Tuesday 1 February 2005

Week 102, Day 676

Our two weeks in Laos were brilliant! After the Mekong river trip to Luang Prabang, we did some sightseeing in the city which appears to be just another small city but is actually quite big. The highlights include: Wat Xieng Thong, the main temple there which had some great tiled pictures on the outside showing a story that we tried to put together but failed dismally; Mount Phou Si, on top of which is a very tiny temple and a few Buddha images, a Buddha footprint and a fantastic view of the city; and cycling through town as it isn't as hectic as the many other Asian cities we've been to. The food in Luang Prabang was brilliant too. We found the night food market one evening, we were served by a 6-year-old girl who not only spoke extremely good english but was brilliant with maths (converting currencies for us and all!)and then feasted on a smorgasbord of Lao food.

The next day we took the Mekong boat trip to see the Pak Ou caves - two caves where discarded Buddha statues have been placed. They weren't as thrilling as it sounds though. We did stop at the Whiskey village on the way which is just as it sounds - a Laos village that specialise in making Laos whiskey. We sampled some Laos wine and whiskey and oggled at the snakes and scorpions that were pickled in bottles. Oooh!

Later that evening we weren't feeling too good and realised that we suffered food poisoning from the dodgy sandwich we bought for breakfast. It wasn't pretty!

The next three days saw us trekking. Unfortunately, due to the food poisoning, Al and I were left a bit worse for wear. The trekking was not as hard as some of the trekking we had done in Thailand but our energy was just zapped and it was really difficult for us. There was only one other couple - Peter and Kate - on the trip, so at least we were able to take it easy. Gaeo, our guide was very sweet and rather naive (he's 19) and we all ended up giving him romance advice on the last night, but he did do a good job and was very knowledgable.

Overall, I really liked the trek. It wasn't as commercial as the ones in Thailand and the village we stayed in on the first night was as untouched as I think we'll find in this part of the world. The kids were so shy and would just follow us everywhere, even when we were trying to get changed. They didn't harass us though which was lovely. Unfortunately, I did find out that they eat dog there which disturbs me. But more of that later. The scenery was fantastic too but due to the haze that hangs over the mountains in Laos, it's difficult to get any good pictures. I did try though.

The most educational trip we've had so far had to be to Phonsovan, our next stop. Even the bus trip was eventful - we had a flat tyre and we broke down 4 times on the way! We ended up at a guesthouse whose owner had been in prison for ideas and attempts at writing books about the Secret War on Laos which is all very covered up both by the US and Laos. It was interesting to hear his thoughts, however bias, on the matter and we ended up watching a documentry on UXO's (unexploded bombs left behind after the US severly bombed Laos around the time of the Vietnam war). Earlier in the day though, he had taken us to a village where they use old bomb shells and metal from war scraps for vases and other items. We arrived just as they were holding a bull fight so that was kinda cool. We were then taken to the markets for lunch, and then to the Plain of Jars but the guide (the owner of the guesthouse) didn't come as he was supposed to. The Plain of Jars is the only reason tourists go to Phonsovan - the mysterious sites with small and large stone jars scattered around the place. They're not sure why they're there but archaeologists are still researching the sites. We passed by the markets on the way home only to find some grotesque meats on sale - one large white rat (which still sends shivers down my spine thinking about it), three small bats with their wings tied, fried mice (i kid you not) and lots of weird frogs and fish and other rodents.

As a result of our guide not turning up for the last half of the trip, our group collectively decided that we were going to pay $5 instead of $7 for the trip. When two of the girls told our guide that later in the evening, he kicked up a big stink, but with the intervention of another tourist, he calmed down and said that was ok. Until the next morning when the girls tried to pay. We paid the night before so we were ok, but he came out and got all stroppy and was really abusive. In the end, out of fear of missing our bus I got involved and started reasoning with him saying that he didn't provide the service we were told we would receive when we had come to the area JUST to see the Plain of Jars and he had gone off to play golf instead of doing the job we were paying for. He didn't like that at all. He threw a cigarette butt at one of the girls and went to hit her. But Alex and I got in the way of him and then he stared at me as if he was going to hit me. But he just threw air punches in the end because he knew he couldn't touch us. It was a bit scary, but I already knew he had a lot of anger in him and in the end, we got out of there. I haven't let that sway my thoughts on the Lao, as every other person has been really lovely. He was just an exception.

