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"Maybe Later?"-- Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Sihanoukville is a beach town complete with restaurants and bars all along the beach.  Days are spent lounging on the beach, drinking and eating the food ordered and served to you right on the sand, and laughing at the fun mis-translations on the menus and signs (my favorite being the Chicken CONDOM blue).  Only time you have to move is to use the toilette.  The only complaint some people had was the constant stream of vendors approaching you all day and night.  Children selling bracelets, men with sunglasses and tour packages, and women with fruit.  The kids are smart and befriend you with a free bracelet.  When you say you don’t want to buy one, they ask you if you will “maybe later.”  When “later” comes around and you still say no, they sometimes get angry and call you a liar.  Didn’t happen to me but I witnessed it. 

$5 beach massage

my lil bracelet charmer

Other vendors included women selling $1 lobsters (they peel it fresh for you when ordered), and nails and massages.  I tried all of these and they were fabulous! For a few dollars, I had a good hour massage (so good, I had one two days in a row), mani and pedi…on the beach! I got to know the woman, Lynn, and met her cousin-in-law, DANI! They were both half Vietnamese, half Cambodian and really sweet women to meet.  I’ve come to justify these self-indulgent spa splurges on account of the fact that they afford me authentic local and cultural interactions.  Who says beauty can’t help spread world understanding?!

Some of my days started with morning runs, but every day started with breakfast with Jay at a beach café where we quickly became regulars and made friends with the staff.  Again, my self-indulgent eating ways affording me local interactions. The guys here were really friendly, especially with Jay—sorry for abandoning you that day J

Nights in Sihanoukville were spent watching sunsets and eating cheap, delicious food.  Our favorites were a fancy restaurant that offered two course meals for $5 and the beach bbqs.  For $3 you had your pick of seafood accompanied by garlic bread, fries or potatoes and salad.  I chose grilled barracuda each time and LOVED it! After dinner, we would all meet up at whichever bar had handed us flyers that day for free drinks.  Usually ended up at JJs and Dolphin bar where we could watch fire dancers and Jay’s infamous tractor dance, my favorite. 

$1 lobster and (terrible) sunset mojitos

The beach area is small enough that we ran into several friends without even trying and it was nice to catch up with everyone.  Most of our days were in Serendipity beach (the backpackers area) but one day we took a tuk tuk to Otres beach (stopping at the Canadian ATM first, of course).   It was much more relaxing there--fewer restaurants and vendors.  Enjoyed an afternoon there with Hilde, Jorien, and Jay playing paddle ball, eating, and doing what we enjoy most…nothing!

Cambodia--Journey to Cambodia and a "Sleeper" Bus

JOURNEY  TO  CAMBODIA

The journey to get to Cambodia was LONG!  I made the trek with my friends Jeroen, Jorien, and Hilde (Dutch, of course!) We left Don Det, Laos at 8 am and were taken to the main land in a boat.  Once there, we waited about an hour to get on a bus.  While waiting, we handed over our passports and money to a man who collected them in a plastic grocery bag.  No one told us who he was or what was going on, but this is common here in Asia.  Just hand over your passport to a complete stranger and wait.  So far so good. 

When it came time to get on the bus, there was confusion as to which bus we were to be on.  Long story short, everyone was called to get on a bus except us so we were last on.  Luckily, it was only the bus to the border and the shortest leg of the journey so the crappy seats didn’t matter much.  Once at the “border” (it’s really just a toll-booth style bar in the road), we sat for another hour and a half.  Just waiting.  We found shade and cold drinks and passed the time chatting, playing Yahtzee, and walking back and forth between the two countries to go to the bathroom. The last 30 minutes or so of our wait (we never knew how long it would be by the way) I cherry-picked the hell out of the bus to make sure we got decent seats.  My stalking paid off and I was able to grab the first row for Jeroen to stretch out his long Dutch legs.  It was a good thing because this turned out to be a LONG ride!  And, they packed that bus full---complete with tiny stools in the aisles for extra people.

I forget how long the ride was actually supposed to take.  All I remember was the part that was NOT planned.  After several unnecessarily long rest stops that put us into the wee hours of the morning, our bus decided to break down on the side of the road.  After several minutes of confusion, we followed some locals to a house on the side of the road.  Climbed the stairs into the house (homes are built on stilts here), found a mat on the floor, and plopped down for a few hours sleep until another bus came to get us (a bus full of cranky Koreans, lights that didn’t turn off, and a driver that was permanently glued to his horn).  Didn’t ask questions about who the house belonged to or if we were even supposed to be there, but I thank the Cambodian who let a bus full of strangers sleep in his living room for a few hours---I’ve never been so grateful to see a floor and a mat!

After a seemingly never-ending ride, we arrived in Siem Reap around 6 am the next day.  Needless to say, we promptly slept a few hours and then relaxed most of that first day by the hotel pool.  Met some fellas, Johnny (Portugal), Hywell (aka “Jimmy” from England) and Peter (Hungary) who were on the second bus from Don Det that had arrived, on time, about 7 hours before us with no bus problems---boring! : )

Siem Reap is a nice northern town that is most famous for Angkor Wat, a HUGE complex of ancient temples and one of the only things not destroyed by the Khmer Rouge during Pol Pot’s reign.  Really spectacular, check out my photos. The girls and I (Jeroen, aka “:Jay”,  had already been) went to see the sunset and ran into the 3 guys there.  Had fun exploring parts we were (and weren’t) allowed to see. That night, we all went out to eat Mexican and dancing at a local bar.  Turns out Siem Reap has a decent night life.

Angkor Wat temple

I had fun but my friends had TOO much fun seeing as I was the only one who showed up for our 4:30 am meeting time to see the sunrise at the temples. (Thanks, guys! J ) We had rented bikes for $1 but I didn’t want to go alone.  Instead, I waited for a tuk tuk until 7:30 am, watching the sunrise from the hotel reception instead of the temples.  I think my driver thought I was the laziest tourist ever because I was so beat from two nights of no sleep in a row that I barely made it through a few hours of him driving me to temples.  I would walk around, take photos, and then hurry to the next one.  All the while, all I wanted was to make it back with time to sleep before check out.    

In the end, it all worked out and I had a lovely time seeing all I wanted to see (yes, I saw the Tomb Raider temple) and learning from my local driver.  I was back before the super intense heat and able to rest before lounging at the pool the rest of the day with Jay.  When the girls got back, we got dressed in the dark (power was out, again) and left on a night “sleeper bus” to Sihanoukville.

Ain’t No Sleepin on  a Sleeper Bus!

The term “sleeper bus” is an oxymoron.  You see, there is no chance you could possibly sleep on that thing.  When we first boarded the bus and saw 4 lounge seats in the back of the bus, complete with blankets and a bathroom below, we thought we had won the lottery.  What they don’t tell you in the advertisement though is that the temperature is either so hot you can’t breathe, or so cold that the air conditioning fluid drips on you the entire time.  No really, I was drenched wet.  That had to be good for my skin.  Additionally, the back of the bus was so bumpy, we could barely hold on.  Above all, the most frustrating part of the bus ride is the CONSTANT honking of the horn that Cambodian bus drivers LOVE.  And I don’t mean every once in a while when it’s actually necessary.  The horn is Asia is equivalent to a blinker, braking, steering, etc.  You don’t actually have to drive. You can just set the bus on auto-[ilot, honk, and expect everyone to move out of your way (they do).  The constant honking  almost makes you crave the karaoke videos on full volume.  I said almost.  Luckily, I was sharing the ride with good friends who were able to make it fun(ish) and now that we’ve had some sleep, we can look back at it and chalk it up to another adventurous Asian bus ride.  We can add this one to the FB page, Austin.

