Curfew at Midnight, Luang Probang February 20,21 2012
The journey to Laos is grueling. It consists of a series of minibuses, ferries, pink taxis and night buses. The first leg of the trip is from Chiang Mai, Thailand to the Mekong River. My minibus driver is a cigarette smoking, coffee drinking madman. We race to the river, almost literally, as if he is Mario Andredi being chased by the police with 12 kilos of cocaine in the back. He'’s driving halfway in the other lane going into blind turns, running motorbikes off the road, and passing everything that moves. There are audible "“Oh my gods"” and "“What the <insert expletives>"” followed by nervous laughter from others in the minibus. I’t never becomes clear to me why he is driving so fast, but it was fun for me at least. I was lucky enough to sit in the front seat and the only one to have a seat belt. Good times.
We wait at least a half an hour at the river for a boat to get across to Laos. We cross the river which happens to be the border via a small wooden boat. We go to Laos customs, fill out the necessary paperwork, pay the Visa fee, and walk onward.
We take a pink taxi/pickup truck looking vehicle to the bus station to catch the night bus to our destination in Laos: Luang Probang. This is where I meet Andrew, Andrew, Allison, and Kirsten. Together we are team Laos. Again, that’s three Andrews, an Allison, and a Kirsten. We stay together for the entire time in Laos, for better and as you’ll read later, for worse.
Andrew #1: reining from Bristol, England home of the famous graffiti artist Banksy, he is a hip hop and drum and bass loving guy with a penchant for doing all things exciting.
Andrew #2: also from England, a calm and loving chap who has been traveling for a couple months with a girlfriend back home; a solid person and good friend.
Allison: reining from Scotland, one of these people who doesn't have an evil bone in their body; sweet, cute, nice.
Kirsten: reining from England, friend of Allison; raw, unreserved, and doesn't care about offending anyone with her raucous demeanor and attitude.
Riding the night bus is an experience. It looks like a 70’s era disco bus equipped with colored lights and an old t.v. screen up front. Music videos play on the t.v; terrible American music videos remade with Laos dancers and musicians. I begin to wonder if this music is popular in Laos or if they think this is what we, the tourists would LIKE to listen to. Either way it is one of those 'We're not in Kansas anymore" moments. I am not sure if the music is going to be playing all night long or not but luckily it stopped after about an hour so everyone could focus on getting some crappy bus sleep. I take some OTC sleeping medicine (which I later find out is just Xanax) and pass into a sedate dreamworld for most of the 9 hour trip. Upon arrival at 7am we watch, in a tired and hunger induced haze, a long line of Buddhist monks dressed in traditional orange garb walking single file down the street. Apparently every morning at dawn the monks walk for an alms giving ceremony. We then grab some breakfast, find a guesthouse, and get some real sleep. We wake up a couple hours later to go out exploring.
 |
| Monks in Luang Probang |
We grab some lunch at a small place on the Mekong river, and then make our way to a bar to watch the sunset. I am given directions to "go across a small bamboo bridge, around a corner, and you'll see it. You can't miss it." We find the ramshackle bamboo bridge and brave our way across it. There is certainly some reservations but we all cross without issue. We find a seat at the bar (which is really just a small shack) just as the sun is setting. We have a great view and enjoy a beerloa as the show unfolds.
 |
| Bamboo Bridge |
 |
| Sunset on the Mekong river |
 |
We then go bowling...that's right, bowling. The bowling alley is a late night backpacker drinking hole which also happens to have lanes. We enjoy 3 games and make it back to the hotel before our 12am curfew. This, of course, was not self imposed. The city mandates the curfew, and subsequently our guesthouse did as well.
Memories Lost...Then Found at a Waterfall, Luang Probang February 22 2012
We wake up and decide that our daily mission is to ride to a waterfall and spend the day swimming and looking at Asian bears in the bear sanctuary nearby, Team Laos finds a Tuk Tuk driver, bargains for a decent price, and piles in the back for an hour ride to the Kuang Si Falls, a large multi-stage waterfall.
