I should mention my trip to the market the other day, simply because it was the first time there was really crazy food. IN one stretch of 5 stalls (people sitting on the ground) there was one hacked up snake (it had been a biggie) and bunch of frogs tied together in a basket, and best of all 2 dead squirrels. My guess is they were living int he woman's roof, and she happened to kill them and figured she may as well try and make some money saelling them as throw them in the river.
markets are great (thast's where the cheap food in plastic bagfs is). ANd usually its just meat and veggies, the oddities are rare. But while I'm thinking about it, plastic bags. Every time you buy anything you get given one. Bottle of water, anything. Sometimes if you buy a pop the pop gets poured into abag and you get a straw with it. I think they do that so they can recycle the bottle. It's kinda weird how many bags are issued in a day.
Speaking of that...garbage. Every once in a while you stumble upon a pile of the stuff on the river bankj or somewhere. It's just dumped. I guess we can't exactly tell them not to make the mistakes we have already made, but it's messy. I guess the filth justy doesn't amtter, adn probably at least once a year with a good rain it just gets swept into the river and away.
Okay, I think that's enough for today. My mind is beginning to wander, and this is costing the big bucks. I will bid you all adieu.
But three more thoughts. The Beauty Saloon here in town...gotta love mistranslations and that's a good one.
Finally. Although they're monks, they still use technology. I walked by some watching TV today and I so wanted a puicture from trhe back to get them abnd the TV...oh well. it's just kinda hard to explain to them what you want to do. You see some with cell phones, or on the net, and my other great picture idea is to get one of a monk witha camera taking a picture of me. CLASSIC!
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Turkeys
There were a lot of Turkeys in NK/MN. The only reason I mention this is that was the first place I really noticed turkeys. Then I realized that the first place I noticed turkeys happened to be on the same day as American Thanksgiving. In teh top five turkey slaughtering days of the year.
My theory is Laos, as anation only recently on speaking terms with the US, is an ideal place for turkeys to hide adn organize. Eventually they will return to their homelands armed to the teeth and mad as hell. Look out!
My theory is Laos, as anation only recently on speaking terms with the US, is an ideal place for turkeys to hide adn organize. Eventually they will return to their homelands armed to the teeth and mad as hell. Look out!
Luang Prabang
So it turns out where I just was is called NongKhiaw but I was actually across the river in Mung Ngoi. I'm pretty sure that's right. Not that anyone is reading any of this of course. You're all in your igloos or hunting beavers or cutting trees or something. Man the French are stupid. Well I guess not all of them, but this one girl really was. And she called herself a psychologist.
Anywhoo...
So now we're in Luang Prabang. Our last night in NK/MN was wonderful except the roosters seemed particularly loud and there were dogs fighting somewhere in the distance. Sleeping in a bamboo bungalow doesn't give the best sound insulation so you hear these kind of things. I guess the roosters wouldn't be so bad if there weren't other roosters. One is always trying to out cockadoodledoo the other. I suppose if they didn't have this ingrained tendency then we wouldn't have cock fighting, and where would the world be then? Probably in a much worse state.
So Luang Prabang. A UNESCO world heritage site and from what I can see well deserving. The French were pretty busy here, and to sound like all the tourist pamphlets, that combined with the Buddhist architecture all over the place to make an interesting little plavcce wedged onto a peninsula between two rivers. Of course I would much rather be here in about 1850...now that would be cool, but whater you gonna do? Invent a time machine (hopefully).
There are some things to see and do outside the town, but both the waterfall and cave are 30km or so away and would cost $10 for a round trip. I know it's not a lot but that can also be me eating sleeping and buying things for a day (or two if I'm really careful). The cave (called Pak Ou) is where they put all sorts of old Buddha statues and sculptures from temples, so it would be neat, but I think I've already made my point about sculptures.
After getting allexcited about the first dragons I saw at a tample (because they really look badass) with them too I've lost the excitement. They do tend to repeat a bit so, no more pics. Sometimes there's a lion or something, but even then...no more pics. I've really cut back on those...
