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Sunset in Luang Prabang
When you finally arrive in Luang Prabang the sun is just about setting. The view from the riverside is terrific and makes you forget all about the 8 hour journey and the sore rear end. "Definately take the slow boat in to Laos, it is so much fun." These were the words I remember my friend Patrick from Finland telling me when I was with him in Krabi Thailand. He said that the slow boat from Houay Xai to Luang Prabang was a highlight of his time. In retrospect I'm not really sure what he was thinking. The boat took two days, 8 hours on the river each day, packed full of backpackers, on small wooden benches that were extremely uncomfortable, and a loud enigine that never stopped. Somehow, after it is all over, I too am right there with Patrick. I won't say it was a highlight of my time in Laos, but I will recommend it to the next traveller. Probably because we all want eachother to experience the pain of such a journey. Also because the Mekong River is breathtakingly gorgious. The views on this slow boat were unforgetable. It was the most redeeming thing about the journey, if not the only redeeming thing. Plus you do get to meet loads of backpackers and when you finally arrive in Luang Prabang you feel like a team that has survived a long battle. You
Morning on the Mekong
The last meal before hopping on the Boat. That is the Mekond river in the background. On the other side of the river is Laos, the country I have not yet stepped foot in. have instantly bonded with strangers and you take to the streets of Luang Prabang like people who have known one another for years. So in that respect the slow boat is worth it.
Journal Entry - Staying Fit Around the World - April 28th, 2008
There are many things in my life that point to the fact that fitness for me is not a fad. Fitness is really a way of life, it is one of my tools to help me maintain optimal health, both physically, mentally, and spiritually. One such thing that stands as proof of my commitment has to be the "Fitness on the Road" phenomenon that any true health enthusiast knows. Exercise follows you wherever you go. It isn't just a luxury that you indulge in when you have the comforts of a gym at home with you.
From the Hawaiian Island, to Vail Colorado, the mountains and desert of the American Southwest, to Pennsylvania and Crestone with my fellow Ashramites, in the Hong Kong guesthouse that could barely fit me and my luggage, through Singapore and Malaysia, on the Mainland and Islands of Thailand, and now in Laos, I've been covering the globe
Kent and Pierre
I didn't know them when I took this picture. In fact I was just trying to capture the vibe of cramming into a boat to cross the boarder. But I did spend three nights with these two. Pierre, French, Kent, Kiwi living in France. in the last year with my hard work and sweat.
What motivates such behavior. The same things that keep me active everyday of my life at home. The knowledge that the work, like spiritual work, will improve the quality of today, tomorrow, 10 years down the road, and my whole life.
The physical act of exercise is also a great source of joy in my life. Both personally and in what I share with the world. I gladly accept my role as entertainment, motivation, and simply a crazy odd spectacle for friends, strangers, and other cultures. When a crowd of Thai people gather and watch me do sprints, push ups, and squats, I AM a light for them. I'm spreading joy, raising curiosity, enriching my life and theirs. People understand hard work. They grasp the demands I put on my body. It breaks down barriers rather than putting up new ones. I'm not the lazy, rich, traveler who can afford to eat and drink their countries food but has no intention of working for it.
Exercising around the world takes creativity and an open mind. These are tools I needed to develop. My requirements for resources are
Life aboard the slow boat
Another picture of Kent. Had met him by now. This is what you do on the slow boat. Hang out and stare off in the distance. Or drink, or read, or ipod, or go completely mad. dwindling and my vision for possibilities is expanding. The work is never easy, but it is no longer as difficult. It takes a little time to get going, but patience yields rewards.
When the list goes through my head, the list of potential thing I could choose to do in every place I visit (i.e. drink a beer, eat a Tim Tam, visit a temple, buy a souvenir...) saying that I have exercised and sweat hard in every city is perhaps my favorite of all. Many of my fondest memories from this trip are of various evenings or mornings of exercising. Whether it was finding a way to exercise in a cramped guesthouse, or running along the river in Laos, the cheering section of guys working the tattoo parlor in thailand, the other tourists who look at me and ask me if I'm crazy for working out in the heat (it's always hot, get over it), or doing squats with my old roommate on my back, having the local children watch me as I suffered through another crossfit workout in the middle of a soccer field, or the looks and stares I get when I rarely find a gym
On The Mekong
These were typical views that we had from our boat on our way to Luang Prabang. It really does not do the scenery justice. and get to push around some serious weights, all these have been so memorable and have enriched my time away from home more than I can put words to.
