Posted by Anita
Sun, 05 Aug 2007 05:20:00 GMT
Location: Pakse, Laos
Tha Khaek was quite interesting. The Tha Khaek travel lodge which was the guest house we were staying at seemed to be the only thing around aimed at tourists. It was very nice, with a fire pit outside for sitting around and an ok resturaunt.
In the morning we decided to go down town to get breakfast because we usually find that there are several good places down town with maybe a better menu or outlook or somehing.
However what we hadn’t counted on was the walk to town being about 3km and the day was already sweltering hot. When we finally go there it was like nothing was open. There were a few places around with mystery meat barbequing outside but nothing like what we expected. After wandering around a bit we found a place where wat we ordered was not what we got and the bill was different again.
The buildings in the town were pretty cool though I took a few photos and we took a tuk-tuk back to guesthouse in time to check out at 12.
We had intended to take the overnight bus to Pakse and spend the day (hopefully) relaxing beside a swimming hole or waterfall but enquiries about anything like that in the area revealed that the closest one was 20 odd km out of town and would be too expensive to get to and back so we just went straight to the bus station and caught the next bus to Pakse.
We spent and hour and a half in Savanahket on the way and arrived in Pakse at about 11pm. This was very lucky because the guesthouse we got closed at midnight.
Reto and Sylvia headed off to 4000 islands this morning. So we said our farewells. We plan to spend a day resting and planning some travel around Pakse. At this stage we plan to head bak to Thailand on Wednesday.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos, Pakse | no comments
Posted by Anita
Sat, 04 Aug 2007 03:51:00 GMT
Location: Tha Khaek, Laos
We were picked up in the guest house by Phan, the guide from green dicovery tours at 6:30 to make it to the bus to Na Hin that left at 7:00. When we got there the bus was already pretty full I had to wedge myself between a motorbike and luggage in the back seat. Sylvia and Reto had one and a half seats between them. Phan had to sit on the floor and the one other person on the tour had to sit on top of bags of rice in the aisle.
Immediately outside the bus terminal we had to stop as there was a man with - I kid you not - a pickup truck piled high with fruits and vegetables that he wanted to load onto the bus. The operation took the better part of an hour as there was just not enough room for it all. Alot of it went onto the roof, some of it went underneath Phan. Bags were packed in around the Motorbike that was hemming me in. It was insane. The man with the vegetables kept trying to get me to give up my seat (such as it was) to his fruit and I have to admit I was quite rude to him. I have no idea where he thought I could go.
After quite an uncomfortable journey we finally made it to Na Hin where we booked in at a really quaint little guest house. The next activity was biking to a resteraunt in town. Of course, typical of Laos, there was one bike that had no brakes. On mine the gears skipped if I pedaled too hard and the chain would get stuck every time I went through a puddle.
Lunch was awsome. Laap (minced meat with mint, other herbs and beans) and sticky rice. But almost the minute we finished the skies opened up and it started pouring. So we sat around having Iced coffee unitl it slackened.
The next little trip was mountain biking to a trail which we hiked up to a waterfall. I don’t know if it is the sandals or what but I found myself slipping over far more than my fair share, bruising my shin and grazing my hand. The waterfall was worth it though. We swam in the pool at the base which was fantastic - we were so hot and sticky on the way up it was pure luxury to cool off in the water.
If we thought that by swimming we had washed for the day we were sadly mistaken. All the rain had made the mountain biking track very muddy so by the time we reached the guest house we definitely needed a shower.
The next day was raining again in the morning but by 9am it had abaited long enough to head for the boats that would take us upstream and through the 7km long cave. We were very lucky that the tour provided us with drybags to keep all of our valuables, and most of us managed to get our clothes and everything in as well.
The boat ride up the river was very nice. It took about three hours to get to the cave and we traveled through some amazing scenery. The guide book calls it karst scenery - a word I’m not familiar with, but there were huge cliffs with jagged peaks and trees growing out the sides. It was very cool.
The Cave itself was amazing. It was so big that my little LED headlight barely lit anything up. The boatmen had better lights though so we could see some things. There were also places where the water enters the cave from the roof so every now and then we’d go through a shower and get wet.
When we came though the other side It was raining a little so by the time we reached the village we were staying at we were all thoroughly soaked.
The village was another of the very basic kind. No electricity, no running water. Just full of very friendly, very welcoming people. Its quite funny, in these villages sometimes you dont feel so much as you are the tourist going to watch the natives in their homes but more that you are the entertainment. Everyone comes to look at the falang (foreigners) who have come to see what your doing and be amazed when you try to do the things they do everyday.
