My Li'l Niece is a Magician!

I'm so proud of my little niece, Jessica Olivia, 8 years old. Recently, she's been performing on TV as... a junior magician!!! How cute is that?! ;)

Her live performances were aired on TPI (Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia), one of TV stations in Indonesia, on a show called Super Kidz every Sunday at 1-3pm starting from June 28th til July 12th, 2009. For this TV show, she's known as Princess Jessica ;).

I recorded this video last Sunday (July 5th), when watching her live performance at the TPI's studio. Thought it would be nice to share it with you, so that you also can enjoy her magic tricks! ;)

Wanna see her live performance on TV?
Turn on your TV and switch it to TPI channel on Sunday, 12 July at 13.00-15.00.
She'll definitely amuse you... as she does to me!
(and pssttt... I often ask her the secrets of the tricks... but.. she never opens her mouth to reveals them!) hahaha.. so cute!!!

Nonton yaaaah, teman-teman... :)

Citizen of The World

I've finally made up my mind
After living in Singapore for over 1 year plus half year of traveling around South East Asia, I've decided to ship all my stuff back to Jakarta, my lovely city in Indonesia

I felt a bit sorry for all my stuff, because they've been laying around in the storage room for almost half year... didn't know where to go as I've always traveled around and couldn't made up my mind on where to stay next...

But this time, I've made a decision
Will tell you later when everything is fixed ;)

I spent two days packing all my stuff in Singapore, preparing them to be shipped back to Indonesia
Honetly, I didn't expect that I would have so much stuff after living in the "lah Land for almost one and a half year! Whoaaa!!!

Anyway... on my "last night" here... I thought I would feel sad... but HELL NO!!!
It's weird.
If you know me better, then you would think that I'm easily touched with a melancholy situation
I thought I would be
But.. surprisingly, I didn't drop any single drop of tears...
Whoa.. that's something!
Of course I would miss my friends in Singapore, but.... I know that I have MORE of good friends in Jakarta! Yayyyy!!!
And I think, as I grow older and more matured (I hope)... I think this is just a phase of life that I have to go through... another city goes, another city comes... c'est la vie... ;)
And I'm so looking forward for what life has to offer for me!
Omigod... I'm so excited!

....

:) Good bye Singapore... somehow I feel that I'm still a part of you... at least until my residence permit is expired! ;D
But... above all, I've had a wonderful year here... it's definitely an easy place to live for expatriates in South East Asia! Seriously :)

A Memorable Birthday in Luang Prabang

(Laos trip: April 21st - May 2nd, 2009)

Note from my travel journal on April 29th :)

This year, I decided to spend my birthday far from the usual birthday routines: party, dinner, wine and cocktails, disco lights, etc etc. This time, I spent my birthday in Luang Prabang, Laos. A city that I've never been, a country that I've never visited before...

For my birthday, I've made a plan to visit Pak Ou Cave and Kuang Si, the biggest waterfall in Luang Prabang. Let's get wet, baby!!! :)

How to go to Pak Ou Cave?

Well, there are a lot of travel agents arranging a half day tour to this cave. One can go to the "Falang Place", which is Sisavangvong Road and pick one of the agents there. I bought the half day tour ticket (70,000 Kip) from Lao Discovery Tour. Actually it doesn't matter which agent you choose, because you'll end up on the same boat together with people who bought theirs from the other tour agents anyway! :D

It takes about 1.5 hour by slow boat to get to the cave. The boat strolls down the Mekong River, slowly... and the machine is roaring loudly. Thank God I brought my ipod!
The water of the Mekong River isn't clean. It looks like a chocolate milk, yet it doesn't smell, unlike the Ciliwung River in Jakarta :p. And the scenery is just beautiful.

At first, we stop at a small village where they made "Lao Lao", Lao rice wine which contains 15 % of alcohol and 50% of alcohol. I try both and almost choke when sipping the 50% of alcohol one! It is so damn strong! I wonder who could drink such thing?

There are some small shops selling hand-woven scarfs. It's one of the activities that generates income for the locals here.

We continue our trip by boat and finally we reach the famous Pak Ou Cave. In front of the cave lays a beautiful lime stone cliff. Very pretty.

