Sapa, May 21 to 23 (Jen)

In an attempt to spread our business around, and hedge our bets, we had booked an excursion to Sapa with another company in Hanoi, Ocean Tours, leaving on the overnight train that evening.  I know what you’re thinking . . . we are getting soft, booking all of these “tours”.  In our defense, we had to have a guide to do the trekking we wanted to do anyhow, and it just seemed cheaper to organize it in one fell swoop.  So, with an hour or two between our arrival back in Hanoi from Halong Bay and our departure by night train to Sapa, we quickly grabbed dinner, charged our laptop and ipods for the ride, and headed off.  

The train was comfy and I was having a very restful sleep when loud knocking on our door signaled we had arrived in Lao Cai, the gateway to Sapa.  It was just after 4am.  (And I am meant to go trekking today??)  As we rode the bus from the train station in Lao Cai to Sapa town, things started to look up.  The scenery was incredible.  We were dropped at a hotel where we were able to shower, relax, and have breakfast before our trek began at 9:30.   I had a little cat nap, but it did little to relieve how sleepy I was.  

We had a group of five, a really nice New Zealand couple named Jettie and Felix, Perry, myself, plus our guide Mang, for the two days trek.  Mang was truly the cutest thing ever.  She is a tiny Hmong woman of 20, and was wearing her traditional clothing, a conical hat, huge hiking boots, and a North Face backpack.  Adorable!  She has a personality to match.  Very sweet, obviously used to being around westerners, but brought up traditionally in the village near Sapa, she was able to give us insight into local life and way of thinking.  

As we started out, it wasn’t difficult to notice that our group size had increased by 4 or 5 savvy hilltribe saleswomen.  Luckily Mang warned us that saying things like “maybe” and “later” would only encourage these women to follow us for the entire two days, expecting us to purchase a blanket, shirt, or both upon our return.  Even with a clear “No thank you.  We are absolutely not going to buy anything, ever.” they kept with us for a couple of km.  Luckily, Mang found us the perfect opportunity to escape.  

Mang’s sister, Cheng, and Cheng’s husband were working in the fields by the side of the path.  Mang asked if we wanted to try, and of course we all did.  It was pretty muddy, but definitely fun.  I think we were at it for about 45 minutes.  I cannot imagine a full day!  It is amazing to think that all of the rice terraces that you see in the pictures are built and planted by hand this way.  Mang told us that she and her friends would often have crazy mud fights while planting rice together.  I could see that it is definitely a job where you want to mix in a little fun.  

After our rice planting, where we were likely more of a hassle than a help, Cheng graciously invited us to her home for lunch.  She and Mang cooked up a fabulous meal.  Mang summed it up when she said that “nothing is simple”.  The rice we ate was planted and harvested by hand, the banana flower was picked, peeled, washed, and prepared by Mang, etc.  Everything takes time and effort.  This carries forward to the traditional clothing that they were all wearing, which they weave, dye using indigo, and sew into clothing themselves.  Absolutely nothing about life there is simple or easy.  It makes our lives seem quite easy; sitting in our ergonomic, air-conditioned offices, ordering take out for dinner, and annoyed over a couple hours of overtime.  With this in mind, I was an easy sell when Cheng inevitably brought out her own hilltribe handicrafts to sell.  I ended up with a bracelet which I’ll likely seldom wear but I’m happy to have.  

Unfortunately, I left Cheng’s with a bum knee.  Asking for the toilet, Mang directed me to “nature”.  So, I respectfully tried to get as far off the path as possible.  Getting back down turned out to be steeper than my sleepy head calculated and I came down too hard and at the wrong angle.  Luckily I could keep hiking, but it’s still a little sore a week later.  

After lunch us foreigners were getting anxious, as we recalled the first day trekking to be 14km and felt we had actually covered only 3 km or so by that point.  We said our good-byes and continued on, only to stop also at Mang’s mother’s house for a rest and a chat.  At this point, we all gave up on our exercise goals and enjoyed the unique experience that Mang was sharing with us.  It was so strange to talk to her about her life in Sapa town and see her getting all sorts of calls and texts over her cell phone, then at the same time to see her family living in one room houses with dirt floors and no bathrooms.  It seemed real collision of tradition and modernity.  

The remainder of the day trekking was gorgeous, and luckily easier and shorter than we all expected.  The highlight of the afternoon was when Felix dared one of the young boys along the path to prove he really could ride the water buffalo.  Well, he proved himself alright, as did Mang.  So of course our boys had to give it a whirl as well.  Mang tried to get it running with Felix on top, but that buffalo was not interested.  Too hot I guess!

Our homestay was with a family who has a little boy around seven and a baby girl around 14 months.  They were fantastic and again provided us with a delicious traditional meal.  The homestay was pretty modern, with hot water and a shower.  Perry was quite impressed with me that I actually showered there though.  I think my cleanliness standards are getting lower and lower, and I must be getting tougher.  But really, how can you be expected to keep a clean bathroom, when the rest of your flooring is made of dirt?  

