Day 13 - Friday 14th April - Thakhek to Vientiane: 340k

New Years Day: We had anticipated a load of traffic, but the locals were mostly off the road, in that they were not in vehicles, but their presence was felt partying along the road side. The party mode, (read: water, ear shatteringly loud music, dancing and lots of beer) built up after mid-day.

Despite the morning being traffic free, we nearly had a couple of incidents on the road. The first occurred while we were overtaking a HiLux. A cow wandered onto the road – I could not veer right and the HiLux could not migrate to the left. In the end, somehow the cow managed to go between us and still survive unscathed. No so for a dog a short time later. He wandered onto the road, we braked and blasted the horn, the dog retreated straight under the wheels of a motor bike which was running parallel to us on the wrong side of the road. Much dog yelping, bike plastic crashing, and a couple of kids in traditional bike riding garb (helmetless, shorts, t-shirt and thongs) rolling across the roadway. For them the injuries mainly dealt with their pride and a broken bike.

Mountains to our right, the Mekong and the Thai border to our left and much cooler temperatures made for a pleasant and scenically interesting day driving. Villages dot the road every few kilometres. From the looks, this is traditional farming country: rice paddies, cows and buffalo. With small trade stores selling everything you can imagine. The one at our lunch stop sold:

Paddle pops, chips and other snack foods, cold Pepsi and juices or if you needed something to keep you awake Red and Black Lion Whisky (with a Australia in capitals amongst the fine print – but when you read the fine print, it was only blended and bottled under the supervision of someone trained in Australia – you can make up the rest of the story yourselves), cigarettes of every flavour and colour, and if you have a vehicular problem: batteries, tyres (which would have fitted an MG, which was handy as Shiraz had the first puncture of the trip earlier), belts and hoses, and lubricants (for the car) of every description.

On the outskirts of Vientiane the music was cranked up and the water was flowing. The general operation of the group (who all wear matching team T-shirts) is to gather around a large inflatable kids swimming pool which is filled with water, dunk their buckets in it and then hurl the contents at the passing cars. Moving slowly, with windows down in the bumper to bumper traffic encouraged them more. They became most proficient at getting the water straight through the window, or onto the windscreen (the soft top was not designed for water coming up the windscreen, so much then leaked in between the top of the windscreen and the vinyl top head board). Despite the drenching we probably did better than young girls on motor bikes. (I am not sure if there is a minimum age to ride a bike here as some of the kids look no older than 12). But it was usually the 16-18 year olds that copped the worst. The boys would stand in the middle of the road forcing the girls to stop. They were then drenched with buckets and hoses, topped off with a bag of flour. Choice! The MGs also copped the flour treatment as well. There also seemed to be a lot of beer, but no cold stuff coming our way, just water.

Last night as we walked around the city, there were times when we had to cover our ears. I am not sure how the locals managed a whole day of the noise, but suspect there are a large number who cannot hear anything the next day.

I don’t think I have ever experienced a celebration like this before. Certainly it could not happen in Australia without the noise police, the politically correct police and the harassment police all getting involved. We saw plenty of police during the day. But most were sitting by the road side under umbrellas watch the traffic speed by. This is Laos.

Day 12 - Pakse to Thakhek - 350k

The thunderous grey skies not only looked promising, but delivered. The rain brought welcome relief in terms of cooler temperatures for our drive following the Mekong north from Pakse to Thakhek. Both are reasonable sized towns and regional administrative centres. Between there are a string of villages along highway 33, which may well be the only sealed road in Laos. Its certainly the only road heading North that’s sealed and may well be the only road heading north for that matter.

From Pakse to Vietiane the Mekong is the border with Thailand. As I sit typing this looking across the Mekong, it appears that Thailand is bombarding us with very loud music. It’s New Year this weekend and everyone is in party mode. Water plays a big part in this, maybe because it’s the hottest time of the year. Its traditional that kids stand by the side of the road and hurl buckets of water at passing cars. Smaller kids are armed with super soakers as big as them, and the teenagers seem to be targeting the opposite sex.

A convoy of MGs seemed to be very attractive for the water throwers and it seems that as we passed from village to village the aiming techniques were passed and honed. By the time we reached Thakhek we were wet, the inside of the car was wet and the outside was a mixture of red, blue and purple as the kids not only hurled water, but dye bombs as well. With windows down and the back window unzipped, there were plenty of places for them to aim at. At least we got some protection from the windscreen, most of the time, which is more that the motor cyclists, especially young girls who seemed to get a special drowned attention. The water was accompanied with loud music, dancing and plenty of beer.