Pak Ou Cave or Tham Thing or Thousands Buddha Cave itself is located inside a cliff at the bank of Mekong River. Interesting, isn't it? ;) There are aprroximately 4,000 Buddha statues in this cave, as the locals say. The statues are scattered everywhere, in different sizes and types. It's hard to take pictures without a tripod (and yes, stupidly, I forget to bring my tripod!).

The cave looks amazing. Actually, there are two caves in this area. The lower cave is bigger, but easier to reach. The other cave is located on the top of the hill, so it's a bit tiring to go up. You have to climb up some stairs, but don't worry... it's doable :). On the way up, there are some little girls selling small birds in the cages. These small girls are extremely cute, it's very hard to say NO to them. Yet, I managed to say, "No, thanks", because somehow I think, after I release the birds, they might return to the owner and she/he will sell them again! :p

The sun is steaming hot, we're all sweating like pigs! However, when we reach the cave at the top of the hill, suddenly the air gets cooler. There's a big gate at the mouth of the cave, once we get in, we can feel the air is a bit damp. Walking further in, the light becomes lesser and lesser until it's pitched dark. Hmm.. scary. I can't see anything. There are some Buddha statues in the cave, but it's too dark to see, so I decide to walk back to the main entrance.

The locals still use these caves to pray. At one corner, there are some flowers and incense sticks at the feet of a big Buddha statue. It must be nice to pray here, in the cave, overlooking the Mekong River with a clear blue sky above, far from the civilization. So peaceful and quiet.. what a magical place to contemplate... (would be perfect without tourists around.. and that includes me, as I'm a tourist, too!) :D Lol.

The next destination is Kuang Si Waterfall. Since it's too hot outside, I tell Jeff, my friend whose also traveling here, to go to the waterfall later in the afternoon. I'll be cranky when the temperature is too hot and I don't want to be cranky on my birthday. Hehehe.. I just want to relax and enjoy the day, even though the temperature is 36-37 degrees Celcius outside! And.. no breeze whatsoever. Ouch!

When the sun gets friendlier, we rent a tuk-tuk to go to the Kuang Si Waterfall. We bargain the price and manage to agree at 130,000 Kip/return. It takes us 1 hour to get there from the "Falang Place". The tuk-tuk for waterfall is different from the "normal" tuk-tuk. This one is actually a mini bus, like a Honda Carry. We realize later the day that there's no way for the "normal" tuk-tuk with two seaters only to go to the waterfall, since it's a looooong way and the roads are ups and downs.

On the way to the waterfall, I ask the tuk-tuk driver to stop at Hmong Village first. Hmong Village is famous for its hand-woven scarfs and other handicrafts. It's a small village, whereas the old ladies still wear traditional costume. Very nice. Some young girls also wear traditional costume with a colorful hat, however, I think these girls do it only to attract tourists. During my travel in Laos, I've never been "attacked" by the locals whose trying to sell things, but this time, I experience it! The girls and the mothers are very persistent in selling their stuff until at one point they become too pushy. They're very materialistic, too. I take some pictures of the girls and they react, "You take photo of me, you buy my stuff". Omigod. There's nothing free on this planet, even in such a small village in Laos!

A cute girl whose dressed up in traditional costume even gets a bit hostile to me. She forces me to buy her stuff. I would buy, if the stuff is good. But, she sells old souvenirs, you can tell from the condition. In the end, I agreed to buy a small wallet. Unfortunately she doesnt have a change and I don't have small bills. She forces me to buy a bracelet for a change. When I say, "I don't want the bracelet". She frowns. I give her some money in the end as a token, because I take some pictures of her. Knowing that I don't buy anything, her mother yells at her. Damn, she's scary. Actually, I feel bad for her, but I don't like the way they force me to buy their stuff. That's not nice. People in the night market are so much nicer! They never force you to buy anything from them!

I love the kids in the village. Omigod, they're so cute! They're running around barefooted. One boy is wearing an underwear only, showing his thin body and a colorful necklace hanging on his neck! Hahaha... so cute! Another boy, around 5 years old, playing with baby ducks happily :D. A bunch of girls get so excited by me taking pictures of them. These girls aren't the ones that sells souvenirs. They're very cute and even waving at me when I have to leave. Oh... they're such lovely angels!

