A beauty unknown to me, until now...

We all have preconceived conceptions of travel destinations. For Laos, I pictured wateralls, jungle, and wonderful people. Usually my immagination gets the better of me, but this time I seem to have got it right. Since Vientiene i have headed North, into a part of the country which has exceeded my every expectation.

I have visited places from the tops of mountains, to deep under the ground. The Swiss ladies I had met in South Laos found me again (or perhaps I found them), and we went off caving and lagooning in Vang Vien. We biked to a cave where there was a local man hanging out waiting for the odd tourist to take underground. Apparenly the cave does a loop and you can finish in a different area, but this is not without crawling on hands and tummy through tunnels no larger than a human. Throw in a bat hanging by my head and I was in a fit of nervous laughter and could not move! The whole time I was wondering why the hell I didnt get my rabies shot... there have been too many close calls!

THe scenery around Vang Vien is beautiful , and i dont mean to be a pessimist, but the town itself is horrible. It consists of bars playing endless episodes of Friends or Simpsons, and travellers sit in the dozens watching them with a glazed look in their eyes. WHen you stand in the middle of the road, you can hear several theme songs and TV show laughter all at once. Thankfully, tubing down the river gets people off their asses, and it's quite a fun time. Apparently, I'm now officially a "backpacker", as tubing is a right of passage in the SEA backpacking scene. i must have been a lost blonde before this!

The trail of travellers continues from Vang Vien to Louang Prabang. THis place, however, has a certain charm which is refreshing after the scene before here.

Louang Prabang is scattered with stunning Wats, where hundreds of young boys from the countryside are educated as monks. THey learn English, math, chemistry...and are eager to practice their knowledge on foreigners. HOwever, it is the indecency of some of these foreigners that are bothering me.... (do I feel a rant coming on?)
Women are not supposed to touch monks, and we should also cover our shoulders and legs while visiting a temple (would you go to church in a tube top and mini skirt?). So, as I sat and watched countless women enter the wat wearing skimpy tank tops and short shorts/ skirts. One woman asked to pose with some novice monks, and put her arm around them...a HUGE faux-pas! I shook my head in disbelief as this happened at almost every wat I visited. However, the most disrespectful display was during the morning alms ceremony, where monks receive food from lay people. It is a wonderful thing to watch, but has turned into somewhat of a circus. I was told that keeping our distance is permitted, but most foreigners had their cameras (with flash on!!!!!!!!) right in the monks faces as they walked past! I also saw three women (one in a tank top) giving alms, while standing up! Traditionally, people are on their knees and reach up to the monks as you should NEVER be above them. I was so embarrased and plain dissapointed in my fellow travellers. I know I've done things which i'm sure have offended, but some things like this can easily be avoided by watching what the locals do; none of the other hundreds of people giving alms were standing!!

That day I got up and left Louang Prabang, heading up river to Nong Kiaw. The bus ride was by tuk tuk, which is a little like sitting in the back of a pick up but it has a roof. I was right up front, packed in with bags of oranges and other produce. After the cargo was dumped at the river, I was packed onto a long boat with more agricultural equipment and vegetables. It was a wet and squishy ride up the river, but it was well worth it. I spent a few days here, hiking to nearby villages and playing in caves, springs and my hammock over the river.

Another tuk tuk ride and i found myself in Muang Sing, a village near the Chinese border. I met some weathered hippies who apparently adopted me and re-named me Christiane even though I corrected them everytime. Anyways, I biked out of town quite a ways and met some Akha minority boys at a wat, who invited me to their village in the mountains. After a long and dusty bike ride, I made it to their home. I felt a little wierd entering their village, but we then congregated in the school hut, where we had an impromptu english class!

I then said goodbye and had lunch at a guesthouse which has a comment book. It was then that I was once again appauled by my fellow travellers.
The first shocking comment was about someone who said they had diarrhoea and 'cured' it by smoking opium with the hilltribe people. So many other comments in the book suggest "why not try the O?" Why not!??!?! Because it creats a culture of dependancy in the villages. THe men get addicted, which means they spend less time in the fields and the women have harder work loads and there is less agricultural output. THere is over 1000 opium addicts in this region as well, a number which will only get higher if tourists come into the villages and smoke while children watch.
I've also met people who talk about the minorities with an icredibly narrow perspective. THey think as though these people are from the past, and they should stay "one with nature" and "never change". In fact, these people would like the modernities which lowland Lao people have. Many tourists want the people to stay as they are...and see any change as bad. The villagers are therefore a spectacle to be photographed like animals in a zoo.
I know not all tourists are like this, and i'm sure not all villagers are like this...it's just my little opinion. And I guess that, in the end, my opinion is no different that the diarhoea guy's opinion on how to cure the shits!

So, despite these thoughts, Laos has been the most amazing country to travel. The highlight of it, and possible my entire trip, has been three magnificent days at the Gibbon Experience (http://www.gibbonx.org/index.php) . Found in the Bokeo Nature reserve, this conservation project aims to protect the forest and work with the local people (this means no ethno-tourism!). They are proving that they can make more money by saving a forest rather than cutting it down or wildlife poaching. Only a handful of lucky guests can stay at a time, and we are treated with beautiful trekking...yummy food...stunning views...wildlife...waterfalls..and zipping! This is where men become boys and women squeel across 150m wire cables over 200m above the ground!!! These cable systems take you from treehouse to treehouse, where we fell esleep to the sounds of the forest below. I was also lucky to have three of the greatest people with me, and we laughed the entire time.

THe Bokeo nature reserve is an extremely special area of Laos. It is home to insects, birds, and mammals like the barking deer, gibbons, tigers, elephants and wild buffalo. Unfortunately, we didnt see any of these (except a released gibbon) because they are so few in number. Poaching is a huge problem, as these animals fetch a pretty penny for anyone willing to hunt. A large part of the Experience's cost goes towards forest guards, which currently patrol 1/4 of the reserve and catch poachers. THe guards will sit down with these people and thouroughly explain what the forest means to everyone, and that there are other options. If repeat offenders, the police are involved. But the Lao way includes days and days of negotiations and talking until an agreement and understanding is made.

I wish I could fully explain how special the Gibbon experience is. I guess that means you'll have to experience it yourself! And if you do, dont forget that you are one of the luckiest people in the world...as this place is truly paradise!

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