Do One Thing Everyday That Scares You!

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It's 7.36pm on Tuesday 6th September- Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I'm currently sat upright in bed running two laptops, catching glimpses of Big Cat Diary in the background and listening to the snores and snorts from Scott as he probably dreams of snow or something cold! After typing the previous sentence I've realised I should probably reduce my carbon footprint immediately and turn off a few things, okay a sock in Scott's mouth it is!! We've already passed through Vietnam and spent three weeks travelling north to south so I have a lot to catch up on. Brace yourself - This could be a long one!

This is where all the activity happened and to this day we still regularly talk about this section of the trip for many reasons as you'll come to understand. Where do I even begin, many trials & tribulations were experienced during our last week in Laos as we began to head north east towards the newly opened border to Vietnam. I'll admit that I've thought about this blog a lot and put it off now for a few weeks already. If I was being totally truthful it was one of the most challenging weeks of travelling yet but weirdly the most exciting and rewarding, being truly rural and in the midst of...well, nothing! But, I cant give up and fail the blog now, it seems I have a follower or two whom have recently commented that they've enjoyed reading my attempts of documenting parts of the trip, and I'm super pleased there are. It's the only thing that motivates me to continue tapping away at the keyboard in times of utter laziness and if I manage to see it through to the end it will be a fab personal achievement for me and hopefully one that I can look back upon when I'm grey and wrinkly or it can at least be used as a short story to bore naughty children with at bed-time!

Alrighty then... First up was the bumpy 100mph minibus journey from Luang Prabang to Nong Kiaw driven by the one and only Michael Shoe-maker! Fours hours of roof head butting, three vehicle changes and two hitch-hiking locals later, we arrived relatively unscathed. It was so rural, that I'm sure Michael had driven faster than the speed of light and we'd travelled back in time to the Jurassic age!

We hadn't booked any accommodation in advanced but it's low season and we hoped to find something sufficient enough for a few nights. We did seek out what we thought was a clean and comfortable bamboo bungalow only to find that we woke the next morning with either mouse or rat droppings on the bed covers!!! Arghh, the thought of Minnie & Mickey scurrying around in bed was enough for us to promptly pack up and find somewhere else. We immediately hot footed it to the opposite side of the riverbank and secured another room at Sunrise Guest House with fantastic balcony views. The Ou River flows directly through Nong Kiaw with the main focal point being a handsome bridge (if there's such a thing!) which carries sparse traffic along route 1 north and later into Vietnam, one road in, one road out. The scenery surrounding the rustic town was simply incredible. Low lying clouds clung to dramatic vertical limestone mountains and valleys covered thick with forest. Another sparkling jewel in the Laos crown which left us both with open jaws in amazement. The banks of the river were a busy central hub of activity with fishermen hauling in the daily catch, women bent double washing the pots and pans and children screeching with laughter as they splashed about close to the undersides of boats. Homes were as simple as it gets. Wooden, stilted and charming. Clothes hung in each pane-less window, corn scattered on plastic sheets slowly drying in the heat of day with chickens, ducks and geese seeking shade, pecking away at the dirt.