We are all wondering what we are in for tomorrow as we drive up to Vientiane as tomorrow is the first day of the New Year celebrations. Today was just a warm up.

This afternoon in Thakhek we went for a walk around town and ventured into a nearby Buddhist monastery. Special blessings were in progress which involved a line of faithful pouring water over seated monks an asking for their blessing. Loris and Tony joined the queue and sought a bessing of safe travel for all of the convoy. Once the monk blessing was finished, the faithful then turned and poured any leftover water over each other. We came in for special attention. Not sure whether this was because westerners are not common in this area or because the locals felt we were in dire need of divine attention.

The convoy is now starting to get in a rhythm while we drive. We are not driving in each other’s pockets and starting to spreading out, stopping as we see the need to capture a photo. That said the start is at 0800 sharp. This means cars packed, crews settled, engines started and ready to pull on to the road. We are then stopping every couple of hours for a break and some are taking the opportunity to change drivers. Today we were sitting on around 75kph. However, that is generally not for long. We are continually overtaking bikes, tractors, utes and trucks. The busses were generally overtaking us, as were many of the utes. You need to be aware of not only what Is ahead, but who is behind and what they are doing.

The countryside is much dryer than further south. The farmers obviously rely on the monsoon before they can plant their rice as there is no irrigation. The paddies are tiny, about the size of a Sydney suburban back yard, so I assume that all the work is done by hand. But at the moment, its all dry and fallow, waiting for the monsoons to come in the next month or so.

I am constantly trying to work out whether the Lao or Cambodians are better well off. Its difficult to tell from the housing, although satellite dishes are prevalent in Laos but non existent in Cambodia. The Lao are generally more conservatively dressed, with a lot still wearing traditional garb. The cars are much more modern here, mostly Thai manufactured utes (Toyota HiLux and Ford), while in Cambodia they drove 1990’s Camry’s and Klugers imported by the ship load from the US once they had been discarded there. But the countryside in Cambodia looks richer. May be its is, but the war has extracted a toll which they are still trying to escape from.

Day 11 - Kratie to Pakse

Another long day (350k) of driving ahead of us. While we left Rajabori at a bit before 0800, it was 0900 before we got moving in the cars. The first 16k was a dirts road through multiple villages along the bank of the Mekong to a launching spot where the locals to us out to see the Mekong dolphins. Not quite like watching the Southern Right Whale at Tunks Part, it was fascinating to watch these small fresh water mammals so far from the coast.

As the day wore on, the temperature climbed and the landscape became more arid something like what we see in northern Australia. Highway 7 had improved somewhat from the previous day, principally because of the reduction in traffic. We could sit on a comfortable 80kph and chew into the distance.

Towards the Lao border the road deteriorated significantly with more red dirt than tarmac, and the temperature continued to climb. All I can say is that when the outside temp reaches 42c, it’s a pretty visceral experience inside of the MG. The car was consuming 1ltr of petrol every 10k, and I think we were doing similar with the water. 

With the windows down and the back window zipped out the flow through of air made the experience bearable, but with it came the red Cambodian dust from the dirt road. It not only covered us, but also lined the complete interior of the car. Anything we touched turned to mud with our sweat.

No trucks, but plenty of bikes carrying every sort of load. The most interesting was one bike, 2 people and one large pig, trussed and spread out on its back, across the bike between the driver and the pillion.

The border crossing to Laos was the absolute opposite of our entry into Cambodia. When we arrived, we though it was closed as there was not another car in site or a living being. It was a weird sort of experience as the buildings on both sides of the border were new and from a distance, it appeared like a new construction that someone had forgotten to commission.

However, we managed to find some officials and roused them from their lunchtime siesta to get the iPhones out and take a lot of photos with each posing for each other in and around the cars. Then they got down to processing our exit from Cambodia and entry in Laos. The local Buddhist monks even managed to get into the picture with selfies with MG.

Back on the road and it was fascinating how different Laos was to Cambodia. The lack of people and cars was obvious. The timber houses were no longer built on 4m high stilts, but rather sat on the ground in a more Chinese fashion. Gone was the multitude of banners, bill boards and gaudy signs to be replaced with what looks like, official notices. And the forest of political banners for the Cambodia Peoples Party, with pictures of Hun Sen and his wonderful deeds for every village were completely absent. Cows and water buffalo have replaced them. The cows wander where they please, and if its across the road, beware.

