I’ll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour

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Friend’s theme song? Anyone? Read on, you’ll see…

We left off in Luang Nam Tha and we were traveling to Luang Prabang the next day. I think this is as good a time as any to give you an idea of the transportation in Laos. Surprisingly, and contrary to most experiences, it has been pretty good for us. Our buses have not broken down, we have only been an hour late or so, once we were actually early, and it has been a pretty easy experience. However, the roads are insanely curvy. Even though the bus drivers slow down (sometimes) you get tossed from side to side. Several times I’ve been dozing off and all of a sudden I get tossed to the side causing my head to crash into the window. Another thing to note is that Lao people seem to be prone to carsickness. Every bus ride thus far we have had a few Lao people getting sick around us. The bus conductors carry extra bags and hand them out to people as they get on the bus. People just toss the bags out of the window onto the mountainside, causing an explosion making me think of the bags as mini-puke filled hand grenades. (Kind of funny to think of, at least for my childish sense of humor.) (Darren’s edit: Sadism.) The last bus ride I wasn’t feeling too well, and I had the window open to get some fresh air. A guy in front of me wasn’t feeling too well either and he got sick out his window. The wind blew it back in mine. It was nasty (Darren’s edit: Hahahahahahahaha.).

I also wanted to mention that, unfortunately, driving through the countryside lets one see the large amount of deforestation in northern Laos. Many people still practice slash and burn agriculture leading to mountainsides spotted with forests that used to cover their sides. Many people have been practicing this form of agriculture successfully for many hundreds of years, but when you combine the climbing population, the increasing demand for raw materials from China, and the amount of deforestation caused by American bombs during the Vietnam war, the mountainsides are getting to be more bare than forested.

Anyway, we started hitting up the more, well-beaten tourist path of Laos in the last week or so. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO heritage city due to the large number of temples and the beautiful little streets winding through the old parts of the city. We spent the first day there just walking around the city, enjoying the temples, checking out the French colonial buildings, and catching the sunset on top of the hill in the middle of the city. I didn’t expect much from the city, as most reports I got from other backpackers is that it is packed with tourists. But it is easy to see why Luang Prabang is so popular; I thoroughly enjoyed the city.

The next day we jumped a tuk-tuk to take us to Kuang Si waterfall. I wasn’t expecting much, just another waterfall. Wow. It was the quintessential jungle waterfall, in my opinion. It was enormous, with several cascading layers of 20-40 meters each, separated by small pools leading into the next falls; standing at the bottom it is quite an intimidating site. At the bottom the water fans out into several pools with small side streams, which merge after a short while to form smaller falls and great swimming pools. We spent the day there just hanging out, Darren reading, and me going off the rope swing. I would say it is the most impressive waterfall I’ve ever seen, however I am sure it doesn’t compare to Niagra, Victoria, or Iguoza. (I’ll be seeing the latter before the year is up!)

On our third day in Luang Prabang we did maintenance. We have spent two months on the road thus far, we are almost done with Southeast Asia, and realized we needed to catch up on a few things. Darren caught up on CPA and moving to D.C. stuff. I did budgeting and planning for S. America (and possibly beyond), and also started thinking what I’m going to do with my life. I still have some time, so no real idea of what to do yet, but I’ll probably go back to school at some point, which means another standardized test. This means math. I haven’t done math since high school. I got really depressed for a few hours there! Seriously, it was pathetic, but I am going to have to re-study basic algebra (Darren’s edit: It’s amazing what a degree from Michigan gets you.). Ugh, I dread thinking of it.

Our next stop was Vang Vieng. It is an interesting city; it has some extremely beautiful parts (the surrounding countryside), but it also has some parts that are kind of shaming. It is famous on the backpacker circuit for the river, where you can jump into an intertube, float down the river, and stop at the dozens of bamboo bars that were erected to feed beer to the tubers. It is also famous for the restaurants that blare Friends and Family Guy DVDs to backpackers zoning out while munching on burgers and pizza. It is very pathetic (sorry to those who enjoyed it, but that is the most descriptive word I can think of). D and I walked by a small family restaurant serving Lao food that was completely empty. The next restaurant was packed with westerners staring like zombies at a flat screen TV that was showing Friends at full volume. Anyway, D and I didn’t partake in that particular part of the backpacker culture in Vang Vieng, but I still managed to have a great time. (By the way, that is where the title came from…)

