Travelog

Woke up not feeling well at all. Summoned up the energy to head to the Morning Market, to do some shopping. A shopping day – if only Victoria and Gabriella could be here. My main concern was a charger for my camera. Had very little luck, with most people suggesting I go to Thailand to get one. They would point in the direction of Thailand as they suggested it. So simple.

Eventually I managed to find a universal charger that I pray won’t fry my camera. I looked for some clothes and a bag, but selection was limited, and my stomach really wasn’t feeling well, so I gave up and headed back to the guesthouse.

Spent most of the afternoon lying in bed, hoping to feel better. At about 6:30 I headed out to upload some photos, and managed to find a place with not too horrible a connection (or maybe I am just getting used to the slowness).

Everyone was going to meet up later, but everyone was also feeling a little under the weather, so things were pretty low key. In the end, I was going to meet John, Jazz, and Emma at a pub, but decided I wasn’t up to the task, and headed to bed quite early.

Had breakfast (yet another restaurant with “Friends”), then a shower (maybe the best shower I’ve had in four months) . After the shower I inquired about buses to Vientiane, and was told I’d have to wait till 1:30pm. Figuring I might have better luck at the bus station, I grabbed my stuff (much easier now that I am travelling light) and walked five minutes to the bus station.

Found a minibus that was headed to Vientiane in 5 minutes, so I opted for that one, and before I could get the change for my ticket, the bus arrived. Met three people on the bus, John,  Zarko, and Joanne.

In Vientiane, John said he had some friend’s staying at Joe’s Guesthouse, which was conveniently located across from where we were dropped off. John and I decided to share a room, and cut down on costs. I had a bunch of stuff I hoped to get done before the weekend, so my first stop was the Cambodian Embassy. When I got there, it was closed, so I had to wait about an hour for them to return after lunch. When they reopened they told me they weren’t issuing Visas in the afternoon, so I’d have to wait till Monday. Joy.

Next stop was the Australian Embassy, which caters to Canadian traveller’s too. I wanted them to make sure my Police Report was on the up and up, but there wasn’t much they could do. He told me I’d have to visit the Laos Tourism Police for a Loss Claim, and pointed me on my way.

By the time I got to the Laos Tourism Police, they were closing for the day, and shut down over the weekend. Quite convenient. At least I know I’ll be staying here until Monday.

Met up with John, Zarko, and Joanne, plus John’s friends: Jazz, Emma, Mary and Kate. I was the only non-Brit in attendance, but I think I managed okay. We headed out for dinner, but the place we’d chosen was pretty pricey, so we opted for a drink only. We were joined by Jed, an American from Duluth, who knew Kate and Mary. Eventually we headed to a nice Italian restaurant, as everyone was in the mood for western food. I had some pasta, which was pretty good, plus some garlic bread and a slice of pizza.

We headed to a Mexican bar that had some live band karaoke. Kate had some pretty good chops, and sung a few tunes. Everything closes early in Laos, so we were all back to the guesthouse by 11:30.

Got up and had some breakfast (with “Friends”), then headed to the tour spot (still proudly displaying my sign) to depart for rock climbing. There were only two others in the group, Stefan and Magnus from Sweden, and our guide, Apple. Like me, Stefan and Magnus had tried climbing for the first time at Railay Beach, and loved it.

We took a tuktuk to the river, then crossed the river by boat to the climbing spot, None Cave – or, more precisely, the crevasse leading to the cave. We did four climbs there, then took a break for lunch. Stefan and Magnus were both pretty good at climbing, so we didn’t spend a lot of time waiting.

We had lunch next, at a bar near the river. Toobing is very popular in Van Vieng, and tourists float down the river, stopping at the bars (where kids throw ropes to pull them ashore) there for a drink, before heading onward. After lunch we headed to another section, to do more climbing. This one was not very high, but quite difficult – with one part that proved especially difficult. Magnus went first, and got stuck, then I had a go, and after a bit of difficulty, managed to get my way to the top. Stefan didn’t get past the difficult point either, and Magnus failed to complete on his second try either.

Our last climb was a doozy. An overhang, that might have been possible if it was at the beginning of the day, but by this point our muscles were exhausted from the previous climb. I had no delusions that I’d be able to do it, but I gave it a try.  We all took a couple of stabs at it, but none of us finished. Maybe in a few years, after some practice, I’ll go back and tackle it again. I think I may have stood a better chance in January, but having not been to the gym in months can’t help.

I met Magnus and Stefan for dinner later (“Friends”, but a different bar this time), but we were all pretty exhausted from our climbing, and decided to head to bed fairly early.

In the morning I headed, with the owner of the guesthouse, to the Ponsovanh police station. I figured there’d be at least one person who spoke english, but sadly there wasn’t. Using the guesthouse owner (whose english was pretty bad) as an interpreter, I worked my way through filling out an Incident Report.