Cozy on the "sleeper" bus

Our mantra the entire ride was “the beach will make it all worth it”….and it did! 

Smiles All Around

Cambodia

February 28, 2012

It’s 8 am and I’m sitting at the restaurant/bar on Koh Ru (“Bamboo Island”) awaiting my breakfast.  I was awakened today, as every day, by the sound of crashing waves.  I do not mind this alarm clock at all.

Well, it’s now March 9^th, and I never finished that one. You can see how much the island life took over and I haven’t done much except relax and enjoy life.  Not complaining! I’m actually sitting in a hotel room in Vietnam now so I realize I’ve missed an entire country in my blogging. I’ll try to catch up now.

KAMPUCHEA, land of the Khmer.

 That’s Cambodia for all ya’ll who don’t speak Khmer, the language and name of the people of Cambodia.  If you read anything about Cambodia or ask anyone who has ever been, they will all tell you the same thing- - - Cambodians love to SMILE! What amazes me the most is that they are not only some of the friendliest, smile-ready people I’ve ever met (I mean they’d give me and Jen a run for our money for our “oh a camera’s in my face” flashy grin), but they have such a haunting past.--a very recent past, that it inspires me to think how much they’ve overcome and yet how happy they are.  Let me explain.

From 1976-1979, Pol Pot lead Cambodia and carried out his own version of the Holocaust. While seeking to create a new country from “Year Zero,” he, and his child soldiers, the Khmer Rouge, systematically killed over 3 million people from a country of roughly 7 million.  I’ll spare you the details here, but please check out my photo album to learn more about the “killing fields” as it is called.  Other sources of good information are the movie, “The Killing Fields” and the book “First they killed my father.” To be honest, I didn’t like the perspective of the movie much but I did enjoy the book and found it very informative. 

Again, we’re talking 1979 when this all went down.  That means that anyone I met from age 31 and over lived through this terror.  And yet, they love to smile, love to have fun, and love Americans.  Inspiring to me.  So, as you can tell, I found Cambodia to be very friendly.  I was also impressed with how widely, and well-spoken English was throughout the country.  I can honestly say that of all the countries I’ve visited on this trip, I found Cambodia to have the most English speakers (well, Australia and New Zealand might be close runners ups). 

Other impressions on Cambodia—

*The electricity goes out—a lot (but usually comes back within a few minutes or hours)

*They like to wear pajamas as clothes.  Yup, that’s it. Not sure how to explain that one either.

*It’s cheap (not Thailand cheap but nothing has been so far) but still cheap (like 25 cent beer cheap). 

*They mostly use US dollars (although some border towns use Thailand baht but change is sometimes given back in Cambodian Riel.  Like Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, there are no coins, which makes carrying the money much more convenient. 

It was both nice and not so nice to know what I was spending on things.  I have to admit that using foreign currency, it sometimes feels like play money and doesn’t really have the same impact as when I know for certain what I’m spending.  Oh well, good thing it’s only money.   Speaking of money, I have to thank Canada for investing there because your ATMs all over the country saved me a $6 fee every time I needed money.  This is something that all foreigners and tuk tuk drivers know and it was common practice for a tuk tuk to drive you to a Canadian ATM on the way to anywhere else (all the drivers knew where they were).

4,000 islands SUCK!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

I’m sitting in my lounge chair outside my bungalow on Don Det after a hard day at playing at the beach with friends.  Don Det is one of a few inhabited islands in the area of Laos known as 4,000 islands. It’s a quiet, tiny island bordering Cambodia and is the jumping point for people continuing their travels there. I had heard the stories of how much people love it here.  Most people plan to spend a few nights and end up at least a week because it’s so nice.   To be honest, I’ve seen more beautiful places (like the tropics), but the island is so small and has such a laid-back atmosphere that you can’t help but love.  There are no cars on the island, its small enough to rent a bike and see the entirety of the TWO islands (Don Det and Don Khonge) in a few hours.  There are no ATMs on the islands (they do boat runs back to the mainland to get money) and I’ve yet to find any place with hot water.  Up until 3 years ago, there was no electricity and 2 months ago, no internet.  You can see the rapid growth and it leaves me conflicted to know that I’m a part of this.  I’m almost tempted to lie and say it sucks so that people will stop coming and it can retain its small-town ways of life and charm.  So, yeah, don’t come. It sucks here.

Enjoying a sunset from Little Eden restaurant

No, but really.  To get here was quite the journey.  The last day of biking the loop ended in Tha Khaek around 6:30pm.  We grabbed dinner and then the twins decided they would head to Don Det that night.  I tossed around the idea of heading back to Burma with Joe and Steven but we couldn’t seem to coordinate schedules.  So, instead, I decided to join the boys and head off that night.  With an hour or so to spare, we all borrowed Steven and Joe’s shower, had a sad goodbye (I miss my Dutch brother-lovers already!), and then set off for the bus station.  I wasn’t crazy about the idea of another trip having JUST ended a 3 day SORE one, but I figured even an overnight bus ride would be more comfortable than a bike.  It’s amazing how quickly perspectives can change!

We arrived at the station just in time to catch a local bus (as opposed to the more expensive, nicer tourist ones).  I was skeptical at first, but loved it more than the VIP buses.  First of all, it came with loud Laos karaoke music all night long.  But the best was that it was not full so I had an entire row to myself and could actually sleep some.  This was necessary since the bus left at 10pm, we arrived to Pakse around 6am.  From there, we still had another 4 hour ride (although we had no idea how long it would be) in the back of a pick-up truck with two benches along the sides and one along the middle. We were crammed in like sardines and I was just thankful for the open air or my claustrophobia would have set in.  I immersed myself in a book and, apart from bladder and hunger issues, one flat tire, and fish juice from a little old lady’s market bags that spilled all over everyone, wasn’t too bad. I smelled it half-way through but chalked it up to the kid peeing next to me.  Sorry kid.  Speaking of kids, the two next to me sat quietly and content the entire journey.  Amazing.

crammed in here for over 4 hours

Once there, we hopped onto a boat that shuttled us over to the island.  By 11:30 am the day after leaving Tha Khaek, we made it! We arrived at the beach and weren’t sure how we were going to contact our friends who had arrived a few days earlier.  We should have known not to worry since as we pulled into port we looked up and spotted Elmer and Jeroen walking towards us! I did mention how small the island is, right? We grabbed some breakfast with them and then checked into our rooms, which we were lucky reserved for us since the island is so small and can’t accommodate the numbers coming these days.

We spent the rest of day 1 laying on the beach, reuniting with our other friends, Hilde, Jorien, and Maarten.  It was lovely weather and I had fun playing paddle ball and playing in an inner tube with Maarten and two little Russian boys living in Thailand.  At night, we watched the sunset at Eden Restaurant (owned by a Belgian and great food) and then danced at our favorite little beach bar. Everything on the island closes at 11pm so every night at that time, everyone goes to the beach for a relaxing bon fire.  This week, there happened to be a guy with a clarinet and a few with guitars who supplied nightly music.  No one went night swimming as a girl had drowned there and floated up only the day prior to our arrival.  Our friends, along with others we met saw her pop up and, as you can imagine, were a bit traumatized.

