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Published: September 18th 2009
Greetings blog fans!
(9/13/09) I'm hunkered down in Hoi San, Vietnam (search Southern Vietnam) and awaiting the kickoff to the Indianapolis Colts first game of the season - kinda pathetic I know. Pathetic? Why's that? Well it's almost midnight here and the whole place has been asleep for a couple of hours now but I can't resist the fact that it was only 1 hour from kickoff when I signed on. So here I am. My dad would tell me it's bad for me to be staring at a computer screen with no lights on. However, there's a dude sleeping in front of the guest house door about 20 feet away from me, call him security I guess.
Where did we leave off? ahh yes, we were departing Vang Vienne and heading north to Luang Prabang. Pretty sure they had marbles in their mouth when they named that one. Anyhoo, we got on another bus and departed up the same highway-road-paved thing which brought us from Vientiane to Vang Vienne. The road is poorly maintained, unlit, fairly narrow at times and curves abruptly with no signs or warnings. Totally safe. Upon coming around one hairpin turn ascending up a
Holli a.k.a Tarzan, er Jane?
Rope swing action into one of the pools below the massive waterfallmountain pass we encountered numerous cars parked along the side of the road and people peering down over the edge. I cannot guess as to when it happened, definitely that day sometime, but a car ran off the road and rolled 30-40 feet down the side before coming to a rest in the thick, dense brush and small trees. I could see from my bus window that the car came to a rest completely upside down, wheels to the sky. I didn't see any injured people or any other clues as we passed by the accident. Either someone is very, very lucky or hanging out with Buddha, God, Mohammad, a bunch of virgins, and the Great Sprit in the Sky, etc.
We continued on along our treacherous road for many more hours. The scenery was "same same but different". Beautiful panoramic views of green mountainous terrain littered with rice fields would expand before us and little villages with houses and stores made of thick bamboo shoots lined the road. Blue skies and puffy marshmallow clouds made it all very relaxing, not to mention the better maintained and more modern bus than before.
Arriving in a huge concrete and
gravel lot outside of Luang Prabang we were hassled by the local guest house sales reps - we have this,we have that and for this much...it's not too bad, you just quickly shop around, hop in a tuk-tuck, and head towards town. Most of these cities along the tourist path have many guest houses close by so if at first you do not succeed it's not too difficult to try again and walk a few minutes down the street.
The guest house was a pretty nice one - the mattress very, very firm, TV, fan, and good bathroom. All in all, we probably average about $10 USD per person a night so far on our trip - not too bad. We used the afternoon to get ourselves acquainted with the town, walking the streets, finding spots, bars, restaurants, tourist attractions which we will hit up later. We try and get lost as well from time to time. When traveling it doesn't make sense to have a plan or know where exactly you are all the time.
Luang Prabang is a great little town, we all liked it tremendously. Keep in mind that Laos was under French rule for
a time being and the influence is definitely seen in Luang Prabang in the architecture and food influences. To note..."Following the Franco-Lao Treaty of 1953, which gave Laos independence, the Royal Lao Government took control of the country. This treaty established a constitutional monarchy, with Sisavang Vong as King and Prince Souvanna Phouma as Prime Minister. At this time, Luang Phrabang was the royal capital. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. The city is also notable as a UNESCO World Heritage Site."
. (Thank you Wiki-pedia, sorry secret is out).
The mighty Mekong River comes back into play in Luang Prabang and is of course vital to the cities existence. The river banks are quite steep and many a restaurant set up shop there offering wonderful views of the river and the life which happens upon it. Of course it's hot out and of course we pull up for our customary "Welcome to a New Place" beer or glass of wine. Of all the three cities we visited in Laos, Luang Prabang for us was by far the best, one you could set up shop Night Market - a.k.a Holli-wood.
