Vang Vieng and the world of tubing!

Today we went a little off our normal 'modus operandi' to indulge in a well travelled route down the Nam Song river using an old tractor inner tube....

The draw of this pastime is that there are countless bars strategically placed along the river with young guys throwing ropes out into the river with the hope that you grab them and visit their bar. We met Matt, Mariska & Sofia at the first bar so it pretty much descended into mayhem from there on.
It is great fun, but can be dangerous if you don't keep an eye on the time and get back before dark after which it is difficult to see the rocks and other things sticking out of the river to knock you off the tube into the strong currents. The killer photos are on Facebook (sorry mum there are some things yu never want your parents to see no matter how old you are.........) but here are a couple of the highlights!

Thanks for looking
Hugs
Sara

Phonsavan to Vang Vieng

 Dear all

 Today we travelled South from Phonsavan  and left the forests behind for dramatic Karst cliffs and mountains, passing through tiny villages getting on with their subsistence faring lives until we reached Muang Phu Khoun where we stopped once again at the local market which was selling everything you can imagine including these very tasty flame grilled frogs - Yuch!!Next stop was lunch at Kasi where we also indulging in some of the local delicacies....... Yes they are worms and they taste just like Satay.... Honestly! Suffice to say Dean passed on the tasting..........

Finally after about 6 hours we finally arrived at our destination Vang Vieng . This town is the must stop for every traveller in Laos to take in the views and the other 'delights' of the area, including Tubing, kayaking, climbing and other outdoor sports. We will let you know what we end up doing tomorrow!

Thanks for looking as always

Hugs

Sara

The Plain of Jars

Hi All

Back with part two of our post of the last few days offline! 



      












Yesterday we set out on our tour of the Plain of Jars, first stop is known as Site 1 (original eh!) which has over 300 of the jars scattered in two adjoining areas. Most of the jars are just plain sandstone jars, but a couple have carvings on. It is really weird to see these huge lumps of hewn rock and not wonder why anyone would spend so much time creating them without leaving any clue as to why they exist. Another mystery is how any of them survived the sustained bombing by the Americans albeit some have been completely obliterated and buried in bomb craters.

 

Next stop was to see a burnt out Russian made tank which had been left randomly on the side of the road (& not a single tinker had picked it up on his van!!).  We had a lunch of Laos Noodle soup by a lovely lake followed by some extremely strong Laos Coffee! Off to the next site which was a Cave which is used as a temple, but during the secret war was temporarily used to defend the Ho Chi Min Trail and provide a hospital for both the local people and those in the cave.

About 3000 soldiers were posted there. Below this cave was another used as a medicine storage area and the floor is literally covered with hundreds of old discarded phials of morphine and other medicine bottles.  A walk up the hill nearby gave us a very good overview of all we had seen and learnt, when we realised we were walking through an area where mortars, bombies & shell casings were still lying around on the hill side marked up ready for 'disposal'! The view from the top also afforded us a view of another legacy with the paddy fields all showing the scars of being bombed.

Our final destination was to a local village to see what how the war had impacted on them. These people didn't seem to hold anyone to account as we might have done, but had managed to salvage some good things from their situation, mainly in the form of recycling the casing and detritus of the was & boy was there a lot! We also had the opportunity to see how Lao Lao is made and to sample some more !!

Back to the tour company HQ where we watched another film entitled The most secret Place on Earth. This was far less emotional, but far more political and takes the Laotians situation up to date. It was a fascinating couple of days and ones that will stay with me for a long time.



Night and thanks for looking

Sara

The Secret War

Hi
Sorry we have not been around for the last couple of days but we have been on a road a little less travelled and as a consequence have not been able to get to an Internet cafe very easily.

Some of the more interesting food items for sale at the side of the road

Saturday we left for Phonsavan and were picked up at 8.30 by the minibus service which is the more reliable & intimate bus route available in Laos. Of the 11 seats taken 8 were travellers and 6 those were Brits (and two lovely Dutch girls) so we all bonded on the 8 hour journey through the beautiful Luang Prabang region into Xieng Khouang where lofty mountains and snaking rivers were replaced by green hills and pine forests. We arrived in the middle of Phonsvan  for a change so agreed on guest house and arrived there with our best bargaining hats on to be greeted with a opening offer so tempting we just folded and fell into our rooms! (50,000 kip per night or 4 quid).
In case you were not aware this area of Laos is famous for two things. The Plain of jars which is probably one of South East Asia’s most enigmatic tourist attraction. There are over 2000 huge stone jars some up to 3m high and weighing up to 6 tonnes, scattered across several square miles. While most ancient Asian sites, such as the Angkor temples in Cambodia, have revealed many of their secrets, historians & archaeologists are still completely baffled as to where the jars came from, how old they are and what they signify.They are in fact a complete mystery although I do like the locals theory that they were used to produce rice whiskey or Lao Lao as it is know here for a great victory against the Burmese - Some party!!

