Today’s adventure was an hour long Touk Touk ride (which is more of a two bench vehicle than a Thai tuk tuk is). It was a bumpy ride at some speed but we at least had fantastic views of the countryside. It is the season for farmers to slash and burn so there is a constant haze in the sky and a tinge of smoke in the air most of the time.

The Tat Kuang Si waterfall was worth the uncomfortable journey though.

I have seen a fair few waterfalls in my time but I have to say that this is probably the prettiest one. The water cascades down different routes through the various levels into the brilliant turquoise pools.

This close up shows how the sediment in the water has shaped the limestone so instead of cutting through the rock it is depositing and creating stalactites type shapes.

The water flows down into a variety of terraced pools and there are some that you can swim in. So we did.

It felt pretty awesome to be bathing in the jungle! The water was cold but so refreshing in the heat of the day. In each pool were tiny fish who nibble your legs so we also had a free and totally natural fish spa!

Calcium carbonate particles in the water reflect the light making the water look such a vivid hue. The water colours were soothing on the eye but the jungle trail had some pretty vivid flora too which was delightful against the dense greens.

But the best treat of all was the bear sanctuary at the bottom of the hill. I hadn’t even realized that it was there until the trail took us through their enclosure. These are sun bears and moon bears a type of asiatic bear all of whom who have been rescued from trappers and poachers. The sanctuary restores them to health.

This short video clip shows the cubs play fighting. I guess kids are kids whatever the species!

Bear bile is highly prized in traditional Chinese medicine and bears are caught then kept penned up in cages with tubes draining their bile continuously. It’s an awful trade and the bears are in misery. It was so wonderful to see them enjoying being out in the open.

Our final stop of the day was to the library (bus Man’s holiday!); the Luang Prabang public library was tiny and had only a few shelves of tatty books but they had launched a book boat project

Anyone can buy a book from a preselected shelf for $2 and donate it to a Book Bag’. These are then taken by boat to the poor village schools who have few resources. We are always happy to help those less fortunate than ourselves- especially with the gift of books!

SE Asia’s longest river at 4350 km it starts with springs in Tibet and flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Mekong literally means ‘mother of the rivers in Asia’ and as one of the worlds’ major waterways this was something I had heard of. Having watched Sue Perkins travel the Mekong I was keen to take a boat trip.

We duly booked a cocktail sunset cruise for 2 hours via our hotel for $15 each (approx £11.50) A bargain we thought.

I should at this stage point out that this is the low season as the temperatures can get quite high (40 degrees). Having said that, coming from Bangkok we can confirm that it is nowhere near as humid. So whilst we do get hot & a bit sweaty here during the afternoon the rest of the time is lovely for us. Anyway, to cut to the chase, its the low season and there aren’t many other tourists around. Most people come during the high season which is Nov – Feb. There are multiple restaurants along the river bank with empty tables which is quite sad.

Anyway we went down to the river to board our boat

In Laotian style it was long and very beautiful inside with polished wooden floors and little tables.

Then we discovered that we were the only guests so it ended up being a private cruise!!! for 11 quid each! We certainly lucked out there!

It was a magical evening floating gently down the river watching the golden sun sparkling on the water as it set behind the mountains

What could be nicer than sipping Laos Mojitos on such a special river.

And the nibbles were new to us too… (Not the peanuts)

The black curly things were actually locally sourced mushrooms made into crisps. Although the looked pretty grim and unappetizing they were in fact delicious. Organic and very more-ish.

We sailed up to the quite rickety bamboo bridge at the confluence with the Nam Khan River. You can pay £1 to walk across. I didn’t as it looked pretty ropey in the middle!

Our host was fascinating and spoke impeccable English (which he had taught himself when working as a waiter) his parents were farmers in the north but on their death he decided that he didn’t want to continue to cut down trees as they had done but instead he wanted to give something back to his country. He started his boat business and any profits he makes he uses to fund a school in the countryside. He has paid for classrooms, toilets and last week he made them some new tables as they don’t have enough and the children eat in the same place that they study. Sadly, he said that the low number of tourists this year would mean that he couldn’t do much more to help them financially so he was going to spend some time teaching English instead. What an inspirational man.

And what a beautiful place.

I guess that being landlocked most westerners don’t think of Laos as a holiday destination as there are no beaches. But if you like cultural experiences and nature you can’t beat this. I would recommend it for anyone wanting a holiday with a difference.

I have to admit that until I arrived in SE Asia I was woefully ignorant of the fact that Laos even existed as a country! Shameful I know, but it never featured on my school geography curriculum, no major (or minor) world events have happened here to mark it in the history books thereby raising it to my attention and it has spawned no remarkable citizens. It hadn’t really registered on my radar until I came to live in neighboring Thailand. And what I treat I have been missing all these years. It is a delightful country.

