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You might not realize it while looking through the photos and seeing a couple of ladies resting on the beaches across South East Asia that this trip has really had some hard edges, you know? Some real difficult times. Really, waking up at the crack of noon is pure hell in Thailand. Having to say "no" to countless offers of "you want massage," for 6 bones and long bus rides with (ew)
subtitles. Rats in bungalows found in remote clear water islands outside of Cambodia, where you can find no 7/11s, and just try to relax with the cutest kids in all of the world holding your toes and curling your hair between their fingers on the beach lounge chairs trying to escape work for a few minutes. Don't forget the hussle and bussle of Siagon and the complete agony of trying to not only find a good tailor in Hoi An, but to keep all those appointments? I mean, if you really boil it down, it is pure and utter exhaustion. I might even slice it as work . What we really needed after Vietnam, clearly, as you can all agree, is a vacation.
Where in South East Asia were we ever going to find a vacation from a vacation........Laos.
Laos. Beautiful, beautiful laos. Where the landscape takes your break away at every angle, there is never a hawker yelling "you buy" from every corner of the street. If you didn't catch my sarcasm earlier, there is nothing sarcastic, or better, spitful when I say that Laos is the most lazy country in all of South East Asia. There is nothing to do there, literally, but chill down river that takes 4 hours ( that is if you don't stop at the numerous bamboo make-shift restaurants - otherwise known as floating huts - along the river). You start your day in Laos with a wonderful cup of coffee, fruit salad, yogurt and musili and set out with a tub, a dry sak and float down the river until a boy on the side yells "Beer Laos" and you think, "yes, yes, certainly I will have a Beer Laos, after all I AM on vacation," as you are pulled in by a rope tied to a bamboo rod. Upon leaving the restaurant you are then offered a Beer Laos as a
roadie, and you think, "well sir, yes, yes I will take one for the trip, what a lovely idea." Continuing to cruise down the river you meet passing travellers, the occasional water buffalo cooling off in the middle of the river, and work up enough liquid courage to jump off a few cliffs. Pure, lazy, paradise.
After a couple of days on the river, we decided to step up the excitment a bit and rented a mountain bike to ride about 10 km on the bumpiest dirt paths in search of blue lagoons and caves. We were sweaty, tired but everytime we found our treasure it was well worth the effort.
The only item to report of any humour is the Laos buses. Everytime you book a bus in Laos they giggle, outrageously, over the term: "VIP bus" because frankly, there are none. Our blistful Vietnam sleeper bus took us as far as Vihn on our trip to the boarder crossing, where we were yanked at 2am and thrown onto a "VIP loas bus" that was to take us over the boarder. We were instructed to bring our large packs onto the bus, were we had to crawl on our hands and knees to make our
way to the back of the bus with rice packs piled high at our feet between the aisles and my bag hitting the top of the roof. We stepped over over flooding heads that lay on the rice packs, outside of their discheveled seats. It stunk, there was no air con and to boot it was New Years coming into Vientiene which is basically a National water festival, which thus meant closed windows. What was even better (chanelling back to my sarcasm) was when the bus was too heavy to make it up the mountain. We were instructed to leave the bus and walk for 20 mins up the hill while the bus went out of sight.
Next stop was Northern Thailand to Chang Mai. Though we trekked 20 km, slept in remote villages and the jungle, rode elephants, went white water rafting and wore the same dirty socks for three days in a row, it was also, somehow, just as relaxing. Chang Mai city is filled with wonerful eats, people and great (cheap) guesthouses. It is one of those places in the world that you are not sure your camera can even capture the beauty that surrounded us. It's the type of place that grounds you, and allows you to once again feel the sense of travel, and not vacation. The purpose, the reason why you came halfway across the world: to see the world's beauty unfold before you. We loved Chang Mai, South East Asia, and will miss it dearly......
.....but as Anthony would say (Charlotte's gay best friend in Sex and the City): "I loved Harry, you loved Harry, we ALL loved Harry, but Char, its been 2 weeks.... NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
And next it is - our next love - India. See you for our date Saturday - and don't be late.
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