Bino

Easy Daytrips Around Luangprabang in Laos

December 18, 2010 by Bino 8 Comments

The area around Luangprabang in Laos is filled with a number of popular daytrip opportunities. Two have practically become must-see destinations that they’ve been included as part of any default itinerary of Luangprabang-bound visitors.

Kuang Si Falls

We spent our first evening haggling with the many travel agencies in town for a good deal to take us to two sites – the famous Kuang Si Falls as well as to the much talked-about Pak Ou Caves. Both are near Luangprabang. Both are also within one hour car ride away and are described as “must see” places. The friendly chap who entertained us at the travel agency we settled with gave us a supposedly good deal for both daytrips. He even showed us the other receipts for the day containing supposed suckers who signed up at a higher price. “We are not Europeans!” was my default justification to be charged fairly. So did it work? We were able to bring our price down by only $1 per person – nothing fantastic, but still better than nothing. We shopped around and the prices were pretty much standard across the board….

Exploring the UNESCO World Heritage Town of Luangprabang

December 12, 2010 by Bino 4 Comments

The 8-hour car ride from Vientiane was one of the bumpiest I’ve been in. The driver couldn’t speak English but seemed as if he was on a mad dash to see who could get to Luangprabang first. Our van literally jumped every few minutes as it also had to contend with the relatively poor state of the roads. We came ahead of many other buses and vans plying the same route – and ended up arriving in the town a good 2-3 hours earlier than most. Not too shabby, except that our driver kept at this speed despite the harrowing cliffs that were prevalent in the few hundred kilometer journey.

at luangprabang night market

Luangprabang was literally our first real destination in this trip. We took a short plane ride to KL, where we also spent the night. Next day, our flight to Vientiane got delayed because of an unexpected massive downpour – and we spent that night in Vientiane. So by default, we were on “transit” for 2 nights, albeit in different places.

I had high hopes for Luangprabang – given that it is a UNESCO World Heritage Town after all and I heard quite a lot of rave reviews about it, both from friends and from independent travel magazines. But after we had crossed into the city limits, it looked like any provincial town in Southeast Asia. The town is quite spread out, but the overwhelming majority of the attractions are actually situated in the main street called Sisavangvong Road….

Bhutan: Hassle-Free Tips

December 8, 2010 by Bino 10 Comments

A trip to Bhutan is an experience in itself. It’s one of the most isolated countries in the world (Bhutan certainly ranks near the top) . Breathtaking scenery, thousand year old monasteries, gross national happiness, a different way of life – the country certainly has a lot to offer.

Paro International Airport

So if Bhutan is in your travel checklist, let me share some tips. I’m not claiming to be an expert here, but I reckon I can shed light to some things. I suppose there aren’t really a lot of other people around who can give tips for Bhutan so here goes….

The Grand Finale – In Pursuit of (Gross National) Happiness, Pt4

December 6, 2010 by Bino 8 Comments

It is said that the highlight of any trip to Bhutan is the trek up to Tiger’s Nest Monastery. All the travel guides that cover this country inevitably include pictures of this building and it is clear to see why. Hanging on a precipitous cliff at 3,120 meters above sea level, the monastery – also known as Taktsang Goemba – is “nested” right smack in the middle of steep rocks that are almost vertically sloped.

tiger’s nest monastery

Though looking pretty much isolated and hard to get to, there are actually a few well-used access points to reach Taktsang. As the grand finale of our trip, we took the most popular (though by no means an easy) route and started our climb at about 9:30 in the morning. As much as I was looking forward to seeing the monastery, I was dreading the climb. I read personal accounts in the online forums which mentioned how difficult it was, and how altitude sickness could affect some folks. But nevertheless – coming to Bhutan was a unique experience in itself and I was determined to make it all the way to the top on foot.

…

In Pursuit of (Gross National) Happiness, Pt3

December 1, 2010 by Bino Leave a Comment

As our guide had this habit of being tardy, we agreed to meet earlier the next morning – our third in Bhutan. We headed to Wangdue Phodrang – the easternmost part of the country that we got to visit during this trip. The relatively short distance from Punakha to Wangduephodrang was filled with rice terraces that extended high up in the mountainside. It was common to hear the farmers singing as a group while they harvested the season’s crops.

looking at the valley below

The main town of Wangduephodrang is situated on a hill, outside the dzong. The dzong itself is smaller, and not as well-maintained as its counterpart in Punakha. However, it is unusually shaped, and its exterior walls seem to follow the contours of the hill – something I didn’t see in the other dzongs….