If any of you are as totally ignorant as I was here are a couple of fascinating facts for you:

Laos is the only landlocked country in SE Asia. It’s proper name is Lao People’s Democratic Republic and it has a Marxist-Leninist government. The country used to be colonial French (probably why I’ve never heard of it!) and it had several wars against that ruling power until finally gaining independence in 1953. Basically the land is a conglomeration of various hill tribes such as the Hmong, Lue, Khmu and others with the Lao tribe being the largest. The currency is the cutely named the Kip.

Our first stop is Luang Prabang, a provincial town on the banks of the Mekong River (which I HAD heard of) Here we sat on the river bank in cafes and bars watching the river traffic float by. There is none of the gaudiness of the party boats on the Chao Pharaya back in Bangkok. This felt like stepping back in time and witnessing how people have lived for centuries.

Originally a royal capital (in 1353) it was named Lan Xang Hom Khao which means Kingdom of a million elephants and a white parasol (this has got to be the best country name ever). Our hotel, located directly opposite the Royal Palace, was actually the home of the King’s brother! The current name comes from the precious golden Prabang or Buddha statue which is 2000 years old and which is processed around the streets on Buddhist festival days.

(Picture from a postcard as we weren’t allowed to photograph the statue itself)

In 1975 when the communist party took over the Lao royal family moved here but the city soon fell into desolation as many fled the new regeneration. With the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in the 1990s Luang Prabang was declared a UNESCO world heritage site and it remains the cultural capital of the country.

We had been told about the dawn alms giving at the nearby Wat and so made the effort to get up at 5am to join with the local women waiting in the pearly early morning light.

With the sounds of cock crows ringing in our ears the first monks came out of the temple bare footed and carrying their alms bowls. We each in turn gave lumps of sticky rice as they filed passed us and I noticed that all of them kept their gaze fixed downwards.

I think that I should have been sitting or kneeling but is didn’t have a mat or stool so I just stood.

It felt like the Asian equivalent of the church ladies. They each prayed before making their offerings and gave more exciting donations of vegetables from their straw bags to the younger novices

At the end the novices chanted for us all which hopefully you can hear

It was a beautiful spiritual experience that I felt privileged to have been a part of.

… and now you know as much as I do about this lovely country

Well actually a library conference… But I won’t bore you will all my wonderful learning experiences here. Although I have to say that the decor in the Taipei American School library was amazing. Check out the Elmer carpet.

and I was delighted that when the new Global Readalouds were announced I had already read one and another is in my ‘to be read’ pile. So I think that is huge progress! I had to self-fund to attend (but that’s another whole story!)

This little tripette also afforded a glimpse of another capital city. I was very impressed with how modern, clean and well organized Taipei is. After Bangkok the roads were well tarmac’d and unlike Vietnam the pavements had both space for pedestrians AND motorcycle parking. There were even ramps at kerb crossings. Holy Moly! Disabled access no less!

Taipei feels less congested than other cities in SE Asia as we didn’t have to battle with swarming crowds just to get anywhere.

On arrival Marivic and I were hungry so we dived straight into our first culinary experience. The authentic Taiwanese restaurant by our hotel.

Here we had a traditional Taiwanese hotpot. To be honest we didn’t have much choice as that was all they served!!! The pot bubbled away on the burner in the centre of the table with two flavors of ‘soup’, the one in the left is sour cabbage and the whiter looking one was pork collagen (!!!!) we then cooked the meat and vegetables of our choice. An interactive dining experience the only time I have ever knowingly eaten collagen.

The next evening was a trip to the famous Shihlin night market. Our senses were assailed by a slew of succulent scents and sizzling sights. I’ve no idea what most of them were but here are some of my best guesses.

This man was cooking some sort of pork dumplings (I think)

Then some puffy things which might also have had meat in them. Possibly pork. it’s popular here.

Thus was a whole range of black cubes called somewhat unappetizingly ‘stinky tofu’. I declined a taste.

But back to the pork theme. This time in a tough bread crust and baked in an intriguing oven where they resembled limpets on a rock!

And then this. Best guess is jelly and there was lots of it. Maybe longan flavored.

And finally to the 7-Eleven mini mart for some wicked looking eggs. I think that these are preserved eggs that they call 100 year old eggs! Another non-appetizing name.

After browsing all that we actually ate a flame grilled steak with noodles and egg in pepper sauce. It was £5 and so big we shared one. This place also served only one dish so was able to keep its costs down.

