Laos, Vang Vieng to Ventiane, 2008

Posted: Aug.2010, Written: Oct.2008

I've decided Laos could be a Disney World theme park. From what I've seen of the fine cuisine and colonial buildings of Luang Prabang (where at the top of a hill, a temple lit up every night looked like the castle from Magic Kingdom), to the water adventure capital of Vang Vieng (where boozing on an inner tube is considered fine sport), and now Vientiane, where I've come just in time to celebrate the end of the 3 month Buddhist Lent, making it a free for all for partying, carnivals, and boat racing along the Mekong.... It's been surreal so far to say the least.

Vang Vieng was a trip...literally...It's a small town bordering two small rivers and its main attraction is for tourists to come and go drinking while you're inner tubing. You plop yourself into a tube for 2-3 hours (6-7 hrs. if you stop at EVERY bar) and let yourself get fished out of the water by bar boys along the river. If the bar boys can't reach you by throwing you a rope or a stick long enough to hold on to, they will come swimming out to get you and drag you into their bar. Each bar is themed: Reggae, Dance, Hip Hop, Mud Wrestling...They've even set up swings and zip lines at least 30 meters high that snap and throw you into the water below...I was lucky enough to watch one man zip line into the middle of the river, let go, and drop directly onto two innocent by-tubers...thank god no one got hurt seriously!

I never went tubing. Instead I rented a kayak and started at the northern most point of the river, and white water kayaked for the first time ever! So much fun when you're cutting through the rapids! (Only baby rapids...I'm crazy, not stupid.) The scenery was incredible, paddy fields, mountains, streams, waterfalls, and I had the entire river to myself. Eventually I came across the inner tubing starting point and it was absolute chaos to say the least. The quiet was suddenly drowned out by bar after bar competing to out play each others' music. I felt like I was back in Gainesville; Vang Vieng is the epitome of a typical college town in the USA! OK OK I admit, I stopped to play a little too. After a morning of caving, hiking, and kayaking for a few hours I figured it would only be best to check out this party scene in person. I was fished out of the water at the first bar which had a swing 15 meters high. Feeling brave, feeling courageous, feeling the effects of Beer Lao, I went for it! I got all the way out to the middle of the lake, managed to swing my legs up over my head for a beautiful flip! ...however, somehow my feet never made it back all the way around, and my awesome flip turned into an awesome belly flop...I'm still bearing a bruise now 3 days later... Everyone at the bar had a good laugh, and more than a few offered to buy me drinks to nurse my broken spirit.

After that I hopped back into my kayak and headed over to the next bar. This was the bar that held all my new friends. It turns out, Laos is a small enough country where you meet the same people, and everyone follows the same exact travel routes. Reason for that being that Laos, the most heavily bombed country in the world, has a high number of land mines still yet to be found! Wandering off the beaten path is not something recommended in our Lonely Planet guidebook... At the next bar, I had a really good time chatting with my new friends. This was also the bar where I watched the man plow into the innocent by-tubers...hard to miss as the girls were screaming their heads off! Having had my fill already, I declined the offer to zip again and that's when I noticed the mud pit. Slimy, drunk, muddy tourists were all running over each other in the mud-pit attempting to play a game of volleyball...the ball was never returned, not even once since they were all too drunk to see straight. That was my cue to get the hell out of there.

I kayaked back on the river, fighting the bar boys off with my paddles, and continued on to the end of the river. I spent days in Vang Vieng, and am proud to say I never went tubing. Friends of mine did it 3 or 4 days in a row! Queenie and I had an amazing time, renting a motorbike and checking out the countryside. We went through a lot of caves using our cell phones for light! We discovered springs and hidden lagoons for swimming, trekked up mountains to get a view over the landscape...and all this we had to ourselves since everyone else was tubing! Even the town itself was absolute perfect for lounging in, since everyone was on the river I had nearly all the cafes to myself for reading and writing.

Now I'm in Vientiane. We got in yesterday afternoon and checked into a guest house right in the center of town. The room's got a double bed and a fan and barely enough room to fit by backpack... all I need for $5/night. Vientiane has got incredible energy right now! This week marks the end of the rainy season and the end of Buddhist Lent here in Laos.

For the past 3 months or so, all the monks and novices have been confined to their temples, and now Laos-wide they all get to go home, go travel, or go anywhere they want. The monks are confined to their temples, so that they can spend all their time and energy focused on deep meditation and practicing Buddha's teachings. Even if you're not a monk, it's common for Buddhists to give up things and meditate during this time (similar to the Christian version of Lent) and so the day that Lent is over is one big excuse to go out and celebrate.