One of the big things to do here is to wake up bright and early and watch the monks collectiing alms. They stop eating at noon the day before so by dawn they get pretty hungry I'd imagine. Without getting too flowery (here because I'm saving my best adjectives for teh published version which you will all have to pay for), it was pretty cool. Seeing a line of 100plus orange robed monks walking down the early dawn street in siolence is cool. They're all barefoot, adn the people giving also have shoes off. Men can stand but women have to kneel. Everyone has rice (sometimes otehr things like one bag of chips I saw) and tehy take handfuls and put it into the monks little bukcets. I call these monk snacks. And when you put a whole bunch of monk snacks together you get a monk meal.
Personally the idea of eating dozenbs of little balls of rice, mashed together by various hands in various statres of cleanliness isn't terribly appealing to me. But then I'm not a monk. And since this world doesn't exist you may as well have dirty rice as clean because in Nirvana it won't matter. I kinda want to be a monk for three months or something like that. Just to get a feel for the whole thing, and be able to tell the story accrurately if I have to write about it. That and would get to wear an orange robe and be bald. So I guess, either someone makes me an orange robe or I become a monk because I'm already bald.
Noght market here is funand I'm sure it would be more fun if I really really really liked buying silk and wood carvings and silver, adn pipes. Oh and spade tips seem to be quite popular too. But as I said, I'm saving my pennies.
I climbed the hill in town yesterday, it is call Phu Si. This is pronounced poo see, and well I won't make any jokes about the PhuSi massage parlour I found on main street. The view was okay, and there were some interesting sites. Once again though...I've seen a lot of temples and at this point they have to be pretty cool to imprress. There was a cave up there. I liked it and even took a picture. There wqas also an imprint of Buddha's foot. He must have been like 20 feet tall, or more likely once you achieve Nirvana you can be whatever size you want.
You know what they say about Buddha's with big feet??? They'll kill you.
Anywhoo...
So now we're in Luang Prabang. Our last night in NK/MN was wonderful except the roosters seemed particularly loud and there were dogs fighting somewhere in the distance. Sleeping in a bamboo bungalow doesn't give the best sound insulation so you hear these kind of things. I guess the roosters wouldn't be so bad if there weren't other roosters. One is always trying to out cockadoodledoo the other. I suppose if they didn't have this ingrained tendency then we wouldn't have cock fighting, and where would the world be then? Probably in a much worse state.
So Luang Prabang. A UNESCO world heritage site and from what I can see well deserving. The French were pretty busy here, and to sound like all the tourist pamphlets, that combined with the Buddhist architecture all over the place to make an interesting little plavcce wedged onto a peninsula between two rivers. Of course I would much rather be here in about 1850...now that would be cool, but whater you gonna do? Invent a time machine (hopefully).
There are some things to see and do outside the town, but both the waterfall and cave are 30km or so away and would cost $10 for a round trip. I know it's not a lot but that can also be me eating sleeping and buying things for a day (or two if I'm really careful). The cave (called Pak Ou) is where they put all sorts of old Buddha statues and sculptures from temples, so it would be neat, but I think I've already made my point about sculptures.
After getting allexcited about the first dragons I saw at a tample (because they really look badass) with them too I've lost the excitement. They do tend to repeat a bit so, no more pics. Sometimes there's a lion or something, but even then...no more pics. I've really cut back on those...
One of the big things to do here is to wake up bright and early and watch the monks collectiing alms. They stop eating at noon the day before so by dawn they get pretty hungry I'd imagine. Without getting too flowery (here because I'm saving my best adjectives for teh published version which you will all have to pay for), it was pretty cool. Seeing a line of 100plus orange robed monks walking down the early dawn street in siolence is cool. They're all barefoot, adn the people giving also have shoes off. Men can stand but women have to kneel. Everyone has rice (sometimes otehr things like one bag of chips I saw) and tehy take handfuls and put it into the monks little bukcets. I call these monk snacks. And when you put a whole bunch of monk snacks together you get a monk meal.
Personally the idea of eating dozenbs of little balls of rice, mashed together by various hands in various statres of cleanliness isn't terribly appealing to me. But then I'm not a monk. And since this world doesn't exist you may as well have dirty rice as clean because in Nirvana it won't matter. I kinda want to be a monk for three months or something like that. Just to get a feel for the whole thing, and be able to tell the story accrurately if I have to write about it. That and would get to wear an orange robe and be bald. So I guess, either someone makes me an orange robe or I become a monk because I'm already bald.
