Life in Laos

So you've heard about my trip to the north and how I spent my birthday, but heres a rundown of what I got up to in the rest of the country.

THE NORTH
I started off in the north west border town of Houxai, a fairly basic introduction to the country with not much going for it except for a steady stream of tourists to make money out of. Because the Laos currency is slightly.... prone to fluctuation, not many people exchange their money outside of the country so I was revealed to find an ATM there. I sat with some new friends, overlooking the mighty Mekong river with a bottle of Beer Lao, something that at the time I didn't know was going to become very familiar.

I took the bus to Oudoxmai in the middle of the north of the country. The roads are terrible here and a journey takes twice as long as it should do just because of it. They are trying to mend them but its a bit like painting the forth road bridge, a never ending task. One important thing I found out about Laos is the concept of 'Laos time'. This is a state of mind where nothing is rushed. As soon as you try and fight the system to get somewhere fast, it fights back with its joker card, 'Laos time'. You simply have to give in and go with the flow other wise it becomes exhausting.

I had a great time in the north, and really felt off the beaten track and saw a lot of amazing things. The hills are just stunning and seem endless. The rivers used to be the lifeblood of the country and for many still are carving their way through almost every town. I spend many a day relaxing on a boat heading for another place somewhere down stream. The country is simple and there is little western influence, something ive only realised since I got into Phnom Penh. I think to many its communist vibe is what keeps them out.

Luang Prabang
Most people get a 2 day slow boat down the Mekong with 59 other 'Falang' (white people) from the border town where I entered, to Luang Prabang the ancient capital of Laos and home to an amazing array of temples. It was made a UNESCO world heritage sight in 1994 and you have to wonder what UNESCO was thinking before then, because its a precious place. Beautified with old colonial french architecture and still keeps a very Laos vibe with the many temples. I made the effort to rise at 5.15 one morning to see the monks do their monking and wonder the town for the giving alms ceremony that they do every morning. Its one of those things that if the tourists wernt there then maybe they wouldn't do it every day but it was great to see. Its one of those towns where you could spend a while watching the days go by. Its one of the few places where there seems alot of older tourists, maybe catering for them a bit more than the party town of Vang Vieng.

Vang Vieng & the SAELAO family
I was originally going to head over to Phonsavan home of the plain of jars, strange ceramic pots dotted among the countryside that nobody really knows much about, but I changed my mind on the morning of my bus. I instead headed to the Infamous town of Vang Vieng, home to many a drunk gap year tourist hell bent on being a dick. The main attraction is the tubing, the art of getting pissed on a river whilst sitting in a tractor tyre inner tube and the crazy slides which together have killed 8 people just this year. Although I was planning on joining the party I found something which was far better, the Saelao Project as reccomended by Jane who I did my trek in the north with. Run by Bob, a Lao born man with excellent grasp of English having spent 12 years in Canada, the SAELAO project sits 7 km out from the chaos of Vang Vieng a stones through from some incredible caves and Blue Lagoon. Its a beautiful place designed to set an example to the local community about sustainability. Thanks to the influx of falang the once small town of Vang Vieng has exploded in size having a new guesthouse built every 38 days! Bobs aim is to help educate the local people about how this isn't sustainable and learn about how to gather materials needed for expansion, without destroying the landscape. There's a restaurant which cooks meat from the village, uses rice from the fields using on a stove supplied by gas made from cow dung. It teaches English to locals and has a newly built community centre, the only problem being the lack of volunteers and money to keep the good work flowing constantly. Working on the project was one of the best things in Laos, I only spent 5 days there but would love to go back if I get the chance, its an amazing place to live.

Vientiane
Vientiane is quite unremarkable in almost every way. I was expecting more from the capital which just sprawls out like a large town more than a city. I did take a chance to visit the national museum which gives a bias outlook on the history of the war against the ''imperialist Americans'' who bombed Laos repeatedly during the Vietnam war, making Laos the most bombed country ever. This was the reason I took Rachel's advice and headed over to a place called Cope. Cope is a centre for amputees who have lost limbs thanks to the UXO (Unexploded ordinance) which still litter the Lao countryside. Many don't see them before they explode, and for others the high price for scrap metal makes rooting around a risk worth taking. It was really interesting, especially knowing that a custom made new limb can be made for only 30 pounds. I pride myself on being able to sleep almost anywhere, that was before I left Vientiane on the sleeper bus bound for Pakse, a truly headbanging experience.