The drive through the countryside was interesting.
At the park we see an Asian bear sanctuary. The Asian bears are smaller than the ones I'm used to...kind of like big dogs.
The actual waterfalls are quite good; the water is turquoise green, yet clear. It's one of those places where you think "whoever stumbled across this for the first time must have been absolutely shocked!" It's just not something you would expect to see in the area. We spend some time exploring the area around the falls. We get to the top of main falls and look up to see that there are people higher up, so of course we climb up the dirt path higher. At the top we find another set of falls and a pool. It looks like one of those swimming pools, when viewed at the right angle, looks like a cliff. The edge of this pool was actually a cliff. We jump in the pool at the top of the falls and swim around for awhile. Swimming toward the actual waterfall proves difficult as the current is so strong; you swim in-place. Obviously staying away from the other edge is important for continued life. The water is cool and put everyone into a good mood.
 |
| Team Laos |
 |
| Top of the Falls |
 |
| Top of the Falls |
We hike back down the path and find another pool further down with a small waterfall cliff an a rope swing. We play around here for awhile as well. Good times had by all until the girls drop Andrew's (not me) waterproof camera in the water and it sinks to the bottom of the pool, taking with it all of the memories from his entire trip so far. Disaster! We search for what seemed like hours to no avail. The girls feel terrible and Andrew's anger starts to mount. The bottom of the pool was filled with rocks, crevasses, sticks, and leaves. Digging your hands and feet around the bottom was slightly uncomfortable. I really didn't want to find a snake instead. We start to give up after awhile; it started to get cold and we've searched with 10 legs and hands for awhile. Finally, amazingly, against all odds, Andrew pulls the camera up form the bottom with his toe by the string. To say the general mood of the group improved would be an understatement. Success! We celebrate with a beer at a small bar and finish them on the tuk tuk back home.
 |
| Rope Swing |
 |
| Fun! |
We wander through the night market, and head out to a bar for the evening. We share on of these beer towers and enjoy the music and conversation. We get back for curfew at 12.
A Teenage Wasteland, Vang Vieng February 23 2012
I fought for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven
Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only a teenage wasteland
-The Who
If teenagers ruled the world, it would probably look like Vang Vieng; a right of passage for travelers in SE Asia. The main draw for the town is tubing down a river which passes through the town. Bamboo shacks (bars) line the sides of the river and the amazingly accurate bar staffers will throw ropes to your tube and pull you into the bars. It's spring break on steroids...or giant buckets of Lao whiskey and red bull to be more accurate. The town has plenty of bars which play episodes of Family Guy and Friends on a loop with comfortable beanbag and pillows to sit on (no chairs). Many have 'special menus' which include anything from marijuana to opium to cobra infused whiskey. All of this is technically illegal of course, but many of the bar owners are friends with the police.
We arrive in Vang Vieng via a minibus which is packed to the brim with people. It takes hours on the Laos roads which, in some places, are hardly roads at all. We pass by a lot of small towns with primitive bamboo houses and just one water spout per village. The mountainous countryside is mesmerizing.
We arrive to a seemingly mediocre town with dusty roads and nothing to be amazed by on first impression. We book the first hotel which we are propositioned for while looking (unsuccessfully) for another place. The place turns out to be excellent; the highlight is a rooftop which has a couple lounge chairs and a great view. As night falls, the town awakens from its slumber. The lights from the bars flicker on and music starts to radiate into the streets. We decide to go to a bar with a pool table. At the bar we order one of the infamous buckets of Lao whiskey with a dash sprite. I look down and there is a paper on the bar advertising 'free shots of whiskey all night long'. In disbelief, I ask the sarong wearing, shirtless bartender if it is true. He confirms his answer by dumping a couple shots in my mouth straight from the bottle. It probably takes me 5 gulps to get it all down. It tastes terrible, but then again all whiskey is pretty bad. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
 |
| View from rooftop |
I come back after my bucket is finished to call home with my newly installed Skype account. It is morning in the US, midnight here. The others follow about an hour later and we end the night playing cards and listening to English hip-hop music on the roof.