Noght market here is funand I'm sure it would be more fun if I really really really liked buying silk and wood carvings and silver, adn pipes. Oh and spade tips seem to be quite popular too. But as I said, I'm saving my pennies.
I climbed the hill in town yesterday, it is call Phu Si. This is pronounced poo see, and well I won't make any jokes about the PhuSi massage parlour I found on main street. The view was okay, and there were some interesting sites. Once again though...I've seen a lot of temples and at this point they have to be pretty cool to imprress. There was a cave up there. I liked it and even took a picture. There wqas also an imprint of Buddha's foot. He must have been like 20 feet tall, or more likely once you achieve Nirvana you can be whatever size you want.
You know what they say about Buddha's with big feet??? They'll kill you.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Trekking and more
I was thinking of giving a few posts here but because the internet is so onsanely slow and so (relatively) expensive I'm either going to write it all in here. Maybe I'll go full out, maybe I'll abbreviate or maybe I'll just get lazy and quit part way.
We went on our trek last Monday and Tuesday and it was a lot of fun. We hiked up a big mountain, then down the other side into a village. Learned about some of the architecture, how they keep their rice huts rat free and all that jazz. When we were there we were given free run of the village. We slept in a hut that was made using traditional styles, but made by the tourism authority strictly for trekker use. The treks in Laos are tightly regulated and much less commercial than the ones in Chiang Mai (so I've been told) but still those hoping to find untouched hill tribes will have to go farther afield. These ones have had tours going through for four years now and many of the people just seem used to it.
That might be because most of the people we actually saw in the village were children. Most adults, and even a few of the children were out in teh field working on the rice harvest. And because the fields are pretty far away, most sleep there over night. The children that remained did everythinf, from feeding the animals to making supper for whoever was a around. I'm even talking about 6 year olds caring for thir one year old siblings. Would you leave a 6 year old in charge of a baby? No, well apparently North American kids aren't being given enough credit for what they're capable of.
Of course they were still kids and played a lot, including some game with a flip flop a stcik and elastic bands (FUN!). I went around trying to teach some of tehm my finger trick...I think they were very impressed.
Food on the trip was great, lettuce, noodles, eggplant dip and lots and lots of sticky rice (every meal). The only disappointing dish was a couple of chickens we had for lunch. They were just hacked to bits and cooked. Tough to find the meat amopngst the bones.
We visited another village on the second day where the women still dressed traditionally, but that hardly meant they were untouched. Handicrafts emerged and they waited until our desires for photos were sated.
Some of the kids have grown up knowing tourists and know what we like. One boy was giving his baby sister a bath and was sure to turn her towards the camera for a perfect shot when he saw us there.
At times you feel like people watching other people at a zoo...in fact one time at a school I was actually taking a picture through bars. But I guess we're helpijg them financially be being there, and I hope to send some of the pictures back. Strengthen the connection and all that.
Our hike out was amazing . Difficult (not for me of course) up a mountain stream through bamboo jungle, real jungle and ...just wow. Unfortunately the roll of film I thought I had packed disappeared, so I get pictures of teh people but not the scenery. Close your eyes and imagine the most vivid postcard or movie from SE Asia and you've got it. Maybe I'll find a good pastcard to send, but probably not.
We were going to chill for a couple of days in Luang Nam Tha, but a rat in our room at the guesthouse after the trek meant we were going to move places anyway and just decided to leave. We are in...hmm can't remember the name. It's north and a bit east of Luang Prabang for those with a map and it is stunning.
The mountains here are steep limstone jobbies so you can see the rock. The town is two towns seperated by a river adn a lovely bridge. I walked across it tonight...just great. I definitely want to come back here with teh intention of doing some serious writing. The spot in the hammock on the veranda outside my bamboo bungalow sounds liek a good place to write.
I'll try to talk a bit mroe about this place later.
Moving arond so much makes you feel like you're seeing but not really experiencing. I guess that's what the second trip will be for.
I managed to leave Luang Nam Tha without hitting the bank and cashing a cheque so hard currency is a bit low and I must depart.