The locals prefer the Lao Kip to USD, although the petrol station we stopped at to fill our tanks after the border was persuaded to accept them rather than the Kip. Petrol is still around USD1.00 per litre.

Its Buddhist New Year this coming weekend. A big time of year with public holidays and festivities dominating the local scene. Every village in both Cambodia and Laos has been preparing for it with tents, tables and chairs for communal festivities plus lots of speeches and loud music.

All along the road people stop what they are doing as our convoy passes. They clearly have not seen many 1970 MGs in the past and seem fascinated by our procession. Cars and trucks toot, I assume in approval, kids wave and the quick snap a selfie with MG when they can.

Tonight, the Champasak Grand hotel is certainly grand in a Chinese totalitarian sort of style. The staff are clearly not used to getting English speaking guests as they have been totally swamped by our requests for beers to be put on our individual room tabs. But I think we have managed to sort it all out, with smiles and a Buddhist sort of karma, it’s just the way it is.  

Day 10 - Siem Reap to Kratie

The tarmac of Highway 6 is smooth and new. It even has a sense of familiarity with gum trees standing sentinel on either side of the road. Highway 7, heading north, on the other hand is narrow, pot holed with broken edges and bumper to bumper traffic. We were lucky to average 40kph. In the heat everyone was becoming agitated.

The secondary roads were a relief even though they tended to have dirt sections every now and again.

The landscape is dominated by the Mekong. It’s the heart and life of the country. Irrigation ditches stream off it like giant arteries, providing water for the rice paddies. Cows graze on the old stubble and water buffalo seem to be the basic beasts of burden if motorised contraptions are not available.

Over the 400k that we traveled to reach Kratie we saw rubber trees, a variety of fruit and it seems many of the villages specialties in different trades: carved stone Buddhist statues, wooden beds, tables and benches. The villages were predominantly Buddhist, but some areas were entirely Muslim.

In the villages and towns the shops and trade stalls are on the verge of the road. With bikes and cars still four abreast it becomes chaotic. The locals just seem to take it as it comes and slow appropriately when needed or just pull off the road. But with kids and dogs running everywhere we are concerned it will just be a matter of time before someone has a new bonnet emblem.

While the official currency of Cambodia is the Riel, all pricing is in USD, even out of the main tourist centres. The ATMs will dispense in either currency. This obviously provides stability to the currency, but tends to push up the prices. That said dinner out is costing us between USD8-10 for a main and beers or wine (alcohol is cheap) per person. Petrol about USD1.00 per litre, not that we are drinking it.

The other first world problem is that internet access is generally a challenge (hence lack of photos with my blogs), while mobile telephone coverage is good.

The day’s drive was just over 400k. With the temp climbing to the mid 30’s we were knackered by the time we arrived in Kratie at a bit past 1700 after setting out at 0800. It then took another hour to get from town, where we left the cars to Rajabori Village which was set up on a small island in the middle of the Mekong. We slept in tradition huts, that were decked out with in a French colonial influence – very sheik. The power swithched off at 2100, the insects were kept at bay with nets over the beds, except for the frogs that climbed into the bathrooms and toilets for a swim. Seemed to worry the girls most.

The island supports 300 families who work in the hotels and other lodges, fish the Mekong, farm the land and seem to be fairly self sufficient even owning a small portable timber mill to fulfil their housing needs. Everyone seems to own a new 125cc Honda motor cycle.

Day 8 & 9 - Siem Reap

We have spent the last couple of days at Siem Reap, the stop off point for visiting the Angkor Wat temples. Built in the 12th century, they are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu as the kings swapped from one belief to the other and back again. The locals seem to still be pretty pragmatic, with our guide describing himself as 70% Buddhist, 20% Hindu and 10% Animist.

The Angkor Wat complex is impressive, the carvings extra-ordinarily detailed and the whole place spreads over a vast area. I think it’s about 500 acres and housed up to 1m people at one stage. I won’t try to relate the history of the Angkor Wat complex as I am still confused about how over a period of 50 years the Cambodia Kingdom built the place and don’t seem to have left much behind of consequence subsequently. That said, with recent archaeological discoveries by Dr Damian Evans of Sydney Uni the whole issue of the area’s history seems to be up for grabs:    https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/jun/11/new-technology-reveals-lost-cities-in-the-angkor-region-video  Our guide seems to up on all of this as his wife works for Damian.

