Into the Wild, Laos

Yesterday I made it back from the 2 day cycling / trekking adventure. It was absolutely incredible being in the mountains. We started out on mountain bikes for the first 4 hours or so. I must admit, I never found mountain bikes all that comfortable. Given the choice, I prefer city bikes. But let me tell you... on the rocky and hilly terrain those mountain bikes do surprisingly well. I can now see those mountain bikes inventors were definitely on to something when the came up with the bike design. Thank you mountain bike inventors!

After a short rest for lunch we started the 3 hour hike up and up and up the mountain. Yeah, probably at that point I was not so impressed with the beauty of the mountains. But that was all forgotten when we reached the top. Total elevation gained: 1700 meters (5577 feet). Total weight lost: 0 kilos (0 pounds). We just ate WAY to well during the whole trip. We spent the night in a hill tribe village at the very top of the mountain. They killed a chicken for us for dinner. First lesson learned: Chicken does not taste better when you have actually seen the live version an hour before.

The next day we stared our 7 hour trek at 8 am. Second lesson learned: What goes up, must come down. And oh - a steep down it was! Luckily our guide made us bamboo hiking poles. They did their job, as none of us fell off the mountain. We did come close a few times though....

Wildlife see on trip:

1. butterflies
2. birds
3. mosquitoes
4. spiders
5. Centipedes
6. HUGE worms (really - they were about a foot long)
7. Other creepy crawlers (some also abnormally large; there must be something in the mountain water)

Domestic animals seen on trip:

1. Turkey
2. Duck
3. Chicken (minus the one we ate for dinner)
4. Cows
5. Horses
6. Cats
7. Flies (I am counting this as domestic since one flew around my head nearly the entire second day. I guess it got attached to me. I know that I actually felt quite alone when the buzzing sound stopped, once I finally squashed the thing).
8. Roaches (debatable on the domestic list - but I only saw them on the bamboo bed we slept on)

Clearly this trip was not for those wildlife voyeurs.

Today was another relaxing day. I am really getting into those... I did a little shopping. Turning down a cute bracelet or necklace for a $1 is tough! If you are expecting a gift from me.. please forgot that I mentioned the price. I also gave in and splurged on a 1 hour massage ($4). Mind you... that is 2 bracelets and 2 necklaces. The massage was great! Although I have not been to a place that tops the foot massage that I got in Pai. But I would say that the one here was second best. When the masseuse is using both her knees and elbows at the same time it is really a feat of acrobatics. And boy, did it feel good!

Tomorrow I am headed further north to Nong Khiaw. Then I will be turning east and heading toward Vietnam.

On to Luang Prabang

Yesterday was a tough travel day on those individuals that are prone to motion sickness, namely me. I arrived in Luang Prabrang yesterday after the most gorgeous but gruelling minibus ride. The whole way was through the mountains on a small windy 2 lane road. There were some moments where I thought the chances of the minibus staying on the road was minimal, but we made it. Maybe it is a part of Lao tourism to put some religion into people. That or make them too sick to complain when the minibus drops them off way out of town so they have to pay for a tuk tuk... But if that is the case then I did one better. On the minibus was an Australian family that I started chatting with. They were staying at the nice hotel in Luang Prabrang - the the hotel sent a van to pick them up. There was 1 extra seat in their van and they offered me a lift into the city! That was quite nice of them.

My last day in Vang Vieng was spent lounging by the river on and sleeping on a hammock. Definitely a good day. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but a liter of lao beer costs $1. Yeah.. good stuff. Then in the evening I caught up on some episodes of Friends that I had never seen. Yes, nearly every bar/restaurant in Vang Vieng has Friends playing! You choose your restaurant depending on which season you want to watch! Food is all the same - so really, the season is the deciding factor.

Back to Luang Prabrang. It really is a beautiful and fun city. One of my favorites so far! It is so artsy and quaint. I met up with Sara here. Hanging out with Sara means leaving backpacking mode and entering fun good living mode! We went to a wine cafe before dinner and shared a nice bottle of Torres and had some appetizers, before heading to a nice french restaurant for dinner. It is a good life travelling with Sara.

Tomorrow - a 2 day adventure involving mountain biking and trekking in the mountains. Should be good fun!

Vientiane: Party Time, Excellent!

The past few days I have been hanging out with Sara, my cousin, who conveniently works in Vientiane, Laos. Well, the convinence is no coincidences. In fact, the decision to travel in this part of the world was largely based on the fact that I have family living here.

