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Holy Cow,
where to begin.
It's been too long since i've written, and everywhere has been
great, but unfortuately not too well endowed with email or internet
capabilities. Either they didn't have it, or it's just
eye-gougingly slow and expensive. So, here i am, playing some
catchup.
So, the last one i wrote was about the little Laos village where my
german buddy and i had a good time, but lost some money. But what
happened after that? Read on to find out.............ooohh.
So, next stop for us was a little place called Nong Khiaw, very
small, nothing really there, but it's the surroundings and scenery
that make it. It was very beautiful, a little dusty one dirt road
town surrounded by tall steep hill/cliffs. Basically the main thing
to see there is a few caves, which turned out to be okay as some go
pretty deep and are a bit of a squeeze. Apart from that, not much
else there, but, jsut a quiet place with people herding cows down
the road, and you just walk along and look at gorgeous cliffs that
are covered in green except for the sheer limestone cliffs. Nice
place. Spent one night there, and then Tobias (german) left to meet
up with the group we were with before, and i stayed to catch a bus
east. His bus left at 10am, mine, i found out, left town everynight
between 7pm and 10pm. So, a long day of waiting, carrying my big
bag all day, sitting by the river reading, and taking videos of
some local kids doing flips and cartwheels of a little sand thing.
They love to watch videos of themselves and pictures as they have
nothing really like it, so, they'd do a few cartwheels or what not,
and then come running over to watch the video. So, as my day
consisted of a lot of waiting, and i did not want to miss the bus
and wait another day, i went to the bus stop at 6:30pm. Just a
little wooden platform at a toll gate where the bus stops to pay
the toll and let people on. So, the bus leaves the capital of Laos
in the morning, and then goes to Sam Neua (where i wanted to go),
and i just have to get on when it passes through Nong Khiaw,
sometime between 7pm and 10pm. I was happy to sit and read and i
hadn't done any reading for a few days, and was getting into the
first Lord of the Rings. 8pm, no bus. 9pm, no bus. Keep reading and
waiting. 11pm, no bus, keep waiting and wondering if it's actually
going to show up. Midnight, the bus arrives, finally. I was happy
as it get's cold at night in the north, and i was beginning to
wonder if it would show up. So, i get on to behold a scene of a bit
of chaos. Rice bags up the aisle, people stretched out sleepin on
the rice bags, people laid out across the aisle sleeping, and the
back of the bus piled with luggage, with people crashed out on it.
No rhyme or reason to it, just pick a place and try ad sleep. I got
what i call the remainder seat. It's like when you do long division
and you have a remainder. "Billy, if you have x metres, and you
have to fit one bench seat every 2 feet, how many bench seats can
you build?" And billy does the math and comes up with a number like
"you can fit 20.75 bench seats" which in the real world, translated
into 20 benches. But, being in Laos, they put in the 0.75 seat, the
remainder seat, the seat i was destined to have for 11 hours on one
of the worst roads in laos. All in all it worked out well. The guy
beside me was taking up a bit more than half the room, but i was
able to put my big bag in the aisle on top of some rice bags, and
my day bag on top of that, and lean into the aisle and sleep on my
bags. So, all in all, i slept quite well. The road was bad though,
windy, pot holed, and dotted with sleeping cows for the drivers to
negotiate around. But, all in all, i slept well. The bus was funny
in itelf. The next day when i was awake and paying attention i was
noticing the subtle intricacies of the bus. Such as: it didn't like
to go into gear properly, so they'd mis-shift or just have to ram
it into gear. So, we'd be grinding up a hill, and they'd go to
down-shift and they'd miss the shift, which meant the bus lost all
momentum and they'd have to start from a dead stop. But, by the
time they'd get it into 1st gear, and ready to go, the engine would
stall. So they'd turn the key and get that robotic sound that you
get when your starters toast. So, from there, we'd coast back
downhill and they'd put the bus in reverse and pop the clutch to
lurch the engine to life. then, at the bottom of the hill, we could
get a run up to the hill and make it up. So, probably one of the
worst bus rides as inside the bus was in complete disaray, and the
bus itself should have been taken out back and shot, but also the
best bus ride as it just made me laugh. Good times.
