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Published: August 17th 2006
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Broken Down bus
They quickly changed the flat tire... 7/24-7/27
*Please note that this is a special, one-time only, guest star, blog appearance by our good friend and travel buddy, Alex.*
When Andrew and Jaime mentioned that I could guest author their blog I thought surely they weren't serious, but Jaime's disarming smile coupled with Andrew's blank stare convinced me they indeed were. My first thought was something along the lines of "who has time to type detailed travel emails while exploring south east Asia?" but was quickly replaced by a second thought, "this, is an opportunity". Not only an opportunity to further expand on our experiences in Laos, but to share some insight into Andrew and Jaime's world these days.
Spending the last four weeks travelling with Andrew and Jaime has been an eye-opening and educational experience. Sharing so much time, experience, responsibility, and most importantly, the same room, with two people can really plug you into the way they work. Let me tell you folks, that the Andrew and Jaime travel team is like a well oiled machine. They work with, and compliment each other, so well, that joining them is like watching a skilled veterinarian team perform a necropsy. In fact, to prove it
Village Hut
Complete with Satellite Television... I'll share a few examples.
As with any successful duo, Andrew and Jaime effortlessly divide responsibility, each knowing their role and what they need to do to keep things working smoothly. In times of conflict or decision Andrew has proven himself highly adept at identifying and verbalizing each and every problem we face, then repeating them continuously and loudly (especially if the person he is speaking to does not speak English well), lest we forget that we require transportation and shelter from the elements. As Andrew's incantations reach a fever pitch, Jaime closes her eyes and her face turns a brilliant shade of red. The excitement escalates and I slowly back away so as not to interfere in the ritual. Just as Andrew starts a new round of nagging, Jaime's face erupts into a litany of options, preferences, and possible solutions. And just like that *poof*, problem gone. Now tell me you wouldn't love to have what these two have.
We also could always rely on Jaime to find authentic local restaurants, and then order the most tatsty local specialties for us. Without fail Andrew would eat all the food on his plate (and some that wasn't). Now
Shot of village
wouldn't that be nice in your backyard... there is a partnership that works.
OK, I realise I haven't yet written anything about Vang Vien or Vien Tiane, so lets do that now.
Our trip to Vang Vien from Luang Prabang was a six hour beautiful and serene bus ride through the lush mountainous Laos countryside on steep winding roads, occasionally punctuated by the muffled sounds of vomiting. Occasional may not be accurate, as I myself can vouch for a young man two rows ahead who apparently threw up for close to four hours straight. This not being the first time I've witnessed the weakness of the south east asian stomach, I empathised with the children (and adults) having such an unpleasant ride. Andrew however took it one step further. In an awesome display of the unity of man Andrew joined in on the cacophony of gurgles and burps as we bounced our way toward Vang Vien.
On the tail end of the ride our bus blew a flat tire in a small rural community in the mountainside. As the crew moved to replace the tire we had about half an hour to take in what was probably one of the poorest places on earth.
Kids of the Village
Not everyday a bus full of people stop in town. Laos itself is notoriously poverty stricken and this small community was certainly on the low end of the spectrum for the country. One observation that has fascinated us throughout is that while the shelters were bare, clothing ripped and worn, and plumbing a distant dream, satellite television is very much a reality. (FYI - Andrew loves talking about this, so if you ever need a topic...)
Vang Vien is a small town located on the shores of the Nam Song river. We arrived in the early afternoon and after settling into less than stellar accommodations rented mountain bikes with our new Japanese friend Shu, and set off for a cave and swimming hole 8 km away. The ride was beautiful, through small communities and rice paddies, but a light drizzle began as we approached the cave. By foot we started the almost vertical ascent of the rock face to the mouth of the cave about 100 meters up in a now light rain and reached the cave opening in what can described as a light storm. After fifteen minutes of exploring the pitch blackness I realized that either no one else was coming or I was in the wrong
cave. The rain had abated, so I started down and rejoined the group for a swim.
The main artery of Vang Vien is lined with bar/restaurants and cafes equipped with futon like seating and televisions continuously playing movies and tv series like Friends, the Simpsons and Seinfeld. Nighttime activities are pretty much wholly comprised of eating, drinking and watching.
On our first night, while on our terrace having a drink, Andrew and I heard Jaime scream from the room and come running out toward us in a panic. She told us that there were ants in the bed and there was no way she could sleep in the room. Andrew thought it was cute, hugged her, and told her he'd take care of the ants. Jaime said that she didn't think we should stay, that there were too many ants, but Andrew chuckled and strode off down the hall. It wasn't too long before we heard, "Oh, Hell No!". Now in panic mode himself, Andrew ran downstairs to talk to the owner, half naked with one flip flop on. In his defense, he did get us a new room for the night. Needless to say we didn't stay
at that guesthouse the next night.
The next morning after an early lodging switch, we psyched ourselves up for a day of tubing on the mighty Nam Song. We rented the requisite large inflatable tubes and were driven to the put in point about 5 km north of the city. The river was angry that day my friends, and once Andrew managed to flop himself onto his tube, we set off down the river. Unlike the raging rivers we've navigated on tubes in the states, the Nam Sung is conveniently flanked by bars every 100 meters or so. Also helpful are the bar staff that fish you out of the water with long ropes and bamboo poles.
What I forgot to mention about our bike ride the day before is that the landscape around Vang Vien is stunning. Rolling hills and rice paddies, and impressive mountains covered in deep green vegetation are set off by immense bare grey outcroppings of rock. Hopefully we have a picture that does it justice. Well, today from the river and a different vantage it looked just as amazingly beautiful. Between drinks and laughs we spent our time floating in a chain, holding
onto each others tubes, staring off at the background.
We had a quiet evening and caught an early 6 AM bus to Vien Tiane the next morning. 4 hours from Vang Vien, Vien Tiane is the capital of Laos. Much more of a busy, bustling city that either Vang Vien or Luang Prabang, it took a moment for us to readjust to moving at speeds greater than a sloth. We had a flight the very next morning so we quickly found a guesthouse and headed to what we had heard is one of the few real places of interest in Vien Tiane, the Buddha park. The park is a scenic grassy area, just outside the city, that is filled with all manner of statues depicting Buddha and Buddhist mythology. The highlight of the park is the enormous reclining Buddha statue at its center, but the multitudes of life-size intricate statues of animals, mythical creatures, and human faces was what made it so unique. Other than our time at the park I think we found Vien Tiane to be uneventful, as we had heard, and were excited for our next stops in Cambodia.
I'll leave you there, in the
Jaime and I chilling on the river
One of many bar rest stops to break up the stressful day of river tubing. air somewhere between Vien Tiane and Siem Reap, Cambodia. Andrew, Jaime and I had a great time in Laos. Luang Prabang might have been our favorite stop but everything about Laos; the land, the people, the food, the tubing, was just fantastic. Even more importantly, it was incredible to share this experience with my oldest friend and, now, my newest.
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