The Laosist Philosophy

After having such a fantastic time in Cambodia and hearing positive feedback from fellow backpackers, we were excited to board the plane for our short trip from Phnom Penh to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The flight was uneventful and I fell asleep for most of it (surprise surprise!).

When we arrived, we were amazed to find it quiet, small, and lacking the hustle and bustle of most Asian cities. Everyone seemed to saunter down the street, take their time to do just about everything, and greet us with an enthusiastic, "Saibadee!" It was a refreshing change; unfortunately, I spent a good deal of my time in Laos feeling under the weather. I will apologize ahead of time for my sad, sad story!

The first few days in Vientiane were pleasant. We explored the city and indulged in a great traditional Laos massage. I even convinced Jas to get one too. Despite what you might hear, he loved it!!! The stretches proved to be a little too much for my sensitive lower back. The next day I threw it out bending to fix the blankets on our bed! Aaah!

While my back recovered, we relaxed and were able to enjoy some great meals. This turned out to be double the fun for me, as I picked up a nasty bug which left me with some horrendous tummy troubles and a fever. While I stayed in our hotel room, Jas walked the city streets and made friends with some of the locals.

After spending 7 nights in Vientiane (we had only planned on 3), I started to feel better so we took a mini-bus to Vang Vieng. The winding roads didn't fair well with my stomach. Once again, my body beat me into submission. When we arrived, I sat on a bench while Jas went in search of a hotel. I parked my ass and spent another 3 nights confined to quarters.

Vang Vieng is a small place and a backpacker's paradise. There are restaurants where you can lie down to watch "Friends" re-runs, bars that offer a free bucket of whisky if you have red hair, and other pubs where you can choose various concoctions of weed, mushrooms, or opium from a laminated menu. Perhaps the only thing stifling the endless party, is the nation-wide 12am bar curfew that is strictly enforced.

My first full day out of bed we spent exploring the town on foot. Beautiful scenery and a quiet setting made it perfect. That night we ran into our friends Shaun and Maxine, a Canadian couple we had been travelling with on and off since Cambodia. We made plans to go tubing the following day. We had loads of fun!! We rented the tubes and hopped on a tuk-tuk that drove us to a drop off point north of town. It takes about 3 hours to float your way down the Nam Song river, but most people spend all day as a result of the endless row of bars along the riverside. A good thumbs up will secure a stop...a man with a long bamboo pole will pull you into the side. You can also partake in some adrenaline-pumping activity: a swing off a 50ft wooden platform into the water.

Trying to make up for lost time, we dived into more adventure and signed up for a 2-day trek. The first day involved a trek to visit a couple of caves and the "secret eden", a valley encircled by mountains. We were told the trekking would be mild-moderate, but it actually entailed climbing over the mountains twice. What a climb! It was a vertical ascent that required extensive use of your hands and arms. It was a challenge for all of us, but I was particularly weak after being sick for so long (I now have a nice scar on my leg from taking a tumble). Perhaps the difficulty level was for Laos standards...our guides did it all in flip-flops!! Despite the effort, the trek was great and provided us with some magnificent views. We stayed in luxury that night...a lodge that had the most comfortable bed I've slept in in a long time. We swam in the river, had a massive dinner, and played cards with our guides. They were funny and mixed some whisky for all of us to drink. The following day was just as good...we spent it kayaking. It took Jas and I a bit to get used to working together with the paddles. We decided that we would be one of those terrible couples on "The Amazing Race" that bitch at eachother. Ha ha! We went through a few small rapids, explored some more caves, and took a swing off one of the platforms.

To continue the fun, we went out that night with Shaun, Maxine, and an older English lady named Jane. We ended up at a popular bar where Shaun participated in a wet t-shirt contest, and got hammered with Jas on cheap whisky. I spent a good part of the night chatting with Jane...until I realized that the 'fun' had moved on without me! I ended up waiting outside our hotel for 20min while the staff searched for an extra key to our room. While Jas did return to let me know where he was going, I was left for the rest of that night and the next morning. As it turns out, Jas blacked out the night before and doesn't remember a whole lot (except for what Maxine told us): shaking the hands of local hospital workers as they finished their shifts, falling in the ditch, and throwing up on Shaun and Maxine's towel. He woke up wondering where he was...with a bad hangover. As a result, I spent the rest of that day by myself and tended to Jas. What a guy!

The following morning we took a bus to Luang Prabang. It took us 7 hours to go 220km, but the scenery was magnificent as we wound our way around mountains. We passed a few men along the side of the road with rifles, guarding the highway for safety.

Luang Prabang is a beautiful spot, with many old buildings. It is pleasant to walk around and explore. We met a Canadian guy named Derek, who runs a trekking outfit, and ended up signing up for another trek. This time, it was for 3-days and included biking, trekking, and kayaking (we just can't seem to get enough!). Derek explained that this trek would be to remote villages where tourists had only been once or twice before. While we really didn't believe him at the time, the trek turned out to be everything he said it was. It was awesome!

