Beautiful sunsets over the Mekong

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Day 375: Thursday 9 July - Greasing palms

I’m sad to be leaving Laos this morning. It has been my favourite country in Southeast Asia to date and one of my favourite countries on my journey so far. Papa takes me across to Ban Nakasang on his boat, offering me my second shot of Lao Lao of the day (he’s already given me one with my breakfast!) on the way. This is yet another example of why I have come to love this country - the people. Laotian’s are the most warm, friendly and generous people I have met anywhere in the world. I will miss the country, but above all I will miss the people. Many of my highlights involve encounters with the locals - sharing in the Akha culture in Muang Sing; the two ladies in Luang Prabang market; meeting Sonekeo in Phonsavon bus station where we talked and shared beer; meeting Keo in Viengxai where we talked and shared beer whilst he played petanque with his mates; being fed at Champasak by the local women; helping a farmer plough his field in Don Dhet. I could list more examples, as almost everywhere you go the people welcome you with open arms, usually followed by a glass of Lao Lao!!

Apart from the people, my favourite experience was the Gibbon Experience. This has been one of the highlights of my first year of travelling. I will never forget the views over the Bokeo Nature Reserve and living out childhood fantasies by living in a treehouse and using ziplines to travel around the forest. I also found learning about Laos’ recent history in Phonsavon, Viengxai and Vientiane very interesting and moving. I leave Laos hoping one day to be able to contribute to the efforts to build a brighter future for the people who suffered so much under the bombing campaigns of the Secret War.

There wasn’t much I didn’t like about Laos. Racking my brains, I can think of only two. First, the bus station locations are an inconvenience. The second is Vang Vieng. I didn’t like it because it isn’t the real Laos. Rather, it is the worst of western culture imposed on the locals. The things I loved about Laos: where do I start? Having already mentioned the people, I should start with the beauty of the country, particularly the north. Lush and mountainous, plains covered with emerald green rice paddies, it makes up for the lack of a coastline. The food wasn’t as good or as cheap as Thailand, but the baguettes in Luang Prabang were damn good and the French cuisine in both Luang Prabang and Vientiane were a welcome change from the standard Southeast Asian staples of rice and noodles. Beer Lao was one of the best and cheapest beers I’ve had anywhere and Lao coffee with sweet milk, so strong and sweet that is one thing I will take home with me. Even the arduous journeys were entertaining as the buses dodged the cows on the road and were loaded with more cargo than people. You also don’t feel like you’re being ripped off because you’re a foreigner and there is an absence of scams which plague travel in the rest of the region. Oh and how could I forget the tractors (I want one!) and the cute wooden villages which in many ways symbolise the nation where 80% of people are engaged in subsistence agriculture.

Would I return? I’ve seen much of the country - I’ve been as far west as Thailand, as far north as the Chinese border, within 50km of the Vietnamese border in the east and as far south as the country goes. So, in terms of seeing the country I have no reason to return, but to enjoy the warmth of its people I have every reason to return. I think it would be an interesting country to come back to in 20-30 years time. It is sure to continue its rapid development of recent years but I hope this doesn’t destroy the basic human qualities that make this a great country.

Back to the Laos-Cambodian border crossing. In Ban Nakasang I join up with Mike and Trudi as the mode of transport changes from a boat to a bus for the 30km journey to the border. The driver wants to squeeze me on the back seat with three others, but I refuse, I have paid a lot of money for this journey (the crossing is $18 - double the price it should be as it is only used by tourists) and I won’t accept being squashed in. They move me to a different bus.

The border crossing is all about greasing palms. First there’s the $2 charge to leave Laos. Next, the Cambodian visa costs you $22 instead of the $20 it should do. Then to the next desk to get your passport stamped, which costs a further $1. The border guards are all very open about this, corruption is the way of the world out here. I thank (!) one of the Cambodian guards in Laos which at least gets me a lesson in a few basic Cambodian phrases. The final stage of the crossing is the medical form which is amazingly free. You have to tick the boxes if you have any ailments (as if anyone ever does!), and I search unsuccessfully on the form for the one titled ‘shock at not having to pay a further corruption charge to fill this in’!!!!