Pakse & the Bolvean Plateau
Another unremarkable town but a base camp for trips out over the Bolvean plateau, a lush wetland teeming with waterfalls and other beautiful natural sights. I did this on a 2 day loop with 3 other europeans on motorbikes. Aware that if my Dad knew he would freak out I chose not to mention that before the trip. It was truly beautiful, and 2 burst tyres was not enough to flatten my spirits. Riding through dusk as the sun was going down, on roads lined with the most beautiful villages as all the kids waved as we went by was just amazing and another experience I was not going to forget. Almost at the end the end of my trip I headed down quickly to Don Det

4000 Islands
A backpackers paradise, the 4000 islands sit on top of the widest part of the Mekong river. There's not much to do except relax and enjoy with Don Det being the island of choice, although we did see an awesome waterfall and were lucky enough to see the rare Irawady dolphins from about 20m away. An amazing place to reflect on an truly unique, beautiful country.


So now I'm in Cambodia and start my orphanage project tomorrow for the next 2 weeks. I took the effort of reading the book "First they killed my father'', an important book written from a child's view about the genocide which happened in 1975. Learning about it has made me realise how screwed up the British History lessons are, because this is way more important than the colour of a romans tunic and yet something that most people (including myslef before I came) never get taught about.

Thats all for now, more to follow in a couple of weeks no doubt.

Trekking Northern Laos

So since my last entry abut Indonesia I've rushed up through Thailand and Malaysia to the Laos border. I wasn't sure what to do in Laos but somebody recommended trekking the northern hills. Its far out and not many tourists can be bothered to go there. This sounded perfect for me.
This time I'm making no appologies for the length of this post.
Here is the story of that trek....

We go to the shop to buy some food for the trip. Ive already brought some coconut biscuits the day before but Claire and Jane need to pick up some supplies as they only arrived into Phongsaly last night. They're from Australia, early 30s and up for the three day trek as well. I arrived the day before to sort everything out. We met in Oudoxmai and decided that as we were planning on doing the same trip that we'd team up. Its early morning and Seng our guide is at the market spending our money on lunch for the day. As we wait the first casualty is my imported Chinese Meng-Bo backpack, purchased especially for the trip. The first zippers blown and I seriously doubt if its going to make it through the days ahead. Seng returns, we grab our sacks and hit the dirt road out north of the town excited for the difficult days ahead.

The sun is powerful up here in the hills and the temperature soon hits 30 degrees. The first village we pass is only about an hour out of town so is hardly different. We dont stop except for the local brewer of the rice whiskey. Its 9.30 and a breakfast of banana and batter hardly seems enough to help stomach the lao-lao this early. We take a shot and wait for the burn. This is strong stuff. Were offered another but i have to refuse to hold back the bilious feeling not needed with 7 hours of walking ahead of you.

The dirt continues ahead but we bare left down into the bush. Seng fashions us some walking poles from bamboo with his ever handy knife and we continue out of town. These come in useful, were a few hours in and the the bush is growing thicker. The difficulty is not the inclines but watching your feet while avoiding being thwacked in the eye by stray branches. Seng described this first days walking as moderate-difficult. He was right about that but the added heat is firmly shifting the balance towards the difficult end. I was right about something as well, my bags not going to make it. The left strap is broken and is now being held together by various knots of various sizes.

The views of the northern Laos hills are stunning despite the wears of obvious deforestation and we try to take it all in, much like the leeches with our blood. They're annoying creatures more than anything but we try our best to fend them off. Jane is not so lucky and by the time we stop for lunch theres one full to bursting point on her ankle. Seng snatches it off, tosses it in the fire and watches that sucker burn.Lunch is served on a table of banana leaves and we tuck into the dishes with the communal sticky rice, hands for bowls, fingers for forks.