We then continue our journey, passing by the mountains, the air is getting cooler and fresher. Finally, we reach the area of Kuang Si waterfall. There are two paths to get to the waterfall: the trekking path and the asphalt. We're not sure which one to choose, but the guard at the main entrance pointing at the asphalt path, so there we go. The path is very clean. It's surrounded by huge trees, it feels like in a forest. So nice!

We go straight following the path until we get into a square. We continue walking and there we find a bridge on top of a blue lagoon!!! Whoaaaaaa!!! SOOOOO PRETTY!!!
And when I look on the left side, there is the... WATERFALL!!! Wowwww... The waterfall is so high and stunning. Am glad we make it here! Am I in paradise?

We walk up as we want to see the top of the waterfall. Some people say that we can swim at the top. Ok, if you're not ready for a non-stop steep climbing in the middle of a forest, I would suggest you to stay at the bottom of the waterfall. But, if you really want to go up, don't forget to bring two bottles of mineral water with you. You'll need it. Trust me.
Plus, be careful if it rains, coz it'll get slippery.
There's a small lake at the top. We're not sure how to go to the top of the waterfall. Didn't realize that we actually already at the top! Hahaha...

Some "Falang" (read: foreigners) swim at the bottom of the waterfall, even though there's a sign saying: "Do Not Swimming Area". (I'm sure they mean: Don't Swim Here). I'm actually well prepared with bikinis, but then I decided not to swim. I believe, the sign wouldn't be there with no meaning, right? :) I'd rather play safe, especially when traveling! :)

After the adventurous journey to the top of the waterfall, we head back to the city center. I pay a visit to the small school that Wang Tho showed me a few days ago, chat with the teachers and Phou Vid, a novice from the temple of Wat Sop (wat means temple). Surprisingly, Phou Vid remembers me! He says, "We met yesterday. You took pictures of me". Wow, good memory, young boy! :)

Phou Vid speaks very good English compared to the other novices and monks. And it seems he enjoys chatting with strangers, too! He's so young and nice. Say, the English teacher, says that Phouvid was his student, but now he's taking Spanish and Japanese language classes. Wow! Good for him! And please note that he's only 16 years old!
He becomes my good friend in Luang Prabang. I ends up chatting with him almost everyday during a week of my stay there :).

Today, I try a special dish for dinner from Luang Prabang, in which can't be found elsewhere in Laos. It's called Khai Phan. It's seaweed from the Mekong River. When you eat it, don't think of the river, coz then you'll lose your appetite :p. Hehehe... But I really like Khai Phan. It's spicy! And.. they serve it with chili paste, too... When I taste the chili paste... errr... I thought, "There's something unusual in this paste". A taste that isn't familiar to me. As a vegetarian, I have to be very careful with what I eat and order. I ask the waiter and find out that the chili paste is actually made of a.... BUFFALO SKIN!!! YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!!!!

And this dish is under the Vegetarian List in their menu!!! Damn!

I guess I just get a birthday surprise from the restaurant. BINGO! :D Hahaha...

What a lovely birthday I have :). I feel so lucky and blessed. Thank you, God for all the adventures and nice places that I've been all these years. I hope to see more of Your artworks :) and appreciate more of every dust I step along the way...


Luang Prabang, April 29th, 2009.

On Love

I just arrived back from having my favorite Sangria drinks at the Screening Room in Club Street, then enjoyed Swiss fondue at La Fondue in Dempsey Hill, Singapore. It's a lovely night, catching up with nice people :) and had good conversation until my taxi arrived.

A lot of taxi drivers in Singapore are very talkative. Some of them are nice, but a lot of them are annoying. They just can't stop talking... and please bear in mind, they don't speak English. They speak Singlish (Singaporean-English, it's a specific accent that Singaporeans have whenever they speak English). Even after almost a year and a half living in Singapore, I still have some difficulties to understand these taxi drivers. They speak so fast, my goodness. And they speak in such accent, in which, for foreigners, you really have to listen carefully or ask them twice or three times until you understand what they're saying.