Day two on the island, I awoke early (thanks to the chickens outside my room) and decide to rent a bike for a day and explore the other island.  It cost me less than $1 and I had a blast! I had been told to just follow the ONE road on the island to a bridge.  Well, anyone who knows me knows that if there’s a way to get lost, I will find it.  I did.  Well, actually I didn’t, but I did find a unique way to get there. It was through the rice fields and it was silent and really peaceful so I was grateful for my lack of direction that day.

I eventually made it to the bridge to Don Khonge, paid my 20,000 kip toll and crossed over to search for the waterfall.  It wasn’t the swimming kind I had hoped for, but still big and impressive.  As I was searching for a beach near it, I met an Austrian girl, Gurdi (sp?—sorry) and we spent the day together enjoying coconuts on a deserted beach, swapping life stories, watching dolphins, and biking around the islands.  We also ran into Christian (an Engineer to be from Norway) and David (a train driver from Belgium) who I had met the night before. 

Enjoying a private beach, coconut, and fun with Gurdi.

The dolphin boat ride was….interesting! : )  After getting a quote on a boat price, we recruiting several others to join so we’d lower the cost.  We returned with everyone, only to discover that the price had now changed to be per person so it was actually going to cost more.  Sneaky.  After several minutes of bargaining (it was a matter of dollars, but still), we agreed on a price (25,000 kip per person, about $3) for an hour tour on the river to see the famous river dolphins. 

We split into two groups.  The first canoe took off and mine proceeded to follow right behind.  We, however, made it about 5 minutes out and the engine died.  With no radio or method to contact anyone, our 16 year oldish captain promptly removed his pants, jumped in, and swam , towing the boat with him back to shore.  It took 35 minutes, he had to dislodge us from rocks several times, and he didn’t give up.  Now that’s initiative!

We swapped canoes and drivers and tried the trip again.  This time, we were lucky and we made it out to the river spot to see the dolphins.  Upon arriving, we could spot some about 100 meters away.  We asked to get closer but were turned down since apparently it was Cambodian waters and we couldn’t approach.  So, there I sat, a few feet away from Cambodia, watching endangered dolphins (threatened from fishing techniques that include grenades) from atop a rock in the middle of the Mekhong, for $3.  Loved it. 

After the trip, I rode back to the island, grabbed coconut ice-cream on the way, and ran into some other Dutch friends of Joe and Steven.  Grabbed a bite to eat and finally found a place with working internet so got some photos uploaded and read some emails---thanks for the song list, Joe…you’re the best!!!! After a quick nap, I met up with everyone around 9:30pm at our “usual” bar and played pool and sat a bit until heading to the bonfire.  I only stayed about 30 minutes since it began to rain and I had plans to see the sunrise the next day (today).

I met up with Gurdi and Dutch "Falereo" to see the sunrise at 5:45 am today.  It was tough getting out of bed but since I promised I’d be there, I dragged myself there.  Turns out we were all hoping the other would not show too but we all did.  Unfortunately, it was cloudy so we didn’t see much.  By that point though, I was up so decided to go for a run.  It was nice a quiet through the farm fields and a great way to start the day.  Afterwards, I grabbed breakfast and worked on my blog, running into Gurdi and Eddie as well.  Jeroen soon joined and we moved to Adam’s bar (where you can buy dvd, music, etc. downloads for your electronics) for his meal (internet didn’t work there either) so we then moved to Little Eden and hung there a bit since there internet did work. I downloaded lots of new music (THANKS for the playlists, DJs Joe and Jeroen!)

After some good internet time, a nice salad, and dropping my laundry at reception, we made it to the beach by 12:30 and spent the rest of the day relaxing there.  It was perfectly overcast just enough not to be too hot but enough to stay out all day.  I had a nice afternoon nap and then a very civilized dinner with my Dutch gang: Eddie, Ronnie, Jeroen, Hilde, and Jorien.  We ate at Little Eden, the Belgian-owned restaurant overlooking the water.  I had a white-wine sauced FILET (this is rare to come by, you usually have to eat around bones) of fish and REALL white wine.  PLUS, a chocolate-banana dessert.  It was SO good! I even got to SKYPE my family while there! It was supposed to be the last dinner with everyone together but everyone decided not to leave just yet : ) After dinner, we tried to go to our favorite spot but the electricity was out (this happens frequently here) so we hopped across the street and hung out, meeting up with other Slow-Boat friends who had arrived on the island today (Natalie and Graham). GREAT night!

I’m set for one more relaxing beach day today before I head to Cambodia tomorrow.  I guess I’ll buy my ticket tonight so I have to go, otherwise, I may never leave this terrible place.

The Loop!-Tha Khaek to Kong Lor cave, Laos

Friday, February 17, 2012

Okay, so I know I may be a little late in the game, but I think that is the first time this year that I’ve typed 2012.  When you’re not in a steady job and day to day routine, there’s no need for retaining such trivial information as dates. 

Anywho, I’m sitting on a deserted beach in Don Det, Laos. The world is still sleeping here, and I should be as well—it’s 7:30am.  Not sure why I’m up, but I am.  Actually, I take that back.  I do know why---there was a jungle of assorted birds outside my hotel room that kept me up.  At night, they took on a human form and in the morning, the actual kind. So, decided to be productive and begin the day with my blog before the masses arise.  I’m not I n a hurry since the day doesn’t start here until 12, at best.  It’s a college student’s dream place.

Last I left you, I was setting of for a 3 day adventure simply called “The Loop” in Laos.  It’s literally a loop (go figure) in the south-central part of the country from the small town of Tha Khaek, north to Thalang, and back.  It’s not a journey that many people take, and can only be done by renting motorbikes (no buses go there) which is what makes it so much fun.  There are only a handful of other travelers taking the same path.  This made for amazing memories since the locals are GENUINELY happy just to spot you.  I’m talking, driving down the road, kids and other motorists would wave, shouting “Sabaidee!” (“hi” in Laos) with a smile so sincere on their faces you’d think they just won the lottery.  And this didn’t happen one or two times; it happened a lot.  Like every 10 minutes, a lot.  It was great!  My friends and I all agreed that this was one of the highlights of the trip and one of the driving forces supplying the extra energy boost needed to continue on our way at some of the seemingly endless parts of the ride.

See, taking a long motorcycle journey seems quite romantic and fun.  What they don’t tell you is that it’s not that comfortable.  Like, not at all.  It also didn’t help that the “roads” were non-existent for at least half of the journey.   Sitting on the back was quite bumpy and there’s no room to shift your position, sleep, or get comfortable.  It’s just you and your little bum trying to chafe as little as possible.  But, if that’s the most of my worries on this trip, I’ll take it!

I have to admit, I’ve never really been comfortable around motorbikes.  Quite frankly, I’m terrified of them.  Always have been.  And this fear has only been heightened on my travels as I think I’ve only met a handful of people who have NOT had an accident on rented bikes.  One story even included a man who was flying in to visit his son in the hospital after he crashed on a bike.  The girlfriend died and he is now without a spleen.  Good times.  So let’s just say that to even consider doing a trip like this was overcoming a personal challenge for me. 

