Christine's take on the last couple of weeks

---

Here's Christine's take on the last couple weeks. Enjoy
Hello everyone!

First and foremost, happy Earth Day! I hope you are all doing your part for Mother Earth!

I couldn't find Windows Word on this Chinese computer, so hopefully this message won't get erased in the middle of my typing!

I just made it across the Laos-Chinese border yesterday, and I've suddenly developed an advanced case of asthma and bronchitis! John and I are in Jinghong city in the Yunnan province, which borders Myammar, Laos, and Vietnam. We're trying to get to Dali and Lijiang farther north to see some minority villages, the Yangtze river, and the Tiger Leaping Gorge before heading to my uncle's place in Guangzhou. We're planning to hide out there as well as in Hong Kong at my aunt's place during the May 1 holidays, when the whole of China will be out travelling. Needless to say, I don't want to be caught out on the streets amist their drinking, loud conversations, bargaining/arguments over cheap imitation watches, and chain smoking! We're looking to veg in front of the TV with some VCD movies during this time!

Laos turned out to be a strangely quiet country. It was a disconcertingly peaceful and laidback experience after our travels in India and Thailand. There were no beggars, the market sellers didn't bother to bargain with loud gestures and yelling, and nobody jumped out to take us in their rickshaw. Strange indeed.

However, there WERE 5 days where the city of Luang Prabang was in party mode. We had first crossed the border into Laos from Chiang Khong in northern Thailand, and then proceeded to take a 2 day boat ride (with a one night stop in Pak Beng) along the Mekong River to the Luang Prabang. The seats on the boat were stiff and small with the backs at an acute 90 degree angle. They had also stuffed the boat with tourists and locals alike, so we got to know some other travellers pretty well.

We arrived in Luang Prabang, not ever imagining the Lao as big-time partiers. We were in for a big, wet black-and-white surprise! The Buddhist New Year (also called the Water Festival) is all about washing away the old, bad spirits and welcoming in the new clean goodness, so for 5 days, every corner of the streets were lined with teenagers and children with buckets of water, water guns, and the garden hose. Nobody was untouched by water, and soon we found it useless to take the camera or go back to the guesthouse to get cleaned up. Apparently, the road accident rate sky-rockets because motorbikes, rickshaws, and bicycles find it hard to focus when being splashed by large buckets of water! I read in the paper that over 300 people die on the roads over the 5 days of celebration - unreal.

On the weekend, revellers went down to the banks of the Mekong to party with bamboo rockets, drinks and food, sand stupas, and music. I actually witnessed a huge mob of Lao kids moshing to their favourite song. Within a few hours, the banks of the river turned into a huge mud flat, but the partiers didn't seem to notice. The people were not only wet, but also WHITE! It was tradition to be doshed in white (tapioca?) flour to symbolize the "good". That had to be balance by the "evil", so obviously, black symbolized evil, and that was accomplished by smearing your friend's face and body with engine oil! Thankfully, John and I were only smeared with a thick coat of flour on the face several times!

The rest of our trip in Laos consisted of racing through the northern region to see the Plain of Jars, the hide-out caves for the Pathet Lao (the Royal family who were avoiding the American bombing of northern Laos and Vietnam during the war), and the Hmong villages. 4 of the 6 days were spent on the bus, winding through steep mountain ranges and valleys. Most of our trips lasted 10-12 hours over 150km! Of course, these included flat tires, pee breaks, and the uploading/downloading of gigantic burlap sacks containing hundreds of kilos of watermelons, lemongrass, and bamboo shoots. On our last long bus trip, John and I watched in horror as the roof of the bus changed to a convex to a concave shape and the bolts of the luggage rack peeled itself away from the wall of the bus. The back of the bus was even a scarier sight - both corners were diminished to thin wall of rust, and the whole window moved separately of the roof and the sides of the bus!!! After 10 hours, the bus was overloaded and cease to take anymore passengers and cargo, and at 12 hours, we jumped off at our stop while the remaining 63 passengers (on a 45 passenger bus) continued on through the night. I am so glad to be alive!!!

All in all, I would visit Laos again as it is a welcoming country with very interesting people and history. Now, John and I are in China, our last country of travel, where we will be until the end of May. We will try to make it back to Dalian to pick up some left-overs before heading home.

Christine

---