Catchphrase: "Happy" is just another word for trouble
I haven't written anything for ages! I blame the heat. It makes me sleepy. Oh and the fact that this is the second time i've written this entry. Stupid not-working-save-button grrr!
Vang Viang happenings:
After the new year festival in Luang Prabang, we headed to the backpacker equivalent of mecca: Vang Viang. The drawcard is barhopping down the Nam Sung river in tyre tubes. The river is lined with bamboo bars that pull you in from the river, ply you with alcohol, and send you on your merry way again. It wasn't really our scene, so we opted to stay out of town at the organic mulberry farm. Unfortunately just nearby was where the tubing actually started so we could still hear the ghetto blasters pumping bad 90s pub anthems most of the day. It was a bizzare contrast to the wholesome farmness we found ourselves in. Oh my goodness the mulberry pancakes... and the mulberry shakes. They were too good to get over.
The organic farm has a few projects going, one being an english night school for the local peeps. The first night Grace and i went, we were just given a lesson book with conversations in it. But the kiddies learnt that day's so quickly we were stumped as to what to do next. We tried to stall them with "Heads and Shoulders" but apparently that had been done before. However we rocked their socks with the Hokey Pokey. Seriously the playground WENT OFF. And littlies screaming at the top of their lungs are just the best.
And Grace and I went caving! Sort of. Instead of a guided tour, which was crazy expensive, we just walked to one ourselves and went exploring. It was the most excitingly awesome thing i've done so far. Seriously, going by ourselves with just pocket torches down slippery bamboo ladders... i still can't believe we did it! We spent nearly an hour going further and further into the massive cave, only turning back because we were worried our torches might go out! We turned them off a couple of times but it was too dark!
Vientiane happenings:
The capital of Laos was a strange mix of French and Laos. We hired bikes for a day, just to take in the sights: Patuxai (The Laos version of the Arc de Triumph in Paris) Pha That Luang temple, the markets. I've missed riding my bike like crazy so it was ace to be riding again!
Champasak happenings:
To whet out Angkor Wat Appetite we stopped off to see the ruins at Champasak. They're similar in age and style, but less extensive and we had the place to ourselves in the morning. The best part was looking over the ruins from the sanctuary above, with the cool breeze and the shady trees.
We'd organised to be picked up afterwards by our hotel owner's son. But when he did, he told us that he had to drop in on a friend first, and we could have lunch there with them. We thought this sounded okay, and soon we were sitting on the floor of the loungeroom with his group of male friends, eating lunch, listening to Lao pop turned up full blast and declining multiple rounds of Beerlao and cigarettes. I think they didn't know what to do with us really :) Then abruptly we were told we were leaving and got in the car again. Further down the road our driver had to stop at another friend's house for "five minutes". Two hours later we were singing and dancing to Laos karaoke, and drinking beerlao with the whole family. I am still not sure how it happened or if i dreamt it or not. It was a very surreal experience.
Don Det happenings:
So we spent the last few says in the 4000 islands in Laos, where the Mekong gets all shalow and fans out to create the islands and waterfalls. We stayed at Don Det, the main tourist island. It was a beautiful place, but it is turning into Vang Vieng, with most villagers building riverside bungalows instead of farming, and most places selling "happy" food in every form.
On the last day we hired bikes again and went around Don Det and Don Kohn, the neighbouring island. One thing about bike riding on an island is that you cannot get lost. Or if you do, you will eventually find the road that goes around the outside and then you will be fine. Also when it gets too hot to ride, you are not far from the mekong for a quick dip. Islands really can be convenient sometimes.
So then we made the Cambodian crossing more complicated than it needed to be. We'd met some travellers at Don Det who had bus tickets to Phnom Penh, but wanted to go to Siam Reap instead. Being the good folk we are we decided to buy the tickets off them. But when it came to leaving in the morning, we were told to follow a teenage boy, presumably to our bus. Instead he lead us to a car and made out that he was driving us to the border. I'd already heard stories of travellers being left at the border so we refused. The situation was made funnier when he went to start the car, but in gear, nearly crashing into the fence. We had to wait another half an hour before another guy came along, told us he worked for the company and that there would be a bus waiting for us at the border. So we drove with him to the border.
Actually everything worked out okay after that, for us. There were also people who were going to Siam Reap, who were told in Laos that they would get off half way and get another VIP bus. Unfortunately on the Cambodian side they were told that unless more money was paid, they too would go to Phnom Penh. It was my first real taste of the famed 'Cambodian scams' i'd heard about. Luckily we were okay this time, but i'm sure they will make things interesting on the buses we catch in the future!
Phnom Penh happenings:
So how it is possible that in such a fabulous exciting new city, i've managed to spend a ridiculous amount of time cooped up writing on the computer? As it turns out, getting a small scratch on my foot in Laos is a serious thing of sorts. My right foot has become so infected and swollen over the last two days i can barely walk. My foot is a strangely beautiful, painful thing right now. I will not be taking photos.
It's all peachy though. $70US later i am reassured i don't have a flesh eating virus, or blood poisoning, and i have antibiotics that should do the trick. It would be nice to see more of Phnom Penh than the medical centre and the Green Lake Hostel though!Bring it!