It was interesting for me to observe the way this family cared for their children.  They were obviously a very loving family.  Often times though, the kids were left to their own devices.  The baby girl was just crawling around in the dirt, both inside the house and out, getting into just about everything.  Her parents were completely unfazed, I think because they just have too much other stuff to do.  It seemed her big brother’s responsibility was to keep an eye on her, but he seemed to be the typical big brother and spent at least half the time picking on her.  It’s funny when you compare how much we shelter small children with all kinds of antibacterial soaps and baby gates and such.  These people just don’t have those luxuries.  The parents did keep their little one close when they went out to work in the rice fields the next morning though, taking turns with her on their backs.  The seven year old was left to watch the house.  In the paths around the villages, there were many children as young as three or so just wandering around on their own.  I suppose they are too heavy by that age to keep on your back while working and the parents likely have no other option.  They have to work the fields to grow food, and there is certainly no daycare or social assistance.  Again I was reminded that we are very lucky.

Second day was a gorgeous hike as well; similar terrain to the previous day with a bit more uphill.  We visited a different ethnic group’s village, but didn’t have the same sort of special experiences that we had with Mang’s family.  After lunch, Perry and I separated from the group to see a nearby waterfall, while Jettie, Felix, and Mang carried on for another night.  

We had decided to stay one more day in Sapa to check out the town itself, so after the waterfall we set about finding a place to stay for the night and a place to eat.  For dinner, we settled on a local restaurant that was packed full of Vietnamese people.  (It must be good!)  As we were looking over the menu, a large group at the next table invited us to do a shot of rice whiskey with them.  So nice!  Of course we did, and they insisted that we sit down to dinner and drinks with them.  Although there were many plates of food on the table, it was definitely more about the drinks.  I think I had about 10 shots while Perry must’ve had at least 15.  Yikes!  Normally I’d make sure to eat a bit to stay sober, but the food was . . . . very . . . authentic.  Greasy pig skin, fat, and cartilage just wasn’t a good idea for me at that point.  This group was so kind and friendly though, we just couldn’t refuse.  So, we drank and stayed hungry.  Luckily though, these guys knew when it was time to call it a night.  All of them red faced, we headed to a nearby cafe for some potent Vietnamese coffee before saying our goodnights.  Perry and I, once safely out of site, stopped for a bowl of noodles on our way home because we were just so hungry still.  One of the guys signed a 50,000 VND bill for Perry, telling him he must keep it always for good luck.  Perry has tucked it away safely with Mom’s good luck $1 bill that she gave each of us when we departed Canada.  Hopefully this means we will have good luck and not run out of money before the end of our trip . . . . ;-)

Next day we hung around town.  Mostly, I wanted to rest my knee which was hurting quite a bit after the second day trekking.  We had a leisurely breakfast, checked out the market, and planned our next move in Vietnam.  The only person who had to exert a lot of effort that day was Perry.  A very small lady with a very gigantic and heavy bag of merchandise grabbed him in the market and put him to work!  I think she liked his big muscles . . .   He, along with her and about three other people, managed to lug the gigantic bag down the road to her shop.  She was extremely grateful for the help.  I’m not sure what she would have done had we not strolled by.

Late that afternoon, with the feeling that Sapa is a beautiful place full of very friendly people, we left to catch the night train back to Hanoi, where we planned to find a connection south.     

For photos of Sapa go to http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

p.s. I think I have broken iPhoto with all of my photo quips and descriptions.  Apple tells me only generic file names allowed.  I'm not just getting lazy . . . . ;-) 

Halong Bay, May 18 to 20 (Jen)

While we try to do most destinations independently, reading the directions in our LP regarding Halong Bay made my head spin.  Couple that with the huge variety of affordable and convenient tours leaving from Hanoi and we decided to give ourselves a break.  Moving on to our trusty second source of info (www.travelfish.org - thanks Aunty Marsha!) we settled on a company called Handspan.  As soon as we were on the bus, I knew we’d made the right choice.  Our guides were super friendly and VERY informative.  (Did you know that the conical hat has four functions?  Four!)  One guide, Duc, even hopped on a random motorbike to chase down the bus when one girl forgot her camera on board.  

Regardless of how you get there, Halong Bay is gorgeous!  I was so excited to be near the sea again, and was amazed by the over 3000 rocky islands jutting up out of the water.  Our first day started out a bit rainy, but before long the sun managed to fight through and we had near perfect weather for the remainder of the three days.  The first day and night we spent on a “junk”.  I had never really encountered this term before, but  regardless, this boat was anything but junk.  We had a nice room with A/C (and more than a few mosquitos though unfortunately . . .), a lounging deck on top of the boat, and a delicious restaurant.  The whole 3 day trip actually, they fed us way too much fantastic seafood.  That afternoon, we enjoyed the view from the junk, and took a small tour of one of the many floating villages.  Even though I am getting a bit over village visits by now, it was different than any we had seen to date.  I couldn’t figure out why there were so many dogs, with no land around, but Duc (so informative!) enlightened me that theft from the villagers’ fish farms was a real problem.  They needed the dogs to guard their livelihood during the night.  

