Laos-y holiday

The Beauty of Laos

Laos ( pronounced Low - like "wow") was never on my radar as a place to go.  I did not know much about the country and the only mention I remember of it was during the Viet Nam war during the 70’s.  Why it is not big in people’s minds, I don’t know.  It is an amazing country.  It is mountainous and covered in jungle and absolutely gorgeous.  If you come to Southeast Asia you have to come to Laos. 

It has one dubious distinction, however.

It is the most bombed country in the world. When I say bombed I mean bombs as in those exploding thingys the military types throw around in contrast to the states of inebriation the military types tend to be in.  Apparently during the Vietnam crisis the US dropped an incredible number of bombs on Laos to the tune of one B52 bomber every 8 minutes for 4 years.  About 30% of those bombs did not explode and are unaccounted for.  It makes walking around the countryside a little like telling your wife that you fancy her best friend.

 On our journey down the Mekong River we stopped at a Hmong village where they live pretty much as they have for hundreds of years.  It is an agrarian culture where they grow, harvest and consume everything on site.  They pull fish out of the river, vegetables out of the ground and homes out of the forest.  This village has not seen westerners for a long time, if at all. When some of the young girls saw us coming they ran off and put on their good clothes. I thought that was very cute. We toured their school and visited their village.  They were quite shy but allowed us to take some photos.  The children were so beautiful but it was hard to get good shots of them because they were wary.  When you showed them the photo, though, they were quite thrilled.

They were intensely curious and stood and stared at us from a distance.  A couple of the young Brits in our group spotted a soccer ball and pretty soon a match broke out with two of the Hmong boys vs. three of the Brits.  That broke the ice a little.  They were not a tourist attraction – they did not really know who we were or what we were doing there but they did not ask anything of us.  I am not sure who was more curious.  There was none of this “exit through the gift shop” atmosphere.

A Hmong lady washing the sweet potatoes

 Seeing the Hmong people living their simple existence made me feel a bit sad.  Perhaps “sad” is not the right word.  They have few possessions and seem to be fine without it and Bangkok, which is not that far away, has everything and wants more and more.   Granted the Hmong work very hard to live as they do yet they are subject to what we would consider misfortunes but which they would consider catastrophes.  I would not want to live like that.  On the other hand I don’t want to be constantly grubbing after more and more things at the expense of less fortunate people.  I am not sure where I am going with that thought – but I thought I would put it out there.  Perhaps they have realized that taking care of each other is the important thing in life – not the collection of more and more stuff. 

After two days of rollin’ down the Mighty Mekong we found ourselves in the town of Luang Prabang.  Laos has a population of only about six million people. A great deal of the countryside empty of people and is populated by jungle and mountains.  Luang Prabang is right in the middle of that.  There are still wild elephants and tigers out there in that jungle- that is, assuming the bombs have not wiped them out.

We stayed in Luang Prabang for a few days and on one of those days we went to the Kuang Sii waterfall.  It is an incredibly beautiful waterfall and we all went swimming in the pools.  In Laos, which is a Buddhist country, you should dress modestly – no bikinis, or skimpy bathing suits – the shoulders should be covered.  It’s a pity no one told the other people who were at the waterfall that.  All our girls were all covered up but the girls from the other tours that were there did not get the memo.  I thought it was singularly inappropriate considering the monks that walked by on a regular basis.

 The next day we went elephant riding at the All-Laos Elephant Rescue Centre.   We fed the Elephants, took a ride for about an hour, fed the elephants again and then rode them down to the river to give them a bath.  Actually the elephants bathed themselves.  And us.  We rode them into the river and, since they love the water, everyone got excessively damp.  Telen was very nervous and her elephant was sensitive to that and was very gentle.  She got soaked but in a gentle way.  My elephant – not so gentle.  I was up to my neck in the water at times and was drenched repeatedly.  What a hoot!   On the ride back into town our van had a bit of an elephanty, wet touristy kind of smell.

riding and bathing with the elephants

From Luang Prabang we drove to Vang Vieng.  This was a seven-hour ride through mountainous terrain on Laos maintained roads.  Which leads me to this:  Telen and her acupuncture have cured me of my fear of heights.  All right, I am not ready to stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon on one leg in the middle of the night but I don’t seem to have that paralyzing fear anymore.  The road from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng would normally have driven me snaky but it was no problem.  We stopped along the way at a restaurant on the top of the mountain for lunch and I stood on the edge of the precipice with no sweat.  I noticed it earlier on the trip when I climbed a Stupa to the top and turned and looked at the landscape.  It is not like I am able to control the fear – it is just gone.

