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Published: November 5th 2007
Crossing the border into Laos has brought a lot of, what my Asian friends refer to as, the “Same Same, but different.” This is a phrase you hear on a daily basis, which simply explains that something is very similar, but at the same time, very different. I believe that this phrase is by far the best way to describe the countries of Southeast Asia. They all share so many similarities, but then each has its own little unique differences that set it apart. As for Laos (pronounced with a silent "s"), it is probably Southeast Asia’s most relaxing and laidback country (from what I’ve experienced). There are no crazy metropolitan areas full of smog or over aggressive street vendors to drive you completely mad, although, the country is definitely trying to catch-up with its neighbors. Already in its main cities, there are tour companies at every corner and guesthouses springing up at a hurried pace. The pushy, aggressive techniques for selling have not yet been adopted, thank goodness, but you never know what the future will bring. It would surely be sad to see this country lose its laidback feel, which makes you never want to leave.
This time
instead of doing the normal border crossing by vehicle, I decided to mix it up a bit. I did start off from Chiang Mai by shuttle, but then soon found myself floating down the Mekong River. After spending an hour or so getting my visa and immigration stamps, I loaded onto a cramped, backpacker filled boat (known as the “Slow boat”) and began my journey. The trip down the river took two long and grueling days; stopping midway at the village of Pak Beng for the night. Lucky for me, I met two very friendly Scots that helped make the journey much more bearable. The Scottish couple (Findlay and Lisa), after learning that I’m actually part Scottish and a direct descendent of William Wallace, treated me like family (yeah, I’m pretty much considered royalty in their country). I must say that I really do dig the Scottish accent. What’s really funny is that either way you look at it, I was bound to have had a very distinct accent that I could never cover up (mom’s side- Scottish; dad’s side- Southern Appalachian). Then, to make our group’s speech patterns stand out even more, the young couple beside us was from
It's a packed house
...and we haven't even stopped to pick up the locals yet.Ireland. I so wish I’d had a recorder taping our conversations; it would of been something like - “You’d should had been there da utter night; I’d gone at got pissed at da pub and fell on my arse! - Do What? Where’d ya’ll go and what’d ya’ll do?” Besides the funny talk, we all got along great. I now have an open invitation to visit them in Scotland. I’ll definitely have to go one of these days and see that side of my roots; plus, show off these dead sexy legs in a kilt.
The trip up the river was tough and cramped, but also a great experience. The scenery was beautiful and you really get to witness a side of Laos that many don’t see (besides the 100 plus people stuffed on these boats daily). Another thing people don’t get to see too often, at least where I’m from, is a dead body floating past your boat. Yep, I was just sitting there with my iPod playing and staring out at the view, when suddenly a bloated, blue dead guy floated right out in front of us. At first, I thought, “there’s no way,” but then when
I stood up and got a better look; yep, we had us a floater. The body had definitely been in the water a while and was just cruising along down the Mekong. The driver of our boat didn’t even flinch; we just kept on chugging along and didn’t even radio anyone. Maybe this was a common occurrence here - I sure hope not.
The mighty Mekong is one of the great rivers of the world. It is the twelfth longest (4184 km) and makes its way from the Tibetan plateau, through China, on through the Golden Triangle (where Burma, Thailand and Laos touch), down through Laos and Cambodia, and finally finishing in Vietnam where it splinters into the Mekong Delta and dumps into the South China Sea. The Mekong Delta is where I began my travels in Southeast Asia and now over a month later, I float on its waters far north. The Mekong is a lifeline for Laos, which is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. Bamboo-shack villages are spaced along its shores and thick forest hills and Limestone cliffs cover its banks. It is a trip you shouldn’t miss, but at the same time, can’t wait
to finish.
