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Published: April 22nd 2006
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Laotian Smile
We will never forget it. T. indochinensis - definitely not an endangered species Travelling in South East Asia you will sooner or later come along some of the notorious long time-travellers also known as T. indochinensis: slovenly pants, washy shirt (preferred colours are pink, orange or turquoise and adorned with a cool slogan like: I am home, take me drunk) are the common recognition signs. Real beauties combine this with a sarong-like-thing wrapped around and over any available body part which is not yet covered with wooden pearls, seashells and shark teeth. The feet of course are peeking out of a pair of sandals or even flip-flops bought on any local market. This looks silly, indeed, but given the climatic situation no one can be blamed for that. The hair is either short (females) or long (males) or forced into dreadlocks (hermaphrodites?) but always well washed. After all, T. indochinensis is a sociable species and dislikes being away from its guesthouse and bar for too long.
The typical T. indochinensis travels with a light backpack. (With Hare Krishna style cotton bags being a popular addition). Furthermore, males on heat carry with them a guitar or even better a couple of bongos.
If you have not
T. indochinensis
If you find ten individuals of T. indochinensis on this boat you win a worn out pair of sandals. been put off by now and have some time in the region you should consider visiting Khao San Road, Bangkok's backpacker ghetto where you will find all the necessary ingredients for a successful mutation, and join the party. If you are sceptic, we recommend as an alternative a couple of days trekking in Khao Yai National park where you can find a lot of (other) wildlife.
Asian white gold Rice, lovely whitish, brownish, yellowish rice, the core ingredient to an Asian meal and life-savour in many critical situations. Laotian sticky rice is the best possible provision you can imagine, very cheap, easy to carry and everywhere available. Being invited to a Chinese dinner party rice equally saves you from being hungry as it is often the only thing which doesn't seem to have been pulled out of a pig's stomach or cut off a goat's privates (although this practise we only met in Mongolia). So, having a lot of rice with every mouthful is the only way to save face. In Thailand on the other hand, rice is the only solution for your stupidity in confusing green chilli with pepperoni.
Equally important to either Chinese, Laotian or
Sticky Rice
Just add chilli-sauce for a delicious meal. Thai food, rice comes in three different variations in these three countries. While the Thai rice resembles the kind you would usually find in Western Europe (from tasteless Uncle Benz style in Isaan to quite tasty Jasmine Rice in the South), I prefer Chinese rice - always without salt but somehow more delicious than its Thai counterpart. Laos' sticky rice on the other hand keeps up with it. One could eat it every day without getting sick off it and really starts to miss it once being out of the country.
To round things up every variation gets its own way of being eaten. So, don't try to eat sticky rice with chopsticks but use your hand, instead, and use your spoon and not your fork when dealing with Thai rice. Bon appetit!
Riding a bus with Beavis and Butthead Travelling by bus in Laos can be scary. We were just about to leave the outskirts of Luang Prabang facing our eight hour journey to Vang Vieng when the two guys behind us pulled out their guns and put them back under the seat again as if nothing had happened. They were laughing and joking as well
An exciting ride
Beavis overseeing the change of a wheel. and their laughter reminded me instantly of Beavis and Butthead which didn't really help to calm me down. After a while they played around with their weapons more publicly maybe one of them explaining the other where the trigger is and what happens when being pulled. As nobody else seemed to care we hold our position bravely until it finally dawned on me: The two figures who looked like escapes from a really bad comic strip were our armed security guides to fight potential terrorists. However, when Beavis has moved to the driver up front and Butthead started snoring quietly behind us we suddenly felt a lot safer.
Find more stories and pictures on our
Lovelyplanet-Homepage.
Planet Portrait *
Top 3: Luang Prabangs old town
Kajaking in Luang Nam Tha
Laotian cuisine.
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Our route: Luang Nam Tha - Nankoy - Na Lae - Huay Xai - Pak Beng - Luang Prabang - Vang Vieng - Vientiane - Pung Xai - Pakse
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That was bad: Some of our money got stolen on the night bus from Vientiane to Pakse.
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Recommended guest house: We found many guest houses which were
Pha That Luang Temple
The most golden of them all. really good value, especially in Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng.
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Visa: 30 days if you arrange beforehand. 15 days on arrival.
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Money saver tip: Don't pay the customs officer too much money for the stamp to leave the country. (In our case a 20 minute sit down strike helped.)
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We paid for a meal: between 6'000 and 15'000 Kip
Planet Pictures
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