Given the amount of wats I've seen since my last post, I thought the title appropriate. Plus, I love that phrase :). Right, so to try and make this a manageable read... So much ground has been covered.
Mish, Erik, and Jaclyn met me in Bangkok where we spent a couple of days checking out the sights of the city. The wat with the huge gold lying buddha was the highlight for me (and for Jaclyn). And the boat taxis up and down the river. The second night, Mish, Erik and I had to go check out the Patpong night market area where all the sex shows are. It was definitely an experience. I think the highlight was the baby elephant that randomly walked down the street at 1 AM in central Bangkok. You know you aren't in Kansas anymore when... We took a night train to Chang Mai. The train was delayed 3 hours along the way and the reason given was "no power". Interesting. But we passed the time making friends, hanging out and playing cards. We spent the day wandering around Chang Mai. I was a bit disappointed as the city is just kind of a city. But as in all of Thailand, the food was excellent! The next morning we took a bus to Chang Rai. This is where we decided to do hill trekking from. I was happy that the bus was a Thai karaoke bus (where they show cheesy karaoke videos the whole time) so the crew could experience it. I don't think they were as amused as I was (come on, one opens with a girl getting hit by a tuk-tuk!). We set up a trek through our hotel and had dinner at Cabbages and Condoms which uses the proceeds to supply safe sex education and condoms to the villages in the area. The signage was interesting- especially the sign over the door which read "Our food is guaranteed not to make you pregnant". The next day we went to the hill tribes. We had negotiated for extra trekking time and trek we did. It was hot and there were many hills but the scenery was gorgeous and the villages were interesting. We ended the day with a short ride on an elephant and then a longboat ride back to Chang Rai. That night we went to the Chang Rai night market which was my favorite in Thailand. We spent most of the time in fromt of the stage with live music and dancing. There were loads of food vendors. Erik and I had a hot pot and Erik got the mixed insect plate for dessert. I was impressed with myself for trying a catepillar- totally not my thing. We also had to have a tower of beer, just because they were there.
On to the border crossing into Laos. We took the morning bus to Chang Khong and caught a longboat across the Mekong to the border. Figuring out the order of windows to go to at the border was an experience but after an hour we were safely and legally in Laos. We spent the night at a local guesthouse whose owner has quite the temper. Definitely not typical of the Laos people. We wandered around the town for a bit and had a quiet night and got ready for the two day boat ride to Luang Probang. We found a great restaurant on the river and Jaclyn was able to try lapp- Laotian salad made with minced meat and lemongrass. It was terrific. We arrived early to get good seats and waited in the boat for a few hours. They tried to overfill the boat dangerously but there was a protest from the customers (including chanting- only the tourists of course) and they added a second boat. The scenery on the river was amazing! We spent the night in the small village of Pak Beng on the way. Day 2 our boat was less crowded and we spent much of the ride talking to the other passengers. That was great because we kept running into them in Luang Probang and it was like already having a group of friends waiting for you in town. The scenery on day 2 was just as nice as Day 1. I think Mish has about 3,000 pictures if you are interested.
We arrived in Luang Probang around 6 PM- just as the sun was setting over the Mekong. After a bit of wandering around, we found a great guesthouse. Then we headed out to the night market for perusing and food. The next day we got up super early to give alms to the monks. Every morning around 6:30 AM (not 6 as we thought) the monks walk into town and people offer them food. We bought food from local vendors on the street and sat and waited. Unfortunately there were so many monkls that we ran out well before the procession was through. Later we let Erik handle negotiating for a boat to the Pak Ou caves with hundreds of buddha statues in them. On the way we stopped at "whiskey village" to try Lao Lao, the local rice whiskey. The caves were cool to see and the boat ride was great. Later, we walked up to the wat on the hill above town to watch the sunset. That night, Mish and I met up with a group of people from the boat trip down and hung out with them. The second day in Luang Probang we wandered around the city. Mish and I had seen a board outside a travel agency that mentioned a place called Utopia and we were determined to find it! Sure enough, later in the afternoon we saw a sign for Utopia and followed it to a cool lounge on the river with terrfic views and very comfy seating- so we hung out for a bit. The place is pretty aptly named. Later we did a little tasting of many Laotian dishes at a place Jaclyn had read about and also watched the monks as they did the 4 PM drum playing at the wats around town (and there are literally hundreds- you can't walk 15 feet without passing a wat!). That night we went for dinner on the riverfront. Our last day in LP, we once again let Erik do the negotiating and took a tuk-tuk down to the Kuang Si waterfalls about 30 km outside of town. The falls were great as was the swimming. On the walk back there was a bear rescue area. For our last dinner we went to the Laotian BBQ where there are hot coals on the table and over them is a pot of soup. You add spices and vegetables and cook the meat on a grill that is in the middle over the soup. So good! Mish, Erik, and Jaclyn did their last minute shopping at the night market and we had our last BeerLa0 as a group :(. It was so great to see them all and we had such a great time. It definitely felt too short. But I am so so so glad they came to meet me (thanks guys!!).
The next morning they headed for the airport and I caught a minivan to Nong Khiaw 4 hours north. From Nong Khiaw I hopped on a boat up the river to Mueng Neua ( I still can't pronounce it) which is only accessible by boat. The town is tiny and most places only have electricity from 6-10 PM. There really isn't much to do except hike and chill out so it was perfect for me! In the morning I hiked out to two caves and then farther on to two villages. After the second village I continued to a waterfall and wadered past it for a bit. On the way back I had lunch at Hoy Ban, the second village. I tried to order chicken but was told they only kill a chicken for two or more people. As I waited for the noodle soup (veggie) they asked me to copy the name of their restaurant/guesthouse, the village, and "great food" over and over so they can give the papers to travelers as advertising. I thought it was terrific! Oh and I love how the villages use hydroelectric power. On the trail I saw multiple barrels set up with wires attached to give power to the villages. And in Mueng Neua, all of the light bulbs are compact flourescents. Interesting how the rural Laotians get this more than we do... Off my soap box. I met up with some guys from the boat up and a couple I'd met in LP and we spent the evening eating and playing cards by the river. We left at 9:50 to be able to see on the walk back to our guesthouses but missed the timing. The village really does completely shut down at 10.
The next morning I headed back to Nong Khiaw. I stayed in a great bungalow on the river with terrific views and walked out to a huge cave where 500 villagers hid during the bombings of the Indochina war in 1964. Yesterday I took a sawngtheiw (pickup truck with two rows of benches) back to Luang Probang. The truck comfortably seats 12 in the back. At one point, we had 19. It was a novelty for me, but it is interesting that this is how the people live here. Kind of the sort of thing that makes me greatful for the things I take for granted at home (solid walls, laundry, shower, etc). Also, it reminds me of a joke we heard in Luang Probang (about Thais, but obviously works for Laos too).
Q: How many people fit in a Thai car? A: One more.
After the pickup ride, I got on a bus to Vang Vieng. It took 9 hours so it was a long travel day but I am glad I didn't have to spend another night in LP and travel all day today.
That's where I am. Who's next to come meet me??
Photos for Thailand and N Laos are posted:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stacyb/ThailandNLaos#
