Back to Holiday Matters!!

The first five days in Laos had therefore been pretty intense and both mum and I were looking for a little bit of rest; conscious of the fact that we needed to get moving south. So we had a shower before heading back out into the heat and renting some bicycles just to make getting around a little bit easier. However, short people make for low seat which meant that the bikes were not easy to ride. We headed of to the SNV office, which is the dutch equivalent of AusAid, to get an idea of the types of activities they undertake and if we could held. Turns out there was not much we could do as they prefer to use local resources but it was interesting none the less to sit down and talk with them. After that we headed of to the internet cafe and lunch, followed by another stop brother mouse store, this time for mum and not me.

We finished the day by scouring the night market for silk and gifts and other products. By 9 O'clock however both of us had used up all of our energy and returned to the hotel, our bags a little heavier and our wallets and little lighter.

The next morning we were picked up early for our trip to Phonsavan, in an old van that squeezed ten people in. Lucky I had a front seat so it was more bearable, but you could see the concerned faces of western tourists, packed like sardines, submitting themselves to 10 hours of torture. The driver on the other hand was very cheery, and keen to make conversation with us. After I demonstrated that I could count in Laos he immediately assumed I could speak Laos and proceeded to tell me all kind of wonderful things which I could not understand. The little bit that I did get was that we would only be traveling in this bus for a short time. This turned out to be true, but not fortuitous. The bus driver took us to the bus station just south of the city where the Mini Van's were ready to take us further. However even then once transferred it was still 9 people to a Mini Van, so with resignation I squeezed myself into the back corner for the long driver. After leaving the conversation quickly wilted and the Ipod were switched on as each person coped with the trip in their own way. Luckily the scenery is beautiful and was more dramatic than that which I remember. Other than many corners the trip was uneventful with a short break for lunch.

We arrived in the Phonsavan Valley in the late afternoon and in Phonsavan itself as the sun set. A royal welcome of representatives of the local guesthouses greeted us as we exited the bus, and after consulting a few of them we picked up our bags and headed off. The guest house turned out to be quite nice except for the fact that the screen installed to prevent mosquitoes getting in had a three millimeter gap on one side which raises the question; why bother. Having been to Phonsavan I knew that to food available was not particularly great so we settled for something simple, bought soup for three seemingly homeless boys (who then hassled me every meal for the next two days!!) before again heading for an early night.

The next day My mum went on a tour through the plain of Jars, not the tour she wanted but even though they have 5 different tours, there are not enough people taking tours 2-5 making it too expensive to do by yourself. So I waved goodbye to her, stuck in a early 90's model minivan, and headed off to rent a bike. I had heard there was an orphanage in the town that welcomed assistance so after dropping by the local market to buy some gifts I made my way there. After heading in the wrong entrance and getting many comments and pointing from the locals I headed to the second entrance only to find out that the school was closed for the day and nothing doing. So I handed over my gift, signed the visitors book and head off again. I decided on some random riding through the city. I decided to go look at a new electricity substation project but with a guy seated in a booth at the entrance I took a left turn and headed down some backstreet. 5 minutes later I was confronted with a dead and started hearing a lot of 'falang' commentary and one lady closed her gate after I went passed. I though it probably best to head back to the main road and back to the center of the city.

I had lunch and surfed the net and then headed out north of the town of my bike. The area is nice and I passed a few villages, and skinned pig and a few cemeteries before stopping for a break after about 10km and heading back to the city to meet my mum at the end of her tour.

We had been discussing for a few days whether to head to Vieng Xay (another 10 hour drive from Phonsavan) and decided that the best way to do it would be to hire and guide and driver, enabling us to stop take photos and see some additional sites we would not be able to see, if we traveled by Public transport. So in the evening we negotiated the terms and the price and once all was signed we where invited back to the tour operator's house for a Laos BBQ and beer. Once there we were introduced to his family and found out that it is a trend for Laos people that speak English are encouraging their kids to learn and speak English from a young age. Often speaking English at home, to young children to give them that little bit of advantage in life. Later a group of tourists joined us and I disseminated all I knew about Laos to eager ears (well, they looked eager!) before finishing of the night with the tour operator.

The following morning we had an early start in order to get to the weekly Hmong market that finishes by about 8am. Slightly hung over , I packed my bags and headed out to be greeted by our driver for the next three days. We where concerned about his ability to speak English but these concerns turned out to be unfounded as he was both eloquent in speaking English and knowledgeable about the country and overall we had a great three days.

Our first stop was the Hmong market after about 20 minuted drive. This market is loved because of the fresh produce the Hmong people bring to ti from the surrounding country side, but you have to be there early because its all gone by 8:30. Walking through the market I could not fault the quality of the produce, exceeding Australian quality and would have been quite happy to pick some up and eat it right there and then. Even the meat and fish in the wet market looked fresh and there were very few flies around for an open air market. Surrounding the fresh market is a wide
array of other stalls selling clothes, cleaning product and imported Hmong style clothing, that while pretty is definitely not original.

By the time we left many people had gone and Sawng Thiew's (Meaning 'Two Rows')[i.e tuk-tuks] packed to the rafters with people and Chickens hung on the side headed off back home. We bough some banana and some battered banana's for snacks on the way, however our driver had the same idea and also bought banana's; so with banana's a plenty we headed further up the road.

The next stop was a Hmong village were they used unexploded ordinance from the war to build houses and fences. Unfortunately high scrap metal prices mean that a lot of it has been sold, but there are a few remaining houses and buildings that still use bombshells as fences. In particular one family had a large stock of 20 odd shells a $50 each. It almost felt like an personal banking system. What was most striking about the village was the flowering of the Christmas stars and other plants in the village which gave it a lush and vibrant feel. We spent around 40 minuted wandering the village, observing the kids and the local pet monkey an a chain before getting back in the car.

After a brief stop at a silk weaving village, were no-one was currently working and a hot spring that looks like a development project gone wrong, even though the water is really hot, we stopped at Muang Kham for lunch. At the same time a Korean Cyclist heading in the other direction, finishing the mountain climbing we were about to commence, perched his bike on a camera tripod, checked his GPS and also settled in for some rice fro lunch.

Back in the car we headed further up the winding roads of Laos into the far north west that is only just opening up to tourism. I think I have said in my blog previously that Laos is the land of 10,000 turns, as you wind you way through the mountains, up and then along the ridge before descending down to a river and then back up onto the ridge. We passed many villages occasionally stopping for photos including those villages that are hooked up to solar power. We passed a village were our driver had stayed fora while and hoped to meet the family. the family was out but one of the children let us in and showed us around their simple accommodation, including the battery pack that accompanies the solar panel. Generally they can get a full night of light and TV out of a single battery charge. We admired the deer heads on the walls before stepping outside and continuing on our way. The night we spent in Nam Noen, a small town along the river Noen, with two guesthouses and little more. Sign around the town indicate that it is trying to be a model village. The guesthouse was basic with shared bathrooms and not hot water but this was offset by the peaceful atmosphere with people playing volleyball at the local temple and others sorting rice, watering gardens and doing other chores at the end of a long days work. We sat down for dinner and we joined by four cyclist from the Netherlands who had just completed a very tough day from Vieng Thom to Nam Noen. One of them wasn't feeling well and plans were being made to get transport rather than ride the next day.

Dinner was pleasant, though in a touch of sad news, on of the waiters was calmly nursing a baby the whole evening and when we returned to the village 2 days later we found out that the child had passed away, as we watched a small funeral procession pass through the town. After dinner it was time for bed, which turned out to be the worst night sleep I have had.