Tha Khaek (and around), Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang

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HIIIII,


Dan and I are on the last legs of our trip now, in fact we've planned the next two weeks already (well we kinda had to as we needed to figure out how to get our butts back to Saigon - the answer being the simplest, flying). In the last week plus we have worked our way from Southern Laos to smack dab in the middle of Northern Laos. After Pakse, the biggest city in the South, we went to Tha Khaek where we took in the limestone mountains around us, explored Vientiane, the capital city, tubed in Vang Vieng, the backpacker hub of Laos, and landed in Luang Prabang, the center of buddism in Laos.


We spent most of our time around Tha Khaek which is actually a very small town that we never even had time to explore (I take that back, I never had time, Dan got up at 5:30 in the morning to walk around while that is just not in my disposition). We got to Tha Khaek by the public bus which made a 150 mile trip into a 10 hour ordeal. Tha Khaek is a jumping off point to explore Phu Hin Bun NPA (National Protected Area). Phu Hin Bun is filled with limestone cliffs (karst mountains to be exact) that tower over you while you walk through its flat terrain. We went on a two day trek through the region so we could fully experience the mountains around us. I thought they resembled Zion or Joshua Tree (although it's been quite sometime since my 9th grade trip to Joshua Tree so my memory is hazy). It is the closest thing we have gotten to the national beauty of the west coast.

The trek group had two other french couples, one in their mid 20s, and one in their mid 40s who were obvious fitness enthusiasts. In fact, we ran into them the next day after they completed a 40k bike ride (which they also made sure we knew how long they had cycled). I don't think they were quite impressed with our treking abilities or consumption of packaged goods - the trek supplied chocolate wafers that were so good we went out and bought a big package of them (they are by far the best chocolate we have found on our trip). But the other couple was really nice, and it was a good group overall.


On the first day of the trek we explored three caves - the first one we got to crawl about 50 feet around and see crystal like rock formations; the second one had a blue lake that went both outside and inside the cave, it provided a refreshing dip; the last one was a 500 feet passage way through a mountain range which was both gorgeous and a great shortcut. Overall the caves really made Cambodia's caves look like child's play. No more all caves are alike, some are definitely bigger and more impressive.


We stayed the night in a small village of 100 people (and countless buffalo, chickens, cows, and pigs) nestled in the middle of the mountain range. It was a nice change to spend the night indoors on a trek, and even with electricity! After being beat at Bocce (well actually Boulle) by the Frenchies we settled in for a large meal of Pork Laap, Pork Stir Fry, veggies, and sticky rice (I am now officially obsessed with Laos' sticky rice which is a bigger grain then the Japanese variety and eaten with your fingers).

In additional to the delicious meal, we participated in a welcoming ceremony by the eldest villagers. During the ceremony each person takes an offering (this time sticky rice and wafers which our guide described as American, when they were decidingly not). You hold the offering in your hand when one of the elders wishes good luck and good life and puts on a string bracelet. And then, of course, you take a shot of lao lao, rice liquor. It was very nice to participate in, but for some reason I couldn't stop nervously giggling and smiling. While I was trying to repress my laughter, the oldest man of the village (at 73) let out a loud burp and both Dan and I could not resist cracking up like we were 11 again. Luckily, they did not seem to take offense by our immaturity.


Our guide also taught us about village life - the villagers live off of their rice farms, which they plant every wet season and harvest in the dry season. However, they do not sell their rice, this is just to feed themselves. Some of the villagers plant tobacco in the off season to make money. I gathered that not everyone does this because it is expensive to get the seed money for tobacco, and also because it is not the traditional thing to do. In Laos, public school costs about $10/year, and the guide informed us that this was too much money for lots of the villagers, as many people literally have no money, they just live off their land. In addition, he explained that people get married generally between 14-18, men and women never live together without getting married, and weddings are not big affairs, just simple ceremonies with a contract. Lastly, the groom's family has to pay a dowry (or a wives price), a typical one for the village would be a buffalo, $50, a couple of crates of beer lao, and some lao lao (rice liquor). It really is a very different way of life.