That said, I still wasn’t brave enough to drive my own bike.   Fortunately for me, I my friends were kind enough to agree to let the girl tag along on the back of the bike and were patient throughout the ride with me.  A HUGE thank you goes out to Steven for being my chauffeur for the 3 days.  He did a FANTASTIC time driving (and singing Whitney Houston tributes) and I can honestly say I wasn’t scared, even once.  Thanks, Ebbers!

So, enough background on the trip. Let me tell you the nitty gritty details of all the fun on “The Loop”!

Day 1: Tha Khaek to Thalang 10 am- 6:30pm, 139 km, 3 flat tires

On the first day of our trip, we all met up for breakfast and then hit the road.  The gang was me, Steven, Joe, Ronnie, and Eddie—my Dutch boys! On day 1, we had to cover 139 km before nightfall.  We weren’t sure what road conditions or other obstacles we might run into so after a few quick circles around the plaza to get the feel for the bikes, we left with plenty of time…so we thought! Turns out, we had THREE flat tires in the first 30 km! Just to clarify, the “we” was actually Joe.  He was the only one who had 3 flat tires in a row.  Poor guy!

I was traveling with such a fun bunch of friends though, and we all agreed that we were grateful for the flat tires because they made for great stories and authentic interactions with the locals. 

Flat Tire #1: About 25 km from the start.  We pulled over near a school and what we thought     was a tire shop.  They had tires but apparently didn’t repair them—this is what we concluded from the pointing and grunts since we don’t speak Laos and no one spoke English.  Ronnie decided to head off on his bike and search for a tire shop.  While he did that, I noticed another motorcyclist coming towards us and could tell it was a traveler as well.  I decided to flag them down and as soon as I did, realized that it was none other than our Belgian friend, Maarten---small world! A minute later, Ronnie showed up with a pickup truck to take Joe back to the shop.  We all rode along and they had some beers while we waited for the repair.  For 7,000 kip (less than $1), we set off with a patched tire.

Flat Tire #2: Fortunately for us, that patch didn’t last too long….about 5 minutes to be precise so we were off for adventure #2 of the day! Tire #2 happened near a little “town” so we were able to spot a tire hanging outside a hut that indicated they did repairs.  This time, we decided to get a whole new inner tube instead of a patch.  WE splurged and spent 30,000 kip (~$3.70) They were quite diligent and had 3 guys work on it at the same time so we just had enough time for a quick snack before heading off to await flat tire #3.

Flat Tire #3:  The new inner tube held off longer than the patch but still not long enough.  This tire happened as we were going up a deserted mountain so we were lucky that the first (and one of the only vehicles) that passed was a minivan who pulled over and helped us out.  Through pointing we communicated the problem and Joe and the bike piled into the back of the van to head to a repair shop.  This time, we bought a new inner tube and tire.  We didn’t want to take any more chances.  So for 110,000 kip ($13) we finally had the problem solved.  Although personally, I think it worked this time because it was a girl who changed the tire!    : )

Besides these unplanned excursions, we did have a few planned stops as well (all pre-flat tires).  On day

one, we saw a cave where we paid a local guide to walk us through with a light.  We also stopped at a lagoon (but didn’t stop to swim since we weren’t sure about time), and a Buddha Cave.  At the cave, they wanted to charge for parking the bikes.  Some of us didn’t want to pay and as we were discussing, the woman threatened to slash our tires.  That made our decision easy so we drove off and parked right near the entrance for free (we later speculated if Joe’s flat tires weren’t so coincidental).  At the cave, we each paid an entrance fee and then I was handed a skirt from a woman and asked for another 2,000 kip.  Luckily, I had a dress with me and I put that on as a skirt instead.  Granted, 2,000 kip is only around $.20 but sometimes you have to have principles and its tiring feeling like you are constantly being ripped off.   The cave was not that spectacular but I’m glad we did it anyway.  Afterwards, we had lunch at the stands outside. We had a nice feast and a fun time trying to order and gave the local ladies a good laugh as they watched 4 gigantically tall Dutch boys and one mini American girl devour their food.  The best part, by far, was Steven traumatizing the youth.  There was a tiny girl (about 1 or years old) who wandered over with her brother to watch us eat.  Steven decided to touch her hand to say hello and as soon as she did, she burst into tears.  Real, dripping, scared for her life tears.  She was so terrified, her own mother couldn’t console her.  Only my coconut juice did the trick and she finally relaxed.   

By the time we finally reached our guest house, it was dark and we were a bit nervous we weren’t going to make it.  It was interesting driving in the dark, with sunglasses to protect our eyes from the bugs and dust.  The only guidance we had in finding the places was that it would be near a bridge.  Maarten had recommended the place he stayed and it did not disappoint.  Sabaidee guesthouse is run by a really friendly man who could not have been more accommodating. Since we arrived late, there was only one room left with 2 beds.  Since we were 5 people, he set up a tent, hammock, and chicken coop all for free.  In the end, we didn’t use them but it was a nice gesture. The place even had internet and a guitar to use for free! At dinner, we ran into Graham, another guy from the slow boat, and two other couples we had met at various points in Laos.  We tried to settle in for an early night but the boys did a great job entertaining me with card tricks and acting out Eurotrip scenes ‘til later night instead.  It was good fun!

Day 2: Thalang to Kong Lor, 9am-6:00 pm, 120 km

After the start to day 1, we decided to have an even earlier start on day 2.  It was Valentine’s Day and I was surprised by 2 roses! We had all joked about not having a Valentine so Steven was nice enough to surprise me with a rose, and then the owner of the guesthouse gave me one and some candy.  Plus, we awoke to discover there was a beautiful river next to the hotel.  Since we arrived at night, we had no idea. I think it was my best V-day ever! ---Sad, I know : )

I was SO sore from day 1 that I really didn’t know how I could last all day on the bike again.  On top of that, we had been warned that the “road” on day 2 was not really a road at all and would be bumpy…it sure was! 

Okay, this is getting really long so I’m just going to list the highlights from day 2:

-Roads were really dusty and we had to keep on glasses and cover our mouths

-Getting lost and taking a few different “’short cuts” by hydro-electric damns

-Being really excited about my new headphones that ended up not working : (

-Watching two tanker trucks miss my watch in the road by inches and retrieving it unharmed!

-Singing Whitney Houston tribute and various other songs with Steven all day

-Somehow missing a waterfall

-Becoming a spectacle for the locals that came just to watch us snack on chips and watermelon

-Finding “gas” stations that were no more than a canister with fuel or a bottle of fuel poured by the owner with a tube or funnel

-Feeling and listening to the whistling wind and taking in the enormous mountains surrounding us

-Utilizing my new Laos language skills acquired from the one-page word list on the back of our “map”

-Riding through a local village in search of a hotel

-Waving back at smiling kids shouting “Sabaidee” as we rode by

-“Re-meeting” people from previous bus rides at dinner

-Singing in the shower with the boys through the “walls” of our bungalows and later learning that everyone in the hotel heard us

-Trying to ignore the snoring of Ron and Eddie in the room next to us

-Falling asleep to Joe reading me “Three Weeks with My Brother” –Nicholas Sparks

We spent the night in Kong Lor, a tiny village of mostly guesthouses, surrounded by huge rocks.  Our guesthouse was nothing to write home about but it was 80,000 kip ($10) split three ways, the owners were sweet, and were only 1 km from the cave.