Headed back to the guesthouse after that, and then immediately to the bus station to get a bus to Van Vieng. My luggage has been reduced to a small backpack, and some plastic bags for my shoes, and my remaining clothes. Pathetic looking, I am sure. The trip to Van Vieng was not as windy as the one from Luang Prabang, and pretty much without incident. There was a young Lao boy in front of me who seemed quite content to spend a few hours playing peekaboo with me.

I checked into the guesthouse, and then went in search of some clothes and a new bag. Not much luck in either department, but I did buy a small lock, which will be handy on the rooms in Laos that can take a padlock.

As I was checking out rock climbing trips for the morning, two owners of a travel agency asked me to write their sign for them. I implored them to use someone else, as my handwriting is terrible, but they insisted. I thought the sign looked awful, but they seemed to think it was fine.

Van Vieng is 95% tourists, and this is reflected most clearly in the restaurants and bars that play either Friends (mostly Friends) or Family Guy all day. It’s actually not a bad idea, as you can sit and enjoy your meal while watching some tv. I’m just surprised no other shows are represented. The Simpsons or Seinfeld would do well, I think. I had dinner and watched a couple of episodes of Family Guy, then tried to upload some pictures, but the internet was far too slow. Eventually I gave up and did some reading, before heading to bed.

We got started a little late, but eventually we were on the minibus to the Plain of Jars, site 1. To get an idea of how small Ponsovanh is, my group consisted of the three people who were on the bus with me from Luang Prabang, the three who checked out the guesthouses with me, and then two who I hadn’t met before.

No one is quite sure what the jars are for, but they’re scattered around various sites near Ponsovanh. Site 1 is the biggest, with over 300 jars. Up to several metres wide, it’s thought that they may have been used as tombs, or possibly to store whiskey. Spring, the Korean on the tour with us, said they’ve got similar jars in Korea that are used as tombs/coffins. There was a man made cave at Site 1, so we stopped there, for a few minutes too. Nothing too spectacular.

We visited the Whiskey Village next, where they distill whiskey using rice, and water, and some big buckets. We all got to have a sip of the  whiskey, which wasn’t as good as the stuff I had in Luang Prabang.

Site 2 was more jars, and not any more interesting. We seemed to linger for a while, probably so we wouldn’t be finished the tour too soon. Certainly not because staying longer would enhance the experience.

Before Site 3, we stopped for lunch (noodle soup), then walked through a rice paddy to the jars. Site 3 is higher up, so the view was nice. There was some thunder and lightning, but thankfully no rain. I spent most of my time trying to take a picture of the lightning, but didn’t have any luck catching it on the camera. Our last stop was an old rusty Russian tank that had been blown up some years ago. My original plan was going to be heading to Van Vieng after the tour, but I decided I’d head their in the morning, rather than face getting into Van Vieng too late. This would turn out to be a bad decision.

At 7 I headed out to buy a ticket to Van Vieng for early the next morning, and decided to grab some dinner as well. My plan was to head back to the guesthouse and watch a movie on my computer, so less than an hour later, I headed back. Sadly, my plans were thwarted, as someone had stolen my computer. And my bag. And my hard drive.  And some clothes, and a bunch of other things that are mostly replaceable, I hope. Everything was locked up in the bag, and I can’t imagine how they’d know I had the computer, so I think some thief just broke into the right room and got a little closer to retirement. Thankfully he didn’t take the other bag, which contained my camera, photos, and a few other things that I’m quite happy to still have.

I headed to reception to see if they could call the police, but they closed at 8pm. The owner of the guesthouse didn’t speak much english, but eventually we agreed that we’d head to the police station in the morning.

I got to the bus station very early, and immediately grabbed a spot at the back, hoping the bus would be empty enough that I could lie down over all five seats.  As luck would have it, there were enough leftover seats that I didn’t feel too guilty taking up a bunch of them. 

The ride itself was bumpy, and winded itself back and forth through the mountains.  I couldn’t help but think of  New Zealand, with my waterbottle sliding back and forth on the dashboard.  The Laos countryside is amazing, and probably second to New Zealand, thus far.  I tried to take photos, but on the bumpy roads it was nearly impossible.  Riding shotgun on the bus was a guy carrying a kalashnikov rifle.  Apparently they’ve had problems with bandits on this route in the past.  I wasn’t sure if the guy toting Lao reassured me or worried me even more.

In Ponsovanh, I checked out a couple of places before settling on a room for the night.  I booked my tour to the Plain of Jars for the following morning, and grabbed some dinner. 

I stopped and checked out the MAG office, which is dedicated to clearing land mines in Laos (and elsewhere).  Laos is one of the heaviest bombed countries in the world, and there are still plenty of bombs and landmines lying around the countryside.  They were starting a movie on the project, so I watched that.

Heading back to my guesthouse, I ran into Louisa and Beth, who were eating dinner.  They were surrounded by two boys of about 8 years old, who were quite keen on having some of Louisa’s pizza.  Beth had already given them some salad.   They jumped back and forth and around us.  Louisa gave them the plate with the mushrooms she didn’t want, and the kids jumped in with gusto.  I didn’t get the feeling they were really starving, but who knows.  The kids didn’t speak much english, but enough for us to learn that their names were Chong and Do.  We tried to talk for a bit, but it wasn’t really getting anywhere.