We went on our trek last Monday and Tuesday and it was a lot of fun. We hiked up a big mountain, then down the other side into a village. Learned about some of the architecture, how they keep their rice huts rat free and all that jazz. When we were there we were given free run of the village. We slept in a hut that was made using traditional styles, but made by the tourism authority strictly for trekker use. The treks in Laos are tightly regulated and much less commercial than the ones in Chiang Mai (so I've been told) but still those hoping to find untouched hill tribes will have to go farther afield. These ones have had tours going through for four years now and many of the people just seem used to it.
That might be because most of the people we actually saw in the village were children. Most adults, and even a few of the children were out in teh field working on the rice harvest. And because the fields are pretty far away, most sleep there over night. The children that remained did everythinf, from feeding the animals to making supper for whoever was a around. I'm even talking about 6 year olds caring for thir one year old siblings. Would you leave a 6 year old in charge of a baby? No, well apparently North American kids aren't being given enough credit for what they're capable of.
Of course they were still kids and played a lot, including some game with a flip flop a stcik and elastic bands (FUN!). I went around trying to teach some of tehm my finger trick...I think they were very impressed.
Food on the trip was great, lettuce, noodles, eggplant dip and lots and lots of sticky rice (every meal). The only disappointing dish was a couple of chickens we had for lunch. They were just hacked to bits and cooked. Tough to find the meat amopngst the bones.
We visited another village on the second day where the women still dressed traditionally, but that hardly meant they were untouched. Handicrafts emerged and they waited until our desires for photos were sated.
Some of the kids have grown up knowing tourists and know what we like. One boy was giving his baby sister a bath and was sure to turn her towards the camera for a perfect shot when he saw us there.
At times you feel like people watching other people at a zoo...in fact one time at a school I was actually taking a picture through bars. But I guess we're helpijg them financially be being there, and I hope to send some of the pictures back. Strengthen the connection and all that.
Our hike out was amazing . Difficult (not for me of course) up a mountain stream through bamboo jungle, real jungle and ...just wow. Unfortunately the roll of film I thought I had packed disappeared, so I get pictures of teh people but not the scenery. Close your eyes and imagine the most vivid postcard or movie from SE Asia and you've got it. Maybe I'll find a good pastcard to send, but probably not.
We were going to chill for a couple of days in Luang Nam Tha, but a rat in our room at the guesthouse after the trek meant we were going to move places anyway and just decided to leave. We are in...hmm can't remember the name. It's north and a bit east of Luang Prabang for those with a map and it is stunning.
The mountains here are steep limstone jobbies so you can see the rock. The town is two towns seperated by a river adn a lovely bridge. I walked across it tonight...just great. I definitely want to come back here with teh intention of doing some serious writing. The spot in the hammock on the veranda outside my bamboo bungalow sounds liek a good place to write.
I'll try to talk a bit mroe about this place later.
Moving arond so much makes you feel like you're seeing but not really experiencing. I guess that's what the second trip will be for.
I managed to leave Luang Nam Tha without hitting the bank and cashing a cheque so hard currency is a bit low and I must depart.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
Mountain adventure
So I went looking for a clearing up a little mountain that would give me a view of teh town. After climbing for a long time Giuliana gave up and went back down. I pushed on and stumbled upon some people coming up the mountain's side. I was a bit worried, this being the golden triangle and all, but I figured I was up a mountain now and if I didn't go right to the top I never would.
It turned out it was just a family picking rice from the SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN!!!! I guess they didnt get enough from teh flat bits, or maybe their village was lakcing land or something (some women had traditional dress). But the people weer all over th eplace carrying huge sacks of rice around their heads. Some people were carrying abamboo logs on their head...it ws crazy.
There was a whole network of paths along the edges of teh mountains and the people were moving along them with their loads. It was nearer the end of the day so I guess tey weer beginning to make their way home. I just wanted to get to the top and kept trying to ask people, they all said yes teh path led to the top so I kept going. Eventually I realized they all must have thought I wanted to go to the other side because thats where the path was going. Or maybe they didn't understand me at all.
