I’ve finally made it to the Mekong cruise after many minor changes of plan. Our guide, Sene, gave us the lowdown:
“Mekong” means “mother”
It runs 1,986 km through Lao, and is 300m across at its widest point
It’s home to 120 types of fish
Luang Prabang to Huay Xai is 300km
The twelfth longest river in the world, the Mekong runs through six countries: China, Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand (not in this order!)
The sand on its banks is really good for growing peanuts
Not long after we’d set off, we arrived at Pak Ou cave. Its claim to fame is that it is home to 4,000 Buddha statues:
In C6 – 8, it was used by the animists, but was changed to a Buddhist temple in C14. Every Lao new year (they’re one month ahead of us), the main Buddha is washed and his clothes changed.
Outside, there was fish on a stick, Dibbler-style:
I’d got some sticky rice for the journey. I have to keep overruling my English brain that won’t eat rice that’s been out of the fridge too long. It was packaged in bamboo, covered with a banana leaf and corked with coconut bark:
“How long does sticky rice last?” I asked Sene.
“About 15 minutes”, he replied. I laughed. Correct answer. The other correct answer is one week.
And the rest of the day was spent lying in relative luxury (along with Ha Long Bay, this was one of my “do it properly” things after too many horror stories of packed boats):
We docked at Pakbeng and were offered a guesthouse moments after we were on dry land. So ridiculously easy. But the Wi-Fi didn’t work. Because the electricity was down. I didn’t flinch. I may be going native 😉
We rented a motorbike, left early and climbed to the top before the tourist hordes arrived.
On the way up, I saw this beautiful dragonfly:
… fungus on a fallen tree:
… and once again broke my record for the biggest wild spider I’ve ever seen (Rudy’s hand included to give a sense of scale):
At the top, I wasn’t entirely sure why an armed guard was necessary:
But the view was fantastic:
And then, still ahead of the crowds, a swim in the pools, playing in the current:
A bear sanctuary lives on the site providing a final home for rescued animals. Watching their slow, languid movements was very relaxing – how chilled do these look?!
Kuang Si Butterfly Park is absolutely fascinating. Set up by a Dutch couple, it’s informative and interesting. Here’s what I learnt about butterflies:
Their wings act as solar panels – they open them in the sun to “charge them up”
They can see UV, which is reflected by nectar (that’s how they know where it is)
The alcohol of fermented fruit turns into sugar in their bodies
Lifecycle of a butterfly:
When a female is born, she releases pheromones that the male detects and comes to mate
The female can accept or reject him
If she accepts, they “dance” together (different dances for different species) and mate
The female has to lay eggs on a specific type of plant (again, dependent on species)
She tastes the plant by scratching its surfaces to release its juices and tastes with receptors in her feet
If it’s the right host plant, she lays her eggs (between 70 and a few hundred eggs, of which only about two percent will make it to butterfly stage)
Some females can only mate once, others more than once (species dependent)
Most males die after mating
Caterpillars hatch and stay on the plant, eating and pooing – they can grow to a thousand times their birth weight, shedding their skin as they grow (one to three weeks)
Their last skin isn’t discarded but becomes the outer part of their chrysalis
At the park they collect the chrysalises (sp?) and hang them on a frame whose feet are in water (to prevent ants climbing up and eating them)
Many chrysalises are gold or silver as it reflects the light making it more difficult for predators to see
Inside the chrysalis the caterpillar dissolves (I know, mind-bogglingly amazing) and the butterfly forms
When it’s ready, the chrysalis turns transparent and, within seconds, the butterfly emerges
If it’s sunny, it’ll take 30 to 120 minutes to open its wings and “charge up”
If it’s female, the pheromones are released and the cycle starts again
Males take an extra day to get with it and then go in search of a female
Butterflies only live about a week because of natural predators
To protect themselves, they’re often brightly coloured (“don’t eat me, I’m toxic”) or camouflaged
Here’s a stunning example of camouflage – the “dead leaf butterfly”:
I bet you’re never gonna look at a butterfly quite the same way again. Me neither. And I’m pleased to announce that I’ve finally captured some on film, albeit not the very big ones. Enjoy:
I squealed, everyone laughed. I’ve never been to a fish spa before. For the uninitiated (i.e. me), it’s a pool full of fish that like to eat dead skin. Nom, nom. It didn’t tickle or hurt, but you can feel them nibbling:
With that (and a free slice of cake because he wanted an expert’s opinion, although the mention of a blog and a Trip Advisor review may also have helped), we rode back through the countryside:
… using Lao directions (“just keep going straight ahead”… “What, apart from the two turnings left and right, you mean?!”)