At the home where we stayed the night the people were so wonderful. They didn’t speak a word of english but they were so welcoming and happy just to spend time in our company. The grandmother of the house chewed Beto which is like a leaf and a stick that you chew and spit out your saliva which is red. She was keen to share so Sylvia gave it a go, she said it was quite bitter and it stained her teath and tounge bright orange which was quite funny.
We had a bit of free time in the afternoon so we wandered around the village and took photos of the buildings and the animals. I think the rainy season is when most of the animals give birth because averywhere we’ve gone there have been pigletts, ducklings, chicks, kittens, puppies, kids, calves - you name it there were babies around. The children of the village were gathered around playing a very familiar game - hopscotch!
Sylvia, Reto and I all felt the need to wash up in the evening so we went down to the water pump with all the locals who stood and watched as we washed anything we dared to expose.
That evening there was a Baci ceremony where the elders tie white cotton around our wrists and wish us good luck and safe travels. They then put some sticky rice, chicken and Lao whiskey in your hand that you are supposed to eat/drink but I slipped my whisky to Jack which Phan said would be alright since he’s my husband.
We then had a barbeque duck, soup and sticky rice (I’m so going to see If I can buy this rice at home, it’s seriously fantastic) for dinner. Delicious!! After dinner the Grandmother showed us how to get the seeds from the cotton (like carding) and spin the cotton into thread.
The lights that were on and the neighbours television which was blaring in the village were all powered by little generators under the houses which were quite noisy.
In the morning we were woken several times starting at about 4am by pigs being fed, people walking around and finally by the rice threshing machine that sounds like a big wooden hammer dropping at regular intervals.
After breakfast we said goodbye to our host family and headed back to the river. We were to kayak back through the cave to a village on the other side. The kayaks were of the inflatable variety and all of them had at least one hole that would cause each kayak to deflate at different speeds. Phan and Sylvia ended up with one that had a hole about 2 fingers wide that caused it to deflate very quickly on one side. And there were only 5 paddles for 6 people so Reto and I (on seperate boats) shared a paddle.
Going through the cave without motors was a totally different experience. It was surreal. I kept thinking about Jules Verne and the journey to the centre of the earth. Of course that made me think, every time there was a point of light reflecting back at me, of eyes in the dark. Gollum might have been quite at home in that cave too.
Jack took some delight in steering us under most of the water falls comming down from the roof and Phan was a expert at flicking water at people so between the two of them I was quite saturated by the time we got to the end of the cave.
Just after the cave there was quite a big rapid that Phan and Sylvia navigated no worries (thanks mostly to the fact that they had two paddles). We got through the rapids but got stuck side on to a rock on the other side and the water slowly overturned us. Reto and the other guy weren’t so lucky. They fell out at the first rock and hit every other rock on the way down.
At the village on just downriver we got into the longtail boats again and I slept in a very uncomfortable position for the 2 hour trip back to the road. From there it was straight back to the guesthouse in Na Hin for a shower and a change then out on the side of the road to wait for the next tuk-tuk heading for the main highway south. When we got to the highway we were again waiting for the next bus heading to Tha Khaek. Luckily, neither of these waits were particularly long and we were in Tha Khaek by 8:30.
Posted in Travel | Tags konglo, laos | no comments
Posted by Anita
Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:09:00 GMT
Location: Vientiane, Laos
When we left Vang Vieng for the 3 hour trip to Vientiane we had intended to take the local bus or failing that a VIP bus. However, when we arrived at the bus station an hour before the bus was due to depart we were informed that the bus was full and the next one wasn’t for some time. As we looked about despondently considering taking the more expensive minivans, the man selling tickets said we could take the pickup (tuk-tuk) that was behind us for half the price of a regular bus ticket but we would have to leave right away. Perfect!!
At first glance we thought, well we could but it’s full, but they managed to pack us in and strap the bags to the roof. 10 minutes into the journey we stopped to let more people on. Jack had to give up his seat and hang off the back - a much more comfortable position than the half seats they provide inside. As soon as I got the opportunity I joined him.
Vientiane (when we got there in one piece) was quite neat. On the tuk-tuk ride from the bus station into town we saw the Baha’i centre but didn’t get an opportunity to go out and see if we could meet someone.
For a capital city it’s pretty laid back. There were no traffic jams despite the entire length of one of the main streets being closed off.
We spent the afternoon having a bit of a look around at a few things. We went to a really neat Wat (temple) beside the old palace called Wat Si Saket. It was probably one of the nicest we’ve seen so far. It also had a library attached (It didn’t actually have any books but it was a big cabinet type thing where they used to be kept).
