"The best way to see the Mekong is slowly," says travel journalist Michael Turtle.
He takes us on a cruise down the river in Laos on board the beautiful new boat Boheme. With only 13 cabins, it runs between the royal city of Luang Prabang and the capital, Vientiane, connecting you to the lifeblood of the country, all while exploring Laos' cuisine and visiting its villages.
"Watch longtail boats, see temples... on a river cruise, you see the river at all times of the day, while people are fishing or swimming," says Michael of the six-day sailing journeys.
For more about the Boheme, visit mekongkingdoms.com and add a stay at the Avani+ Luang Prabang, avanihotels.com And to follow Michael, see timetravelturtle.com
Also, what's the world's most beautiful airstrip? This list of ravishing runways will have you fighting for the window seat. https://www.allcleartravel.co.uk/blog/the-worlds-most-beautiful-airport-landings/
And finally, tap into the set-jetting trend and get your travel inspiration from movies and TV series. We're talking Thailand, Malta and the UK - tune in to see what's filmed where.
This mini-series is brought to you by Avani Hotels & Resorts. With more than 40 properties across five continents, Avani offers city hotels, tropical resorts and retreats in nature. For more, visit avanihotels.com
READING RECOMMENDATIONS
If you'd like to read Belle's story on the young woman shaking up PNG's traditional drumming scene, visit airniuginiparadise.com
Visit us at https://theworldawaits.au
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Welcome to The World Awaits.
Travel tales to inspire yourwanderlust.
Welcome back to The WorldAwaits.
This mini-series is brought toyou by Avani Hotels and Resorts.
With more than 40 propertiesacross five continents, Avani
offers city hotels, tropicalresorts and retreats in nature.
(00:22):
For more, visit avanihotels.com.
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
Hi everyone, how are you, Belle?
SPEAKER_02 (00:27):
Oh, nothing to see here, my friend.
I'm drowning under deadlines.
But actually, I had a story comeout that I really liked, which I
wrote for Paradise, which is thein-flight magazine for Air New
Guinea.
And it's about this girl who isdrumming on traditional P&G
drums, which normally is a malething.
So we're seeing this newgeneration of female drummers
(00:49):
coming through in P&G.
I just loved it.
I thought it was such a greatstory.
It gave me a little chills whenI heard it.
Good for you.
Nice.
UNKNOWN (00:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (00:57):
So that's probably my high point for the week.
What about you?
SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
Love a story where women are promoted.
Yeah, and particularly startdoing things that, yeah, we're
typically male-dominatedindustries.
Not, yeah, not a lot hereeither, really.
Just catching up.
But I was going to ask you, sowhen you fly into a new
destination, do you try and lookout the window or do you always
stick to the aisle?
SPEAKER_02 (01:19):
Listen to me.
You will have to prise my cold,dead hands from the window seat.
You cannot get me out of thewindow seat.
I'm always looking out thewindow.
I don't care that I've flownthere a thousand times.
I always take photos of theclouds.
I love watching the sun comingup over the clouds.
And I love looking at thedestinations that I'm visiting.
I cannot standing on the aisleand being hit by the dining
(01:42):
trolley.
And of course, nobody loves themiddle seat.
So there you go.
Window all the way.
What about you?
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
I'm absolutely the same.
And if you look through mycamera, there are so many photos
of outside plane window yeahtotally a window seat person and
especially when it comes to anew destination but on the way
home I don't mind an aisleparticularly if it's a domestic
flight because I've seenMelbourne a lot and and while I
(02:09):
adore the city the landing'snothing to rave about but but
yeah but we actually have someairport landings for you to
write home about because allclear travel has revealed the
most beautiful airport landingsand there are ones that you
definitely do want a window seatfor so They analysed which
runways caught participants'attention the quickest.
They did some data on it, and aswell as looking at how long each
(02:32):
destination held people'sattention, they cross-referenced
these metrics to reveal whichairport landings are the most
beautiful.
SPEAKER_02 (02:40):
That sounds very technical.
In the wash-up, the world's mostbeautiful airport runway went
to...
our own Lord Howe Island.
Now, interestingly, it's alsoone of the shortest airport
runways in Australia because,you know, it's an island.
But the report found thattravellers spent more time
admiring this view than anyother.
They actually, they put atimestamp on it, which is like
(03:02):
2.64 seconds.
That doesn't seem like a longtime, does it?
But it's not like the plane iscircling around before it lands,
hovering over Sydney orMelbourne.
Well, you'd hope not anyway.
The report said that arriving byplane is the only way to access
the island.
So landing at this UNESCO WorldHeritage Site is extra special.
SPEAKER_01 (03:21):
Yeah.
And second on the list wasactually Queenstown.
So look, I'm a bit biased, whichlisteners will be able to tell
from my accent, which I forget Ihave because I've listened to
Australia.
I think I sound Australian untilthe odd person picks me up.
But I have to say, it is such anincredible airport to land in.
It's really steep, a reallysteep descent between mountains.
(03:42):
So it's really tricky.
And pilots actually have to havevery specified specialist
training to do it.
But man, boy, oh boy, are yourewarded because it's just
dramatic mountainous scenerythat New Zealand's so famed for.
And also Lake Wakatipu.
SPEAKER_02 (03:58):
I'm glad that you got to talk about that one
because I always get shocked bythe Kiwi pronunciation.
So if nothing else, Kirsty,you've still got an accent, but
you put it to good use.
In third place, Madeira Airportcame in third.
It is also notorious for itschallenging approach.
But again, the result is somepretty spectacular views of the
island's Levada Trails and GreenMountains.
(04:20):
And in fourth place was PitkinCounty Airport in Colorado,
which gives passengersjaw-dropping views of the
snow-capped Rockies.
I think mountains are quite afeature here.
And there's only one departureroute possible due to the
surrounding mountains blockingthe way.
SPEAKER_01 (04:33):
Yeah.
And rounding out the top fivewas Rio de Janeiro, Santos de
Amon Airport in Brazil, and thisairport captured attention
faster than any other runway inthe study at 0.69 seconds.
Thanks to its jaw-dropping viewsof some of the most iconic
(04:54):
tourist attractions in theworld, including Rio's Christ
the Redeemer, as well as theCocacabana Beach.
And if all that's not enough,the airport is also surrounded
by sparkling blue waters.
And can I also just add one in?
It's not on the list, but I justneeded to add in that the Cocos
Keeling Islands really doesdeserve a mention because I was
there last year and, um, It'snot on the list, but this
(05:17):
airport doubles as a golfcourse.
That's how infrequent theflights are.
And it doesn't deserve a mentionjust for that.
It's actually so spectacular.
I was just in awe when we wereflying both in and out of this
atoll.
And because it's an atoll, youget that ring of land and the
turquoise teal seal, and it justseems to blend them with the
(05:38):
sky.
And when you come into land,there's these little cottages
that you stay at that are rightalong the runway.
So it's just really special.
And you can see my bird's eyeview from there on my Insta
page, which is Kirstie Writes.
Do you have any favourites,Belle?
SPEAKER_02 (05:52):
Super cute.
I've actually got quite a few.
Staying on the mountain theme, Ithink flying into Paro in
Bhutan.
It is notoriously tricky becauseyou come through mountains The
plane dips down and fliesthrough a corridor of mountains
and it's just quite terrifying.
But so you've got the mountainsabove you.
It's really quite amazing.
And I think mountains too,flying in and out of Santiago in
(06:13):
Chile is the same because you'recoming in over the Andes and
it's just breathtaking.
I think Sydney tourism has madeit compulsory for flights to fly
over the harbour.
So you always get a great viewwhen you fly over Sydney
harbour.
And sometimes in Cairo, if theytake a particular route, they
will dip around.
(06:33):
I've had this where you fly overthe pyramids.
That is just amazing.
And you think, oh, my God, I'mhere.
But I've got to say, superdramatic would be Gibraltar
Airport.
And it reminded me when you weresaying that the Cocos Airport
doubles the golf course.
To get into Gibraltar, you haveto walk over the airstrip.
So you're actually here at theSpanish side.
I'm not sure if you've beenthere, but you have to walk
(06:54):
across the airstrip.
to get into the city.
And of course, when you fly inand out, you're flying over the
Rock of Gibraltar, which isthat, and that southern part
Southern English and Spanishcoastline is really dramatic.
So there you go.
That's my favorite.
SPEAKER_01 (07:08):
If you walk over the airstrip at Kokok Killing, it's
about a$3,000 fine.
So you definitely don't want tobe walking over the airstrip.
They warn you when you come in.
And I have to say, Sydney, Iagree with you.
Sydney is spectacular.
Like flying in or out of Sydneyand seeing the Sydney Opera
House and the Harbour Bridge isjust, I'm never tired of seeing
that.
So we will put a link to all ofthe world's most beautiful
(07:30):
landings in the show notes soyou can have a look at them all.
SPEAKER_02 (07:44):
My guest this week is Australian travel journalist
Michael Total, who recentlysailed down the Mekong River in
Laos from Luang Prabang toVienting on board the beautiful
new ship Bohem.