Over the weekend I got a glimpse of the 'boring' life that Sara has to deal with here as a UN worker. Although Lonely Planet might pass Vientiane as a sleepy little capital, let me tell you something else - it is happening with parties! I'll tell you.. these people here can put UGA students on a winning football game weekend against Alabama to shame with their party skills.

In fact, as I am sitting here in the Internet cafe, trying to recall the details - I am drawing a blank. This might or might not have to do with the amount of Lao Beer consumed in 24 hours.

Ok - Friday night was a goodbye party for a colleague of Sara's. The night started pretty tame with some Buddhist string tying ceremony. But then the wine began to be poured and poured and ( well not exactly poured.. what do you call it when you pour wine from a box, tapped?). Well, you get the point.

On Saturday, while Sara and I were on our way for a late Brunch (you could say lunch, as it was that time of day, but the breakfast menu was still available and you bet we were going to hit that up!) Sara got a phone call asking where she was and why she was not at the party! Party? Yes, apparently her Laos boss was throwing a party for his department and she was invited. Well we finished our Western Breakfast (again, we were not going to pass up that good food!) we headed over to the boss's house.

As the boss is a Laos government official, it was a traditional Laos party. Meaning LOTs of food and LOTs of beer laos and LOTs of singing! Sara is vegetarian so they cooked a variety of egg dishes especially for her. I jumped on that band wagon too since the other food dishes were a bit harder to recognize, and pork is as readily available as water. Now in Laos it is rude to say no - and there is this tradition of being handed a drink and you need to finish it all at once. You can imagine the damage of drinking 5 cups of beer in about 10 min. Well, it made it easier when I was handed over the microphone to sing! Yes, we were forced to sing!!! Laos gov't forced singing event. Thank god for the lao beer....

So imagine with me about say 25 lao people, including 1 high gov't official. Everyone is stuffed with food and drink and they are belting out Laos traditional songs. Then the mic comes to me. What do I do? Sing 'Am Israel Chai' of course! I got a few of them to come up with me and sing as well as keyboard accompaniment! Yes Lao people - Am Israel Chai!

And that was just Sat. afternoon. Sat. night there was a big party that just about every Ex-Pat in Vientiane attended. It was a benefit concert with some quite good local bands doing cover songs. It is a good thing the music was good, because it gave me a chance to dance and sweat out the beer still in my system.

Now I know you all are aware that Sat. night was ALSO the final world cup rugby match! Yes, South Africa vs. England. You might be thinking.. why in the world would you be at a concert when the BIG game was going on? Well, no worries. The match started at 2 am, giving us just the right amount of time to get from the concert to the place where the match was being shown. Oh yes, I watched a whole rugby match at 2 am without falling asleep! It was the final after all. South Africa won, if you are interested, although I do think they got more bloody and bruised then the English.

On Sunday, Sara and I decided to take it easy. Sara took me around to all of the important sites in the Capital, and we managed to fit in some shopping too! Laos apparently has some very nice silver jewellery at great prices. Sara, in fact, bought me a beautiful silver ring that I was admiring. I must get her something nice in return.

And oh... after talking with bunches of people I decided to scratch my China plan. I am going to Vietnam instead. I was really undecided on which one to do, but someone made a very very good point. Vietnam is a smaller country, therefore you can see more in a shorter period of time. Very good point. So this morning (monday), I made my way to the Vietnam embassy. Got my visa via the 'rush service' (ie paying them $20 extra dollars). And jumped on the a/c bus to Vang Vieng. What they mean by a/c here is it works for the first 30 min and last 30 min. Apparently it is not needed during the hottest and longest stretch of the trip. Oh well.

So now I am in Vang Vieng. I will stay here for a few days and then head up to Luang Prabang, where I will probably meet up with Sara again. More parties..? We'll see, with Sara you never know...

Making and Changing Plans

Well, all my plans that I laid out in my last post - Scratch that. Just go ahead and wipe that last post from your memory. Done? Good... Because my plans had totally changed. After thinking for another 2 min. about how to plan my travels for the next few weeks I decided that it was silly to enter Laos from the north. Originally I was thinking to travel down from N. Laos to Vientiane and then fly from their to Kunming (a city in southern China). Like a good Dutchman - after researching the prices I thought that it was unwise to spend so much mullah on a flight when I could just cross into China overland from N. Laos. At least that WAS the plan.