I enjoy talking to most people, be it taxi drivers, restaurant waiters, security guards, whoever. And tonight, I had an interesting conversation with my taxi driver. He's Portuguese. He used to serve the army and left in 1971 (I wasn't even born yet!). When he drove me out of the Dempsey area, he told me that he knows the area by heart. Dempsey was used to be his base when he was still in the army and now it's magically transformed into one of the hangout places to chill out in Singapore. There are a lot of restaurants with nice ambiance. I personally love this area for brunch and dinner. Nice place.

The taxi driver said that he also works as a windsurfing coach during the day. Wow! That's so cool! He then gave me some tips on how to learn windsurfing: "Just lean back, use your weigh to pull up the sail". Aha! Good tip, uncle!! (note: in Singapore, people use "Uncle" and "Auntie" to address older people).

He then asked me, "What do you do in Singapore?"
I said, "I used to work here, Uncle... but now I'm taking a break to travel".
"Nice", he said.

He then asked me what my plans are, so I told him a bit of my plans :).
Then he started to talk about his family...

He said, "You're a nice girl. You have to take care of yourself, don't let people use you".
I replied, "What do you mean, Uncle?"
"Yes, don't let people use you. I've been used by other people, even until now".

He then explained that his wife is "using" him. They've been married for 11 years, but for all these years he has to sleep in a different room! What???!!! That's weird.
The wife didn't let him to sleep in her room together. Only if she needed to have sex, in which, it happens only once a month or twice a month at the most. Even when it happens, she always says, "Do it quick... quick.. quick!"
"And she never treats me nicely. She treats me like a maid".

I asked, "Why did you marry her, then?"

He said, "I married her out of a pity. Her husband left him and she was alone with her son and was so wrecked. We were still friends by then. I took care of her for five years, but nothing happened between us. Then, I decided to marry her. She wanted to have a kid, so I took her for a honeymoon, she got pregnant and we have a kid now. I was hoping by having a kid, her attitude towards me would change. But that never happens. Sometimes I feel like I don't want to go home".

"If I knocked on her door, she would yell at me and said: What? You want sex, ha? You want sex, you go to Geylang lah! Stop bothering me!!" (Geylang is a red light district in Singapore, whereas people can have "fun" with prostitutes) .

Omigod. I was shocked. Poor guy.

He said, "We've been married for 11 years, but I've never hugged her for more than 5 minutes. She always rejects me". He went on, "She's using me to raise her own son. She never loves me. She just wants my money, but treats me like shit".

"I wish I found someone who love me", he mumbled.

In the end, he said, "So... if there's someone who love you, don't waste it. Don't waste the love. Don't wait. Just go for it, otherwise you might lose it".

...

Hmm.. tonight's conversation with the taxi driver makes me think that when it comes to love, we shouldn't take it for granted. It's such a special feeling and when it happens, let's embrace it. Sometimes we think that our career is more important, but then... it means nothing if we don't have someone to love and who love us.

Maybe now it's time for the warrior of the light to fight for love.

Love at the first sight with Luang Prabang

(Laos trip: April 21st - May 2nd, 2009)

Notes from my travel journal :)

Am sitting at the terrace of Mekong Fish Cafe, by the Mekong River. It's raining outside, so I'm taking a break from walking around to chill and soak up the relaxed vibe of the city...

My first impression of Luang Prabang is.... "WHAT A CUTE CITY!"... I love it!
Luang Prabang is very cute with a lot of French colonial houses scattered around every corner of the city, small alleys with bougainvillea flowers in front of the houses, cafes with dim lights and cute outdoor terraces. So lovely! It feels like I'm in one of the European cities. Seriously.