Next day we awoke to beautiful sunny weather.  Originally there were six of us, but only four staying for three days.  The other two in our group were really fun and interesting girls, Autumn from New York and Angelique from Holland.  The four of us transferred to another boat and spent the day kayaking, swimming, sunbathing, and eating.  Fabulous!  Even Perry was bold enough to jump into the big bad ocean with no land in grasping distance.  (You’d think he wouldn’t be so nervous after scuba diving . . . )  I was also afraid, but of the jellyfish we saw occasionally from our kayaks.  I swallowed my fear though when Duc assured me that this type of jellyfish sting wouldn’t be too painful.  (And that he had vinegar on board so we wouldn’t have to resort to other more primitive remedies . . . .)  It was a perfect day which ended with a nice surprise.  We were to spend our second night in a hotel on Cat Ba Island.  Since the three day tour wasn’t too expensive, I wasn’t expecting much, but we ended up at what I found out later was the best resort on the Island.  Cat Ba Sunrise Resort was a nice treat and we took full advantage of our fancy room and western style shower.  

Over more seafood that night, Duc offered to join us for a motorbike trip the next morning prior to our return for Hanoi.  All three of us girls were a little nervous, but he promised a lesson and that the roads on Cat Ba Island were nicely paved and not too busy.  He also mentioned he found the road to be one of the most beautiful in Vietnam.  We were sold!  Next morning after a very thorough lesson for all three ladies, our motorbike gang was off.  It was gorgeous, and definitely a fun drive.  Duc also suggested a great local restaurant for lunch that was about 1/10 the price of our hotel and super tasty.  It was a truly a perfect end to such a relaxing three days.  

For more photos of Halong Bay, visit http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Hanoi, May 15 to May 17 (Jen)

After sleepy Vientiane, Hanoi appeared full of chaos.   The streets are absolutely FILLED with motorbikes and every driver is constantly honking.  No one stops, or even slows down.  Although, drivers will do their best to avoid you if you don’t make any sudden or unanticipated movements.  Since Perry and I were ready to pick up the pace anyways, this hectic atmosphere suited us just fine.  When we arrived in the “Old Quarter” via airport shuttle bus, we had a short walk to our guesthouse, the Especen Hotel.  Our walk took us right by Hoan Kiem Lake, where hoards of locals were exercising, meeting, chatting, eating, walking, and generally just hanging out.  It was a great first impression of Hanoi, and of Vietnam.  

Next few days we spent exploring the city.  When I say exploring, I mean walking, walking, and walking.   I refused to let Perry ride a motorbike in the crazy Hanoi traffic.  (Thinking back though, I’m not sure that we were really much safer on foot . . . )  Our alternate transport options were limited.  We learned quickly that taking one of the many “cyclos” (three wheeled bicycle taxi) constantly vying for our business brought on all sorts of unexpected conflict and cost.  We used a cyclo three times in Hanoi and had only slightly varied experiences.  The first delivered us to our agreed location and accepted our agreed price (yey!).  The second tricked us into taking two cyclos instead of one (“My friend want to help me . . . ”) and attempted to charge us double, while dropping us near, but not at, our agreed destination.  The third dropped us 3 blocks away from our destination and requested more money than the agreed price.  Yikes!  Add to that our accelerated meter taxi experience ($8 for about 10 min . . . ok for Canada, exorbitant for SE Asia) and we pretty much decided that our own two feet were our best bet.  

We had fun though, wandering around.  We managed to get our camera fixed, both flash and display (yippee!).  Perry got a haircut in the street for 40,000 VND, the equivalent of less than $3.  Other travelers were shocked, but it is actually one of the best I’ve ever seen on him . . . now that it has two weeks of growth.  We had more than our share of Bia Hoi, the super cheap draft beer sold at kiddie size tables on the corner of (it seems like) most streets.  And, we managed to sample enough “pho” restaurants to conclude that the one around the corner from our hotel was definitely the best.  (Still #1 in Vietnam actually . . .)  Hanoi also has loads of public green space which the locals really take advantage of.  It was fun to see people in their daily exercise routines.  And of course, wandering Hanoi is exciting, because you constantly feel like you might get run over by a motorbike, car or truck . . . but you never actually do (at least we didn’t).  This feeling changes from “exciting” to “annoying and frustrating” after approximately 2.5 days.