Whatever the case I scrambled up the side of the mountain myslef and POW. WHat a scene. It was great. Whole mountains have had a lot of their tree cover removed so their are stumps and logs everywhere, but the grasses adn rice that has grown up hides these from a distance. There also seems to have been a lot of fires at the tops. Set by lightning or people I don't know. But the coolest thing for me at least was all the shelters. There are all these elevated huts built onto the sides of the mountains. You see them in rice paddies and fields in teh valleys too and they are just sun shelters for when people need to stop their labouring. Seeing them all over the mountain side was way cooler. It wasn't like there was one every 20 feet but here and there they were spread. There seemed to be a lot to me at least, but I guess it makes sense. If you just walked up a mountain carrying a 60lbs bag of rice on your head, do you really want to have to go looking for a shelter for your lunch or whatever. Some of them looked older and less used than others. I hope my pictures from up there turn out. The whole day was hazy because there were so many people in teh flat lands burning studd in their fields. COOL!
There were times walking past some people I was a little nervous though. They were looking at me funny, adn although it was probably "what's this idiot doing up here" I wondered if it might be "He'd better not find our huge amounts of weed" . Also across the valley on mountains where I was not walking there were some odd agricultural plots. Like lines of crops on teh sides of mountains, near the tops. Not tiered or anything like rice paddies just a few short rows running down teh hill. Who knows? But you have to wonder.
It was also fun today at breakfast when the village ladies tried to sell us their handmade whatevers adn when that failed, their voices would drop and they'd pop out a little bag of opium. Good times. If I was going to smoke opium this would be the place!!!!
Oh and one last thing. Kids in teh villages LOVE saying sabadee. It means hello and when tehy see you coming they start jumping up and down, waving and yelling it, always pleased to get that word back. Even teh quiet ones will smile if you say it to them. Sometimes you get "SAbadee, hello." then a goodbye when you're leaving. My favourite though was one girl who said "Hello how are you today" in very well enunciated english. Of course when I said fine thank you and you, she had no clue what I was saying.
Sometimes I think some of the kids think of us as "The Hello People". I'm sure they understadnt their own language's word, but the way they will whisper sabadee to one another and poiunt when they see us coming and then say it to us and wave when we arrive makes me wonder. White, black, Laos, Thai and Sabadee. All races of the world unite!
Tht's enough of that. Hope all is well with all. I have a trek tomorrowm so I must pack and sleep.
It turned out it was just a family picking rice from the SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN!!!! I guess they didnt get enough from teh flat bits, or maybe their village was lakcing land or something (some women had traditional dress). But the people weer all over th eplace carrying huge sacks of rice around their heads. Some people were carrying abamboo logs on their head...it ws crazy.
There was a whole network of paths along the edges of teh mountains and the people were moving along them with their loads. It was nearer the end of the day so I guess tey weer beginning to make their way home. I just wanted to get to the top and kept trying to ask people, they all said yes teh path led to the top so I kept going. Eventually I realized they all must have thought I wanted to go to the other side because thats where the path was going. Or maybe they didn't understand me at all.
Whatever the case I scrambled up the side of the mountain myslef and POW. WHat a scene. It was great. Whole mountains have had a lot of their tree cover removed so their are stumps and logs everywhere, but the grasses adn rice that has grown up hides these from a distance. There also seems to have been a lot of fires at the tops. Set by lightning or people I don't know. But the coolest thing for me at least was all the shelters. There are all these elevated huts built onto the sides of the mountains. You see them in rice paddies and fields in teh valleys too and they are just sun shelters for when people need to stop their labouring. Seeing them all over the mountain side was way cooler. It wasn't like there was one every 20 feet but here and there they were spread. There seemed to be a lot to me at least, but I guess it makes sense. If you just walked up a mountain carrying a 60lbs bag of rice on your head, do you really want to have to go looking for a shelter for your lunch or whatever. Some of them looked older and less used than others. I hope my pictures from up there turn out. The whole day was hazy because there were so many people in teh flat lands burning studd in their fields. COOL!
There were times walking past some people I was a little nervous though. They were looking at me funny, adn although it was probably "what's this idiot doing up here" I wondered if it might be "He'd better not find our huge amounts of weed" . Also across the valley on mountains where I was not walking there were some odd agricultural plots. Like lines of crops on teh sides of mountains, near the tops. Not tiered or anything like rice paddies just a few short rows running down teh hill. Who knows? But you have to wonder.