From the border it’s another hour to Stung Treng where I get a free lunch when they forget to charge me. Normally I would own up but this feels like revenge for the border charges and the extortionate transport charges. Karma....what goes around comes around....call it what you like. Another two hours on the bus and we arrive in the unspectacular, dusty, dirty riverside town of Kratie. The town might not be much, but the sunset over the Mekong - wow! One of the best I’ve ever seen, red skies reflecting on the wide expanse of the Mekong below, a stunning horizon. The restaurant the three of us are eat dinner in is playing Bananarama and afterwards the three of us go back to my room, stick I-Tunes on and reminisce over 80’s music. Mike, being younger, doesn’t remember some of it, but me and Trudi do!

Day 376: Friday 10 July - Bicycle repairs and a hundred hellos

We rise early to avoid the heat of the day. It is still hot when we leave the guesthouse at 8am to cycle 16 kilometres along the river to Kampi where the rare Irrawaddy dolphins can be seen. The route is lines with smiling and charming villages and I lose count at how many times the local children say ‘hello’ as we ride past. It takes us an hour to reach Kampi. We hire a boat which costs us $7 each. Inflation in Cambodia must have been 100% in the two years since my guidebook was published! There are believed to be only around 70 Irrawaddy dolphins left in the wild, and on the river next to Kampi village is the best place to spot them in the world. We see quite a few of them whilst on the river for an hour and a half. However, each sighting is a fleeting glimpse as they stick their heads out briefly for a breath of fresh air.

The journey back to Kratie is an adventure. First, mine and Trudi’s bikes have got flat back tyres since we’ve been on the boat - obviously slow punctures. We cycle on a little way before finding a local who kindly pumps our tyres up. Further down the road, probably half way back Mike’s back tyre explodes. A man repairs it with a puncture repair kit and will take only 2000 riel (30 pence) for the repair. He gives the money to his kids. He does a good job, but such is the size of the hole on the inner tube and the fact that the tyre is worn through, we aren’t that confident of making it back to Kratie. A few hundred metres later and the tyre pops for the second time. Mike pushes the bike until we get to the next village where he buys a new tyre and inner tube which including the fitting costs $6 (£4).

Whilst we are waiting for the bike to get fixed a boy comes over who speaks English and helps with the translation with the family who own the shop. He’s a lovely natured kid, doesn’t look a day over 12 even though he tells us he is 17. He tells us that he goes to college in Kratie and wants to be a doctor. However, because his family cannot afford to pay the education fees, he tells us that he hopes to get a job as a tourist guide first to earn some money to allow him to train to be a doctor. I really feel for him, he’s clearly very intelligent but because he wasn’t born into privilege he will have to do it the hard way. It makes me think how lucky we are in the western world, where opportunities like that are available to all not just the rich. Later, I wish I’d taken his name and address, maybe I could have sponsored him? I don’t know how much his education would have cost, or even if he would have wanted the help, and I know you can’t help everyone but he deserves a fair chance. God bless him, I hope he fulfils his ambition one day.

There is no further incident on the way back to Kratie but it ends up taking us twice as long on the way back. There is however plenty of incident in the guesthouse when Mike explains what has happened to the manager and the man who owns the bikes. They offer only $3, increasing it to $4.50 after some debate. Apparently this is how much the tyre should have cost us but because we’re foreigners we paid the ‘tourist’ price. It is only $1.50 but the money isn’t the point. It is the principle that matters. We were hired three crap bikes, what happened to Mike could have happened to any or all of us. We argue for ages that they should pay for the cost of the replacement tyre. It is falling on deaf ears and is souring what has been a great morning. I really had a warm feeling towards the Cambodians after the bike ride but this is not helping. Eventually Mike gets the full $6 back, but only after it is mentioned that this scene isn’t good for the guesthouse’s business. Money does talk after all.

The dispute makes us feel unwelcome in the guesthouse. We avoid the place apart from when we use our rooms. The three of us are looking forward to leaving Kratie which is a shame. There is still time for one more beautiful sunset which is what I will remember Kratie for rather than the dolphins which is why we stopped here.

Some early observations in Cambodia: Politics is alive and kicking in Cambodia unlike in the one-party state of its northern neighbour, signs for political parties are everywhere. And, why do people where pyjamas during the day?? ......a relic from the days of the Khmer Rouge?? Finally, this dual currency situation is confusing the hell out of me.....riel, dollars, getting change in a mixture, trying to convert it back to the pound.....aargh!!

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