In Pursuit of (Gross National) Happiness, Pt2

November 29, 2010 by Bino 2 Comments

Woke up at 6:30. Our guide was not going to pick us up until 9 but I decided to take my morning walk around Thimphu. My other companions were still in la-la land. I peered out the window and the sky was a total gray like the day before. The morning air was quite cold, yet I still pursued my plan of walking to Trashi Chhoe Dzong near the northern end of the city.

Trashi Chhoe Dzong

This “walk” took nearly 30 minutes and entailed a distance of 2 to 3 kilometers each way. I passed by many curiosities – government buildings draped with ornate paintings, schoolchildren dressed in the national costume making their way to school, passers-by looking at me curiously… it was a mix of these as I observed the people around me starting their days. I arrived at the dzong, took some quick snaps, had a short conversation with a security guard, then turned back using another way. From the ground, Thimphu seemed much more compact than it looked when we viewed it from high up. There were lots of open spaces and natural greenery that weren’t so apparent previously. Thimphu is easily one of the most scenic capital cities in Asia….

In Pursuit of (Gross National) Happiness, Pt1

November 27, 2010 by Bino 11 Comments

It was still dark. The alam clock read 4:30AM. Having just arrived in Bangkok the night before from a roadtrip down to Udon Thani from Laos, my mind was still in a murky haze. My companions sleeping in the other bed seemed oblivious to the loud ringing sound emanating from my phone. This was the day we’re flying to Bhutan – the country famously isolated by the Himalayas, where Gross National Happiness is prioritized over economic growth and where the king famously abdicated voluntarily in order to initiate a move to a constitutional monarchy. We were all trying to catch an early morning flight to Paro – Bhutan’s only airport, aboard DrukAir, the only airlines that flies to Bhutan.

checked in at 5:30AM in the morning

Having been to several flights the days prior, my plan was just to go to sleep as the plane cruised its way past Burma, India and into Bhutan. But alas, the pilot made an announcement about Kangchenjunga (3rd highest mountain), and then Mt Everest being visible at the left side of the plane. I opened the window and there they were – a few snow-capped peaks towering above the clouds. It also meant that our approach at Paro Airport was coming soon. The plane descent into Bhutan that came fifteen minutes later has got to be the best plane landing ever – with the plane making 2 or 3 sharp turns during the final descent, evading mountains 5,000m above sea level across all directions and which are only a few meters away. Paro Airport is also one of the most scenic airports in the world, being in the middle of a relatively narrow valley in Western Bhutan….

Asia’s Emerald Isle

April 7, 2010 by Bino 13 Comments

Taiwan has got to be the most underrated tourist destination in the Far East. Mention the word “Taiwan” and most people would associate it with electronics, heavy industry and China’s “renegade province” rather than as a holiday destination. Rarely do I find it in most travelers’ Asian itineraries. And rarely is it mentioned by travel publications, except for scattered and brief features here and there. It may not have any jaw-dropping monuments or renowned white sand beaches like its other neighbors, but Taiwan offers a unique experience for those who are willing to take a closer look.

I have been to Taiwan 4 times. The longest I’ve stayed was the 6 weeks I spent some 11 years ago when I took a short course in Mandarin. Despite the multiple visits, frequent overcast weather and (slight) language barrier, I never tire of visiting the island. Taiwan is one of those feel-good places that I always feel like checking out once every few years.

For this visit, I decided to try out their farmstay which has been heavily promoted here in Singapore. Since the farm was high up in the mountains, I booked our transport in advance. 7AM was our departure time from Taipei Main Station. It was a 4.5 hour bus ride through some spectacular scenery through Taiwan’s central highlands. We reached Cingjing Farm just before noon, and the sun was shining just as I had hoped.

From the bus stop, it was a 4 kilometer trek to the farm’s main area. By this time, we were already some 1,800 meters above sea level. After 1 kilometer of walking through some steep trails, we gave up. I then decided to put my thumb to work and hitchhike instead. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for someone to actually stop. We reached the sheep grazing grasslands just a few minutes before the sun disappeared into the clouds and a fog came by in its place.

panorama of Cingjing grasslands

The scenery in this area was just spectacular. The grass was greener than I though it would be, and the visibility was still somewhat okay at this point. The mountains are situated just in front of the grasslands’ dramatic terrain, and it made for a great contrast.sheep grazingMost people come to Cingjing Farm to experience a taste of the New Zealand-type of farmstay. It’s a great change of pace, especially for most busy city folk who never get to experience life as such….

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