The Laotian Experience, or "Conversations with Jess and Em" (part 1)

Alright, folks, this time we're doing things a bit differently. We are going to “set the scene” together, and then have each of us give you our perspective on the event/topic of discussion – you could call it Conversations with Jess and Em, or something similar. Trying to keep our blogging relationship fresh. Sound good?

Both: Let's see, we left you in Laos. We'd just arrived in Luang Nam Tha, extremely refreshed to be out of China. That town was so mellow and laid back. We did end up renting bicycles and riding around a bit. The ride itself was quite rough and rocky, but the landscape absolutely amazing. Later that night, we signed up for a two-day trek through the Laotian wilderness.

E: Luang Nam Tha was definitely a wonderful change. I am not a city person. There are just to many people doing too many different things. It's making me anxious just thinking about it. Also, being in Laos made me feel like less of a tourist. Less of an outsider looking in. The people were so welcoming and friendly and not because they just wanted our money. That was so incredibly refreshing.

J: Agreed. I immediately felt like I was in a small town in Belize or the Dominican Republic, somewhere that I had been for longer than a few minutes. I had the feeling that LNT was somewhere that, given time, I could really get to know. This was helped by the fact that the town only had one main street, and the lonely planet guide only listed 3 things to do in the surrounding area – leaving plenty of time to get a real feeling for the town and the people, rather than bounce from place to place.

And the food! We had the first of many delicious meals immediately after checking into our guest house – since we were spending so little on housing, we decided that we would really eat in SE Asia. While simple, the meal was incredible – fresh ingredients, novel flavors, and lots of odd roots and leaves that you aren't supposed to eat are key components to every dish.

E: Jess mentioned housing -we didn't couch surf at all in Laos. We stayed in guest houses, which meant a bed, a fan and, most important, towels. Accidentally, I had left my awesome microfiber towel in Kunming, so I had been without for a few days. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was dead on. Towels.

And for those of you who are interested, riding a bike again was fabulous. Although, rocky dirt roads are not. I only fell three times. Each time, though, I did manage to clear the bike to avoid injury. I can't say the same for the bike, however, I bent the derailer. Thankfully, Jess switched bikes with me after that, since my chain kept slipping off. Whoops.

J: Em is incredibly good at falling – or not falling, to be precise. After a particularly rough patch of road, I'd stop and look back, just in time to see Em leap mountain-goat-esque off of her bike and land, on two feet, with the bike in a twisted pile on the ground. And it's not only falling off of bikes – this girl can slip down stairs, hit a slimy patch of trail, trip off the sidewalk into moving traffic, and still stay on her feet. Like a cat. Its unnerving, since without trying I've managed to fall off a sidewalk, off the Great Wall of China (nearly), and down some stairs... multiple times.

Both: The morning after our arrival/bike ride, we rose early to go meet our guide and the rest of our trekking crew. We had signed up to trek with a Belgian family, a couple and their two daughters, 7 and 10. It was a good group and an excellent chance for us to brush up on our French.

J: By “brush up”, we mean “re-learn”. We haven't studied French since high school... and I was paying more attention to a boy named Zach in 10th grade French class than to Madame Guillette and verb conjugation. :)

Both: What can we say about the hike, except that it was everything we'd been hoping for. The views were incredible, breath-taking. We got the opportunity to stop into a small tribal village very early on the first day of hiking. They had just killed a goat in a celebration of the completion of rice planting. The head was being skinned as we walked up.

J: Apparently, each family has the responsibility of killing a goat as a sacrifice to the gods either at the end of the planting season or at the beginning of harvest. The families in the village rotate as to whose responsibility it is to purchase the goat for the feast, therefore spreading the financial burden of buying a goat (and any special good fortune afforded by the gods) around the village equally. There are enough families that each one only has to supply a goat once every 3 years.

Both: For lunch, we stopped in the middle of the trail. Using banana leaves as a ground covering and bamboo sticks as chopsticks, we feasted on a broad assortment of local foods – grilled fish, pumpkin and pork, and bananas were some of the fare offered. Following lunch, we continued our trekking, taking the shorter of the routes available to the local tribal village we were going to stay in for the night.

J: The village immediately reminded me of my brief stay with the Maasai people in Tanzania. The homes were made of wood, with thatched roofs and dirt floors, and there were cows, chickens, pigs, dogs, and kids running around everywhere. The tribal clothing was simple yet detailed, and the women all wanted to sell us little trinkets they had made – they waited patiently for one of us to buy something, but we were concerned more with swimming in the river than shopping.