Sam our guide is an interesting character and probably reflects a lot about current Cambodian society. He is 35 years old. Cambodia has the youngest population of any country with an average age of 36 as a result of so many being killed in the civil war. He fought for both the Khmer Rouge and the Government armies from the age of 9 to 16. He is an effervescent character which belies the fact that 3 of his siblings, most of his relatives and a large number of his village were killed in the war. His job for most of the time in the army was to lay land mines. We got the whole story on every type and technique used to lay them and the problems. Seems that most people forgot where they laid them and blew themselves up.

Land mines are still a problem as a few days ago 3 kids were killed when they stumbled across one. And wandering around town there is a significant number of blind or limbless people. The process of finding and removing them painfully progresses.

Sam is also sanguine about the level of corruption in the country, with the current Prime Minister, Hun Sen and his relatives in control of not only the government, but the army and the police, the major telecom company and a host of other enterprises. Plus, the leader of the opposition party is in exile. But I suppose on the scale of things, it’s a lot better than it was. The civil war has been over for nearly 20 years and the economy is now starting to progress with new foreign investment, improved schooling and health care. the locals are optimistic and always cheerful.

Tourism accounts for about 20% of the GDP, with Angkor Wat the centre piece. Tony recalls he first came here in 1992, just after the UNESCO declaration and there were 2 hotels and around 9000 tourists visiting Angkor Wat a year, understandably as there were still land mines everywhere as the Khmer Rouge use the place as a base (although the US did not bomb the place, you don't need to look too far to find bullet holes in the walls). Today there are over 2 million tourists (we are told that all the land mines have been removed from the complex). Interestingly the biggest contributors to tourism growth have been Lara Croft and Indiana Jones with the release of Tomb Raiders and the Temple of Doom. Despite the growth, we can still wander all over the place with very few restrictions, but one wonders how long that will be for.

However, despite the hustle and bustle, the gaudy flashing neon lights, the touts, the bars and throngs of tourists in Siem Reap poverty is not far away. I think we are about to get a different view of Cambodia tomorrow when we head north to Kratie. 

Day 7 - The killing fields

I lost Loris on the other side of the bed at he Dasada Resort last night and only found her by using Find My Phone, so texted her good night. I have suggested to our leaders that if the hotels provide such large beds again, then they should provide the GPS co-ordinates.

We were up with the birds at 0600 and just made the 0800 departure after a walk around the gardens, a swim around a pool I got lost in, breakfast, packing and a check of the car essentials: oil, water, air etc.

The 130k drive to the Cambodian border was pretty uneventful. Thailand is not only very flat (we hit a high spot of 37m at one stage, but generally 5-10m above sea level), but very well organised and disciplined, at least on the road.

The country varied from rice fields, sugar cane, eucalyptus plantations, shop houses selling a myriad outdoor furniture (must have been the specialty of the province). And a few factories: Alpine car radios, a paper mill and a large sugar plant.

The vehicles are all fairly modern and dominated by the large SUV utes and 4WD’s that Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Isuzu andMitsubishi manufacture locally. Of course motor bikes are also abundant.

The divided highway to the border led us into a false sense of security for what was ahead.

The first inkling that we were near to the border (other than the GPS telling us), was the 5k queue of trucks, at standstill waiting for their turn to cross. I can only suspect that they were lined up for days waiting. We on the other hand drove to the head of the queue and were ushered through - not sure how, but it happened, and no one seemed to get upset. First on the Thai side: presentation of passports and departure cards, presentation of car documents and a cursory check that the number plates corresponded to the docs and we were off to the Cambodian side of the border and in the process doing a remarkable swap to the other side of the road (left hand to right hand) while interweaving with the oncoming traffic, who were also swapping from right to left. Of course there were a million motorbikes weaving in and out of the cars, people and a throng of hand drawn carts piled high with pots pans and who knows what.

On the Cambodian side it was a quick check of the cars (we think) handing our Passports to our Agent and we were off, down a substantially lesser 2 lane road.

Interestingly there were no trucks queued up on the Cambodian side. I think this was more a reflection of the flow of trade rather than the efficiency of the Cambodian Customs.

There was also human traffic being sent home piled into police paddy wagons (about 20 squashed into a normal AUS sized paddy wagon). And the hand drawn carts were all being harnessed up to motor bikes once on the other side.

We were off on our 170k drive to Siem Reap as the temp climbed close to 40c and the humidity into the 90s. It’s the dry season supposedly, but the grass is green and plenty of water by the roadside.

