Joining 'the trail' in Laos

with research done and dusted and distraught farewells to Phnom Penh it was time for me to finally hit the road and have some adventures in S.E.A. For as long as i can remember (the turning point most likely being when i read 'The Beach' at 14), i've wanted to 'do' the trail through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and get down and dirty..anyone will tell you that this route is the rite of passage for anyone that wants to call themselves a backpacker (see my views on this later...)...and despite my previous travelling ive still been itching to see these places...so off Domi and I trot...

a flight to Vientiene in Laos (it would have taken us 3days along swamped road by bus) took us to the sleepiest capital city i have ever been to...honestly, i walked around the town in 20minutes (and stopped at the beautiful Mekong riverside for outdoor dining with THE sunset of my trip) and then just had to have a massage to pass the rest of the time there before our bus out the next morning (note the lack of choice i had to indulge! its a hard knock life...) the massage parlor was something out of a naughty movie...all outdoor baths and steam rising above the calm green painted herbal saunas...lots of semi clad Lao people lazing around sexily in their batik fabrics...and then domi and I traipsing through, not knowing how to wrap our body sarong things on properly and inadvertantly flashing to everyone (isnt that what REAL massage is about??)...then getting pounded and prodded with the utmost precision by a mad middleaged man who reminded me of one of those-dont-mess-with-me authorative school master sorts (gosh, all the weird fantasies are coming out now aren't they??) ...so domi and i duly alternate between groaning and laughing (bloody ticklish when a guys got his thumbs half way up your inner thigh!)...and that was before the neck and back cracking started....by the way, being a bit of a wuss has ensured i've never put myself up for this kind of torture before so imagine my horror when he starts breaking domi's bones infront of me...and knowing he's about to do that to me too?? needless to say i'm still alive and fully functional...and now a firm convert to the S+M world of chinese massage. ohhh!!!!!!! and i nearly forgot! ever seen those freaky glass jars with hot air inside that people stick all over their backs and then get scarred for days afterwards?? yeah! we had that done too! without being consulted first! (hence the 'you do as i say' stance taken by the masseuse) all of a sudden i see these glass jelly fish like things being clamped onto domi and seriously, i went speechless, i couldnt even warn her what he was about to do...and then i got the giggles...which immediately stopped when he came over and did the same!! two words...WEIRD and WONDERFUL...like a hundred love bites that reach deeeeep into your bones and soothe. wow :)

anyway..enough of the trash...you wanna hear the goodstuff..like when we lazed around in Vang Vieng and spent our days drinking Tiger Buckets and floating down a huge, fastflowing river on inner tubes only to stop at bamboo bars with enormous swings and zip wires and fling ourselves into the current from 20metres up! met up with the guys from Sihanoukville again which was great..and as is with these things met a hundred other people just as mad and up for it that ensured we had a wicked few days of hedonism...aside from that we also did some trekking in some of the most incredible landscapes i've seen so far...walking through paddy fields on raised mud paths (and being grabbed and held close by a tiny Lao woman who i met half way along one of these...bit of 'round the maypole'-esque dancing and we had swapped sides and continued on our way...)...then climbing up and down into caves in the side of limestone karst mountains..and a quick swim in a chilly mountain stream with crystal blue pools and perfect skimming stones...all these exploits were obviously so tiring so it was with abandon that we plopped ourselves infront of 'friends' in one of the many TV bars (as awful as they seem, when you're tired and hungry and all rushed-out, rachel and ross, and a plate of fried rice are all you need)..and once recooperated, it was off the the Island bar (originally named due to its location on a tiny island in the river) for singing and jamming with some v.talented musicians from the UK and ofcourse more tiger buckets to see in the sunrise...

Despite having plans to head north to Luang Prabang i decided that time was getting too short and it was Hanoi, Vietnams' capital that i wanted to be...and so, as someone enjoying my new status as S+M afficionada, i booked myself (Domi stayed on in Laos) on a 16 hour (more like 26) hour bus there. clever girl. being told when i got to the bus that there were no seats didnt bode well but when i put a foot down, one miraculously appeared, albeit in the middle of the back row above the engine...the only, and i repeat only plus point of this hot, sticky and plain delirious journey was that i was sat next to a wicked guy called Will and made friends with Cara, Jen, Harp and Vish who were sharing this devil's ride to hell with us. the night spent stuck on the stationary bus(the border didnt open til 7 and we got there at 2...great fore-planning!) in the pouring rain and damp saw me close to losing my mind..and then the difficult bordercrossing with Vish nearly getting arrested saw to it finally...thankgod the sun and fresh morning was able to snap me out of it. looking back it was all great laughs...even the part where we all, one by one, realised that our bags had been soaked through from being on the roof all night....

little did we realise there were more adventures awaiting us in Hanoi....

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