Pic of the Week 5

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz
Mekong Dreaming in Luang Prabang.

Mekong Dreaming in Luang Prabang.

This was taken in the evening of my first day in Luang Prabang. The two Belgians Chris and Dolf had split in Nong Khiaw in order to meet up again in Luang Prabang at 6 pm that same day. They had to ride their motorbikes down and I took the local bus. After I got myself sorted out, I went down to the banks of the Mekong to watch the sunset before meeting the guys. I heard the views were supposed to be amazing. This was definitely no exaggeration and I went down to the water where all the longboats were anchoring. The longboat on the picture just pulled in and the guy on the roof did the last smooth adjustments with his long bamboo rod. Not many people around at that moment and a very serene atmosphere. However, this would be the exception for my entire stay in Luang Prabang as I would soon have to find out….

Categories: Laos, Photography, Pic of the Week | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

Boat Trip to paradisical Muang Ngoi Neua

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

Phongsaly & Trekking-1904We left Phongsaly, the city above the clouds, early to get the bus to Hat Sa. From there it would be a two day boat ride with an overnight stop in Muang Khua. Our final destination being Muang Ngoi Neua, a supposedly blissful fisher village at the banks of the Nam Ou River. But first Phongsaly bid us farewell with another beautiful vista of its sea of clouds.
In the guidebooks it is said, that it might be difficult to arrange a boat trip down to Muang Khua due to the possible lack of people going there. There was no need to worry though since there were more than enough people to pay for the ride. The boat itself was a lot smaller than the first slow-boat I took on the Mekong. No chairs, just wooden planks to fit three people. Needless to say that the boat, as with every other means of transportation in Laos, was way overloaded. With lots of draft we started our journey rocking down the Nam Ou.

Read more »

Categories: Laos | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on Boat Trip to paradisical Muang Ngoi Neua

Phongsaly – Misty Days in Laos’ wild North

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

Phongsaly & Trekking-1716I get up very early and as I leave my guesthouse, it is foggy and drizzling again – a phenomenon that seems to be typical in Laos and which I still have to get used to. The already not so charming town of Oudomxai presents itself grey and depressing. Tired and weary, I arrive at the local bus station and the sight of this muddy and bland place just completes the picture. Bound for Phongsaly, the remote and wild North of Laos, I am worried if the bus will make it there. There are rumors that yesterday’s bus had to turn around due to bad road conditions. The almost antique bus is completely overloaded with people sitting on plastic stools in the aisle, others even standing and sacks of rice and other produce stacked behind the driver. With lots of luck, I secure myself a seat, send a quick prayer to heaven and the bus squeaks off for its 9 hour journey to Phongsaly.

Read more »

Categories: Laos, Trekking | Tags: , , , | 10 Comments

Pic of the Week 4

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

After having spent the last week in Lao’s remote North and afterwards in some small villages along the Nam Ou River, I am finally back to civilization. Being without internet and electricity is actually not too bad. The only downturn is, that I am far behind in terms of updates. I want to pick it up again with the Pic of the Week 4.

Pic of the Week-1693

Taken at the little monastery close to the Phuthat Stupa in Oudomxai. The waiting definately paid off.

This was taken in Oudomxai, Laos. Oudomxai is basically just a gateway for public transportation going to all directions within Laos. I had to spend a night there before heading into the remote North. Before sunset I walked around town for a while and discovered a little temple on a hill overlooking the city. There were a few monks there preparing for their evening chanting. The monk in the picture was looking out of the window, enjoying the last rays of sun and watching what was going on outside. It was a perfect shot but I wasn’t quick enough to ask if it was ok for him to get a picture taken. He left and I was really frustrated having missed that shot. So I stayed there for another 10 or 15 minutes hoping that he would return. When he finally did, I asked him right away and luckily he didn’t have any objections. I was very happy and enjoyed the sunset on top of the hill.

I am in Luang Prabang right now and will have some time to catch up on the updates. I spent some interesting days trekking in Phongsaly, Lao’s far and rugged North, had two amazing boat rides and relaxed in the laid back fishing village of Muang Ngoi.

Categories: Laos, Photography, Pic of the Week | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

Entering Laos: Going down the mighty Mekong

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

Laos_Mekong-1681 Having spent three more days in Chiang Mai after the Mae Hong Song Loop, I decided it is about time to go to Laos. So I took the bus to Chiang Rai and from there straight to the border town of Chiang Khong. I arrived at about 2 o’ clock and wasn’t sure if I should go directly to Laos or spend another night in Thailand. I finally decided to do the latter and I can now say it was a good decision. First of all, Chiang Khong was nice, set at the mighty Mekong River with a great view over to Laos and being blessed with a relaxed atmosphere. Second of all, it was good to spend one last night in Thailand, enjoying m last Thai food, having my last Thai massage and writing some post cards at the end of the day reminiscing about the good times I had. I calmed down and mentally prepared for Laos. Read more »

Categories: Laos | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

Roundup Thailand: Good Food, Nice People and 1860 Curves

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

Bangkok-0639I didn’t intend to stay that long but it’s been almost a month in Thailand. That alone is already a pretty strong statement and  I can say Thailand has been really good to me again. This time I decided to skip the South and the islands and focus on Central, and even more on Northern Thailand. That part of the country has so much to offer and is so diverse that it would have been easy to fill a 2 months itinerary.

