Km52, Vientiane, Laos -- you've changed me too much

As much as I hate to admit this, I wasn't much of an expert of Laos' demographics and culture before I started my backpacking trip. (Not hinting that I hold a Ph.D in that now...) Anyway, I discovered km 52 village by chance while searching for a couch in Vientiane. Km52 village is literally 52 kilometres away from the city centre of Vientiane and easily accessible by a local bus.

Directions: The bus station at the Old Market, walk all the way to the end and board pay only USD 2 for a bumpy but interesting ride to Km52 Village. Definitely, there’ll be heaps of touts for more comfortable ride, but if you’re low on budget, why not just squeeze yourself on the local bus with a delicious Bahn Mi. (Advisable to write ‘km 52’ and ‘Hmong’ on a piece of paper, else no one is going to understand you. But given the decades of animosities between Laotians and Hmongs, you’ll probably get a few snares.)

So our couch hosts, Yukivang and Soukha, gave us directions to alight at Km52's bus stop. To put it bluntly, we were just two city dwellers staring aimlessly at all those straw-topped stalls and desperately trying to figure out which of them were actually bus stops, while balancing our butts on the miserable wooden planks with backpacks strapped on our legs. Not unexpected, we missed the said bus stop and the driver probably hit the end of the route, turned around and asked where we were headed to. I actually felt the blush of embarrassment instantly. 

Fast forward; met our hosts and they settled us in a lovely little guesthouse but the price was jacked up doubly because it was the Hmong New Year. Yuki picked us up from the guesthouse and brought us to his village by foot. The experience was beyond words because all I was capable of were snapping pictures of the place with my eyes and storing them in my literal memory. Sat at his porch for what seemed like eternity before the other teenagers from the village came to join us. Later at night, Yuki’s family prepared dinner for us, I ate so much, I think I finished one week’s supply of food. It was simple home cooked dishes but it warms my insides to be eating together at a small table with just a light bulb suspended and hovering above our heads. It was at that moment where I realized I took 20 years of my being in a developed city for granted. From the streetlights to the cemented roads, water heaters, proper bedding and of course, the weight of education that is a luxury good sought after by them.

Ditched Vang Vieng’s tubing and massive drinking for another day in Km52 village for Hmong New Year’s celebration and time with our new friends. That sincerity in their eyes definitely outweighed the pre-planned activities and schedule. The day spent celebrating New Year with them can easily be one of the best moments for my entire trip. Has been four months since Ping and I came back to our concrete-jungle-paper-chase reality but that particular experience had definitely changed us, for the better, or not. I wished we didn’t have to leave the village and we dragged our feet back to the hostel because it was about time we move on to the next destination. 

PS. All these pictures just brought back all the feels. The slow music playing from my Mac isn't helping. :'(

Mister Sun

Something about the sun captures me. 

Vientiane, Laos. Our nightmare.

Friendship bridge was anything but friendly. All we got were stares and violent arm-pulling from the tuktuk drivers. The only thing lacking was probably bruises on our arms. All we wanted was to head to Vientiane City centre in one piece, at a low price. So, like poultry, we were dumped on this SongTheow. Just that we were unwanted poultry for being too measly with our spending. But impatient face and ultimately, the pretend-to-be-angry-and-walk-away tactic worked and we got the SongTheow moving immediately at price of USD 4 for 2. (Insert celebratory emoji) 

We were half expecting to see streams of backpackers or tourists along the way. Instead the gravel caused a PSI of 900 and we only saw pain in our eyes. "HERE CITY CENTRE. DOWN DOWN!" was what shook us awake from our misty whirlpool but what laid in front didn't un-mist our already lethargic bodies and minds. With not a single building (let's forget about wifi), we found geographers within and managed a few attractions and one of the best sunsets on the trip. 

Pictures : 

That Dam (pronounced as tard-darm)

Putaxai

Try to reach before 5pm so you could head up to the top. 

I wasn't lying about the sunsets, yeah? 

And hour hand on our watches was merciless, it was 7pm and I haven't heard from my couch host. We were prepared to sleep in this random building but nearly peed/faceted in our favourite elephants when the security started switching off the lights. 

With our empty stomachs and mozzie-bitten weak bodies, we made it to the most "touristy" area of Vientiane -- Nam Phou Fountain. Because we spent so much on accommodation, we had to do instants for dinner. 

Plot twist: the couch host didn't actually abandon us. I texted him but apparently Laos SIM card couldn't receive international texts. 