We headed to another restaurant for a drink, and eventually ran into Chong and Do walking down the street.  I hollered at them to go to sleep, but I’m not sure they understood me.  Eventually Do mimed resting his head on the pillow and pointed off towards his house, so I think they were planning on going home anyhow.

Sleeping seemed like a good idea, so I bid Beth and Louisa (who were off to Vietnam in the morning) a good night, and headed to bed.

Louisa and Beth had gone to Ponsovanh, so it was just the boys.  I left a little early to get to a bookstore and find a book.  The others joined me a few minutes later, and we met up with Joe.  Our first stop was Wat Phousi that overlooks the city.  I’m a tad watted out, but there were some decent views.

We walked along the Mekong next, and came across a rickety old bamboo bridge.  We walked down, and came across the bridgekeeper, who convinced us we should go over to the other side (4000 kip, 50 cents) to eat at his son’s restaurant.

We grabbed some Beerlao at the restaurant, and were approached by some locals on their way to a party a little further towards the Mekong.  They showered us with Talcum powder, and then went on their way, making us promise to join them later.  Air, the restaurant owner, gave us some Lao Lao whiskey, which wasn’t as horrible as I would have feared.

After our drinks we grabbed some of the girls from the restaurant and headed down to the Mekong where people were making stupas in the  sand.  We made our own.  The locals were experts, so we mostly sat back and watched as they added towers and things like that.

After that we played with the local kids in the water.  They were thrilled to be tossed into the not-so-deep water, and kept begging for more.   Some teenagers invited us to a party at their village, but Josh, Guto, and Andi were leaving in the evening, so we didn’t bother.  Later on the same kid tried to see if I was interested in a girl for the night, so it was probably for the best.

I had dinner with Joe, as everyone else had left for Van Vieng.  We were both exhausted, so we didn’t spend too much time, but he told me about his contracting typhoid fever in the Philippines, and I think that’s something I never want to get myself.

Louisa, Beth, Josh, Guto, Andi and myself had some breakfast than hired a tuk tuk to take us to the Pak Ou Caves that we had passed when we were on the slowboat.  The ride was ridiculously bumpy after we left the paved road, and we stopped at a small village where the driver lead us to the water, and we had to cross over the Mekong by boat.  The boat driver couldn’t have been more than 8, but he seemed to know what he was doing.

The cave was a graveyard for Buddhist images, but overall not too exciting.  Not worth the extra money we had to pay for the boat, and entrance fees.  After a short while there, we headed back to Luang Prabang, drove through the town and stopped at Kuang Si waterfall.

There’s a bear rescue setup there, so we looked at some rescued bears, thinking they didn’t look that secure.  There’s also a tiger, but he was “Not out today”, so we didn’t get to see him.

We came across a really nice area and thought we’d jump  in for a swim.  We swam for about 20 minutes, then headed up to see the rest of the waterfall, and realized we’d swum in the worst of the many pools created by the waterfall.  The waterfall itself was really nice.  If you were making a fake waterfall, you’d probably use Kuang Si as your inspiration.

We climbed to the top and swam in the pool created at the very top.  It was deep enough that we could jump off the ledge and in, so we did that. It was pretty quiet up there too, which was nice.

Headed back to Luang Prabang afterwards, and showered, then grabbed some dinner.  Ran into one of Andi’s friends, Joe on the way to the bar, so we played some pool with him.  Turns out he and Josh are from the same town and have some mutual friends.  Small world.

Bars close at 11 in Laos, but we found one that was opened later, so we hung their for a bit.  Unfortunately, the guesthouse closed at midnight, so we had to make our way over there.  We were almost locked out, but there was someone asleep in the front lobby who let us in.

Slow Internet alert… Rewrite alert.
Up early to grab some food and try and secure a seat on the slowboat. We were on a different boat – which was narrower, but not as crowded, so we managed to get a seat. It was quite a comfortable ride for the first couple of hours, and then we docked and loaded on a bunch of other passengers from Chiang Mai. Natalie and Yasmine, the Americans who’d been following me since Ko Lanta were in the group, so we exchanged hellos.

Uneventful trip, but I did manage to finish my book, which was quite good (“Clockers”, Richard Price). We stopped a few more times to load/unload locals, and reached Luang Prabeng just before dusk. Guto, Josh and myself had picked up three more travellers. Beth and Louisa (friends from England), and Andi from Germany. We all went in search of a guesthouse, and with the help of Josh’ guidebook found a decent one on the other side of the big hill in the centre of town.

We checked in, showered, and then headed out for dinner. Walked through the night market, and like every Asian city, it’s everyone selling the same thing. They had some nice silks and things like that, but nothing we couldn’t find in Thailand. We were all pretty beat, so after dinner we headed to bed.