Living life on the Edge

Today we rode bicycles to a swimming hole and then went kayaking down the river.  These sound like typical tourist activities – which they are - but they are still fun!  Vang Vieng has had a reputation of a party town with lots of tourist coming here to drink themselves into intolerability, engage in projectile vomiting and offending the locals.  The government shut down a large number of the bars and so the atmosphere has changed for the better.  They still run touristy things here and it still feels like a tourist town but at least you aren’t stepping over insensible Australians and the air is free of the reek of regurgitated beer.

Telen writes:

Laos is indeed a beautiful country.   The people suffered greatly when intense bombing from the US destroyed a large portion of its infrastructures.  According to Wikipedia, 250 millions B-52 bombs were dropped during a 10 year period from 1967 to 1974.  Yet, the people here seem to be gentle and laid back.  Even the traffic here is a lot friendlier.  The economy here is struggling.  75% of the land is mountainous.  Fortunately tourism is growing and with the abundance of rivers, hydroelectric production and sale to neighboring countries i.e. Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia are generating a fair portion of the GNP.

My highlight so far is visiting the elephant conservation camp in Luang Prabang.  I have always wanted to touch an elephant and now I have done more than that.  Rand and I rode one elephant named Kampo through the forest.  Later, I rode an elephant named “Chocolate” to the river for bathing.  It was certainly an experience of a lifetime.  I was scared and thrilled at the same time.  Apparently I screamed when Chocolate submerged herself and me into the water the first time.  There are about 10 elephants in the camp ranging from 11 to 54 years old.  These elephants were initially brought to the camp because they were orphaned or in poor health in the wild from loss of habitats.

The national food here is sticky rice.  It is eaten at every meal.  The food is very tasty.  It generally does not have the hot spicy flavor of Thai dishes and shares some flavours with Vietnamese foods such as the liberal use of basil and cilantro.  Our tummy problems are now over and our appetite is BACK!  Tonight, we could not resistant in buying some banana pancakes cooked in one of the street stalls for dessert.  They were delicious.

Rollin' on the River

writing the blog while cruising down the Mekong

Currently we are rolling down the Mekong River in the proverbial slow boat.   There are green hills on both sides covered with banana trees, bamboo, rice, and water buffalo.  There is a cool breeze blowing and everyone is pretty mellow. 

Getting here was not so mellow. 

We left Chaing Mai about 2:30 yesterday in two mini-vans piloted by aspiring Formula-1 drivers.   I felt like I was in the movie Skyfall – car chases, near misses, death-defying high-speed stunts – the whole ball of wax.  Eventually even the guide asked them to take it easy – and he is a native.  Up to that point I felt that we had about a 50% chance of making it to Chaing Kong.  After our Guide, Jack, asked them slow down I gave us about a 55% chance.  Upon arrival when everyone had unwrapped from their fetal positions, put their rosaries away, and kissed the ground we checked into our Hotel.  

With G-Adventures it seems that the hotels we stay in are always down dark, twisting back alleys.  The hotels are basic, clean and have all the amenities including beds make from Kevlar.  It just seems odd that they are hidden away where no one who was looking for a hotel would look.  The one last night was on the edge of a farm.

We went out for a group dinner at a restaurant right on the edge of the Mekong River so we could see our next day’s destination across the river – Laos.  At the end of the dinner as we were walking back to the hotels my GI bug regrouped and attacked. 

It was not a restful night.

Not only did I spend most of my night sitting on the great white throne but the roosters on the farm next door thought that 3 am was the time to start the dawn chorus.  Even though my GI tract was in trouble I still had the urge to dispatch a chicken or two.  Then to add insult to injury the Dutch woman in our group started yelling obscenities at someone who asked her to keep her voice down.  This went on for the rest of the night.  Rooster, obscenities, cramps, repeat ad nauseaum.

We crossed the Mekong River this morning by long-tail boat to Laos customs.  It took a while to get our Visas and get our stamp but we made it.  Apparently all us white folk look alike because my photo was not used on their copy of my Visa – they used someone else from our group’s photo who co-incidentally also has a beard.  When we tried to explain that it was not my photo they looked at my passport and the photo on the Visa and said “Same same”.  Oh well, if they come looking for me for any reason Stuart (whose picture they used) is in trouble.  Too bad

Chillin' on the River

However, we are now rolling on the river.  Mellow, chilled, less crampy.  Telen is snoozing and listening to her music and I am banging away on my computer.  Our next town is a little wide spot on the river that recently got their main road paved and electricity.  They have along history of selling marijuana and opium products to passing river travellers.