It was also fun today at breakfast when the village ladies tried to sell us their handmade whatevers adn when that failed, their voices would drop and they'd pop out a little bag of opium. Good times. If I was going to smoke opium this would be the place!!!!
Oh and one last thing. Kids in teh villages LOVE saying sabadee. It means hello and when tehy see you coming they start jumping up and down, waving and yelling it, always pleased to get that word back. Even teh quiet ones will smile if you say it to them. Sometimes you get "SAbadee, hello." then a goodbye when you're leaving. My favourite though was one girl who said "Hello how are you today" in very well enunciated english. Of course when I said fine thank you and you, she had no clue what I was saying.
Sometimes I think some of the kids think of us as "The Hello People". I'm sure they understadnt their own language's word, but the way they will whisper sabadee to one another and poiunt when they see us coming and then say it to us and wave when we arrive makes me wonder. White, black, Laos, Thai and Sabadee. All races of the world unite!
Tht's enough of that. Hope all is well with all. I have a trek tomorrowm so I must pack and sleep.
Laos first impressions
We made our trip from Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong without any trouble thn managed to avoid the tuktuks who offered to take us to the boat for 70 Baht each!!!! I know I said I would stop, but yikes! We ended up walking. Did all the border stuff then jumped on a "ferry" to the other side.
Their border was fun, a girl in a jean jacket and skirt coming down the boat ramp to give us our forms we needed to fill out (we'd already done our Visas so no border gouging was available). Filled out the forms which were just xeroxed sheets of paper, then traded in some money $1US = 40 Baht = 10200 kip about. So I am very wealthy. Huge wads of 5000 kip notes handed over to me for my 900baht. Found a guest house then debated taking teh slow boat to Luang Nam Tha. It would have cost $100Us to rent the thing between however many people were on, and even at capacity would still cost $35 because of food and stuff at the boatman's village. WOuld have been cool but too much money. WE decided to take the bus whihc the guesthouse kindly arranged, with a fee that included a ride to the station but was still enoough to cover the trouble of getting the tickets for us, shall we say. The guesthouse came out alright. Before I get to the bus ride though...
Laos is a lovely place, not much in the way of lights though. Huay Xai where we landed was just a long strip along the river. The tuktuks were just motorbikes with a side car welded on, not the sturdy trike models in Thailand and everything was a bit older, more rundown etc. It's noce though. Had our first weed offered to us by some random dude at the top of the temple stares. Kinda weird, being in Laos for 2 hours, walking up 137 steps (or whatever) to the Buddhist temple and having some guy offer you weed while monks cant from within. Weird but cool.
The bus ride was insane. 8 hours for under 2 km. This road was a main one in the area, in fact all the roads that exist in Laos are probably main ones because they barely have any. This thing was dusty, single lane, hugging the edges of mountains, slowing for the biggest holes in the road, fording streams, threepoint turns around some jacknife corners...the whole nine yards. Super sweet.
Here in Luang Nam Tha, we quickly found a guest house and today we booked a two day trek into the nature preserve that leaves tomorrow. The trekking here is actually better controlled and run thatn in Thailand. The government and the UN got in there just as the industry was beginnning so tour sizes are limited, guids are licensed adn inmpact on both environment and villages is limited. Should be fun.
We also rented some bikes and went out to a waterfall. When we got there along with an entrance feee the old guy at the gate kindly pointed out the sign that detailed costs for whtevere vehicle you brought in. He said he ould watch it for us, but I would have found it easier to pay if it hasd just been a parking fee. Oh well. The falls themselves were okay, nothing spectacular though.
I'm going to tell you about my next adventure in a seperate blog. orry to rush through things but money is money.