This is a very expansive night market, similar to a labyrinth. I think the shops move so it makes it more difficult to get out. in for an extended period of time and continue to explore. I have to agree with the girls as there were lots of "cute" shops and restaurants; one street transformed from a hot and humid parched stretch of pavement into a vibrant, colorfully lit bustling street of restaurants and shops. One thing they do really well in Luang Prabang and it may seem silly but, man, they know how to do interior lighting. Can't get over how cool all the little restaurants and bars are. Exotic and unfamiliar plants, open air patios and shops definitely help, but really love that lighting. Fantastc lighting! A place that found a spot in the girls hearts forever was a restaurant high up on the river bank called "Utopia". It's not an easy place to find, although maps and signs will get you there, but a brick path will wind you through neighborhood houses, side streets, and alleyways to this awesome restaurant overlooking the river. The entrance has small fountains and statues beckoning you inside. It's a captivating open aired restaurant. A long patio with mats and pillows and short legged tables lines the backside of the restaurant. The view is looking out, over
Our bowling crew for the evening
Where else would you go after curfew in the L. P.? and down the river - a perfect spot for a dinner or a good book reading during a hot day. The patio is at one end of the restaurant and to get there you meander down any one of the stone paths dotted with the exotic local plants and other picturesque statues and figurines. It's perfectly landscaped with nicely carved and polished wood furnishings. Throw in some incredible lighting and at night it's a pretty enchanting place. The menu and service rocks plus it does not break the piggy bank - pretty comparable to everything else. A++ indeedy rooski. Needless to say we ended up there for a next morning breakfast and the girls went back to get some book reading in. It's not called Utopia for nothing folks.
One day had us meeting up with another traveling trio from Australia to visit one of the two beautiful waterfalls located outside the city. This group of 3, Bindy, Sean and Lisa were a pleasure to hang out with and our trip to the waterfall wasn't the last time. Swimsuits and towels in hand we headed to the Kuang Si Waterfall, about a 30 minute tuk-tuk ride out of the
city and into the countryside. It's a gorgeous multi-tiered waterfall with a couple of pools at different levels, most of which you could swim in. There was also a nice Asian Black Bear exhibit with about 13 of these cuddly creatures in an expansive and playground-esqe enclosure. The bears are local to the area but are close to being endangered as old tradition has it that there bile has healing powers. It's not a pretty story learning how they are captured and how the bile is extracted so this animal is widely protected and fought for in Laos. Walking past the bear enclosure you find the first of many icy sky blue pools of water. We were there at the end of the rainy season so the water level was high and pouring over ledges everywhere. Crops of large Bamboo shoots grow upwards reaching for open skies and exposed tree roots grasp for solid footing where the water has eroded the banks. One pool after another as you go up and up. The pictures can paint the picture I'm writing.
The bottom of the huge waterfall is a kodak moment as you can tell. It's also possible to walk,
climb and scale up along the side of the waterfall to reach the top. We decided to go for it. You cannot see the waterfall as you are climbing up the steep hill, but the rushing and crashing of the water is easily heard over our panting and grunting. The view from the top was pretty spectacular - we had to cut across some very small pools and muddied grounds to reach where the water actually leaps over the edge for the pools below. There's a rickety wood fence to help you maintain your balance but much like everything here in SE Asia it is treacherous. We see this everywhere here. Whereas in the states there would probably be metal, well supported fence and a possible walkway (if they'd even let you get out there for fear of accident and being sued) here is every person for them self. This spans across many issues, child raising, transportation safety, property....perhaps we'll address that further in another blog - but imagine seeing a mother, father, and two kids, say 3 & 5 all on a motorbike rolling down your street....that is everywhere here.....anyhoo.....
The views from the top were great and
View from the top of Mt. Phousi
The lovely city of L.P. - Luang Prabang thankfully it was worth the trek to the top. We snapped some pics and decided to get back down to cool off in the pools of water below. Let's go swimming! Unfortunately, the bit of wildlife we saw on the way back down was unceremoniously beaten to snake-heaven by the two kids who discovered a snake in the path ahead of us. It was a brightly colored green snake in the brush in of the path. I couldn't recall from the Bangkok Zoo Snake House if it was a poisonous snake or not, I don't think it was. It didn't look like it was posing a threat either. The kids in front of us found a fallen tree limb and went on to beat the snake until it was no longer apart of our great earth. We were trying to tell them to stop but at that point it was too late, ah well. RIP Green Snake which could've been poisonous or not and bitten my shin.
