David Foranand Fintan Gillespie
Crazyjourney Week 4
After our frustrating ordeal in China and probably the world's biggest U-turn, we finally headed back into Laos. Our first stop was the Unesco World Heritage city of Luang Prabang, Laos' foremost tourist destination. This tranquil town, situated along the banks of the Mekong River, has a unique blend of French architecture, Laotian temples and surreal natural surroundings.
The town has some wonderful French restaurants and night markets but after 11pm all the bars close and there is a mass exodus of western backpackers to a single random bowling alley on the outskirts of town, the only place serving alcohol after-hours.
We were excited to continue south to Vang Vieng, well known for its crazy river tubing. At a cost of only €4 a day, tubing essentially involves floating down a 1km passage of the Mekong in large rubber rings. This stretch of river is littered with crazy bars, each with their own massive swing or zip-line into the water. The final and largest bar even had an Irish DJ who got a ceilí going for the Gaelic contingent! We then made our way back to Bangkok again where the Hummer would be shipped to Calcutta, India. Bangkok is a city of extremes with chic up market hotels, bars and clubs surrounded by manic and stifling hot streets with kamikaze tuk-tuk drivers, stalls selling everything from fake watches to fried insects.
The sailing would take 20 days to Calcutta and during this time, we heard good news of a potential donor to our charity that was willing to give us free accommodation at a ski resort in Japan. This was a completely unexpected turn but with no other plans until the Hummer's arrival, we booked our flights to Tokyo.
Arriving into the world's most densely populated city we were instantly struck by its hectic pace. Staying at cubicle accommodation in the Shinjuku district, we spent our few days visiting the famous Tsujiki fish markets, eating exotic forms of sushi and wandering around the ultra-modern shopping districts of Ginza and Shibuya.
We caught a famous Japanese Bullet train west to Yuzawa that took only 70 minutes from Tokyo. This small town in the Chuetsu Mountains is within a 15-minute drive of over 13 different ski resorts. The region reputedly has some of the highest snowfall in the world and we believe it. We had great days skiing with loads of powder and no wind.
Next week, we arrive in Calcutta, collect the Hummer and begin the Indian leg of Crazyjourney.
See www.crazyjourney.com for updates and to donate to Aware