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Published: March 11th 2006
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Hello agaiiiin! Our last few days in Vang Vieng were awesome... we had a hard time forcing ourselves to leave... the scenery was just so rad, and the atmosphere was great! Who says you have to watch "Friends" all day? We'd much rattther just lounge by the river... So, we inquired further about "WWOOFING"... (volunteering on the organic farm), but the situation there had changed, and that was no longer available, unless you had "special skills" dfor farming? Strange. So anyways, we ate there, and then decided to volunteer at the school, helping the teacher teach english for a few hours. So, Mr. T, the dude who ran the farm, drove us out to the mud-hut school lon a hill somewhere. As he dropped us off, we were told that the teacher, who was usually there, was stuck in the rice fields (?) and might not make it. So there we were, dropped off in a room of 45 kids of various ages and a whiteboard. Hmm... A tad intimidating at first, but the kids were awesome. The ones who were our age helped us out a bit, and we ended up teaching some past-tense grammar lessons, and then a song,
which they liked. It was rad! The kids were awesome... totally interested in what we were doing, and realllly nice! So a few hours later, it was dark, and after talking a bit with some of the kids who were our age, we went back into town. It seems like the most popular job choice for kids here is "tour guide"... that's where the money is, and the tourism here is defenitely on the rise.
The next day, we decided to rent some Nancy-bikes (you know... the kind with the little basket on the front) and head out to see the Poukam Cave. There are lots of caves around Vang Vieng, but this one had a really nice pond/lake sort of tghing at the bottom... for swimming! So off we went... although the 6 k really did seem a heck of a lot longer... the heat was intense, and the road was a bit uphill and very rocky and bumpy... our bikes didn't take that so well... it was a loooong 6 k. But the swim at the end was defenitely worth it. The pool of water in which we swam was just beautiful... so cold! Green! Lots of
little fish swimming around, and a rope swing... it was amazingly cool. Very jungle-book. Then we hiked up a little hill to get to the cave, which was also amazing... HUGE! and it wasn't lit up with fluorescent lights like the one in Vietnam... haha. It was so cool.. You needed a flashlight to go farther in (which we had), but even then, it was tricky to see... so huge and dark. Interesting. Apparently it was used as a hide-out in the 2nd World War. We weren't even aware that Lao was in that! After the caves, it was cooler out, and the downhill ride home was nice. We watched a superb sunset on the Nam Song river with some friends and a guitar. Then we decided, that unfortunately, it was time to leave Vang Vieng.;.. at that time even our strange Japanese friends had left, which was a sure sign it was time to gooo.
Soooo the following day, we took a bus to the supposedly enchanting town of Luang Prabang. The bus ride, as usual in southeast asia, was... interesting. Battery had to be fixed on the way. Our driver was a bit crazy, but very skilled,
I guess, to be able to drive so freaking fast through the ups and downs and sharp turns of Route 13. The drive was scenic... we saw many small villages and settlements - all the bamboo stilt type houses, some sponsored by World Vision... there is quite a radical difference between the way of life for the city people and those working on the farms, in the hills in the middle of nowhere. The ride was also very dusty... as we were at the back of the bus, and sommmeone insisted on opening our window, we had a constant flow of red dust blowing in at us. Sarah's eyes weren't happy with this. Yeah pink eye!!!
Luang Prabang issss the enchanting town everyone loves... although tourism has defenitely boomed in the past few years (sooo very many french couples and families!), the Unesco stamp of approval has made it retain it's charm. So pretty! Very relaxed! Super friendly people (they all say "Sabaidee" every minute... which means hello!) And a lot of nice bakeries, and excellent food. And nice toilets. It's a classy place. Every night, the sun sets over the Mekong River, which is lined with riverside restaurants...
and later, the night market serves up fab cheap street food... mmm for barbecued bacon steak on bamboo skewers.... and all you can eat vegan buffets for about 50 cents. And old ladies who make awesome waffles (only sometimes, though) for 10 cents. There are sooo many vendors here, too, selling bedspreads and purses with traditional images... apparently spiral designs are lao? Cool. They make them themselves, too, selling hours of work, sometimes for pocket-change.
So, Sarah's pink eye escalated to freaky proportions for a bit. A lack of vision and creepy red eyes are never good. But... it's getting better. Burning sensations have started to ease. haha. Still looks scary, though. Many funny looks.
The last few days, we've just been hanging out... met up with a friend, spent loads of time at our fave bakery... We met some monks while on a hill, and they invited us to their Wat. Wat Sop. haha get it? What's up? (it was actually called that. And the monks liked that joke, as well). They showed us around, and we talked about Buddhism. They were very nice... and they were our age, which was interesting. The monks ages range from
about 12 to... very old. Many boys become monks just for a few years (it's a very good way to get an education), and then move on and find work. After our chat, we went to see yet another Wat, and met some other monks... one could speak 4 languages. Wow. We helped some of them with their english homework, and just hung our for a while. They're so friendly... had a great sense of humour. And they, like the Vietnamese, looooved Ho Chi Minh. Everybody loves 'uncle ho'.
Today we went to Kuang Si Waterfall... a bit of a rocky, dusty, minibus trip from town. It was AMAZING!!!! Spectacular! Gorgeous... just like it's shown in pictures... so incledible. Picture paradise... but better!! We swam in the waterfall, and the many pools that surround it... This place is right in the jungle, the water is cold and turquoise, and there are these cool bridges everywhere... it's beautiful. You could spend a looong time there. So nice! A nice couple donated some allergenic stuff for Sarah's burny eyes... which might be working! They were here ten years ago, when this place was even dustier, with three guesthouses, the river, and
not much else! What a change...
Right now we're here... in Luang Prabang... might stay a bit longer. Too bad there are no ATMs here though! gah! Hurrah for credit cards... the day after tommorow, possibly, we'll be on a two-day slow boat through the Mekong (we've heard the seating arrangements on the boat are lovely... akkkkk) to Amazing Thailand!!!!
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Happy Dave
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Yah man!
*sigh* those waterfalls, and jungle getaways sound like they're to die for. man I can't wait to hear the stories you guys must have that you can't put on here ;) lol. Anyways, Ev you HAVE to come chill this summer, and hey you can bring sarah along to! Anyways, it's late here and I can't stay long. can't wait to here more stories. Lata man. -Dave