... it can only mean one thing, Christopher and Nicola must be in Laos.
After our Elephant adventure, we headed north again to the area known as the Golden triangle and the city of Chiang Rai. We ended up travelling VIP again, but it was a short journey, although complicated by the fact that a new bus station on the edge of town had been built recently, which made our arrival a little interesting (as we were expecting to arrive in the middle of town). A short tuk-tuk ride with about 10 others and we were in the part of town we expected to arrive in. A quick walk around and we were settled in another random guest house with the largest en-suite bathroom we have seen yet on our travels. We would, however, have been happy not to have had the cockroach company!!
We decided to take a tour of the area with a local responsible tourism agency and didn't regret it. The area has a large population of hill-tribe communities, so we visited a couple of villages in the a.m., the first a Yao village. As we were leaving a coach load of tourists turned up, and the village exploded into activity. We were happy to move on and see a local Akha village, that is a community project, developed to help the Akha people retain their culture and way of life. We didn't feel as uncomfortable in this village. We took a drive around the area and had an amazing lunch.We have had a whirlwind trip through Northern Thailand, and travelling around the country has been so easy.
The following day we took a local bus up to the border town of Chiang Khong and saw the Mekong for the first time. Money changed hands, our passports were stamped and we were in the Laos Peoples Democratic Republic, with hammer and sickle flags to boot. We stayed the night in Huay Xai in preperataion for the infamous boat trip from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. It is a two day trip through some gorgeous scenery but allegedy frequented by drunk backpackers insensitive to local customs etc. etc. We weren't to be disappointed...
It is a two day trip to Luang Prabang, with an overnight stop required in Pak Beng, but having spent some time witnessing the back packer circuit, neither of us were keen to spend two days travelling with a bunch of drunk yahoos on their way to Vang Vieng to go tubing. We opted for a one day boat ride and then to head north via bus from Pak Beng. After two hours on the boat, we were glad we hadn't opted for two days. The scenery was magnificent but the company had a lot to be desired.
The next morning we were reminded that it is the wet season in this part of the world. A 30 minute walk to the bus stop in the pouring rain, earned us disparaging looks from several of the locals, which we understood as 'stupid farang's walking in the rain again'. We were suitably wet by the time we reached a shack, complete with a couple of equally shack like looking buses outside of it. These would be our transport for the next 3.5 hours. It was a local affair, with stops along the way as people hailed the bus, got off etc. We stopped in a random village and picked up five bags of rice, as you do. We got to see why this country is one of the poorist in SE Asia. 94% of the people in the region we were heading to are subsistance farmers.
We missed our connecting bus and were treated to the delights of the least busy transport hub we have seen yet for the next 4 hours. The bus was full up about 90 mins before the scheduled departure but we had to wait... another 3.5 hours later and a lot bumpier road later and we were in the sleepy little town of Luang Nam Tha. V. close to the border with China. The ride, although bumpy was amazing, the views were incredible, lots of people working in the rice fields and very basic accomodation. A lot of the villagers houses were no bigger than a tree hut of the sort that Dad might build...
Again, a new bus terminal had been built about 10km from where we expected to arrive (we swear there is a tuk-tuk driver conspiracy going on here). Finally after a long travel day we had found a delightful place to stay. Beer Laos was in order. If nothing else, this Marxist-Leninist nation makes a lot of beer, originally named beer Laos. It isn't bad and is relatively cheap. We treated ourselves to a couple of bottles with dinner, and although they went down v. well they didn't prevent us from being woken up by the roosters at some ungodly hour.
It has been raining for the better part of two days now and the forecast doesn't look to be improving much...
...so just enough time to tell you about the BBC news and public bathing, both of which we have experienced first hand over the past couple of days.
The first country that we get to see the BBC on satelite, is in Laos, the poorest nation we have been to on this trip (we weren't happy to hear about the typhoon heading for Hanoi or heavy rains in S. China.) But Christopher was thrilled to see that Mr Cameron was sucking up to Mr Obama in the way that appears to be ever more common among world leaders these days (schmuck!).
Secondly, Lao people have a habit of bathing around dinner time and in public. As we travelled through the country we have come across skimpily clad males and sarong clothed women bathing communally in villages by the side of the road. Christopher is keen for the Conservative government to introduce this in the UK, if for no other reason than it would be a big hoot and the Conservatives are idiots (I guess that is two reasons).
It sounds like it has almost stopped raining so we are heading out to kill some roosters (not sure we can get the ones that woke us up this morning, yesterday or tomorrow, but we will bloody try).
PS No doubt Christopher will be approached again, and offered all manner of drugs this evening - in Pak Beng he was offered weed and opium within minutes of arriving - must be his hair??
