| main tower thing Posted Monday, 26 June 2006 | ||
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| Hello comrades of the Republic of Wendy I've been in Commie land for the last couple of weeks and have arrived in Vietnam where the Red Flag flies proud. Laos was wicked, I loved it, everyone we met had fallen in love with it. But I can't quite put my finger on what it is. It is an extremely laid back place the people are sooo friendly, and as funny as hell. Everything is a bit shoddy and put together, but what do they care? It reminds me of the Mediterranean 'hasta manana' mentality a little. There are great big holes in the pavement big enough to swallow up a couple of tourists, which go straight into sewage..who cares? I think their National Museum kinda rounds up Laos. Previously the 'Revolutionary Museum' it now houses some oil paintings of dinosaurs and old clay pots (held together with bull dog clips) and some articles cut out of the National Geographic in a clip frame, in order to show the rest of Laos history and not just the great revolution... Brilliant stuff! The whole museum looked like it was done on a 10 pound budget and all they could manage was some sugar paper and clip frames. The revolutionary section was excellent propaganda. The pictures were taken from American newspapers and blown up and mounted on the box shaped card board ( 3D oh la la! ). They would then attach a one line explanation in Laos, French and English (cut out of paper a bit on the wonk, stuck on the picture with double sided sticky tape which had gone a bit brown with the colossal heat). The caption wasn't dated and usually read here the 'imperialist US and their puppets murder .....our great people', or 'our heroic comrades celebrate victory over seizing...from the imperialist US and their puppets'. The rooms were so hot that I had to rush through some of the great victories in order to stay alive myself...we later realised that you are meant to turn on the air con and fans yourselves when you get in the rooms. of course! They had the obligatory flick a switch and it lights up a region on a map ( because museums are fun kids!), however judging from the wires dangling from the plaster board with felt tip writing on it...it would only result in a trip to the hospital with 1st degree burns. The Lonely Planet tell you to fly to Thailand if you need medical help. I left the superb display alone. My favourite exhibit in the revolutionary rooms amongst all the rifles was one of those spring bi cep exerciser thingys (you don't really see now unless in a cartoon where somebody hurts themselves on them in a comedy fashion) underneath it read 'comrade....used this to gymnasium whilst visiting comrades in ...fighting the victory against the Imperialist US...', superb OK enough about the Museum I am not obsessed or anything. Anyway we did the floating downt he River in Vang Vieng in the tractor tyre inner tubing which is excellent. a girl in our truck on way to the river (who I think was on her 4th tubing trip) said once you've floated downt he river in a tractor tube you will never want to go back to work ever again. Admittantly it was rather more relaxing than a team meeting ( no offence USSU SAC). there are shacks on route who sell you beer, people to help you get out of the water to their bars, zip wires and rope swings to try to kill yourself. some young boys walk through the water and ask for the empty Beerlaos bottles to get the money for the glass. you feel a little guilty when you see construction workers on the side of the river bank working in the heat. But I entertained them with a little Laos I had picked up from a waiter, oh how they laughed... they tried to teach me some Laos in return as we floated past very slowly, but if construction workers are anything like the British ones I was probably being taught a rather unsavory phrase...so we paddled a little faster so not to be drawn into their wicked plans... Vientiene was great, very small and sleepy for a captial city. We ended up in some Laos clubs again the first was again a youth club with hip hop and US chart music and the second an older odder crowd with rank old western men trying to pick up beautiful Laos girls. We ended up in that club after meeting an American in the herbal massage and sauna place in the forest temple complex ( all rather nice although the monks stood in bushes and perved)..we ALL fancied him. (I`m with ben and another gay guy Doug at this point). We ended up going for a meal, then the Laos night club (Kok club) then because this guy is sooo attractive this stunning Laos girl (Kip) and a Belfast girl comes up and start chatting to him. Anyway they ended up inviting us all back to theirs...It was great playing cards and drinking the traditional Laos way ( one glass, one pourer and necking beer in a circle) and talking bits of Laos and French... the US guy had the personality of a brick, but went home with the girl anyway...I ended up giving HIM condoms...I had altogether different plans for them! We found sitting by the Mekong over looking Thailand to have dinner to be a rather nice spot. on the last night with some friends we attempted the soup. you get a charcoal pot boiler and all your ingrediants and make it yourself. Our French friend Seb complained (imagine a french accent here) "so, we pay money and ave to make it our bloody sleves, you ar kidding no?". anyway we got with it and it was great. Now in Vietnam. Hanoi to be exact. beep beep from the scooters it all you hear. we are in the old quarter which is tree lined and sort of looks a little like France sometimes. we had a wonder through yesterday where you get the road of this and the road of that like tin box makers, lantans, greeting cards, clothes, but my favorite by far was the cellotape road. Last night we got talking for a couple of hours with 'Mister Can' a vietnamese guy who sells flip flops to China. he has been obsessed with learning English ever since he was a child and heard Kissinger make a speach after signing the peace treaty with a Veitnamese General. A strange inspiration me thinks? anyway he knew who the Queen and Thatcher was (we did our best impressions), but no idea who Prince Charles ( we used ear mimickry) and Diana was... How refreshing! We now know a little Vietnamese and he speaks like an English gent. We have done other stuff and ticked stuff off the tourist list, but you don't want to hear it all. We are finding it hard pressed to find internet cafes with the right technology to upload photos on the photo blog..so sorry guys will do when ever I can. lots of love to you all have a great weekend your comrade Miss Wendy x x x We are off to buy some copies of propaganda posters and see Uncle Ho's dead body..ace! | ||
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