The road rules seem to be pretty vague here. The 2 lane road regularly morphs into 5 lanes: 2 for bikes on the curb, 2 for cars and an imaginary one in the middle. The cars in the imaginary centre hurtle towards each other, only to pull in or over and let one pass at the last minute. We seemed to spend a considerable amount of time in the motor cycle lanes on the edge rather than playing dodgem in the middle. Nobody seemed at all phased by this behaviour.

The other thing that took our interest was the variety of vehicles that drive along the edge of the road in the non existent bike lane. There were push bikes (locals and a mad German peddling to China), motor bikes piled high with people (4 was the record) or with cargo or a mixture of people, dogs and cargo. The cargo was from metres high to meters wide (an interesting balancing challenge as the trucks streamed past). Then there were the bikes towing the trailers and wooden carts (some of which were loaded with up to 10 people). And finally these long nosed contraptions with a motor balanced over the single, belt driven front wheel, and a driver sitting about 3m back on the trailer steering from side, something like a boat tiller in reverse.

I got to examine all this at close quarters as I now drive on the curb side, while the Navigator contemplates the oncoming traffic hurtling towards her.  By the time we reached Siem Reap the team was starting to master the challenges and when caught behind a slow moving bus or overloaded truck, offered the passenger to the gods and venturing around generally before the oncoming traffic got too close (I’m talking a couple of meters here).

Thailand was our first country and the last we will drive on the left hand side of the road before we reach England. The rest of the trip will be driving on the right. One of the redeeming features of travelling in a convoy of 8 MGs is that the locals are fascinated and if we want to turn across the oncoming traffic, they will generally stop and give way to us while we all venture across.

Obviously the driver is invariably focused on what is happening on the road ahead and a bit behind, usually to make sure the next car in the convoy is still in sight and we have not lost them. But occasionally we do get a chance to look around. The Cambodian countryside, although its flatter than the Hay Plains, with rice paddies melting into the distant heat haze, it is much poorer than the Thai. The kampongs are basic and surrounded by abundant fruit trees and dirt, and white brahman cows are grazing along the roadside. This feels like traditional Asia.

We’ll we have arrived in Siem Reap. I’ve been for a swim and cooled down. Its off for a wander around town and change some money.

Tomorrow is a road free day and a visit to Ankur Wat.   

Day 6 - Start your engines please

I was going to start with the traditional motor racing command  'Start your engines please gentlemen', but it would not have done justice to the females who drove today.

The final packing of the car. Everything fitted and we had room to spare. The work and thought behind our chois=ces seems to have paid off. Day 1 on the road and we have not run out of clothes yet, nor found anything that we needed but was missing. Still a bit of work on the patterns and organisation as there was a bit too much walking back and forward with loads.

Lined up ready to leave Bangsean Beach , in Bangkok

A lot of excitement as we were actually start our journey to Abingdon. A small start, but a significant step to Prachin Buri, 130 klms NE of Bangkok with an afternoon spent exploring the Khao Yai National Park, known for its rain forest, elephant and tigers. Unfortuately we had to be content with the rain and rain forest. We were met in the NP by people from the MG Factory PR agency who spent the afternoon taking photos of the cars and doing a couple of interviews which will be used to promote the brand in Thailand. It would appear that it needs all the help it can get. Last year, the second year in the country, they sold 9000 cars, but a big jump from 200 in their first year.

Lined up for MG Factory phot shoot in Khao Yai NP

The good news is that we successfully escaped Bangkok traffic, all cars ran well and we arrived in one piece and the convoy intact. 

A few niggles here and there: my brake lights seem to be working intermittently, my CB radio seems to have less range than others (not a problem as I'll just drive in the middle of the pack) and the low beam on the headlights is a bit high (easy to adjust, but we weren't going to drive at night any way).

An 0800 start tomorrow means that I probably won't get a chance to fix these issues first thing, but may have some time when w reach Siem Reap in Cambodia - our first border crossing.

Day 5 - Packing

Final preparation of the car and packing. Surprisingly we seem to have a bit more space than anticipated. Maybe its because the Navigator and she who must-be-obeyed in the packing realm suggested that half the pile of stuff I had gathered should be left behind. We shall see in the morning when the final jamb takes place.

After that I went for a walk along the waterfront at Bangsaen to the nearby fishing village, which was co-incidentally situated at the base of this big hill which seemed to be a sanctuary for the local monkeys. Not sure, if you have been to Bangkok before, not only are there not many hills, but there are not many rocky outcrops.