I spend my first day there walking around the city center, in which located nearby the great Mekong River. I find a lot of temples as I walk along (can't remember the names, as I think there is a temple in every 10 meters! hahaha). There are a number of cute cafes, bars and restaurants around the area, too. I forget how many times I say, "I love this place" that afternoon! :D

As I walk around, at one point, I see three young monks chillin' in a temple. They're all wearing bright orange robes wrapping their thin bodies with their bald head shining every time they're exposed to the sun. I ask for a permission to take some photos of them. They nod. One of them asks me, "Sorry... where do you come from?". I reply, "Indonesia". He asks me again, "How long are you going to be here in Luang Prabang?"
Then the conversations start. His name is Wang Tho, 17 years old. He's been living in a temple for 1 year. He's actually a novice, not a monk. To be a Buddhist monk, the age should reach 20 years old first. Aha! I didn't know that! :)
He speaks broken English, but I admire his willingness to learn and his courage to greet people to practice his English. He offers, "Do you want to see my school?"


We walk to the back yard of the temple and there I find a simple school building with 5 class rooms and a "teacher's room". In one of the classes, there is one old computer. Wang Tho says that he studies English at this school in the morning, from 10am to 11.30am. He introduces me to his teacher, named Say, whose English is perfect! Another teacher, Pheng, joins us for a chat. They're so nice and welcome to foreigners... and... they even invite me to join their English class the next morning as a guest teacher! Wow!!!

I notice Laotians are very open, warm, friendly, nice, sincere and genuine. Love 'em! Even the kids aren' shy to greet us and ask with their broken English, "What your name?"

Wang Tho invites me to come to the temple in the morning to witness the rituals of collecting the "alms". It starts at 5.30am at the temple, then at 6am all the monks and novices will walk around the neighborhood to collect alms from the locals. It's a sacred ritual in Luang Prabang and has been around for hundreds years. The locals usually give sticky rice, but I see some people give away biscuits and fruits, too. It's beautiful :).

And that becomes my ritual, too in Luang Prabang. Almost every morning I wake up early and run to the street to witness this sacred moment. Hundreds of monks in orange robes walk down the street barefooted carrying a beautiful sticky rice bowl on their right hand. The locals sit on their knees on the street in front of their houses, giving away sticky rice to hundreds of monks that stand in line. Witnessing this ritual in the morning, reminds me that I should give more to the others and think that no matter what happens, the nature will take care of us anyway :). I learn this from the monks. They eat from the alms, the food given by the people. And they say, everyday, there's always someone delivering food to the temple. How nice is that? :)

After saying goodbye to Wang Tho, I continue walking around and decide to enter a small alley. Passing by some local houses, I'm very surprised that the alley leads me to a beautiful temple at the end! Wooowwww!!! It's Wat Xieng Thong, the oldest and most beautiful temple in Luang Prabang! And.... the jackpot isn't finish yet.... there's a festival going on there! Wooohoo!!!

Some food vendors selling Lao food - gluten and sesame seeds wrapped in a lettuce or guava leaf; fried noodle; and some other snacks. I try one of them and the lady wants to give it to me for free! How nice these people are! I give her 2,000 Kips instead. I know it would cost less, but I appreciate her kindness...

There's a big tent in the hall and a lot of people pray in the tent. I come closer to the tent to see what's going on. Ah! There's a Buddha statue in the middle of the altar, with a lot of red candles and flowers in front of it. People pray for the Buddha and.... bath him! This is a special festival, called "Pin Ma Lai" festival, which means Lao New Year festival. They celebrate it in mid April and have the showering Buddha ritual for 5-6 days. I read about this festival in my guide book. Thought I would miss it, but... hey... how lucky I am, the festival is still going on! :)

At the top of Buddha statue, there's a long dragon like pipe. People climb up the stairs with a silver bowl filled with water, pour the water at the edge of the dragon pipe, then the water will flow to the middle part and drop right at the head of the Buddha! Very interesting!
One of the monks offers me to take parts in showering the Buddha, too. But, I'm wearing my short pants at that time, I don't think it's polite :P. (who knows I would end up at this beautiful temple and an annual festival? I'm not prepared at all in terms of costume wise. If I knew, I would've wearing a long pant or a long skirt to respect the whole rituals!)

