Laos

Hello and greetings from Thailand (which might be more aptly called 711Land)!

Apologies for my seeming inability to ever keep anything on this blog current -- I really do mean to. In this edition, I will attempt to summarize our month in Laos – or at least hit some of the highlights. I am currently in bed nursing a 102 degree fever so what better time to update my blog.

We crossed into Thailand after a spectacular month in Laos about a week ago. We spent all of time in the northern part of the country, beginning in the capital city of Vientiane, right on the Thai border. We took an epic 24 hour bus ride from Hanoi, Vietnam to Vientiane – Jade and I literally got the last two seats on the bus and everyone who arrived after us was relegated to the cushioned floor. We arrived at the Laos border to get our visas around 6am in the pouring and very cold rain. We had to pay an additional “overtime” fee because it was a weekend, and another one they called a “stamping fee.” Even more amusing was the fact that the Laos immigration building had no electricity so we filled out all the forms my candlelight.

We had been told by a number of people to skip Vientiane -- that it was boring and not worth our time. However, as we were in no rush, I convinced Jade and Kade that it was worth it. It ended up being a really nice, quiet, small city, perched right on the banks of the Mekong River. There certainly wasn’t a ton going on, but I kind of liked that. There were great markets – one my favorite things about Asia, and a number of nice, big parks. The main park by the river even had exercise machines cemented in place that seemed to be immensely popular in the early evening. One of the first things we noted was how few motorbikes there were and how many cars there were. We saw families driving in cars, rather than on motorbikes, as in Vietnam, and to a lesser degree Cambodia. In addition, while everyone in Vietnam honks their horns every five seconds, in Laos no one honks their horns. Ever. What a breath of fresh air.

We also spent some time in Vang Vieng, the party capital of Laos. It is a pretty ridiculous place – full of bars playing endless episodes of Friends or Family Guy – and places where you can order mushroom shakes, opium tea or joints etc etc. The main attraction in the area though, is tubing down the river that runs right through the town. For a few dollars you can rent a tub, take a tuk tuk 4 km north of town where there is a long strip of bars along the river. Most bars not only offer drinks and other illicit substances, but also feature ziplines, or slides that throw you into the water. I myself am too much of a wuss, but my travel mates certainly enjoyed them.

After Vang Vieng Jade and I went to Phonsovan, a dusty city in the worlds most heavily bombed province in the world. The main attraction there is the Plain of Jars – a number of sites in the area feature huge boulders that have been carved into jars, some even with lids. There is essentially no evidence as to why they were carved or what they were used for. Of course, a number of theories exist – they were placed over graves and filled with offerings, they were used to brew rice whisky, who knows. They were pretty cool to see. Unfortunately many were destroyed during the Vietnam War, the area is covered with bomb craters. We learned a lot about the UXOs (or unexploded ordinances) in the area, and the way they effect people, especially farmers (which make up the vast majority of Laotians). There are a number of organizations that work tirelessly to de-mine the area, but it’s painfully slow work. Many people still die each year – mainly kids who pick up UXOs as they are often bright colors or look like toys. The presence of them, though, also prevents people from being able to farm and till their land, so they are forced to use only small parcels of land that have been de-mined. It’s heartbreaking.

While in Phonsovan we also went to a hotspring a couple hours east of the city. For about a dollar we rode in the back of a little Toyota Pick-Up truck with approximately 16 other people wedged in, or hanging off the back. The truck stopped frequently to pick up more people: old ladies got on with chickens in little bamboo baskets, kids with long bamboo poles, middle aged men with plastic bags full of raw meat etc etc. We got dropped off in the village of Muang Kham where no one spoke English. However, we were eventually able to mime where we wanted to go and off we went. We didn’t end up where we expected to. The guesthouse owners spoke no English and the hotsprings were not too exciting. However, we had a wonderful time walking through the village. I love walking around at like 5:00 or so when everyone is out doing their thing. The kids are home from school and running around or riding bikes that are ridiculously too big for them. Parents are cooking dinner, or taking a shower at the public water pump, making fires etc. The next morning we had thought the guesthouse owners could call us a tuk tuk, but that turned out not to be the case. Sensing no other option we started trudging towards town with all our bags. Twenty minutes later we saw a tuk tuk parked under a hut. After some bargaining and miming we chartered ourselves the tuk tuk back into Muang Kham – it was a big village event with people swarming around us.

We ended up returning to Vientiane to pick up my friend Aleeza who I studied abroad with in Nepal in 2009. Having just spent 4 weeks back in Nepal volunteering, we had decided to meet up and a spend a month traveling! After a quick stop off in Vang Vieng we headed to the World Heritage city of Luang Prabang. The city itself was nice – because it’s a World Heritage Site no cars or trucks are allowed within the main part of the city, which is quite refreshing. The city itself caters to a wealthier crowd – there were lots of older folks there walking around in clean white pants and shirts, quite the contrast to us in our dirty, ragged clothes. We enjoyed wandering around the city, sipping fruit shakes, visiting a mind blowingly gorgeous waterfall, taking an evening boat ride with a man who said his name was “Sean Penn,” exchanging our books, getting devoured by mosquitoes etc etc.

We ultimately decided to spend our last few days in Luang Nam Tha rather then all of our remaining time in Luang Prabang. LNT was a 6 hour bus ride north, but right on the way to the Thai border. The road ended up being on half paved and also the windiest road I have ever been on. It was impossible to do anything but concentrate on not slamming into the window or the person next to you. We also got stopped a number of times by road construction. Chinese road construction in fact. Much like what China is doing in Africa and South America, they are also bringing their machinery and workers to Laos, building roads in exchange for natural resources. Quite sad. Anyway, LNT turned out to be really beautiful, a sleepy town perfect for planning treks, kayaking trips etc. We ended up renting motorbikes and having a blast cruising around, riding through little villages, to stupas, to waterfalls etc. Motorbikes are so great because they give you the opportunity to for once have some control and freedom as to where you go, how long you stay etc etc. And, you can see way more in a day on a motorbike than on a regular bike. Our second day there we booked a day long kayaking trip that turned out to be quite the adventure. The kayaks were actually more like inflatable rafts and despite our best efforts they were nearly impossible to keep straight. I maintain that Jade and I did better than most, but still, there was a lot of spinning. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous though – a deep river valley with bamboo forests on either side, the occasional hut and cluster of banana trees. There were quite a few nice rapids to cruise through as well.

Finally, on the 27th of February we made our way to the Thai border to cross into Thailand! The journey was by no means simple, and unfortunately Aleeza was quite sick with a fever (what I think I have now) but because our visas expired we couldn’t wait another day for her to feel better. ☹ So, we took one of the roughest buses we’ve been on in all of Asia to the bus station near the border, took a tuk tuk to the Mekong River, took a boat across the river, checked into Thailand, took a tuk tuk to the bus station and bus to Chiang Rai. What a day! And so, here we are in the final country of Asian journey – how fast the time flies. I was admittedly bummed to leave Laos – a country that is so mellow, full of the nicest people that do not abuse the horns on their cars/motorbikes and so many amazing things to see.

I will try to be a better blogger now that we’re on the homestretch. No promises though. Initially I am loving Thailand. It so incredibly different than all the other Asian countries I’ve been too – like some sort of hybrid of S.E. Asia and the west with more parts Asia. There are more 711s here than there are in the US, I’m sure of it. There is amazing coffee! Not the thick, acidic sludge we have been offered elsewhere, AND, you can buy the best pad thai you’ve ever had for seventy five cents right on the street. Livin’ the dream we are.

Hugs, kisses and lots of love!