First of all, I was surprised by how cheap Thailand still is. Having travelled the country in 2008, I expected the prices to be much higher. But food, accommodation and transport were so cheap, that it made the start of my journey an easy one. I am afraid that it will be tough to run on the same budget in all of the other countries I will visit.

Read more »

Categories: Roundups, Thailand, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 10 Comments

Pic of the Week 2 and 3

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

Being a bit busy, on the road for 7 days doing the Mae Hong Song Loop by motorbike and having to deal with a crashed laptop, I wasn’t able to post the last pictures of the week timely. So a little late, I present the picture of the weeks 2 and 3.

Thai kids whom I was interviewed by. Very funny and witty.

Thai kids whom I was interviewed by. Very funny and witty.

This was shot during my first stay in Chiang Mai before starting the Mae Hong Song Loop. I walked around a local temple and all of a sudden got approached by a group of elementary school kids. They had the assignment to interview farang (foreigners) in order to practice their English. They were so funny and especially the little one in the middle was quiet witty. I had a good time with them and complimented them on their very good English. In the end I asked for a picture and this is how it turned out.

Thai Lady in traditional dress. Shot at a Karen village close to Soppong / Cave Lodge.

Thai Lady in traditional dress. Shot at a Karen village close to Soppong / Cave Lodge.

The next one was shot during my motorbike tour. At Cave Lodge I went to visit a local Karen village with Marie, a french photographer from Paris. She wanted to get a few portraits of the villagers for a possible future exhibition. Since my portrait skills are rather limited, I spontaneously decided to come with her. We had a great time in the village. everyone was very kind and welcoming. We came across a local village shop, where this lady was sitting. She was very beautiful and wore a colorful traditional dress. She really liked having pictures taken and even wanted one together with Marie. We told her in Thai that she looks very beautiful which made her smile.

Categories: Photography, Pic of the Week, Thailand, Uncategorized | Tags: , | 5 Comments

The Mae Hong Song Loop – A Road Trip through Thailand’s remote North West

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

Still at home in Germany I came across the so called Mae Hong Song Loop – a round trip which is supposed to be the most scenic of Thailand. With its 670 kilometres, more than 1865 curves and a route exploring the more remote parts of Thailand’s North, it seemed like the perfect adventure. I have to say, that I am not the most experienced rider since I never ride scooters or motorcycles at home. Only during vacations. Hence it also should be a nice test of my driving abilities.

Read more »

Categories: Culture, Motorbike, Thailand, Trekking | Tags: , , , , | 157 Comments

Chiang Mai – Relaxation, Temples, Buddhism and Good People

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

Chiang Mai-1114After Remy and I went different ways in Ayutthaya, I headed up North to Chiang Mai. I took the night bus which took about 9 hours and arrived at Chiang Mai at 7 in the morning. Difficult to find a place at that time of the day. I eventually found a place which was a little more expensive than my average accoodation budget. It was quiet though, which wasn’t too bad at that point. I again felt sick and just wanted to rest for a while and take it easy. After a day of doing just that, I still didn’t feel much better so I decided to see a doctor at the hospital. Apparently I am having a resistant virus which takes its time. The doc recommended getting a few days of rest which I find hard to do while traveling. Read more »

Categories: Culture, Thailand | Tags: , , , , | 11 Comments

Ayutthaya Temples and a crazy Thai experience

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Philipp Dukatz

Ayuttaya-1002Coming from Kanchanaburi I teamed up with Remy from France to go to Ayutthaya by bus. Remy and I had met in Bangkok at the Tan Ling Chan floating market and bumped into each other on another market in Kanchanaburi. The world is small…. On the bus we met Sameli from Finland whom I had also met two days before. Together we made our way to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand, and checked in at one of the central guesthouses. Ayyuthaya is very hot, much hotter than Kanchanaburi, so we decided to spend the afternoon relaxing in a café. There we met Julia from Berlin which completed our little tour group for the next two days.
We rented bicycles and went to explore the many temple ruins in and around Ayutthaya. As mentioned in my post of the Pic of the week, Ayyuthaya was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Siam, now Thailand. It lasted 400 years before it got sacked and eventually looted and destroyed by the Burmese. The remainders of this prosperous and wealthy trading hub is now a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Read more »

Categories: Culture, Thailand, Trekking | Tags: , , , | 10 Comments