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Published: January 3rd 2006
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BeerLao Sunset in Vientiane
We toasted Laos by the Mekong waterfront with the best beer in Southeast Asia. Hello and welcome to the year 2644 (cool futuristic music playing in the background).....
Yes, in Laos where we rang in the new year it is in fact the year 2644, as they adhere to the Buddhist Era (BE) calendar date which began earlier than the Roman/Christian calendar we use. Funny, it feels a lot like 2006 to us. We hope everyone back home partied like it was 2599!
When last we wrote we were in Luang Prabang, and since then we have been on the move, stopping only briefly in the Laos capital of Vientiane before making our way south into Cambodia. The bus trip from Luang Prabang to Vientiane was typically Lao --- that is, not a straight stretch of road to be seen for hundreds of kilometers through mountainous terrain. We did get a little nervous when they began to pass out plastic bags to all the locals at the beginning of the trip, and it was only after everyone began to throw up from motion sickness that we understood why. Perhaps westerners are desensitized to long, awful bus rides when they come to Laos...whatever the case, we were immune but had to endure horrible scenes
The Las Vegas VIP special
Notice the curtains, beautiful colour combinations and also the vinyl roof with buttons! of discomfort for at least 4 hours of the trip (the worst was the woman in front of us, who just kept her head buried in the head rest in front of her and only stirred to fill the bag). Somewhat practically, they toss the used bags out the window to as not to smell up the bus. (Travellers' Tip: While in Laos, you shouldn't get in the habit of picking up stray bags by the side of the road....sometimes curiosity just stinks!)
Despite the slight adventure, the trip was absolutely beautiful and we would recommend it to anyone. Once we passed the hippy hang out town of Vang Vieng, however, the land became more flat and fields stretched for miles. While we were on the bus, Sarah nudged me and whispered at me to look at the man who had just gotten on (at the Vang Vieng stop). I did and as he turned around I noticed the muzzle of an AK-47 poking out of the bottom of his jacket! Apparently a few years ago they had trouble on this stretch of road with bandits ambushing and robbing buses. Thankfully we haven't heard of anything like this happening
Just to confuse you even more....
In Thailand it is now the year 2549. Confused? We are. and our trip was absolutely safe and care-free. It helps knowing the guy with the gun is on your side too!
In Vientiane we accidentally found a decent, clean hostel that wasn't too expensive while searching for one in our Lonely Planet...the Soukchaleung guesthouse is one block up from the riverfront, across the street from Wat Mixay. We paid $10 a night and got a clean room with tv, en suite bathroom and hot water shower. And internet is right next door. We didn't do too much in Vientiane, but just took the time to relax and enjoy the amenities (including our new found favourite Indian restaurant chain which is taking over all of Laos, Nazim's). Once we got our Cambodian visas (arranged through our guesthouse), we hopped on the next overnight bus heading down south to Pakse. Our plan was to outrace New Year's Eve and make it to one of the islands of Si Phan Don (four thousand islands) to meet a fellow Canadian who was also going there.
The overnight bus was another beauty....it was a VIP and its interior was straight out of Las Vegas (not Moss Vegas). To boot, we were the only foreigners on the bus, which meant that they didn't play an english movie....they played KARAOKE. Yes, karaoke videos are all the rage here....one is actually playing on the nearest tv while we write this. They have got to be the cheesiest things we've seen yet, and the singing is...what is the best way to describe it...like angels peeing in your ears!
Anyways, we did get to the island of Don Det (which is packed with bamboo guesthouses surrounding a small village) but didn't meet up with our friend. The boat to the island was beautiful, and we think that if we spent a few days here we'd love it. But we unfortunately arrived on new year's eve with plans just to stay the night and go the next morning. Every guesthouse offers trips from the island into Cambodia, usually for around 33-35 USD. The following story is why you should NEVER do this!
We had decided on the spur of the moment to try to get from Don Det to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) as opposed to the Cambodian capital at Phnom Penh. Noticing that our guesthouse offered these trips, we tried to book one, but were told we could only get over the border to a town called Stung Treng for $8 US. And so we figured we could arrange everything ourselves from there to Angkor. We happened to be heading the same way with two other couples and so the six of us crossed the border (the Lao border guards AND the Cambodians charged us $2 each just for the stamps!) and were driven to Stung Treng in a minibus. The minibus stopped in the most rural of places, and the bus driver got out and announced that this was Stung Treng, he was going no further, but he would gladly arrange us a minibus direct to Siem Reap for $25. Based on our guidebook maps, Stung Treng looked a little bigger and we'd planned on heading to a bus station to check our options, so we decided to walk a little further up the rural road to check things out. To our surprise, when we reached the waterfront, across the river was a bustling large town, while we seemed to be on the wrong side! Our driver had cleverly stopped out of sight of the town in order to pursuade us to purchase the $25 ticket from him. He turned out to be too shifty for our liking and we got ourselves over the river and arranged a minibus ourselves for ten dollars cheaper! Granted everything was a bit of a hassle and cost us a few hours in negotiating time plus a few hours waiting later on when the company couldn't supply a big enough bus to get us all there.....but finally we were on our way along some of the worst roads we've ever been on. Actually we hesitate to call them roads. The roads were sometimes paved and sometimes (more often) not, the dirt sections had massive potholes and ruts and rocks....plus we were tightly packed, 13 westerners plus 2 drivers, in a minibus that could barely hold it all together. The seat in front of us was occupied by the tallest man we've ever seen, whose seat was broken and bending onto our knees with every bum-lifting, bone-jarring bump in the road. It was hell for 8 hours.
So after 21 straight hours of travel, much of it hellish, with almost no New Years Eve partying to speak of, we have finally made it into the new year and are almost sane. We are in Siem Reap which is the jump-off point to Angkor Wat and are sooo excited to begin our explorations tomorrow. Plus we found (thanks to a recommendation from our Irish friends Darren and Shane -- we'll buy you both Guinness for this one) a great guesthouse/restaurant called the 'Dead Fish Tower'. No idea where the name came from, but the room is good and the place funky. We even have a couch!
So now you are up to date and the next blog will be a doozy!
HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!
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Rossi
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Happy New Year
Don't know what year to wish you, but happy New Year! Glad to hear your continued adventures are going well (well, most of the time!), and I continue to enjoy your posts. Take care and keep having fun! Pretty soon, you're going to make me quit my job! Robin says hello! Charlie