So the 11 hours was actually 15 and i arrived into Sam Neua and was
happy to dump my bags in a guest house. My next task was money. In
Nong Khiaw, because of having money taken just before, i wasn't
even sure if i had enough for the bus ride. Nong Khiaw has no bank,
as most little don't, so no exchanging traveller's cheques. But,
Sam Neua did, so, as long as i could make it there, i was good. so,
i made it there and was happy and a bit relieved. But, the bank was
closed as it was sunday. No problem. Returned the next day, still
closed, and there was a funny note in Laos and the only thing i
could understand was two dates written on it. One was yesterday's
dat, and one was the date in three days. Not good. I figured it
meant closed from the first date, to the next. And i was right. It
was Laos independance weekend so lots of things were closed. So the
stress came back. No bank, no money, and the prospect of hanging
out in another little dusty place waiting three days with no money
to do anything didn't excite me too much. As luck would have it, i
got pointed in the direction of a place that exchanged travellers
cheques. So, i went there, and they pointed somewhere else, who
pointed to somewhere else. But i did get it sorted out and was
quite relieved. Now i had money. So, the reason to go to Sam Neua
is that it's far away from everything and has these caves just
outside of town, in Viang Xai, where the Laos president and people
lived for 9 years while they were being heavily bombed by the
americans. I met another white guy, and we went to the caves.
Swedish guy, gustav i think. The caves were interesting, and again,
Viang Xai was a little place surrounded by the limestone cliffs
with caves. In the caves they still had the original beds and rooms
of the president, the emergency rooms with two thick metal locking
doors with oxygen filtering machine inside if they had to shut
themsleves in for a while. Kind of a powerful thing to see as you
can see first hand where a population of people spent 9 years.
So, back to the bombing. Laos? Bombed by the U.S.? Yep. Between
1965 and 1974. Why? Because there was a communist movement in
northeasterm Laos, and the U.S. did not want this communism thing
spreading. So, they tried to blow it up. Laos is the most heavily
bombed country in the world. The U.S. dropped more bombs on laos
than they did on Japan and Germany combined in WWII. The population
of Laos at the time was around 4 million, approx, and the U.S.
dropped a total of 2tons of explosive material for every Laos
person. The vast majority of these bombs were not anti tank or
building, but rather cluster bombs. A big shell drops out of a
plane, opens mid to release a couple hundred softball sized bombs
that contain a couple hundred ball bearings. So, the little cluster
bombs hit the ground and send ball bearing shooting out as shrapnel
150ft in each direction. Bad for people. even worse is that up to
%30 didn't explode and are still lying around Laos, so kids play
with the "softballs", and they blow up and kill them and injure
whoever else is nearby. There are some international organisations
that are removing the surface UXO (unexploded objects) but that's
only in some areas, and only the ones on the surface. So, for
farmers who need to increase land size to grow more rice to feed
growing villages, digging up new ground, they run the risk of
setting off these buried cluster bombs with their shovels. So,
Laos, being one of the poorest countries in the world, is having a
bit of a harder time developing itself because when they want to
build new roads, or farm new land, they run the risk of being blown
up. Apparently when this war was going on, the president of the
U.S. did not know about it, it was strictly a military operation,
so, it was called the 'Secret War". Vietnam was being bombed in
that time frame also, and if the bomber planes weren't safe to go
over vietnam and drop their bombs, and the certainly didn't want to
land with big bombs on board, they'd just drop them on Laos
instead. apparently the ongoing UXO problem in Laos is on par with
the landmines in cambodia, but because the war was much less known
about, laos was much slower to get aid, and it's not too known
about. Not so good for Laos. I almost got stuck in Viang Xai as
buses stopped early and i missed the last one, but being the rich
foreigner, i was able to give a teenager on a motorbike some money
to drive me back the half hour to Sam Neua.
From Sam Neua, to Phonsavan, to see the 'Plain of Jars', these big
limestone jars weighing between 100kg to a metric ton. Kind of
impressive as they were 3000 years old, but when all is said and
done, they're just these big rock jars laying around in this field.
Oooooh. And, the people who made them had no written language, so
what these jars were for, who knows. they think either to make rice
whisky, or as gravestones. But they don't really know. Met a couple
aussie girls on the bus to Phonsavan and we stayed at the same
guesthouse. The guesthouse was full, but as they want your business
to take you to the Plain of Jars, they said we could stay for free
and sleep in their reception/eating/fire area. Good times. The
girls ended up sharing a room cuz another girl had a spare bed, but
i wsa more than happy to sleep in my sleeping bag for free! Yep
free, saved myself $2. It's all relative though. Also saw some
local villages there which were nice, and unique in that their
elevated huts were made on stands using bomb casings which around
4feet tall. they use bomb casings as troughs to feed the pigs, as
long pots to grow veg and herbs in, to make fences, and they work
them so they can make spoons, pots and pans, and whatever else they
can. Quite innovative. was there for the 'courting' time of year
where boys and girls each stand in rows, and throw balls back and
forth, and if a boy and girl like each other, they only throw the
ball to each other and talk. It's like something to do on an
awkward first date, instead of sitting at a table in an awkward
silence, they throw a ball for distraction. I'll have to remember
that one. Apparently the guys can have more than one wife also.