… to dinner at the street market:
… and a friend with ulterior motives:
If only these fruit packs were available in the UK for 80p a pop:
Brilliant day. Another highlight (quite a few of which, I’ve noticed, involve water 😉
Eating breakfast when the local school kids laboriously made their way to school:
Then back to Luang Prabang on the road cut into the side of the mountains with nothing to hold back the sheer walls of earth but small terraces. No wire mesh, no concrete, just exposed rocks and clay just waiting to become a landslide. The environment is against them – as fast as they’re building the roads, the weather is destroying them. Without the money to tunnel through the mountains, they have to go over the top. As a result, journey times are lengthened which keeps many areas remote. But the scenery more than makes up for the bumps and the hours:
A younger, faster mini van driver for the journey back to Luang Prabang was welcome, although the Laotian music wasn’t. Sorry, I really am trying but it’s cheesy love songs. One after the other. For four hours. There’s only so much a woman can take.
Stopping at a petrol station, I wandered into what I thought was the garage shop. It was someone’s living room. Huh, wah? Yep, someone (presumably whoever worked at the garage) had designed their home with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the forecourt. Only in SE Asia:
And then back to staring at the Lao countryside all the way back to Luang Prabang:
No photos allowed inside the Royal Palace Museum, but don’t worry, you didn’t miss much. We hadn’t left ourselves much time. We started with the temple on the edge of the grounds.
Reaching the top of the steps, we both looked at the shrine inside. No photo, but just substitute any previous Buddhist shrine photo and add gold spray paint. Rudy looked at me. “Done?” he asked. “Done,” I nodded. Halfway down the steps I started killing myself laughing. And didn’t stop for a while. Being a tourist can easily get like that – feeling like you have to see things so you don’t miss out. Luckily, neither of us can be bothered with the tourist tick list.
Refurbished in 1959 by the incoming king, the throne room is impressive with a mural made from Japanese glass. Now I’m going to be honest here. It was nice. But Picasso it was not. I couldn’t help but feel that it thought it was more important than it was. Another case of “Che Guevara’s pants “, me thinks.
After some China planning in our room:
… we hit the town for dinner. I walked back to our street food table to catch the man respond to Rudy (who’s from Belgium, in case you missed that bit) with the line “You’ve got quite a few Muslims there, haven’t you?”.
Err, what?! Did i hear that right? Yes, he was commenting on the large number of Muslims in Belgium. News to me, and I was intrigued as to why this was relevant anyway. It turns out that Mr Las Vegas had heard about the Paris attacks and that the eighth member was in Brussels, and also about the Syrian refugee crisis and had concluded that Europe was being “overtaken by Muslims”.
And the problem, he said, wasn’t just in Europe – they were taking over the world and nobody was safe from terrorism. Wait, wait – it gets worse… When I gently suggested that not all Muslims were terrorists, he replied, “but you just can’t tell which ones are which.” I’ll admit, he floored me for a moment. Never have I come across such blatant ignorance and prejudice. His Thai female companion started looking a little uncomfortable. I composed myself.
To stay silent felt like condoning his behaviour and I couldn’t do that. Calmly, I pointed out that Laos was bombed by the Americans during the Vietnam war and that, as he was American, he was, by his reasoning, a threat to Laos. Because he looked American, how did I know that he wasn’t going to bomb the place? His ignorance and stupidity was so deep that he didn’t flinch. He didn’t really understand, wasn’t really listening and was only hearing what he wanted to hear. His friend, on the other hand, understood the point I was making and looked even more uncomfortable. I decided any further discussion was futile. I’d made my point and he was too closed-minded and unintelligent to listen.