 

Day 3: Kong Lor cave to Tha Khaek, 11:30 am-6:00 pm, 160 km

We rose early and set off for Kong Lor cave, a 7km long cave with a river through it.  It was AMAZING!  For a few dollars (2,000 kip to park the bike, 3,000 entry, and 115,000 split 3 ways for the boat), we were given a head lamp, a life jacket, and a prayer as we were driven in a wooden canoe with a motor on the back.  It was a real adventure! We had two guides on our boat.  The one in front had a headlamp and a paddle.  His job was to constantly scan the cave for rocks and help guide the man steering the boat from the back, in the dark.  We all commented on how much fun it was that even though it’s a heavily visited spot in Laos, it is far from feeling touristy.  In fact, the “guides” speak no English (the only words our guide knew was “you” and that worked quite effectively to tell us when we should get out of the boat or not), there are no long lines of tourists or signs explaining anything.  You have no idea what to expect on anything and you get to make up your own explanations for everything which is pretty exciting!

At several points during the trip, we had to get out of the boat while they pushed it over the rocks and rapids.  The water was surprisingly warm and clear. It was fun! There is also one part with stalagtites and stalagmites and it is the only part that is lit up (and the lights are only on as you walk through it).  The cave is 7km long and almost 75 meters high at points. It’s huge! Once you reach the other end, you stop and have a chance to see the village and buy snacks before heading back.

Outside the cave, I tried driving the motor bike.  Steven was patient and taught me what to do and the other boys were happy to sit back and laugh at my attempts.  For the first time ever, it wasn’t too bad (if you forget about narrowly missing a tree).  I was concentrating so hard on everything else: placing my feet, keeping balance, turning the throttle, etc. that I forgot one minor detail…look up and steer…oops!

 After the cave, we set off to end our journey back in Tha Khaek.  Even though it was a long day for km, it was the best paved roads so we made it fine.  The highlight of the drive back was stopping for lunch at a random roadside house where I used the vocabulary sheet to order lunch for everyone…and it worked! The lady was as sweet as could be and was so impressed by the amount of food we ate. I think she will be talking about us for years to come!

Vientiane and Tha Khek

Vientiane is the capital of Laos and EVERYONE I spoke to told me there was NOTHING to do there and hated it.  With such raving reviews, I debated whether or not I should even bother going there.  I was still undecided when I ran into the Dutch twins on my last night at the Bucket Bar and they said they were headed there the following day.  I decided to head off with them and am glad I did because I had a much different take on the city and really enjoyed it.

I woke early in the morning that day and booked my bus ticket at the hotel desk.  After a quick breakfast and some internet time, I boarded my tuk tuk to the bus station.  Once there, I boarded the bus, saved two seats for the boys and then we set off for Vientiane.  Except for the overwhelming heat, it was a quick, painless trip of 4.5 hours. 

We arrived around 2:30 to Vientiane and made our way to the hotel where we met up with Jeroen, Hilda, and Jorien who had arrived the night before and secured a “family ensuite” room for us. The room only had 5 beds so I dug back to my Korean/Japan travel roots and slept on the floor.  I think I actually slept the best out of everyone that night! Upon arriving in the room, we sat around and tried to cool off for about an hour before heading out to grab some food.  We were sitting at an outdoor café eating when another Dutch guy we knew walked by.  I told you, it happens A LOT here!

After eating, we tried to catch the sunset on the river but it was too cloudy.  It was a really nice night and all the locals were out exercising…EVERYWHERE! There were people running, biking, kids on jungle gyms, and TWO separate outdoor aerobics classes going on.  I LOVED the outdoor vibe there!  They also have outdoor exercise machines like in Korea and the next morning, I went for a run and used them.  It was nice to be in a place where people didn’t look at me funny for working out and I didn’t feel strange wearing a tank top since they also dressed with a little more exposed than anywhere else I’ve been in Laos.

Honestly, I would have stayed an extra night in Vientiane and relaxed by the river, but the gang wanted to head out the next day.  I loved the cafes and vibe of the city and I honestly think everyone thinks it sucks because they head there after Vang Vieng where there is SO much to do and they are too partied out to appreciate it.  Since our bus didn’t leave until 12 noon, I was still able to work out and then see some of the city before we left.  Turned out too that our tuk tuk ride to the station included a free tour of some city sites.  We don’t know what any of the buildings were but they were big and elaborate and we’re pretty sure they were something important. 

Tha Khaek

The ride to Tha Khaek was with Ronnie, Eddie, and Jeroen.  It was the nicest bus I had been in (double-decker and air actually worked at a decent temperature…and it had a bathroom!).  It was also the best ride I’ve had because I nabbed the BEST seats on the bus while Jeroen threw the bags underneath.  We had the first two seats on the top so we had an unobstructed view out front and plenty of leg room.  Enough to stretch our legs all the way.  I realize that’s not saying much for me, but he’s about 6’ 6” so that should put it into perspective for you.

My headphones broke that morning on my run so I wasn’t looking forward to a long ride with no music.  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though as I was able to finish a book (that should lighten my load on my bag now.  I started with no books and am now up to 7…yes, SEVEN.  Need to purge the weight a bit.) Jeroen was also nice enough to lend me his ipod a bit and we even tried to watch a movie on my laptop but couldn’t hear it well over the Laos music the drivers blasted.

The ride was long (6.5) but passed quickly.  I was hungry all day and it seemed I couldn’t get full, no matter how much I ate.  Our buss overheated at one point and it was lucky for me since I could get off and buy more food.

When we arrived in Tha Khaek, we grabbed a tuk tuk and asked him to take us to any hotel in the center.  Luckily, the one he brought us to was in our price range and met our standards so we set up shop.  On the way, we saw a little dog get hit by a motorcycle.  I did not enjoy that.

We went right away for dinner along the water front and ran into the couple from the cave and my friend Natalie! Small world, again! We swapped travel tips and itineraries and had dinner at the river.   We called it an early night.  On the way back, we saw a “gym,” a room with some free weights in it and asked the price and times for the next day. I was in bed by 8:45 pm with a movie on and I was out about 30 minutes into it!

This brings me to…TODAY! Could it be that I’m ACTUALLY caught up?!?! YES! I woke up today around 6am but got up around 7am.  I went out for breakfast but nothing was open so I found a storefront with yogurt.  I came back and typed my blog for about an hour until everyone else woke up.  We went out for breakfast and found wifi. Then the twins and I tried to go to the gym but it was closed : ( We decided to go for a run instead and found a soccer field with a dirt track around it.  We did a mini bootcamp but it was so hot and we were all so out of shape it wasn’t too impressive.

I came back and wrote some more before heading off for lunch.  Went back to the same place for wifi and while there, received an instant message from our other Dutch friend, Elmer saying that he had just arrived in Tha Khaek and asking where I was.  I was here too so we told him where to find us and all met up again! We spent the rest of the afternoon running errands (I had the fabric I got in Luang Prabang made into a skirt for $.60) hanging at the café, eating dessert at a waterfront stand, and chilling in the hotel lounge (with free water to refill our bottles—a first and much appreciated!)

