Nathan had heaps of pictures to illustrate his
trip - here he is photographed beside the Kouang Si waterfall, near Luang
Prabang, Laos.
There were dangerous roads, CIA secret airbases, crowded
boats and trains, beautiful beaches and parks, great and not so great
restaurants. Member Nathan Russo regaled his fellow Pattaya City Expat Club
members at their meeting on April 10, 2011 with his description of his
recent adventures and misadventures on a trip to Laos and Vietnam. Rather
than flying, they traveled by boat, bus, and train from Thailand through
Laos and within Vietnam.
MC
Richard Silverberg opens the meeting by welcoming guests, followed by
introducing speaker of the day, fellow member Nathan Russo.
As the room was darkened and the projector turned on at
the Amari’s Tavern by the Sea Restaurant, Nathan began his slide show tour.
It started in the Thai border town of Chiang Khong where they took a not too
sturdy ferry across the Mekong River to the Lao town of Huai Xai.
For their River trip to Luang Prabang, they were offered
the opportunity to take a large boat that was limited to 6 passengers. But,
at a cost of 6,000 baht per person, they opted for the regular boat. As
Nathan described their two day trip down the Mekong River to Luang Prabang,
he said that in retrospect, they probably should have taken the more
expensive boat as the regular boat was crammed with over 100 passengers and
departed a few hours later than scheduled; likewise, after staying onshore
during the night, they had a similar delay in their next day’s departure
with even more passengers crammed in.
Nathan
shared with PCEC members his recent trip with friends to Laos and Vietnam.
Nathan and his group spent several days in Luang Prabang
visiting surrounding sites, including waterfalls, temples, Cham ruins,
elephant rides, etc. He said that if you had visited Luang Prabang just five
years ago, you would not recognize the place, as it now has every trapping
possible for the tourist.
But, part of his reason for taking the trip was to visit
a place he read about in a book entitled “The Ravens,” which covered the
exploits of American airmen operating out of a secret air base near the
Plain of Jars during the Vietnam War. He then described their visit to
nearby Phonsavan where they learned that the air base area was off limits
for foreign visitors. They did get to see the Plain of Jars and stayed in a
guest house mentioned in the book that was started by a colonel of the
Pathet Lao which had a lot of memorabilia on the ground floor.
Leaving Phonosavan, they traveled in a non-air
conditioned bus to the Lao/Vietnam border where they stopped for Immigration
clearance and then on across to the Vietnamese coastal city of Vinh. This
trip took about 12 hours over winding mountain roads and then down Vietnam
route 7 through many rice fields.
‘Frugal
Freddy’ organiser, Hawaii Bob advises this Monday’s restaurant location,
following it up with a drawing for a twoferone at another of Pattaya’s
better value restaurants.
Nathan said they arrived in Vinh after dark and chose to
stay at a nearby guest house. He opined that this was probably the worst
place he had ever stayed. Much to their chagrin, the next day, they found
there was a nice hotel not that far away with air conditioned rooms and a
great breakfast.
Nathan
& friends elephant trekking through Laos.
Nathan then gave a rundown on the trials and tribulations
of travel by train in Vietnam with a caution that in obtaining tickets, be
sure you have someone who speaks Vietnamese and English to help you,
otherwise you might find yourself in a car sitting on a wooden bench. Nathan
pointed out some of the good and bad of the 20 hour trip to Nha Trang.
In Nha Trang, Nathan said there are enough things to do
to keep you busy for at least 4 days - lots of Pagodas to visit, Cham ruins
and temples everywhere, beautiful beaches, offshore excursions to islands
for snorkeling or scuba diving and a visit to one of the premier
entertainment facilities in Vietnam called Vinepearl, a mixture of amusement
park, tropical resort and spectacular sea aquarium.
One of the more unique things that Nathan especially
enjoyed in Nha Trang was a visit to the photo gallery of a famous
photojournalist as well as the studio of a well known artist.
After 4 days in Nha Trang, they went on to Mui Ne. Nathan
said this was his fourth visit to this coastal city that has been made into
a premier tourist area; you can choose to stay in superior hotels or
moderate to low price hotels. One of the unique features here is that a
short distance inland, you will find an area that is nothing but sand dunes
that you would expect to more likely find in the desert.
After a few days of rest and relaxation in Mui Ne, they
took one of the many tourist buses to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), which
Nathan says is always a wonderful place to visit. Nathan concluded his
presentation by showing several of the sights in and around Saigon.
Throughout his presentation, he offered travel tips with recommendations for
lodging, restaurants, and sight seeing. Nathan’s narrative, which provides
more detail and lists many of his recommendations, is posted in the General
Interest section of the Pattaya City Expats Club’s website at www.
pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg then updated
everyone on upcoming events, Club activities, and called on David Meador to
conduct the always informative Open Forum.
Chonburi Governor Wichit Chatpaisit (right) presents
first prize to Wilasinee Teepan, winner of Chonburi’s Miss Songkran pageant.
A 22-year-old Prapatsorn Green Park 8 Project woman beat out
65 others to win Chonburi’s Miss Songkran pageant.
Wilasinee Teepan was awarded a 50,000 baht prize and winner’s
sash at the April 11 beauty contest at Chonburi’s Thai New Year festival in
front of the Chonburi District Office.
Kwanchat Tanadsornsarn, 24, of Chonburi was named first
runner-up and won 30,000 baht. Morakot Phunpol, a 24-year-old sponsored by
Region 2 Labor Court, won third place and 20,000 baht.
The Miss Chonburi award and 10,000 baht went to Supaporn
Promtes, sponsored by Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, and the Miss Photogenic prize to
Siwaporn Siriprapa, who was sponsored by the Don Hualor Sub-district.
Sixty-five women dressed in traditional Thai costumes entered the contest.
Fifteen were selected as finalists and performed stage shows for judges before
the top three were chosen. The Miss Chonburi winner was chosen by audience
members, who cast votes by giving each contestant roses.
