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Published: February 24th 2007
Well, I'm in Laos now, in a little village called Vang Vieng. First, let me tell you how I got here. I left the internet cafe after posting my last blog and went to the bus stop. Here we waited and I finished the book I had been reading, "Even Thai Girls Cry". It was a romance novel about a farang and a thai girl, which ends in tragedy. It had terrible prose and I'm mildly ashamed that I read it from start to finish. Then we got the call that our bus was leaving. I scored a prime, spacious, window seat and then started watching the inflow of bus riders. Who was to sit by me? Well, ended up being a guy from Cyprus who had been living in Thailand for the past 8 months. He actually worked at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi provine where i got all my cool photos taken. First thing I asked him was about the one topic everyone seems to bring up about the Tiger Temple: Are the tigers drugged. We talked for a long time about the place, about how they trained the tigers, about the tiger personalities, what it's like to work there, how it is to interact with the monks, some accidents that have happened between tourists and tigers, but my question was answered, and for all those out there who are hating on the Tiger Temple, NO, the tigers are not drugged. This was interesting, because earlier that day I had been in an internet cafe and i went to the lonely planet messageboard for Thailand. Some personan had wrote a message elaborating on the title of "Boycott the Tiger Temple." Their reasons revolved around the sad state of the tigers resulting from drugging. I actually wrote a fairly intense, sarcastic reply. What is boycotting the place gonna do? Without more money won't the treatment get worse? Won't the facilities deteriorate? Because they aren't gonna be releasing these domesticated tigers into the wild. I just thought that their post was fairly irresponsible. I told them that if they'd really care at all, they'd do something aobut it. Send money, or go volunteer. Anyway, this guy really shed some light onto the controversy. Oh, and earlier that day I met the man who gave me my Thai for Beginners book, Knowing. Knowing showed up out of no where, as he's known to do, and began chatting me up. Man, that guy is deep. He's pretty far into his Dahrma studies and he always has some profound things to say. We didn't speak long, but he did get me thinking, as he usually does, and I was given the opportunity to tell him how much the book helped me during my travels. The bus ride was okay. I'm pretty good with buses now. I actually have an important theory that makes them bearable. It's the use of available resources at the appropriate times. What do I mean? Well, I didn't explain it to guy from Cyprus, but here's an example of how he was messing with my resource management. So, he's lived in the tiger temple, we're gonna have some pretty awesome discussions for sure, but then, just as he gets talkng (about 5 minutes into the ride), a movie turns on. Movie is Lord of War and it looks like it's gonna be awesome. Well, despite me trying to look around the head of the guy in front of me to watch, Cyprus guy keeps talking. Later I asked him if he rode the overnight bus much, he said never. I knew the answer before he even told me, how? I'm telling you, lack of resource management. If he knew the score, he'd know that when there's a movie on, you watch the movie. You don't use your potential 2 or 3 hours of chatting time when there's a movie on, you use it after the movie, when there's no movie on. Same goes for things like books, music, and whatever else you have in your bus survival kit. So, if you are still awake enough to read and IF they still have the lights on, read. There's plenty of time to listen to your music when the lights are turned off and you're too tired to read. I know this is a rant, but I feel it's an important one. Anyway, I didn't fall asleep before 12 and I knew there was a dinner break coming at about 1, so I stuck it out. First though, I needed to use the toilet on the bus. The bus rocked around as I attempted to keep an accurate aim. I finished, washed my hands (of course), then attempted to open the door. stuck. The door was stuck. I tried my luck with the handle for a few minutes, with no luck, the plopped the toilet seat down and just stared at the door. Being seated, and more relaxed, I tried the door a bit more, it just wasn't going to open. I realized there was a butten to call the driver, but I was pretty sure it wasn't working. I figured kicking the door might work, and I tried that. Well, I spent a good 15 minutes in the toilet. Finally Cyprus guy shows up and opens the door (It's funny, cause he had been in there just as long, and i just thought he was taking a poo, as difficult as that would be on one of these busse. Also, why didn't he tell me that the door was screwed). Anyway, I decided I'd write a note on the door to everyone else who was to come into the bathroom. "Do not shut door, when in toilet (understand?)". The Cyprus buddy said it was ambiguous, but I felt it was attiquite. We stopped for noodle soup in the middle of nowhere, got back on the bus, then slept till the Laos border.
The Laos border crossing was quick and painless. First we stopped at a little cafe while most of the bus riders got their passports worked on. The cafe was right on the mekong and the scene on the river was slowly revealed to us as the sun rose and the mist was lifted. We crossed the Friendship Bridge, a bridge connecting Thailand and Laos, went through customs (with no problems this time, and with an entry stamp in my passport) and then we were on our way to Vientiene. After about an hour or so we made it to Vientiene. A few of the other passengers were carrying on to Vang Vieng, and as we passed into Vientiene I could tell why, the place looked like a total hole, despite being the country capital. So, I asked the bus driver if I could carry on as well. He said I could, but I'd have to have a "specialy seat", I told him sure, but that I'd also be getting a "special price". He agree to knock some baht off my ride and we were on our way. Little did I know that special seat meant plastic stool in the middle of the isle of a packed bus. There were three of us in this positon, I was in the front, with a little room ahead of me in the isle. I leaned over to the guy sitting in an actual seat in front of me and said, "How do you feel about ambition?" He nodded and said it was a good thing. So, I slid down from my stool onto the floor, propped my backpack and a teeshirt under my head, and fell asleep in the isle.
We took a pit stop, where I was told I was to switch buses becuase there was more room in the other. It was a really nice ride through the Lao country/mountain side. At some point someone started smoking a strange smelling cigarette in the back of the bus. No one seemed to mind. Soon enough we were in Vang Vieng. As we entered I noticed the towering limestone cliffs that placed the town in a large valley. We were dropped off at a little bungalow place, quite far from town, so we caught a tuk tuk over to the town center. I found a place, had dinner, watched a movie: "Dead or Alive" and then went and passed out, completely exhausted from my 19 hour bus journey.
The next day I awoke, fairly late, and decided to go tubing down the river. This seems like the most classic thing you can do in Vang Vieng (altough there is no shortage of other options). I ended up with a group of young package tourists and a finnish guy. Fin and myself cruised down the river and waht was supposed to be the short "one hour" ride, ended up being close to four. We'd stop at all the riverside bars, get a beer laos, and continue down the river. As a note, beer laos is delicious, and really reminds me of the Canadian beer back home. When we got back into the town, I did some exploring of the fields nearby and then of the town. I saw a couple girls who had been on my bus from Thailand and we met up to watch a movie in one of the cafes (after first I had some delicious Indian food at a neraby restraunt). And yeah, Vang Vien shuts down at about 11. So, at that time we went back to our rooms, I did some reading on a new book I started, then I woke up today and had some noodle soup. I'm undecided yet what today will call for. It's about 11:30 and I'm either thinking about taking another run at the river, or renting a bike, either motor or mountain, to do some exploring of the country side and nearby caves. We'll see what happens. Anyway, having a blast and I just wanted to rub it in your faces. Juuuuust kidding.
Take Care.
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Dad & Donna
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So good to have you back
Glad you are back into blogg`n .....We enjoy reading about what you are up to. you may have to think about writing a book.....I know it would be a good one.........glad you are having a blast.........hope to hear from you soon....stay safe.......Love Dad & Donna xox