The first day we did the intertube thing. You get dropped off with a big rubber tube three kilometers north of the city, you jump into the river, and you float down a beautiful stretch of the river underneath huge cliffs. The economy that has grown up around this lazy day activity is pretty ridiculous. There are bamboo bars sporadically placed along the first kilometer stretch with bamboo tables, benches, stools, etc. They’ll throw you a line and pull you in if you show the slightest interest in coming in, and even if you don’t. But, in order to differentiate themselves from the others, they have created enormous trapezes/swings going out into the river. What a great thing for drunk people to do, right? Walk out on bamboo contraptions several stories tall, grab onto a swing and fly out into the river, then swim back and get a few more drinks. Anyway, I did it a few times, because I’m smart like that…

The next day we went and checked out a few of the caves in the area. Again, I wasn’t expecting much and was very pleasantly surprised. The bike ride to the caves was fantastic. We’ve met a few people going through countries by bicycle and it was evident how this could be a very captivating way to travel. (One guy from Santa Cruz we met had biked all the way to Laos from Istanbul but he couldn’t get an Iranian visa so he had to go the long way around! If you aren’t impressed, look at a map.) The caves were really nice, but in particular Tham Hoi, which was the second of the three caves we saw. We took a guide with us and did thirty minutes of pretty good hiking, only by torchlight, through meandering corridors, some many meters in height and width, and many less than a meter. After a while we came to an underground river with a (very) mini waterfall, a small underground lake, etc. It was extremely impressive.

We went climbing on our third day in Vang Vieng. We both had an amazing time. The routes were perfect for our ability level (which is to say beginner, although we noticed improvement from Krabi), and it was in a nicely shaded area so it was perfect as it was an extremely hot day. We are both excited to keep climbing once we get back to the States. We also vowed that once we get better we will make it back to climb some of the routes that defeated us this time around. We were really sore and spent the fourth day just relaxing around the town, going back on the river for some more intertube time, and taking it easy.

Next stop is Vientienne and then off to Vietnam. I’ve absolutely loved Laos, and I’m not sure if it is in spite of, or because of, the minor nuances (which others might call inconveniences). We have had a few big storms while we have been here and I’m kind of getting used to the power outages that accompany them. When I got back from climbing the other day I went to take a shower and spent the first five minutes killing the mosquitoes that had accumulated there during the day, although I didn’t kill them all. After all, I had to leave something for the geckos that live there!

Anyway, hope your lives are as interesting and fun as our right now! Give us a holler and let us know how you are doing!

Darren’s edit: A lot of people have asked about joining us during later parts of the trip, and as nice as traveling in small numbers is, I’m sure we would enjoy the company. So here are rough dates and places for those interested: Vietnam from April 7 to April 28, when we fly to India. Bangalore, Kerala, Goa, Mumbai, and the Ellora and Ajanta caves until about May 25. Then Rajasthan - including a camel safari - until, say, June 8 or 9. After seeing the Taj and a couple places in Delhi, we’ll head north into the mountains (mid-June) with definite stops in Hardiwar/Rishikesh/Dehra Dunn, Manali, and Dharamsala. Early July we’ll go to Ladakh until we fly out from Delhi on July 14. Then we’re on safari/climbing Kili with our parents and brother Ryan until the end of the month. Early August, until we (Kyle and I) split ways on August 12, will be spent in Zanzibar -- that is, asleep on beaches.

The cheapest and most accessible cities to fly to would be Mumbai (~May 24), Delhi (~June 15), and Dar es Salaam (~August 1 for Zanzibar). Otherwise, I’m sure Kyle will take visitors as he bombs around South America this fall.

One other thing: Kyle has taken almost all the responsibility for the blog thus far, and that probably isn’t going to change. But once we hit India I intend to jump in a bit more often, as some of the people following this blog followed me last summer in Dharamsala. Obviously, with Dharamsala so much in the news (Dharamsala is home to the Dalai Lama), I expect there will be lots to talk about. But that is for later…

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Photos

Zeus Buddha
Buddha looks a bit intimidating in this photo, reminds me of what Zeus statues would look like.

Rambo Mudflaps
I absolutely loved these mudflaps. I mean, Rambo? In Laos? Seems a bit wrong, but it felt so right.

Abbey Road Attempt
Tried to get an Abbey Road shot of the monks going for alms, but didn't work out too well.

Darren in the third cave
I forgot the name of this cave, but you have to sit on an intertube to get into it. It's alright, but not as good as Tham Hoi, in my opinion.

Comments

[Jodi H.]

Hey!
Sounds like it's a great trip so far... watch out for the puke, though... Love all the picture you've posted--I wish I was there! Take care and stay safe. ;)

[Jamie]

This made my day
You guys just made my day! It's sad that reading about puke flying through a window has prompted me to laugh out loud at my desk, but it's true! We miss you. I can't believe it has been three months already! Take care and stay safe. Love, Jamie