Take a listen.
Michael, welcome to The WorldAwaits.
It's so exciting to have you onthe podcast.
SPEAKER_00 (08:01):
Yeah, thanks very much.
It's my pleasure.
SPEAKER_02 (08:03):
Absolutely.
So I'm really excited about thisweek because we are going to
take a slow trip down theMekong.
down the Mekong River, which issuper exciting.
But first, tell us, you're atravel writer, you're a blogger.
Tell us a little about yourselfand how you ended up on this
ship in the first place.
SPEAKER_00 (08:19):
Yeah, I've been a travel blogger slash writer for,
gosh, 15 years now.
Makes me sound old, doesn't it?
After I got rid of everything Iowned and got a one-way ticket
and left Australia after gettingsick of being a journalist at
the ABC and in commercial TV.
And yeah, I've been travelingaround a lot.
And yeah, this I like toactually do a lot of my own
(08:42):
trips and I like to go on longertrips.
And so it was just earlier thisyear that I took myself off to
Laos.
I hadn't been there since I wasa backpacker in my 20s.
I was like, you know what, I'mgoing to go and spend a few
weeks there and make my wayaround the country nice and
slowly.
And the best way to see theMekong is slowly.
(09:04):
So it was a nice way to...
do a bit of bus travel andtuk-tuk travel and train travel,
and then also do some boattravel.
SPEAKER_02 (09:14):
And that's why we're coming into this boat, but it's
not just any boat.
And this is interesting becauseit's called a boat, not a ship.
You were on Bohem, which is anabsolutely beautiful, it's like
that old vibe ship that justcruises down the Mekong.
Tell us a bit about where itstarts, where you picked up
Bohem and where it ends.
So just give us a little Look atwhere
SPEAKER_00 (09:34):
you say it.
Yeah.
I don't know why it's a boat andnot a ship.
It's a funny thing, isn't it?
I think people always say a boatcan go on a ship, but a ship
can't go on a boat.
But I still don't know at whatpoint one becomes a boat and one
becomes a ship.
But anyway, Bohem is a boat.
And the size probably isrelevant because it's a
relatively large vessel, as init's 50 meters long and it's
(09:58):
three decks ice, if people canpicture that.
But it only has 13 cabins.
So although it's relativelylarge, it's very spacious.
And so Bohem, which is run byMekong Kingdoms, it basically
goes between Lang Prabang andVientiane.
So Vientiane being the capitalof Laos a bit further south and
further north Lang Prabang,which is the sort of old royal
(10:20):
capital, a world heritage citywith gorgeous collection of
hotels and heritage buildingseverywhere.
And there are a couple ofdifferent ways you can do it.
And if you're going between LangPrabang and Vientiane, it
basically goes in bothdirections.
So it's a sort of six-day,five-night trip.
It goes up the river one weekand then down the river the next
(10:43):
week.
And it does that betweenSeptember and April, which is
basically the dry season, thegood season in Laos.
And then the rest of the year,when the river can be a little
bit low and there are some otherissues...
It uses Lung Prabang as its baseand it goes out on four-day,
three-night tours and then comesback to Lung Prabang.
(11:04):
So you start and end in the sameplace.
But look, it doesn't reallymatter which route you do
because half the experience isjust being on board this
absolutely gorgeous boat.
It was basically brand new whenI got on it.
It was only just being rebuilt,renovated and put back in the
water.
And it's, yeah, as I said,really spacious, but also with
(11:26):
this Beautiful kind of naturaldesign.
You feel like the landscapesoutside just flow naturally into
the boat itself with the wayit's full of wood, just a hand
woven Laotian textiles used todecorate the beds and some of
the couches.
A lot of outdoor space to sitand have a drink.
(11:49):
And the caverns even themselvesjust have huge windows.
The one I was in had a gorgeouscushioned daybed by the window
where you can sort of sit andwatch things go by and look even
the shower has a window so ithas a blind don't worry you can
put it down but there'ssomething quite nice actually
about standing there and havinga shower and just watching the
(12:09):
world go by along the riveroutside
SPEAKER_02 (12:11):
amazing i saw actually that one of the One of
the 13 cabins has a bath in itas well, which is you can sit
and watch the scenery in it.
Because that's the whole pointof these cruises, isn't it?
It's almost an immersion, a slowimmersion in the Laotian
landscape.
SPEAKER_00 (12:28):
Yeah, yeah.
The bath is a special one.
So I should just quickly clarifythere are 13 cabins on board.
Twelve of them are quitesimilar.
There's six on one deck and sixon the deck below.
Pretty similar.
The slight difference is thatthe lower deck ones actually are
slightly larger and have a smallbalcony, whereas the ones on the
deck above are slightly smaller,but they're actually considered
(12:50):
to be better ones because theview is better.
You're not right at water level.
Yeah, and then there's this onecabin, the Royal Swirlbeat it's
called, which is twice the sizeof any of the others.
along the back.
And yeah, it has, as well ashaving a lot more space and its
own big balcony that takes upthe whole back of the boat.
It also, yeah, has this bath andit has a butler service.
(13:13):
I wasn't in that one,unfortunately, but I imagine you
could sit in the bath and callyour butler for a gin and tonic
as you look out on what's goingon.
But to your point about thelandscapes, like actually this
isn't a...
It is a luxurious cruise, butit's not a so pretentious,
luxurious cruise.
You don't feel like you'resitting there drinking a gin and
(13:36):
a tonic and looking down on theworld.
You're actually quite connectedto it a lot of the time.
And part of that is with whatyou're seeing.
It's a bit of a cliche maybe,but the Mekong really is the
lifeblood of Laos.
Everything for centuries has allrevolved around the Mekong.
The shape of the country isbasically defined by the Mekong,
(13:57):
which goes, it creates itswestern border for a lot of it
in the southern part.
And there used to be greatroads.
Everything traveled along theMekong.
And so, yeah, as you go along,what you're seeing outside the
windows, whether it's from thedining room or your bedroom or
your shower, is the boats goingby, the long-tail boats going
(14:18):
by.
There are temples with theirroos popping out from behind
palm trees.
Unfortunately, people still havea habit of burning their
rubbish, which is not great forthe environment, but also
creates this quite beautifulsort of haze in the air.
There's one upside to it.
But it's really atmospheric,especially when you're seeing it
at sunrise or sunset, which isone of the great things I love
(14:40):
about riverboats, that you getto see a river at all times of
the day.
And when you've got thatgorgeous orange glow on the
river and there's a slight hazeand People are out fishing and
little kids are jumping nakedinto the water and splashing
about or playing with a box.
That sort of stuff is gorgeous,I think.
SPEAKER_02 (15:01):
Yeah, which is interesting because, as you say,
sometimes cruises aredisconnected to the environment
that they're in.
And it's only when you get offthe ship and go on excursions
that you feel that you'reactually seeing you becoming
part of that country.
I guess that the...
The location, sailing down theMekong, which then eventually
tips over into Vietnam and thenspills out into the East Sea
(15:24):
down there, the cuisine would bedictated by what you're selling,
by the landscape as well?
SPEAKER_00 (15:29):
Yeah, so the food is incredible.
It's interesting, you wouldthink that actually just having
a fairly small boat with 13cabins for a maximum of 26
people with a kitchen on boardwhere everything has to be done,
you'd think that maybe the mealsmight be relatively simple, but
actually, they were incrediblyextravagant.
(15:51):
The chef, Cohn, was his name.
Cohn is a genius, I think,because he managed to, even for
lunch, create these sort ofmassive four-course feasts for
us.
Dinner was quite often fivecourses, everything not only
different, but really quiteornate, some of them, and
definitely inspired by the localingredients that you could get.
(16:11):
One of the, I've still got themenu here from one of the
lunches, so I can tell you whatit was.
We had a starter of river weedand pork.
We then had a sort of soup andsalad buffet that had lots of
options, including a duck larb,larb being one of the
traditional Laotian butSoutheast Asian dishes.
We had a main course of, youcould choose either stir-fried
(16:32):
prawns or a traditional sort ofbraised chicken thing that came
in a clay pot.
And then the dessert was freshlocal fruit and local coconut
dumplings.
How's that for lunch?
That's not even dinner.
SPEAKER_02 (16:49):
Oh, coconut dumplings.
You've actually got me signed inon this one.
Because Laotian cuisine, it'snot something that we...
Larb is something that, as yousay, you see it through
Southeast Asia, but it's not acuisine that we have a lot of
connection with in Australia.
You've really got to go seek it.
And I think possibly that iswhat's so intriguing about this
journey is that it's one ofSoutheast Asia's much less
(17:10):
explored countries.
Everybody's in Thailand.
Vietnam is smoking hot right nowwith all of the access going in
there.
Nasta seems to slip under theradar really, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00 (17:22):
Yeah, and look, it always has.
I mentioned the last time I wasin Laos was when I was
backpacking quite a long timeago.
And I remember even then itseemed like a real adventure to
be going in there.
Okay, Thailand wasn't quite asbusy.
Vietnam wasn't on the sort ofradar as much and Cambodia as
well.