Tubing...Then Disaster, Veng Viang February 24 2012
The next day we decide to go out tubing on the river; the quintessential experience in the town. We rent a tube and hop on a tuk tuk with a roof rack for tubes and head off up-river to the starting place. The second we step out of the tuk tuk, hear the music blasting, and see all the people we immediately understand why people migrate here from all over SE Asia. It's a playground in every sense of the word.
We go to the first bar, get a bucket, and find a nice spot by the river on a bamboo mat. One of the bar staff put a bracelet around are wrists. We ask what it's for and the guy tells us the kids in the town make them and it's a good way to give for them to earn money. The previous night we saw a couple people with about 100 of these things all up their arms. I'm not really sure how a human being can party that much; It's only a teenage wasteland. After finishing our bucket and talking to some fellow travelers, we hop on our tubes and float down the river.
We float for awhile and catch the next rope that is throw to us. This bar has a rope swing into the water that is somewhat intimidating (read: really high off the water). Andrew and I take turns jumping off it and swimming back to the bar. Other tubers watch on, and the music from the bar is pulsing. We go onward to another bar where we play jenga with two foot pieces of woods on the deck overlooking the river, onto another bar where people are spray-painting stencils on each other, and onto another bar which has a small puppy for people to play with.
 |
| Andrew, myself, and a bucket of whiskey |
 |
| The river |
 |
| Yea tubing! |
 |
| Look in the background and imagine loud music playing |
We float for awhile and catch the next rope that is throw to us. This bar has a rope swing into the water that is somewhat intimidating (read: really high off the water). Andrew and I take turns jumping off it and swimming back to the bar. Other tubers watch on, and the music from the bar is pulsing. We go onward to another bar where we play jenga with two foot pieces of woods on the deck overlooking the river, onto another bar where people are spray-painting stencils on each other, and onto another bar which has a small puppy for people to play with.
 |
| High Rope Swing |
 |
| Jenga! |
 |
| Careful! |
We float onward to one of the last bars with some locals. We form a little floating island by grabbing each others legs and arms. The last bar we make it to has a campfire and another rope swing. We play around here for awhile as the sun starts to go down. We decide to leave so we can make it back to the town before it gets completely dark. I grab my tube, turn around, and start walking down the ramshackle bamboo steps (no railing), and immediately see someone at the bottom with blood spattered all over themselves. It's Allison! She slipped and fell on some rocks while climbing down to the water. I drop by tube and go down to help. I notice a huge gash on her head, she can't walk, and her friend is starting to panic. The other Andrew and another guy carry her back up to the bar, the owner finds some paper towels to cover her head, and Andrew runs off to find a tuk tuk so we can take her to the hospital to get stitches. Her friend Kirsten and I help her across a bamboo bridge across the river explaining what has happened and where we are going (me in a calm, comforting tone; her friend in a panic, alcohol induced yell). We get in the tuk tuk and head off to the hospital. A dirt road combined with a fast driver leads to a bumpy, dusty ride to the hospital.
We arrive at the hospital and are greeted by a nurse. They won't do anything without getting money first, so Kirsten goes off to work out the payment and Andrew and I accompany her to a room. The room is not dirty, but I wouldn't want to get any treatment there. The nurses don't speak any English. I hold Allison's hand and tell her to squeeze it as the needle goes through her skin. I get a front row view and learn how stitches are performed. Andrew and I try to distract and calm her down. Eight stitches later we are done, they give us some antibiotics and painkillers, and send us on our way. I never want to see the inside of a Laos hospital ever again. So much for getting our tube deposit back. ; ) All kidding aside, I'm glad she was ok. It could have been worse.
-----
Laos was definitely a bipolar experience. The good times were great and the bad times were horrible. In the end, I can certainly say that it was memorable. The mix of people I was surrounded with were interesting, albeit dysfunctional; we had the best of times and the worst of times.
No comments:
Post a Comment