Although I am now in Vietnam. I still want to take the time to talk about the Lao new year. Pii Mai is celebrated in the middle on April every year. In Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. In Laos it is all about the water. Waterguns, water hoses, and water balloons. We met up with a friend of Christine's from the Peace Corps named Nicole. We just happened to run into her at dinner the night before. We met with some local hostel owners and their friends and proceeded to get drunk and drenched (not in that order, more like continuously one, the other, or both). We were running around like wild monkeys looked for our next victims armed with only a bucket of water and a healthy mischievous nature aided along by copious amounts of Beer Lao. We danced and sang most of the afternoon pausing only to move the party to another location. By the late afternoon we were all partied out and a little pooped. We ate inside of a riverside bungalow on stilts slowly recovering from the days antics. As we were headed home we had the brilliant idea ò stopping at the African tent. Most of the people were from Nigeria or Ghana, but we did get some Fu Fu and it was awesome. If you haven't had it I recommend you to try it. After an eventful day we made it home and prepared ourselves for the 24hr bus ride the next. Little did we know what was in store for us.
We boarded the bus at 7pm and headed for the Laos/Vietnam boarder. It was a normal bus by Laos standards and had "A/C." We arrived at the border at 1:30am. With no explanation the bus parked on the road and shut of the A/C. We all made an effort to just sleep until the border opened, but the bus began to swelter for the heat of over 50 bodies all trying to sleep. No windows = no sleep. One by one we exited the bus and took to sitting in the middle of the road, praying for sunrise. It was very dark and throughout the night more buses came and lined up behind ours. We figured that the border would open at 5am, but at 5am when the purple dawn was approaching and giving us an idea of what surrounded us, we realized we were wrong. The border opened at 6:30am. The guards came out of there house and made there way to the stream to wash themselves and pee. After they returned and lifted the gate our bus let us out at the first check point. We figured it wouldn't take long and like she all the foreigners made a line in front of the visa window on the Laos side. (There are no such things as lines). The drivers from all the buses started collecting passports and taking money. Shoving the piles of hundreds of peoples' passports through the window at the 2 desk clerks. We reluctantly gave ours to someone from our bus and hoped all went well. The system worked and we were sent walking to the Vietnam border. Once we arrived there it was pretty easy, but we had been trying to cross the border for 2 hours already. Over an hour later, we finally got on our way to Hanoi. It was another 10 hours until we arrived in the capital. That is why I never want to take a 24hr bus again.Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
What Haven't Said About Laos
There are a great number of things I have seen and experienced in Laos. I think I was just fortunate to have traveled here. Reading the guide books and internet reviews I have found writers refering to such and such a country as, " having the most friendly people in the world." I suppose that you could use that absolute about many peoples, but here I find it very close to a truism. We have been treated very kindly, and there is no fear of theifs or of being missled. One girl who lives in Vientiane said,"the Lao people will try to price gouge a tourist, but they will tell you they are doing it."
Though this post is reaching coming from Vietnam, I have to try and squeeze in a few of the adventures that helped form my previously stated opinion.
1. Our four days in Luang Prabang were a wonderful "hello" to Laos. We watched the sunset from a temple on a hill in the center of the city. It looked like a orange orb that slowly ( we waited and hour) decended behind the mountain and cast a ever changing glare of color across the Mekong river. We met a really fun guy named Sai, who worked at our guesthouse, and after a few bottles of Lao Lao (local made whiskey that comes in used water bottles) mixed with Pepsi he invited us to go with him and his friends to the waterfalls near the city. At the Kuangsi falls we saw endangered bears that are being potched for thier bile of all things, for traditional chinese medicines. The falls were amazing we jumped of waterfalls into deep cool pools a color unseen in America. There was a rope swing, and given my lack of coordination an uncomfortable rope burn. There at the falls we met Sai's college friends, about 25 people all eating and drinking beer with ice ( a common occurance that I got used to). We drank, ate and played guitar, it was so nice to be with local people and avoid the mass of tourists there. Unfortunately, later that night after dinner I had my first and only so far bout with my stomach. I had to wake early the next day to take an 11 hour bus and it was not pretty.
2. Phonosavan and the Plain of Jars. We traveled far to see The Plain of Jars, a UNESCO sight and current archilogical sight. It was worth the trip. Basically, there are about 4 or 5 sights in the area containing large groups of stone jars. The 2 most interesting thing about these objects are that no one knows what exactly they were used for, and that they were and to some extent are infultrated by unexploded cluster bombs. We learned about the USA's "secret war" in Laos during the Vietnam war. About 7 million bombs were dumped in northern Laos, supposedly to deter the communist threat there. Later in the war planes would just use the country as a dumping ground. It is still a problem and people are still dying from the unexploded bombs even today. That something I was glad I learned more about. It is a bit different when you are in the country where things like that happen.
3. After breif stop in Vientiane we went across the center of the country see a 7 km long underground river/cave. We were also fortunate enough to be able to stay in a local village for 2 days. The cave was a real wonderful sight dark and cool with stilatites and stilagmites. We glided along the river in small boat with a motor. Although, we had to walk a few times because it was dry season. Pictures will explan beter than words.