For our next (& last) day we visited the iconic Taipei 101 which is Taiwan’s tallest building and sometimes referred to as the ‘bamboo tower’ for obvious reasons.

At the time of its completion in 2004 it was the world’s tallest building, exceeding the Petronius Towers by 57.3m. This record was then superseded by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.

It does, however have a record breaking fastest (& smoothest) elevator ride. From the 5th to the 87th floor takes only 37 seconds. It was amazing, had no time to be scared!

I’m not normally a great fan of heights but I took a risk and fortunately I was ok. Mind you I didn’t go very near the edges. The enclosed glass structure made me feel reasonably safe & not wishing to push my luck I declined a further excursion to the observation deck. The views across the city were worth it.

An interesting feature of the tower was the enormous damper which is basically a steel pendulum that acts to create stability in the structure by giving it the flexibility to withstand typhoons and earthquake tremors which are common in the region. I’m not exactly sure how this works, it sounded like engineering magic.

Finally we got to take some psychedelic photos for fun with the night skyline imposed over us

Then it was on to some more dining. This time English Afternoon Tea. And yes, the irony was not lost on me that I go all the way to Taiwan and have afternoon tea!!!

And the verdict? Well the salad pots had French dressing, the sandwiches were baguettes and the square dishes were Creme brûlée’s- so perhaps a ‘european’ afternoon tea would have been a better description. But they tried hard & I must say, it was one of the best cups of tea I’ve had out here so worth every Taiwanese dollar.

And finally, just to prove that we did do some work…

One of the real pleasures of living and working abroad is the ability to pop over to some very interesting places for the weekend.

And so it was that Kevin booked a weekend away for us all to the historic town of Hoi An in central Vietnam. I must say this is a gem and not to be missed if anyone is visiting the region.

This picturesque trading port grew to prominence in the 16th century attracting traders from Japan, China and even as far away as a Europe! The structure of the town and its buildings have been preserved making it a unique cultural heritage site which was recognised by UNESCO in 1999.

One of the main attractions is the intact covered Japanese bridge which was constructed in 1593 to connect the prosperous Japanese and Chinese quarters of the town.

Inside it is protected at either end by a monkey god and a dog god

And situated in the centre is a large shrine to the Jade Emperor

Hoi An boasts multiple temples and pagodas many with beautiful dragons which symbolise Power, prosperity and stability

What fascinated me most though were the hanging spiral cones. They were everywhere covering all temple ceilings.

We must have been on our 4th temple of the day before we realised that they weren’t just decorations but were actually coils of incense some of which were smoking gently. You can imagine the smell if they were all lit at the same time for a festival!!!

Hoi An is perhaps most famous for its coloured lanterns. These are silk stretched over bamboo frames and they transformed the place into a magical wonderland after sunset.

We took a boat ride that drifted calmly along the river admiring the twinkling illuminations (which frankly put Blackpool to shame!)

Then we lit a candle and set it adrift with a little prayer. It never ceases to amaze me how we humans are attracted to lights on water as a form of spiritual expression.

And then it was time for our 90 min flight back. We had to leave all the vibrant colours behind but a wonderful time was had by all.

… about the air pollution in Bangkok. It’s pretty bad.

This is the view from our apartment yesterday. The problem is being caused by a stagnant weather system which is sitting over much of SE Asia and means that the dust and exhaust molecules we produce on a daily basis are being trapped in the atmosphere and not being blown away.

And this is the view this morning looking towards the river.

It isn’t early morning haze which burns off when the sun comes up. It’s SMOG. It’s pollution at its worst.

Last year we had a week of pollution with only a couple of really bad days but this year it had gone on for several weeks.

Every day at multiple points throughout the day the air quality is measured and an AQI (air quality index) score is announced. This is based on the density of particles in the atmosphere. 20 is clean. The scales have been up and down ranging from 55 to 179 within the same day. Yesterday it peaked at 200. But according to one source I read the Thai figures for what is safe are twice as high as that recommend by the WHO.

Two weeks ago the government suspended all construction (the work on our underground car park was halted and the workforce could be seen from our balcony having a big meeting)

They also sent planes up to dump vast quantities of water in the atmosphere. This coalesced and fell as a kind of toxic rain. I had no idea what my Thai colleagues were talking about when they said it was ‘fake rain’. But when I realised that they were not making it all up we were advised to try not to get wet! That was quite scary.

It worked though and for a while the AQI lowered. Still people have been wearing air filter masks all day (which presents its own problems to those of us who rely on lip reading!)