Pleasant lunch on the waterfront. Well actually ordered a Cola which was then accompanied by rice, a spicy fish dish and a curried crab. they must have been reading my mind and I really was hungry but had left my wallet at the hotel and only had a few hundred baht on me. But this had sort of escaped me while I was hoeing into the feed. It was not until I had finished that it sort of dawned on me that the cost of what was provided may have been more that the contents of my pocket. When the bill was produced (not one spoke any English, and there were only locals in site) I had the challenge that I could muster half of what they wanted and really I had not ordered any of it, other than the Coke.

The good part was they accepted all i could muster and I didn't have to do the washing up. Still not sure why all the food was produced as I am sure that Cola translates pretty well in Thai, or so it appeared on the menu. One of those life experiences I guess.

Wandering back over the monkey hill ( not sure what its all called as I only seem to be able to find this on Google Thailand and despite 4 days in town my Thai is still very rudimentary) I started to wonder whether it was safe as all the locals were driving by with their windows shut tight and i was the only one not in a car. This followed a lengthy discussion last night about who had had their rabies injections before the trip.

Off on our adventure tomorrow. Hope I'm not getting too vague in this unstructured environment.

Day 4 - Visas

We have 2 difficult Visas to get: Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Both are complex because neither have Consulates in Australia and you can't get the Visas until 3 months before your visit. Plus the process involves a mountain of documents for each person: application forms, passports, photos, letters from employers, etc. 

And it was my responsibility, as the organiser of the 'Stans section of the journey to get the Visas.

Both work on a Letter of Invitation process. Fill out and submit all the forms to the state Foreign Affairs department, they process and determine your eligibility to enter and finally issue a LOI which must be then taken to a Consulate who will then issue the Visa.

In the case of Uzbekistan we had the added complexity that you had to nominate a Consulate at which you would pick up the Visa. The dilema was that we had to allow enough time to be in the one spot long enough to process. Luckily Uzbekistan has a consulate in Bangkok so we organised to pick up our Visas here and hope that the 3-5 day wait will not eventuate.

After a 2 hour trip through peak hour traffic Tony and I arrived with paperwork, 15 passports and a wad of cash. It appears that the Uzbeks have learnt a lot since freeing themselves of the Russian shackles. The process was smooth and only involved a couple of trips to the bank to deposit funds on a pre-prepared bank deposit slip and after a couple of hours presto 1 Visa issue to me, which covers me and 15 others for whom I am responsible. Another 2 hours back to our hotel and a bit of time for work on the cars: washing off the shipping grime, getting the recalcitrant tail lights to work again and starting the packing process.

That leaves us with the Turkmenistan visa. Turkmenistan is one step removed from North Korea in the political stakes. They have a habit of declining visa applications on a random basis and for some classes, up to 50% of applications are declined. If we could not get the TM Visas, the alternatives were to travel through Afghanistan or through Russia and the Ukraine, around the north of the Caspian Sea, again not an appealing exercise.

We have been sweating on the TM authorities to issue the Letters of Invitation. Our documents were completed and submitted in January and today we got, what I will describe as the least worst news that they have accepted 15 of the 16 visa applications. One rejection, Simon who is Tony's navigator for the Stan's leg of the journey. At least all the cars and their owners will get through. The authorities don't give reasons for their rejections. They just issue a simple Rejected Form. So now we have the official LOI issued by the Turkmenistan Foreign Affairs Department we just need to work out where we can get the Visas issued. Simon on the other hand is now beating a path to the TM Consulate in London to see if he can reverse the decision.  

Day 3 - Golden Buddhas and Temples

A day playing tourist with visits to Wat Po with its giant reclining Buddha and a tuk tuk ride with 5 vehicles racing each other to the Grand Palace. I was trying to think of what the road rules are for tuk tuks, but not sure there are any. They drive on the wrong side of the road at break neck speed, head long into oncoming motor bikes who invariably dive for protection in the gutter. 

Buddhas come in a multitude of poses: reclining, sitting, standing or walking. Arms folded, arms out stretched. And invariably with the eyes averted down. In Thailand there are 8 traditional poses on for each day of the week with 2 for Wednesday. Every person knows what day of the week they were born on and which is their Buddha. 

I was looking at the golden temples in the Grand Palace and reminded of the Versailles exhibition we saw in Canberra while waiting for our Iranian visas to be processed, and thinking that globally all rulers must have spent most of their time either taxing the poor or raiding their neighbors to get enough funds to build a new palace or golden monument. 

The King, who had been the longest reigning monarch, died last October. His body will lie in state for 12 months. Such was the following of the King that the queue of mourners to pay their final respects, each day is 6 hours long.