One of the highlights of Hanoi was visiting Ho Chi MInh’s embalmed body.  Yes, you read that correctly.  He looks like a very peaceful wax figure laying in a glass box.  It is all very serious and official and VERY cold.  There were big crowds the day we made our way there, as Ho Chi Minh’s birthday is May 19, a big day here in Vietnam.  We also wandered through the very bizarre adjacent museum full of interesting yet strange exhibits about Ho Chi MInh and Vietnam in general.

We kept our nights busy wandering through the markets.  The walking street in Hanoi is big and much more crowded than even Chiang Mai’s was.  I’m not quite sure why though, because it was mostly full of junk.  Proof being that even I couldn’t find one thing to purchase.  We also attended a “water puppetry” show one night.  I admit, it was a very touristy show which I dragged Perry to.  But hey, it’s definitely something I’ve never seen before . . . and likely never will again.  It was cute and all, but I think without any kids to take, it’s like going to see “The Wiggles” all on your own, at 31+ years old.  

By our third day in Hanoi, my legs were thoroughly warn out.  I think I was also exhausted by the realization that I no longer had any idea what anybody was saying, and by the generally more aggressive nature of the Vietnamese (ah, the luxury of Thailand and Laos . . . ).  I have to admit that I barely paid attention on our visit to the Vietnam Military History Museum.  (Which I now feel guilty for, but will try to make it up in HCMC . . .)  It was clear the time had come to move on from the big city.  So, we booked a nice relaxing 3 day trip to Halong Bay and took off the next morning.

For photos of Hanoi and all of our adventures, see http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Si Phan Don & Vientiane, May 8 to May 13 (Perry)

SI PHAN DON

After a short but enjoyable stay in Pakse, we continued our travels southward to Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands).  At the southern most point of Laos where the Mekong river can be as  wide as 14 km in raining season, Si Phan Don is a seemingly never ending mixture of land and river making up an impressive collection of islands.  For travelers though, there are 3 main islands; Don Khong, Don Khon, and Don Det.  For us, the decision as to where to stay came down to either Don Khon or Don Dhet.  We quickly decided on Don Khon.  Actually, it was more like we ruled out Don Det.  Lonely Planet does warn that Don Det may be the “Vang Vieng of the south” (read Vang Vieng blog for complete details).  We are not ones to religiously follow Lonely Planet, but there were other arguments against Don Det.  Posted on the back of the door of our guesthouse in Pakse was a brief warning regarding the island.  Little things like don’t drink the water and bring a torchlight were friendly, common sense reminders from the guesthouse owners.  More interesting were the numerous additional comments past travelers had added; most notably, “Check the support beams on your guesthouse because ours fell into the river while we were sleeping, with us and all of our belongings inside.”  I suppose you get what you pay for at $1 or $2 per night . . .

After a quick two hour mini-van ride from Pakse to the town of Nakasang, we boarded a long tail boat to complete the journey to Don Khon.  There we found a gem called the Sala Don Khone, which offered really nice floating huts along the river.  Seemed like the perfect spot to relax.

Now, Jen and I had been in Southeast Asia for at least 3 months by that time, so we should be able to handle heat.  However, the weather in Don Khon was unbearably hot.  Our original plan was to stay for three nights on the island, but with the excruciating heat, and the fact that the island’s electricity is provided entirely by generators which run only from 6pm to 2am (i.e.  nullifying the minimal impact of our ceiling fan), in the end we decided two nights was enough.

Other than the stunning sight of the Mekong river and the relaxed atmosphere of the islands, the main attraction of Si Phon Don is the Irrawaddy Dolphin, an endangered fresh-water dolphin that resides in the Mekong near Don Khon.  In fact, our understanding is that there are only 12 left in existence in this area.  

The day that we arrived, we hired some peddle bikes with good intentions of touring not only Don Khon but Don Det as well (the two are connected by a bridge).  Prior to our arrival, the few km bike ride sounded like a piece of cake.  However, prior to our arrival, I didn’t realize that simply laying around and breathing would be too tiring.  (Did I mention that it was really, really hot?)  We settled for a bike around Don Khon, and learned from the local fishermen that the best time to see the dolphins was either before 9:00am or after 3:00pm in the afternoon.  Deciding that we would wake up at 5:30am the next day to avoid the mid-day heat, we had an early dinner and headed back to our guesthouse.  Despite the heat we were both able to fall asleep early with relative ease.  

Around 4am the next morning, our peaceful slumber came to an abrupt end.  With what I believed to be the screams of a dying cat we were rudely awakened.  So bad were the noises that Jen even rolled over and said, and I quote, “Can you please go and drown that cat?  Please?”  Despite the early rise, we excitedly headed off to the docks to catch a boat.  Actually, I was excited because for some reason I really wanted to see the dolphin.  Let’s just say that Jen was conscious.  Upon arrival, we were greeted by a friendly local fisherman who said that he would take us out for the morning.  After waiting for him to finish his early morning coffee we set off along the Mekong to hopefully catch a glimpse of the dolphins.