But there was a lot of tourisminfrastructure to go to those
three.
Whereas, yeah, Laos back thenespecially seemed really exotic
(17:46):
and remote.
And it still is.
And there's no, I was about tosay there's no good reason, but
there are reasons when you startto look into it.
And it's mainly aboutinfrastructure and connectivity
and stuff like that.
I do think probably tourists areless likely to go because it's a
landlocked country.
When you think of SoutheastAsia, you think beaches and
islands and that sort of thing.
(18:06):
If you want to relax, of course,you're going to go to Thailand
because you've got your KohSamui and your Copenhagen and
your Phuket or so on.
Vietnam even has some beachesand islands now.
Going to Laos is definitely abit more of a rustic experience.
It's more about the culture andthe heritage.
So that's partly it.
And then, as I said,connectivity is another big one.
It doesn't have a greatinternational airport that's
(18:30):
well-connected to other parts ofthe world to fly into Vientiane
or Luang Prabang.
You can do that, obviously.
You have to go via Bangkok orHanoi.
There aren't a huge number offlights every day.
It's just a little bit harder todo it.
And then once you're there, ohmy gosh, the roads.
The roads.
Thankfully, the south is a lotbetter now because it doesn't
(18:51):
really have the mountains.
So it's been easy for them tobuild some decent highways.
But the north, like to getbetween, well, from Lung
Prabang, I wanted to go toanother town, another city
before I went back to the NTR.
It was only...
I think it was 150 kilometers orsomething.
It took nine hours to drive the150 kilometers in a bus.
Absolutely terrible roads.
(19:12):
You're just bumping along atsuch a slow pace, up and down
all the time in the seat.
Some of the locals were throwingup, I hate to say.
It was that sort of bad.
So this is the kind of thingthat I think has kept people
away.
I had a great reason to go on ariverboat.
There is a high-speed railnetwork now, though, that's come
in from China and it goesthrough Lang Prabang and goes
(19:34):
down to Vientiane.
So there actually are somedecent options now, which I
think is maybe why we'restarting to see a bit more
interest and investment in thecountry as a tourist.
If you flew into Lang Prabang,which some people do because
it's maybe the northernmostplace that a lot of people go
to, you can then get thehigh-speed train down to
Vientiane if you want to seeVientiane.
(19:54):
And from there, the roads arepretty good if you want to go
further south.
All the flights are actuallypretty Pretty cheap.
I flew from Puxi down in thesouth up to Lung Prabang.
It was an hour-long flight orwhatever it was,$70 or something
like that.
That stuff's pretty easy to doas well.
Yeah, I can't remember youroriginal question, but the point
was, I think that, yes, Laos, Ithink, has not been on the radar
(20:15):
for a while for those kind ofreasons, partly because people
associate Southeast Asia withbeaches and stuff, and also
because it's just been hard.
But the difficulty is definitelyimproving, and...
Actually, there are islands.
If you go right down to thesouth of the Mekong, there's an
area called the 4,000 Islands.
So you can go to islands.
(20:35):
They're just not ocean islands,but they're river islands.
There's a lot there, I think, toexplore.
And I have to say from my threeweeks there a couple of months
ago, I liked that there weren'ta lot of tourists.
I loved that there isn'tdevelopment everywhere.
You're not, okay, there's a bitof a tourist trail you're
following, but you don't feellike you're doing that because
you have to do it.
(20:55):
And You're surrounded byforeigners the whole time.
If you want to be a bit local,like I was sometimes, I had to
go from one town to a littlevillage.
I jumped in the back of the SongThru, which I always have
trouble saying, but thosecovered pickup trucks that only
leave when it's full.
So you have to sit there for anhour as it gradually fills up.
(21:16):
But the one I got this time Itwas, you pick it up from the
market.
And so it was all these womenwho'd come in from the village
to go to the market in themorning, getting back on the
song's way to go back to thevillage.
And so as I sat there, one byone, they get on with all their
bags and full of sort ofvegetables and meat and it's all
getting chucked around my feetand they're all gossiping with
(21:37):
each other and sharing littletreats and stuff.
And that was fun.
Yes, I'm sure we do get that inVietnam.
I'm in Cambodia and Thailand,but It's not as obvious, I
think, because it is easier toget around.
You don't necessarily just bydefault end up in that kind of
situation.
SPEAKER_02 (21:52):
That sounds amazing.
You've answered all thosequestions as to why it hasn't
gone crazy.
But I just love that you're notnecessarily going to be running
into masses and masses offoreigners while you're
traveling and that you can havethose very Martian experiences.
When you're jumping on and offthe ship, and oh my gosh, nine
(22:13):
hours to go that distance on abus, that is a very good reason
to use, as you say, the originalroad, which is the Mekong, the
lifeblood, but also the highwayof the country.
When you're on the ship, do youhave those sorts of experiences?
Because one of the things Ithink of when I think of Laos is
I think of the offerings tomonks every morning that takes
(22:33):
place all around the country.
So can you get those sorts ofexperiences when you're on
board?
SPEAKER_00 (22:40):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
So look, if you take an exampleof a trip that, let's say, goes
from Lang Prabang down toVientiane on the Bohem, Lang
Prabang is probably one of themost famous places for the
almsgiving that you're talkingabout with the monks.
It's early in the morning, justbefore sunrise.
You have literally hundreds ofmonks in their saffron robes
(23:01):
walking through the streets.
A lot of locals still come andgive them alms, but also even as
a tourist, you can get involvedwith that.
And people doing the Bohemcruise normally would stay at
the Avani Plus, one of thehotels in town the night before,
because they're associated withthe cruise.
So if you stay at the AvaniPlus, then you'll have the
opportunity in the morning to dothat and to join in.
(23:24):
They'll help you find a goodspot to see some of that local
tradition.
Once you're on the boat andyou're heading along the river,
Until you get to Vientiane,there aren't many big cities.
So what you're actually doing ispulling into small villages.
So you're seeing a reallydifferent type of Laotian life
compared to the big cities wheremaybe people who fly between
(23:45):
would only go.
For instance, we pull into alittle paper-making village
where for generations peoplethere have made paper and you
get out and you do a bit of aworkshop and learn about that,
try the tea that's made,different types of tea, I should
say, because there's lots ofdifferent types of tea made with
different ingredients.
That's really lovely.
We pulled in at a potteryvillage where 400 years ago,
(24:08):
they started making ceramics forthe royalty in Lung Prabang.
And still now, there's thistradition of making pottery.
And again, you get to trygetting a piece of clay and
trying to make something.
They've got a little shelf thereof plates and bowls and cups and
stuff.
So you can pull one off theshelf and say, this is what I'm
going to make.
So I I pulled off a teacup andtried to make my teacup, which
(24:29):
actually turned into a wonkybowl, probably.
I'm terrible at pottery.
Everything turns out lookinglike an ashtray.
I don't know.
I wish people smoked still thesedays because I make a lot of
ashtrays when everyone's doingpottery.
SPEAKER_02 (24:42):
I was about to say, when in doubt, turn it into an
ashtray and you'll find it.
I have made many ashtrays in mytime.
Definitely.
SPEAKER_00 (24:51):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So.
The lovely thing with both ofthose is that the boat actually,
as I said, isn't that large.
And the Mekong has been ahighway for so long that all you
do is the boat just pulls up tothe side of the river amongst
reeds or whatever.
You jump onto the little paththere and you walk a couple of
minutes and you're in thevillage.
(25:12):
So it's not even some rivercruises or certainly like ocean
cruises where, you know, It'ssuch a hassle to pull into a
port and wait until everything'sready and get off and board a
minibus and be taken off foryour tour.
Literally, you're in the villagewithin 60 seconds of arriving on
shore because you just jump off,walk through the reeds, and
(25:32):
there you are.
And even some of the sites alongthe way, there are a lot of
absolutely beautiful, stunning,natural attractions along the
way.
And some of them are fantastic.
because they're so good, worthgoing to, even though they're
slightly away from the river,and you do jump into a little
minibus and go off there.
There's a really famous one,Pak'u Caves, it's called, which
is literally on the river.
(25:53):
You pull up on a little jettywhere the caves are, and these
are these sort of quite big,dramatic limestone cliffs with a
couple of caves inside thecliffs where there are thousands
of golden Buddhas that have beenplaced there over the centuries
and worshipped, and it's It'squite a special experience to go
into these naturally beautifulcaves, but also very culturally
(26:17):
significant and almost quitespiritual to see all the statues
there.
So again, that's something thatyou're in the caves within 60
seconds after the boat stopsmoving.
And that's something reallylovely, I think, about Laos
that, you know, you can do that,but so much of what you want to
see, whether it's the people orthe nature or the heritage, are
attached to the river.
(26:38):
So from a boat, you get greateasy access to it all.
SPEAKER_02 (26:42):
I just love river cruising for that reason, that
absolute connection to it, theintimacy of it, and such a small
boat as well.
I keep going to say ship, butit's not a ship, it's a boat.
SPEAKER_00 (26:53):
You can call it a ship, I'm sure, but no one will
care.