Couple of cute girls who walked passed as we filled up with petrol!

  The second reason is that whatever its ancient history, the Plain Of Jars has had a turbulent recent past, thanks to its proximity to the North Vietnamese border, the fact that some of the Ho Chi Min trails ran close by, this area of Laos became of key significance during the Cold and then Vietnam War and so was carpet bombed by the Americans. Laos holds the dubious record of being the most bombed country in the world, despite never officially being involved in the Vietnam war at all and has been unofficially dubbed as the secret war. The legacy of the war is still being felt, with farmers and their families regularly being killed or injured by the unexploded ordnance which still litters the Plain. The Jars have been fully cleared of all UXO (unexploded ordnance), but not straying from the designated paths remains imperative!! This is certainly one of the only times I have done as I have been told!!

 Anyway less of the national geographic lesson and back to our story  - we went down to the high street which resembles something akin to a modern day western with a wide street and low buildings on either side. All that was missing was the tumbleweed! We found a good tour company & once again using our buying power., managed to secure a very good deal, then off we trundled to the cinema!! This was not really a cinema it was a room in the back of the MAG (Mines Advisory Group) building where they showed a number of films/documentaries about the was in Laos. We saw one entitled Bombies and I have to say I was amazed at what this little country has and continues to go  through just for being in the wrong place - literally! It was quite moving & not one of us really wanted to chat after the movie so we wondered around the lobby for a while where there was an exhibition supporting what we had seen.  A light 'sober' dinner then off to bed for us. 
A slightly dry post tonight but more fun will follow
Thanks for looking
Sara

Big Brother Mouse

Today we have had a relatively restrained day.
 This morning we went down to seek out the Big brother Mouse House. What is that all about? Well this worthwhile venture is a local initiative which hopes to provide infants,children and adults with the chance to access the written word. Very few people have access to the materials here so this publishing charity constantly raises funds to bring books to the masses especially in the more remote areas of Laos.  We went down to read some books which we had bought in the night market to the children, but unfortunately we had been given the wrong time and so missed the opportunity. We have agreed to take the books and give them out on our travels instead.
Tonight we are going to the Luang Prabang Theatre to watch a local ballet. Now don't fall off your seats laughing at the thought of me dragging Dean there - he has agreed to go without any inducement........
So will update you as soon as I can
Thanks for looking

Sara

Luang Prabang

Dean in front of one of the typical villas on the peninsula

If ever you could imagine a romantic vision  of an SE Asian town then Luang Prabang would probably be a literal translation of the picture in your head, Everyone told us we would love it here and they were right, but boy did they forget to tell us about the heat (phew its scorchio!!).

Luang Prabang is  located on a peninsula formed by the confluence of two rivers, the Mekong and the Khan. The palm-lined riverbanks, terracotta roofs, golden stupas and saffron-robed monks all mix together to form a picture postcard which we have found no where else to date in Southeast Asia.  We spent the vast majority of yesterday walking round the area with every corner turning up a new delight.

 



 At the top of the peninsula where the two rivers meet the whole place takes on a truly tropical feeling with palm trees edging the river. However local commerce was not far any with the constant strains do you want to hire a boat.......  

Well that certainly wasn't what I was thinking after yesterdays fun, especially after I had read that they were thinking of stopping foreign tourists from using the speed boats as there had been too many deaths from the boats disintegrating when they hit floating debris or a standing wave. I'm glad I read that after the event!! Albeit a  fellow traveller we met bravely informed us that it tended to be the unfortunate Germans that met with this watery fate! Later in the day we took the 328 step 100m tiring climb up Phu Si to watch the sunset with about 60 other people! Dean was more interested in watching the planes land at the local airport than standing with the masses to watch a golden orb disappear behind a mountain, but hey ho it was a nice view from all directions although the temple That Chomsi was a little disappointing



One of the many shots taken as the sun went down......