After chatting with some monks and novices there, I leave the beautiful temple and continue my sightseeing. I walk down Sakarine Road and arrive at Sisavangvong Road. This street is full of restaurants and bars. As locals call this street "A Falang Place" -- Falang (it's actually Farang, but Laotians cannot pronounce "R") is a term they use for foreigners -- I can see why tourists love to hang out at Sisavangvong Road. The restaurants and bars here are stylish, with nice lightings... in some places, they use candles in the gardens, making the whole street look romantic and pretty :). Some bars have modern interior with minimalist touch, some boutiques are designed in such a way, making them look exotic with Buddha statues here and there. Fancy. Jewelery shops, internet cafes and travel agencies are cramped on this street, too. You can basically find everything here. It's the main street for Falang, indeed! LOL.

After having dinner at this "Falang street", I wander around the night market. It's glowing at night, very pretty! The area of the night market is quite a long way down. Honestly, I don't expect that. Most of the stalls sell same stuff. It's a high competition going on here! :p Quilts, bags, bracelets, silver rings, make up pouches, scarfs, wallets, t-shirts, sandals, you name it. Most of the bags, wallets and scarfs are hand-woven. Very pretty and girlie :).

I call it a day, after my eyes are refreshed with those nice and colorful cute stuff at the night market. My feet are getting tired, almost screaming for help. It's time to sleep and rest. Someone has to wake up early tomorrow to witness the sacred morning alms ritual!
Good night, Luang Prabang. Think am in love with you.

V for Vientiane: Eat, Sleep, Drinks and Dance

(Laos trip: April 21^st – May 2^nd, 2009)

Spending four days in Vientiane enables me to get a big picture of the city. Laotians sitting on the grass in small parks, chatting or just watching people pass by; tourists wandering around by foot bicycle and sweating like pigs under the steamy sun; backpackers carrying their big backpacks, walking down the streets looking for accommodation; shop owners trying to be busy by counting how much profit they earn for a month using a simple calculator; and… not to mention… kids running around barefooted in the park with their clothes that look like haven’t been washed in ages.

Unlike other big cities in Southeast Asia, Vientiane has such a slow pace. You’ll feel it as soon as you get here. The city will hypnotize you and make you feel relax… free from the hustle and bustle the big cities have to offer.

In the evening, I love to walk around Nam Phu area with an old fountain in the center. Around the fountain, there are some restaurants and cafes located in old French colonial houses. They’re very cute. This square is the most romantic part of the city, I think. Somehow it reminds me of Munster, a small city in Germany that famous for its Christmas markets during the Xmas season.

I walk around this square almost every evening, on my way to look for a place for dinner. Every time I pass this square, there are always young people hanging out at the fountain, laughing and joking around with their fellows. One night, I was taking some photos of the square, some Lao boys came to me and asked me to take picture of them! Hahaha… See how friendly and open they are to strangers?

Food

For meals, you can try some of the restaurants around the fountain at Nam Phu square. It’s very nice to spend the evening here, soaking up the romantic vibe of the square. I try an Indian restaurant, called Rashmi’s, that located in the intersection of Samsenthai street and Pangkham street, a block away from the square. The restaurant offers fusion, a mixed of Indian and Chinese food. My food was just ok. For a place that looks stylish for Lao standard, I expected to get a better food. However, the price is reasonable: 130,000 Kips for 3 different dishes.

If you’re brave enough, try Lao food at local restaurants. You can tell from the numbers of locals having lunch there. If there are a lot of locals sitting at the resto, most likely the food is good. One day, I find a simple restaurant located nearby the market. The resto is quite spacious, but it’s very simple and far from stylish. However, the plastic tables and chairs are filled with locals having their lunch here. And… surprisingly, each table has NOODLE SALAD as their dish!!! Hahaha… A table usually shares a plate of noodle salad for two or three persons or even more. One table shares it with five people! Wow. Apparently the portion is quite generous here.. and most probably, this resto is famous for its noodle salad. Seeing the phenomena going on here, of course I order the same dish. And yes, I have to admit, it’s GOOD!!! Too bad this resto doesn’t have a latin name and I can’t read Lao character, but it’s located at the Eastern part of Th Fa Ngum. You won’t miss it. It’s the biggest local resto, located across the street of the Mekong River. For a plate of noodle salad, it will cost you less than 10,000 Kips. Good value for good quality and… quantity! :D

In the evening, there are plenty of local food vendors at the bank of Mekong River. Each dish will cost you around 20,000 to 25,000 Kips. I order a plate of fried noodle salad one night. Apparently, it’s a dish of what we called “Kweetiaw Goreng” back home! LOL. I prefer the “normal” noodle salad then.

