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Published: March 14th 2007
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So this is my farewell blog from Laos. I wish I could have made an update sooner but certain prohibiting circumstances prevailed. Lack of available and/or reliable internet, a 4 day power outage, getting sick, broken camera lens, uncharged camera batteries, and villages with no power at all, were among the things keeping me from telling everyone about my trip. But before I get into all the details and mishaps I encountered along the way, I think I should explain why I love Laos so much.
My transition from Cambodia to Laos was a lot like leaving a hectic, smog-filled, dirty city and heading out into the countryside. Not that all of Cambodia is terrible, but lets just say Phnom Penh is not on my favorite cities of the world list. After my journey around southern Laos I was in a great mood. I met some really great travel companions along the way and everywhere I went the local Laos people greeted me with big smiles, waving of hands, and the ever-charming "sabadee" (hello in Laos). In fact, throughout my entire time in Laos (38 days) I never encountered an unfriendly or angry person. While this may not be true
of everyone's experience, I was lucky enough to have it be true for mine. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, people like to joke that the PDR in Laos PDR stands for 'please don't rush'. After seeing a great deal of the country I've decided that its not so much that people don't want you to rush but rather that time actually moves slower when you're in the country. Things don't happen very quickly, buses never leave when they're scheduled to, and businesses seem to close whenever they feel like it. So I basically gave up on keeping track of the time of the day, setting my schedule to the rise of fall of the sun. My early to bed, early to rise lifestyle was aided by the fact that the government has a country-wide mandated cerfew of 11:30pm. So like is often the case when you're up in the mountains or out in the country, the pace of life is slower and nodoby seems to mind one bit. There is no real newspaper to speak of except the small and uninteresting Vientiane Times published in the capitol city. It's almost as if the outside world didn't exist when
I was there. Every so often I would catch news headlines while online, like the Asian/US marekt crash, or hear about this or that from a fellow traveler. But for the most part, it felt like what's happening in Laos is all that really mattered. I think what was so good about that was that is forced me to really and truly live in the present. Because I wasn't in a crazy rush to get any place, I found myself soaking in my surroundings and enjoying the moment much more than any place I have been so far. This was coupled with the fact that everywhere I seemed to go I met great people. Whether they were local folks interested in where I'm from or where I'm headed, or fellow travelers, it was like I had great friends with my all the time. I guess what I'm trying to explain is that I've never been to a country that has imposed such a profoundly relaxed and enojoyable feeling. Laos put a permanent smile on my face and I really hope that Vietnam doesn't give me a reason to change that.
Now for the rundown of my travels in Laos.
After leaving Paske I took an overnight bus to Vientiane, capitol of Laos. Set on the banks of the Mekong river, it's perhaps the most quiet and chilled-out capitol city in the world. Unfortunately it was blazing hot and I decided to head further north to escape some of the heat. The next stop was Vang Vieng, the hottest backpacker stop in the country. While some of its charm was been destroyed by drunken tourists, Vang Vieng's natural setting and abundance of activities make it a great place to play. The river that runs along side of the town is perhaps the most popular attraction there. There's a 7km stretch that has about 15 bars serving the country's biggest export, Beerlaos. You rent an inflatable water tube in the morning, get transported up river and jump in and float from bar to bar in the warm afternoon sun. A lot of the bars have huge roap swings, some 50 feet in the air, which makes for good times and great fun all day long. After several days in Vang Vieng I left for Luang Prabang, the major city of the north. Luang Prabang has some amazing old temples and beautiful
waterfalls making it another great place to spend a few days. I left Luang Prabang and took off north to Oduam Xai, a tiny town 6 hours to LP's north. Good trekking and hiking but not much else to see. Next stop was Luang Nam Tha, which borders Laos's largest national park. I spent several days there, trekking to nearby villages and cruising backroads by moter bike. My motor bike did run out of gas nearly 30 miles outside of Luang Nam Tha and resulted in a day of lots of walking and good laughs when I finally returned. Huai Xai, the next stop, is a small boarder-crossing town near Thailand. I attended the local temple anniversary festival with a local character I met on the street. All sorts of fun carnival games and good food late into the night (holidays create cerfew exceptions with the local police). Next I took a slow boat along the Mekong river from Huai Xai back to Luang Prabang. A two day trip that stopped off in a small town called Pakbeng on the banks of the river. The second day was an experience I will not soon forget. A pregnant Laos woman boarded
The New Baby
A photo taken just minutes after this baby was born on the boat. Cute little devil. the boat planning on making it to Luang Prabang to have her baby. Well...that didn't exactly happen. Around 3 hours outside of Luang Prabang, on the middle of the Mekong river, on a wooden barge-type boat, with 25 foreigners and no doctors, the woman gave brith. Luckily two French nurses happened to be on board and assisted in the delivery. I got to stand off to the side and watch the whole ordeal unfold. Let's just say that it was near the end of my list of things I expected to see on a slow-boat in the middle of the Mekong river. Quite a day! I got back to Luang Prabang and then headed back to Vang Vieng to meet up with a friend. I spent several days rock climbing and hanging out by the river. I recently picked up a 500 page biography of Jerry Garcia so at least an hour per day is dedicated to reading. I finally made it back to Luang Prabang, my third and final visit to the city. Every evening in the middle of the main steet in town the local folks host a night market. Perhaps the most charming and goodie-filled market I've
seen in Southeast Asia. So I waited for my last visit to stock up on goods and gifts to send home.
In a relatively brief summary, that about covers my trip in Laos. My hundreds of photographs paint a much more beautiful picture, but lack of powerful computers limit how many pictures I can post on this blog. I suggest taking a look at my route map to get a better idea of where I traveled to. I have a flight scheduled from Luang Prabang to Hanoi. Next stop, Vietnam! I hope I can post another update soon so check back in a week or so. Thanks for stopping by.
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