After the craziness at Phonsovan, we cruised down to Vang Vieng, a place we where we were promised relaxation and basic chilling out time. And that's exactly how it was. We spent four days just chilling out. Our room overlooked the river, there were tonnes of restaurants all showing movies and 'Friends', and there were 'happy' shakes, 'happy' garlic bread and 'happy' everything sold in many of the restaurants. It was like Koh Phagnan in Thailand, only not on an island.

We did manage to do some sightseeing. We spent a day 'tubing' down the river (you sit on one of those big rubber rings and let the current take you back down to the city). There's all these little bars along the way and when you want to stop they throw you a rope or a large stick and pull you in when you want to grab a beer. There's also some insane swings that you can get on and jump into the water, but we weren't really up for that after watching a few people almost injure themselves horribly! It was so much fun, especially trying to dodge the rocks when you went over the rapid bits. Sounds dangerous but it wasn't really.

We also spent half a day seeing some caves, which is the big thing around Vang Vieng. As we were the only ones booked for the tour, we had the guide to ourselves. We saw two caves first - both of which were really large and had some great stalactite and stalagmite formations. The first had an end to it but the second doesn't. Our guide told us that some cavers spent four days trying to find an end to it but didn't, and a tourist who dared enter it unguided got lost for days before some guides went in to find him. The third cave was a water cave, so we went tubing inside. I was a little frightened though so we left not long after. All in all, the caves were really amazing and it was well worth the trip! We also spent two days just lying by the river in these bamboo huts, sipping fruit-shakes, reading and sunbaking, and occasionally getting into the water and letting the extremely strong current take us down stream.
When our trip came to a sad end, we took the bus to the capital, Vientiane and flew out to Hanoi, Vietnam the same day. And that's where we are now, waiting for our train south. I think Hanoi is a great city. Despite the harassment you get from all the moto-drivers (motorbikes) and street-food sellers, I think it's quite pretty and given another chance, would like to explore it more. Our first day we took the long trek up to Ha Long Bay (4 hours each way on a crowded over-airconditioned bus) for a cruise among the 1000 small islands there. Unfortunately, as it was very cold, it was misty and you couldn't see much but the islands were still beautiful, which means in much better weather it must be spectacular. We also stopped off at two caves which were found only 10 years ago. While impressively big (the biggest I've ever seen), they are very commercial - there's coloured lights everywhere emphasising certain limestone forms and there were even water features! But still worth the trip and the lights did make for some lovely pictures.

Sadly though, the trip back to our guesthouse will never leave my mind. As were caught in some heavy traffic in Hanoi, a moto passed by with two big cages strapped to the back jam-packed with puppies in it. At first I thought they were just toys, but when I took off my earphones, I (and everyone else on the bus) was shocked to hear the puppies whining. I have never seen anything as disturbing and horrible in my life. I cried. I couldn't handle it and just thinking about it still hurts. Seriously, all these puppies had been shoved inside these cages, all on top of eachother, and they couldn't move. I saw one had his nose pushed up against the cage and was bleeding from it. I'm sure most of them were either dead or unconscious from the pain. I've never wanted so much to be vegetarian.

On a briighter note, today Alex and I have walked around the city. Man, we thought Bangkok's traffic was mayhem. The Vietnamese really have no sense of rules when it comes to driving on the streets. We were told there are 3 million people living here and there are 2 million motorbikes on the roads, so that gives you some idea of how crazy it is. There are hardly ever any pedestrian lights, and when there are, it seems the right of way is given to the motorists, not the pedestrians, so it really is a life-risking task just to cross the road. Or even walking along it for that matter as the footpaths aren't very big and normally taken up by parked motos or street stalls!

Still, traffic danger aside, we checked out Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and saw his spooky dead body inside, his humble palace and home. We also visited the Army Museum where Al had a great time posing infront of tanks and missiles. But my favourite was seeing the Temple of Literature, which is from the 11th Century and was the biggest learning centre in Vietnam. It was where people were taught Confucianism. It's preserved very well and kept tidy, so despite all the tourists there, it's very beautiful. The kind of thing you see in all those asian kung-fu movies - the temple-like buildings, the big bell and big drum and lots of pretty coloured flowers among lots of green and trees.

Tonight we take the sleeper train to Hue for some more adventures. We are trying to sort things out in advance as Tet, the Vietnamese new year is in another 9 days and everything seems to close down around that time. We were thinking of only spending a week and a half here as we're short of time, but seeing as we're here for the festival, we're going to arrange it so we experience it. Looking forward to it!



x
Vanessa