__________________________
I was talking about the slow boat before I went on that little tangent about exercise. The slow boat did stop for one night in a small town along the river called Pak Beng. There was nothing exciting happening in this town and if it wasn't for the slow boat bringing tourists through every day I don't know what this town would do. On the only night we had their I did end up having dinner with Kent, Pierre, John and Donna. The first two ended up being my roommates in Luang Prabang when we arrived. They were long time friends form Paris. Kent is from New Zealand and Pierre a true Frenchman. John and Donna had just come from Korea where they taught english and were now taking a few months to travel Asia before going back to Canada. It was nice to meet all of them and share a quiet evening over dinner. The restaurant we ate at had a very nice young man working for
School kids staying dry
School was out and the children were playing in the street. The rain didn't stop them like it did me. They just found a movable shelter to play under. Genius it. He convinced me to eat there, offered to discount any dish I wanted and was giving us free tea all night. He also agreed to give me free coffee for breakfast, my kind of guy. He informed me of the fact that he had lived in Luang Prabang for several years and was a Buddhist Monk. It is common to go and live as a monk, study at the temple, and then leave to go back to your family. This brings good luck to your family, despite having left.
After two days of slowly boating on the Mekong I was glad to arrive in Luang Prabang. I found a guesthouse with my new friends that was clean and reasonably priced. I was paying my share of the room with just 3 dollars a night. Not bad... While the boys cleaned up I went and chatted with the young man that brought us to his guesthouse. His name is Her and he is 19. He is Hmong (a Lao village tribe) and had moved to Luang Prabang to study Lao and English language. He speaks Thai, Lao, Hmong, and English fairly well. He is working for the guesthouse to
My turn... push me!
It was a mini skateboard that they piled on and pushed as a team. The was a lot of child power behind that boy. He went flying down the street past my lunch stop. I was eating some Indian Curry at the time. pay for school. He studies at the University in the morning and then goes around finding people to stay at the guesthouse in the evening. While we talked about his story and mine he prepared himself a dinner of fried pig skins and a chili paste he made on the spot. With a little sticky rice to wash it all down he was ready for dinner. He let me try some of his food and I gladly accepted. When the shower was finally free I did a quick rinse and got dressed to go out on our first night in town. We wandered the streets, go a few beers, and sat down for a proper dinner. Helen Randy from England joined us and we all shared fun conversation before calling it a night and heading home.
Luang Prabang was really incredible. There is so much happening in and around the city, but at the same time it is very small and has a small town fell to it. You can walk everywhere. A bicycle makes it all feel very accessible. There is a night market that takes up the entire main road and sells all kinds of wonderful textiles,
Eggs and Potatos
BBQ eggs and BBQ sweet potato sold roadside by this woman (some street luang prabang). Talk about the perfect little snack. Why can't we have this kind of fast food in the States. Talk about a quick healthy option to typical Amercian fast food. This is how she makes a living, selling from right there every day, same thing. and souvenirs. The food in Luang Prabang is special. The entire river front is lined with restaurants and BBQ's that offer up delicious meals, cold drinks, and a fantastic atmoshpere. The night market has food as well. The food is fast, cheap, and comes in all varieties. There are Lao coffee stands everywhere. Lao coffee is very unique, a rich and often times very sweet variation on what I'm used to. My steet side Sausage addiction was fed very well in Luang Prabang. Just a few kilometers outside of town were amazing temples, caves, and waterfalls. You can hop on a boat at anytime of day and take a cruise up and down the Mekong river. If you are looking for late night entertainment you won't find it at the bars, which close down at about 11pm, but you can most certainly continue the evening at the bowling alley that stays alive until 3am.