Kop Chai Deu is a restaurant/café/bar that never sleeps. It’s located nearby the fountain at Nam Phu square and always crowded, be it in the morning, lunch time, dinner time or late. This place can be a restaurant, café and bar at the same time. It caught my eyes, because it looks very pretty with a nice outdoor area surrounded with trees and flowers. I spend my first afternoon there and order a Lao salad for lunch. In the menu, it says: mixed vegetable with Lao sauce. When the food arrives, there’s a weird-looking chili paste in a small bowl. I smell it and almost have to puke. Yuck. It’s actually a chili paste mixed with fermented fish!! Oh, gross. Being a vegetarian since I was born, I’m very sensitive with any kind of non-vegetarian dishes. I think this chili paste should be served in the next Fear Factor episode!

Drinks

On another night, I spend my evening there (Kop Chai Deu) again, sipping glasses of Lao style of ‘Sangria’. It comes in a pitcher, full of mixed fruits. It tastes sweeter than Sangria, but after a while, you’ll get used to it. The second floor of Kop Chai Deu has indoor and outdoor areas. I love the outdoor area. It’s a big balcony decorated with Christmas lights. There’s a small bridge that connects the outdoor area with a building next door and it looks very cute with bougenville trees all around. Just like the other nice restaurants in town, Kop Chai Deu is also located in a French colonial house. That night, after drinks, I play pool table with some locals. Tourists vs locals. Omigod… I thought the game would be just for fun, but apparently, the locals don’t want to lose. They really try hard to distract my concentration every time I try to hit the balls. Geez. Probably, they just don’t want to lose face by playing against a girl. After what it seems like a never-ending game, my friend and I win. Yayyyyy!!! It’s fun though.

Apart of the Nam Phu square, another area to chill is along the Mekong River. The street is called Th Fa Ngum. I notice that there are two names written on the street signage. One is written in Lao character (similar to Thai character) and the other one in Latin, but using French language, such as Rue du XXX. Interesting, eh? The French influence is still pretty strong here. This can be seen from their food, too. You can always find French baguette in all restaurants, be it a street vendor or a fancy resto.

One day, after walking around the city, I find a cool place to chill. It’s called “Mekong Deck”, located also in Th Fa Ngum, but further down to the East. This open-air café at the bank of Mekong River is a perfect place to spend the afternoon, drinking cocktails, BeerLao (the best beer I’ve tried by far!) or just cool soft drinks. It seems that it’s a local favorite place to hangout, too judging from the customers. With wooden tables and chairs scattered on wooden floor, this place has a taste and probably one of the most stylish outdoor place in the city. And when you order vodka lemon (costs around 24,000 Kip/glass), the bar will give you a glass of real vodka lemon, with a proper percentage of vodka and the mixer. Well, you know what I mean. Sometimes bars give you mixer with a tiny bit of alcohol in a glass full of ice! In the end, it feels like drinking soft drinks with vodka flavor. Hahaha… but Mekong Deck does a good job when it comes to drinks. And I like that.

For bars, you can just choose one of the bars at Th Fa Ngum. There are plenty of them. BeerLao usually costs 15,000 Kips for the big bottle and cocktail/liquor costs around 24,000-25,000 Kips. Cheap!

Accommodation

There are numerous hotels and guesthouses in Vientiane, from budget guesthouses to top end hotels. Budget guesthouses start from 2 USD/night, where top end hotels can cost around 100 USD and more.

Since I’m not a backpacker and also not a daughter of a conglomerate, but still want to sleep in a comfy room, I choose to stay in a midrange hotel. Vongkhamsone Hotel (address: 17/01 Manthaturath Road) is my choice. It’s a new one and has a comfortable room with Air-Conditioner and hot water. The room and bathroom are spotless. I enjoy staying at this cute hotel for 30 USD/night, including a simple breakfast of French baguette with eggs and cheese plus a cup of coffee/tea.