SPEAKER_02 (26:55):
Okay, someone will hunt me down.
But yeah, absolutely beautiful.
It's a gorgeous design.
So I reckon, I think that soundslike just an absolutely perfect
way of exploring a country thatotherwise sounds like it's quite
challenging at times to getaround and takes a lot of that
difficulty around it.
Now I'm going to, I just want tokeep talking about sailing down
(27:16):
the Mekong all day, but we havetime.
So I'm going to ask you our lastquestion that we ask all our
guests, which is, and I reckonthis is going to be a cracker.
I'm going to ask you what yourmost bizarre travel experience
is.
SPEAKER_00 (27:29):
Oh, it's a hard question.
I know you warned me you weregoing to ask me this.
And I, I know it's like Itraveled.
Nomadically, for about 10 years,so many weird, bizarre things
happened to me that, honestly, Ican't go past.
The strangest thing was my mostbizarre travel experience is a
whole country.
And that whole country is NorthKorea.
(27:52):
Went to North Korea on a 10-daytour.
And although I won't tell youall about it, we could do that
on another episode if you want,but I can't tell you all about
it.
The reason it was such a bizarretravel experience is because you
have...
two guides with you the wholetime who are lying to you
constantly.
Basically, normally you go on atrip or a tour and the tour
(28:14):
guides are great.
They're telling you all aboutthe country and you're learning
this or that.
Not in North Korea.
They're just two propagandaagents and they're lying to your
face.
They're lying.
They know they're lying.
But this is their job to tellyou how wonderful everything is.
And just as One example, we weregoing along on a bus at one
(28:35):
point in a rural area and I'dheard somewhere that people do a
bit of gold panning there, thatthere is some gold in the river,
they can pan gold and find somestuff that they can sell.
I look down and I see thathappening and I'm at the front
of the bus near one of theguides and I say, oh, what's
happening down there?
And he looks down and obviouslyhe'd never been asked this
before, so I have to think onhis face and he's, oh, the
(28:55):
people here in this part ofNorth Korea have so much gold
jewelry that they go down towash it in the river because
they're proud of it and want tolook after it.
And he's like, yes, that wasgood.
And I sort of a few minuteslater moved to the back of the
bus and said to the other guy,what's happening down there?
And she looked down and had tocome up with an answer as well.
(29:16):
And so quickly she's like, thetrout is so plentiful in the
river that people can just godown with a pan and catch them
straight out of the water.
Yes, that's what it is.
That's what it is.
And And it's like this for aweek or so, just getting these
crazy stories.
But look, whatever you thinkabout the ethics of going to
North Korea or not, this is partof the experience.
(29:38):
This is what I actually reallyenjoyed was just to see how it
works.
And everything, everything aboutit is bizarre.
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
Phenomenal, phenomenal.
I've always wanted to, I've beenup onto the DMZ on the South
Korean side, but I reckon we'llhave to get you back to tell us
a little more about traveling inNorth Korea because that just,
that is a bit of a mind blower.
Michael, thank you so much foryour time.
And thanks for taking us downthe Mekong.
It's been a real pleasure totake a little slow journey just
(30:06):
for a snapshot in our lives.
And thanks so much for coming onto The World Awaits.
SPEAKER_00 (30:11):
Yeah, look, my pleasure.
Look, I don't want Laos to gettoo busy.
I don't want everyone to gobecause that's part of its
charm.
But hopefully we've inspired acouple of people to go and check
it out because it really is abeautiful country, not too far
away from Australia.
So it's worth going to see it, Ireckon.
SPEAKER_02 (30:24):
Absolutely.
Thanks again.
SPEAKER_00 (30:27):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (30:28):
I loved hearing travel journalist Michael
Turtle's most bizarre moment andcan't wait to hear more about
that trip to North Korea.
And in the meantime, if you wantto follow in his footsteps on
this remarkable luxury rivercruise on board BOEM, go to
mekongkingdoms.com and make sureyou stay at the Avani Plus
(30:49):
Langprabang, which, as Michaelsaid, is one of the most famed
places to give alms to the monkson the streets at sunrise.
Go to avanipluslangprabang.combarneyhotels.com and we'll put
those links in the show notes.
SPEAKER_02 (31:13):
Our tip this week is how to tap into the set jetting
trend, which is where travelersvisit destinations they've seen
on the silver screen.
And sometimes the destinationsreally are the star of the show,
aren't they, Kirsty?
SPEAKER_01 (31:24):
They are like, think of the Lord of the Rings trilogy
in the early 2000s, which gavetourism to New Zealand a bigger
shot in the arm.
And Aotearoa is still known asLord of the Rings country.
And the biggest movie at themoment, of course, towards
bi-travel would have to be theUS drama White Lotus with fans
of the series flocking to thefilming sites for the third
series.
(31:44):
Because the third one isactually shot in Thailand and it
was shot across five resorts.
And probably the most synonymouswith White Lotus in Thailand
would be the three Anantaraproperties where it featured.
SPEAKER_02 (31:55):
Yeah, so the drama series was already a hot one.
On the set jetting trend withthe first two series, the first
one was filmed in Four SeasonsHotels in Maui, Hawaii, and that
was in season one, and thengorgeous Tiamina, Sicily in the
second season.
So to the third, if you arelooking for filming locations,
keep an eye out for thejewellery store and the lobby of
(32:16):
the Anantara Boput Koh Samui,the stinging lounge in another
Anantara hotel in Koh Samui, theLuana, and the spa at the
Anantara Maekau in Phuket.
But White Lotus isn't the onlyseries that has inspired us to
travel, is it?
SPEAKER_01 (32:30):
No, gosh, there's so many.
And if you scoop back a coupleof episodes, actually, you'll
hear Belle talking about howthis year is the 100th
anniversary of the greatAmerican novel, The Great
Gatsby, which was set on LongIsland in the 1920s and has had
movies starring Robert Redfordand later Leonardo DiCaprio,
which is Includes multiple LongIsland mansions and you can
(32:53):
still visit them all today andBelle does an interview about
that a couple of episodes back.
And also Emily in Paris was amassive hit too.
My gosh, the amount of tours anditineraries that were created
around that Netflix rom-com werejust absolutely remarkable.
SPEAKER_02 (33:08):
It was ridiculous.
If you're into horror, whichI've got to say I'm not, you
can't go past Romania.
Stay with me here.
It's already got that history ofgrim stories because this is the
home of Dracula and you can goand visit the castles and stuff.
Movies most recently set hereinclude the latest remake of the
gothic horror movie Nosferatu.
Super spooky.
And I've got to say, it's a kindof spooky country in all.
(33:30):
But this trend is not just forgrown-ups either.
I was in Paris a couple of yearsago, and my then-tween daughter
asked me if we could visitcertain cafes and patisseries.
And I was like, wah, where arewe talking about?
She was picking them up in akids' series, Ladybug and Cat
Noir.
But then staying with newreleases, I watched Paddington
in Peru on my last long haulflight and it made me want to
(33:52):
head straight back to Peru tosee the Amazon and its rushing
rivers.
Although I've got to say, Idon't need the shipwrecks scene.
Although maybe if AntonioBanderas is there, I possibly
could endure it.
SPEAKER_01 (34:04):
Malta is also having its time in the sun right now
with the recent release ofGladiator 2.
And the country says it's had ahuge upswing in visitor numbers
with travelers going there toexplore the fortresses.
on the Little Island Nation offthe coast of Italy.
And in the streets of itscapital, Valletta, it also
featured in the new JurassicPark movie, Rebirth, which is
(34:25):
due out in a couple of weeks.
And going back to my homeland,the South Island city of Dunedin
is the location for a new filmadaptation of the John Steinbeck
movie, novel, sorry, East ofEden.
So that's going to be a greatone to watch when it comes out
next year.
And if you think you're watchingscenes in Idaho and the new
Minecraft movie starring JackBlack, that's actually New
(34:46):
Zealand's largest city,Auckland, where I grew up.
SPEAKER_02 (34:50):
There you go.
Who knew you grew up in Idaho?
And other ones to watchinclude...
So we're going to the UK now.
Bridgerton Series 4 out nextyear.
I am a crazy Bridgerton fan.
And that reignites our love ofthe streets of Mayfair in
London.
And the new Bridget Jones diarymade about the boy, which was
out earlier this year, thatshowcases the Lakes District.
And I have to mention The SaltPath, the new movie I saw just a
(35:13):
week or two ago.
It has just been released inAustralia.
And it is about walking thesouthwest coast of that in
Somerset, Devon and Cornwall insouthern England.
Just Glorious and One for KingWalkers.
And we'll put those films andlocations in the show notes for
you.
SPEAKER_01 (35:29):
If you'd like to help support our production
costs, you can buy us a coffeeat coffee.com slash
theworldawaits.
That's ko-fi.com slashtheworldawaits so we can
continue to bring youinspirational travel interviews
with the world's best.
Next week, my guest is Belle.
I'm putting my co-host in theinterview seat as we chat about
(35:51):
her recent travels in the littleNorth African country of
Tunisia.