OK - last day in Chiang Mai: Had a fantastic 3 hour conversation with a Buddhist Monk. Now given that Monks can't sit next to women on the bus or touch women, I was quite honored and impressed to chat with the fellow for a while. Well... it turns out this monk is quite the renegade - he will swat a mosquito if it is bothering him (of course it is always an accident!). I learned a bit about the religion from him. But mostly he was interested in discussing America and Sports. He knows about sports because he mischievously gets glimpses of games when he peers through the windows of houses that he walks past.

I also took a cooking class! I learned how to make some cool Thai dishes. Now only if I could figure out how to turn on an oven.... humm... something to figure out for the future.

Then I took an overnight bus to Udon Thani - a Thai town close to the Laos boarder with Vientiane. There were about 7 other backpackers and we all stuck together as we had to jump through the various hoops to cross the border and get into the capital city. It was like an obstacle course - one wrong turn and you have been scammed! Luckily we made it through with only overpaying a dollar or two then what a local would pay. Mom and Dad - you trained me well!

Once over the boarder I met up with my cousin Sara and their the Vientiane Party Time adventure began...

Where to, and how to get there....

I am back in Chiang Mai. After a nice rest in Mai Hong Son, I got the Air-Co (ohhh fancy...) bus to Mae Sariang. Never heard of Mae Sariang? Well neither have a lot of tourists. It has definitely been the most tourist free city I have been in. This is good and bad... On the good side I became really good friends with the guesthouse owner. I had many a cups of tea with her. She did get slightly upset when I added sugar to my tea (apparently THAI tea should be taken without sugar), but I think she got over it. On the down side... there is not much to do at all. In the morning some girls I have been travelling with and I took the bus to Chiang Mai. We were all prepared to pay the extra $2 for the air-co bus again, but the Thai Transportation Industry decided that today there will be no air-co buses. The fan bus took about 5 hours, and was quite an experience. Oh well.. $2 saved.

Now I am organizing my trip to Laos. There are some agencies here which arrange the trip for you... but after talking to a few of them I have decided to do it independently. If you go through the agency you are stuck on their schedule and staying at their guesthouses, and of course they want the money up front. I don't think soo... To many potentials for a nightmare trip. Tomorrow I will go to the public bus station and buy a ticket for Chaing Rai and then to chiang khong. Depending on the time... either spend the night in Thailand or cross immediately to Laos. Then the next day jump on a slow boat down the Mekong. Slow boat takes about 6 hours to Pakbeng (city in between boarder crossing and Luang Prabang - my destination)!! I will spend the night there and then maybe take a speed boat into Luang Prabang. Now those speed boats give you lift vests and helmets... hum.. there must be a reason why... Boating with a helmet will be something new for me.

For those of you who read the news about the tourists getting killed by a flash flood.. it is terrible. That happened all the way in the south by the nice beaches. Hopefully we will have none of that on the Mekong.

Tonight's plans - catch a movie in a theater with massage chairs!! Oh - it is ALL about the massage here.

Just Floating Along...

Yesterday I finished my 2 day rafting trip down the Pai river in the North of Thailand. It was incredibly beautiful. If you are looking for the next world class, non stop heart pumping rafting adventure, this aint the place for you. But if you are up for just taking it easy going down a river with incredible beauty and spending the night in the jungle with God's more ugly creatures (he did not do his best work on the bugs here - maybe too much time was spent on general beauty)- then I highly recommend it!

We were a group of about 10 backpackers - with yours truly being the only American rep! I decided to do this trip because some girls met in Bangkok were doing it, and it seemed like it would be fun. And that it was. Going down those 1-2 class rapids provided quite a few laughs as we all were ridiculously ignorant on how to actually control the raft. I lost my paddle a few times - but managed to stay in the raft. I did not go without taking a few good gulps of questionable river water though... So I plan on taking it easy the next few days while my stomach and Thailand's worst polluted water battle it out in my gut. Current status: my stomach is holding its own right now.

I spent the night in a bamboo camp in the middle of the jungle. May you be blessed with never seeing these biting creatures that live in these outcast places. I, thank goodness, layered myself with 50% deet and came out ok. You might thinks Deet causes cancer and is a pollutant- HA, who cares if it keeps you free from getting bit! Others - by the looks of their legs -were not so fortunate. We did get mosquito nets - but believe it or not - they are not so effective when they have holes in them.

