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Published: August 18th 2006
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The Mekon River
It starts in China dont you know. Rick:
These hornlogs are coming thick and fast at mo. So thought I'd give the long winded blog slog a go this time instead of Becky, I think there is something for everyone in here (and maybe a little offensive to some) so.........
We only spent about a week in Laos but was enough to get a feel for the place as we travelled right across hilly North Laos. Its a really lush (literally very green) relaxed country making me cast my mind back those long 10 months ago when we started travelling in South America in places like Equador, Peru and Bolivia. Also maybe a bit like Thailand was 20 years ago, before the onslaught of Westerners like me! We had very, very, long, slow winding boat and bus journeys giving a amazing insight into a very poor country steeped in pointless foreign intrusion. Firstly the colonial French pointlessly adding a silent "s" to the end of Lao and introducing the game of boules and secondly the Americans pointlessly dropping $2000000 worth of bombs a day for 9 years in a secret war against against a few Communists hiding from Vietnam.
Mekong River
Once crossing the boarder
into Laos from Thailand we had a 2 day boat journey down the Mekong. This you will probably thinking sounds idylic, and it was certainly great experience. What was not so great was it was for 9 hours a day with no break for 2 days, perching on narrow wooded benches which sent your arse numb after about 5 minutes, leg room only suitable for small asian dwarves and the worst was sitting next to 3 very LOUD Americans talking absolute codswallop (for want of a better good old fashioned British word). I do find it is interesting how in any country that has been invaded/colonised/bombed or whatever it is always visited by aggresor, and the English are no exception always visiting Scotland!
Luang Prabang
After 2 days we walked off the boat like John Wayne to a gorgeously realaxed small old city. Load of lovely old Buddist temples, monks, old french style buildings and tasty baguttes. Also went for a day trip to a gushing tiered waterfall called Kouang Si and some very strange apparently rescued Asiatic bears.
Phonsaven
We felt we needed more long arduous jorneys so decided to get a public bus to a crap
Setting off down the Mekong
Becky excited at the start of the journey. town called Phonsaven. This involved getting up riduculously early to get a seat so as to avoid standing next to the locals with their livestock for 11 hours and to allow time for the hoisting up of mopeds onto the roof and the guaranteed breakdown of the bus (each of the 3 buses to Phonsaven on the 3 days we were there broke down, including ours). The journey, like the boat ,although painful was completely compelling, watching the spectaular hills and the hard-working locals stopping to wave and stare at the weird "falang". This is proper travelling again.
Plain of Jars
We came to this crap town on our way to the Vietnam boarder but also to see "The Plain of Jars". These carved and constructed stone pillars with holes in the top (some with lids) are "believed" (guessed) to be used as funeral urns up to 2000 years ago by an anciet SE Asian race whose culture is now totally unknown. Spooky. Of course good old Uncle Sam bombed and ruined many of these ancient jars, which was nice of them, cos a few "commies" we hiding out here. They were able to do so because this was
After 30 mins
Going, going.......... a "secret war" and the Rules of Engagement - prohibited bombing within a certain distance of temples and established policies toward civilians - were not in force.
The history lesson on "The Secret War"
Today I am your history teacher and in fact Laos in the 60s and 70s, officially neautral, was and is still most bombed country in history. But, no one knows about it because it was so secret that the country's name was never included in any of the original US records and was the biggest CIA opperation ever. To avoid the Geneva Convention USA sent CIA agents and soldiers in under the guise of civilians; the air raid missions were fought by men in cutoff shorts and cowboy hats, so they must have really blended in the locals!
Where's Princess Di when you need her
Will someone please think of the children! Of the 2 million tonnes bombs dropped around 30 percent did not detonate, thus shedloads of dangerous stuff still out there. Ironically there's been minimal help from the good old US of A in clearing Laos (there probably still busy bombing Afghanistan, Iraq and getting ready with other Axis of Weevil) but
The British Mines Advisory Group are trying to clear it slowly, and unless the ghost of Priness Di mutates and a million of her come back it will take 50-100 years to clear.
Gotta Keep Going
Like the Littlest Hobo we've got to keep moving so just for more fun we decided to take a marathon 23 hour bus relay across to the Laos border and beyond into Hanoi, Vietnam. And I'm sure you're already looking forward to the next exciting installment of our big smelly log.
Cheers
Rick
Littlest Hobo Lyrics
There's a voice that keeps on calling me
Down the road is where I'll always be
Every stop I make, I'll make a new friend
Can't stay for long, just turn around and I'm gone again.
Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down,
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on.
Down this road, that never seems to end,
Where new adventure, lies just around the bend.
So if you want to join me for a while
Just grab your hat, come travel light - that's hobo style.
Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down,
Until tomorrow, the whole world is my
Mekong Family
Living in wooden houses by the side of the river home.
So if you want to join me for a while
Just grab your hat, come travel light
That's hobo style.
Maybe tomorrow, I'll want settle down,
Until tomorrow, I'll just keep moving on
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Browny
non-member comment
Your hotel room looked a little cramped Rick.