I also realised that I was being prejudiced against him and tried, for the next ten minutes or so, to listen to his stories and comments on his extensive travels. And I didn’t want to make his companion uncomfortable. She clearly wanted him to shut up and go but he wasn’t picking up on her attempts to remove him from the situation. But eventually they left. We sat there in stunned silence. In the interests of international relations, I strongly suggest the American government confiscate his passport.
Step ladders made out of bamboo, dogs wandering the streets and beautiful scenery:
The bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng had been slow. Another oldster at the wheel 🙁 The four-hour journey took 6.5 hours.
Sticky rice is a really good discovery. Best served in bamboo, sealed with banana leaf and coconut bark, it lasts for up to a week. Perfect as a healthy snack on the go:
Toilet stop near a view point. And when I opened they toilet door, this is what I saw:
Surely the best view from a slammer in Asia, if not the world..?
A second stop half an hour later, where the driver pulled up, left the engine running and suddenly disappeared. No explanation, nothing. Same story my whole trip – they’re good at many things, but telling people what’s going on isn’t one of them. We waited, and then I went to find him. He was tucking into sticky rice. I guess that meant a lunch stop, then 😉
Bamboo scaffolding still fascinates me, but with a dearth of metal it’s a resourceful solution. Just looks odd to my first-world eyes:
Vang Vieng is renowned as the party capital of Laos. But look the other way and you’ll see spectacular natural scenery. People I’d spoken to seemed to either love or hate the place. Tubing is the activity of choice. At its most innocent, this involves floating down the river in an inflated tractor inner tube. But backpackers punctuate it with stops at riverside bars where copious amounts of alcohol are consumed. Add hanging ropes over water of varying depth and it’s not surprising that the fatality rate of tourists in the area is ridiculously high. Authorities have tried to turn the place around (for instance, apparently they prohibited venues from calling themselves “bars” which may explain the numerous “restaurants” in town). On my original schedule I didn’t have time to detour, but now I had a few days to spare I was looking forward to making my own mind up on the place:
That it was touristy goes without saying. But it wasn’t as bad as I’d been led to believe (or maybe I’m becoming more of a party animal in my old age), although there may well have been another side to the place that bypassed me completely. Either way, I’m not complaining.
I saw lady boys for the first time on my trip which was cool. Self-confident, exuberant and, er, “top-heavy”, they’re easy to spot. I’d always assumed that they were males who aspired to be female (and who can blame them? 😉 ), but I think they’re actually males who want to be lady boys: they clearly liked attention and seemed comfortable that they’re so identifiable. Or maybe those were just the ones I noticed…
Random stuff from today includes the man in the mini mart who reached in front of me and put his beer on the counter. The sales assistant then, naturally, picked them up and started putting them through the till. “Oh no, no, no”. I actually said this. He looked only marginally embarrassed at his rudeness, and backed off without a fight. Brazenness like this just wouldn’t happen in England. Not in a mini mart, anyway.
And the second incident of note was the hotel member of staff who just walked into my room. She wanted to sort the air conditioner, but there no knock and she didn’t even register me when she entered. It was like she thought she was invisible. She wasn’t. I think it’s a manifestation of the submissiveness that seems a more common trait here. A stark contrast to the mini mart man. On average, they would be about right, maybe?!
I’m going to China. I have a visa in my mitts. Well, in my passport.
It’s all a bit of a farce, really – online research confirmed a local travel agent would “book me a flight” (ahem) and I only needed the first night booked, which I could do online and then cancel immediately afterwards. We also asked her about getting to Vientiane and mentioned the main reason for our visit. “Why you no get visa here?”, she asked. Long story short – there’s a Chinese embassy less than ten minutes from our hotel. Really. And she’s the only travel agent in town who seems to know this.
So I printed my documents, got a tuk-tuk to the embassy, dropped off my passport at 11am and returned at 3pm to collect it. And Bob’s your neighbour, I have Chinese visa. Epic success 🙂
There was a moment, though – when she’d handed me back my passport and wished me a good trip, she handed me a sheet of paper that said something about a health clinic. I had a flashback to my to border crossing into Vietnam and the “hypothermia epidemic” scam. But it turned out that she wanted me to proof read it. Clever lady. I’m surprised I haven’t been asked before and was only happy to help.