The area though is so pretty that one would think they are in a fairy tale. The green and the rocks and the mountains look like something right out of the Efteling. Fairies could have flown by and it would not have seemed out of place.

After the trip a few girls and I decided to spend the night in Mae Hong Son. Our first stop in the city - the 7-Eleven (open 24 hours) for some nice western comfort food.

There is not much to do in this town. I think I will check out a few Wats (temples) and then be my way tomorrow. Where too... I dont know yet...

Pai in the Sky

Yes I did get to see Pai from the sky. At least that is what it felt like after hiking nearly 15 km. straight up! The trek I went on was quite an experience. I am very happy that I did it, but to be honest - I will not be upset if I do not do it again (it will only lead to disappointment :-p).

On the first day me and another 6 backpackers all climbed on to the back of a pickup (backdoor open of course - this is Thailand!) and drove through this windy pass to get to the starting point. The mountains are so green and jagged - For me just surviving the drive was a reason to celebrate. The first day we hiked about 15 km - the last 6 or so done in pouring rain. This lead me to 2 conclusions:

1. The clay here is amazingly similar to that of Georgia. If I would restrict my vision to just the mud then I can almost imagine being at the old Dalrymple house in Atlanta.
   
2. The above is not hard to accomplish at all when the clay has turned into just straight up mud after a downpour and you are falling in it numerous times.

If you did not know - then let me tell you trying to keep your footing when going on a steep down slope in mud aint an easy task my friend! I think the trekking company is just trying to make a world record for longest mud slip-n'slide - and they are using us to create it!

During the first day we stopped at various tribal villages to rest and eat. Basically they were just your average small mountain side village that makes a living off of selling opium to the people who come through. The opium trade is hot and happening in N. Thailand despite the government crackdown. It is not called the golden triangle for nothing! I think it is irresponsible tourism - these villages start to depend on the tourist to buy the drugs so that they can make a living. It puts the village people in danger and keeps them really from looking for jobs and income elsewhere. That is one of the reasons I would not do it again. But then again... this is probably the way it has been done for many many years. Stop now and then they will really be struggling to feed the pigs that live under their houses (no joke - the pig sty is under the house!!)

The second - and less soap boxy reason - is that I finally got to feel the effects of eating questionable food. Talk about bad timing! There might be something worse then being in the middle of nowhere, without plumbing, pouring down rain, thick forest full of god knows what and getting that "when sliding into first and you feel something burst" feeling - but I don't know what it is. Yeah.. 'nough said.

As a result of my weak stomach I decided to cut the trek short by a day. Was it a dry trek the second day - of course not! It is still monsoon season (It probably would have been wise to take this into consideration BEFORE the trek). After a second day of being soaked to the bone, and up and personal encounters with the mud I appreciated a hot shower like never before.

All in all the scenery here is beautiful; really really exquisite. For that reason I am very glad I did the trek - even though my muscles are complaining about it today.

I tried to take today to relax - but I ran into some Canadian girls I met in Bangkok. They had just been bicycling- and offered one of their bikes to me for the afternoon if I wanted. Well - free bike - I was not going to turn that down! I ended up exploring the area a bit more on a mountain bike for a few hours. So now, at the end of the day, not only are my calves, knees, and quads aching... but my butt is unbelievably sore too! Is it going to stop there - goodness no! Tomorrow I am going whitewater rafting for 2 days. Maybe I can get my arms aching too :).

I am rafting down the Pai river - and ending in Mae Hong Son (my next destination). If I do not get out of Pai soon - I feel like I will end of staying here for a few weeks. It just has that type of allure and pull. It is so artsy-fartsy, Mom - you would love it! It is also so laid back with a lot of interesting and nice people, both the backpackers and locals. I am leaving now - but I just might have to come back for a few days on my way back to Chiang Mai.

3-day Hike and Hopefully Mosquito bite free.

I am headed into the Thailand forests for a few days. Trekking through the mountains and waterfalls! Afterwards... maybe renting a moped and traveling through the north a bit more. Only potential issue - trying to remember people drive on the left side of the road here!

I Love Pai and Pie

Ok - so my last posting was a bit negative looking back. The cacophony of the sights, smell, and noise of Bangkok probably just got to me that hour I sat down to post. And Blogger is only in Thai here, so I can not go back and edit!! Well I could if I read thai...