Its after lunch and now we have our second casualty. This afternoon is hard and Jane is beginning to regret signing up for 3 days. Shes had gastro the past few days and that mixed in with the steep climb and dehydration from the intense midday heat is proving a troublesome cocktail. We take regular breaks but have to move forward. We keep going, hoping that the village is round the next corner or through the next clearing and when it does we are finally revealed. From afar it fits perfectly aloft the hillside, guarding the valley below, but as we venture closer something feels... different. We are not greeted by a warm handshake or gentle smile, but the raging growl of the local dogs. Sticks at the ready we ease in closer. My mind races back to my appointment at the nurses office pre-trip where I politefully declined the 200 pound rabies jabs, maybe im going to regret that. Not that they'd be much help, the nearest hospital is a days walk away and there ain't no air ambulance here.

The trails in these parts are not well worn and they maybe get a few trekkers every few months, but the looks we receive are as if they've never seen white people before. Its not a look of concern or inquisitiveness, more a glare of shock and worry. It feels like we've strolled into the village naked brandishing shotguns.
We weave through the 27 houses, avoiding the animals littering the streets extremely unsure to the chiefs house where we'll be spending the night. Hes introduced to us simply as "The Chief". Hes a scrawny man, fragile in appearance and lacking all of the elements of grandeur that my imagination had previously concocted. Were introduced to chiefs wife and chiefs eldest daughter, who appear to be doing all of the work. The chief pours the local tea.

We head outside in an attempt to try and engage local kids. International symbols of friendship do not appear to be working though, the wave, the smile, the saying of "Sabai Dee" all seem fruitless. The sweets we bought help a little but not to the extent that we'd hoped. One of the teenage boys poses for a photo, hes clearly dressed up for the occasion, but everyone else is off limits for now. Its an animist society and I dont want to be accused of stealing anyones soul, my canon DSLR sure looks like it could. We're invited to one of the teenagers houses for tea but are soon called back for dinner. Seng, Chief, myself and the two honorary males sit but a few inches off the floor on woven seats. The house, like all of the others in the village doesn't have a floor as such, more of a continuation of the dirt outside. The roof is made of bamboo and all the walls are woven. A fire sits off centre puffing away for every hour of the day and night, and theres a female change area where chiefs daughter visits every now and then. Theres one room cordoned off from the main space, i suspect this is for the chief.

We eat the freshly cooked meal between shots of the chiefs own lao lao. Dinner soon passes and its dark outside. Seng says hes going to sleep and we decide to join him on the wide wooden raised bed. Were not sure who else will be joining us up here tonight but we hope its not the chief. I call shotgun on big spoon just in case. I fear i already know the answer but ask the question to Seng just to be sure. "Wheres the toilet?". I get the answer I was expecting accompanied by a smile "anywhere".

Its 11pm and I'm starting to stir. It seems chief is still awake and having a party with a few of his mates, passing round the bamboo bong just a few feet away clearly not bothered by the level of noise. I try to sleep again but am awoken by another noise a few feet away. This time a cow has a grievance with something outside and wants to make it vocalised. Its not long before the sleepless night is over and the cockerels make sure we know its morning. Jane and Claire have had the same kind of night.

Today is going to be interesting, especially for me. Its my 23rd birthday and is already classed as one that im not going to forget. Jane is unnerved by something this morning. Apparently pigs like to eat shit.... Pigs eat shit, we eat pigs, and so the circle of life continues.
We bit our farewells with offerings of soap and shampoo for chiefs daughter and join the morning commute to the rice fields. After fending off more leeches than yesterday we climb the first big hill of the day. This is hot, humid, and very hard going. We reach the top soaked in sweat from the 40 degree heat. Claire joins us 30 seconds later and we have our 3rd casualty. "Im going back to the village, you guys keep going, i can care for myself!" We all stay quiet not wanting to antagonise the situation any further. Me and Jane don't say a word but share a look that we both know means 'that's really not an option'. We let the dust settle and take an extra 5 minutes.
We continue up the hill, Claire included.

