Laos

The border crossing to Laos from Chang Kong to Hayonxia was uneventful but very picturesque crossing over the Mekong in a small ferry and then getting my visa stamped before heading up a hill and well that was it!

I hired a bike and spent the rest of the day cycling around. I was minding my own business when a pretty drunk Lao man called me to join him and his friends underneath this house (his house was on stilts) to drink some Beer Lao and help him celebrate Lao new year which I had found out only a bit early when a group of kids decided to chuck a load of water over me as I cycled past. After about two or three beer Laos the language barrier was no longer a problem as my drinking partner was nearly paralytic. I said my good byes and headed back to my hotel where I was dragged into a street party with people handing around bottles of Lao Lao which is the local moonshine which they brew and put in whatever bottle happens to be nearby. I decided to join in and went across the road and brought my own bottle.

I had emailed ahead and booked on to the Gibbon Experience which basically involved staying in tree houses 50 foot off the forest floor and using suspended cables to get around with some of the zip lines around 1200 foot long. Waking up with a stinking hangover and having no idea how I had ended back at home I quickly packed and some breakfast and we set off on a long road and then off road journey thank god for four wheel drive and then a 1.5 hour hike to get to the tree houses where we were issued with our harnesses and zipped off into the tree canopy. I do not mind saying that for the first four or five zips I was petrified but after that I really started to enjoy myself.

We spent two nights in our tree house which was made up of three floors and had a toilet and shower. It was very odd that we were living that high about the forest floor cooking and eating and then zipping off to see the surrounding wildlife. A group of us decided to do some trekking one morning so zipped out as far as we could and then found a trail to follow although unfortunatly no Gibbions. Our last morning we were very luck as a group of Gibbions came close to our tree house, playing in the trees. After all the excitment we had lunch and then trekked back to a local village for a pick up in the 4WD and then off back to Houayxai, where we manged to get one puncher. We then stopped again (now I am no mechanic but I thought we had a locking brake disk) which I only samised as the driver got out and started to remove the break disks off one of the wheels hmmmmm. Anyway we got back in one pice thougly exausted and went out for a nice evening meal to celebrate a great trip.

Here is alink to some video

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm? fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2023992805

The following moring I caught the two day slow boat to Louang Phabang spending a night in Pakbeng where I must have been offered opium about 100 times! Instead opting for a bottle of Lao Lao to get me through the second day on the boat to Louang Phabang. The secery from the boat was amazing and we past the time playing drinking games and cards. Arriving in Louang Phabang we found some dinner and I headed for an early night. Up the next morning I hired a bike and cycled around the city exploring. In the afternoon a big group of us hired a Tuk Tuk and headed out to Kouang Si waterfall where we all cooled off diving into crystal pools and then took a walk around the large waterfall.

The following three of us boarded a public bus which was infact a Sawngthaew (basically a pick up with some benches in the back and a cover over the top) and headed to Nong Khiaw and from there caught a boat to Mang Neun where we all found individally bungelows overlooking the Mekong with hammocks to boot. The next days were spent relaxing, playing football with the locals in a undulatinf field filled with cowpats, trekking, visiting some nearby caves and fishing. Where we caught a number of small fish which we barbecued on a little island we had paddled and had them with some sticky rice.

The next day I back tracked to Louang Phabang and then caught a bus to Vang Viang. The road was very windy and after being splattered in sick as the Laos women in front of me tried to vomit out of the window I moved seats. Looking across at my new travel companion I noted an AK47 in his hands the magazine which explained all the clicking noises I had heard when I boarded the bus as he must have been loading it. After offering him some tiger balm to help his travel sickness (by now all the locals were trowing up) he showed me an ID card that stated he was in the army, which made me feel slightly safer although I have no idea why.

On reaching Vang Viang I met up with Max who I had met on the slow boat we hired some bikes and spent the next day exploring the following day we went tubing in some caves and then kayaked down the river stopping off at bars as we went to refuel on beer Lao and to use there giant rope swings. The next day I spent recovering before securing myself a job at one of the local bars in exchange for some free booze in the shape of whisky bucket after 3 of which I was feeling very ill. The weather changed for the worse so we decided to head for Vientiane. Was not a lot happening here although did visit a very strange Laos nightclub which was open on the forth floor of a posh hotel from 12 to 2am.

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