I’m waiting for Joe and Steven to arrive any minute now.  I’m looking forward to seeing them, but also getting half my clothes back since they were still wet when I left and they agreed to bring them for me.   THANKS! : )  We have big plans to hit the karaoke bar next to the hotel tonight and then set off for a 3 day motor bike tour around the area.  It’s a famous route known just as “The Loop.” I’ll write when we’re back from there!

Trying not to die

VANG VIENG

As I mentioned before, I had parted ways with my friends and was in Luang Prabang alone when setting off for Vang Vieng.  I was worried the journey would suck alone and/or I wouldn’t meet up with my friends once there.  But, alas, I met my two Dutch “brothers” in the van and we instantly bonded and spent the next few days together in Vang Vieng.  Job (“Joe”) and Steven (“Steven”) are students from Amsterdam and remind me a lot of my real brother Dave—same witty sense of humor and genuinely sweet guys (unless they are talking about “money” in Dutch).  The ride was HOT and long, but they made it more than bearable.

Once in town, we found a hotel and went to eat.  While there, we saw two of our friends from the slow boat, Maarten (Belgian) and Elmer (Dutch) as they walked by.  Later that night, we ran into the rest of our Dutch friends, Jeroen, Ronald, Eddie, Hilda, and Jorien (Seriously, who is actually IN Holland at the moment?!)  and 3 others from the slow boat too: Natalie (USA), Elena and Lee (Brits) while out at the Bucket Bar (aptly named for the drinks served in buckets, yes, buckets).    

My Dutch brothers and a Belgian

Vang Vieng.  If you say this name to any backpacker in SE Asia, they will immediately laugh and ask “how many nights did you last there?”  It’s a crazy place.  A riverside town (see a pattern here?) that is famous for riverside bars and deaths.   Basically, you can rent an inner tube for $6 and party at the river all day.  Theoretically, you tube down the river (it takes about 3 hours without stopping) but I only met 3 people who actually made it all the way down.  Everyone else, myself included, end up making it to the first few bars and then running out of time and taking a Tuk Tuk back to town.  We did give it a good try though!

My friends and I made plans to meet up the next day on the river so I could try my hand at tubing.  While waiting at the first bar for some of my friends to arrive, who else showed up but Tania, Ashley, Chad, and Ian! I love how you see people in cities without planning it!  We all spent the day trying not to die on the various water activities like rope swings, water trampolines, zip lines, etc.  But seriously, people die there almost weekly.  Mostly in part from the combination of too much partying (drinking, drugs, mushrooms, you name it) and water, but also from shallow water and rocks below.  I only had one mojito (it was RELALY good and it was for the children).  No really, all proceeds from the stand went to a local organization to help under-privileged children. 

Appropriately dressed for cave climbing

I didn’t do any swinging activities, but I did try the Slide of Death.  Google it, it will come up with the stories of deaths from it.  Of all the things to try, I don’t know why I picked that one.  I’m weird like that.   It was really long and was safe as long as you landed far out. I watched everyone before us be propelled far out and land safe so thought I’d give it a go.  On my run, of course, I could feel myself going super slow and getting nervous that I wasn’t going to make it over the edge.  I had a split second to decide if I should try to stop myself and jump (as Hilda had to do when she didn’t make it over the edge) or just go and say a prayer.  I chose the latter, and luckily, made it.  But, according to my friends watching, I was pretty darn close to those pesky rocks.  Sorry mom, won’t do it again.

 That night, we watched the sunset over the river while eating dinner and then watched two movies at a bar.  All around town, there are bars that play Friends and Family Guy ALL day long, and ones where you can chose from a book of movies and lay on sofas and watch. They also have menus around town to order marijuana, opium, and any food item can be made “happy” (with any combination of these in it). After the movies, we went to the Bucket Bar again and ran into more friendly faces from travels.  At 11:30, everyone is herded to the bar next door that has a fire limbo bar, dj, and bamboo bungalows until closing time (never made it that late so not sure when that is). It’s good fun and nice that there are only a few places in town so you meet up with everyone without planning it.

Day 2 in Vang Vieng, my friend Maarten and I rented a dirt bike and set off to see some caves in the area.  We got a late start and stopped for lunch at an Organic Farm/Restaurant on the river.  The food was good and they are famous for their mulberry so I tried a shake.  While there, I read the menu and it informed me that the owner of the farm had inadvertently started the inner tube craze just a few years back.  Seems he bought a few tubes for the workers on his farm to relax in the river after work and it somehow turned into the crazy drunkfest that it is now. 

He, and many in the town are trying to protest it because of the noise and trash pollution it brings to the town.  This, on top of the scantily clad tourists running around town half-naked, intoxicated, causing scenes, is affecting the culture and disrupting the Laos way of life.  After reading this, I decided I would not tube anymore and contribute to this.  Just to clarify, I was not half-naked (even bought a cover up just for the day) or intoxicated before, but I didn’t want to support the ambiance anymore.

After lunch, we set off to find the caves and had a fun adventure day.  We ran out of time to see all the caves we wanted to see and decided against the Blue Lagoon ones and opted for the farthest ones instead.  The first cave was easy to find and contained a Buddha and a table with fortunes.  You donate in a box, pick a stick with a number and then find the corresponding fortunes.  I later had mine translated and it said I would have a beautiful daughter.  Well, duh, all I have to do is look in the mirror to know that one : )

We got a bit lost trying to find the next 2 caves and wandered through some farmer’s rice fields before finally finding the right path. At the first one, we were offered a guide but opted against it.  We started in and then realized we didn’t have any headlamps and couldn’t go.  Luckily, the guide took pity on us and lent us his.  Nonetheless, after our ability to get lost trying to find the entrance to the cave in daylight, and having no supplies, we decided not to explore on our own.  Probably a wise decision.

Tubing in the cave

The last cave was amazing though! Right before entering, we ran into a couple that Maarten had met the day before (French guy, Dutch girl) and spent our time in the cave with them.  For this cave, they gave you a headlamp and an inner tube and sent you on your way.  Inside the cave, there was a rope (for most of the way) and you pulled or paddled your way through the cave.  It was a fun little adventure with a childlike sense of danger and exploration!

Day 3 in Vang Vieng: I had planned to head south to Vientiane but decided to stay one more day and have a “nothing day” again.  Steven, Joe, and I did this very well together.  Watched movies, ate food, and lounged around all day.   We tried to be social at night and made it to the Bucket Bar for all of 30 minutes before we went back and watched another movie.  

 We suck at being social : )

Phonsavan and the not-so Plain of Jars

After a few days in Luang Prabang, Tania, Ashely, Chad, and I decided to head to Phonsavan to see the Plain of Jars, a UNESCO world heritage site.  The Plain of Jars is like a little “Stonehenge” of Laos in that there are huge stone jars in several fields and no one can explain their purpose.  I had heard mixed reviews on the area but decided to risk the journey and was glad I did.  The drive there alone was an adventure with more curves than J-Lo and a road that made the route to Pai look like child’s play.  The drive took around 6 hours and I think there was maybe 200 meters of straight road that entire time.  No exaggeration.  It was a curvy, mountainside, “road” with obstacles every 20 feet ranging from children, dogs, cows, parked motos, bikes, villagers working, to the road simply ending and becoming dirt for a patch.  I give major props to those drivers and would not want that job!