And in between dropping off and collecting my visa, who should we meet but Reto and Suzie who were on our Nong Khiaw tour. I’d been told that travellers often bumped into each other again but am still surprised at how often it’s happened. Pleasantly surprised.
But I also had to say goodbye to Eleanor who’s leaving for Vietnam on this evening’s night bus. She’s been a great travel companion and I admire her courage, calmness and sense of adventure – she’s explored so much of the world already and is only 18. I’ve got some catching up to do!
Walking back through the night market in the pouring rain I saw something that made me catch my breath – electric cables lying across the street, the only concession to the weather was that they were turned on their side. Logic states that it must only be a matter of time before a serious accident occurs, but it never seems to. How does that work, then?
To bed happy – Chinese visa sorted, and travel agency confirmed that I could change my flight date and departure airport for just £40, which left just enough time for me to try out Vang Vieng 🙂
PS And this toilet amused me – placed right in the middle of the cubicle, like they’d intended someone to dance round it:
Pants (three pairs) – I’ve got to go to Vientiane to get a visa for China. Three travel agents confirmed that Luang Prabang’s embassy shut 7/8 months ago. Another rethink as Laos is a big country and it’s a long way to Vientiane. And back, of course. Plus, getting a China visa is a bit of a rigmarole – you have to show a ticket into and out of the country, itinerary and hotel bookings for your stay and proof of funds, plus the application form and two passport photos. No wonder not many people visit China.
Great views on the journey back to Luang Prabang:
And an odd chap at the bar that evening – he kept on buying people drinks. People crowded round him. Quite simply, he was trying to buy people’s attention (and it was mostly working!):
It’s good to be back in Luang Prabang again. I really like the place and it’s much easier arriving somewhere you know. Especially when they do great chocolate chip brownies 🙂
As soon as we arrived in Nong Khiaw, I knew I was gonna like this place:
A chilled vibe, life on the streets and plenty of locals, but was still surprised at how many tourists had made the effort to get here. We wandered the “city” (aka village) and stumbled upon some kind of extended family gathering. It turned out to be the beginnings of a wedding… with our tour guide very excited about his invitation.
I guess a reason for a party doesn’t come about very much up here. It also meant that tomorrow’s tour will start a little later than usual!
Lao dogs are really cute, and appear to all be related to each other:
And I found this bug on the railing at the cafe we stopped at for lunch on the river:
The cafe came complete with an enclosed deer:
I’m still not sure of why a deer was being kept: they don’t produce milk or meat, and aren’t the best workers as far as I know. And it seemed very un-Asian to keep it as a pet. But it seemed happy enough.
And then to the bridge for another amazing sunset:
Sitting in the Indian restaurant after dinner, Rudy suddenly said, “Eleanor”. And so it was. She’d stayed another day in Phonsavan as she was very sick and needed to recover before moving on. Seeing her now made me realise how ill she must have been.
And then back to our bungalows on the river, complete with balcony and hammock:
And this is what my room now looked like. Can you spot anything concerning?:
It was *massive*. Easily the biggest (wild) spider I’d ever seen with my own eyes.
I sheepishly knocked on Rudy’s door and enquired about his arachnid removal services. He pointed out that we didn’t know whether it was poisonous, so glass and paper it was. My mosquito net was duly installed over my bed, despite there being no mosquitoes. Taking no risks 😉
Rudy is one of the loveliest people you’ll ever meet. He’s also one of the happiest. I’m certain the two are connected. A 53-year-old Flemish-speaking truck driver from Belgium, he’s been alternating hard work (12 – 18 months) and travelling (3 – 12 months) for 29 years now. You don’t ask him if he’s been somewhere, but how many times. We met on the Plain of Jars tour in Phonsavan, along with Eleanor and Becky, Paula and Simon. Unusually, three of us had the same next destination and met up again back in Luang Prabang. Chatting on our cafe crawl yesterday made us realise that we were similar travellers – not so interested in ticking things off a list, but having a good time. And we enjoyed the same things. So when Simon hopped off on a two-day trek, Rudy suggested we visit Tad Se waterfall.
We left early to avoid the crowds.
