Well Thailand has conveniently changed the length of the VISA they give you if you cross a land boarder and they include the day that you cross!!!!! My flight out is on the 17th and my VISA expires on the 16th - good work Jane :) Now I get to be officially be an over stayer and get charged 500 Baht for the privilege - baaah Thai govt.
The boarder crossing between Laos and Thailand is across the Mekong River - this is such a changing river and it has been fascinating to see it along the way in different countries, in different landscape and view its many different uses.
I travelled this part of my journey with a guy called Matt from London and we were both really excited about having some Thai bus luxury with AC and sealed roads - well we shouldn't have spoken so soon the bus we ended up on to Chiang Rai was more disastrous than in Laos apart from the fact that it wasn't overloaded...
Chiang Ria was just a stop off point to break the journey into Chiang Mai and the second hand book shop was probably the highlight of this destination - such a mesmerising place with wall to wall stocked full of books...
The bus the next day to Chiang Mai was the Thai luxury we were hoping for :)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Laos
So this is the end of my Laos experience and it has been truly wonderful.
From the distinct tourist trail between Laung Prabang and Vientiane to the real Laos of the far north and the Bolaven plateau Laos has taught me many things and allowed me to just be.
In such a self sufficient community environment with no refrigerated transport you notice the changes in your body - no hormones no preservatives and you understand your body so much more! It is a gift to be able to hear your body again and be able to respond to it - you understand how it works and what it needs. It inspires me to change the way I eat when I get home and to use food as a healing mechanism as well as a grastric experience. In addition to this the communities I visited highlight the circle of life there are no fences or ropes the food runs free and breeds like rabbits. Everything (including the people) are either pregnant or suckling the young. It is hard to see in such a rural country coupled with the landscape how the current models of development and reducing the dependence on aid is going to play out - I will be keeping an eye out.
The country does not have such a painful past as Cambodia and so the raw beauty of its people is less spoilt by the atrocities of the past. You cannot help but smile back - need some anti wrinkle cream now :) the mind, body, heart and soul have been broken open and experience everything that comes my way.
Laos was however more expensive than I anticipated, gone are the days when accommodation was 1 or 2 US$ on average the accommodation is more expensive than Viet Nam and of less a quality. One exciting thing about being in Thailand is regular hot water :) It is the simple things in life that make me happy xoxox
Although a lot of the tourist activities in Laos are advertised as being eco friendly and culturally appropriate and the countryside is so beautiful there is no mechanism to deal with the piles of plastic that everything comes in, so I am sorry to say that burning plastic is commonplace.
Laos is where i had my first marriage proposal - a cute little 16 year old boy who was showing me round the caves at Nong Khiew and he told me I was beautiful and that he loved me. once he found out that I was single he tried all his best sales pitches to get me to marry him and take him to Europe. He didnt seem to understand that me marring a 16 year old Lao boy would land me in jail... he then said that he could take care of me when I am old and that young men are more useful and less lazy than older men - just classic!!!!!
It is also a place that saw me drive a motorbike, fall down a waterfall and buy XXL clothes and have the ladies in the shop tell me that I was too big for any of the jeans that I wanted...
I received two of the greatest compliments while in Laos the first was from a guy who I kayaked with in Vang Vieng when he said that he wished he was as happy as I was - when I asked him how he knew I was happy he said simply that I don't stop smiling, I smile with my eyes and he can feel my energy. The second came from someone I was sharing a room with (different beds...) when they said that they hadn't slept so well the whole trip and it was wonderful having someone with such calm around - obviously never seen me when I am waiting for something or having to be somewhere on time... non the less it was a wonderful thing to say.
Ok this blog is getting really long now and I have no idea how many people are still reading it - think it has become more for me than anyone else - especially now that I cant upload the photos :)
It is amazing when you meet just one person who makes to believe and have hope in the future. Our Lao guide for the trek in Laung Nha Tra was just this person, not only was he just gorgeous and super lovely he had such passion and belief for his country and himself and the opportunites that he has. He has applied to the government for a scholarship to go to Korea to learn IT - he was the only Lao person who had a commond of English that I could engage in a conversation about himself, his country and his hopes and dreams.
From the distinct tourist trail between Laung Prabang and Vientiane to the real Laos of the far north and the Bolaven plateau Laos has taught me many things and allowed me to just be.
In such a self sufficient community environment with no refrigerated transport you notice the changes in your body - no hormones no preservatives and you understand your body so much more! It is a gift to be able to hear your body again and be able to respond to it - you understand how it works and what it needs. It inspires me to change the way I eat when I get home and to use food as a healing mechanism as well as a grastric experience. In addition to this the communities I visited highlight the circle of life there are no fences or ropes the food runs free and breeds like rabbits. Everything (including the people) are either pregnant or suckling the young. It is hard to see in such a rural country coupled with the landscape how the current models of development and reducing the dependence on aid is going to play out - I will be keeping an eye out.
The country does not have such a painful past as Cambodia and so the raw beauty of its people is less spoilt by the atrocities of the past. You cannot help but smile back - need some anti wrinkle cream now :) the mind, body, heart and soul have been broken open and experience everything that comes my way.
Laos was however more expensive than I anticipated, gone are the days when accommodation was 1 or 2 US$ on average the accommodation is more expensive than Viet Nam and of less a quality. One exciting thing about being in Thailand is regular hot water :) It is the simple things in life that make me happy xoxox
Although a lot of the tourist activities in Laos are advertised as being eco friendly and culturally appropriate and the countryside is so beautiful there is no mechanism to deal with the piles of plastic that everything comes in, so I am sorry to say that burning plastic is commonplace.