Another thing that was neat to see was the Patuxay, or victory gate of Vientiane. Its modeled on the Arc de Triumph but I think it was supposed to be painted or something, in any case it was never finished but they allow you to go up one of the two working staircases to see the view from the top. The view is quite spectacular as there are very few (if any) buildings taller than the Patuxay so you can see all around.
That evening we had some drinks down by the Meekong at sunset. There is this awesome setup where all these resteraunts have mats and cushions or tables and chairs and you can sit and sip fruit shakes (or Beerlao for Jack and the others) and watch the sun going down and the lights coming on in Thailand across the river. Very relaxing.
After a late start the next day we Organised a tour to the Kong Lo cave the next day and went to the morning markets which are HUGE. Unfortunately though it was mostly clothes and jewelery and as the clothes came in Lao size (similar to Pumpkin Patch sizes back home) and I wouldn’t know if I was getting ripped off or not when it came to jewelry I didn’t actually buy anything.
In the evening most of us (Sylvia, Azhara, Jack and I) went to get a Lao massage which was a bit of a treat. Although, at $4 for an hour I don’t know why we dont do it every day.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos, Vientiane | no comments
Posted by Anita
Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:35:00 GMT
Location: Vang Vieng, Laos
Our bus trip to Vang Vieng was reasonably short, and we were able to find a reasonably good, cheap guesthouse for all 6 of us that came across from Phonsavanh.
That evening we all went out for dinner and had a bit of a night out. Reto managed to meet a very nice lady-boy called Jackie, much to everyones amusement. Later on we went down town for some entertainment.
Vang vieng is quite unlike any other place we’ve been to in Laos, the main strip is just bar after bar, almost all of them have big televisions and couches where you can watch movies, episodes of friends and The Simpsons, or just playing really loud music. Its the Vang Vegus of Laos.
We found a bar that was playing music but not any video to settle down and spend the evening talking and Sylvia and Azara gave a demonstration of some spanish dancing which attracted a whole lot of Thai people who were in Laos on holiday. They were very nice and friendly and we chatted with them until the bar closed.
The next day we hire a motorbike from the cheapest place in town and Sylvia and Reto rented one from the next cheapest place and we went in serch of caves and swimming holes. About 10minutes into our trip the chain on the bike we were riding just disintegrated. It broke in one place and when Jack picked it up it broke in a couple of other places. Luckily Sylvia and Reto had been keeping an eye out for us and they soon came back to find out what had happened to us.
Reto and Jack took the other bike back into town to find the owner and arrange for another bike. After some negotiation they managed to get the owner out to the broken bike with a mechanic and a new bike so we could continue our journey.
After some searching and dodging of snakes and cows on the main road we eventually found the road to the caves. Getting to the caves involved crossing a river for which there was a fee of 10,000 kip (US$1) which we managed to halve we also had to pay a fee to park the bikes to ensure they were not damaged or stolen whilst we were away. Once we crossed the river we found that we also had to pay for a ticket into the caves and then for a guide on top of that which was contrary to what we had read in our guide books. So we declined to have/pay for a guide at all only to have the guide follow us into the cave demanding that we pay for his services. Finally, once we were a little way into the caves he said “OK, guide free” and then proceeded to guide us into the caves.
The caves were not particularly impressive and once we got a certain way it became apparent we would basically have to swim the remaining distance so we turned back and headed off to the other caves. The one that most interested us we found we had to pay auite a lot for aswell and even to swim in the river we had to pay… So we gave up on the whole idea and headed back to our bikes.
Once we got underway on the main road again we discovered that Reto’s bike had developed a flat tyre. Luckily the village nearby had a workshop that could repair this. Unfortunately the repairment didn’t seem to understand that you could only inflate the tyre to a certain pressure. Three new inner tubes later we were underway again and managed to get back to town without further breakdowns or being rained on.
When returning and parking his bike, Reto mistakenly put the bike in 1st gear rather than nuetral and reved then engine. His bike promptly took off towards the shop, straight at and rack of clothes and a small child. The child was luckily grabbed by it’s mother and Reto gained control of the bicycle without damaging it but sustained a graze to his leg. A dramatic end to an eventful day.
The next day we planned to go tubing. This is a popular activity in Vang Vieng. The tubing itself is not so eventful or dangerous but there are a number of bars situated along the river which have swings and flying foxes set up. This combined with the booze sold at the bars apparently results in quite a few injuries.
Just after lunch we headed off up the river in a tuk-tuk with 11 other people. After being deposited near the river we jumped on the tubes and floated on down. We soon saw the first bars and hopped off to try out a flying fox which ended with you being dumped in the river and floating back to the bar. The next stop was a swing which did much the same but was a bit higher off the river which made it more interesting. We all had several goes at this one. It was difficult to hold on at the bottom of the swing so some of us had more success than others. There was also a platform here about 5 meters above the river that you could jump off. Next stop was at a bar to have some (late) lunch. This was followed by a slow float down the river back to Vang Vieng.