After the trek we made our way to Tham Kong Lo, as lonely planet describes it "dramatic karst scenery surrounding a 7km-long cave." To get to the cave we took public transportation which meant riding in the back of a pick up truck on a bench that had been installed on both sides. When we took the transportation the next day they literally loaded 20 bags of rice to the inside along with the 14 people. But it is surprisingly not uncomfortable, at least for the first 2 hours. By the 3rd hour my butt was in severe pain, or as one French man put it "this breaks my butt."

The cave itself was amazing. I really felt like I was at disneyland on Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean. You are in a 4 person boat in pure darkness uses a flash light to light up huge rock formations.

That night we stayed in a homestay in a nearby village. This was our most "true" homestay experience - we slept in the families living room, and watched tv with the family. This town was interesting as it seemed to be quite prosperous but the road to the town is less than 3 years old. Before that you could only get to the town (and the cave) by boat. Our family, had cable tv, a toilet, and the biggie, a refrigerator! But even with all this, it still at it's heart was a farming village, we saw the matriarch go off to the fields the next morning.

The village seemed to have like 500 people, and resembled a medieval town. All the houses were very close together, with little alley ways in between and livestock roaming all around.

The next day we traveled by bus to Vientiane. To our complete surprise, the bus got in EARLY! Between the bus and getting on public Tuk Tuk to the center of town, I became convinced that I had left my cellphone on the bus. However, all the buses looked exactly the same in the station, so I asked the conductor of Tuk Tuk which bus I had been on. This lead him to lead me around the station and then confusingly back to the Tuk Tuk. Then we took off, I was convinced they just didn't care about finding my bus. But after 10 mins of going from gas station to gas station, it became apparent to me that the tuk tuk (which also had 7 other people in it) was driving around trying to track down my bus. It was very nice of them, but the whole time no one said a word to me. It was completely bizarre. To top it all off, we never did find the bus (which they never told me either), but my cell phone was found in the Tuk Tuk!

Vientiane is the capital city of Laos, and it was surprisingly very quiet and pleasant to walk around. We only spent one full day there but we had a chance to see all the major sites, and eat two good (almost US quality) meals.

Next, we went to Vang Vieng, the backpacker haven in Laos. We had been told to skip it, as it is mainly a destination to get drunk, but luckily we didn't heed the warnings as it is amazingly beautiful. It does have ridiculous aspects though - the main activity is tubing down the river, and in the first 30 mins of tubing there are 10 bars set up to lubricate your ride. Most of them offer free shots of lao wiskey, and have a swing or slide. Dan and I decided to hit the river in the morning, thinking we would avoid most of the mayhem but still stop for lunch to people watch. However, we did not realize how early 10:30 was to the hungover. We were the only one's on the river the whole 3 hours we tubed! One of the employees of the one open restaurant let us know how lame we were by exclaiming, "I've never seen anyone tube this early."

It would have been interesting to watch all the drunkards, but I think it was infinitely better to have the river to ourselves and relax while watching the mountains go by.

Another funny part of Vang Vieng is watching all the tourists in their tourist gear. The "Tubing" In the Vang Vieng shirt is incredibly popular (don't worry Dan and I each now own one) to wear while actually in Vang Vieng - maybe to remember where you are? Also the shirt makes no sense as Vang Vieng is not the name of the river, so you never tub "In the Vang Vieng." Dan tried to ask numerous shop owners what it meant, and they were so confused by his answer thinking he did not understand english. Also, Vang Vieng has at least 5 bars set up so that everyone faces a TV and the bar plays Friends episodes on repeat to entertain the drunk/stoned masses.

After the party hardy Vang Vieng we took a magistic road (and sickning to some as it is 6 hours of continously winding roads) to Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is very beautiful city. The majority of the buildings are old wooden french-lao style, and they are very well kept up. Also there are Wats (Buddist Temples) everywhere. In addition, the whole city is surronded by mountains with a big hill in the center. I really like it, although it is a bit odd as it seems to be only for monks and tourists. You can tell no locals are around, as it is impossible to find street food!

Tomorrow we go to a waterfall near Luang Prabang, and then we are taking a two day boat trip to a border town (with Thailand) called Huay Xai. In Huay Xai we are going on a "Gibbon Adventure" a 3 day trip into the mountains with a little bit of treking and lots of ziplining! In addition, we will have a chance to sleep in treehouses and maybe see a Gibbon, an endangered type of ape!!

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