Strangely enough, they have WiFi.

Life along the Mekong

It was inevitable

The Temple of the Dawn

It was inevitable.

After eating Thai food in huge quantities and probably not being as careful as we should we got caught.   We have travelled to lots of places and eaten all kinds of food and have never had the experience referred to as Montezuma’s revenge, or Delhi Belly or lots of other less polite terms.  Now we have had it.

The timing was unfortunate.   Today we started our Indochina Encompassed tour with G-adventures.   So that meant today we went on a long-tail boat cruise and a tour of the Buddhist temples associated with the Royal Palace.   Not a place where it is easy to get to a bathroom in a hurry.   A Buddhist temple is not somewhere where you want to suddenly empty your stomach in a handy offering bowl.  So we left the tour early to go back to the hotel to be closer to facilities.   The cab ride with all the sudden accelerations and sudden stops nearly got the driver a bonus. 

The Suspicious Banana Pancake - might be the culprit

To make matters worse we left last night on an overnight train ride to Chang Mai.  Telen was feeling unwell, but was actually over the worst of it by then but I was right in the thick of things.  I made 12 to 15 trips up the aisle to the tiny little toilet on the train and somewhere in the night the nausea passed and I was left with just the diarrhea.  Come morning I was feeling better - just dehydrated and exhausted. 

Feeling not so good

Not an auspicious start to the trip.

We rode on a couple of overnight trains in China on our trip there.   I was expecting the same experience here in Thailand.  The trains in China were, to be polite, utilitarian.  There were six bunks to each compartment- each of which was wide enough for one Chinese person or one-half of me.  You had to bring your own food on board and there was really no place to eat it.  In contrast the train we rode on last night started with two large seats facing each other with a table between.  A man came by and took your food and drink order.  Then, when you were ready to sleep a woman came by – did a little Thai magic- and your compartment was transformed into wide bunks with an upper and a lower bunk, curtains, fresh linen and pillows.

We have an interesting mix of people on this trip.   As is usual with G-Adventures the majority of the participants are fairly young.  There are a couple of couples around our age one from England and one from Nanaimo.  There is a young man from Germany, and one from France.   There is a woman from Holland who I can see as being a problem.  She is chronically late, loud, aggressive, often drunk and with a vocabulary like a longshoreman.  There is another older man from England who looks to be in the later stages of cirrhosis and who is mostly drunk as well.  They make a good pair.  The rest are a mix of young people from England.

Chang Mai is a great relief from Bangkok.   It is a smaller city with fresh air and a much more relaxed pace.   People will stop their vehicles if they see you on the crosswalk.  We were very ready to leave Bangkok with its frantic pace, smog and dirt.  The area around Chang Mai is green, hilly and very tropical looking.  Such a contrast!

by one of the Buddhist Temples in Chang Mai

Now, we just have to recover enough to enjoy it! 

Ayuthaya

There is a myth that things are cheap in Southeast Asia.  This is not completely true.  Food is cheap and so is clothing.  You can eat a full meal for somewhere in the neighbourhood of about $10.00 Canadian for two people.  When I say a full meal I mean full!   None of this “Oh, I shouldn’t eat any more because I might get fat!” business.  When you stop eating it is because “there is no room at the Inn!”  However, if you choose to eat Western style – i.e. pizza or burgers, you will pay the same as at home on as many levels.

Clothing is cheap.  We took a cab to the mall today and purchased four different articles of apparel, ate lunch, came home in a cab and spent about $30.00 all told.  However, electronics are about the same price as home or possibly slightly more.  So don’t come to Southeast Asia looking for a bargain on computers or cell-phones.  Not only will you not get a deal, but you won’t be able to read the instructions.

  

Thai food is great.   And cheap.  I am not sure how they manage to make it so flavourful yet not heavy like Indian food.  We decided to find out. We took a Thai cooking class.  It was a great learning experience.  The instructor took us to the outdoor market to purchase the ingredients then took us to his school to show us how to make about five different dishes.  Granted this was fairly basic stuff but nevertheless it was fascinating to learn.  I have yet to see a grocery store here.  It looks as if everyone buys their food from the street market.  These markets are kind of like an outdoor Granville Market tucked in an alley.

