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Published: August 25th 2006
caving in vang vieng
looking out of Tham Chang cave. TIME = DISTANCE devided by ???
you look at the map. 250 km. good. how long will it take to get there by bus? you could ask
someone but that will not work (read the "lying" part in the previous blog) you could guess.
but you have to take into account so many variables. The road condition. the number of pigs
that will be loaded to the bus. the number of times the bus will break. does the driver get paid
by the hour? does he want to arrive late? does he get free food somewhere? (surly he will
stop of an hour). is the road flat or hilly? will we need to push the bus out of the mud? can it
climb the mountains fast then 5 kph? how many cows will pass the road on the way? how
many times we will stop for gas (how many - not "if we stop" even if the ride is 1hr long the
driver will need gas on the way)
250km can done in 2.5hr in any western country. forget it! the 150km from the Thai border
vang vieng
FOUR LEAF CLOVER! how lucky we are! to
Siem Riep took 6hr!! the road was very bad and the driver wanted to get late so we stay at
the hotel he gets commission at.
the 200km from Kopang-Cham to Kartie took 3hr. the fastest drive on the trip! the driver was
going 110 kph all the way and ran over a chicken (thump) without blinking.
200km/110kph=3hr you ask? we stopped asking a few months ago....
food
We were asked why we document the food of the trip. there are 3 reasons the first reason is
that backpackers have only 3 concerns. where to sleep, where to eat and how to get to the
next place. the first and last concerns happen once every few days but the "where to eat" is a
problem we need to solve at least 2 times a day and it is our biggest worry of the day (don't
we really sound like we are hiving fun 😊 )
The second reason is that local food is the best way for us to get connected with local way of
life and culture.
caving in vang vieng
inside Tham Chang cave. food crosses the language barrier. it allows us to taste the merchandise we
see in the markets and the crops that grow in the fields. if we eat western food, it is our best
way to take a vacation from our vacation and have a little "jump" to home.
The final reason - and most important - will be understood by anyone with a Jewish mother.
she must know that we have enough to eat otherwise she will follow with a box of Schnitzel
and Pire everywhere we go...
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Lee Kay
non-member comment
C'mon, guys!
I was waiting to hear some really funny horror stories about your caving adventures, and suddenly all the pictures came! Not that I mind the pictures (some of the Vang Vieng views are great), but you've set some standards during this blog, and setting the bar so high breeds expectations...