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Published: March 22nd 2010
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Well, we accomplished what at times seemed almost impossible- we made it to Thailand almost completely intact. Northern Laos really put us through the paces, but we were some of the lucky minnows that escaped without too much trouble and minimal danger. Let me describe traveling in Northern Laos so you can understand my sense of gratitude here. Imagine driving in a really mountainous region with extremely windy roads- think Highway 101 in California windy. Now, imagine that the road is not paved, and not only is it not paved (and your bus never even considered having a shock system, even if it wasn't so overloaded it wasn't already almost riding the tires), but it only very recently became a road at all- and in some parts is still in the process of becoming a road. From what I could gather, China is generously building this road using imported Chinese laborers working with no complex tools at all, that haven't existed since the last ice age. Also this process inexplicably requires the use of gigantic piles of boulders strewn all over the road... and keep in mind this is in the middle of nowhere: you pass through a little thatch hut
village without electricity about once an hour. Ok. That's the roads. Now picture the bus. The bus isn't a bus at all, but really a glorified mini-van with as many seats as can be possibly crammed into it. And there are more people than seats, not to mention giant sacks of rice, chickens, etc. Inevitably there is the group of young Lao guys who had the bright idea to get really drunk on Lao Lao before embarking on this miserable trip, and then spend the entire time puking out the window and forcing the bus to stop so they can pee. And the bus driver is also an arms dealer who stops from time to time to make a sell.
This was exactly the situation I found myself in a few days ago, when, in the middle of all the fun one of the ancient Chinese boulder carrying trucks broke down in the middle of the road.. in such a position that it was entirely blocking the whole of the road. The western population of the bus sat together on some boulders observing the Chinese workers gathering around the smoking motor scratching their heads and pointing at things and
felt more and we felt more and more hopeless as the hours passed and darkness fell. I was trying to decide if it would be more comfortable to squeeze myself onto the bus to spend the night, or sleep on the road outside- and if the latter what were the chances that I might get malaria when they finally restarted the truck. After about 5 more restarts, they actually got the thing to move... unfortunately the traffic that had built up on both sides was even more complicated by the boulders- and the attempts at Chinese truckers to try to pass the jam through the sheer will of their minds- that it took about 3 more hours to get out of there.
But today our miserable bus ride was topped by a group we crossed the border with who related to us their terrifying story of being on a transport boat that sunk in the middle of some river rapids and all the travelers and their bags were sent down the river. Luckily no one drowned, or was seriously injured.. But it puts some perspective to the fact that on crossing into Thailand the first sign you see is
a poster for tuk-tuk prices listing- ATM -30 baht, Bus Station- 30 baht, Hospital- 50 baht. Shudder.
But apart from the bus rides, Northern Laos was very enjoyable. We finally got around to doing some hill tribe trekking in Luang Namtha, and spent a very enjoyable day hiking through the rainforest and visiting various hill tribes. In the middle of our hike our guides sat us down for lunch, which was very goopy and served on leaves... which of course I loved, and even John seemed to enjoy (even though he'd probably deny it).
Now we are in Chang Rai, Thailand, which wasn't really our intention- but I have a small cold and couldn't bear the thought of the 5 hour bus ride to Chang Mai. Thailand is almost our last stop- we still are planning on visiting either Myanmar or Malaysia- and it is amazing. It seems like the coolest and happiest country we have been to in Asia, besides Japan. It actually is a little like Japan (maybe just compared to Laos), but more open and laid back, and of course poorer. Tonight we wandered around a night market that had a big open area eating area with a stage for live music and lots of cheap good food.. and all the Thais were eating and drinking and having a good time. Also it's alot cheaper than Laos, just like we predicted. It works like this is SE Asia- richer countries are cheaper to travel in, poorer countries are more expensive. Therefore, Thailand is cheaper than all countries but China, which is the cheapest. Hey- we're on a $10 a day budget! We notice these things. (Which I would like to point out that we have only exceeded this budget a total of 3 days- pretty good, huh?)
Coming soon: Is Thailand the paradise we've been hoping it would be?
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