 We spent the evening having a wonder around the Hmong night market (and I only spent 2 quid!!  followed by a nice meal at a little Indian restaurant located next to our hotel. We then bumped into a couple from Sweden who had travelled from Pai but taken the slow boat. Their boat experiences were not really that different to ours, except they were drawn out over 2 days!! A couple of Beer Laos later and we were starting to get shifty looks from the bar staff so we headed back to our hotel to find we had been locked out. They finally let us in, but when we checked our watches it was only 11.30. It felt like being 16 again on curfew!!

Thanks for looking

Hugs

Sara

Same Same but different

Dear all

View from our Guest House in Chaing Khong


Back again, but in a different country. The past few days have been very exciting with our move to our next country Laos. It is also extremely slow on the internet here so I am splitting the post into two today as it is averaging an hour to upload five pictures!!
We left Pai 8pm on Tuesday night in a prebooked minibus which originally only had 8 people get on - result (we thought) we can spread out & get some sleep. That was not going to happen. Our driver obviously wanted to break some Thai land speed record and proceeded to drive down the steep and windy roads as if he was practicing for the next world rally! Due to the rain in the previous night there was just the added stresses of a number of mudslides to navigate along with a few lorries trundling up the hill (he didn't seem to mind which side of the road he drove on as long as it was fast!) and it all added up to a potent cocktail of potential sleep deprivation in the making! Most people had probably only just eaten and it was too much for one of the Americans in front of us who to the amusement of the driver had to get off to feed the ants........ The thought did cross our minds that he had bets on who he could get to be ill first! I can tell you I could have been a close second, but the road magically started to level off as we neared the outskirts of Chaing Mai so I was relieved of the ignominy
Four more people were crammed in at this point so now we were all wedged in and with the fact that the air con was about as useful as a chocolate teapot, the heat helped us into a doze state for the rest of the journey so when we arrived at the border in Chaing Khong at 3.30am (eugh!) we had a least had a couple of hours sleep! We climbed into bed at a guest house (thankfully included in the price the tour company) & no sooner had we shut our eyes then it was 7.00 and we were up for ubiquitous breakfast of eggs, sweet bread & either sweet tea or gritty coffee.

Crossing on the Ferry to Laos




Above  is the view from our terrace of our first glimpse of the mighty Mekong River, which is this muddy orange colour from the iron rich soil and all the other 'things' that filter their way in! Yep folks welcome to the biggest open sewer in SE Asia!  We travelled down to the ferry exiting Thailand on the way then we were on our way to Loas



All prepared, but for what!

 Most of the people we had travelled with had booked the slow boat and we waved them off on their two days trip. The staff at the travel office all thought it very amusing that we were taking the speed boat, which at that time seemed a little weird (oh boy were we in for a shock!) The driver took us to a little pier where we climbed onto a narrow boat loaded our luggage and one other passenger and off we went.... This wasn't too bad
Within about 10 mins we pulled up at another pier where another boat was was waiting and we were both asked to transfer into one of the small sections in front of the driver. We could just about sit there with our backs wedged in at the back and our knees pushed into the seat in front occupied by two small Japanese ladies. We then set off and realised just why everyone  thought our choice was so funny as we literally were unable to move one inch for 2 and a half hours until we stopped for lunch. There are no words to describe how uncomfortable it was............


Getting faster !! (you can just see the spray)



During our lunch Dean was approached and offered some more space if we wanted to pay more, but our Euro spirit (don't forget Dean is Irish so I cant say British Bulldog!) rose to the top and we refused on principal... getting back in the boat was hard, but the worst was yet to come as the driver obviously unhappy with his abilities to extract more 'tourist tax' drove at a rate akin to the drive the night before, but without any means of seeing where he was going and the luggage was all piled up on the front of the boat!! We arrived an hour earlier than scheduled which one would normally consider is not bad for a 6 hour journey, apart from the inherent dangers we had faced. I for one was pretty glad I couldn't feel from the waist down by the end or otherwise I might not have been able to control my feelings or other muscles...... A quick ride to the centre of Luang Prebang, quickly booking into the lovely Thanaboun Guest House in the main street and we were able to relax with Deans new favourite drink Beer Lao! We had some lovely Lao food and then collapsed into bed our bodies still bouncing in time to the waves of the Mekong.

I will be back shortly with our first day in Luang Prabang

Thanks for looking

Hugs

Sara