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Published: October 31st 2006
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Sabaidee from the Land of a Million Elephants, the former royal capital of Laos,
Luang Prabang.
Standard dormitory question and answer session tends to go along the lines of "where have you been?", "how long have you been travelling?" etc etc.
Then some people will ask, "so which country's been your favourite then?" It always seems like such a silly question. Our answer is generally along the lines of "the places we've been have all been too different to compare."
Only from now on, I think Laos might slip out there as a potential favourite ahead of the other half dozen countries we've been to in the past three months. It's possible that if this place was any more laid back, the stray dogs might take over. If they could rouse themselves from their sunshine slumber.
You could be forgiven for thinking you were in rural France if it weren't for the heat, the tuk-tuks and the monks. There are pavement cafes, colonial architecture and did we mention the cakes???
We're starting to get used to the sight of monks everywhere as apparently ten percent of the population at any one time is wearing saffron robes. What
we haven't gotten used to is seeing them in internet cafes or sporting Manchester United badges on their bags.
The popularity of the wats seems to be due in part to free secondary schooling as well as cultural pressure. Some of the boys only attend for a short time in the summer holidays to "make merit" whilst for others it can be six years or more.
We found our own personal idea of heaven in the shape of a little bookshop/cafe which also shows free films every night. We've spent a lot of time reading whilst we've been here but this isn't something that has really caught on yet in Laos as most kids only have access to textbooks.
We came across a
cool little project that is trying to make reading for fun a possibility by printing Lao language books illustrated by local students. They encourage foreign tourists and NGOs to buy and help distribute the books as they travel in the country. We particularly liked the story of Bangkok Bob which was a little less macabre than some of the traditional Lao fables also published. Those were more along the lines of Hans Christian Andersen.
Of
course not all of our purchases have been quite so charitable given the temptations of the local night market. It has an unspoiled feel as the wares are spread on blankets on the pavements, kids sleep behind the displays and each vendor is only allowed one lightbulb - no neon here. It's a fantastic place just to stroll, not that there is any other option as that is what everyone else is doing and it is sadly the only way through town...
All Ears We wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea that we've been doing nothing but lazing around. To counteract the cookies and cheesecake we arranged a days guided trek into the local countryside. The morning was spent biking out to a local waterfall. After hill number 26 Carolyn in particular was starting to regret the ginger biscuits. David's legs were somewhat more conditioned by his days as a Postie. We'll blame the heat for the seriously pink faces at lunchtime. Of course Keo, our guide, barely had to pause for breath and insisted on wearing a jacket the whole way.
After catching our breath we got into a longboat (a delicate balancing act if
you don't want to see the river more closely) and headed upriver to the falls. They just don't make rivers like that at home. At this time of year which is the end of the rainy season they are chocolate-factory brown and you can almost see the power of the water.
The falls themselves were crystal clear and it was great fun splashing around in the water to get the dust off. There was even a sort of swimming pool with steps leading down into it.
After lunch it was time to take the weight off and let someone else do the hard work. One creature built for hard work is an elephant, although how you would convince one to do something it didn't want to I don't know. We spent the next two hours heading through the jungle with a local Mahout for company.
The Mahout somehow convinced us to take turns sitting on the elephants neck. Keeping your balance was easier said than done but it was amazing to be so close to such an animal and have it flap its ears against you as it fanned itself. We never realised before that elephants heads
are covered in really wiry black hairs.
During the journey the elephant understandably got a little peckish now and then and would uproot whole trees as we went. Just a little snack. The only uncomfortable moment was when it decided to head for a particularly tasty specimen through some thorn bushes and dragged David through with him. Not having elephant hide made that a somewhat painful experience.
All too soon we were back at the elephant sanctuary and after giving Dumbo another little snack (an entire bunch of bananas in their skins) it was time to hit the saddles again.
We headed back via a "traditional weaving village" but when we pulled up outside and saw the tour buses we had a sinking feeling. Not quite so traditional these days unfortunately even although the hand loomed scarves produced are intricate and beautiful.
The Long and Winding Road So, what are the perfect elements of a ten hour bus journey? A driver that may be the retired Michael Schumacher in disguise. A piece of road so windy, the Romans may have conquered the country on principle and replaced it. A less than reliable air conditioning system. Some terrible
Lao karaoke DVDs. A violent bout of travel sickness amongst a percentage of the travellers. Oh, and a steward with an AK-47.
The route between Vientiane and Luang Prabang is renowned for its random ambushes of government buses, so we decided the VIP tourist bus was the one for us. Little did we realise that VIP in this case apparently stands for Very Impressive Protection, as one of the two stewards sauntered aboard quite conspicuously armed. We wondered if they drew straws before each journey to see who gets the gun and who gets the air freshener for cleaning the toilet. Which would you rather face? The bandits or the bog?
Unfortunately protection and cleanliness aside, there's little difference when it gets down to covering that distance by bus. There's only one road, and $5 extra on your ticket isn't going to change that. On the return journey, VIP may have stood for Vomit Inducing Provider. No names, no pack drill, but let's just say 50% of these bloggers spent most of the journey wishing they'd flown. Suggestions that the bout of sickness was in sympathy for an earlier attack of food poisoning on the other member of
the party are unfounded.
Our first arrival in Vientiane was considerably more sedate, via the Friendship Bridge from Thailand. Arriving in the sleepy capital didn't feel like we were entering a metropolis. A laid back French-colonial town on the banks of the mighty Mekong is quite a contrast to the bustle of Bangkok.
First time round we only stopped off for a few days - just long enough for David to try his first massage. He was persuaded by a couple of Aussies we'd met on the overnight train. If a beer-drinking Aussie guy like Rhys could have a massage and survive then it must be ok. Although it seems David and Rhys offended the staff by refusing to be massaged by men. Make of that what you will.
God save the silver screen Today's final little story comes from our trip to the cinema in Bangkok. It was the most plush cinema we'd ever been in and we were just settling down in our seats, forgetting where we were, waiting for the film to start when everyone in the cinema suddenly stood up and a five minute musical advertisment for the King began to play on
the screen. Suppressing giggles we respectfully stood for this most bizarre tribute to Royalty. You can just imagine everyone standing up for God Save the Queen in the UGC on a Saturday night, can't you?
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Sarah
non-member comment
flump
Glad to see you've graduated from mules to a grander form of transport! 'Mon the eleflumps!