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Published: March 7th 2010
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Well. Long time no write! And now I am writing this, but I am unable to put up pictures and cannot say when that will happen. Internet, among other things (ATM's, flushing toilets) is a bit tougher to come by here in Laos.
First of all- I wanted to clear up a little issue. On crossing the border from Cambodia into Laos!!!!!!! Americans and Canadians can absolutely positively purchase their visa AT THE BORDER. When they cross. It costs $35, plus a $1 bribe. (They have change) DO NOT buy your visa in Phnom Penh as it costs $50 there and they WILL LIE to you and tell you that you can't buy it at the border. One small snafu that I heard rumored but did NOT encounter was that sometimes the visa office closes at a different time than the border. If this happens, I suggest going back to Stung Treng, because it would be cheaper to stay there an extra night than to buy the visa in PP. I can guaranttee that I just crossed the border a week ago and this was the case. If you have any questions feel free to ask, because I know this
is sort of a confusing border crossing.
Ok. Laos. We crossed the border and went directly West about 10 minutes to a small group of islands in the Mekong Delta called 4000 Islands. I don't know if there are 4000, but I think it's possible. I expected the Mekong to be muddy and red colored, like the Mississippi or the Yangtze, but it is a beautiful bright turqoise blue and crystal clear. We stayed in a little bamboo bungalow on the island Don Det on the Sunrise side of the island (not that we ever saw it) and spent our time doing absolutely nothing. After whirling through 2 countries at a breakneck speed, I was ready to relax.. which is great because so was everyone else on the island. That's really what the whole country of Laos is about. The people are unbelievably relaxed, in startling contrast to their Vietnamese and Cambodian neighbors who are pushy and kind of conniving. In Lao, it's actually a struggle to buy things- something I haven't encountered in a loong time- because the shop owners just can't be bothered to get out of the hammock and make change for you. For poor travelers
used to being hustled day in and out, Laos is sort of heaven. Especially 4000 islands, where all you can do is walk around the islands, go for a swim, or rent a inner tube and float around. One day we rented a bike and biked around the whole island.. which didn't take very long, because it's so small. Another day we rented inner tubes and floated down the river from one side of the island to the other. We ate a lot of Indian food and drank some delicious BeerLao and Lao coffee and I read about 3 books. It was much needed rest.
After 4000 Islands we stopped in Pakse for a night, which was remarkable only in that we stayed in the nicest hotel we've stayed at in about a month.. it had a TV and an indoor bathroom!! Then we caught a bus up to the Bolaven Plateau headed for the tiny little town of Tadlo. Really, Tadlo is more of a village- it has exactly one street. It is up in the mountains and there are 3 waterfalls you can hike too. We went hiking nearly every day, swimming in the wonderfully cold water
and climbing on the rocks. One of the guesthouses had some elephants they let wander around the river, so we spent an afternoon stalking elephants and running away when we got too close. We ate every night at a little restaurant called Mama Paps which was run by Mama Pap, an elderly Lao woman that complained when we ordered food that cooking made her too hot. Waiting is something you become very good at in Laos, and at Mama Paps we all turned it into kind of an art form. We hung out with a crowd of travellers, notably one very wild elderly Belgian man who sounded like a pirate and told us the legend of the Flying Dutchman. There was some debate one night about whether or not to attend a "Buffalo Festival" at one of the neighboring villages where the Laotians do traditional dances and drink Lao Lao all night and then slaughter 10 buffaloes at 6AM and eat them for breakfast.. which John and I opted out of.. not only because it would last all night, but because we didn't think we could stomach watching 10 buffaloes slaughtered after drinking all that Lao Lao. This turned out
to be a great decision, because John got food poisening that night and spent the next 30 hours or so making runs on the bamboo outhouse. (Do you know how to flush a non-flush toilet? This is a skill that I have recently obtained.)
Now we are the fabulous Savannakhet where John spent a fortune on a hamburger and fries ($5) because even the words "Fried Rice" make him quesy. Tomorrow we head for Tha Kaeck where I hope to talk the very nervous John into renting motorcycles and biking out to the caves out of town... we'll see!!! Pictures and stories to come!
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