So my last day in Bangkok I got a Thai massage at what is "supposed" to be the BEST place for thai messages in the whole wide world. A half hour cost me a whopping $8. Mind you... that is nearly as much as I pay for a guest house! Well... I dont know about it being the best. So I have decided in addition to napping when necessary - I will also get a thai massage when ever necessary (hey, when is it not?).

Last night I got on a train for Chiang Mai. Wow, what a 16 hour experience without airco. Yep, you read right - 16 hours on the train!. Dad and Uncle Jim - I bet I was on the same exact train you were on 30 years ago. Same seat cushions, same sheets on the mattress. Of the 16 hours - I think I got a total of 2 hours sleep and about 5 layers of insect repellent on, and drank only 1/2 liter of water at most. My plan was to have to use the bathroom/squatter the least amount of times as necessary - once!.

Arrived in Chiang Mai at 6am. After walking around a bit I decided that the city - being the second stop on the Lonely Planet guide just aint for me. I jumped on the next bus to Pai - a city about 3 hours away and I love it! Why I love it... that is for next time....

Bangkok, Can ya get any smellier?

I made it into Bangkok in the middle of the night 2 nights ago. In most towns 2am aint the time for the city to be hoping... well unless you are in an area with bars or clubs (not including California). Well not Bangkok! In Bangkok at 2am you can still by veggies at the market, clothes from the street vendors, and other stores. The city does not stop! I would go so far to say it in a 24 hour shuk. It is dirty like a shuk, smelly like a shuk, and crazy busy like a shuk. Oh the smells! It is also one of the most pungent cities I have ever been to. If you are not smelling the vendors on the street every 10 feet, then it is the exhaust from the cars, or maybe the incense, or the people (it is hot and humid like Florida in August and people need to be taught to use D.O. for the B.O.). But all in all it has been quite a good experience. So far I have managed:

• to get scammed
• navigate my way to the train station and NOT get scammed
• take a water taxi - and not have a fungus infection from splashing water
• take a tuk tuk ride and survive
• take a water taxi - and not get a fungus infection from splashing water river water
• have a thai massage in a Buddhist temple (Wat Po if you are interested)
• Not drink coffee for the past 2 days! I might have to give in soon to the coffee and hit up the Starbucks on Khao San Road before I leave.
• Find the free Internet place at the Israeli travellers center - they try to 'hide' it by writing "Free Internet" in hebrew. I am letting the secret out!!

Bangkok is also full of professional scam artists, and I am sorry to say that I fell for it yesterday! People manage to stop you in the street and offer assistance to help you where you are going. I was trying to make my way to the grand palace and obviously looked a bit confused as I was lost. I nice man approached me and said he was on his honeymoon from Chaing Mai and wanted to help. Coincidentally, ALL the public places in the area (temples and museums) were closed. Well good thing I met him because he knew where places were open! He showed me on the map and said I should take a tuktuk and he would organize a good deal for 3 hours (50 baht = $1.50). Well stupid me I believed him. I went to some temples that I would have never gone to afterwards, but then i was taken to the silk factories and the TAT (Travel Auth. of Thailand - BIG RIP OFF). Good thing they did not know who they were dealing with and I was not about to buy anything. In the end he wanted to take me to the best gem dealers.. and then it dawned on me. I told him to let me off at a nearby temple and said asta lavista.

Well, lesson learned! New method for dealing with the constant hawking by scam artists and tuk tuk riders. Conversations goes as follows:

Tuktuk driver: "where are you from"

me: "Turkey and Gravy"

Tuktuk driver: "Ahh very nice, very nice"

me: "Yep, especially with cranberry sauce"

Tuktuk driver: "where you going today"

me: "Well, to be honest with you sir the cumulus clouds indicate that the weather is not favorable. Thank you. Bye bye."

Tuktuk driver: "Ahhh....ok"

$1.50 is a lot to lose in Thailand, but not in the scheme of things.
Tomorrow - night train ride to Chang Mai.

BTW - total let down with TP in thailand. And the fact that you can not flush it does not help the smelly situation one bit!

Chinese T.P.

I have made it to the Hong Kong airport.. aka The airport with the best quality toilet paper! Yes, Hong Kong really goes above and beyond on the quality and cushiness of their T.P. I am impressed. Maybe it is this way all over SE Asia...??
I have been traveling for about 26 hours now, and have about 5 more to go. I thought I was ok, but the room is starting to spin a bit. Maybe this is some sort of new Chinese technology?