At first, I didn't feel right about coming to this place and making myself at home, relaxing on a wooden bench under the mildly curious watching eyes of the local women. However, this was an eco-tourism program: the village was being paid to host us, to serve as a stopping-over point on our 2 day adventure. They would benefit from our mere presence – buying things, and really any activity other than observation was not strictly necessary to ensure a good experience for the village. While the ability for cultural exchange was drastically limited to whatever you could manage to make understood by hand gestures (our guide was sleeping), that wasn't necessarily the purpose of this village, nor of many of the people who would typically participate in this trek. For me, it was a chance to kick back and relax, but I wasn't able to learn much about the traditions, culture, or history of the people in this setting.

E: The people in the village were friendly, yet curious. You could always catch one staring at you. And the children. There were so many. Running around, swimming, giggling and wanting us to take their picture. The younger girl actually made fast friends with several of them. Differences in language and culture didn't seem to matter. It was very cool to witness.

Both: The next morning, we awoke and continued our hike. It took us back through more villages, although we didn't see many more people – according to our guide, they were busy planting.

J: People here work very hard seasonally – they can spend days at a time in the fields, and then days at a time at home, seemingly idle. While I am aware that there is much to be done in the home between planting and harvest, I am sure that much of the burden of the domestic chores falls on the women. I would guess that a visitor's perspective on village life would differ markedly depending on the time of year you were observing the village and the gender you primarily interacted with.

E: Overall, the trek was spectacular. Really magnificent. It felt so good to be hiking in the great outdoors. Made me feel rugged. Also, it was almost like a break from our travels, since they fed us and led us around. We didn't have to do any work. Marvelous.

Both: Before we knew it, our trek was over, and we returned to Luang Nam Tha. That night, we visited the night market. This night market was definitely the big deal around town. There were so many food vendors, clothes and souvenirs for sale. Hoping to make some friends, we invited some people to join us for dinner. We met a couple from the Czech Republic and also a Canadian guy. It was great to chat with some fellow travelers and hear their stories. Certainly, a great last night in Luang Nam Tha.

Both: Monday morning, we took a minibus to Luang Pra Bang. That was a wild frigging ride. Apparently, they do not believe in road repair. We were swerving into pot holes to avoid larger pot holes. The road was so ridiculously curvy, as well. Also, our driver felt the need to drive the speed of sound. Fun, right? Well, not for Emily. She got terribly carsick, having to pull over twice to vomit. Finally taking the front seat in the hopes it would settle her stomach. Which it did. While Emily was becoming reacquainted with her breakfast, Jess was making an acquaintance of her own.

J: Before you all get any ideas, keep reading.

Both: A guy, who worked for the company that was transporting us, was getting a ride back home, to Luang Pra Bang. He was very nice and chatty.

E: And he gave me gum. Which was taste-tacular!

Both: He graciously invited us over to his family's house for dinner that night. We, of course, accepted. Later, after we'd settled in to our new guest house and showered, he came and picked us up. Funny thing was that he was on a motorbike, so he had to take us one at a time out to his house. Dinner was delicious and his family extremely nice, except they did not speak any English. We had an excellent time and were very grateful for the chance to see an actual Laotian family.

J: So, a funny moment at dinner confirmed our suspicions that this boy had a crush on me. There were these lovely green leafy stalks on the table for eating during dinner, which I really enjoyed. As it turns out, the boy's father also has an affinity for the leafy greens, and he commented (in Lao, translated by the boy) that, were I to somehow end up as his daughter-in-law, we were certain to live together peaceably due primarily to this shared affinity for leaves. Sighhh... but it really was a great meal, and the boy offered to let us borrow his motorbike the following day to go to the waterfalls. A good idea? Read on...

Both: So, the next day started at the Pak Ou Caves. To get to the caves from LPB, we took a two-hour long slowboat ride up the Mekong River. Simply gorgeous. This description fit the caves themselves as well – old limestone caverns perched on the riverbank, delving back into the cliff they were part of. The smaller cave was tall and shallow, the weather having carved intricate designs out of the interior. The larger cave was up higher on the cliff, and was deep enough that light was lost at the back of it.

We entered the smaller cave first. On all available flat surfaces were statues of the Buddha -- literally everywhere. The majority of the statues were moved into the caves to protect them from destruction during the fighting in the 1960's and 70's. Besides being a tourist attraction, it was also a place of worship, and people would often still visit the caves to pray to the Buddha.

The larger cave was accessed by a flight of stone stairs ascending up from the dock toward the top of the hill. While also filled with statues, these were often older, and broken. Additionally, the cave was pitch black in the back, and we had forgotten our headlamps. We had to use the flash on our cameras to see what was in front of us.

J: It is always interesting to me to see the places that people choose to worship their gods, the places in which they feel closest to their spirits. Sometimes a giant golden spire reaches up into the air, as if striving to physically reach the heavens; sometimes a naturally weathered outcropping of limestone plays a role in protecting cultural relics from hatred and destruction, and becomes a place of prayer. I think it's possible to get a certain feeling about the religion, the role it plays in everyday lives, based on these outward representations of faith.