The early morning start ended up being a great decision.  Other than some local fishermen, Jen and I had the amazing scenery all to ourselves.  After about 30 minutes our guide stopped at some large rocks close to where the dolphins are known to be.  Patiently we waited for the dolphins to make an appearance.  At this point, I was really trying not to get my hopes up.  I mean, with only 12 dolphins in the area, what were the chances that we would see them?  Well, within 5 minutes of our arrival both Jen and the guide spotted a fin.  Me, I was looking in the wrong direction.  I was crushed.  Surely that would be the only sighting of the day.  I tried to keep up a positive outward appearance but inside I was dejected and was ready to pack it in.  Then suddenly I saw it.  About 30 meters away I saw the faint sight of a fin and just as quickly as it appeared it was gone.  I was elated.  After that, the dolphins began appearing more frequently and much closer.  It was as if the dolphins could sense my excitement.  Hey, it’s possible.

After about 30 minutes our guide offered (for an additional 30,000 kip) to take us further south to a nearby waterfall.  Returning to land and hoping aboard a taxi bus, we headed off to Khone Phapheng Waterfall.  Actually, Khone Phapheng is the largest waterfall, by volume, in SE Asia and it did not disappoint.  The best part of the waterfall trip though was when our guide had to refill his fuel tank.  After sending us back to the boat explaining that he had to buy some gas for the return trip, he quickly returned with a blue plastic bag full of gas and using a water bottle as a funnel, we were ready to go.  It was funny to see Jen scold our local guide when he tossed the used bag into the river.  He did retrieve it although he simply picked it up and threw it in another boat.  I’m sure that bag is somewhere in Cambodia or Vietnam by now.

After what seemed like a full and long day, we returned to our guesthouse.  Actually it was only 11:00 am but we were still pretty tired.  The rest of the day we spent avoiding the sun and trying to beat the heat.  Despite the beautiful surroundings, we came to the conclusion that we would leave the next day and head off to Vientiane.  

VIENTIANE

The trip back to Vientiane would take us back to Pakse where we would hop aboard the beloved sleeper bus once more.  Still overheated from our time in Si Phan Don, the air-con in the bus was a welcome treat.  Arriving in Vientiane in the early hours of the morning, we headed straight to Joma, our favorite coffee shop from Luang Prabang which also has a location in the capital.  For the next few hours we relaxed, drank a lot of coffee and enjoyed the free wifi.  At around noon, we decided it was time to look for some accommodations.  

Taking the initiative (for once) I set off alone and on foot.  I pride myself in my sense of direction and usually it’s pretty good but this time I was way off.  Despite having a map in hand and having carefully marked off the locations of a few potential guesthouses, I basically spent the next couple of hours walking around aimlessly in the heart of Vientiane.  Completely frustrated and extremely sweaty, I was on my way back to Joma to admit my failure to Jen, when I found myself in front of the Family Hotel.  Normally I wouldn’t even bother going into a place like this as it appeared to be out of our price range but I figured what have I got to lose.  Well, looks like the ol’ intuition at least was intact.  It was a brand new hotel, the rooms were really nice and reasonably priced, and the staff was very friendly.  As I proudly marched my way back to Joma, the Vientiane skies opened up and it continued to rain for pretty much the rest of the day.  That was fine with us though.  Jen and I were feeling pretty lazy and happy to spend a day drinking coffee and getting caught up on emails, photos, and news.  As a bonus, we met a super nice couple also seeking shelter from the rain named Richard and Emily.  Originally from New Zealand but living and working in London for the past 5 years, they were really interesting people.  We ended up chatting over lunch and coffee and had dinner and drinks with them later on that evening.

When we returned to the guesthouse to check in (by the way, Jen was impressed with my find) we discovered that we were the very first guests of the hotel.  In fact after we returned from dinner with Richard and Emily that evening, the receptionist asked if they could take our photo the next day at 10 am for their website.  I’m not sure if anyone has noticed from our photos or not, but for the last couple of weeks I’ve been sporting my new Puma hat almost 100% of the time (thanks in large part to a “haircut” I received in Vang Vieng).  Feeling a bit excited for our “photo shoot” we decided that we would look a bit more presentable than usual.  I did my hair and Jen put on a dress, ditching her lululemon gear for the day.  As we ate breakfast we eyed the hotel clock and as the time approached 10 am, I tried to contain my excitement.  But as it reached 10:30 and still no sign of a photographer, I tried to hide my disappointment.  So we decided to head out and rent a scooter to check out some of the local sights.  I was happy again.  

While Vientiane may be the capital of Laos, we didn’t find that much to fill up our time.  Sure, we had some good meals and the sights that we saw were pretty nice but coupled with the rain and our general laziness, we really didn’t do too much other than take it easy.  Besides, both Jen and I were pretty excited for Vietnam which would be our next destination.  