Lunch comes and I'm offered the majority of the mango dubbed, ' the birthday mango'. Seng has changed his ring tone as well, every time it buzzes the tune of happy birthday delights the air, and they all sing along.Were having a water panic now, the climb really took it out of our supplies and were afraid of running out. Our methods of saving water however are not needed. We think theres a few more hours left but are releaved to find out its only just over one. We arrive at another village for a break knowing this is going to be better than the last from the off. There are still the same barking dogs as before but this time they are reduced to a wimper by stones, pelted at them by the kids who have come to see us.

Were at Sengs fiends house for some much needed tea. Like the previous village its pure bamboo with no mod cons, except for two 2010/11 poster decorating the wall of the Chelsea and Liverpool teams (although i notice Roy Hodgson is still the manager). We strike conversation with the kids again with the aid of the sweets, but im more interested in teaching Sengs friend how to pronounce the names of all the players.
Time moves on and so do we, we don't want to be walking through the dark along these paths though its not long before we reach or final destination for the day.

This village is a special place and we feel a good vibe. We settle in with some more of the local brew and head outside to take it all in. We sit there raised on a bamboo platform watching the village life roll by. An old lady comes by, shes mother of the chief, grandmother of the kids around us and at 72 is carrying one of them on her back. Shes quick to compare boob size with Jane and Claire and cracks us all up when she gets them out, flapping them about to make sure we know what shes talking about. There is no doubt. This isnt a social problem here, the mothers regularly are uncovered as to be so whilst breastfeeding is bad for the spirits. I sit here thinking about the surrielty of my birthday but soon its feeding time. Not for us but for the pigs. We watch the family below personify teamwork, the boy flailing a stick keen on its use to fend off the other pigs from the runts special extra food. Two horses charge through the chaos and one ends up in the house. Not a single eyelash bat everyone continues. We wonder around the village up to a little hill. The inquisitvness is too much for the kids here and we spend some time showing them photos, although most of them are of me taken by them and have fun with the camera. We spend alot of time here, its an amazing place to be. Im definitely in love with the lifestyle, nothings stressful, life is simple, everythings bliss. Sure theres arguments sometimes but overall this is great.





The sun is threatening to vanish from view so we head back to chiefs house for some food. I forgot that there was a horse in the porch. We sit in the dark with the food, Seng waiting for his friend to return from fishing, and when he does we make a toast to our food with shots of lao lao. We toast my birthday and eat well.

To bed we head once again lying aside each other in parallel lines doest in bug spray. I stir around 11 and feel something on my leg. The mother is of course still up, being the last one to sleep and the first one awake. Shes noticed me move and we both realise something at the same time. There is a child using my leg as a pillow. My lao has been improving but i dont need to know a word to understand what she said. "SON Get away from that white man!". The boy wakes and lets out a 'wergh' noise before scurrying away to the far end of the bed, where he spends the rest of the night.

Day three is upon us and its the final stint, my bag has finally given up and theres no zips, mearly the most bodgiest of knots keeping it together. Only a few hours walking today we set off early after giving the same offerings of soap and shampoo, up the dirt track accompanied by one of the village woman elders who is coming with us back to town. Were walking strongly and shes keeping up, but all of us are surprised when we stop at a stream to drench our heads to find her whipping out a bong from beneath her dress. She quickly lights up and makes the most of this rest stop before we continue on our way. Were nearly finished and take in the last of the northern hills, a beautiful place. Finally we descend to the valley floor where we're greeted by the Nam Ou River,carving its way trough the landscape. Were used to our stench now but we take a dip while we wait for the boat which takes us down the river to the town of Hatsa where our journey ends. We bid farewell to Seng and thank him for his guidance, and reflect on what has been an amazing adventure, over copious amounts of the beer Lao. We don't say goodbye to each other but spend the next two days heading down the river where we finally part, smelling slightly better than before, but forever sharing an awesome experience i'm never going to forget.