Their border was fun, a girl in a jean jacket and skirt coming down the boat ramp to give us our forms we needed to fill out (we'd already done our Visas so no border gouging was available). Filled out the forms which were just xeroxed sheets of paper, then traded in some money $1US = 40 Baht = 10200 kip about. So I am very wealthy. Huge wads of 5000 kip notes handed over to me for my 900baht. Found a guest house then debated taking teh slow boat to Luang Nam Tha. It would have cost $100Us to rent the thing between however many people were on, and even at capacity would still cost $35 because of food and stuff at the boatman's village. WOuld have been cool but too much money. WE decided to take the bus whihc the guesthouse kindly arranged, with a fee that included a ride to the station but was still enoough to cover the trouble of getting the tickets for us, shall we say. The guesthouse came out alright. Before I get to the bus ride though...
Laos is a lovely place, not much in the way of lights though. Huay Xai where we landed was just a long strip along the river. The tuktuks were just motorbikes with a side car welded on, not the sturdy trike models in Thailand and everything was a bit older, more rundown etc. It's noce though. Had our first weed offered to us by some random dude at the top of the temple stares. Kinda weird, being in Laos for 2 hours, walking up 137 steps (or whatever) to the Buddhist temple and having some guy offer you weed while monks cant from within. Weird but cool.
The bus ride was insane. 8 hours for under 2 km. This road was a main one in the area, in fact all the roads that exist in Laos are probably main ones because they barely have any. This thing was dusty, single lane, hugging the edges of mountains, slowing for the biggest holes in the road, fording streams, threepoint turns around some jacknife corners...the whole nine yards. Super sweet.
Here in Luang Nam Tha, we quickly found a guest house and today we booked a two day trek into the nature preserve that leaves tomorrow. The trekking here is actually better controlled and run thatn in Thailand. The government and the UN got in there just as the industry was beginnning so tour sizes are limited, guids are licensed adn inmpact on both environment and villages is limited. Should be fun.
We also rented some bikes and went out to a waterfall. When we got there along with an entrance feee the old guy at the gate kindly pointed out the sign that detailed costs for whtevere vehicle you brought in. He said he ould watch it for us, but I would have found it easier to pay if it hasd just been a parking fee. Oh well. The falls themselves were okay, nothing spectacular though.
I'm going to tell you about my next adventure in a seperate blog. orry to rush through things but money is money.
Tuks tuks the end
Okay. From now on there's going to be a bit more structure to each post (hopefully).
Tukstuks. I don't like being ripped off, but I am a white dude. As such there are certain assumptions made that I am rich. And in actual fact I am when I am here. As such one must expect a little excessive charging (I guess). These guys are just trying to feed their family, watch some Muay Thai and get drunk out of their chairs from time to time just like the rest of us. So I have to accept that. Phew...now I'm an open minded traveller.
At the same time when I pay 40 Baht to go over 200 km in a bus, it's a little hard to rationalize a 3 minute tuk tuk ride costing the same...and yes I know buses and cabs are different. Whatever...the end of tuk tuks.
Tukstuks. I don't like being ripped off, but I am a white dude. As such there are certain assumptions made that I am rich. And in actual fact I am when I am here. As such one must expect a little excessive charging (I guess). These guys are just trying to feed their family, watch some Muay Thai and get drunk out of their chairs from time to time just like the rest of us. So I have to accept that. Phew...now I'm an open minded traveller.
At the same time when I pay 40 Baht to go over 200 km in a bus, it's a little hard to rationalize a 3 minute tuk tuk ride costing the same...and yes I know buses and cabs are different. Whatever...the end of tuk tuks.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Chiang Mai to Laos
When I'm in these internet places I feel like I'm under pressure to wirte quickly. Weird because it isn't very expensive but that's the way I feel. I'm going to use that as my excuse when a post doen't make sense, or perhaps verges on the offensive. I'll try and keep it clean, and relatively focused, but you're coming here of your own accord so what do I care.
I like the fact that I have to be so careful when writing to family and friends just because I don't want to look like the easily frustrated and angry westerner that I am.
Today we leave Chiang Mai, a place that if I had more time and money to burn I would happily stay for a long time. Cooler air, more relaxed than Bangkok and lots of fun things like Thai cooking and language classes. Unfortunaately our destiny calls us to Laos...come to think of it hardly unfortunate at all.
I don't know what the situation will be there as far as internet and all so you will just have to wait and see where the next post comes from.