There wasn't too much to do in the way of activities or sights, mainly abseiling and hiking. Considering me and Scott aren't the most enthusiastic of individuals regarding jungle expeditions we decided a visit to the Pha Toke Cave would suffice and be well within our lethargic capabilities! Off we went armed with a bottle of water each, plenty of sunscreen and in the direction an old weathered wooden board which pointed 2km east of the town. What we should have packed was our armoured vest and safety goggles, silly us! Approximately half-way up the only road we both came to a sudden halt after hearing a series of, what at first, sounded like explosions. We turned round to look at the horror expressed on each others face and immediately started to question each other seeking reassurance that we hadn't just walked into World War 3. Quickly, we persuaded ourselves it was just a storm rolling in off the hills with huge claps and grumbles of thunder. We'd heard almighty storms before and it looked as if there were a few clouds gathering from the village behind so decided to continue in the direction of the caves. Only to walk another 100 meters round a corner and interrupt a large group of official looking workers and vehicles parked on a verge at the side of a field. We recognised the lettering on the side of the vans as UXO and immediately put two and two together. Looking inquisitive a lovely Swiss woman wandered over to explain all the activity and confirmed that they were making controlled explosions of undetonated Vietnam war ordnance. In this particular field a local farmer had requested the land be checked before using for agricultural purposes. The government supported UXO team search, destroy and clear the ordnance. 200 million tons were dropped by the US in Loas during the war and 30% failed to detonate leaving the land littered with 80 million unexploded bombs! In this field alone she explained there were 97. A sobering experience and to think such beautiful landscape and people have been scarred on such a dramatic scale, living in fear on a daily basis. The volunteer showed us a few pieces of the explosion we had just heard and gave us a bomblet to take away with us. A perfect souvenir and one that Scott will take pride in when recalling the story later! We were both kind of relieved that we were now aware what had made our pants turn brown but slightly nervous at the same time. We agreed as long as we stuck to well trodden paths we'd be fine!

So continuing what was now becoming a mini-adventure we found the entrance to the dirt track which would hopefully take us to the caves, even if it was turned upside down and back to front we were sure we had the right place. By now a local was following us which was slightly worrying but there was one other tourist taking the same route and locals are generally really helpful, if not me and Scott were sure we could take him! The short but slender chap shouted over in broken English - "Cave!" We nodded in agreement. We could see a fast flowing river ahead with no bridge or other means of crossing. I had read not long ago of someone else taking this journey to the exact same place but there was no mention of having to swim! But that is exactly what we had to do! Whilst um-ing and argh-ing, weighing up all the pro's and con's the local had stripped down to his snazzy bright blue underpants quicker than a flash and jumped in the water beckoning us to join. We decided we would let the other Japanese tourist cross first to gauge the safety as he was roughly the same build as me, he made it! He also stripped down to his crackers and before long I was surrounded by 3 semi naked men! Was a sight for sore eyes let me tell you! Looking back now I should have got a picture of them all, lined up like a rainbow with the array of coloured cloth covering there bits & bobs! Anyway I went first and left Scott behind, fully clothed of course and crossed fine apart from a stumble or two on the loose rocks below, but the local had a reassuring grip on my arm and a funny grin on his face!! Next up was the mud bath footpath! Sandals were off as we trudged through the slop that lined the rice paddy and towards the cave which was now in sight. Muddy gunge covered each leg and with each step the brown goo oozed through each toe! After all this excitement the caves were slightly disappointing in comparison but we got a real treat of what it would have been like during the war. These caves were apparently used as a headquarters and a hideout during bombing. It just so happened whilst climbing out of the cave another explosion resonated round the walls and gave us a real sense of what it would have been like! That evening we were both still buzzing off the afternoons events and what will be a memorable day. I have to agree with a saying I once heard; Do something that scares you everyday! Stepping out of the comfort zone and into the fear of the un-known.Hear, hear!

We stayed a Nong Kiaw for three nights in total and decided to move on due to only having a week left before our Vietnam visa commenced and we still another 2 or 3 stops left.

The alarm sounded early the next morning waking to prepare us for an hours journey up river to a tiny village called Muang Ngoi Neua. However there was no need to set the clock as each noisy cockerel took turns in interrupting our peaceful dreams singing the dawn chorus - COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOO! A few were in need of practice though as they sounded a little rusty but it was a change to wake up to the sound of nature and not the annoying chimes of the usual alarm-clock.

