| the view Posted Monday, 26 June 2006 | ||
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| hello peps Hope you are all well, just spoke to my dad who said it was sunny in Essex...bet it is not as roasting as here? Well we finally left Pai which is a achievement in itself..that place is so easy going you could drift there for a long time. we headed towards the Laos border on an over night mini bus. I don't think we went very far as it was all hair pin bends that seem to do 180degrees. if you were lucky enough to drift asleep for a moment you were woken up by a rush forward as the driver slammed on the breaks at a bend...I kept telling myself he probably doesn't want to die..we'll be ok.. got over the border and found our boat which wasn't quite how the agent described it. from the photos i was imagining bars, maybe a casino area?? ho ho ho... wooden benches and a lady coming round with Beerlaos from a cool box. Loads of travellers were shoe horned onto the boat which was a great way to meet people. they played chess tournaments (we were on it for 2 days), cards and shared ipods. the scenery is just amazing big black boulders and white sand, green mountains, fishermen and long boats..I tried taking photos but it just doesn't quite do it justice.. a real highlight so far. we did a night in a stop off town bit grotty place where we were kept offered drugs, which you are offered every 5 mins in Laos. Lang Pra bang is lovely and yet odd place. it is really remote in many ways and yet because it was French owned there is a weird mix of french style buildings men playing boules and Asian culture with temples etc. you can get trad French cafe stuff and baguettes on the street. all very odd. we went for a day trip to a local waterfall which was the best I've seen so far absolutely stunning. we ended up getting the truck there with a Swiss guy who in his first sentence about himself told us that; he was divorced, as his ex wife became a lesbian, he doesn't get to see his 4 children anymore and he had a stroke 5 years ago due to stress....erm nice to meet you too..he has been pensioned off and just travels for a past time.. i would say he was a lucky b**tard, but actually maybe not..he was well up for everything he was Mr mid-life crisis man... We did other stuff like visiting the palace which had no mention of the royal family's demise (apparently they don't 'do' recent history) went for a sauna with the locals and went to a Laos night club. I have to mention here the lost nights we had at a well known bar called Mr Hons. basically if you let Mr Hon (letchy old gay guy) man handle your male friends he would let you stay later...poor old Ben...i felt like i was pimping him for Beerloas (until 3am). the Laos curfew is 10.30 -11.00pm so what is a girl to do? We ventured a Laos night club which was a bit like a youth club in a hotel bar..they love Black eyed Peas song 'my lovely lady humps', you hear it blaring everywhere...apparently it translated as 'my lovely dog'. 'humps' is the sound they associate as woof woof...we showed them a few western dance moves which caused some giggles and left at 11 when we were chucked out. We took a bike ride in the pouring rain ( it was quite nice to have the sensation of cold and wet for a change) to some villages which were set up by the government to preserve local handicrafts. we went to a black smith village which made farming equipment for selling at market. we were introduced to an old guy who had just lost his wife and was making cow bells. His grand son was there who was acting like most 6 year olds a bit crazily making a puppy dance and not doing anything his grandad asked etc... then he would kinda zone out and stare a bit...I thought he might be a bit you know, special needs..but then he elbowed his grandfather whispered some Laos and everyone laughed...our guide said ( through tremendous laughter) that the darling little sweetheart was saying 'have you seen how white that lady's legs are'.. whatever.. as we have restricted time in Laos we journeyed on to Van Vien we got a 6hour mini bus, again through the most amazing scenery. Unfortunately me and Ben picked up food poisoning from a vendor at the waterfall, so I finally feel like a proper traveller. every pit stop we came to we went and found a toilet to abuse. all a bit grim. Van vien is a two street town solely made up of lounge type bars showing episode after episode of 'Friends', internet cafes, or travel agents. the main thing to do here is have a 'happy shake' (dope, mushroom or opium laced fruit shakes) and go tubing. this is where you sit in a rubber ring down the Mekong. apparently there are shack bars along the way that serve you beers... that'll be us tomorrow when I can stomach a beer. we are currently debating our next leg...our visa started in Vietnam yesterday but want to go way down south and see the 4 thousand island with rare dolphins in the south of Laos. I am really enjoying Laos the people are really friendly and we haven't heard great things about Northern Vietnam so we are thinking of spending more time here and just 'do' south Vietnam? any suggestions? When people say 'oh the people are really friendly'...I never really know what they mean.. OK Thailand is meant to be 'the land of smiles' which when you head out of cities and towns is true...but Laos...is a different matter people slow down on their motor bikes beside you truck just to say hello. Ladies in the sauna will start chatting. Children come up and want to say hello and shake your hand everyone is giggly and smiley...maybe the happy shakes has something to do with it? anyway news from home Dad's leg is on the mend! Sorry if I haven't replied to your emails the internet connection in Laos is a bit hit and miss it can take up to 2 mins to open an email...grr but thanks and I do appreciate hearing all the gossip.. i am embarrassed to say I have bought some hippie type trousers as i sat on a nail in a bar and ripped a pair of trousers. they are NOT fisherman trousers ...it is a necessity purchase OK!! | ||
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