When an older guy goes looking for a 2nd younger wife, they say
"old buffalo looking for new grass". I thought "old buffalo looking
for new ass" was more appropriate. Funny.
From there to Vang Vieng, a very westernized hangout place with
slow river tubing, many bars and cafes (3 of which play "friends"
episodes back to back all day and all night, wtf?), and many bars
boasting 'happy shakes', 'happy pizza" and anything else you want
happyfied with ganja, mushrooms, or opium. I had a nice little
raised bamboo bungalow on the river, $3 a night, little mattress on
the floor, lamp in the corner, little balcony with hammock. Good
times. I wanted to spend at least a few days here cuz in the last 5
days, i had spent 3 of those on a bus for a total of 32 hours. Met
up with the aussie girls from Phonsavan, met a group of english
guys, and just bummed around, tubed on the river, rented a
motorbike and saw some caves with pools and fish(more
caves.....notice a theme here?) and tried to recharge my batteries
a bit. Tubing was great as you just float slowly down a river lined
with big steep mountains, and stop at the various bars that have
rope swings and zip lines, and watch people swing and backflip, and
other people flail and bellyflop, all while consuming big bottles
of beer. By the end i was almost too drunk to stand, which was fine
cuz you just have to sit in the tubes, and, sometimes you could hit
your butt on the bottom, so they're wasn't a drowning risk. So,
Vang Vieng was nice, but it is not Laos. It is a westernized
tourist trap that is a good place to recharge, and after a few
nights there, a few late nights at the riverside bars sitting on
bamboo platforms with beers, i was ready to move on for early
nights, travelling, and seeing more actual Laos.
To Vientiane, the capital of Laos. I had heard not so great things
about it. Boring, bland, nothing really there, so, when i arrived
expecting the worst, i was pleasantly surprised. French style
buildings, nice cafes, riverside, little bit of music, and
international ATM's! Did a lot of wandering, and just spent a few
days there waiting for my cambodian visa to go through so i could
move on. Met a nice Laos guy who wanted to hang out because he
wanted to practice english because he wanted to be a tour guide. He
wanted to show me around a bit because he had read about all of the
tourist sights, but had never been there and he wanted to practice
the tour guide thing. I was apprehensive as it was a very similar
story to the guy who brougth us to his little village, only with
good intentions, but then scamming money. But, i didn't have to go
anywhere, and at worst, i could just say 'later' and leave. So, i
gave him a chance, because maybe he was just a nice guy. Met him in
the evening, and we agreed to meet up the following morning and go
to a few temples. So, we did. We went to a few temples, he told me
what he had read about the history, and i talked to him about
things, ad he would pull out a pen and paper and write down words
he didn't know. At the end of the day, we had some noodle soup at
his neighbour's little restaurant, which i paid for to say thanks.
So, he really was just a nice guy, which made me happy that i was
able to teach him some more english and chat with him. I was
supposed to leave that evening, but my visa wasn't ready so i
stayed another night. I met up with my buddy again the next
morning, we had some coffee and we talked about things that he
wanted to know about so he knew how to say things in English. All
in all, vientiane was good. Very small city for a capital city,
400, 000 people? Pleasant riverside. A little on the quiet side,
but i was okay with that as i was happy to be quiet after Vang
Vieng.
Next place was Champasak, to see the oldest ruins in Laos.
Champasak was tiny, but again relaxing. Guest House on the Mekong,
hammocks, and a great family that ran it. they spoke more french
than english, so for the first time ever, my french came in handy.
The Mr. of the family would laugh after everything he said or you
said. "Sabai dee" and then have a good ol' chuckle (sabai dee being
laos for 'hello', hilarious). In the evening he'd drink and share a
bit of Lao Lao (potent rice whisky that could double as gasoline)
and laugh. Biked to the ruins with an arrogant torontonian and saw
those. Quite nice, old, eroded. Like a small version of cambodia's
Angkor Wat, which is huge and very famous, the 'site to see' in
cambodia", which i have yet to see.