Laos is where i had my first marriage proposal - a cute little 16 year old boy who was showing me round the caves at Nong Khiew and he told me I was beautiful and that he loved me. once he found out that I was single he tried all his best sales pitches to get me to marry him and take him to Europe. He didnt seem to understand that me marring a 16 year old Lao boy would land me in jail... he then said that he could take care of me when I am old and that young men are more useful and less lazy than older men - just classic!!!!!
It is also a place that saw me drive a motorbike, fall down a waterfall and buy XXL clothes and have the ladies in the shop tell me that I was too big for any of the jeans that I wanted...
I received two of the greatest compliments while in Laos the first was from a guy who I kayaked with in Vang Vieng when he said that he wished he was as happy as I was - when I asked him how he knew I was happy he said simply that I don't stop smiling, I smile with my eyes and he can feel my energy. The second came from someone I was sharing a room with (different beds...) when they said that they hadn't slept so well the whole trip and it was wonderful having someone with such calm around - obviously never seen me when I am waiting for something or having to be somewhere on time... non the less it was a wonderful thing to say.
Ok this blog is getting really long now and I have no idea how many people are still reading it - think it has become more for me than anyone else - especially now that I cant upload the photos :)
It is amazing when you meet just one person who makes to believe and have hope in the future. Our Lao guide for the trek in Laung Nha Tra was just this person, not only was he just gorgeous and super lovely he had such passion and belief for his country and himself and the opportunites that he has. He has applied to the government for a scholarship to go to Korea to learn IT - he was the only Lao person who had a commond of English that I could engage in a conversation about himself, his country and his hopes and dreams.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Laung Nha Tra via Udomxai
Banana tree in the light
Me sampling one of the ice blocks in the village
The hut where they send the local teenage boys to sleep by themselves - what a great idea!!1
Playing tug of war with the kids :)
Lunch served up fresh on banana leaves! Delicious
The last stop in Laos for me is the much talked about trekking mecca of Laung Nha Tra. I first heard about this place from a guy I met in Viet Nam and not only did he say that it was beautiful but that the organisation operating the tours to the local villages is very responsible and limited the number of tour groups visiting the villages each month. They also give the villages one third of the trip fee. On the way up to Laung Nha Tra I experienced yet another transport problem (adventure) where we were shuffled from one bus to another which meant that we missed our connection in Udomxai this didn't prove to be such a bad thing as there was a group of us who made the most of the town drinking a few beer Laos. The second leg of the journey we were crowded into a minivan which had just a few too many people in it making for a very uncomfortable journey - in addition to being handed sick bags as we entered the bus and a number of the Lao people being sick on the way up. Whatever amount of time you have in Laos you end up spending at least half of it on a bus - a combination of the poor quality of roads, buses and the very mountainous terrain. But, in saying that it is all part of the experience and makes for great stories to tell.
I headed out for a two day trek with the much talked about Green Discovery to Ban Nam Lai an Akha village. We trekked out through the jungle along and through the river beds - each stop we were asked to look for leaches - fortunately I came away with no leeches. it was a beautiful trek and our guy had so much passion for trekking and his country. He was the first Laotian that I was able to engage in a conversation. I have the most amazing photos of this village and the forest and I am gutted that I cant share them with you - but I promise to go back through the blog when i can access them and upload some.
There was however and bitter taste to this trek with two of the people on out trek not being at all sensitive to the privacy and dignity of the local people and charged off into the village without the guide to make pictures - it upset me that the guide did not step in and prevent such behaviour. Also, after dinner a group of teenage girls came into our hut and while I was busy swapping jewellery with them we were instructed that they were there to give us massages - the guide assured us that is was customary, however I was not comfortable with this and opted to sit outside by the fire and have written a letter to the organisation outlining both of these concerns.
The primitive nature of the cooking and eating but fire and candlelight with banana tree leave table clothes made this one of the more memorable eating occasions. Matt and I also partook in the customary pass round of the Lao Lao followed by the old mans club and Jane sitting round to the early hours knocking back some beer. Apparently I was singing - god help them all and trying to count in Lao - I had a great night and was not too worse for wear the next morning.
Another of my favourite moments from this trip was having a tug of war contest between me (one handed) and five of the local kids - it warmed my heart and they all came running after me when I left.
I headed out for a two day trek with the much talked about Green Discovery to Ban Nam Lai an Akha village. We trekked out through the jungle along and through the river beds - each stop we were asked to look for leaches - fortunately I came away with no leeches. it was a beautiful trek and our guy had so much passion for trekking and his country. He was the first Laotian that I was able to engage in a conversation. I have the most amazing photos of this village and the forest and I am gutted that I cant share them with you - but I promise to go back through the blog when i can access them and upload some.
There was however and bitter taste to this trek with two of the people on out trek not being at all sensitive to the privacy and dignity of the local people and charged off into the village without the guide to make pictures - it upset me that the guide did not step in and prevent such behaviour. Also, after dinner a group of teenage girls came into our hut and while I was busy swapping jewellery with them we were instructed that they were there to give us massages - the guide assured us that is was customary, however I was not comfortable with this and opted to sit outside by the fire and have written a letter to the organisation outlining both of these concerns.
The primitive nature of the cooking and eating but fire and candlelight with banana tree leave table clothes made this one of the more memorable eating occasions. Matt and I also partook in the customary pass round of the Lao Lao followed by the old mans club and Jane sitting round to the early hours knocking back some beer. Apparently I was singing - god help them all and trying to count in Lao - I had a great night and was not too worse for wear the next morning.
Another of my favourite moments from this trip was having a tug of war contest between me (one handed) and five of the local kids - it warmed my heart and they all came running after me when I left.
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