The journey down the Mekong was no where near as long and tough as my trip down the Amazon (see
Into the Unknown), but it did have its moments. At least while traveling down the Amazon, I had a hammock and was able to walk around. The Slow boat kept me stuck in one place and sitting on a hard, cramped, wooden bench. Another contrast between this trip and the one on the Amazon, was the number of backpackers. During my Amazon adventure, I didn't see a single traveler, besides my reflection (which was a little rough), for the full five day duration of the ride, but this time I couldn't move a muscle without touching one. So, I'd have to say that it was very much the "Same Same, but different."
The journey down the Mekong took two days (6hrs. the first and 8hrs. the second), but at least we didn’t have to sleep on the boat. We stopped off at the riverside village of Pak Beng for a night of rest and a decent meal. There were the occasional guys trying to sell you pot or opium, but that seems to be pretty normal around these
parts. The second day was more cramped than the first. We stopped off ever so often to pick up villagers along the way, who soon filled our boat from front bow to stern (sorry, I’ve been on the water too long). I did have the fortune of sitting beside my Scottish friends and a new couple that I befriended. Their names were Giles and Sally (from South Africa and the UK). I talked to Giles (who is a 43 yr. old sailor) most of the trip. He was originally from South Africa, but spent three years racing sponsored sail boats around the world. He now calls the UK home and continues to take time out to see the world. He had so much knowledge of geography, war history and current events, that I just sat there and picked his brain and tried to remember as much as possible. Besides good conversation and excellent views, I spent a lot of my time reading (I’m finishing my fifth book of the trip). This really made the time fly and before I knew it, we were pulling into Luang Prabang. It was a good time overall, but by the end of the trip,
excuse my Scottish, but I could barely feel my arse. It felt like someone had stuck my butt cheeks in a waffle press. But, the many massage shops along my street called out to me and helped heal my pain.
The next two days in Luang Prabang were great. I ate good food and delicious mango shakes, got myself a magnificent oil massage, spent time site-seeing with Giles and Sally, had a night out with the whole crew from the boat (Scots, Brits, Germans, Finnish and the Irish), and just simply kicked back and relaxed. This riverside town is full of French colonial architecture with a little Buddhist twist to it. Luang Prabang is the second largest city in Laos and probably the most popular for tourism. It is hard to beat a river side view of the Mekong, cheap but nice accommodations, your choice of fine dining or some local dish from a vendor, an amazing street market that lines the main drag by night, historic architecture that gives a European feel, but then there is the presence of monks and Buddhist Wats that bring you back to Laos.
A couple days later, after a relaxing time
in Luang Prabang, I caught a bus six hours south to the little riverside village of Vang Vieng. The journey there proved to be one heck of a curvy ride. The guy in front of me barfed from motion sickness and the rest of the group sat worried that our driver, who was somewhere between the age of sixteen and eighteen, was going to roll us off one of the foggy, mountain curves. Now, besides a dose of dizziness delivered by the road, the ride there was beautiful. The wet season has made the vegetation lush and green, and the recent rainfall has left a misty, fog around the mountains. Your normal sky during this time of the year (October being the end of the wet season) is full of fluffy clouds that stick to the peaks like bubble gum. The landscape in Laos is very similar to the rest of the Southeast Asia’s terrain, which surely makes for a memorable ride.