Both: That afternoon we were going to visit the nearby Kuang Si Waterfall, and to get there were were planning to ride the boy's motorbike. Funny enough, the first time he actually asked us if we had ever ridden a motorbike was when he was showing us how to use it. Jess had ridden one once, and so thought she could do it again – even though it was obviously a very different experience with Em on the back. After an extremely shaky start down the road, we made it slowly back to our guest house, where Jess proceeded to forget where the brake was and ran us into a curb.

E: Luckily, no one was hurt, but I'm never riding on anything that Jess is driving again. Forgot where the brake was? No thanks.

Both: We decided that, since we hadn't made it even a mile and the waterfalls were 32 km away, we better return the motorbike and take a tuk-tuk (3 wheeled motorcycle taxi) or a pick-up truck taxi. So, Jess returned the motorbike, with a chagrined explanation of what had happened. We gave the boy some money to fix the little scratch we had put on the front bumper. Then we met two Dutch girls and together procured a pick-up for the trip to the waterfalls.

J: For me, the waterfalls were one of the most beautifully natural places we had visited. They had been modified slightly, the creation of good swimming areas requiring a few extra rocks here and there, but the murmuring of the limestone-green water as it fell into each pool and the cool breeze in the shade of the surrounding forest was calming. The largest waterfall itself was stunning.

E: That waterfall was freaking incredible. I was undecided at first about swimming, but then I thought, when am I ever going to get the chance to swim in a waterfall in Laos again? So I jumped in.

I always forget how much I love swimming until I go again. The pool wasn't that big, but it was so awesome just to be in the water. Also, there was a rope swing. Now, I've never jumped off a rope swing before and I was a bit nervous about it. But after watching people jump for a minute, I decided to go up there. I climb the trunk of this tree and I start to look around. I realize that it is a little higher up than it looked in the water. At that point, though, there's no turning back. I took a couple deep breaths, grabbed the rope and jumped.

Needless to say, I was freaked out the whole time. And I had grabbed the rope too high. When I released to fall, the end hit my upper right arm, giving me a huge welt. The bruise turned many pretty colors, though, and lasted for days. Way worth it.

Both: That evening, we had made plans to meet up with the two Dutch girls from the waterfalls for a drink. Another good night with new friends. Prior to that, though, we decided it was high time to treat ourselves and got traditional Laotian massages. They were full-body and super relaxing. We plan to get Thai massages, as well, and compare.

The next morning, we got on a bus headed to Vietiane, the capital of Laos. Along the way, we had our first minor transportation mishap – the bus, while going up a hill, stopped running. Not knowing what was going on, it was eventually communicated that we needed to get our bags and start walking up the hill, where another bus would maybe meet us. It was raining. We did get another bus, but as these things go, soon after starting it began to clunk horribly and stall every time the driver tried to shift. And so we rumbled up and down hills to the next stop, never going any faster than a bus in first or second gear can go. With a toothbrush, some sand and a bucket of water, the driver fixed the bus, and we ended up getting to Vietiane that evening.

E: That bus ride, so reminded me of the Greyhound back home. Having the bus breakdown, but no one knowing why or what to do next. The second bus, I was sure was going to breakdown too. I couldn't keep from laughing every time it would sputter or struggle to make it up a hill.

Both: Our first day in Vietiane we spent on a walking tour of the main sites, suggested by our trusty Lonely Planet guide. We spent the early evening sitting on cushions by the river, and ate dinner on the second floor balcony of a lovely restaurant. The next day, we visited the National Museum and the country's main monument, spent the evening sitting by the river again, and planned to leave for Thailand the next morning.

J: A few things stand out from Vietiane for me. The first was an overly-detailed, gaudy concrete Arc de Triumph-esque monument in the center of the city. It was just so out of place – I'm sure the French occupation thought they were doing something important by attempting to re-create a piece of home in the main city of this territory, but the end product was a stark anachronism, a representation of the misguided intentions of a colonial power.

The walking tour took us to many wats, or Buddhist monasteries. They were stunningly beautiful, with intricately-designed, heavily-gilded peaks and windows, and colorful paintings on walls and ceilings telling various tales of the teachings of Buddha. The sense of calm I felt inside these places was more than just the blocking out of the city noise by the walls enclosing the temples – it was the quiet reflection of contemplation, the sense of reverence and simple, heartfelt devotion to The Path, the ability to live a life of simplicity while interacting seamlessly with the modern world, that filled me with a quiet, easy understanding of these places.

E: Although being a bigger city, Vietiane was wonderful. I was happy to have that walking tour. It gave us a nice feel of the place. Those wats were so magnificent, so intricately designed, so beautiful. I always felt very reverent while being inside them. Very humble. I made a flippant comment to Jess that being in places like that makes me want to become a monk. Which I am now seriously considering doing upon my return.