Then to Tadlo, a quiet place with nice surrounds. Arrived there
with a few people, and shared a room with a french guy who was just
getting over food poisoning. Lonely Planet says something like
"although guest houses and bugalows have been popping up recently,
the village still has an untouched feel to it". I think that was
accurate. There were 5 guesthouses there, enough, and you wondered
why so many because you didn't see many/any white people there or
touristy stuff. My guest house had a good eating area that was
great for sitting and meeting people, as there's nothing else to
do, so you meet people and chat and have some beers. Knew a guy
there who had arrived the day before me, and he had gone on a hike
that day. So, i went for a swim the just returned hikers and jumped
off a 20ft 'cliff' into a waterfall pool. It was a bit chilly out
that day, but i wanted to swim and it was a gorgeous low and wide
waterfall. the next day i went on the hike. $3 for 6 hours with a
guide. Went with a spanish couple from barcelona, where they speak
catalan, not spanish, who knew? Very nice hike. 5 villages, which
were probably my favorite villages in Laos. They weren't geared for
tourists, they were just getting on with life and would just go
about their business when you walked through. The kids would stare
and yell "Sabai dee!" and would nervously pose for pictures, and
would crowd around and laugh when you showed them the picture on
the back of the digital camera. Very nice, and seemingly untouched.
Saw a big waterfall, and climbed up beside it to get a big view. At
the end of the day, had a beer with the guide and the spanish
couple, who left that evening, and the went back to shower and hang
out with my recovering 'roomate', Arnout. He had speakers for his
Ipod, so, for the first time in 6 weeks, i heard good music through
speakers. Maybe the greatest thing ever. All evening, jsut sat
around, read, chatted, and listened to music. so great. Next day, i
was thinking about leaving, but Arnout was feeling better, so we
did the hike again. I sort of knew the route, so we just went
together. Met up with a slovenian couple who were trying to find
these places but didn't know where they were. so, a nice group
hike. It was a bit longer this day as i couldn't remember the exact
path (c'mon, it was almost 24 hours later, give me a break), so the
15km hike turned into 20km. still, good times and more scenery.
then, onto food, and more music and reading.
Next day left to go to Si Phan Don, which means '4000 islands'. A
little area where where the Mekong widens and is spotted with
islands of various sizes, 3 of which have guest houses and
bungalows. I stayed on Don Det in a little bamboo place, like a
bamboo guest house. Bungalows are usually a single unit, where this
was like a motel made out of bamboo. Walls were about as soundproof
as paper, but out of the door was the river and hammocks and a
great place to chill out and meet people from the neighbouring
rooms. I knew one of my neighbours as we met on the sawngthiaw to
catch the boat to the island. She was an english girl who was a bit
apprehensive about being on her own, a bit of a worrier who was
trying to get comfortable with the idea not knowing how much things
were and where she would stay in advance. Next to her was a
german/english guy with a half/half accent who was killing time,
living on a $4/day budget while he waited for his girlfriend to fly
into thailand. So, 4000 islands wsa definately the most chilled out
place, and extremely picturesque. Brown river dotted with trees and
bushes growing out of the water, some small, some tree quite big
and expanding into a large umbrella at the top. Probably my
favorite place in Laos. at night, lots of people went to the 'rasta
bar' where you were almost guaranteed lots of people and lots of
chatting and meeting people. Went there a couple nights, ran into
the spanish couple and met the people they were with. two groups of
israelis who bickered about judaism and kosher stuff, and some
french canadians. Then next night went with vicky (english girl)
again and dragged german guy there and bought him a couple of
beers, as he was on a tight budget, and big beers were $1. Good
times all around. my last full day there, met up with another
english guy who i had met in Tadlo and we rented kayaks for a
couple of hours and went a short ways around the island. Beatiful
area. Guest house was good, but the showers had no lights (and the
guest house only had electricity between 6pm and 9pm) and even in
the day they were too dark. So, into the Mekong with a bar of soap!
Also good times. I spent 4 days there total, but could have spent
4000, ha.
On fourth day, i left for cambodia, Dec 24th.
And that's it for now. Reliving the past month, good times, typing
for 2 hours straight, moderately okay times.
Hope none of you have sore eyes, sorry for the length,..., and of
course, merry belated christmas, happy new years, and happy
holidays.
more soon
remember, you can email me too!
mark

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