So tune in for that one.
SPEAKER_02 (35:57):
And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us a
rating and a review.
On Apple Podcasts, click on ourprofile, scroll down to the
bottom to ratings and reviews.
And if you're on Spotify, go toour main page and click the
three dots underneath our photo.
You can also find us onInstagram, Twitter, And on
Facebook, just search for TheWorld Awaits, or simply drop us
(36:18):
a line at hello attheworldawaits.au.
We love nothing more thanhearing from our listeners.
That's a wrap for The WorldAwaits this week.
Click to subscribe anywhere youlisten to your favourite pods.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
Welcome to The World Awaits.
Travel tales to inspire yourwanderlust.
Welcome back to The WorldAwaits.
This mini-series is brought toyou by Avani Hotels and Resorts.
With more than 40 propertiesacross five continents, Avani
offers city hotels, tropicalresorts and retreats in nature.
(00:22):
For more, visit avanihotels.com.
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
Hi everyone, how are you, Belle?
SPEAKER_02 (00:27):
Oh, nothing to see here, my friend.
I'm drowning under deadlines.
But actually, I had a story comeout that I really liked, which I
wrote for Paradise, which is thein-flight magazine for Air New
Guinea.
And it's about this girl who isdrumming on traditional P&G
drums, which normally is a malething.
So we're seeing this newgeneration of female drummers
(00:49):
coming through in P&G.
I just loved it.
I thought it was such a greatstory.
It gave me a little chills whenI heard it.
Good for you.
Nice.
UNKNOWN (00:57):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (00:57):
So that's probably my high point for the week.
What about you?
SPEAKER_01 (01:00):
Love a story where women are promoted.
Yeah, and particularly startdoing things that, yeah, we're
typically male-dominatedindustries.
Not, yeah, not a lot hereeither, really.
Just catching up.
But I was going to ask you, sowhen you fly into a new
destination, do you try and lookout the window or do you always
stick to the aisle?
SPEAKER_02 (01:19):
Listen to me.
You will have to prise my cold,dead hands from the window seat.
You cannot get me out of thewindow seat.
I'm always looking out thewindow.
I don't care that I've flownthere a thousand times.
I always take photos of theclouds.
I love watching the sun comingup over the clouds.
And I love looking at thedestinations that I'm visiting.
I cannot standing on the aisleand being hit by the dining
(01:42):
trolley.
And of course, nobody loves themiddle seat.
So there you go.
Window all the way.
What about you?
Yeah,
SPEAKER_01 (01:48):
I'm absolutely the same.
And if you look through mycamera, there are so many photos
of outside plane window yeahtotally a window seat person and
especially when it comes to anew destination but on the way
home I don't mind an aisleparticularly if it's a domestic
flight because I've seenMelbourne a lot and and while I
(02:09):
adore the city the landing'snothing to rave about but but
yeah but we actually have someairport landings for you to
write home about because allclear travel has revealed the
most beautiful airport landingsand there are ones that you
definitely do want a window seatfor so They analysed which
runways caught participants'attention the quickest.
They did some data on it, and aswell as looking at how long each
(02:32):
destination held people'sattention, they cross-referenced
these metrics to reveal whichairport landings are the most
beautiful.
SPEAKER_02 (02:40):
That sounds very technical.
In the wash-up, the world's mostbeautiful airport runway went
to...
our own Lord Howe Island.
Now, interestingly, it's alsoone of the shortest airport
runways in Australia because,you know, it's an island.
But the report found thattravellers spent more time
admiring this view than anyother.
They actually, they put atimestamp on it, which is like
(03:02):
2.64 seconds.
That doesn't seem like a longtime, does it?
But it's not like the plane iscircling around before it lands,
hovering over Sydney orMelbourne.
Well, you'd hope not anyway.
The report said that arriving byplane is the only way to access
the island.
So landing at this UNESCO WorldHeritage Site is extra special.
SPEAKER_01 (03:21):
Yeah.
And second on the list wasactually Queenstown.
So look, I'm a bit biased, whichlisteners will be able to tell
from my accent, which I forget Ihave because I've listened to
Australia.
I think I sound Australian untilthe odd person picks me up.
But I have to say, it is such anincredible airport to land in.
It's really steep, a reallysteep descent between mountains.
(03:42):
So it's really tricky.
And pilots actually have to havevery specified specialist
training to do it.
But man, boy, oh boy, are yourewarded because it's just
dramatic mountainous scenerythat New Zealand's so famed for.
And also Lake Wakatipu.
SPEAKER_02 (03:58):
I'm glad that you got to talk about that one
because I always get shocked bythe Kiwi pronunciation.
So if nothing else, Kirsty,you've still got an accent, but
you put it to good use.
In third place, Madeira Airportcame in third.
It is also notorious for itschallenging approach.
But again, the result is somepretty spectacular views of the
island's Levada Trails and GreenMountains.
(04:20):
And in fourth place was PitkinCounty Airport in Colorado,
which gives passengersjaw-dropping views of the
snow-capped Rockies.
I think mountains are quite afeature here.
And there's only one departureroute possible due to the
surrounding mountains blockingthe way.
SPEAKER_01 (04:33):
Yeah.
And rounding out the top fivewas Rio de Janeiro, Santos de
Amon Airport in Brazil, and thisairport captured attention
faster than any other runway inthe study at 0.69 seconds.
Thanks to its jaw-dropping viewsof some of the most iconic
(04:54):
tourist attractions in theworld, including Rio's Christ
the Redeemer, as well as theCocacabana Beach.
And if all that's not enough,the airport is also surrounded
by sparkling blue waters.
And can I also just add one in?
It's not on the list, but I justneeded to add in that the Cocos
Keeling Islands really doesdeserve a mention because I was
there last year and, um, It'snot on the list, but this
(05:17):
airport doubles as a golfcourse.
That's how infrequent theflights are.
And it doesn't deserve a mentionjust for that.
It's actually so spectacular.
I was just in awe when we wereflying both in and out of this
atoll.
And because it's an atoll, youget that ring of land and the
turquoise teal seal, and it justseems to blend them with the
(05:38):
sky.
And when you come into land,there's these little cottages
that you stay at that are rightalong the runway.
So it's just really special.
And you can see my bird's eyeview from there on my Insta
page, which is Kirstie Writes.
Do you have any favourites,Belle?
SPEAKER_02 (05:52):
Super cute.
I've actually got quite a few.
Staying on the mountain theme, Ithink flying into Paro in
Bhutan.
It is notoriously tricky becauseyou come through mountains The
plane dips down and fliesthrough a corridor of mountains
and it's just quite terrifying.
But so you've got the mountainsabove you.
It's really quite amazing.
And I think mountains too,flying in and out of Santiago in
(06:13):
Chile is the same because you'recoming in over the Andes and
it's just breathtaking.
I think Sydney tourism has madeit compulsory for flights to fly
over the harbour.
So you always get a great viewwhen you fly over Sydney
harbour.
And sometimes in Cairo, if theytake a particular route, they
will dip around.
(06:33):
I've had this where you fly overthe pyramids.
That is just amazing.
And you think, oh, my God, I'mhere.
But I've got to say, superdramatic would be Gibraltar
Airport.
And it reminded me when you weresaying that the Cocos Airport
doubles the golf course.
To get into Gibraltar, you haveto walk over the airstrip.
So you're actually here at theSpanish side.
I'm not sure if you've beenthere, but you have to walk
(06:54):
across the airstrip.
to get into the city.
And of course, when you fly inand out, you're flying over the
Rock of Gibraltar, which isthat, and that southern part
Southern English and Spanishcoastline is really dramatic.
So there you go.
That's my favorite.
SPEAKER_01 (07:08):
If you walk over the airstrip at Kokok Killing, it's
about a$3,000 fine.
So you definitely don't want tobe walking over the airstrip.
They warn you when you come in.
And I have to say, Sydney, Iagree with you.
Sydney is spectacular.
Like flying in or out of Sydneyand seeing the Sydney Opera
House and the Harbour Bridge isjust, I'm never tired of seeing
that.
So we will put a link to all ofthe world's most beautiful
(07:30):
landings in the show notes soyou can have a look at them all.
SPEAKER_02 (07:44):
My guest this week is Australian travel journalist
Michael Total, who recentlysailed down the Mekong River in
Laos from Luang Prabang toVienting on board the beautiful
new ship Bohem.
Take a listen.
Michael, welcome to The WorldAwaits.
It's so exciting to have you onthe podcast.
SPEAKER_00 (08:01):
Yeah, thanks very much.
It's my pleasure.
SPEAKER_02 (08:03):
Absolutely.
So I'm really excited about thisweek because we are going to
take a slow trip down theMekong.
down the Mekong River, which issuper exciting.
But first, tell us, you're atravel writer, you're a blogger.
Tell us a little about yourselfand how you ended up on this
ship in the first place.
SPEAKER_00 (08:19):
Yeah, I've been a travel blogger slash writer for,
gosh, 15 years now.
Makes me sound old, doesn't it?