Plot twist twist: we did not like Vientiane. Not at all. But the sunset didn't belong to Vientiane. 

Goodbye, my love.

Is that how the previous generations felt?

The destruction of my childhood and beautiful memories paving the way for the next. I'm not the only one feeling it.

 At least I landed some massive dump. 

Since the mandatory shot with Mr Ronald and friends was too crowded... We made do with this. 

Goodbye, KAP. 

Cactus

Reasons why you need a cactus 

1) It's not needy and whiney. 

2) Always there for you, without asking for too much attention. 

3) Fall in love with it, stare at it for hours.  

4) Make a good model for photo shoots. (A good exfloliating tool as well) 

5) Unleash your hidden talent of making new Germanic names. 

 Meet Starkmann. Say Hi. 

Evolution of pain.

The past couple of weeks had been hectic. Recess week didn't feel like one. I had gathered my remaining energy and discipline after 6 grueling weeks of school, and glued myself to work. Studying has been ingrained now, we are almost one entity.

The release of A level results was yesterday and it brought my memory back to 2 years ago when i did well. I was an honor-roll student. Well, i was happy, but it wasn't the happiest day of my life. I wouldn't try to deny that i felt really contented, maybe proud, of my achievements, but i have to credit my exams' luck too. Which brings me to part II of the story.

Either i've run out exams' luck or the As i've attained for all my History exams was a faux. I'd like to think the former but wouldn't like to bench my passion with luck. Maybe Jing is not a historian-matieral afterall. That aside, the main point, there are times in life when certain things meant the world to you, and not achieving your goals kills you, eats you inside. I had that during O levels. It's a combination of said failure, anger, embarrassment, indignant, helplessness, the list goes on, but basically you're trapped in this vicious vortex. Trapped in confusion and frustration, you would want to make an audacious (many would call it dumb in this case) step to retake examinations and hopefully, attain the supposed desirable grades. But i've decided to bring myself back to Earth and realize that i did fairly well.

I moved on.
I moved on, with pain.

The pain stayed for a while. The pain still stays. The pain will stay. The pain is going to stay. It will consume you from time to time. And thinking about it sometimes now, I see myself welling up in tears. I find myself having to deal with tears-soaked pillows on certain nights. Not a perfect bed scene, if i must add. It's not that i haven't gotten over it. I'm no longer crying for the results, but i still feel pain. A different kind of pain from what i first felt when i got my O level results. It's a pain of seeing an innocent break down in front of hundreds. It's a pain of seeing a helpless girl spewing vulgarities to everyone who sent her a text on social media. It's a pain i still remember and feel so vividly because it's the kind of sadness that sticks in your bones of not achieving your goals and knowing you'll never have the chance to. (well, unless you retake O levels, but retaking with experience is another story.) And doing well in A levels had never taken such a pain away. And most importantly, the misery a 16 year old had to go through because this competitive society that we live in weighs the white slip more than everything else. Because this competitive society that we live in believes the white slip is a ticket to the future. Just because this competitive society...

The pain never goes away. But it's an evolving pain. As i write, i still feel the ache in my heart. And that is because i am experiencing the same thing now. 20, I am now, once again, not doing well in school. Yes, the sadness and dejection creeps in -- to the extent of wanting to take a gap semester, so i will not be too consumed by the clutches of the society. But no.

I've learned not to wallow in self pity.
I've learned how to deal with such pain.
I've learned to see "failure" differently.

Let's call it my self defense mechanisms.

Overland from Cambodia to Laos, via Thailand

36 hours overland travel from Cambodia to Laos, transiting in Bangkok, Thailand. (Because Thailand is not in our itinerary) 

Read numerous blogs and guides on the friendship bridge between Nong Khai, Thailand and Vientiane, Laos, ever since I bought the one way air ticket in September. Till then, still unsure of what to expect, we let nature take its own course. 

Took the cheapest (as usual) midnight bus from our hostel in Siem Reap, Tom and Jerry Guesthouse, to Bangkok. Nope, nothing taught in school could be applied (yet) but dished out my non-existent social skills and EQ and made friend with a solo Russian traveller. Equally lost and confused at border crossing and sought refuge in each other. 

Cambodia-Thailand border crossing was the most confusing one I experienced throughout the trip. Probably because we reached before the nation anthem and stood there with our broken spines from the gravitational forces and weight of our backpacks. No, I wasn't trying to be an OCD clean freak but poultry were with us at the border crossing. (Tip: just get your passport chopped and walk all the way straight to scan your baggage. Tip 2: don't stare at the immigration officers. Tip 3: just do whatever the other tourists are doing.) 