But today the air quality is so bad that government has announced that all schools in Bangkok are to close until Monday. Yippee! 2 surprise days off. Having said that Jayne is here and had her illustrating gig at Patana cancelled which was a huge shame. The kids were delighted with the news though as you can imagine. There was much jumping and joyful shouts when the announcement was made.

I read that the government is now planning a series of measures e.g odd/even days which means that you can only drive your car if your reg ends in an odd or even number on alternate days.

Single passengers in cars or taxis to be prohibited and cars and buses to have exhaust filters fitted (which should have happened ages ago IMO)

You can see the quality of the local buses here!

but this suggestion below really takes the biscuit..,

I heard later that fortunately the treacle suggestion has been abandoned. (it was something of an Alice in Wonderland solution!) Someone on Twitter also asked if they were also going to drop feathers…

The pollution is so thick that you can taste it when you go outside. So now we consider whether to buy a portable air purifier although I suspect that they are in short supply right now.

But really the question should be, why is this only a problem when we can see/feel it? Surely the same amount of gunk is being produced on a daily basis but we just don’t normally pay any attention! We are poisoning ourselves. And our future.

I can only hope that the children affected will remember this and have the courage to stand up and stop it.

The Orakei Korako thermal springs and mud Pools perhaps gave JRRR inspiration for his epic creatures. It was certainly a pretty magical place with geothermal activity creating not only puffs of steam but also mineralised patterns on the rocks which they call the ‘artist’s palette’ but which reminded me of spilled Iron Bru

It was quite scary to think that here the earth’s crust is so fragile that water and mud can bubble up. The park is actually quite dangerous as areas can and do erupt.

This cave has a warm sulphate-rich acid pool at the bottom and there are only two like it in the world. The other is in Italy

It was quite cool to see a sea plane in action on the lake It’s not something you see very often.

My favourite feature was the elephant rock (so reminiscent of Thailand)

Orakai Korako means ‘place of adorning’ in Maori and was a traditional gathering place for many tribes. In 1886 a nearby volcano erupted causing the springs to change and the tribes moved away.

In peak season over 20 million litres of silicia rich water flows into the lake.

Rotarua is situated in a gigantic caldera which is 99% extinct. It is the second largest in the world, the largest being underneath Yellowstone Park.

The mud pools are bubbling at a whopping 94 degrees centigrade and are actually very acidic. The mud is gathered and diluted with spring water to make mud products which are used in local hospitals to help relieve skin conditions.

The sulphurous smell gives rise to the nickname ‘Rotten – Rua ‘

But the piece de resistance of our whole trip was our Christmas Eve visit to

This is Alexander Farm, the location used for The Shire in both the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. Since deconstructed and re-built with permanent materials it boasts 44 Hobbit holes created with amazing attention to detail.

Some are hobbit-sized

And some were Gandalf-sized

This is an apple tree planted because of the dwarf stature which suited the diminutive hobbits. In the book though these are supposed to be plum trees which actually grow very tall. So for the film all the fruit was picked daily and these trees were hung with fake plums

This is Bag End (actually named after a farm in England which JRRR visited) who knew?

And this is Sam and Rosie’s house. The one which they disappear into at the very end of the film

I loved the little details like this washing line with little Hobbit jackets on

And the cheeses stacked inside this window

The famous sign…

And finally on to the Green Dragon for some ale (or apple cider)

All in all a magical experience and one shared with the Robertson family who are also holidaying here

The scenery here is simply out of this world. The picture above is the view from the Mount Victoria lookout point overlooking the capital city of Wellington.

Below is a Goblin forest nestled in the foothills of Mount Taranaki. It rained that day but there is a Kiwi saying that if you don’t do an activity in the rain then you probably won’t do it all.

The trees are mis-shapen and resemble weird creatures like this…

But most are covered in a type of moss which makes the whole forest look furry

Taranaki itself is a perfect cone volcano. We didn’t get a great view due to the aforementioned rain. And apparently there is still snow on the tops. You can just about make it out through the clouds here

Next up was a fairly long drive through the countryside. These pictures don’t really do the splendour justice.

Beautiful forests of silver cloak the slopes.

Breathtaking valleys under rolling clouds

Until we reached the shores of Lake Taupo

I was stunned by the iridescent blue in the waters of the Huka Falls (which were free to visit)

But perhaps most impressive of all was the ethereal sight that greeted us at a place called Craters of the Moon

This is an area of geothermal activity where fumaroles or small fissures in the ground breath hot sulphurous steam gently across the landscape in soft billowing puffs. There were fewer people here (£4 entry charge) so it was more peaceful and almost felt as though we had stepped into an alien planet. I half expected to see Dr Who around the next corner.

