Day 336
We were up early for a long ride to Luang Prabang. Nicole and I had decided to spring for a mini bus that would cut about 3 hours off the ride. We lucked out as it wasn't full and we each had our own row.
What we and not counted on was how winding and bumpy the road was. It twisted and turned to no end. Both of us were feeling pretty bad because of it. One of the other passengers was a man with his toddler daughter. She was sick, a lot. I felt really bad for her. The bumps were so bad that we were constantly thrown around on the seats.
During one of the side of the road bathroom stops Nicole and I asked some people if we could use their outhouse. There wasn't any water, but at least we got to pee in privacy. We stopped for lunch, but no one could eat. We all just took advantage of the upgraded bathroom situation.
Nicole and I paid the mini bus driver a bit more to take us right to our guest house of choice. Luckily they had a room with two beds in it. We quickly took showers and I dropped off my laundry before we headed out for lunch. We didn't go far and planned our next few days in Luang Prabang, the most historic city in Laos.
After lunch we tried to head to Wat That, but it closed. Instead we found an internet cafe, but the connection was so slow that I couldn't do any work on it and I left. Nicole got lucky and her computer worked a bit better. I spent some time reading in our room before she came back.
Around 9pm we headed out to the night market, but it was shutting down. We managed to get some dinner from one of the last stalls opened. It was just chicken and fish though. Afterwards we headed to a pretty relaxed place with a fire and a lot of people. It was in the process of closing, but they let us stay for one beer.
The only place opened after 11pm is the bowling alley. Nicole and I negotiated with a tuk-tuk driver and got in. Just as week were about to take off an Aussie jumped in, not even asking where we were going. He then turned to us and said "sabadee," or hello in Thai. Right away we knew that he wasn't the type of person we wanted to chat with. He then continued to brag about how in touch with local culture he was and that he had the best way to travel. We paid when we got out and he tried to bargain a different rate with the driver. The driver looked at us and we told him that the Aussie wasn't with us and went inside.
All of the lanes were full so we ended up just t chatting and drinking some beer before heading back to our guest house.
Showing posts with label Phonsavan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phonsavan. Show all posts
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
A Secret War
Day 335
We were up early but there wasn't anything to eat for breakfast. We ended up having a few of the oranges we had left over from the day before.
In 1960 a neutralist military faction seized Vientine. Rightest forces, backed by the US, forced them to retreat. Fighting continued between the two sides. From 1964 to 1973 Laos was a battlefield in the war between North Vietnam and the US. This was against the Geneva Convention and was therefore kept very quiet. Laos was saturated with bombs. 580,000 bombing missions were flown over the country leaving craters all over the place. Even when the missions ended the explosions continued. About 40% of the ordnance dropped didn't explode. They have turned up in rice fields, next to homes, and basically everywhere. It wasn't until 1994 that the US started to send supplies and manpower to rid Laos of the UXO's. At the rate they are moving they should be done in about 150 years. This isn't really due to lack of money , but rather due to the difficult terrain and the slow pace they are forced to move.
Our tour was headed to the Plain of Jars, one of the hardest hit areas. We had to be very careful about staying on the marked paths so that we didn't accidentally step on anything.
While our guide was organizing our permits to enter the site we had some time to check out a plethora of deactivated bombs and read about the region. That's where I got my little history from.
The first stop was the Plain of Jars Site One. This is the largest site. The jars are of ancient origin and are all different sizes. Most are in good condition, but many have been destroyed by time, bombs and vandalism. No one has figured out their purpose. The leading theories is that they either once held human remains or perhaps stored wine and food. Nicole and I thought that some giants had a big party and left their beer glasses all over the place.
We followed the path past bomb craters and into a cave. It's purpose is unknown. The path then lead us up a hill for a view over everything before heading back down to the car park. Our next stop was site two. This was quite small, but set among trees and very pretty. We also got a great view of the country side.
The third site was small and took some effort to get to as we had to walk across a rickety bridge and then some rice fields. We were a bit bored of jars at this point, but managed to get some good pictures in a partially broken one.
Our lunch was a simple chicken soup. They use all of the chicken here, so it was a bit gross and I couldn't force myself to eat much of it. After lunch we took a quick look at an abandoned Russian tank. The nearby houses were more interesting to me.
Out last stop of the day was a whiskey making home. Every house in Lao has a bottle of the stuff at all time. We had been given a shot after lunch and everyone had laughed at the face I made. When I went to try a shot this time everyone had their cameras ready to capture my grossed out face. There was a little boy checking us out. He stuck out his tongue when I took a picture of him, but giggled a lot when I showed him what he looked like on my camera.
Back at the hotel we showered and then managed to find the place we had wanted for dinner the night before. We had to walk through an unlit lot to get there, but luckily had a flashlight with us. When we got there it looked terrible and we headed back to the main street to pick a different place.
After dinner we joined Aire at a snooker hall. We don't know how to play and the guys working there managed to find regular pool balls for us. Neither of us are good players, but we were terrible on the extra large table. Soon watching us became the evenings attraction. Several of the men bought us beers. We tried to explain that we already had plenty, but they each insisted that we drank theirs first. After a bit we left with Aire to go to a nightclub. I quite like the early curfew in Lao. I was back and in bed before midnight.
We were up early but there wasn't anything to eat for breakfast. We ended up having a few of the oranges we had left over from the day before.
Our tour was headed to the Plain of Jars, one of the hardest hit areas. We had to be very careful about staying on the marked paths so that we didn't accidentally step on anything.
While our guide was organizing our permits to enter the site we had some time to check out a plethora of deactivated bombs and read about the region. That's where I got my little history from.
