Livin' it up in Laos

Howdy ya'll! It has been awhile since I have put anything up here, so I figured I might as well get to it. Right now I am sitting in an internet cafe in Ninh Binh, Vietnam wearing every article of warm clothing I have, and I am still chilly. I have had a lot of "firsts" on this trip, and I just might be in for one more - my first typhoon! Apparently a hurricane is bound for the coast, and is causing this cold, dreary weather. It is supposed to hit tomorrow, so hopefully it passes by quickly and is not too serious! (Not to worry, we are inland right now so should not be affected). However, more on Vietnam later as first it is back to the 10 days we spent in Laos.....

Our entry into the country was less than spectacular, as it involved a 14 hour bus ride from Bangkok to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. However, when we finally arrived we were greeted by a city with wide roads void of much traffic, an eclectic asthetic of buildings with traditional wood structures to dreary concrete to French-influenced elegance, and a variety of restaurants offering every type of food one could want, from Mexican to Indian to French cuisine and Scandinavian Baked goods. I would quickly realize that this was but one of many indicators of the large and influential expat population in the city. We spent our time here seeing some of the pagodas and temples, eating some delicious interactive Laos meals (meaning you get a pot of boiling broth over red-hot coals, along with fresh veggies, meat and fish that you cook it yourself at the table) on the banks of the Mekong river, and a 50km bike ride dodging the crazy traffic to "Buddha Park", a green shady park right on the banks of the river that was full of bizarre, yet compelling, concrete sculptures of Buddha, Hindu deities and others that were odd combinations of people, poses, and animals - slightly weird yet interesting.

Continuing north, Vang Vieng was our next stop. If I had wanted to take a break from Lao culture, food, and people this would have been the place to do it. However, as I wasn't quite in the mood for a main street with every restaurant serving the EXACT same menu (I think they were literally photocopies of each other) consisting of hamburgers, pizza and french fries and playing "Friends" re-runs at high volume and an environment reminiscent of what I would imagine Spring Break Cancun to be, it was less than inspiring. However, the dramatic scenery made up for the excessiveness of all things Western and lack of anything Lao. The town is surrounded by very distinct and abstract limestone "peaks" that look like massive boulders, and sprout randomly out of the lush green hills. I have never seen anything quite like this and it made the vista look so odd and interesting - an all-you-can-eat chocolate buffet for my eyes. The area is surrounded by caves, which we spent some time hiking to, tubing through (involving pulling yourself through the cave on a rope, while sitting in an innertube) and kayaking around. These were really neat, full of stalacites and stalagmites and sparkling colored ridges of minerals (which my first year engineering geology course failed me in being able to identify). Easily the most ridiculous time in Vang Vieng was the day we spent kayaking down the river. The kayaking itself was less than challenging as the river slowly meandered its way, with no regard for those seeking some white water. However, the unexpected and many "bamboo bars" set up on the side of the river more than made up for this lack of action. The one we stopped at had a HUGE rope swing built out over the river on a bamboo platform, which was easily 25m above the water. You stand on the platform with your knees shaking at how high it is, grab on to a bar and hold on for your life, jump off and swing wildly out over the river, making sure to let go at the highest point so as to have the longest fall into the water - just brilliant!

Following this slightly ridiculous interlude, we continued northbound to Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage sight. It is quite a pretty city, full of quaint side streets lined with houses of all shapes, sizes and materials, many with flowers or greenery out front. It is right on the banks of the Mekong and surrounded by mountains - beautiful! We took a short boat ride up the river, slowly puttering along passing people watering their small green market garden plots with metal watering cans balanced on a bamboo stick across their shoulders, and the sun slowly casting an orange hue on the water. We also succumbed to a small taste of luxury and had Lao massages (how can you resist when it is only $3 USD for one hour?!). Apparently after only the second massage of my life, I am getting picky as it was not quite as heavenly as the Thai massage, however I cannot complain!

Luang Prabang marked the beginning of our Vietnam Border Crossing Bonanza. Being the stubborn and "off-the-beaten" track seeking travellers we are, we were determined to cross the border overland, although we lacked any concrete information as to whether the border was open, legal for foreigners, or completely closed altogether. However, the mix of information we had received included more positive responses than negative, so we decided it was a go. We were lucky to meet up with a Swedish couple and two Israeli guys who were also attempting the same path, so we all rented a minivan with a driver and off we went. On the way we spent one night in a small town with two guesthouses and three restaurants, all serving the same staple of noodle soup (which we ate for lunch, dinner and breakfast). This ended up being the authentic Laos experience that we had been looking for, as we had a chance to talk to some of the locals, do some hiking in the surrounding area which was full of spectacular green hills and peaks with randomly placed limestone rocks and enjoy the market being the only 4 foreigners in the town. Actually, the market is worth mentioning as we had our first introduction to Laos market meats, which looked more like roadkill to me than something I would want to bring home to cook! (One particularly scrumptious item resembled more of a housecat than dinner.....)

Our quest to the border continued, with the last stop being Vieng Xai where we spent one day exploring a few of the 102 caves in the surrounding area which were used to shelter government officials during the Indochina war. Many of them were complete with rooms for weapon and artillery storage, meeting rooms, bedrooms, and even living and dining rooms. Laos is the most heavily bombed nation, on a per capita basis, in the history of warfare and by the end of the war approximately 1.9 million metric tonnes of ordnance - over half a tonne for every man, woman and child living in Laos - had been let loose on the country. Shocking is a severe understatement. Despite this tragic past, the people of Laos were just stunning. With an always cheerful "sabaidee" (hello in Lao) and friendly smile, they were so kind and welcoming. Children, shop vendors, women, men, monks - everyone would greet us with "sabaidee" whether we were just passing by or stopping in. Such a simple act, yet it made for such a welcoming atmosphere. Laos really was a pleasant surprise and an unexpected gem.

Our travel luck continued as we met up with 4 other travelers seeking to cross the border, so the 10 of us rented a minivan and amazingly enough made it to the border, through the Laos customs, and past the Vietnam officials (involving shuffling us back and forth between a small network of bamboo huts) and into Vietnam!!!!! However, the adventure was not quite over, as we still had to find a means to make it out of the random border town and to Hanoi, the capital city. The Birthday balloons that I had tied to Shaina's backpack (yes, Shaina had the pleasure of spending her 23rd birthday not only away from home on a prolonged day of bus rides and chaos, but in TWO different countries - Laos and Vietnam) must have been exceedingly lucky, as we managed to arrive at the border on one of only three days per week that a bus goes to Hanoi. So, we bordered the bus and the madness ensued as we were crammed into a sticky bus full of people, baskets of food, full rice sacks (which people were sleeping, standing on and leaning on), remnants of chewed-upon sugar cane all over the floor, a duck hanging in a cage from the ceiling of the bus, and chickens riding on the roof. We were bound for Hanoi and I really don't think it gets more authentic than this.

I am now in the last 2 weeks of my trip and am in disbelief at how fast time has flown! It is time to hop onto an overnight bus headed for Dong Ha .... so, until next time.....

p.s. If anyone wants to update me on the ludicrous motion of Stephen Harper supporting Quebec separating, that I have been hearing rumours over here about, I would love to hear it.