After I got rid of everything Iowned and got a one-way ticket
and left Australia after gettingsick of being a journalist at
the ABC and in commercial TV.
And yeah, I've been travelingaround a lot.
And yeah, this I like toactually do a lot of my own
(08:42):
trips and I like to go on longertrips.
And so it was just earlier thisyear that I took myself off to
Laos.
I hadn't been there since I wasa backpacker in my 20s.
I was like, you know what, I'mgoing to go and spend a few
weeks there and make my wayaround the country nice and
slowly.
And the best way to see theMekong is slowly.
(09:04):
So it was a nice way to...
do a bit of bus travel andtuk-tuk travel and train travel,
and then also do some boattravel.
SPEAKER_02 (09:14):
And that's why we're coming into this boat, but it's
not just any boat.
And this is interesting becauseit's called a boat, not a ship.
You were on Bohem, which is anabsolutely beautiful, it's like
that old vibe ship that justcruises down the Mekong.
Tell us a bit about where itstarts, where you picked up
Bohem and where it ends.
So just give us a little Look atwhere
SPEAKER_00 (09:34):
you say it.
Yeah.
I don't know why it's a boat andnot a ship.
It's a funny thing, isn't it?
I think people always say a boatcan go on a ship, but a ship
can't go on a boat.
But I still don't know at whatpoint one becomes a boat and one
becomes a ship.
But anyway, Bohem is a boat.
And the size probably isrelevant because it's a
relatively large vessel, as init's 50 meters long and it's
(09:58):
three decks ice, if people canpicture that.
But it only has 13 cabins.
So although it's relativelylarge, it's very spacious.
And so Bohem, which is run byMekong Kingdoms, it basically
goes between Lang Prabang andVientiane.
So Vientiane being the capitalof Laos a bit further south and
further north Lang Prabang,which is the sort of old royal
(10:20):
capital, a world heritage citywith gorgeous collection of
hotels and heritage buildingseverywhere.
And there are a couple ofdifferent ways you can do it.
And if you're going between LangPrabang and Vientiane, it
basically goes in bothdirections.
So it's a sort of six-day,five-night trip.
It goes up the river one weekand then down the river the next
(10:43):
week.
And it does that betweenSeptember and April, which is
basically the dry season, thegood season in Laos.
And then the rest of the year,when the river can be a little
bit low and there are some otherissues...
It uses Lung Prabang as its baseand it goes out on four-day,
three-night tours and then comesback to Lung Prabang.
(11:04):
So you start and end in the sameplace.
But look, it doesn't reallymatter which route you do
because half the experience isjust being on board this
absolutely gorgeous boat.
It was basically brand new whenI got on it.
It was only just being rebuilt,renovated and put back in the
water.
And it's, yeah, as I said,really spacious, but also with
(11:26):
this Beautiful kind of naturaldesign.
You feel like the landscapesoutside just flow naturally into
the boat itself with the wayit's full of wood, just a hand
woven Laotian textiles used todecorate the beds and some of
the couches.
A lot of outdoor space to sitand have a drink.
(11:49):
And the caverns even themselvesjust have huge windows.
The one I was in had a gorgeouscushioned daybed by the window
where you can sort of sit andwatch things go by and look even
the shower has a window so ithas a blind don't worry you can
put it down but there'ssomething quite nice actually
about standing there and havinga shower and just watching the
(12:09):
world go by along the riveroutside
SPEAKER_02 (12:11):
amazing i saw actually that one of the One of
the 13 cabins has a bath in itas well, which is you can sit
and watch the scenery in it.
Because that's the whole pointof these cruises, isn't it?
It's almost an immersion, a slowimmersion in the Laotian
landscape.
SPEAKER_00 (12:28):
Yeah, yeah.
The bath is a special one.
So I should just quickly clarifythere are 13 cabins on board.
Twelve of them are quitesimilar.
There's six on one deck and sixon the deck below.
Pretty similar.
The slight difference is thatthe lower deck ones actually are
slightly larger and have a smallbalcony, whereas the ones on the
deck above are slightly smaller,but they're actually considered
(12:50):
to be better ones because theview is better.
You're not right at water level.
Yeah, and then there's this onecabin, the Royal Swirlbeat it's
called, which is twice the sizeof any of the others.
along the back.
And yeah, it has, as well ashaving a lot more space and its
own big balcony that takes upthe whole back of the boat.
It also, yeah, has this bath andit has a butler service.
(13:13):
I wasn't in that one,unfortunately, but I imagine you
could sit in the bath and callyour butler for a gin and tonic
as you look out on what's goingon.
But to your point about thelandscapes, like actually this
isn't a...
It is a luxurious cruise, butit's not a so pretentious,
luxurious cruise.
You don't feel like you'resitting there drinking a gin and
(13:36):
a tonic and looking down on theworld.
You're actually quite connectedto it a lot of the time.
And part of that is with whatyou're seeing.
It's a bit of a cliche maybe,but the Mekong really is the
lifeblood of Laos.
Everything for centuries has allrevolved around the Mekong.
The shape of the country isbasically defined by the Mekong,
(13:57):
which goes, it creates itswestern border for a lot of it
in the southern part.
And there used to be greatroads.
Everything traveled along theMekong.
And so, yeah, as you go along,what you're seeing outside the
windows, whether it's from thedining room or your bedroom or
your shower, is the boats goingby, the long-tail boats going
(14:18):
by.
There are temples with theirroos popping out from behind
palm trees.
Unfortunately, people still havea habit of burning their
rubbish, which is not great forthe environment, but also
creates this quite beautifulsort of haze in the air.
There's one upside to it.
But it's really atmospheric,especially when you're seeing it
at sunrise or sunset, which isone of the great things I love
(14:40):
about riverboats, that you getto see a river at all times of
the day.
And when you've got thatgorgeous orange glow on the
river and there's a slight hazeand People are out fishing and
little kids are jumping nakedinto the water and splashing
about or playing with a box.
That sort of stuff is gorgeous,I think.
SPEAKER_02 (15:01):
Yeah, which is interesting because, as you say,
sometimes cruises aredisconnected to the environment
that they're in.
And it's only when you get offthe ship and go on excursions
that you feel that you'reactually seeing you becoming
part of that country.
I guess that the...
The location, sailing down theMekong, which then eventually
tips over into Vietnam and thenspills out into the East Sea
(15:24):
down there, the cuisine would bedictated by what you're selling,
by the landscape as well?
SPEAKER_00 (15:29):
Yeah, so the food is incredible.
It's interesting, you wouldthink that actually just having
a fairly small boat with 13cabins for a maximum of 26
people with a kitchen on boardwhere everything has to be done,
you'd think that maybe the mealsmight be relatively simple, but
actually, they were incrediblyextravagant.
(15:51):
The chef, Cohn, was his name.
Cohn is a genius, I think,because he managed to, even for
lunch, create these sort ofmassive four-course feasts for
us.
Dinner was quite often fivecourses, everything not only
different, but really quiteornate, some of them, and
definitely inspired by the localingredients that you could get.
(16:11):
One of the, I've still got themenu here from one of the
lunches, so I can tell you whatit was.
We had a starter of river weedand pork.
We then had a sort of soup andsalad buffet that had lots of
options, including a duck larb,larb being one of the
traditional Laotian butSoutheast Asian dishes.
We had a main course of, youcould choose either stir-fried
(16:32):
prawns or a traditional sort ofbraised chicken thing that came
in a clay pot.
And then the dessert was freshlocal fruit and local coconut
dumplings.
How's that for lunch?
That's not even dinner.
SPEAKER_02 (16:49):
Oh, coconut dumplings.
You've actually got me signed inon this one.
Because Laotian cuisine, it'snot something that we...
Larb is something that, as yousay, you see it through
Southeast Asia, but it's not acuisine that we have a lot of
connection with in Australia.
You've really got to go seek it.
And I think possibly that iswhat's so intriguing about this
journey is that it's one ofSoutheast Asia's much less
(17:10):
explored countries.
Everybody's in Thailand.
Vietnam is smoking hot right nowwith all of the access going in
there.
Nasta seems to slip under theradar really, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00 (17:22):
Yeah, and look, it always has.
I mentioned the last time I wasin Laos was when I was
backpacking quite a long timeago.
And I remember even then itseemed like a real adventure to
be going in there.
Okay, Thailand wasn't quite asbusy.
Vietnam wasn't on the sort ofradar as much and Cambodia as
well.
But there was a lot of tourisminfrastructure to go to those
three.
Whereas, yeah, Laos back thenespecially seemed really exotic
(17:46):
and remote.
And it still is.
And there's no, I was about tosay there's no good reason, but
there are reasons when you startto look into it.
And it's mainly aboutinfrastructure and connectivity
and stuff like that.
I do think probably tourists areless likely to go because it's a
landlocked country.
When you think of SoutheastAsia, you think beaches and
islands and that sort of thing.
(18:06):
If you want to relax, of course,you're going to go to Thailand
because you've got your KohSamui and your Copenhagen and
your Phuket or so on.
Vietnam even has some beachesand islands now.