We both enjoyed our time in Laos.  I think Jen best summed it up with the following quote, “It’s like the Saskatchewan of SE Asia”.  Stuck in the middle between Thailand and Vietnam, there’s no sea, but the people are super nice.  It’s a great place to visit and in the end, you like it but you’re not always completely sure why.

Oh, and when we checked out of the Family Hotel, the manager explained that because of the rain the photographer was not able to make it the previous day.  I quickly offered that we could take the photos and email them to her.  Not sure when the website will be up but bookmark www.familyhotellaos.com to check us out.  Yippee!!!

For photos go to http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Pakse & the Bolevan Plateau, May 6 to 7 (Jen)

After Vang Vieng, we realized that it was time for us to plan a little bit farther than 2 days ahead. We had to choose whether to continue from the south of Laos into Cambodia, or somehow get to Vietnam. We now have a plan to fly out of Laos to Hanoi (as opposed to taking a take a 20+ hour bus ride there), and work our way south through Vietnam and Cambodia, then finally back into Thailand. This decision was of course motivated by my desire to see my host family and friends in Bangkok at least one more time before leaving Asia. With this in mind, we completely skipped over Vientiane and headed straight to Pakse in the south of Laos, keeping in mind that we would eventually be returning to the capital city to get a flight to Hanoi.

The first great thing about Pakse was the transportation there. We first rode an uneventful bus from Vang Vieng to Vientiane. From there we were able to book an overnight “sleeping bus” to Pakse leaving at 8:30pm. This gave us enough time to enjoy a tasty dinner, complete with Greek salad, flat bread pizza, and white wine by “Nam Phu” the pretty fountain in the center of Laos’ capital city (sample of things to come in Vientiane . . . ). Based on our bus experiences to date in this country, I was a little apprehensive about the “sleeping” bus, but it turned out to be fantastic. They gave us snacks, water, and candies, when we boarded and I woke up to nice moist towels to freshen up in the morning. I slept the entire way there. Perry slept too, but managed to fit in a lot more ipod time than me as usual.

On arrival, after a sweet and thick Lao coffee, we set about finding a place to stay (Sabaidee 2 guesthouse . . . not bad) and renting a motorbike (sorry Grandma!). We drove to a village about 15km or so out of town called Ban Saphai where we could take a small and very tippy boat to an island village called Don Kho. It was a lovely place! Everyone was so friendly and smiley there. We were defenseless against the sweet ladies there and bought some of their hand woven silk. (It is beautiful, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it.) We wandered around, and had some mango with our guide and a couple of village ladies. It was a relaxing afternoon.

Next day we headed out to the Bolevan Plateau, a fertile plateau 1500m above the Mekong valley. After the motorbike ride the day before, I decided I’d had enough and convinced Perry to take the one day trip on offer at our guesthouse to see the waterfalls, rivers, and tea and coffee plantations for which the plateau is famous. We enjoyed the trip because the waterfalls were truly gorgeous. The tea and coffee plantation visits were also interesting, and gave us the extra mid-day caffeine kick we are getting a little too used to.

One thing we did NOT enjoy about the Bolevan Plateau tour were the village visits, which seem to be incorporated into just about every activity here in Laos. We have had some great experiences visiting rural villages throughout the country thus far with Green Discovery. Well, this was our opportunity to observe how it really should NOT be done. I felt completely intrusive. Our guide did not speak to anyone in the villages we visited, let alone give proper instructions to his van full of tourists regarding how to behave with sufficient cultural respect. He also arrived at one of the villages by driving up to, I swear almost into, the school house with Thai pop music blaring. It was more than a little disruptive to the lessons. As a result of what I’m sure has been a multitude of similar visits, some of the children were aggressive beggars and a few of the people in our group unwittingly gave them entirely inappropriate “gifts”. I found the whole experience unsettling, and felt guilty for not asking enough questions before booking and supporting this activity. I guess we just got so used the professionalism and cultural sensitivity at Green Discovery, we assumed other groups would operate similarly. Not so . . . lesson learned.

One strange fact about Laos is that nearly every town seems to have an Indian restaurant called Nazim’s. I’ve no idea why Indian food, or why they must all have the same name. That evening we had Indian food at Nazim’s with a really nice German fellow we had met on the way to Luang Prabang, and luckily ran into again in Pakse. Fabian is planning to travel through Canada beginning this summer. (Ladies, you may just want to check him out in my facebook friends and offer up your couch. Just saying . . . ) Anyhow, after dinner we decided to check out Pakse nightlife, which is pretty much nonexistent save a brand spanking new bowling alley. So, the three of us went bowling! It was pretty fun; definitely a change. Perry was a big hit because he seemed to manage a strike 95% of the time. (Show off!)