AS I said before I feel too pressured in places like this. Next time I enter one I'll have a well thought out and eloquent speech on things foreign. It will somehow explain how all cultures and religions can live together and happily coexist on this small blue ball we call earth. I think the answer might have something to do with large vats of gravy, professional wrestling and free butterchotch ripple ice cream for all!!! Oh and interbreeding, that'll be important too.
UNtil we meet again, this is James making no sense and avoiding prison, signing off.
I like the fact that I have to be so careful when writing to family and friends just because I don't want to look like the easily frustrated and angry westerner that I am.
Today we leave Chiang Mai, a place that if I had more time and money to burn I would happily stay for a long time. Cooler air, more relaxed than Bangkok and lots of fun things like Thai cooking and language classes. Unfortunaately our destiny calls us to Laos...come to think of it hardly unfortunate at all.
I don't know what the situation will be there as far as internet and all so you will just have to wait and see where the next post comes from.
AS I said before I feel too pressured in places like this. Next time I enter one I'll have a well thought out and eloquent speech on things foreign. It will somehow explain how all cultures and religions can live together and happily coexist on this small blue ball we call earth. I think the answer might have something to do with large vats of gravy, professional wrestling and free butterchotch ripple ice cream for all!!! Oh and interbreeding, that'll be important too.
UNtil we meet again, this is James making no sense and avoiding prison, signing off.
Thoughts on Temples
Khon Kaen to Chiang Mai was a long long long bus ride. I especially appreciated the ass in front me who put his chair bag. Now these chairs are set up so they can go way further back than any Canadian bus. I had my legs WIDE. I couldn't move. Stupid bastard. Fortunately after our rest stop, something jammed his charid and prevented him from putting it back at all. That was of course my knees. Heh.
Chiang Mai rules. Slightly cooler (near the mountains) and the areas we want to get to are all within walking distance. There are even some neato ruins of the old city walls around to keep me entertained.
There are so many temples about, and unfirtunate4ly a lot of them lack teh holy tranquility one might expect to find. Maybe it's the cab drivers that wait outside to bother you afterwards, the ones that drop you 3km out of towm...although I shouldn't say too much. After all I didn't clarify with the driver that I wanted to go past the zoo.
I'm going to have to be careful about this whole blog thing. I want to seem like a worldy traveller to all my adoring fans but at the same time that means I have to accept all the wonderful differences within society here. I have to smile and nod and just accept it. As some of you may know, from time to to time I will criticize others. This doesn't neccessarily mean I think I'm right, just that something someone else is doing bothers me.
So if I happen to launch into a diatribe about why there are too many temples here, relaz. I still repect the culture and am an open minded traveller. At the same time though, I am also James and consider myself an equal opportunity critiquer.
I'll happily make fun of a Catholic that pisses me off, so why can't I do the same for Buddhists? To me everyone is equal.
Well now that I sound like a big prick, I'll be quiet. I think I'm just over tired and cranky. FREAKING TUKTUKS!!!!
Chiang Mai rules. Slightly cooler (near the mountains) and the areas we want to get to are all within walking distance. There are even some neato ruins of the old city walls around to keep me entertained.
There are so many temples about, and unfirtunate4ly a lot of them lack teh holy tranquility one might expect to find. Maybe it's the cab drivers that wait outside to bother you afterwards, the ones that drop you 3km out of towm...although I shouldn't say too much. After all I didn't clarify with the driver that I wanted to go past the zoo.
I'm going to have to be careful about this whole blog thing. I want to seem like a worldy traveller to all my adoring fans but at the same time that means I have to accept all the wonderful differences within society here. I have to smile and nod and just accept it. As some of you may know, from time to to time I will criticize others. This doesn't neccessarily mean I think I'm right, just that something someone else is doing bothers me.
So if I happen to launch into a diatribe about why there are too many temples here, relaz. I still repect the culture and am an open minded traveller. At the same time though, I am also James and consider myself an equal opportunity critiquer.
I'll happily make fun of a Catholic that pisses me off, so why can't I do the same for Buddhists? To me everyone is equal.
Well now that I sound like a big prick, I'll be quiet. I think I'm just over tired and cranky. FREAKING TUKTUKS!!!!
Hello
Figured this would be a tonne faster than writing emails all over the place...that and I don't need to email and stuff. WHich can be a hassle I suppose.
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