The instructor, whose name was Jay, took us through the outdoor market showing us the various fish, meats, starches, vegetables and seasonings used in Thai cooking and explaining how to use each one.  It was quite an education – I did not know, for example, that there were so many varieties of eggplant.  He even showed us a type of eggplant called a “hairy” eggplant and said it was like me.  Then he giggled and bitch-slapped me on the shoulder.  

Is everyone in Thailand gay?

Jay shopping at the market

When we got back to the cooking school we had to wash the vegetables and arrange them artistically in a basket before we cooked with them.  I would have just tossed them on the counter but that is unacceptable and had Jay flapping around, flipping his hair and getting all bitchy. Presentation both before and after cooking is, I guess, important.  In spite of my tongue-in-cheek comments, we really did enjoy the course and Jay was a great instructor.  I might even have learned something…. Stranger things have happened…

For once in my life I did something smarter than Telen. One of the dishes we cooked required a hot Thai chili pepper. Those peppers are HOT! I carefully flipped most of the pepper out of my wok during the cooking process.  Telen did not do that, and she paid for it.  Everyone was gasping and sweating both while cooking and eating their dish except me. They were so impressed with my ability to eat hot food.  Telen ate all hers and subsequently spent an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom periodically calling out for buckets of ice and fire extinguishers.

Today we took a trip to Ayuthaya, the ancient capitol of Thailand.  Ayuthaya is famous for it’s many Buddhist temples stretching back to as early as AD 1400.  This area has been in a tug-o-war with Burma (Myanmar) for many hundreds of years so the temples have been built, razed, rebuilt and re-razed again many times over the course of their conflict.  The temples have been built in a myriad of styles as a result of who, if anyone, was in charge.  So we saw temples that were ruined in the Thai style, Cambodian style, Burmese style and Sri-Lankan style.  We did see one Buddha that was easily two stories tall and covered in gold.  Offerings and people praying surrounded Buddha.  This Buddha is often “honoured” or prayed to for the fulfillment of wishes – money, love, fortune etc. 

A ruined Buddhist Temple

My meager understanding of Buddhism is that the path to enlightenment requires a detachment from materialism.  The Indian prince who eventually became Buddha gave up all his worldly possessions when the suffering of the common people moved him.  When I saw the huge temples with all the gold raised in Buddha’s name it made me think of the Christians and their intolerance or the Muslims and their violence.  When religious leaders teach us something is it automatic that we do the opposite?

Telen at the Summer Palace

We did not get as much out of the trip as we hoped - thanks to the guide.  He was proud of the fact that he spoke four different languages.  English, apparently, was not one of them.  In spite of that, and the fact that Telen and I were the only native English speakers, he insisted on giving the tour in English.  At least that is what I believe it was.  The group consisted of Koreans, Japanese, Germans, Austrians, Dutch and Thais.  I cannot imagine what they got out of the tour.

Telen Writes:

Rand was right.  I should not have eaten all those chili peppers.  My gut is still upset.  Rand put on his pharmacist’s hat and found some Imodium for me.

We have spent a week here in Bangkok on our own now and are looking forward to start our 29 day G adventure tour through northern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.  Bangkok is a huge urban sprawl with 8 to 14 million people depending on where one draws the boundary.  Cars and scooters rule the road but we are becoming quite street wise now when crossing the road.  We have been to the nearby MBK mall 3 times now.  There must be over a thousand shops.  Going to the mall is a good way to escape the humid heat of Bangkok, to do people watching and to check out some bargains.  The workers and shopkeepers carry on their domestic chores in the mall as well.  For example, I saw a number of little ones ages around 6 months to 5 years old playing happily amongst the displays where their parents work.  I saw a mom chasing after a toddler as she tried to spoon feed him food.  Young people here like to wear a lot of makeup, female and male alike.  One time, we were at the mall just after it opened its doors at 10 am.  I saw some ladies applying their makeup, combing their hair.  One even changed her shirt behind the customer counter.

Bangkok is a city full of opposites.  One sees the saffron robed monks walking barefooted in the morning on the streets holding their begging bowl going from door to door to collect food.  The image of Buddha is revered, yet most people seem to practice the opposites of Buddha’s teaching.  Over indulgence is the norm here:  eating, shopping, material possessions.  Perhaps this is unique to Bangkok.  I am looking forward to see what other parts of Thailand will reveal.