The first stop was the Plain of Jars Site One. This is the largest site. The jars are of ancient origin and are all different sizes. Most are in good condition, but many have been destroyed by time, bombs and vandalism. No one has figured out their purpose. The leading theories is that they either once held human remains or perhaps stored wine and food. Nicole and I thought that some giants had a big party and left their beer glasses all over the place.
We followed the path past bomb craters and into a cave. It's purpose is unknown. The path then lead us up a hill for a view over everything before heading back down to the car park. Our next stop was site two. This was quite small, but set among trees and very pretty. We also got a great view of the country side.
The third site was small and took some effort to get to as we had to walk across a rickety bridge and then some rice fields. We were a bit bored of jars at this point, but managed to get some good pictures in a partially broken one.
Our lunch was a simple chicken soup. They use all of the chicken here, so it was a bit gross and I couldn't force myself to eat much of it. After lunch we took a quick look at an abandoned Russian tank. The nearby houses were more interesting to me.
Out last stop of the day was a whiskey making home. Every house in Lao has a bottle of the stuff at all time. We had been given a shot after lunch and everyone had laughed at the face I made. When I went to try a shot this time everyone had their cameras ready to capture my grossed out face. There was a little boy checking us out. He stuck out his tongue when I took a picture of him, but giggled a lot when I showed him what he looked like on my camera.
Back at the hotel we showered and then managed to find the place we had wanted for dinner the night before. We had to walk through an unlit lot to get there, but luckily had a flashlight with us. When we got there it looked terrible and we headed back to the main street to pick a different place.
After dinner we joined Aire at a snooker hall. We don't know how to play and the guys working there managed to find regular pool balls for us. Neither of us are good players, but we were terrible on the extra large table. Soon watching us became the evenings attraction. Several of the men bought us beers. We tried to explain that we already had plenty, but they each insisted that we drank theirs first. After a bit we left with Aire to go to a nightclub. I quite like the early curfew in Lao. I was back and in bed before midnight.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
On the Road Again
Day 334
I woke up early to shower and pack. I have been very spoiled recently and haven't had a cold shower in some time. Nicole and I met for breakfast and were able to get our guesthouse to make us sandwiches to go.
We walked to the local bus stop and it wasn't long until a tuk-tuk driver tried to tell us that we were in the wrong place. We found a woman who spoke English at a nearby restaurant and were able to confirm that we were in the right place. He just wanted money off of us. She also said that the bus arrives around 10, 11 or 12. We had been told 9:30 at our guesthouse. Isn't Lao time grand?
We got lucky and the bus showed around 10:30. The roads were horrendous and neither of us could read without getting sick. We entertained ourselves by singing Disney songs and eventually any song we could think of. I don't think we amused those sitting around us though. Eventually we both put on our ipods and I fell asleep. Apparently I hit my head quite hard on the window during one bump but slept through it.
One very annoying thing about bus rides is the toilet. In Thailand, and everywhere else I have been, they stop at roadside restaurants with private, but squat toilets. Here they just pull over on the side of the road, often in a space with no foliage. I was desperate and managed to get up a bit of a hill and walk a few minutes on a trail. No one from the bus could see me, but I think I provided some entertainment for the neighborhood kids.
Around 5 pm we arrived in Phonsavan. We took the free transport offered by a guesthouse to save some cash. We then set up tours for the next day.
Once we had both showered we went looking for dinner. We were both pretty hungry and when we couldn't find the place in our books we decided to just go for some Chinese. After dinner we managed to find a locals only club (we were the only tourists) with a really bad sound system and karaoke. We also ran into Aire here, the guy who ran our guesthouse. We had met his two little girls earlier as well, the oldest was named Katie. He was having a going away party for his sister and we were invited to join in.
I was pretty tired after the long day and headed back before Nicole. Well, the bad karaoke might have been what drove me away!
I woke up early to shower and pack. I have been very spoiled recently and haven't had a cold shower in some time. Nicole and I met for breakfast and were able to get our guesthouse to make us sandwiches to go.
We walked to the local bus stop and it wasn't long until a tuk-tuk driver tried to tell us that we were in the wrong place. We found a woman who spoke English at a nearby restaurant and were able to confirm that we were in the right place. He just wanted money off of us. She also said that the bus arrives around 10, 11 or 12. We had been told 9:30 at our guesthouse. Isn't Lao time grand?
We got lucky and the bus showed around 10:30. The roads were horrendous and neither of us could read without getting sick. We entertained ourselves by singing Disney songs and eventually any song we could think of. I don't think we amused those sitting around us though. Eventually we both put on our ipods and I fell asleep. Apparently I hit my head quite hard on the window during one bump but slept through it.
One very annoying thing about bus rides is the toilet. In Thailand, and everywhere else I have been, they stop at roadside restaurants with private, but squat toilets. Here they just pull over on the side of the road, often in a space with no foliage. I was desperate and managed to get up a bit of a hill and walk a few minutes on a trail. No one from the bus could see me, but I think I provided some entertainment for the neighborhood kids.
Around 5 pm we arrived in Phonsavan. We took the free transport offered by a guesthouse to save some cash. We then set up tours for the next day.
Once we had both showered we went looking for dinner. We were both pretty hungry and when we couldn't find the place in our books we decided to just go for some Chinese. After dinner we managed to find a locals only club (we were the only tourists) with a really bad sound system and karaoke. We also ran into Aire here, the guy who ran our guesthouse. We had met his two little girls earlier as well, the oldest was named Katie. He was having a going away party for his sister and we were invited to join in.
I was pretty tired after the long day and headed back before Nicole. Well, the bad karaoke might have been what drove me away!
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