The colour of the water took my breath away:
And then I saw the “swimming area” sign. Unfortunately, I hadn’t realised that you could swim at the waterfall, so hadn’t come prepared. Forgotten your PE kit? You know the drill, kids. So I went in in my underwear:
We had the whole beautiful place to ourselves for well over an hour. Another highlight of my trip. As the tour groups started to arrive, we were changed and exploring the paths beyond where we found this impressive specimen:
Fungi on the fallen trees:
And another Lao bridge:
… before we boarded the boat back to meet our tuk-tuk driver:
Walking through Luang Prabang, our attention was caught by chanting (the first photo I took managed to cut off Buddha’s head. I decided that this was bad karma, no matter your religion, so tried again):
And then we caught another beautiful sunset from further up the river:
… and then headed to the night market. I left Rudy at the table whilst I went to the buffet and returned to find him in deep conversation with a Thai couple sitting opposite. That’s another thing I’ve noticed about Rudy – everyone around him is laughing and smiling within moments of meeting him. He’s a genuinely happy and friendly chap and people warm to him instantly. Great company for the evening, and Kiddy promised to pass on her mum’s green curry recipe. Nom, nom 🙂
Travellers talk to travellers, and many had said that Lao was more “behind” than Cambodia. This perplexes me because it appears to be at least equal to, and in many ways more advanced than, Cambodia. For instance, whilst the number of concrete houses doesn’t yet match Vietnam, there are many more than Cambodia. Transport is more modern, and they’ve a “smoke-free” policy in most museums and public spaces, unlike both Cambodia and Vietnam. I instantly warmed to the place (despite arriving into Vientiane which, on reflection, has been my least-favourite Lao destination), the people are friendly and it’s relaxed and fun. Two weeks is most definitely not enough.
Nong Khiaw was on my reserve list. After a great tour of Phonsavan, followed by a relaxing few days in Luang Prabang, my batteries feel recharged and I’m really enjoying travelling again. I also really like Lao.
Rudy was heading up to Nong Khiaw, and then stopping at Oudom Xai before making his way to China, where he plans to spend two months. It’s much easier travelling with someone – stress, planning, everything is halved. So I decided to go for a couple of days before returning to Luang Prabang for the classic SE Asia boat trip up the Mekong to the Thai border. Happy days 🙂
Today’s random stuff.
Scaffolding, Laotian-style (engineers and Health & Safety people look away now):
My bruise is slowly coming out:
The French influence of boules, only it’s difficult to play the original version on dusty, rocky ground, so it’s been slightly adapted:
When asking for food in a Thai restaurant, say “Ped nit noy” (this isn’t how it’s spelt, just how it’s said) – apparently it means, “little bit spicy, but authentic”. Will remember that for later.
And finally, another bemusing T-shirt slogan – you’ll be pleased to know that “Lifs never stops.”
Today unexpectedly turned out to be a highlight of my trip. Not in a spectacular, UNESCO, once-in-a-lifetime way, but in a chilled, content, “I’m really lucky to be alive” kinda day.
Every morning, Buddhist monks throughout the country leave their temple and walk the streets collecting alms. Luang Prabang has many monasteries within close proximity to each other, and the sight of so many monks has become something of a tourist attraction:
I try not to go into things with too many preconceived ideas, else you spend half your time getting over something simply not meeting your expectations, rather than appreciating it for what it is. But there’s no way I could have imagined something like this – a strange, and yet at the same time completely normal, event which happens every day come rain or shine. Strange because of the sight of so many orange robes with a large urn-like container slung over their shoulders, solemnly walking the pavement past lines of seated givers who dutifully deposited various edible gifts. There are, of course, rules. For instance, givers can’t look at the monks and you can’t hold your pot of offerings between your legs (as one tourist found out – she’d obviously decided to get down with the locals, but just ended up offending them).
Sticky rice was a favourite present, along with sweets bought from street vendors.
It struck me that this was not the ideal diet of a monk. I also wondered how hygienic all this sticky rice was as it was scooped and deposited bare-handed into the monks’ urns.