The lent officially ends tomorrow, so I'm going to be at the temples all day watching the monks and novices de-robe, and watch the thousands of Laotians from all the nearby provinces make offerings for the monks and temples. Meanwhile, along the Mekong River there's been a carnival set up for the locals to enjoy every night: great food, games, rides, music, markets selling everything from laundry detergent to Gucci knock offs...They have barges (boats) decorated like temples and mythical creatures and lit up with Christmas lights, cruising along the banks of the river...Imagine the Disney night-time parade, on the water, with dragons and snakes instead of cartoon characters. I was at a roof top bar with some friends last night, watching the boats go by, and we were all impressed. 'In a country where you can't charge your phone and turn on the fan at the same time since it takes too much electricity, I'm super impressed all these boats stay lit up!'...JUST as I said that, one of the boats went out. The lights continued to flicker on and off for some time, but it was still a really good show.

Today I went to a temple called That Luang. This temple's the most important in the entire country, and is even pictured on the national flag and all of the currency here. I started the morning by hitting the ATM and taking out 1 million kip (about $100) and the machine gave it all to me in bills of 20,000s...the wad coming out of the machine was pretty impressive. Laos currency comes in notes of 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, and 50000...problem is they're all the same damn colors, either red or blue!

The temple was absolute mayhem! Monks in the hundreds were everywhere! Women and children were planted on mats under trees cooking sticky rice, then wrapping them with sweet bananas and folding them into banana leaves. The perfect dessert! They were making tons of food getting ready for tomorrow's offerings. The music blaring from the speakers was a mix of traditional Thai and Lao hip-hop...it worked. The actual stupa I wanted to see was impressive, but didn't compare to the excitement running through the temple grounds.

Since then I've just taken to a self-guided walking tour of the city. Walking in and out of temples, in and out of shops, and checking out all the interesting alleyways. I'm going to stay here for another couple days to make sure I see the boat racing. The day after tomorrow, in honor of the end of Lent, tons of boats and rowing teams take to the river in a giant competition. Teams come from every province, and even from Thailand, Vietnam and China to compete internationally. It's a huge annual event, and I'm told can not be missed (which is awesome since I was working during the festival in Thailand last month.)

Luang Prabang-The Living Remnants of Colonial Laos, 2008

Posted: Aug.2010, Written: Oct.2008

Ok... Today is a great day! After the chaos of the slow boat hell for 2 days, it is good to be settled again in a small town. Luang Prabang is incredible! Walking down cobbled streets littered with cafes and bistros, admiring the French colonial architecture that dominates the main quarters of the town, it's quite easy to forget you're in Asia...that is until a Lao woman walks by selling sticky rice in woven bamboo baskets and boiled bamboo shoots reminding you, you're in Laos!

I seriously feel like I'm walking down the streets of Brussels again, but instead of cathedrals there are Buddhist temples scattered in and between the alleyways and homes. Instead of the crowds, there are only a given handful of people in any restaurant, cafe or shop at one time. Instead of cars, there are motorbikes and walking streets. Instead of cell phone chatter or yelling, there's the slapping of a ball in a preferred match of badminton or the temple's ringing bells calling the monks to their meal times. I am in heaven!

It's amazing how much colonial heritage is preserved here, and only because the Lao want to keep it that way. The Lao here are just as eager to preserve their colonial past as the French are to help them fund it. French is widely spoken still and taught in every day classes, and there doesn't seem to be any trace of hostility directed towards the French visitors. It was quite funny to bump into our French friends yesterday and to see their happy faces, that once again they can get a French baguette in the morning with jam on the side.

We spent all of yesterday, just walking. Walking along the river, stopping to talk politics quickly with a local fisherman. Walking along the Old Quarter, to sip Lao black coffee and read along the cafes sidling the streets. Walking to the temples to talk with the monks about the upcoming water festivals and the intricacies of building a 'holy barge' as an offering to Buddha. Walking along the local Hmong hill tribe markets, marveling at the handiwork and craftsmanship it takes to make one tribe's traditional pattern. In the night, we hit the bars! 2 for 1s all night every night, simply because the bars are only legally allowed to stay open until 11:30pm. After that music cuts and lights out! So where was the after party? At the local bowling alley...yes that's right, I went bowling until 2 am yesterday night and it was so much fun! Dance music with a floor to dance on, all you can possibly drink deals on beer and alcohol, a full game of bowling with 8 new friends (where I was the 2nd to the worst player on the board!) and all for a good price :)

Today we visited a Buddha cave: a cave carved out of the limestone cliffs that was once a site of holy pilgrimage when the Royal family lived in Luang Prabang. It's like a graveyard of Buddha statues, so eerie and quiet to go into the caves with minimal light. We got to hike up to the very top of the mountain (which nearly kicked my butt!) and look out over the Mekong and the valleys below. It was a whole day's excursion but worth it.

We'll stay here for another couple of days and then head South to Vang Vieng next. Now? I'm going to eat my cookies in the room, finish an awesome book I'm reading now called 'Another Quiet American' and then go to bed early. Tomorrow morning Queenie and I are waking up before dawn to prepare food for the monks. Every morning, monks walk the streets around their respective temples with alm bowls of silver in their hands. To gain good merit in this life and the next, locals come out to meet the monks to offer them foods: rice, meat, vegetables, candies...or sometimes even things they think the monks might appreciate like toothpaste, shampoo and soap.

