Bathrooms, Buses & Bart Simpson

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BATHROOMS

Why would I be inspired to write about bathrooms you ask? Well, I just used a VERY high-end bathroom in a coffee/internet shop in Luang Prabang, Laos. High end means a) there is a toilet b) there is toilet paper c) there is a sink to wash your hands d) there is a method for drying clean hands I was thrilled!

In Thailand, toilet paper is a rare commodity. When you ask where is the toilet and you are sent out back through the kitchen, into an alley, behind the building where you find a shack with a modified toilet, a bucket of water and a hose. There seems to be no concern for how to wipe (do I take a hose to my butt?) and if there is a sink...drying your hands is not an option.

In Laos, the toilets are gone and you're now in a strange room with a squatting pan but here they have toilet paper! Listen, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF TP! Give thanks every time you wipe.

I know you don't care about any of this. Just be grateful I've included no pictures.

BUSES

The jury is still out whether traveling by VIP Bus (Very Inhospitable Passage) across country or by Mini Van (aka Death Traps) is more desirable. We've done both now and I'm still amazed that I have never once seen any road carnage or wounded animals or people on our journey. These drivers are amazing as they navigate skinny, winding, hilly roads crowded with children, dogs, chickens, scooters, bicycles, trucks and buses at ridiculous speeds.

The VIP bus we reserved for the trip from Vientiane to Vang Vieng in Laos turned out to be a crowded mini-van without air con or any other comforets yet for me it was for some reason thoroughly enjoyable. I had a window seat, the scenery was outrageously beautiful, we listened to our favorite music on ipod and a sultry wind was blowing across my body for 6 hours. Awesome. Contrast this with a real VIP bus from Vang Vien to Luang Prabang which, while it had the expected reclining seats, curtains and air con, it was agonizingly long and occasionally annoying. While we Farang (white folk) paid 100,000 kip for our seats, we stopped several times to pick up locals who crowded into the aisles with kids and bags of food (no animals) to make the trip at no cost and crowded into our 'personal space'. Poor us right? Nope, we had kip! They had next to nothing. Get a grip! The only thing to do was surrender into the experience and enjoy what there was to enjoy. And so we did.

BART SIMPSON

Simon will make a more thorough post about our time in Vang Vieng but I have to describe one of the most bizarre cultural oddities we discovered there. This town is a backpacker haven...lots of partying, wild bars, lower end guest houses, drab & dingy restaurants. When looking for a place to eat, 9 out of 10 places have a television playing. This in itself is not unusual (Thai and Laos people are very TV focussed and even in the most poor and underdeveloped villages you will see satellite dishes) but here's the weird thing....the TV played only 3 things: Friends, The Simpsons and Family Guy. So there were at least 3 Friends Restaurants, 2 Simpsons Restaurants and 1 Family Guy Restaurants. We resisted (as long as we could) but finally gave ourselves over. I'm embarassed to say the we hung out reclining on the restaurant table/platforms, mouths hanging open and watched several episodes on several occasions.


RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

We have been in Luang Prabang now for 2.5 days and it is a lovely place with many fabulous restaurants of french influence, a huge night market, the beautiful Mekong River, artisan shops (weaving & sculpting). Yesterday we went and did an elephant trek which for me was something I'd been resisting and suspicious of for years (I know too much about how they are treated). We discovered an organization that promoted the care and concern for elephants and seemed to be different so we took a chance that this might be a great experience - getting close to elephants AND supporting humane and conscious care for them.

Now that I've seen for myself I would say that the truth is somewhere in the middle. These 7 elephants were retired from logging and now served people by taking them on treks. Now work less, eat more, rest more and probably are treated overall with more caring. Yet I did watch one Mahout beat an elephant with a stick and yell angrily while the elephant cried out (not from pain but anger). Yes, it's obvious that if humans are going to control and direct a creature this big (with personalities, preferences and intelligence) there will be acts of physical domination. The conflict for me is that we believe we have the right to master them at all. It's not like with dogs and cats which we have domesticated and now are responsible for. These are formerly wild animals with power and intelligence and we've decided that we can use them (and abuse them) as we see fit. The bottom line is that I cannot recommend elephant experiences AND I'm glad I got to see for myself. I did find moments of enjoying, caring for and appreciating them. I wish I could say the same for them. End of rant. (enjoy the waterful pics from our trekking day - it was stunning)

Today we're renting bicycles to more deeply investigate Luang Prabang. Tomorrow we fly back into Thailand to enjoy the northern territory around Chiang Mai. I must say that we are starting to "grasp" as the end of this journey draws near. The mind screams out "but I haven't done this yet, that yet...I want more of this!!!" Greedy aren't we? 5 weeks on the trip of a lifetime and we want more. And so this is a great time to give thanks for the wonders and abundance that fills our life and this journey.

A partial list: Love, partnership, adventure, God, health, affluence, best friendship, great food, beautiful countyside, unique peoples, laughter, rest, coffee, and toilet paper!!!

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