Some other fun things that I did while in town were get a massage. A Lao massage is much like a Thai massage. Lots of work on the legs, some stretching, using his feet to really dig into my legs, crawling up my back on
River Views
I stayed at a guesthouse on the river banks and just outside my door each day were views like this. An afternoon run to the soccer field along the river would reward me with views of this at sunset. Meanwhile, restaurants were hustling to get their BBQ's and prep ready for the dinner rush. The food was always better with this scenery and the Beer Lao was always colder. his knees.... it was fantastic. They always give you some pants to put on when you get massages here. They are Thai fisherman pants, loose, and the tie up in the front. I didn't do a very good job tying mine up and at some point during the massage I found myself laying on my back rather exposed to the air. I felt comfortable but worried that the guy massaging me might have been uncomfortable. Oops.
For the most part I just wanted to relax in LP. I wasn't interested in running all over trying to see as many caves and waterfalls as I could. If I walked by a temple and felt compelled to go in I did, but I never made a point to seek them out. I did walk up to the top of Phouxay Hill which cost me about 2 dollars to get a view of the city. This was the most touristy thing I did perhaps and it was worth every penny.
I did have a couple of really fun and memorable workouts when I was in town. These prompted me to write that journal entry I began this blog with. There is
Fruit Market
Perhaps the most exciting culinary factoid about Southeast Asia is that fruit is always in season, all kinds, and it is quite cheap. There are fruit stands much like this one everywhere. A fruit shake with run you about 50 cents, a fruit salad about the same, and fruit right off the stand, probably cheaper. Yesterday I had a fruit salad with papaya, mango, apple, pear, banana, orange, and two other fruits I can't even name. It was massive and cost me 1 dollar. How many servings of fruits and veggies did you have today? a "soccer stadium" about a mile from the guesthouse I stayed at. It wasn't much of a stadium, the field was a mess of litter and gigantic holes from the rain. It has turned into more of a place to come and practice driving. I saw so many Lao people learning to drive cars and motorbikes there. But there were people playing soccer, scattered around wherever there was still grass. Some people ran or walked around the track. Then there was me, running, jumping, pushing, pulling, whatever I could do to get my heart rate up and my muscle working. Lots of people watched. Some people commented, not in English of course. And I made some friends who let me play a little soccer with them after I had proven myself I suppose. When I arrived at the field they didn't seem interested in letting me join the game, but when I walked over to them drenched in sweat and panting they were happy to let me kick the soccer ball with them.
Eventually Pierre, Kent and I all said our goodbyes. They were headed in a different direction than me. I was going North and them South. I
Recess at School
Poppin' wheelies is my thing. That was the problem with my last job, they got scared because I popped a lot of wheelies. But I never broke no merchandise, I always got there ahead of schedule. So what do you say.... do I have the job... (jerky boys) had a really great time with them. But my best memory of them will be the night they both had bad cases of Diarrhea and were taking turns in and out of the bathroom. It was like musical chairs on the toilette. At one point Kent walked in or Pierre. He apologized. It was strange because they were sharing a bed and certainly he would have noticed that Pierre was not next to him when he got up to use the toilette. I guess when you really have to go you sort of lose focus on your surroundings. Anyhow, I got a kick out of it. These two were so cautious about food and taking medications, "I don't trust this and that..." They got sick and I was fine. Anyhow, I shouldn't have laughed so much and perhaps should have felt a little more sympathy. The next few days my adventurous eating caught up with me and I spent the next several days with a dodgy stomach myself. Probably the worst I've had yet and when you are taking 10 hour bus journeys it can be pretty scary when you don't know when your next toilette requirement may be.
Phousay Hill
About 350 steps above street level are 360 degree views of Luang Prabang. I guess not too many people were excited about making the hike in the hot weather. The stairs were empty. Didn't stop me, the view was well worth it. After a 5 day trip up North to Luang Nam Tha I did come back to Luang Prabang for two nights. I had such a wonderful time there that I figured it would be a great place to kill two days before heading down South. On my return I spent my time much the same way I had before. Only this time I felt more comfortable and new my way around much better. I also didn't have the group of people from the slow boat to hang with. It was a quiet couple of days and much needed. As you will read in the next blog my time up North was action packed, the bus journey was long and when I got back to Luang Prabang I was in need of some R & R.
Thanks for reading you all.
Love
Marcus
(Written on May 14th, in Vientiane Laos, my last day in Laos)
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