Lastly, because I feel this is a bit long, I will save Laos new year, and my venture to Vietnam for my next installment.
Though this post is reaching coming from Vietnam, I have to try and squeeze in a few of the adventures that helped form my previously stated opinion.
1. Our four days in Luang Prabang were a wonderful "hello" to Laos. We watched the sunset from a temple on a hill in the center of the city. It looked like a orange orb that slowly ( we waited and hour) decended behind the mountain and cast a ever changing glare of color across the Mekong river. We met a really fun guy named Sai, who worked at our guesthouse, and after a few bottles of Lao Lao (local made whiskey that comes in used water bottles) mixed with Pepsi he invited us to go with him and his friends to the waterfalls near the city. At the Kuangsi falls we saw endangered bears that are being potched for thier bile of all things, for traditional chinese medicines. The falls were amazing we jumped of waterfalls into deep cool pools a color unseen in America. There was a rope swing, and given my lack of coordination an uncomfortable rope burn. There at the falls we met Sai's college friends, about 25 people all eating and drinking beer with ice ( a common occurance that I got used to). We drank, ate and played guitar, it was so nice to be with local people and avoid the mass of tourists there. Unfortunately, later that night after dinner I had my first and only so far bout with my stomach. I had to wake early the next day to take an 11 hour bus and it was not pretty.
2. Phonosavan and the Plain of Jars. We traveled far to see The Plain of Jars, a UNESCO sight and current archilogical sight. It was worth the trip. Basically, there are about 4 or 5 sights in the area containing large groups of stone jars. The 2 most interesting thing about these objects are that no one knows what exactly they were used for, and that they were and to some extent are infultrated by unexploded cluster bombs. We learned about the USA's "secret war" in Laos during the Vietnam war. About 7 million bombs were dumped in northern Laos, supposedly to deter the communist threat there. Later in the war planes would just use the country as a dumping ground. It is still a problem and people are still dying from the unexploded bombs even today. That something I was glad I learned more about. It is a bit different when you are in the country where things like that happen.
3. After breif stop in Vientiane we went across the center of the country see a 7 km long underground river/cave. We were also fortunate enough to be able to stay in a local village for 2 days. The cave was a real wonderful sight dark and cool with stilatites and stilagmites. We glided along the river in small boat with a motor. Although, we had to walk a few times because it was dry season. Pictures will explan beter than words.
Lastly, because I feel this is a bit long, I will save Laos new year, and my venture to Vietnam for my next installment.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Windy Roads and Sore Bottoms
Laos is a beautiful country with crystal clear water and jagged limestone mountains. The key word is mountains. To go to most destinations in the north and central parts of Laos we were warned that the rides would be long, but not that they were up and down mountain roads full of blind turns. Not to mention, buses hurtling down the road and the crawling ever so slowly up. It is a shock to your senses, bodily dizzy and shaken, your nostrils are filled with a mix of exhaust fumes and burning brakes, and your vision is blurred when you seek entertainment in a book. On occasion, the bus can't make up a steep grad and you have to get out and walk a bit to lighten the load. This all can make an 11 hour trip just a bit worse. After this, I hope I don't have to explain the sore bottom...
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Escape to Laos
Two days ago, we left from the Thai border town of Chiang Kong and crossed the river into Laos. We took a 2 day slow boat down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang. Slow really means slow. We were on the boat for about 7-8 hours each day sitting on small wooden benches. But, aside from the sore bottom I am feeling great. We were smart enough to get the seats toward the front of the boat so the engine wasn't drowning out the soft lap of the water on the sides of the boat. Mark and I opted for the floor part of the time, and it was much more comfortable. We met many new people on the boat many who were traveling anywhere from 2-6 months. I guess our idea wasn't so original =)
Luang Prabang...well, it is by far the most relaxing place we have been to. We walked the small streets last night, that were lined with 19th century french architecture. Here cafes and restaurants abound gleaming with soft yellow light reflecting off the shiny dark wood furniture and paneled walls. It was a comforting sight. This place is full of the average tourists and hippie backpackers. It is a mix of travelers, but far from the teeming crowds we encountered in Thailand. As far as first impressions go Laos has me sold.
Right now, it is daylight and some of the magic has faded with the presence of the sun. But the calming nature of the place has not been lost upon me yet.
Luang Prabang...well, it is by far the most relaxing place we have been to. We walked the small streets last night, that were lined with 19th century french architecture. Here cafes and restaurants abound gleaming with soft yellow light reflecting off the shiny dark wood furniture and paneled walls. It was a comforting sight. This place is full of the average tourists and hippie backpackers. It is a mix of travelers, but far from the teeming crowds we encountered in Thailand. As far as first impressions go Laos has me sold.
Right now, it is daylight and some of the magic has faded with the presence of the sun. But the calming nature of the place has not been lost upon me yet.
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