This all consumed a lot of energy so we had a big dinner together that night and prepared for our journey to Vientiane the next day.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos | no comments
Posted by Anita
Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:36:00 GMT
Location: Phonsavan, Laos
We caught a public bus to Phonsavan and ran into Reto the swiss guy again. The road between Phonsavan and Luang Prabang is really really windy (I think 1/2 the country is steep hills) but in better condition than other roads we’ve seen so far.
After the 8 hour ride we arrived and were greeted by a whole bunch of reps for different guest houses all trying to get us to come with them, something you get a lot in Thailand but not so much in Laos. Reto recognized one of the guest houses as one he had heard good things about so we went with him and a few other people from our bus to see the place.
The owner of the guest house was a really cool guy who knew a lot about local (fairly recent) history including quite a lot of detail about the secret war that went on in Laos during the Vietnam war.
Laos was a neutral country in the Vietnam war and so the Geneva convention made it illegal for the US to have any military presence in Laos at this time - and they were definitely not allowed to attack Laos because of its neutrality. However Laos is currently the most heavily bombed country in Asia. I think the statistics were something like 2 tonnes of ordinance was dropped for every person living in Laos.
The American government initially denied ever having bombed Laos, but later admitted that they had. Their reasoning was; first they bombed and defoliated the Ho Chi Minh trail that the North Vietnamese were using to get into south Vietnam. Secondly, sometimes the planes would get low on fuel and as it was too dangerous to land with the bombs they had to drop them somewhere.
The upshot is now the landscape around the province that Phonsavan is the capital of is littered with huge craters from the bombs, and there is a huge amount of unexploded cluster bombs littering the farmland and all through the jungle. Apparently they are no longer just on the ground as they may have landed on the branches of a small bamboo plant that has grown up and they can still be in the branches.
The bombies (cluster bombs) need to spin a certain number of times to arm and some of them haven’t done that which is why they don’t explode but they are about the size of a tennis ball so you can imagine what happens when children find them and start throwing them around. It really is quite horrific.
Anyway the guest house owner told us all about it and showed us a documentary about the war and the UXO organisation that are helping to clear the unexploded ordinances from local villages and farmland.
The next day Jack Reto and I and a bunch of other people met at the guest house went on one of the tours that the guest house organises.
The first stop was the local markets to buy some food for lunch.
The next stop was at a farm not far out of town where there are huge craters and they had left some of the UXO for tourists to see. It was a bit freaky because they were just lying on the ground with no markings or safety barriers or anything. However the guide had told us that the area hadn’t been properly cleared so we were all being extremely vigilant and watching our feet all the time (luckily there was no 30 year old bamboo around or we would have been totally paranoid).
Then we went to a neat little waterfall for lunch and swimming. It was about a 20 minute walk into the bush and we came out a slightly different way that had us crossing the river and back again several times, so it took a little longer, but was much more scenic.
The next stop was a village where the people had been collecting metal from all the bombs that were no longer live and used them in the construction of their grain storage huts and as planters for their little herb gardens that they have to keep off the ground so the chickens and pigs don’t get into them. Apparently quite a lot of the metal gets used for making knives and farm equipment as well. One place had 20 odd 2 meter long shell casings lined up, being kept for the next use.
The last stop was the Pain of Jars, which was something I particularly wanted to see. There are several sites around Phonsavan that have these huge stone jars that quite enigmatic. Like the stone henge they don’t know who built them or why, although they have some theories. At the site that we went to there is a big man-made cave with chimneys that archaeologists have found ashes and human remains in so there is a theory that they were used as burial jars after cremation. Our guide told us that there was a local legend about a huge warrior who killed an evil king and the stone jars were made to hold the local whiskey at a celebration.
Even in this incredibly important historical site there were huge craters in the ground and there were markings on the paths and around the perimeter of the jars warning that the area outside the markings hadn’t been properly cleared of UXO.
That night the owner put on a big barbecue for everyone who went on the tour which was really cool and we all sat around talking until quite late. Some of us were coming to Vang Vieng the next day (Reto, Sylvia and Azhara - 2 spanish girls and Azhara’s Irish boyfriend) So we all decided to catch the bus together the next day.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos, phonsavan, travel | no comments
We had intended to take the overnight bus to Pakse and spend the day (hopefully) relaxing beside a swimming hole or waterfall but enquiries about anything like that in the area revealed that the closest one was 20 odd km out of town and would be too expensive to get to and back so we just went straight to the bus station and caught the next bus to Pakse.
