New Zealand, the land of the kiwis, almost the complete opposite side of the world. Somehow, this side is more peaceful :)
I landed in Auckland airport on November 19th. After being extensively interrogated and checked if I carry food or plants of any kind with me, I was free to go. I looked for the buss to the city and booom!! It cost 15$!!! to get you in proportion, I paid 4$ for 12 hours cross country VIP night buss in thailand.... guess I'll have to get used to it.



on the flight I met 3 israelis: Nimrod, Adi and Keren. They plan on traveling together and seem confused and unsettled about their trip. I shared a room and fixed mills with them. On the first 3 days, I looked for a car and traveled the city. Auckland reminds me of Manhattan though it's cleaner and less crowded.


downtown Auckland


Mt Eden view - the most active volcano in NZ

on the fourth day we took a buss to the bay of islands, which is north to Auckland. The buss picked us up at the backpacker (= guesthouse) and stopped at every touristic attraction on the way: kauri trees forest (some of the trees are 2000 years old!!), hokie pokie ice cream brake, waterfalls and viewpoints.


Northland landscape


unbelievable view on the way to the bay of islands


a huge log next to the kauri tree museum - estimated to be 2500 year old

the bay of islands was awesome! you've got all the marine attractions imaginable in one beautiful bay. I kayaked for 5 hours between the islands and learned three important things:
1. I like islands very much
2. Never count on waves to help you get back to land(!!)
3. Never trust a sunscreen you bought in a market in Thailand - I got burned worst then ever!!
besides kayaking, I had a bicycle trip and met many lovely people at the backpacker.

the bay of islands




when we arrived back to Auckland, the 3 israelis decided to break up. After long and heavy conversations, I agreed to buy a car and travel with the two girls (Adi and Keren).

We bought a car today! it happened faster then I expected and I'm happy for it.
the car is 1990 station wagon subaru legacy. It has 2.2L engine and 4WD. The back sits can fold, providing a larg space - big enough to sleep in it!
now I have to get used to driving on the "wrong side" - they drive on the left.


Our car - you can see how tanned I got on the last week :)

I'll be traveling to the bay of plenty for the hot water beaches and then head south.

south-east asia summery
So the first part of my trip is over. On one hand it feels like I'm traveling for years, but on the other hand I can't believe I'm done here...
now, after 31 days, 2 amazingly beautiful countries and cultures, over 100 hours of buss ride, 2 treks, dozens of temple visits, two marriage proposals from Thai and Lao ladies, 700 of well used dollars, 4.4 giga of photos, many new friends and countless huge and freaky insects, I'll be taking my flight to New Zealand through Hong Kong.
I consider myself very lucky not to have any stomach problems this whole time. I ate very unusual stuff and was fine while many on my trip buddys had all sorts of problems...
I got used to the asian people and the way they live. Suppose it will be strange for me moving to more western and organized country... we'll see about that.

from your man in Thailand - shabat shalom.

I met Erika and Adriana (the Italian girls) in Chang Mai.
We took a 12 hours night buss to khon kaen, a non touristic city in the north. The charm of khon kaen is the way local people look at you and behave around you. Kids running to you just to look at you, adults stare and shout while passing by with their cars - just to get your attention.
as we expected, the city wasn't attractive. On the other hand, about 20km from the city there's a village called Chonnabot, which is known for his fine silk production. We visited houses where they produce the silk and silk products.
Erika and Adriana both have the same camera as me, and they are into photography about as much as I am. That was great for all of us because we learned a lot from each other.


producing silk table map

From Khon Kaen we took a buss to Nong Khai, a thai city near the friendship bridge (the only road connecting Thailand and Laos). 4 hours later we got to Vientiane - Laoss' capital city.
Vientiane is a big and almost western city. Nevertheless, there are many well preserved Buddhist temples with friendly monks that always welcome tourists.
on the second day in Vientiane we rented bicycles and visited That Luang temple, which considered the most important one in whole Laos.


That Luang temple


A monk in the temple


Monks selling pepsi near the temple

our next stop was a temple outside the city, where we had a massage by Lao specialists.

after two nights in Vientiane, we traveled to Vang Vieng. The plan was to stop there for the night on out way to Louang prabang, but it changed quickly when we arrived... Vang Vieng is breath taking! huge rocky mountains in strange shapes rise between fields of rice and wooden house villages and amazing river that goes right in front of our guesthous!


The view from out guesthouse balcony

Vang Vieng is a very small town full of restaurants, bars and guesthouses (concept similar to the one in Pai). the atmosphere is very relaxing and you can totally chill out in the restaurants (which play "friends" shows 24/7) or by the river.
we rented bicycles and went to see the famous caves of the town.
the special thing the caves has to offer is Buddha! You crawl through this cave some time and there you find a big statue of Buddha!! It's hard to explain how terrifying it is to see Buddha in a dark cave... (sorry, no photos)


on the way to the caves

the stories about Louangprabang made us leave Vang Vieng after only two nights. 6 hours of junky buss on extremely bad road brought us to Louangprabang. At first we were disappointed. The city is very touristic, expensive (for Laos) and full of 50+ years old couples. Nothing like we imagined it would be.
the tours in the temples and waterfalls made us understand what this city is all about. I'll let the photos talk:


mekong river


the waterfalls


kids in a village near Louangprabang


monk feeding - every day at 6AM

three days later we decided to go trekking in the north. We took a 10 hours buss to Louangnamtha, stayed the night and took the first buss to Muang Sing - a small town where you can have the best treks Laos has to offer. On the way there we met 7 more people with the same plans. We all decided on a 2 days trek.
the first day was 6 hours of difficult roads in the mountains. It was all great until I found out I have a leech stuck to my leg!!! A filthy, disgusting worm that grabbed my leg and wouldn't come off! Erika tried to take it off with a lighter (the traditional way), but she only burned my beautifully leg hairs. After I flicked it several times, it was gone. This experience was actually good because it made me prepared for the next 4 bloodsucking assholes!
the accommodation was a nice village on the mountains, where we had dinner and massage by huge musculant local women - that, was painful.
on the second day we trekked in a beautiful forest along some small river.


the village


our trek group


the second day

After the trek Adriana and Erika decided to go back to Louangprabang because Adriana was sick. All the trek group took the buss to Louangprabang and Cornelia and me traveled to Nong Kjao, where we planed to take a boat to Muang Noea.
as happened before, Nong kjao was so stunning, we had to stay the night there.
o, Cornelia is a 26 year old from Germany.



on the next morning we took the boat to Muang Noea. this tiny town is really amazing. All the people work with boats, rice production and tourism. All next to this river and mountains...
we got this cute bungalo with the best view for only 1$ each and we even had hot water in the shared bathroom!




the main road of Muang Noea


Cornelia, me and dutch couple who traveled with us



Today we traveled to Louangprabang. From here I'll have a 24 hours of buss ride to Bangkok (with a stop in Vientiane).