mikes midlife round the world in 96 days

i decided to do the tiring 3 day journey to luang prabang and booked through my guesthouse.Everything was meant to have been prepaid and arranged(ha).I was picked up at 12 noon and taken to tour operator office where they encouraged us to allow them to organise visa for 1650 baht.the others who were girls decided to but i judged my instincts and refused even though they said i would have to wait 2 hrs at immigration..a long and cramped journey to Chiang Khong in a minibus took 6 hrs,stopped off for supposedly lunch but no place to buy a meal,then same again later on in journey.Finally arrived at guesthouse(poorish quality)and had meal(included in price)but not to tasty.Beds were rock hard as were the pillows(non flushing toilet).
So next day up at 8 for brekkie,and then off to thai border.Passed through easily enough then onto small boat for ferry across to Laos(400metres).Free transfer included in package but had to pay for luggage to get over.
So Laos visa took me 5 mins to get at cost of 35 dollars(1135 baht),and got my stamps in passport for arrival.Another roundabout drive to show passports to 3 different people for unusual reasons and then down to slow boat.
This was a complete joke,so many people cramped onto this narow barge type boat,wooden benches and no space to move.This not as shown in brochure.I decided to find alternative means and boarded similar barge which was taking local laos family in same direction.Another 6 people followed me ,although we had to lie on floor we could at least walk about and sleep.Extra 200 bht each as a backhander.7 hrs journey to Pak Beng,half way down Mekong River.Guest house for that night was extra cost which i shared with daniella a girl i met on minibus.
The views along the way were nice,lots of small villages along the way,locals fishing in river,women panning for something at water edge and lots of kids just mucking about in river.
Next day 8 hr journey but boat was slightly better so i stayed aboard..So finally we arrived about 6 pm to Luang prabang and faced the gauntlet of guest house touts.we planned to get our own but were so tired we agreed to go and look. We agreed to stay.place nice and clean,room big and working toilet and shower.
Home sweet home for the next 3 nights!

Saturday was so quiet for this city we thought it strange.we did the temple tour(3 out of about 50 was enough) .
That evening whilst drinking i decided to enter a thai boxing match,on the assurance it was light punches and kicks.i warmed up for 45 mins and it was time for me to enter the ring to the sound of rocky(kidding).i used my 6 ft 2 advantage over the 5 ft thai with lots of kicks but he soon threw me to the floor.War was enevitable so i laid into him and in the 3rd round after pulling his head down and kneeing and punching him around the body he was clean knocked out.i danced around him to a standing ovation of the proclaimers 100 miles.
Ok ,maybe it was fixed but it was good fun..
Next day i did the monkey show,pretty poor and i really did not agree with the monkeys tied and chained up,even though sign says they are released into open cages afterwards.
Final day and i did which included elephant riding and bamboo rafting,both of which were fun.Coming down the river on the raft and seeing an elephant in front of you was strange,we squeezed past him but were expecting a soaking from his trunk,however we were wet already as along the way lots of familys have picnics on bamboo huts built on the water edge,and they tend to saok us travellers as we pass by.
Nightlife is ok here,especially if you reqire the services of local girls who sit in every bar encouraging us male tourists to buy then drinks and buy them back to your room.Or for the males who prefer the company of ladyboys,you can have your pick.
I did however enjoy the food here,good quality and cheap.
Now im off again headin to laos.....

We arrived about 8.30 am and headed to khao san road to find accomodation..after all the reports ive read it was not as bad i expected. we stayed in hotel for one night,2 days expierincing the culture,bargains,food,people watching,then caught our train to Chaing Mai that night,another 13 hr trip,however im used to that now..yeah im looking forward to my return visit to bankok in about 2 mths.

This was my first oppertunity to kinda relax in the last 3 mths of travelling.we had a small chalet type hut 50 metres from the beach,pretty basic ,outside toilets and showers,but worth the money(50 ringgit a night).it was so good to wake up at any time and just hit the beach,not having to worry about planning your day.Water was so warm and sea nice and shallow.
We stayed for 4 nights and enjoyed the chilling out eating plenty.But after 4 days i was really wanting to move on so we booked our boat back over to mainland and headed for the thailand border.unforunately it was a thunderstorm earlier that morning and we were lucky to get off,even though the sea was choppy.
So off in taxi to border to catch train up to bankok.Another rainy day at border,so we all jumped on motorbike taxis after crossing the border to the train station which was an interesting ride.
Managed to catch train,however no sleeper beds available and landed in 3rd class,in old wooden carriages for which the journey was to be 21 hrs..No chance...we jumped off at first main town/city and caught overnight bus to bankok,another 14 hrs..yawn ...

Headed outta and upwards to Malaysia with a guy i met in hostel.Lucky for me he has just graduated after 7 yrs to be a doctor in his native Austria.We took the very very cheap(28 sing dollars,4 quid) and luxurious bus to KL and arrived into a tropical thunderstorm.
Stayed at travellers palms hostel which i would not recommend,for the price far better accomodation available but we had to book at short notice so not much choice left.
KL is very hard work and we have decided to move on and up to the far north east coast to chill on a island for a few days,taking the overnight sleeper train(dorm bunks and 52 ringgits,8 quid) .
I might head back down for the grand prix in 3 weeks... i'll see.
Last day there i went to the menara towert for a view,it was ok ,nothing spctacular for me.. we had a final meal form one of the street cafes which i enjoed then headed to catch our overnight train.
this was like a rolllercoaster ride for about 14 hrs,but we got to our destination to catch a cab to our ferry at kota baru to take us over to palau perthintian cecil(hope the spelling is ok),the small island on the uppert east coast of malaysia.