Kota Bharu is a little dull compared to some of the other places we had visited. Day one we attempted to walk through a few museums that we had researched in advance, only to find them completely closed. So instead, we wandered around the city to see the sights and people watch. We did find a delicious lunch restaurant and enjoyed being the only westerners at the tiny place we were eating at. Eventually, we made it back to our hostel to relax before more food!

We made a few hostel friends and ended up tagging along to the night market.  The food was alright, but the appeal of the night was chatting with fellow travelers who were out as long as we had been. The guys we met had similar interests and a love for traveling that we felt as well. We would soon notice more and more how different the westerners were in Malaysia. As a Muslim country, Malaysia attracts a different sort of person than any other southeast Asian country we had visited so far. I think the way alcohol is frowned upon (or completely banned depending where you go) is one of the main factors.  We hardly found the ‘partying type’ in Malaysia, which was fairly refreshing after a handful of obnoxious people we met on the trip at various points (the worst were the ones in the same dorm as you with no regard for the time of day, night, or level of noise they were making). Most traveling folks we met in Malaysia had more love for experiencing people or the culture than than a night out on the town. It was one of the appeals of the country.

The owner of the hostel were staying at was a really nice local guy and ended up inviting us to a beach barbecue with his friends the following day.

He supplied cheese-filled hotdogs (“what westerners eat”, right?) along with some Malaysian dishes made by his mom that were more to my taste.  While there, we chatted with the locals and learned a lot about the Malaysian culture.  Something that surprised us was the amount of racism that Chinese Malaysians felt from some of the Malay citizens as well as the government. On a lighter note, we also learned that it is illegal in the state we were in to buy or sell any sort of alcohol.  Apparently, the beer they were passing around comes from Thailand because it is cheaper/easier to cross the boarder than to find it elsewhere in Malaysia. Crazy.

All in all, it was the people that made Kota Bharu special for us.  The city did not have much to offer in terms of activities or sights, but the people we met were all so nice and friendly that I enjoyed my time there immensely. If you do go there, however, look up the cultural shows. They are quite cool apparently, but are only on certain days of the week (days we weren’t there unfortunately).

Onto our next volunteering opportunity: a month hanging out on a resort island. It’s gonna be rough… heh. Until then!

Regards,

Danielle and Grant

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As we arrived in Pakse we expected lots of tuk tuks to be hassling us for expensive rides into town. Instead, we found ourselves in an empty busstation with only two people, a dirty man with a mohawk and a man with a Russian assult rifle on his back. They told us (in a non threatening way) the only place to sleep was the adjacent hotel and that no tuk-tuks ran at this hour. We were stuck, so we decided to listen to the man with the gun.

The next morning we were able to take a tuk-tuk into town, and we found a much cheaper hostel. We also found our new favorite restaurant, a place called Daolin. For a fair price, we were eating real bacon for the first time in 3 months.

The first day was spent wandering the city. We walked to monuments, temples, markets, book stores, museums and food stands. Wikitravel teased us with promises of cheap burgers and ice cream, but it was a sham. That night we met up with a few new friends, played games, and drank beer. No one told us all the hostels lock up at 11, so when we got back home at 12, we thought we were sleeping outside. Luckily we were “those people”, and a sleepy, grumpy, hotel owner opened the door for us. “Do you know what time we close?” he growled. “I do now?”

Pakse is apparently the second biggest city in Laos, although it doesn't feel like it. The city isn't crowded and the traffic is almost non-existent. There isn't much tourism there, and we found that this was part of the charm.

We made an effort to take more photos of the locals while we're we here.

The second day, we got on the road and visited Wat Phu, a gorgeous temple near the town of Champasak. This ancient temple was originally built before 1000CE as a Hindu temple, but over the years it blended with Buddhism, and about 500 years ago, it became a primarily Buddhist temple with Hindu influence. We found the temple, besides beautiful and impressive, interesting. The blend of Hinduism and Buddhism is very unique, especially from a westernern religious perspective.

That night we finished some blog posts and enjoyed more food as temporary regulars at Daolin.

Finally, off to Don Khong for our first volenteer opportunity. Wish us luck.

Thanks for reading,

Grant and Danielle

The post Pakse – A Long Ride, an Ancient Temple, and a Man With a Machine Gun appeared first on Quarter Life Excursion.

” …Anyway, I wanted to message you and thank you SO MUCH for the motion sickness pills. I decided to try one out today and it saved my stomach […] After screaming down the windy road and a third of the way through our drive, the passenger in the front seat started hurling out of the van. After that, every time we wanted to look at a view we had to look past the barf painted window. It was pretty gross to see but my stomach felt fine. Then about half way through the drive, the passenger behind us woke himself up by throwing up all over the van floor. It only took a couple of minutes for the vomit to trickle under everyone's feet because of the twists and turns. I did a mental check on my stomach and I STILL DIDN'T FEEL NAUSEOUS! It was incredible. I hope you never have to experience this, but if you do, know that those pills are magical.”

I wish I had a picture of the van, but we forgot to take one.

Needless to say, we were happy to stop in Luang Namtha. After getting off the van, the city immediately took us in. In the night market, across the street from the hostel, they served full rotisserie chicken with sticky rice and papaya salad (for two) for $5. We were happy. That night we played cards and searched for a guided overnight trek / homestay.

The next morning we left for the trek in a big group of twelve. We were a little disappointed, since we expected to go with a group of four, but since we got a big discount, we didn't mind. The hikes were short and easy with stellar views, but lunch on a banana leaf table was the best part of the day. Despite the easy hikes, we were accompanied by three Israeli princesses that complained with every uphill and moved at a snail's pace. Danielle and I are convinced that it was because they spent most of their energy talking to each other.

The homestay was in a local village tucked away in the jungle. Before we left, Danielle and I bought a bag of balloons and the kids could not have been more happy to play with them. After we tried showing them how to share and play games with the inflated balloons we gave them, most of them just took them and untied them so they could make noises and launch them around themselves. That night, we watched the kids play with the fire as we drank Lao Lao out of bamboo shot glasses and listened to Mumford and Sons. Eventually, the chill drove us inside for a very cold night's sleep.

The next morning was Chinese New Year (Tet) and we were greeted to the sounds of gun shots, or that's what I thought. Instead we found the children heating up fresh bamboo section in the fire, creating a pressure chamber, and then whacking them so they exploded. I have no idea how safe this is, but I would have adviserd all of them to wear safety glasses if they had them.

As we hiked out, one of the princesses (who I'm still surprised made it through the night) were pulled up the hills with a stick by the very patient guide (see picture below for proof). Since we weren't going anywhere quickly, Danielle and I hung back and helped the other guide with his English.

Again, lunch was the coolest part. We hacked down banana trees for a few layers of the outer stalk (it looked like and had the consistancy of pasta), the core of its stalk, and for the huge flower. With this, we made soup using big sections of bamboo as a pot. Lunch was served in two half sections of bamboo, repurposed as serving trays. We ate everything with sticky rice and spoons made with hand-folded leaves.

We got back to the city that night, and the next day was spent lazily waiting for laundry, reading, and posting to quarterlifeexcursion.com. We also got the worst massage I've ever paid for $5 for and spent a bit of time in a local sauna that could be decribed as a clamy concrete box. Ha.

Grant and Danielle

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