Another night in Luang Prabang found us breaking curfew. It's not that difficult to work past the 11:30 time slot. What to do, what to do? What they do in the L.P. is bowling! Who knew!??? Tuk-tuk driver, onwards to the bowling alley! What is funny is that about 10 minutes before we made a decision to go bowling we made the decision to call it a night, 'just one more drink'.........righhhhttt, well upon ordering that drink we met 3 other dudes planning on going to the bowling alley. Personally, I was not yet ready to call it a night and it wasn't difficult to convince us to join those 3 for a tuk-tuk ride to the alley. Why the bowling alley can stay open till 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning is beyond me but we fully support it. It looks like any other bowling alley with a few oddities. One being the 'Cowboy Bar'. A clothes line runs above the bar and cowboy hats hang down. Fake cactus stand in the corner of the bar and two bartenders, Laos locals, are pouring drinks wearing cowboy shirts and cowboy hats. An amusing sight to see in the remote corner of the world for sure. Yee-Haw.
I've heard of bowling alley's in Laos where kids actually clear the pins for you upon each roll. This alley was the modern day thing except they got the waxing of the lanes a little off. The lanes should be waxed past the line and not in front. It was a slippery couple of first bowls before realizing that barefoot and bowling is the way to go. We had our drinks, had our fun, and eventually took the tuk-tuk back on home to our guest house to call it a night.
The Night Market in Luang Prabang is quite enormous and quite difficult to get out of. Common to many night markets in Asia it's the same stuff sold that you just saw 10 tents ago and probably the same stuff you can get in the next town or perhaps even Bangkok. There are definitely some local flavors though and that is the shoppers duty to seek, discover, bargain and purchase. One night while strolling through the labyrinth of red pop-up tents the power went out. Immediately candles were lit, lamps were turned on and the selling continued. Nothing new for the locals. T-shirts, crafts, scarves, artwork, purses, bags, paper lanters, earings, necklaces, oh my.
The next day and night after bowling you can imagine we were a little tuckered out and not looking to blow the doors off the place again. Remember, we're older and wiser and do not need to drink every night....we also can't kick hangovers like we used to. Sigh. Anyhoo, as we were walking down the street past a few restaurants and a book store I was startled by little girls shrieking. Upon turning around, however, I discover that it is not little girls shrieking, it is Holli and Anna and their faces are lit up like 6 year olds on christmas morning. Did we win the Laos Lottery or something? No, no, no, the local book store was delivering a treat from heaven. "Playing tonight - He's Just Not That Into You" - OH MY GOD! YAAAAY! So you can guess that our evening plans, at least those from around 6:30 to 9:30 were decided. In a healthy relationship it's important to note that the little things go a long way, not rocket science here. Chick flicks are little things that go a long way. I got my, well, not my revenge, but my turn at the movies later in Vietnam. Fortunately, this movie falls in the "Decent for Dudes" range on the Chick Flick Spectrum, whereas a movie, like, say, The Notebook anchors the Chick Flick Spectrum for eternity....Beaches could rival it I suppose but you get the point. Needless to say, we were front and center for the showing of the movie that evening and it wasn't all that bad I have to say....I laughed maybe 5-6 times.
What else am I missing here about Luang Prabang....let's see, covered shopping, restaurants, some highlights during the day, highlights from the evening.....I think that's going to be it folks. It's time to ship off this blog. It's now Sept 18th and we're back in Bangkok preparing for our last week of vacation - again, it takes some time to get these blogs posted, especially with pics uploaded etc. Anyhoo, stay tuned, as this band of travelers had a great time in Vietnam and we'll pass along some stories soon enough.
Toodle-loo.
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tim
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it's never pathetic to love your colts