Fortunately the rain held off

Then Hanifa (the mad, reckless fool) did a quick bungy jump (there was NO WAY on earth that I could be persuaded to join in!!!!) then we were done for the day

Everything closes early here. See previous comments about Kiwi Bed Time. WiFi is erratic here and one place we stayed in they actually turned it off at 10pm. I mean why?!?? We needed to message people back in the U.K. but no… Guess it’s one way of enforcing KBT

Greetings from New Zealand. This is the perspective from the bottom of the world. Fascinating.

The flight from Bangkok to Auckland is 11 hours. The same length of time as a flight from Bangkok to London! For some reason I had assumed that we were almost there not just half way!

The long haul was totally worth it though as this is a country of stunning scenery. It is like a home from home as everything including the weather is so familiar. In fact wandering around Wellington city centre At 10pm reminds us all of Bournemouth. You also can’t get anything to eat there at that time on a Sunday!

Actually Wellington is known for it KBT (kiwi bed time) as they all do hit the sack quite early. Mostly everyone is up with the lark and off making the most of the sunshine.

Our day began with a delicious breakfast of coconut chia with fruit. Photo included here especially for Jane Robinson who is responsible for introducing me to chia breakfasts. Jane you would have loved this!

After that it was a tour of the WETA studios. A weta is a type of insect native to NZ, a cricket type creature which comes in an assortment of sizes, some as large as the palm of your hand! It is an ugly NZ monster.

This studio makes the monsters for the film world (hence the name) It specialises in puppetry, prosthetics and props such as weapons and armour and digital manipulation such as CGI.

The studio began with a couple who worked out of their flat and who were friendly with a young film maker called Peter Jackson. Three Lord of the rings and a Hobbit movie later and they are world renowned players in the movie industry employing over 2000 staff.

The tour was fascinating as we learned about how things are made. But we weren’t allowed to take many photos. Here are a few that we could take.

Kevin thoroughly enjoyed himself As you can see.

I can’t wait to see Hobbiton.

The weather here is exactly like a U.K. summer. The temperature is in the mid 20s and it’s windy. It is T shirt weather when you are in the sun but chilly in the shade.

Our next stop was the national museum where were saw an amazing display about Gallipoli with award winning giant sized models made by the Weta studios.

This was Lieutenant Colonel Fenwick (a family name for us)

The Maori exhibits were fascinating and we have much to learn about this culture. Although it was embarrassing when Hanifa replied to kevin in a loud voice that she didn’t like kiwi 🥝. ‘You can’t say that here’ whispered Kevin and we fell about laughing.

What an amazing time we have had here in Hanoi. Such a generous welcoming people. Our hotel staff couldn’t do enough for us and as someone who knows a bit about customer service I have to say that they excelled. Well done to the Essence Palace Hotel.

Our hotel was situated in the old quarter of the city so in convenient walking distance of some of the major attractions. Being of a librarian bent I couldn’t pass up a trip to see the ‘Temple of Literature’

This was not only a monument to Confucianism and its system of thinking but also an example of tertiary education from the 10th century.

The kings of Early Vietnam realised that they needed an educated administrative class so they set up this seat of learning where men could sit exams to become mandarins. There were various stages and different tests. Not everyone made it. The ‘college’ could accommodate 300 students and they all wore simple robes.

These are some of the kings who promoted learning & wisdom as an objective in its own right.

The highest level exam is the doctorate and once achieved the mandarin had their names inscribed on these stales which are set in the backs of turtles (a sacred animal). It’s a bit like degree notification on a more permanent basis!!

I loved this gate – the gate of amazing alliteration!

After this we visited the Hanoi Hilton prison which was constructed by the French and used to hold political prisoners. I thought it was quite funny that the French didn’t trust the Vietnamese bricks so had their own imported to build a strong enough prison.

Conditions inside were particularly brutal but despite the best efforts of the French the place became a training ground for the future communist party leaders! I think that it was keeping everyone so close together that enabled ideas to spread easily.

In the Second World War the American pilot prisoners of war were housed here but were given considerable freedom and good treatment so that it was nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton! Ironically a good chunk of the site had been sold off to a large, well known hotel chain…

What remains is a moving monument to the struggle for independence by the Vietnamese people

The next day we visited the old capital of Nimh Binh. This site is surrounded by landlocked karsts which provided excellent fortification but is now known as Halong Bay inland!

Here we had an awesome boat trip in a bamboo boat for 1.5 hours. We were rowed through spectacular scenery by a lady. The technique for rowing is an unusual one to us as they use their feet !!

Boy did she have strong legs! It was quite an industry as there were hundreds of boats on the river and some of the rowers were not young!!!