And then I noticed that, at the end of each line of people there was, in effect, a rubbish bin. As they passed, most monks would reject some of their offerings – almost exclusively sticky rice. Yeah, I thought, I probably wouldn’t want to eat that either – don’t know where those hands have been:
Next to our breakfast stop at a street cafe the schoolgirl pulled her bowl of noodle soup towards her. She then reached for the chili sauce and proceeded to squeeze an eye-watering amount of it into the soup, followed by a tip of a teaspoon of sugar. Rudy and I stared. She must only have been about 7 years’ old. Spice tolerance training obviously starts early round here.
And then it was off to the morning market:
Animal welfare, or lack of, was on the shopping list. Hens squashed into a bamboo holdall:
Or laid out, looking a little worse for the wear:
Frogs climbing over each other:
And I’m pretty sure the these are bats, or squirrels, or something like that (on sticks, Dibbler-style again):
Fish lying unrefrigerated on the mats:
And wonderfully colourful displays of fruit and vegetables:
I loved this scooter driver’s hat:
Then I spent the rest of the day on a cafe crawl with my wonderful, new travel companion, Rudy:
Starting in the Old Town…
… we ventured over the bamboo bridge:
… and ordered a “fondue” in the cafe hidden enticingly in the trees. But fondue in Lao isn’t what you’d expect. We knew we were in for a treat when the waiter brought us a bucket of burning coals:
You melt the meat fat (which melts slowly, unlike butter) on the central section and use it to quick fry your meat (we’d chosen buffalo):
And pour the stock into the moat around the edge into which you place the vegetables, which cook with the meat juices:
Absolutely delicious, and the combined acts of both cooking and eating kept our attention pleasantly occupied for quite a while 🙂 Cushions on the floor and mats surrounded low tables. Perfect for wiling away the afternoon.
Then back to the main side of the river for sunset.
The view was much better than last night at the mount, and we weren’t charged 20,000K for the privilege of a tourist scrum. In fact, we were completely alone apart from the boats, fishermen and locals going about their business:
After another street food dinner…
… and a random sighting of Rolf Harris…
… we wandered back to our hotels via Wat Xieng Thong. It’s probably the best temple in the city, but at 9pm was totally devoid of tourists taking selfies and getting in the way of other people’s pictures:
We strolled around the complex, and watched in amusement as young monks ran excitedly to the sim with their bedding under their arms – off to the guard the temple for the evening. Basically, they were having a sleepover.
A wonderful, relaxing, thoroughly enjoyable day. Thanks, Rudy 🙂
It looked like fight might break out. We were on Phonsi Mount, a classic place for a sunset photo (so I was told) and Baseball Cap had barged in front of Wife to get a better picture. Husband wasn’t happy. A minor ruckus ensued as Husband (with Wife standing loyally beside) assertively explained to Baseball Cap that this was not on, and ended with Husband and Wife walking away with their dignity intact whilst Baseball Cap hurled abuse after them in broken English.
The place was a scrum. It’d cost 20,000K (about £1.60) to climb the stairs with hundreds of other people. Most were very considerate. Some weren’t. The Chinese didn’t come out of it well. Again. Anyway, we all (Rudy, Simon and I) managed to get some money shots:
Then over to the other side where the moon was up:
Simon suggested we head off to the street food section of the night market. We soooo need something like this in my home town: quick, fresh, tasty and really cheap. Chicken on a stick from a stall run by three sisters (another Dibbler moment):
.. eaten sat at wooden tables and benches, of varying heights, underneath makeshift shelters:
Then back through the night market:
And that was the end of my lazy day in Luang Prabang. I like the place. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos, with the old town centre being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. With a laidback, touristy atmosphere, it reminded me of Hoi An and I could see why travellers would often spend much longer here than planned. After the motorbike incident (yes, much better thanks, although the bruise still hasn’t fully emerged), I’d decided to just do things the easy way. Via Phonsavan. My plans to nip up to Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi have been placed on the reserve list. I’ve been trying to plan my days, but gave myself some real time off here – no expectations, no itinerary – just doing whatever. Looking forward to tomorrow 🙂
Total random aside: those who know me know that I don’t really do Facebook, but with some downtime I had a quick browse… until I got to this post, which made me laugh, shut down and go out:
“I like to browse social media just long enough to hate myself.”
I bet you’re never gonna look at a butterfly quite the same way again. Me neither. And I’m pleased to announce that I’ve finally captured some on film, albeit not the very big ones. Enjoy:
