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Published: October 1st 2006
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We have just arrived into Luang Nam Tha which is in the North of Laos, not far from the Chinese border. We have had an incredible week - not always easy and often uncomfortable - but filled with amazing experiences.
We finally forced ourselves to leave the beautiful and relaxing city, Luang Prabang, and headed west by water, bound for Luang Nam Tha and determined to get there avoiding buses when possible. The two day journey on a long boat allowed us to see incredible scenery. However, the scenery didn't really change for two days and becomes slightly less impressive when you are sat on a really hard bench with a numb bum for the second day in a row! We stopped in a small town for the night which had nothing remarkable except the wide array of illegal drugs openly on offer! Needless to say we did not take advantage of this facility.
When we finally arrived in Huay Xai, on the Thai border, boat weary and very hungry, we started to look into the next leg of our journey. When the owner of the hostel started discussing bus tickets with us, a man on a neighbouring table
jumped up and told us to avoid that bus journey if at all possible as it is horrendous - the brakes broke on his bus and the road was terrible etc, etc. That was all the persuading I needed, however, the only alternative was to charter a speed boat up the Mekong as far as Xieng Kok then find our own way across. Laos is a very difficult country to travel around! In the Lonely Planet, there is a full section on the dangers of these speed boats and they are described as 'a surf board with a powerful engine stuck on the back'. They are apparently THE most dangerous way to travel and people are regularly killed as they flip over if they hit a rock. Oddly I was not at all worried about the speed boat despite the fact I was terrified of the elephant ride and bus journey! Neil however was the most scared I've ever seen him and didn't speak for about 4 hours, he did however learn his 3 and 7 times tables! We survived it though and it was very exciting!
We then caught a truck to a small town called Muang Long
and we got stuck there as there were no buses leaving that day. It was a very strange little town, full of men playing snooker and staring at us as the only two Westerners there. We asked for a map to do some exploring and the guesthouse owner rang the only English speaker in the town; a lovely young man called 'Fat' who teaches at the local school. After much discussion he took us to buy some food and then agreed to take us on a two day trek to see some local hill tribes. We were the only tourists to do this since February so we got a lot of attention and heard 'Falang' (meaning 'Frenchman') shouted a lot!
The trekking itself was really hard. It involved hacking through thick jungle and a lot of climbing and crossing streams. It was also incredibly hot! Whilst I followed the guide's example and paddled through the rivers in my shoes, Neil insisted on removing boots and socks at every crossing which amused the guide so much he took lots of pictures with his camera - he had a bit of a crush on Neil! When we eventually arrived at the
village where we were to stay we were so tired and absolutely covered with insect bites and leeches. At one point I noticed blood splattered all over Neil's shirt from one particularly nasty leech - YUK!
The village was incredible isolated. They spoke their own language and there were no roads anywhere near. We caused a lot of excitement, and from the second we arrived, a group of children followed every single thing we did. They ran away if we moved towards them but soon scurried back to see what we were going to do next! After a quick wash at the communal tap, watched by 30 or so people who gasped when Neil took off his top, it was time for food. Now we had explained to our guide that we were vegetarian (we've discovered it's safest to avoid meat where possible) he completely did not understand the concept and every thing came with meat. Luckily he informed us that this tribe don't eat dog unlike the other ones! However, due to the lack of local Tescos, everything they eat comes from the land around them which includes all the insects. As a 'special' treat we got to
eat big fried maggot things in the chief's hut surrounded by people watching every move! It wasn't like they did it for the tourists to see their expressions it was just what they ate. So we had to try them and they tasted like crispy chicken skin but you just couldn't get away from the fact you were eating a maggot!
After the most original 'tuck-in Thursday' yet, we were then treated to a traditional massage which any visitor from another tribe receives when staying in the village. It was absolutely fantastic with two or three people at a time massaging us - you could almost forget the 20 pair of eyes staring at us through the candlelight! We then slept in the chief's hut with quite a few other people. We were SO exhausted that we did actually get some sleep though the chickens woke us up at 5. The children were already there, watching us! I still put my make-up on though. I then drew some pictures for the children and tried to get them to say the names but they just giggled! We then tucked into beef soup and rice for breakfast (MMMMmm) and sat and
watched along with the rest of the village as some people came from a neighbouring tribe to barter for bugs.
Our weary journey back involved stopping at a few more villages. One of these had a shortage of women and apparently Neil could have sold me for 3 buffaloes! In the hut where we stopped for our lunch, the people brought out this paste stuff wrapped in leaves which involved crushed rice and stone. The texture of it was absolutely vile and poor Neil had to sneakily eat both to avoid offending them!
When we finally got back to our hostel we both fell asleep by 8! It was an amazing experience and we were so lucky to stumble across it but it was hard, hard work. It is nice now to be in a town where people stare (slightly) less and we don't have to travel for a few days. We are planning to explore the national park at a leisurely pace and we've met up with some friends we made in Luang Prabang (in fact Neil is supping on the first BeerLao of the day with them right now!). On Friday we are flying out to
The village school
It's the future - no interactive whiteboards to steal! Vietnam and hoping to avoid the storms. Getting around is definitely the hardest part of travelling!
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Mr Baggs
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Amazing Laos
This brings back so many amazing memories! Laos was the best place i went. The hardest, but most rewarding. Doesn't sound like it has changed much in the 8 years since i have been, and yet i expect it has in so many ways. Still dodgy wooden benches for seats along roads that are worse than Sheffield's, if thats possible! Some fantastic stories, Neil, you always seem to find the hardest route through a country! The good news is that we have booked our tickets to NZ! We leave on 29th Jan! 1 week in San Fran then 7 in NZ with Jack n Rose. No Thailand for us :( as too much extra on the flights... oh well can't have it all, all the time! Enjoy every minute. Gareth