Sabai Dee. the Socialist Republic of Laos, 2008

Posted: Aug.2010, Written: Oct.2008

Welcome to Laos!!

First off...the whole two day boat trip down the Mekong River was a baaaaaaad idea....Once we crossed the border from Thailand into Laos (up way North in a small town called Chiang Khong) I duly got my visa and boarded our slow boat ferry. The trip was two days long, with an overnight in a small town in between to break up the journey. The first day, brilliant! Beautiful blue skies, more than enough room for everyone to sit comfortable on the benches or on the floor. Queenie and I got there early, so we moved benches around and dug up pillows from the boatmen quarters to make two little beds for us. We slept for about 4 hours of the 6 hour journey. We made our stop at a town so small it didn't even have a proper name, where we had traditional food (sticky rice with barbeque pork and beef), Beer Lao (one of the best beers in SE Asia) and of course a good night's rest.

We woke up early this morning, refreshed and ready to go! My omelet sandwich I ordered for breakfast turned out to be a soft baguette, with lettuce and tomatoes, with two sliced boiled eggs inside. Ketchup smeared on the bread and soy sauce with chilis on the egg...I was a bit nervous taking that first bite...but wow! So good! We got to the boat, and everything changed....a dark cloud fell over Queenie and I as we realized we were now cramming more people onto a smaller boat. This was going to be a long 7 hours!

We found a tiny corner just behind the captain's boat and fell asleep for 1 hour before the ball dropped. We made an unplanned stop at a no name town again. This time about 20 bags of rice were loaded onto the main deck of out boat, each weighing a few hundred grams. They were heavy, bulky and kicking people out of their comfy sleeping positions. The next package came directly towards me and Queen: a man who broke something in his back was being piggy backed into out boat; possibly seeking medical care in the big city. We laid him out, flat on his back and the poor man was almost in tears. About 10 more people boarded our boat that time....we made another three stops with about 1 or 2 people leaving the boat while another 8-10 boarded....

I seriously considered how much weight the boat could have before sinking before realizing I know nothing about boats, and yet dutifully noted there was no raft or any life jacket in sight should something happen....shit! Queenie and I were bedless. We wandered through the boat looking for any space we could find. As we passed the engine we saw one of the boatmen collecting buckets of water from underneath the engine and throwing them out the window, trying to keep the engine from drowning I guess...great!

Anyways behind the engine we saw all the luggage. Move a backpack here, shove a suitcase there, and bam! Room to sit down, and lie down on all the comfy luggage should we dare....and we did! It was hot, the diesel engine was too loud to talk over (much less think over), and the smell coming from dirty backpacks (who have been god knows where) was almost unbearable. But it was all we had....for 5 more hours to go! Queenie, the brat slept through the whole damn experience! I hate her for that. Me on the other hand, I finished two of my books already, nearly finished a cross stitch of a little boy in a dragon suit (for Cooper's room!), and had meaningless conversations with a sexy Italian man.

I guess it wasn't too bad in the end :) I slept for about an hour, before I started gettin kicked around from people trying to step over me or sit next to me. I checked out the front of the boat and noticed there were at least 100 people on a boat meant for no more than 30 or 35 pax. It looked like a refugee boat: people were strewn over rice bags, sitting on top of one another, suffocating in the heat and dampness, and twisted into any position at the time that would seem comfortable. For a brief moment I thought, I spent $30 USD on this!!! But then...I took a deep breath, and thought yeah...I spent $30 on this once in a lifetime experience...and although miserable as I am right now, this is yet one more travel story to embrace in my old and wrinkly days.

Now we're settled in Luang Prabang. Beautiful town, gorgeousscenery, and quiet...god so quiet! Even the smallest of towns in Thailand don't compare to the stillness of Loas that I've seen so far. Laos is like an untouched paradise, and probably what Thailand looked like 15-20 years ago. The trip down the Mekong River (aside from the space issue) was phenomenal scenery: karts, mountain formation, beaches, and palmtrees, fishing men wearing traditional rice hats, and children playing in the river...it was something out of a picture book. Tonight I'm beddingdown, catching up on some sleep and then hitting the town tomorrow for a stress free day: where we do nothing but sleep in, eat, shop, drink, massage probably and just relax along the river. We might try to find a pub tonight, but the locals tell us bars are only open until 12pm. And in a society that forbids locals to interact with foreigners, something tells me the bar scene is going to be mostly Westerners. From what I understand, the locals today still live under a somewhat Soviet-era regime. If the party finds out you've been having any sort of relation with a local (male or female, sexual or friendly) they'll automatically arrest and jail you....sentence unknown. The locals also feel that they'll be investigated and interrogated if they interact too much with foreigners, since the party's trying to put a stop to the numbers of refugees fleeing into Thailand on a regular basis. Lay low, keep quiet, and stay out of trouble....that seems to be the Commie way so far....something I can adhere to quite easily. Like I said...quiet...which is exactly what I'm looking for these days :)