The roads were bad enough, but my trip was made even worse by the fact that my seat was not screwed into the floor so it lifted itself up with every turn.  It also had no head rest so I got a nice core workout the entire time.  By the time we arrived in Phonsavan, all we wanted to do was rest.  Lucky for us, there were people waiting to take us to a hotel.  The man that took us, Enxy, turned out to be a tour guide as well and we liked his non-pushy attitude so we booked a tour with him the next day for $12, all day, food included.

The hotel was adequate.  We dropped our bags off and checked out the local market where we saw lots of dead animals we had not seen in other parts, like squirrels and a monkey-like thing.  I later asked Enxy why that was the only one that was not already skinned and prepared and he said it was because they steal people’s crops so they sell it whole so people believe what type of meat they are buying.  After the market, we stopped by the Information centers and learned about the UXOs in the area.

THE SECRET WAR and Shellfish Toxin

A UXO (or “bombie”) is an unexploded bomb left over from 9 years of US bombing.  Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world, yet this has been one of the best kept secrets.  Northern Laos was bombed because it was controlled by Pathet Lao (communists) and Southern Laos to disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail.  This “Secret War” lasted from 1964 to 1973 (although US military “technicians” were in Laos as early as 1959).  The Us, Vietnam, and China acted in direct contravention of the Geneva Accord of 1962 which recognized the neutrality of Laos and forbade the presence of all foreign military personnel.   The war was so secret that the name of the country was banished from all official communications and Laos was referred to as “the Other Theater” and the code name for the US pilots in Laos was “Ravens.”

To quote Christopher Robbins in his book, The Ravens,

The pilots in the Other Theater were military men, but flew into battle in civilian clothes: denim cutoffs, T-shirts, cowboy hats and dark glasses…They fought with obsolete aircraft…and suffered the highest casualty rate of the Indochina War, as high as 50%...Each pilot was obliged to carry a small pill of lethal shellfish toxin, especially created by the CIA, which he had sworn to take if he ever fell into the hands of the enemy.

The UXOs that still exist have a huge impact on people’s lives.  Everyday activities like farming, ploughing, or expanding land pose serious risk of setting off an explosion.  The schools are now used as a medium to educate students and families about the risks.  To further complicate the issue, people are offered money for scrap metal from the bombs so many poor families dig up the metal for money and risk explosions.  An organization, MAG sets out to clear areas and as recently as 2 weeks prior to where we toured, found UXOs.  Needless to say, we were very careful as to where we stepped during the tour!

Laos is comprised of 3 tribes: Hmong, Laos, and Khamu.  The US 

trained the Hmong tribe to be hillside guerillas and there is still an air of tension between the tribes today.  It is even illegal to teach Hmong language in written form.  Even still, I was told that inter-tribe marriage is approved but it mostly occurs between Hmong and Laos because they can understand each other’s language and culture best.  I was also told that English is easiest for Hmong people to learn and this seems to be confirmed by the heavy presence of Hmong people in the tourism industry.

The first night in town, I went to bed early after watching a few movies on tv (it was a nice “normal” night) but still didn’t get much sleep because I was up at 4am sick and it lasted all morning long.  We had already booked a tour for the next day so I rallied and set off for a day tour on an empty, yet still sick, stomach.  Good times.

Our expectations with Enxy on the tour were met and then some! We began the tour at the bomb site where we saw the giant craters left from bombs and learned more about the UXOs and Secret war.  The village we saw was the most heavily bombed one because the president of Laos lived there.  From there, we visited “Bomb village,” named for the old bombs used in the village construction—stilts for houses, planters, fence posts, anything.  Apparently most villages throughout Laos used to look similar but they have all since sold the bombs for money (one bomb can pay for a year of public schooling for one child).  Bomb village retains their bombs because they are paid by the tour companies to keep them instead. 

Friendly local girl at Bomb village

As we were walking through the village, I spotted a school and asked if we could see it too.  We did and it was one of the highlights of my trip.  The entire village, school, and Laos as a whole, remind me so much of Paraguay.  It brought back a lot of memories and made me very nostalgic.  I enjoyed being in this village much more than the Thailand village visit because it seemed much less “commercialized” and the locals were much more willing to interact with us and offer a kind smile.  In general, this has been true in all of Laos-- quite a smiley, friendly people.

Bombs as fence posts

We hiked through the village and down to a secluded waterfall for lunch. It was a delicious spread of traditional Laos foods, including fish, but I was only able to stomach some rice and half a banana…and even those didn’t last long inside me.  The hike back up was fun, through the never ending falls.  The last stop on the tour was the Plain of Jars.  There are several jar sites but only 1, 2, and 3 have been cleared by MAG and deemed safe to explore.  We only visited one site and it was interesting to speculate the purposes of the jars, ranging from tombs to rice or whiskey storage.  There was also a cave we explored for a bit.  By this point though, my energy was completely zapped and it had begun to rain so I waited in the car while the rest of the gang finished up exploring the site.

Our private waterfall picnic

The next day, I woke up rested and recovered—only a one day bug and the first and only one in 5 months of travel…not too bad (yes, I’m knocking on wood as I type this).  It was also a good thing that my stomach was stronger for the ride from hell that I encountered that day.  Tania, Ashley, and Chad set off for Vang Vieng while I decided to head back to Luang Prabang.  I thought I might head north again and that was the route.  I ended up not going north, but enjoyed a day alone in Luang Prabang to catch up on blogging, emails, job applications, getting my pants taken in, etc.  At night, I treated myself to some goodies at the market and a 3 course meal and traditional Laos dance show for around $12 : )  It was nice to have a day to myself and to be productive. 

Plain of Jars

But, back to the ride from hell.  As I already told you, the road itself is quite hellacious to begin with.  Well apparently it CAN be made even worse.  I was shoved into a minivan with 11 other strangers, several of which had a very different concept of personal hygiene and socially-acceptable smells than I do.  On top of that, there was a toddler in the car who was screaming the first hour, a 13 year old girl who threw up 1.5 hours into the ride, and said toddler who puked the entire rest of the ride.  We pulled over 6 times for pukers.  As if that couldn’t be worse, it was about 10,000 degrees outside, there was no air conditioning, and the guy next to me decided to collect the bags full of throw-up at our feet instead of littering.  Remember, my stomach was still recovering from the day before.  I thought we would NEVER get there! I was in a race to arrive before I threw up, and before my Skype interview that night.  Luckily, I won both races. 

CONFLICTED--Luang Prabang, Laos

Luang Prabang is a really beautiful riverside city with an interesting history, including a strong French background, evidenced in the architecture around town.   I spent the first few hours of my time there dodging tourists in and out of restaurants and bars and not feeling like I was in Laos.  The next day, I went for a morning run around town and a local soccer field.  Later, we went out to see Kwang Si waterfalls which was stunningly beautiful and has a bear sanctuary in front.  It was a 45 minute ride through villages and rice fields to get there and it was lovely.  Had a great time exploring the falls, swimming, and trying to hike to the top in a dress, flip flops, all the while so lost we never made it.  Although I enjoyed seeing the nature, the place was full of tourists and I couldn’t help but feel conflicted over the strong tourist presence in Luang Prabang.  Where were the Laos people and the culture I had hoped to learn about?  On the one hand, I was glad to see that tourism could bring jobs to the area.  On the other hand, I was saddened to know the changes this brings, like the 300% rent increase in buildings around town in one year!

