is definitely a must-see. Its not really a waterfall, more like just a small stream falling off a high cliff. Nevertheless the views from the cliff are absolutely breathtaking. We also encountered a lot of Lao kids there and it was fun playing with them. By this time it was already 530 pm and we still had 100 km ride back to Pakse. So we rove back really fast at almost 100kph on 100cc bikes!! However, it still got dark pretty soon and we finally reached Pakse around 7pm. Completely worn down from the long day, we had pizzas at a local restaurant and headed to bed early. 

Us with Lao children at Tad Song

The next day, we were up quite early and took a local jumbo to Si Phan Dhon or "4000 Islands". This was like a mini-van meant for 15 people but crowded with 40 people. Soon enough, 15 minutes into our journey one of the tyres busted. But the driver surprisingly was real efficient and changed the tyre in under 10 minutes and we were back on the road headed to Ban Nakasang where we were going to catch a ferry to Don Det, one of the bigger islands next to Don Khong. The jumbo cost us just 30000 kip each for a 3 hour journey. We bought a ferry-cum-bus to Siem Reap inclusive ticket at Ban Nakasang and it cost us about 18 USD. This was a pretty good price and we were pretty happy to buy it. During the ferry ride, we saw why this place was called 4000 Islands. There were numerous islands of vegetation floating around on the Mekong and it was gorgeous. We stayed at Souksan GuestHouse on Don Det which is a nice charming place just by the beach. We got hammocks to ourselves and I set about reading my book "The Brain that Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge. This is a fascinating book which talks about the endless adaptability of the human brain through patient studies and it was a great companion for me during my travels. I had many long conversations with Loic, Julius and Barbara about these topics and we always had a long debate. We got beer and enjoyed the sunset together. One beer led to more drinks and we were soon having a great conversation about our travels so far and future expeditions.  We continued to chat over drinks late into the night and it was finally time to hit the sack and wake up to a long long day of travel. 

Sunset over Mekong River

The next morning we took the boat back to Ban Nakasang and took a bus to the border. One the way, my slippers tore and since I was just too lazy to wear my shoes, I decided to go barefoot all the way to Cambodia. I crossed the border into Cambodia heroically barefoot. I guess this explains the title of the blog. Some important things to do and remember before getting to the border are 

Have enough cash with you (atleast 40USD)

There are no ATMs at the border and they do not accept Credit Card for payment

There are 3 payments to make

1. 20000 kip at the Lao border for exit stamp
2. 23 USD for Cambodian Visa on arrival unless you don't need one
3. 2 USD  for Cambodian stamping on the passport

One other thing to remember is to have photos of yourself for the visa. If not, then you have to pay 2 USD more to get the visa. Once in Cambodia, we got onto our Paramount Angkor Bus again for the long drive to Siem Reap. The bus goes through Stung Treng, Kratie and Kampung Cham. At Kampung Cham you got to change to a bus heading towards Siem Reap. The buses normally reach around 10 pm but it does get delayed and it reached only around 1130pm for us. 

As soon as we got off the bus at Siem Reap, we were hoarded by tuk-tuk drivers. They ask for 2 USD/person which is quite steep since the city center is really close. But don't try negotiating with them since they don't budge from their fixed price and scoff at you. We arived at Siem Reap Temple Villa which is a pretty cheap hotel. However this hotel was out of rooms. After walking around until half past midnight and finding no place to stay I decided to call my Cambodian friend, Savong, and he came to pick us up. We went to his house and had a pretty comfortable room for the night. After the long, arduous journey we were happy to call it a night!