Going to Laos is definitely abit more of a rustic experience.
It's more about the culture andthe heritage.
So that's partly it.
And then, as I said,connectivity is another big one.
It doesn't have a greatinternational airport that's
(18:30):
well-connected to other parts ofthe world to fly into Vientiane
or Luang Prabang.
You can do that, obviously.
You have to go via Bangkok orHanoi.
There aren't a huge number offlights every day.
It's just a little bit harder todo it.
And then once you're there, ohmy gosh, the roads.
The roads.
Thankfully, the south is a lotbetter now because it doesn't
(18:51):
really have the mountains.
So it's been easy for them tobuild some decent highways.
But the north, like to getbetween, well, from Lung
Prabang, I wanted to go toanother town, another city
before I went back to the NTR.
It was only...
I think it was 150 kilometers orsomething.
It took nine hours to drive the150 kilometers in a bus.
Absolutely terrible roads.
(19:12):
You're just bumping along atsuch a slow pace, up and down
all the time in the seat.
Some of the locals were throwingup, I hate to say.
It was that sort of bad.
So this is the kind of thingthat I think has kept people
away.
I had a great reason to go on ariverboat.
There is a high-speed railnetwork now, though, that's come
in from China and it goesthrough Lang Prabang and goes
(19:34):
down to Vientiane.
So there actually are somedecent options now, which I
think is maybe why we'restarting to see a bit more
interest and investment in thecountry as a tourist.
If you flew into Lang Prabang,which some people do because
it's maybe the northernmostplace that a lot of people go
to, you can then get thehigh-speed train down to
Vientiane if you want to seeVientiane.
(19:54):
And from there, the roads arepretty good if you want to go
further south.
All the flights are actuallypretty Pretty cheap.
I flew from Puxi down in thesouth up to Lung Prabang.
It was an hour-long flight orwhatever it was,$70 or something
like that.
That stuff's pretty easy to doas well.
Yeah, I can't remember youroriginal question, but the point
was, I think that, yes, Laos, Ithink, has not been on the radar
(20:15):
for a while for those kind ofreasons, partly because people
associate Southeast Asia withbeaches and stuff, and also
because it's just been hard.
But the difficulty is definitelyimproving, and...
Actually, there are islands.
If you go right down to thesouth of the Mekong, there's an
area called the 4,000 Islands.
So you can go to islands.
(20:35):
They're just not ocean islands,but they're river islands.
There's a lot there, I think, toexplore.
And I have to say from my threeweeks there a couple of months
ago, I liked that there weren'ta lot of tourists.
I loved that there isn'tdevelopment everywhere.
You're not, okay, there's a bitof a tourist trail you're
following, but you don't feellike you're doing that because
you have to do it.
(20:55):
And You're surrounded byforeigners the whole time.
If you want to be a bit local,like I was sometimes, I had to
go from one town to a littlevillage.
I jumped in the back of the SongThru, which I always have
trouble saying, but thosecovered pickup trucks that only
leave when it's full.
So you have to sit there for anhour as it gradually fills up.
(21:16):
But the one I got this time Itwas, you pick it up from the
market.
And so it was all these womenwho'd come in from the village
to go to the market in themorning, getting back on the
song's way to go back to thevillage.
And so as I sat there, one byone, they get on with all their
bags and full of sort ofvegetables and meat and it's all
getting chucked around my feetand they're all gossiping with
(21:37):
each other and sharing littletreats and stuff.
And that was fun.
Yes, I'm sure we do get that inVietnam.
I'm in Cambodia and Thailand,but It's not as obvious, I
think, because it is easier toget around.
You don't necessarily just bydefault end up in that kind of
situation.
SPEAKER_02 (21:52):
That sounds amazing.
You've answered all thosequestions as to why it hasn't
gone crazy.
But I just love that you're notnecessarily going to be running
into masses and masses offoreigners while you're
traveling and that you can havethose very Martian experiences.
When you're jumping on and offthe ship, and oh my gosh, nine
(22:13):
hours to go that distance on abus, that is a very good reason
to use, as you say, the originalroad, which is the Mekong, the
lifeblood, but also the highwayof the country.
When you're on the ship, do youhave those sorts of experiences?
Because one of the things Ithink of when I think of Laos is
I think of the offerings tomonks every morning that takes
(22:33):
place all around the country.
So can you get those sorts ofexperiences when you're on
board?
SPEAKER_00 (22:40):
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
So look, if you take an exampleof a trip that, let's say, goes
from Lang Prabang down toVientiane on the Bohem, Lang
Prabang is probably one of themost famous places for the
almsgiving that you're talkingabout with the monks.
It's early in the morning, justbefore sunrise.
You have literally hundreds ofmonks in their saffron robes
(23:01):
walking through the streets.
A lot of locals still come andgive them alms, but also even as
a tourist, you can get involvedwith that.
And people doing the Bohemcruise normally would stay at
the Avani Plus, one of thehotels in town the night before,
because they're associated withthe cruise.
So if you stay at the AvaniPlus, then you'll have the
opportunity in the morning to dothat and to join in.
(23:24):
They'll help you find a goodspot to see some of that local
tradition.
Once you're on the boat andyou're heading along the river,
Until you get to Vientiane,there aren't many big cities.
So what you're actually doing ispulling into small villages.
So you're seeing a reallydifferent type of Laotian life
compared to the big cities wheremaybe people who fly between
(23:45):
would only go.
For instance, we pull into alittle paper-making village
where for generations peoplethere have made paper and you
get out and you do a bit of aworkshop and learn about that,
try the tea that's made,different types of tea, I should
say, because there's lots ofdifferent types of tea made with
different ingredients.
That's really lovely.
We pulled in at a potteryvillage where 400 years ago,
(24:08):
they started making ceramics forthe royalty in Lung Prabang.
And still now, there's thistradition of making pottery.
And again, you get to trygetting a piece of clay and
trying to make something.
They've got a little shelf thereof plates and bowls and cups and
stuff.
So you can pull one off theshelf and say, this is what I'm
going to make.
So I I pulled off a teacup andtried to make my teacup, which
(24:29):
actually turned into a wonkybowl, probably.
I'm terrible at pottery.
Everything turns out lookinglike an ashtray.
I don't know.
I wish people smoked still thesedays because I make a lot of
ashtrays when everyone's doingpottery.
SPEAKER_02 (24:42):
I was about to say, when in doubt, turn it into an
ashtray and you'll find it.
I have made many ashtrays in mytime.
Definitely.
SPEAKER_00 (24:51):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So.
The lovely thing with both ofthose is that the boat actually,
as I said, isn't that large.
And the Mekong has been ahighway for so long that all you
do is the boat just pulls up tothe side of the river amongst
reeds or whatever.
You jump onto the little paththere and you walk a couple of
minutes and you're in thevillage.
(25:12):
So it's not even some rivercruises or certainly like ocean
cruises where, you know, It'ssuch a hassle to pull into a
port and wait until everything'sready and get off and board a
minibus and be taken off foryour tour.
Literally, you're in the villagewithin 60 seconds of arriving on
shore because you just jump off,walk through the reeds, and
(25:32):
there you are.
And even some of the sites alongthe way, there are a lot of
absolutely beautiful, stunning,natural attractions along the
way.
And some of them are fantastic.
because they're so good, worthgoing to, even though they're
slightly away from the river,and you do jump into a little
minibus and go off there.
There's a really famous one,Pak'u Caves, it's called, which
is literally on the river.
(25:53):
You pull up on a little jettywhere the caves are, and these
are these sort of quite big,dramatic limestone cliffs with a
couple of caves inside thecliffs where there are thousands
of golden Buddhas that have beenplaced there over the centuries
and worshipped, and it's It'squite a special experience to go
into these naturally beautifulcaves, but also very culturally
(26:17):
significant and almost quitespiritual to see all the statues
there.
So again, that's something thatyou're in the caves within 60
seconds after the boat stopsmoving.
And that's something reallylovely, I think, about Laos
that, you know, you can do that,but so much of what you want to
see, whether it's the people orthe nature or the heritage, are
attached to the river.
(26:38):
So from a boat, you get greateasy access to it all.
SPEAKER_02 (26:42):
I just love river cruising for that reason, that
absolute connection to it, theintimacy of it, and such a small
boat as well.
I keep going to say ship, butit's not a ship, it's a boat.
SPEAKER_00 (26:53):
You can call it a ship, I'm sure, but no one will
care.
SPEAKER_02 (26:55):
Okay, someone will hunt me down.
But yeah, absolutely beautiful.
It's a gorgeous design.
So I reckon, I think that soundslike just an absolutely perfect
way of exploring a country thatotherwise sounds like it's quite
challenging at times to getaround and takes a lot of that
difficulty around it.
Now I'm going to, I just want tokeep talking about sailing down
(27:16):
the Mekong all day, but we havetime.
So I'm going to ask you our lastquestion that we ask all our
guests, which is, and I reckonthis is going to be a cracker.
I'm going to ask you what yourmost bizarre travel experience
is.
SPEAKER_00 (27:29):
Oh, it's a hard question.
