...means "Hello" in Laos!
In the morning we caught the 5 hour bus to the Thai town, Chiang Kong where we
spent the night. Early morning we were shuffled through numerous line-ups, onto
numerous buses and boats and at each stop there was someone demanding money
from us. In the end we figured it cost each one of us nearly a hundred dollars
just to enter the country! One stop demanded we pay extra money because it was
a Sunday and we had to pay the collectors’ overtime! As soon as we arrived on
the Laos shore, our first
encounter was with a hysterical girl telling anyone who walked by that a Laos
man had broken into her room the night before and ransacked it while she was in
bed. Great.
Eventually sixty of us were allowed to board the long slow boat, and they meant
SLOW. It moved about six inches our first hour and a half. No wonder it took 2
days to get to our destination! We spent the first nine hour day all sitting on
the floor (oh, did I mention it had no seats?) playing games, reading and
basically trying to catch up on all the things we never have time to do. We
finally reached shore only to be greeted by a massive sand dune with a rope
hanging down that we all had to climb up, with our packs. We finally made it to
our hotel only to find that they had given away the rooms we had already paid
for so eight of us were forced to squish into two rooms. So far, not so good.
At that point I think we were all just about ready to turn around and head
back.
The second day on the boat was worse. We mainly spent the day staring at each other,
willing the boat to move faster. It didn't. By the time we hit shore I nearly
kissed the ground. We arrived in Luang Prabang, this pretty little town with
amazing night markets, all you can eat veggie buffets for 60 cents and jumbo
drinks for 80 cents. What more could you really ask for? The next day was Ian
and my anniversary. We headed off with the others to a tiger and Asian bear
conservation area. It had beautiful lagoons and waterfall which we spent the
day swimming in and jumping off of (I chickened out of the jumping).
The next day we took an eight hour bus ride through the most stunning scenery.
We drove through village after village, through the most distinct mountain
range I have ever seen. The bus was totally silent as we all watched the
enormous orange sun set behind the peaks. We did make frequent
"restroom" stops along the way where they basically dropped us off in
some random village leaving us to fend for ourselves. I must say it was a lot
harder for the girls since we had to walk much further into the bushes, usually
with a trail of children following us, laughing. There is also the added bonus
that at least 25% of Laos
still has undiscovered landmines and we are constantly warned not to go off any
paths. Approximately 200 accidents involving landmines happen every year,
usually to people tending their own farms. It is really scary.
We reached Vang Vieng at nightfall and the first thing we noticed was that
"Friends" was playing on every TV in every bar. The bars and
restaurants were also without chairs and tables. We would eat our meal up on a
platform with a bunch of large cushions and a small low table in the middle.
Very cool. This is definitely a tourist oriented town and either you love it or
hate it. I'm sad to say we loved it. As much as the North American television
killed the authenticity of the town, all of us fully welcomed the few mindless
hours it provided for us.
Vang Vieng is famous amongst travelers for its tubing. We got driven a few km
up the river, and then set free with our own personal inner tube. We all jumped in and sailed down the river,
stopping at each drink station along the way, which provided us with free shots
of Laos
rice whiskey. Basically the most disgusting thing I had ever tasted. As we went
along, each drink station got larger and larger and provided more and more
entertainment, to the point where the tubing became secondary. From high
platforms they strung flying foxes that ended above the river. We'd have to
time our descent so as not to land on a passing tuber. Further down the river,
the flying foxes were replaced with 30 foot high trapezes, which Angie and I
allowed the boys to do on their own, thank you very much. They took turns swan
diving, back flipping, and belly flopping from stomach turning heights.
Onlookers just sat gasping and providing standing ovations for excellent
performances. Four hours later as the sun was going down we finally decided we
had had enough and made our way back to shore for hot showers and cold beer.
The next day Angie, Alex, Ian and I once again rented motor bikes and cruised
out of town along the bumpiest gravel roads you could imagine. It was scary. We
headed toward some famous caves we had heard about. The ride was definitely
worth it. We climbed up into the caves and using my flashlight, went into the
darkest depths clutching onto each other, nervously commenting on how tragic it
would be if my flashlight died. We headed to the second cave and after a very
difficult climb up 50 feet of jagged rock; we entered into the most beautiful,
serene setting. There, in the middle of the cavern was a giant sleeping gold
Budda. There was a ray of light coming through a small hole that landed
perfectly on it and the sight was breathtaking. Since a lot of people can't do
the climb, there were only three others besides us in there. It was like we had
discovered a secret hidden chamber. It was just incredible. At the bottom of the
rock fall was another lagoon with two ropes hanging from a tree above it. The
four of us spent the next hours swinging and jumping in until the sun started
to set. What a beautiful day.
Eventually, everyone's plans lead them in separate directions. We had a very
sad "Good-bye" and Ian and I went on our way south to Vientiane, Laos'
capital. It's been a wonderful adventure with our group of comrads. We may never see them again, but we will also never forget them. Thank you everyone for such great memories!