My two days in Vang Vieng were an absolute blast. I have to say that this is one of the best times I’ve had the entire trip. There is so much to do here and the scenery
that surrounds this backpacker’s village is incredible. Limestone cliffs line the Nam Song River that nuzzles along side the town and coconut palms and banana trees fill the forests. Outdoor recreation is the town’s main draw. The tour companies offer kayaking, tubing, caving, hiking, biking and rock climbing. The main attraction for backpackers is a day of tubing and drinking. Most get dropped off about 3km north of town and make their way down the river by tube. Along a small section of the river (maybe 1 km), small bars are set up one after another. Everyone just tubes from one to another until they finally make it back to town (which usually takes all day). As for me, I went on a tour of the caves (one where we actually floated on tubes through it) and took a kayak down the river instead of a tube. My group (a couple from Belgium and an Aussie whom I shared a boat with) stopped off at the first bar and the last bar on our way down. But this was not for the drink, oh no; it was for the giant rope swings (biggest was 30ft high) that each bar had
(there were approximately 6 or 7 bars down this stretch of river). This made my day. I love rope swings and I love doing kamikaze somersaults into the river. My new pal Tim (the Aussie) and an American fella (Jessie - he’s actually the guy that puked on the bus) spent the next 3 hours playing Tarzan. I was quite pleased with my old arthritic body. I actually pulled off some sweet aerial acrobatics that I didn’t even do in college. It must have been the 40+ drunken backpackers cheering me on, although, I did pay for it the next morning - I haven’t been that sore in ages. It wasn’t all from the big busts off the rope swing either; we flipped the kayak one good time in some rapids and got tossed around on the rocks - that also didn’t help much. After a long day of flips and splashes, the group paddled our way back to town as the sunset before us. There was a peaceful calm as we coasted into town; mostly because we had left all of those loud, drunken tubers well behind us. What a day; it made me realize that I’m still very
young.
My final stop in Laos was the country’s capital - Vientiane. This city is like most capitals, but maybe not as big. My stay was short; just enough time to get a taste and move on. I strolled through town, walked along the Mekong River one last time and stood and watched some young monks playing a little game similar to Botchie ball (there’s no way they could hang with Chad, Bobby and I - we just have way too much mental focus, even for the enlightened ones). I also watched as some other monks worked on their new temple to get it ready for the That Luang Festival next week. It’s too bad I have to hurry back to Bangkok to deal with this flight to Nepal and check on my culture test at the hospital, because Laos is one place I really want to spend more time. I have to say that it is in the running for my favorite country thus far. I will definitely have to return one of these days. I know, I know, I keep saying that about every country. I guess I’ll just have to do another around-the-world trip when I
retire…in five years.
It is back to Bangkok and just one more bus ride through Southeast Asia (and it’s an overnighter- sweet!). The following are the bus trips I’ve taken in Southeast Asia over the past 40 days (sorry, this is just for memory’s sake): Saigon - Nha Trang (9hrs.), Nha Trang - Saigon (9hrs.), Singapore - Kuala Lumpur (6hrs.), KL - Penang (13hrs.), Penang - Phuket (13hrs.), Phuket - Bangkok (16hrs.), Bangkok - Siem Reap (13hrs.), Siem Reap - Phnom Penh (6hrs.), Phnom Penh - Bangkok (11hrs.), Bangkok - Chiang Mai (11hrs.), Chiang Mai - Chiang Kong (Lao border)(6hrs.), Luang Prabang - Vang Vieng (6hrs.), Vang Vieng - Vientiane (3hrs.) and finally Vientiane - Bangkok (13hrs.), for a grand total of 135 hours spent on a bus (about 5.6 days and three where night buses). Man, I wish I would’ve totaled up my trip through Latin America. Those stats would’ve been scary. I could probably write a book just on my bus experiences and call it, “IBS on a Bus.”
Well, that almost wraps up Southeast Asia. I’ll be in Bangkok for a few days tying up some lose ends (I’ll try and catch a Thai fight
at the stadium or something entertaining like that) and then it’s off to Nepal for a month of backcountry hiking. I have nothing set in stone though (my flight could get cancelled again). I still have to meet up with a guide in Kathmandu and go over some final negotiations and planning. Plus, I really need to get in shape for the mountains ahead; I’ve heard they’re a doozy. I haven’t been on the Staph medication for almost a week now, so my energy is coming back. Let’s just hope that the test results were good and I get the go ahead from the doctor (which really doesn’t matter, cause I’m going anyway). So, if everything goes as planned, I will be out of contact for two to four weeks. I will have you all in my thoughts and prayers. Take care and I’ll write you all as soon as I can. Sabai di...I'm signing off!
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Jimmy
non-member comment
Hey!
Curl caught up on some of your adventures with Chad last week. I sent you a message - let me know if you have any questions. Ashley and I are praying for you. I hope you enjoy your time in India.