Kwang Si Falls

I was feeling quite melancholy about the town until later the next morning when I went to volunteer at Big Brother Mouse.  The publishing company promotes literacy and tourists donating books instead of candy or other handouts which encourage poor dental hygiene and begging.  As part of their initiative, they provide “Book parties” to villages and free English conversation tutoring to anyone interested.  My friends and I simply showed up, waited for a student to arrive, paired up and practiced speaking English.  It was a great way to give back while at the same time getting to know a local person and their culture. 

My guy, Joes, is studying to be a math teacher and is from a small village outside the city.  After talking for about an hour, he showed me around town to some temples (where they wanted to charge me to enter but not him—he fixed that).  Afterwards, we had lunch at the restaurant, Utopia, where he works.  Let me tell you, it is very aptly named Utopia! It sits hillside overlooking the Mekong and is set up with big cushions for lounging around and eating their delicious food, hookahs to smoke, and a beach volleyball court.  I learned a lot about Laos culture from him, including the education system, which always interests me.   And, I’m happy to report that my opinion on Luang Prabang changed after that encounter since prior to it, I thought it was only a tourist trap town. 

Joes, my English student

I still have mixed feelings on how tourism changes a culture, but I can see both the pros and cons that tourism brings.  You can see that Laos is making an effort to preserve some ways of life by the signs around town asking people to “Please cover your body” and not wear bikinis or go shirtless for males.  Likewise, there is a law that a foreigner and a Laos person may not have sex unless married, and a town-wide curfew of midnight so everything closes at 11:30 pm. There’s always one exception to a rule, and in Luang Prabang it’s the bowling alley which is allowed to stay open later so everyone goes bowling late night.  Nonetheless, I can only hope that these rules can help preserve some of their traditions.  If you are interested in learning more about Laos culture, please take a look at http://www.ecotourismlaos.com/dosdont.htm  for some tips on “Do’s and Don’t’s in Laos.

One tradition that does remain and probably has something to do with the midnight curfew, is the Alms of Monks.  Every morning between 6:30-7:30am, people line up on the streets with food (mostly rice but a few other items as well) and hand it out to the monks who parade the streets with baskets, collecting the food.  I arose one morning to watch and it was touching to see the devoted handing out the food.  As much as I tried to stand back and be invisible, I couldn’t help but feel bad as I watched the crowds of people gawking at the scene and intrusively taking close-up photographs.   I wondered if I was not helping the matter with my presence either. 

Monks collecting food

On my last night in Luang Prabang, I “hiked” up Mt. Phousi to watch the sunset.  Only problem was we grossly miscalculated the time it would take to climb it and arrived about an hour early.  We took photos and decided not to fight the crowds but to return down and eat.  Food is always a better option in my opinion.  We went to the night market which has streets of lovely handicraft items, including the beautiful silk sarong skirts the women wear and a street of food.  There, I ran into several more travel friends from Thailand and the slow boat and enjoyed catching up and swapping travel tips to places we had just been to and the others were heading towards.  It’s a fun little sub-culture this way and I love running into people along the way since we all do about the same route.

Views from Mt. Phousi

SLOW BOAT to LAOS—Slow and steady... gets you to Laos alive

The journey to Laos was an incredible one.   On our first day in Thailand, the Canadian boys and I got suckered into purchasing a package of things to do in Thailand which included a deal for a hotel stay, food, and 2 day Slow boat to Laos.  After a not-so-great hotel stay in Chaing Kong, I was a bit nervous for our boat trip and wondered if we had made the right decision to buy the 2 day slow boat trip instead of the 1 day fast boat trip. Turns out it was definitely the right choice and the trip was actually one of my favorite things I’ve done so far.

View from the slow boat

To get to Laos, we first had to take a 2 minute long-boat taxi to cross the river from Thailand to Laos.  Once at the border, we had to hand over our passports and wait for them to give us our visas upon arrival.  It was one of the most disorganized systems I’ve ever seen.  After about 40 minutes of hanging around, it occurred to someone in the group that one of us should probably go near the counter to hear them call our names.  Since I was the smallest (and feistiest), I volunteered push my way through the mob of people to the counter.   It was a good thing because there was no actual name calling.  Instead, an official held up a passport for someone to claim, hand over money, and then be on their way.  I was able to collect for all of my friends which was both convenient and a little disturbing at the same time.

Disorganized Chaos for visa on arrival in Laos

With passports and visas in hand, we proceeded to….we weren’t sure where.  There was no control, border check, nothing.  We literally walked up a hill and entered Huay Xai, Laos, no questions asked.  Even though we were with a packaged tour, the organization did not get much better from there.  We were herded to a store to hand over our passports again, this time with money in it to exchange.  Yeah, we were all a bit nervous too.  The “guides” told us that the ATMS charge a 6% fee (which is true) and that there were no ATMs for the next 2 days (this was not so true) so we needed to exchange money with them now.   After an expensive street-side lunch and another 2 hours of waiting, our passports and money were handed back to us with a mad dash rush to get us to the boat on time.  We barely had time to notice that they had ripped us off on the exchange rate…by a lot! Although most people hurried off to catch the boat without noticing, my friends and I all protested until they finally gave us the right amount.   We aren’t sure if they held out on giving us back our money until the last second on purpose but it did seem kind of convenient.   Needless to say, our first impressions of Laos were not the greatest. 

We literally ran to the slow boat and were the last to board, which meant sitting scattered around in the seats no one else wanted.  I had heard different opinions on the slow boat journey from “it’s amazing” to “it’s long, boring, and uncomfortable--bring a cushion to sit on.” So, with cushion in hand, I set off down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang, Laos, hoping it wouldn’t suck.  I’m happy to report that suck it did not and Laos has redeemed itself from its first impression—I’m quite happy here now!  Not only was the boat journey absolutely breath-taking and peaceful (if not sitting near the motor), but it was a fun 3 days of bonding with fellow travelers and making friends for my time in Laos (more Canadians, of course, some Brits, Dutch [I'm also really good at collecting these], Belgian, and even some Americans).  

Enjoying the air and views from the slow boat

I know some people complain of boredom on the boat, and others of a little “too much fun” thanks to the bar on board, but I loved the scenery, meeting new people, and relaxing.  I passed my time reading, planning my days in Laos, listening to music, and meeting new people.   Overnight, we stayed in the village of Pak Beng, which is nothing more than some hotels and restaurants on the riverside.  Upon arriving at the dock, locals greet you to persuade you to stay at their hotel.  I can see where it could be a bit overwhelming if you’re not used to this, but I find it helpful since it saves me the trouble of searching for a place.  The room I chose was adequate at best and food not the greatest, but it did its job for resting a night (even offered me opium upon check in-- I declined) before continuing on the boat for the final day. 

 After 2 days on the boat, we arrived in Luang Prabang around 6pm.  This arrival also had people waiting with flyers, which was helpful again since everyone was splitting up to find hotels but wanted to meet up later for drinks.  I grabbed a flyer for Laos Laos Garden restaurant/bar from someone, picked a time, and we were able to all meet.  The food was not the best but the ambiance was nice and it was fun to hang out with all our new friends.  We also met some guys who had taken the speed boat instead of the slow boat and they said it was the most terrifyingly miserable trip ever.  I read about it later and their stories were confirmed, including frequent crashes and deaths.  If I wasn’t convinced already that I made the right choice with the slow boat, I sure was then!