Muang Ngoi Neua was described in the guidebook as being a remote and delightful village set beneath a jagged backdrop of saw-tooth karsts with no real roads and only accessible by boat! Great, we were up for the challenge and would use this as a stop off for a long journey the next day. However the boat only leaves if there are enough passengers to justify the trip. so fingers and toes crossed! We arrived one hour and two numb bum later and wowzers, it was exactly as described! Immediately we were pounced on with a local persuading us to take a look at his bamboo hut just next to the boat pier, close by THE restaurant and on the river. We agreed on a price and it was super cheap. It's true, you get what you paid for and we're certain we didn't ask for a roach and a giant speeding tarantula! Fark... now It's usually Scott who's running away from giant insects like the slinky centipede we encountered in the last place but this time it was me. Im not usually too bothered about bugs and other creepy crawlies but I had to draw the line somewhere. I got rid of the cockroach and demanded it was Scott's turn to take care of the spider. Under the safety of the mozzy net I watched on as Scott safely contained the beast under the soap box lid and secured it with a bottle of water on top just in-case it had spinach for breakfast and was able to escape and eat us! Obviously that's a slight exaggeration and felt a bit guilty about whoever lifted the lid the next morning, probably giving them a slight fright!

After dropping our packs we decided to explore our new surroundings. It took about 20 mins! There was only one long, narrow and dusty road lined with basic wooden homes and a mobile food stall. It was weird being only 2 out of 5 backpackers who arrived on the boat and whilst walking about we noticed there were only locals hurriedly taking cover from the incoming monsoon shower and young children chasing after dogs tails, who barked at cats, which stalked the ducks, who were quacking at chicks, which were busy scrapping in the dirt pecking ants!! You get my drift? It reminded me of an old nursery rhyme called "There was an old lady!" I'll sing it you.. "There was an old lady who swallowed a cow, she swallowed the cow to catch the dog, she swallowed the dog to catch the cat, she swallowed the cat to catch the bird and so on! It was a real life limerick!

We took refuge also and perched ourselves on a step observing from the side-lines before heading to a deserted restaurant. The family were really sweet and consisted of Dad who was working knee high in the river painting his boat a cool shade of blue. Mum was running round after her cheeky but cute daughter while the eldest three siblings looked after everything we needed for a spot of lunch. I seem to have a strange affect on children or visa versa, I cant quite work it out but within minutes the toddler threw her arms round my legs and wiped her snotty nose on my lap....aww how sweet! But she actually was a beautiful and funny kid. Bringing books over, sharing a few toys and blowing kisses every now and then. Later during the day we stumbled upon a local match of Thuck Thay played by a group of teenage lads. Thuck Thay means twine and kick, a cross between football and volleyball. We gathered that the rules were to hit the woven reed ball over the volleyball styled net using only the feet, knee, chest and head. It was actually really entertaining and funny to watch. They were unbelievably flexible; somersaulting over head kicks and flying headers all to score a point against the opposite team!

It was an early night but only because we didn't have a choice. With electricity only running between 6pm-10pm we made sure we were under the safety of the mosquito net and in bed before the generators were switched off. Obviously with no electricity meant no fan either and it had been a scorcher as usual! In usual circumstances I'd be wrapping myself up like a kinder surprise in my silk sheet liner curling up into a foetus shaped ball ready for bo bo's! However I sacked off the liner hoping it would feel cooler and be easier to sleep...little did I realise that it would be the worst decision I had made yet and became a living feast for every bedbug in town! I tried to count them the next day...64 on one arm and after reaching 100+ I stopped as it started to freak me out that i'd been munched on by little critters while peacefullly sleeping. Not only were they itchy and sore but it looked like I had caught some sort of dirty skin disease with red lumps covering my arms, legs, back and face! This was to tip me over the edge of sanity! Without realising I stuffed my liner back into my rucksack and along with it my scarf which had been laid across the bed all night. So this meant I had to wash the entire contents of my pack to make sure the blood sucking feckers died, died, died!!!

On that note I'll leave it here for now with you all hopefully feeling a little itchy & scratchy, welcome to my world!

Love & Hugs

x x x

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