I know you warned me you weregoing to ask me this.
And I, I know it's like Itraveled.
Nomadically, for about 10 years,so many weird, bizarre things
happened to me that, honestly, Ican't go past.
The strangest thing was my mostbizarre travel experience is a
whole country.
And that whole country is NorthKorea.
(27:52):
Went to North Korea on a 10-daytour.
And although I won't tell youall about it, we could do that
on another episode if you want,but I can't tell you all about
it.
The reason it was such a bizarretravel experience is because you
have...
two guides with you the wholetime who are lying to you
constantly.
Basically, normally you go on atrip or a tour and the tour
(28:14):
guides are great.
They're telling you all aboutthe country and you're learning
this or that.
Not in North Korea.
They're just two propagandaagents and they're lying to your
face.
They're lying.
They know they're lying.
But this is their job to tellyou how wonderful everything is.
And just as One example, we weregoing along on a bus at one
(28:35):
point in a rural area and I'dheard somewhere that people do a
bit of gold panning there, thatthere is some gold in the river,
they can pan gold and find somestuff that they can sell.
I look down and I see thathappening and I'm at the front
of the bus near one of theguides and I say, oh, what's
happening down there?
And he looks down and obviouslyhe'd never been asked this
before, so I have to think onhis face and he's, oh, the
(28:55):
people here in this part ofNorth Korea have so much gold
jewelry that they go down towash it in the river because
they're proud of it and want tolook after it.
And he's like, yes, that wasgood.
And I sort of a few minuteslater moved to the back of the
bus and said to the other guy,what's happening down there?
And she looked down and had tocome up with an answer as well.
(29:16):
And so quickly she's like, thetrout is so plentiful in the
river that people can just godown with a pan and catch them
straight out of the water.
Yes, that's what it is.
That's what it is.
And And it's like this for aweek or so, just getting these
crazy stories.
But look, whatever you thinkabout the ethics of going to
North Korea or not, this is partof the experience.
(29:38):
This is what I actually reallyenjoyed was just to see how it
works.
And everything, everything aboutit is bizarre.
SPEAKER_02 (29:45):
Phenomenal, phenomenal.
I've always wanted to, I've beenup onto the DMZ on the South
Korean side, but I reckon we'llhave to get you back to tell us
a little more about traveling inNorth Korea because that just,
that is a bit of a mind blower.
Michael, thank you so much foryour time.
And thanks for taking us downthe Mekong.
It's been a real pleasure totake a little slow journey just
(30:06):
for a snapshot in our lives.
And thanks so much for coming onto The World Awaits.
SPEAKER_00 (30:11):
Yeah, look, my pleasure.
Look, I don't want Laos to gettoo busy.
I don't want everyone to gobecause that's part of its
charm.
But hopefully we've inspired acouple of people to go and check
it out because it really is abeautiful country, not too far
away from Australia.
So it's worth going to see it, Ireckon.
SPEAKER_02 (30:24):
Absolutely.
Thanks again.
SPEAKER_00 (30:27):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_01 (30:28):
I loved hearing travel journalist Michael
Turtle's most bizarre moment andcan't wait to hear more about
that trip to North Korea.
And in the meantime, if you wantto follow in his footsteps on
this remarkable luxury rivercruise on board BOEM, go to
mekongkingdoms.com and make sureyou stay at the Avani Plus
(30:49):
Langprabang, which, as Michaelsaid, is one of the most famed
places to give alms to the monkson the streets at sunrise.
Go to avanipluslangprabang.combarneyhotels.com and we'll put
those links in the show notes.
SPEAKER_02 (31:13):
Our tip this week is how to tap into the set jetting
trend, which is where travelersvisit destinations they've seen
on the silver screen.
And sometimes the destinationsreally are the star of the show,
aren't they, Kirsty?
SPEAKER_01 (31:24):
They are like, think of the Lord of the Rings trilogy
in the early 2000s, which gavetourism to New Zealand a bigger
shot in the arm.
And Aotearoa is still known asLord of the Rings country.
And the biggest movie at themoment, of course, towards
bi-travel would have to be theUS drama White Lotus with fans
of the series flocking to thefilming sites for the third
series.
(31:44):
Because the third one isactually shot in Thailand and it
was shot across five resorts.
And probably the most synonymouswith White Lotus in Thailand
would be the three Anantaraproperties where it featured.
SPEAKER_02 (31:55):
Yeah, so the drama series was already a hot one.
On the set jetting trend withthe first two series, the first
one was filmed in Four SeasonsHotels in Maui, Hawaii, and that
was in season one, and thengorgeous Tiamina, Sicily in the
second season.
So to the third, if you arelooking for filming locations,
keep an eye out for thejewellery store and the lobby of
(32:16):
the Anantara Boput Koh Samui,the stinging lounge in another
Anantara hotel in Koh Samui, theLuana, and the spa at the
Anantara Maekau in Phuket.
But White Lotus isn't the onlyseries that has inspired us to
travel, is it?
SPEAKER_01 (32:30):
No, gosh, there's so many.
And if you scoop back a coupleof episodes, actually, you'll
hear Belle talking about howthis year is the 100th
anniversary of the greatAmerican novel, The Great
Gatsby, which was set on LongIsland in the 1920s and has had
movies starring Robert Redfordand later Leonardo DiCaprio,
which is Includes multiple LongIsland mansions and you can
(32:53):
still visit them all today andBelle does an interview about
that a couple of episodes back.
And also Emily in Paris was amassive hit too.
My gosh, the amount of tours anditineraries that were created
around that Netflix rom-com werejust absolutely remarkable.
SPEAKER_02 (33:08):
It was ridiculous.
If you're into horror, whichI've got to say I'm not, you
can't go past Romania.
Stay with me here.
It's already got that history ofgrim stories because this is the
home of Dracula and you can goand visit the castles and stuff.
Movies most recently set hereinclude the latest remake of the
gothic horror movie Nosferatu.
Super spooky.
And I've got to say, it's a kindof spooky country in all.
(33:30):
But this trend is not just forgrown-ups either.
I was in Paris a couple of yearsago, and my then-tween daughter
asked me if we could visitcertain cafes and patisseries.
And I was like, wah, where arewe talking about?
She was picking them up in akids' series, Ladybug and Cat
Noir.
But then staying with newreleases, I watched Paddington
in Peru on my last long haulflight and it made me want to
(33:52):
head straight back to Peru tosee the Amazon and its rushing
rivers.
Although I've got to say, Idon't need the shipwrecks scene.
Although maybe if AntonioBanderas is there, I possibly
could endure it.
SPEAKER_01 (34:04):
Malta is also having its time in the sun right now
with the recent release ofGladiator 2.
And the country says it's had ahuge upswing in visitor numbers
with travelers going there toexplore the fortresses.
on the Little Island Nation offthe coast of Italy.
And in the streets of itscapital, Valletta, it also
featured in the new JurassicPark movie, Rebirth, which is
(34:25):
due out in a couple of weeks.
And going back to my homeland,the South Island city of Dunedin
is the location for a new filmadaptation of the John Steinbeck
movie, novel, sorry, East ofEden.
So that's going to be a greatone to watch when it comes out
next year.
And if you think you're watchingscenes in Idaho and the new
Minecraft movie starring JackBlack, that's actually New
(34:46):
Zealand's largest city,Auckland, where I grew up.
SPEAKER_02 (34:50):
There you go.
Who knew you grew up in Idaho?
And other ones to watchinclude...
So we're going to the UK now.
Bridgerton Series 4 out nextyear.
I am a crazy Bridgerton fan.
And that reignites our love ofthe streets of Mayfair in
London.
And the new Bridget Jones diarymade about the boy, which was
out earlier this year, thatshowcases the Lakes District.
And I have to mention The SaltPath, the new movie I saw just a
(35:13):
week or two ago.
It has just been released inAustralia.
And it is about walking thesouthwest coast of that in
Somerset, Devon and Cornwall insouthern England.
Just Glorious and One for KingWalkers.
And we'll put those films andlocations in the show notes for
you.
SPEAKER_01 (35:29):
If you'd like to help support our production
costs, you can buy us a coffeeat coffee.com slash
theworldawaits.
That's ko-fi.com slashtheworldawaits so we can
continue to bring youinspirational travel interviews
with the world's best.
Next week, my guest is Belle.
I'm putting my co-host in theinterview seat as we chat about
(35:51):
her recent travels in the littleNorth African country of
Tunisia.
So tune in for that one.
SPEAKER_02 (35:57):
And if you enjoyed this episode, please give us a
rating and a review.
On Apple Podcasts, click on ourprofile, scroll down to the
bottom to ratings and reviews.
And if you're on Spotify, go toour main page and click the
three dots underneath our photo.
You can also find us onInstagram, Twitter, And on
Facebook, just search for TheWorld Awaits, or simply drop us
(36:18):
a line at hello attheworldawaits.au.
We love nothing more thanhearing from our listeners.
That's a wrap for The WorldAwaits this week.
Click to subscribe anywhere youlisten to your favourite pods.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.