I met an English girl who’s backpacking in Laos. She told me that she spent almost a day looking for a place to stay in the city. The cheap guesthouses are dirty, she said. She ended up staying in a hotel and paid 20 USD/night, which was already over her budget and still, there were a lot of ants in her room! She had to buy a mosquito spray to kill all the ants, but a few hours later, a group of ants came and decided to be her roommates.

Listening to her story making me more grateful to find such a nice, comfy, cute and bugs free hotel!!! The hotel staff is friendly, too. In the evening, the staff sleeps at the lobby after midnight. So, if you think that you would go out until late, it would be better to bring your room key. Otherwise, you have to wake him up.

If I could suggest, it’s better to find an accommodation at the city center, because you can go to the places of interests by foot or by bike. I find it very convenient. Anyway, the city center isn’t that big, so it’s very easy to get around.

Dance

Being in Vientiane wouldn’t be complete without checking out the city’s party scene. I ask around on the good place to dance and the locals always refer to a club called “Future”. Out of curiosity, one evening, I decide to hop on a tuk-tuk and go to this infamous club. The club looks dark from outside. It has a shabby vibe, I almost change my mind and feel hesitant to enter the club. Stepping in, I’m greeted by a local couple whose the girl looking at me from up to toe. I look around and feel surprise by the numbers of people there. This place is packed and it’s not even weekend yet! 98% of the people are Laotians. They either sit or stand around a circled table, drinking BeerLao or cocktails. They don’t dance. They just move their body a bit, I wouldn’t call it a dance. Probably that’s why this famous club doesn’t have a dance floor. Perhaps Laotians prefer to drink than dance!

The club is dark and full of smoke. It’s not too big and has two bars on the left. The low ceiling makes the place looks even more cramped. The DJ plays old techno tracks and it seems everyone enjoys it. Oddly, there are TVs airing local channels in every corner and at the bar. On one side of a wall, there’s even a big screen projecting the same movie from a local tv station. Why would someone go to a club to watch a movie if they couldn’t hear anything except a loud techno music??? Interesting.

What is more interesting is to see how many trashes under each table. Empty bottles of mineral water and beers are all scattered under tables and no one cleans it! Hmm… I wonder why they don’t just hire five guys dedicated only to clean up the mess?

At 1am, I decide to return to my hotel. The club is open until 5am… and it looks like the people will stay til the end. Being the only place in the city that opens until morning, no wonder the place is packed even in the weekdays. I think some of the peeps in the club use ecstasy… judging from the way they behave and the numbers of mineral bottles under each table! The night is definitely still young for them… and they will definitely have a loooong day the next day!

Manta Rays in Komodo Island (Part Two)

ps: Revision - on the video, I wrote the date wrongly. It should be May 5th and 6th, instead of April! :D

I'm uploading the video from Gili Trawangan island and the internet connection is very slow here, can't be bothered to revise the video and upload it again.. :p sorry! but hope you enjoy the video and the flying mantas... ;)

Manta Rays in Komodo Island (part 1)

(Komodo Island Liveaboard Dive trip: May 2nd - May 8th, 2009)



I just can't wait to upload videos of the live aboard dive trip in Komodo Island! :D
This video is just a teaser ;)... it was taken on our 3rd day of the dive trip around the island.

That morning, we woke up at 7am to do morning dive at Manta Alley. It was a great dive, we saw easily 10 manta rays swimming around...
We told the dive center crew that we didn't mind to dive at Manta Alley again. So, the next day, we did another morning dive at the same site!!! Hahaha... and... on that dive, omigod... manta rays EVERYWHERE... AMAZING!!!

We were at their cleaning station, the current was extremely strong, we had to use the reef hook and just hung in there. Manta rays all around us.. you name it... black manta, white manta... they're "parking" right in front of us, on our left, on our right and.... above us!!! They basically just stayed there for more than 30 minutes, until our group had to ascend... WHOA!!! It was amaziiiingggg...

... (check the video "Flying with Manta Rays (Part Two)", too!) :)

ps: the date written on this video should be: May 5th and 6th. I must've been drunk when creating this video! LOL. Too much nitrogen, for sure! :D