Fast forward, we made it Hualampong Train Station in Bangkok after changing from buses to mini vans to SongTheow (bigger Tuktuks). Since SGD is obviously not as strong as Euros or Pounds, the difference between  2nd class sleeper and 3rd class would cost us 3 full meals. (15-20sgd) Don't have to guess which we went for. And I don't even know why we were fretting about not getting tickets when we will be the only foreigners on the 3rd class train, we got to the train station 5 hours before departure, just to tick "sleeping on train station's floor" off our bucket list. 

830pm. Boarded the train because departure is in 15mins, only to receive overly concerned locals -- chasing us off the trains. They strongly believe we got cheated by the counter or got on the wrong train because no foreigners ever taken the 3rd class. So not wanting to piss them off or not heed their kind advice, we found ourselves running helter-skelter and back to our original seats on the same train. 

1015pm. This locomotive decided to get a life. (This is why you need to +/- 5hours for travelling time). First, we had two monks giving us two amulets because they were worried about our safety but since we were girls, the conversation only got as far to showing us the tattoos on his arm. Beside me was this middle aged man who kindly donated us his guazi nuts (the last I checked, I haven't lost too much weight then) and held a 3 hour long conversation with me, both speaking different languages. My personal favourite encounter on this train was the ladyboy who was secretly strong but coy. The biggest takeaway was the friendship fostered. Physical flexibility and patience came close behind. 

(Not really an) Ordeal of the friendship bridge. 

1) get off the train and you'll have herds of tukkies ready to rip you off. But you'll take any, anyway since that's the only way to get to Laos border. 

2) the tuktuk will drop you at the Laos border. Get your passport stamped. 

3) Laotian tukkies will be here to haunt. So we wanted to go to Vientiane City (old market). Market price for a tuktuk ride for 2 would be 4USD, at most. (Tip: do change more local currency at Vientiane. Serves the best rates and probably the only place with money changer around. Unlike Cambodia, Laos do not really work around USD.) 

And in Vientiane, Laos, we got abandoned by our couch host... 

PS sorry for bad pictures' quality. Posting via mobile 

Angkor Complex, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Stuff-packed our bags with much difficulty since we were still in summer clothes and headed to the market at the bus station before we plopped ourselves on the bus to Siem Reap. Ditched the idea of tourist sleeper bus but our "lousier" local bus was satisfactory enough -- all I needed was a toilet even if it means having to pee in a pail while the bus manoeuvre on the uneven groundings. Speaking from hindsight, we were acting like total pampered kids, complaining about the supposedly 6hours bus ride that prolonged to 8hours. We had zero clue of what laid ahead of us. (Spoiler: 36 hours third class overland) And after what seemed like 8 eternities and countless unlocking of my phone to check google maps, we have arrived. Gathered our non-existent swag when alighting because there was this Singaporean couple who probably majored in staring in university, we did not want to lose out in our self indulged backpacker race of getting to our hostels first, by the cheapest means of course. 

Window view 

Bent on saving 1usd on transport since according to our (backstabbing) best friend, Agoda, our hostel is in the heart of the hustling and bustling city centre. Let's not be petty about how we walked for 2 hours and wifi-available room was wifi-less and had to pray to all Gods because blackout hit and we had to pack to catch the bus to next city. The rest of the night was spent familiarising ourselves with the city centre and route back to our hostel (running half the time since our bodies haven't gotten used to the sanitation level and wouldn't like it if we soil our pants) and looking for legitimate bicycles to ride to Angkor Wat, the next day.

 Legendary USD1 fried noodles 

With our 1usd-rented bicycles, gritted our teeth through the unearthly 4am morning breeze -- and simultaneously, battling with diarrhea, fever, runny noses and complete darkness just for "sunrise at Angkor Wat". (Tip: don't take the wrong route, take the route that brings you to ticketing counter before the entrance. You'll need a pass to enter the complex) We made it, anyway. Not even trying to overrate the beauty of this place when I say tears welled up in my eyes because it was too much for me to handle. 

Sunrise at Angkor Wat. (Head there early to get a good spot) 

Bayon temple -- my personal favourite 

Nature takes over 

Finished our version of temple run, successfully, and we're too sick of the flooding pseudo cultured tourists around (I'm not trying to hint that I am 100% cultured but at least I don't have my boobs and ass cheeks leaking out at the temples).

It's time to move on.