All in all, we really enjoyed our time in Pakse. The town itself felt a bit less touristy than some of the other places we’ve been in Laos. Possibly because many people skip Pakse to head directly to Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands), which is our next destination as well. I’ll let Perry fill you in . . . .

For more photos http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Vang Vieng, May 2 to May 4 (Perry)

Leaving Luang Prabang was difficult and being that Vang Vieng was our next destination made it even more so. From what we had heard and/or read about the place, both Jen and I were torn as to whether or not we should even bother. On one hand, we heard that you could spend the day tubing down the Mekong, while making the occasional pit stop at a multitude of riverside bars. Sounds alright . . . On the other hand, we heard the place was overrun with TV bars showing either Friends, Family Guy, or The Simpsons. Wait a second, how is this a bad thing?

After a 7 hour trip aboard a "VIP" bus, we arrived in Vang Vieng. For the life of me, I have no idea what those 3 letters stand for in Laos because this bus ride was anything but “VIP”. The trip was only supposed to take 4 hours but I guess it’s hard to keep a schedule when your bus is incapable of making it uphill on the first attempt. The routine was that it would chug uphill as far as it could go (which wasn’t much) until the engine shut off. Then the driver would roll down the hill in neutral, until he could finally get the thing into gear and reattempt the ascent. Ultimately the bus broke just broke down furthering our delay.

When we finally reached our destination, what we saw confirmed our initial, indecisive thoughts. The town itself could best be described as Koh Phang Ngan’s ugly sister. Don’t get me wrong, I love Friends and Family Guy as much as the next person, but this seemed a bit much. It’s as if someone in the town got wind that backpackers like to watch TV and drink beer at the same time and the idea exploded. You couldn’t walk more than a minute without hearing Ross’ annoying voice. The charm of Luang Prabang was nowhere to be found. Yet at the same time, the surrounding landscape was some of the most spectacular we had seen in Laos, with the Nam Song River and a beautiful mountain range only a stone’s throw away.

The next day, we rented mountain bikes to check out the area. Our first stop was an organic mulberry farm and restaurant situated along the Nam Song about 5 km north of town. What’s a mulberry you ask? I have no idea but it makes for a great fruit shake. Toss in the homemade goat cheese and the restaurant was a definite treat. Not to mention that the farm supported numerous development activities in the area, such as financing a school bus for local children. While enjoying our tasty meal, we realized that we were mere feet from the tubing launch spot. How did we know this? Well the endless pumping of Akon’s “I Wanna Make Love” and Rihanna was a definite giveaway. It really was quite a sight. Imagine elevated decks lining the river complete with swings, zip lines, and giant water slides. Crazy! I hate to say it but as fun as this may sound, it really put us off the whole tubing idea. Dang, I think we are getting old!!! (Perhaps if the water appeared more than two feet deep, we may have been swayed . . . the end of dry season seemed to be a dangerous time to engage in these kinds of activities.)

We continued our bike ride and decided to check out some of the local caves. Only 20 minutes west from town (across the river) we reached a relatively small rock formation (I think karst is the proper term. This word is all over our Lonely Planet, but I had to look it up . . .) which housed not only a cave mid way, but a great viewpoint at the top. After paying our mandatory 10,000 kip each to the “ticket booth” at the bottom, we started the steep climb up jagged limestone and sketchy looking bamboo bridges and ladders. The cave was interesting enough but what made the approximately 500 meter climb worthwhile was the viewpoint, which offered us a spectacular panorama of Vang Vieng’s surrounding areas. After taking in the amazing scenery we started our descent, which not surprisingly was a bit tough. I don’t think flip-flops would be considered proper footwear for the terrain.

The next day, instead of tubing (did I mention we were a little put off by it?) we decided to join a kayak tour along the Nam Song river. The tour was a combination of kayaking and trekking to a couple of nearby caves. As usual we started off the day with a good hearty breakfast at our guesthouse’s restaurant. What made the breakfast a bit more enjoyable was the airing of Family Guy in the background. (While I still didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t find any Lao culture whatsoever in Vang Vieng, I decided a little Family Guy in the morning wouldn’t harm anyone.)

Starting about 10 km north of town, the kayaking was a great alternative way to enjoy the river. Our first stop of the day brought us to the Nam Tha cave which provided us a bit of a challenge because, as advised by the tour operator, both Jen and I once again had only our trusted flip-flops which didn’t always provide the best of grip on wet rock. As we continued our kayak ride down the river, both Jen and I started to get a feeling of deja vu. It wasn’t that we recognized our surroundings but that we started to hear the faint, yet unmistakable sound of Akon. As we got a little closer, Rihanna’s Disturbia pierced it’s way into our ears. Yup, we were close to the tubing bars. Now I know that I’ve only mentioned two musical artists here, but really, it was as if the multitude of bars all had the same playlist and they simply pressed play at different times. Anyways, our initial view of the river bars turned out to be merely a glimpse. Not to repeat myself, but it was really quite a sight. It was as if every family that lived along the river had bought some Beer Lao and a cooler, strung up a rope for swinging, and opened up a makeshift bar where falang could get wasted in their bikinis. I wouldn’t trust the construction of most of the swings, and definitely not the slides. (We actually heard that a South Korean girl had died on one of the slides only weeks prior to our visit.) A bit eerie and even more sad though was that many of the bars were completely empty. I suppose the result of low season combined with economic downturn . . . or maybe more people like us deciding it was all just too much.