We started our trek early in the morning by loading our bikes onto a truck and driving to our starting point. Our guides were D and Pong, and they were a lot of fun. The bike ride was loads of fun for Jas, and a little challenging for me. While I enjoyed myself, it was "an up and down on a dirt road with the afternoon heat beating down on you for 32km" kind of ride. I will say this - the views were amazing with the river snaking below us and the mountains surrounding us. Our first highlight of the trip was when we stopped at a Khamu village. A shaman was in the middle of helping rid a young baby of bad spirits that had made her sick. The shaman was bouncing up and down on a spring board bench and shaking a metal ring of charms while chanting with a red cloth over his face. Another man was beating a drum. We were told that he will usually continue in this manner for 2-3 hours without getting tired; unfortunatley, we weren't allowed to take any pictures of him. The other villagers were amazed at our cameras and were eager to get their photo taken once they realized that they could see themselves on the screen. It was very touching to be asked by the mom of the sick baby (translated by our guides) to take their picture...she wanted a copy in case her child died.

After our intensive bike ride, we stayed overnight at another Khamu village where no other foreigner had stayed before. Our guides got permission from the village chief after giving a small payment. Our homestay was really a homestay. We set up our sleeping bags in one of the villager's homes and slept next to the family. We washed up in the river with our clothes on. The people were excited and fascinated by us. They gathered to watch us for hours on end, silent and curious. We had an audience for everything we did. It was difficult to change clothes without a child poking his/her head in to sneak a peak. While our guides were acting as translators, they were busy most of the time preparing meals; therefore, we had to rely on non-verbal communication. Amazing how far it can go, and how you can share laughter without saying a word! That night we sat around a fire with the villagers to sing songs and we taught the kids how to count to ten in English. It was great fun. At 8pm sharp we heard the generator start, which caused the kids to disperse very, very quickly. Apparently, every night the village gathers to watch TV in the chief's house! We slept that night with peace and quiet, as there was an eerie lack of chickens that usually wake you up at all hours. Our guides informed us that the chickens had all died..."bird flu". Hmmmm...

The next morning we set off on our trek. We crossed the river in a small, tipsy boat and met up with some villagers who were going where we were headed. Our guides arranged for them to carry some of our much needed water (how nice!). The trek was about 15km, but most of it was up a mountain. We stopped for lunch at a Hmong village and were met with awestruck faces. Some of the small children cried! After lunch, we made our way to another Khamu village where we would spend the night. Again, we set ourselves up in a family's home, and sat for a rest. It didn't take long for the entire village (or what seemed like) to crowd into the home to stare at us. Crazy - a row of foreigners on one side and villagers on the other. Both staring with the occasional smiles exchanged.

We washed up, and then sat with some of the people. An English lady named Dee, a Scottish girl named Claire, and myself ended up teaching the kids some games, including an engaging round of "Hokey Pokey". The kids loved it! I decided to bring out our hacky sack so the kids could play. They progressed from throwing and catching it, to using hands, feet, and their heads to keep it off the ground. They seemed to have a blast playing, but I started to think as I watched all the kids trying to get a piece of the action, "Is our hacky sack going to be the next Coca-Cola bottle from 'The Gods Must Be Crazy?'"

Just like the night before, our guides failed to find us a chicken for our dinner. They splurged and bought us a duck instead (they were concerned that we hadn't had any meat). Amazing to think that they do it all...from live duck to food on your plate in a short time. As part of our dinner, they prepared for us a local delicacy. I never thought I would try anything so gross...raw duck blood mixed with some unknown duck parts. Jas actually enjoyed it while I stomached a bite before diving into my sticky rice! I ask you...who or what did I marry?!

After dinner, some of the children gathered in our hut and we taught them some clapping games and some Western-style dancing. They had an old, battery-powered radio. They seemed to absorb everything we said or did like a sponge. All of them paired up and started to practice their twirls and spins. Wow...great moment! Once again, the generator came on and everyone flocked to the community hut for TV time.

In the morning we set off early to avoid the heat. We hiked back over the mountain for 16km. One section was particularly steep and our guides tied some vines to a tree for support and carved out foot holes with a bamboo pole.

The rest of our day we spent on the water. We used hard kayaks and went through some fairly good rapids (another couple flipped twice and we came close once). It was loads of fun...despite Jas "accidentally" wacking me in the head twice with his paddle!

For the rest of our time in Luang Prabang, we perused the night market and explored a few wats. Although we had wanted to go further north in Laos, my illness set us back and we didn't have time to go. We booked the 2-day slow boat to take us to the Thai border (we had originally booked the 6 hour fast boat; however, after learning that it is very dangerous and fatalities are not uncommmon, we switched. This proved to be the right decision as we discovered a couple weeks later that the service has been cancelled...most likely due to another fatal accident!).

The boat ride was long. We spent a crammed 10 hours of travel the first day, followed by 91/2 hours the second. Luckily, we ran into Shaun and Maxine again and an Amercian couple who provided us with good company for the trip. Pak Beng is the half-way point where the boat stops for the night. We searched for a place to stay and ended up with a $3 room. We had a mattress on the floor, were given a mosquito net to hang (we had to improvise and use Jas' backpack to tie it up), there was no running water, outside squat toilets, and the electricity is shut off at 9pm. Nice.

We arrived at the Laos border town of Huay Xai, spent one night, and then headed into Thailand the next day. We were a little sad to leave Laos and its snail's pace. We've been in Thailand for 17 days now, and it is much more frenetic. We will update you shortly on our adventures, but in the mean time, you can look at our newly posted pics of Laos!