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Published: July 16th 2009
Coming to you live from Phnom Penh, this is Matt Stein...
Once again, a few quick housekeeping things before we get started. First, thanks again for all of the comments (especially mom and dad, who, with their lightning fast responses, are certainly making me look cool...).
Hayley, your description of Tuk Tuks are correct. They are sketchy.
Other Haley - glad to know you are thinking about me when you are awake at night.
So............moving on then.
We left off in the city of Luang Prabang, where the highlights were the elephants and the kayacks. After a quiet night (in bed by 9:30), we woke up early to take a bus to the town of Vang Vieng, also in Laos. Once we got there, we checked in to a lovely (yes, lovely) hotel located right on the river. The town isn't big (one main street, lots of bars, some stores, some hotels, and one hospital (this will come up later, but thankfully I wasn't involved). After checking in, the day's activity was simple. We would all get on Tuk Tuks (for full description, please see Hayley's comment on previous entry) with inner tubes piled on the top, drive up the river, and tube down it. Apparently there were also a few bars to stop at along the way. After hearing what what we were doing, I, of course, was excited. However, never in my wildest dreams could I imagine what we were about to see/do.
After 20 minutes on the Tuk Tuk, we arrived at the starting off point for the tubing. This is what we saw;
Hundreds of people (mostly in their 20's) at a bar made of sticks/bamboo (like the 2nd little piggie's house) That literally jutted out into the river. Next to the bar was a pile (at least 100) of tubes that people would use (after a few drinks) to float down the river. To the left of the bar, there was a ladder attached to a tree. At the top of the ladder, was a handle, which was attached to a zipline. Upon reaching the top (there was no hesitation on my part), I grabbed the handle and jumped. At it's highest point, the zip line was between 20-30 feet in the air, at which point, depending upon how brave you were, you let go and splashed (sometimes harder than you'd like) into the river. The people working at the bar would then throw you a water bottle full of water that was attached to a rope (they had EXTREMELY GOOD AIM). They would then pull you back to the bar after you grabbed the rope. When we were done with the first bar, we grabbed our tubes from the pile (people kept rotating in and out, so there was no need to keep track of the tubes), jumped in the river, and rode it down to the next bar, which had the same concept but was set up slightly differently.
All in all, we went to three bars. Beers cost 10,000 Kip (roughly $1.50). At the second bar, there was a tug of war and a mud bath (the losers got the mud bath, but everyone ended up jumping in). At the third bar, it was more of the same, except there was a MASSIVE water slide (in addition to a zip line) that projected us like rockets into the river. Our time on the river lasted about 4 hours, but I could have stayed forever. It was like my fantasy land smack in the middle of South East Asia, and there was even more to come.
When we left the last bar, we floated down the river for about 20 minutes until we arrived at the door of our hotel (pretty sweet, right?). Some of us were in better shape than others, but for the most part the entire group was in one piece.
Side Note: As a future lawyer, this would/could never be allowed in the US. Although it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen (like bring Spring Break to Laos), I wouldn't necessarily say it is the safest place in the world.
Where was I...
Oh, the hotel. We got back to the hotel, i showered (the river is brown...to quote DMB, "Don't Drink the Water"), and walked into town, deciding to meet some of the others a bit later on. After making friends with one of the local bartenders, i went to the restaurant where some other group members were eating. Once again, let me paint you a picture. A restaurant. Tables, all facing forward. Benches, with backs to them and pillows everywhere. TV's all around. AND....wait for it...Family Guy DVD's on repeat in English. I ate noodles. Also, for those who wanted them, Happy Shakes (use your imagination) were also available).
A quick recap:
Tubing down a river lined with bars. Ziplines and cool jumps. Girls in bikinis (some guys in bikinis). A mud pit. A massive waterslide that launched people into the river. Restaurants that had pillows on the seats and fed us noodles while we watched Family Guy (other bars were showing Friends and The Simpsons).
---For those of you who know me...this was probably the best day of my life. While it wasn't necessarily the most cultural experience, seeing a place like this in Asia was quite an anomoly.
On a slightly more serious note, I'd like to give a quick shout out to Doctor Kenny/Nurse Dahianna, who, amid all of the drinking and shenignans, were able to save the day after someone was knocked unconscious after hitting the river too hard. It was an extremely scary situation, and they handled it like pros...Rock on kids...
So, the next day (yesterday), we had a lazy morning (some of us tried to get up at 8 to watch the All Star Game, but all we could find was a restaurant showing Friends (it was the one where Ross was gonna drink the fat...). At Noon, we got back on the bus for a long ride to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of the city, which is located on the bank of the Mekong (for river description, see previous post) across from Thailand. We all had dinner at a restaurant where the food was cooked by children (teenagers) in the community and the money went to their education (I'm such a do-gooder...). After dinner, a few of us went to a bar near the hotel, where got my ass kicked in pool by a tranny Laotian hooker (i wish this were a joke...she was really good though....DAMMIT!).
This morning we got on a flight from Vientiane to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. Unfortunately, the experiences I have had so far in this city (we've been here for 6 hours) have not been as happy as some of the others I have written about. Not knowing much about the history of the country, I was suprised/appauled to see how poverty stricken this city is. About 30 years ago (and I wish I had more details), an organization attemped to turn the country of Cambodia into a Socialist country, killing millions of people and destroying a good portion of the city. Driing to our hotel, the devistation was still quite visible. There were building that were essentially rubble. Homeless people everywhere. And while in Laos people seemed (for the most part) happy/content, here the effects of the past are quite evident.
This afternoon, we had the option to go to a shooting range (a place to shoot guns). I wasn't too keen on going, but after some peer pressure, i figured I would give it a shot, at least for the experience). We drive out of the city, turned onto a dirt road, and, after passing a school, turned into an army base, where we stopped. The manager of the facility then pointed to a selection of guns, and then showed us how much it would cost to shoot each one. I took 10 shots with an M 16 machine gun and that was more than enough for me. Looking around, I cannot think of another time when I have felt further from home. The guns were so loud, and looking around, all I could think about was how terrible war is and how scary it would be to actually have to use these things on people. While not the happiest experience, it was certainly a poignant one and I'm glad that I did it.
Tomorrow we are going to visit the killing fields, which I also expect to be a sobering experience. That being said, i think i may take it easy tonight.
All in all, it has been an interesting few days...some ups, some downs, and plenty of jumping in the river.
Fun Facts:
1. After having a bit too much to drink in the tubing city, I lost a game of 8 ball by shooting at the wrong ball. it may not seem that funny, but i have never concentrated more on one pool shot, and the 15 people that were watching certainly had a good show.
2. In Cambodia, they use US dollars.
3. I had noodles for breakfast (it hasn't gotten old...hopefully it never will).
Keep those comments coming!
Peace and love!
Hi Mom!
Matt
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camilla
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i went to a few of the places you are hitting on my own graduation trip. without a doubt, phnom penh was the most destitute and war ravaged place i have ever been to. and the first time i have ever truly felt culture shock. it must be interesting for you to be there right now esp with the khmer prison chief trial going on. if the tour doesn't have you go to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum-- a former khmer rouge jail (they had taken over what used to be a high school)--please make sure you see it on your own. like the extermination camps in europe, it is one of those haunting places not soon to be forgotten. love you. xx