We reached our second cave shortly after we passed the row of bars and this one was definitely more intimidating. It wasn’t just that the the total length of the cave was around 13 km but mostly because no one had ever gone all the way through. (How then, do they know it is 13 km you ask? I’ve no idea and didn’t get an answer from our guide . . . ) As well, we learned midway through the tour, this was only our guide’s third time visiting this particular cave. As it turned out, the cave was not that bad (although I did slip down a muddy hill) and we turned around after about going about 3 km in.

After our time in Vang Vieng, I still have to say that we both have mixed feelings about the place. We both loved the scenery and the surrounding areas, and we had a good time kayaking and exploring the caves. In terms of the town, it just seems a pity. Yeah, the TV and movie bars are definitely a guilty pleasure that we both took advantage of once or twice, but it’s difficult to see what could be a beautiful little town stripped of all its culture simply to entertain a bunch of tourists. (Ok, I’m possibly being a bit harsh and hypocritical . . . )

Photos at http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Luang Prabang, April 27 to May 2 (Jen)

Seems I’m falling into my old habits . . . namely, procrastination. Yes, it has been quite awhile since we have updated our blog. I could blame it on the extremely slow internet connections here in Laos, or on how we’ve been hectically exploring the country, but all of that would be a lie. (Although the connections truly are slow!) It is now May 11th and I am finally writing about our wonderful time in Luang Prabang.

The first adventure was getting there. First we spent one day on a bus from Luang Nam Tha to Huay Xai, back where we had originally crossed the border from Thailand. The ride was hot and dusty as usual, but largely uneventful. Our bus did get a flat tire, but luckily they had a spare and were surprisingly speedy at getting up and running again. After a night in Huay Xai, we took a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong, with a stop overnight in a town called Pak Beng. You’ll notice there are no photos of Pak Beng . . . there is truly nothing there. The boat ride itself was lovely, if long. The air was cool and not dusty which was refreshing. However, the benches were tiny and they packed at least 120 people onto the boat. It was shocking as tourists with huge backpacks just kept coming and coming, long after all of the seats were filled. The floor turned out to be more comfy half the time anyhow though. Many of the falang on board spent the days boozing and playing cards. The first day we avoided drinking anything in an attempt not to use the facilities on board, but the second day we caved and joined the party. The whole experience was fun, and definitely preferable to bus travel.

Luang Prabang is the second largest city in Laos, and a very quaint place. After our time up north “roughing it” we were happy to embrace city life. The first night we checked into the Lonely Planet recommended accommodations, which consisted of a bed and a shower. There was absolutely nowhere to stand or move around in our room. After calculating that that we were only paying about $5 per night, we decided to upgrade to something a little more spacious. After some looking around and some very impressive bargaining on my part (if I do say so myself . . .) we ended up with a room at Villa Lao Deum. It was such a cute place, run by a really, really nice family. Ah, now it was time to enjoy the charm of Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang has some fantastic western style (i.e. French) restaurants. I had the best salmon pasta I think I’ve ever had in a little French Bistro called “Dao Fa”. We thoroughly enjoyed sampling the many tasty bakeries, coffee shops, etc. We also had really delicious traditional Lao Food one night at a restaurant called "Tamarind". We checked out a couple of the most famous temples, rented bicycles to explore the city, and generally just kicked back for a few days. It was great! We are definitely past the point now where we feel the need to see every sight in the book . . . “wat fatigue” has set in. That said, the walk up to Wat Phou Si was well worth the view of the city.

We also spent some time attempting to educate ourselves about the local people and their traditions. This was not too difficult, as there seems to be many organizations designed to help travelers do just that. We found the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre very interesting. They had great exhibits describing the various different ethnic groups in Laos and some of their customs and traditions. Another organization we discovered was called Stay Another Day (www.stayanotherday.org), which attempts to help travelers to be more culturally sensitive and informed. I.e. to leave a positive effect rather than a negative one on the countries we visit.

Of course, I loved the Luang Prabang night market. The food was not so inviting as Thailand, except for a $3 grilled fish stuffed with lemongrass we had one night (yum!), but the products for sale were gorgeous. The market had a feel similar to Chiang Mai, only on a smaller scale, with less imported, mass produced products and more handmade items. When asked, the sellers all insisted that they had actually made each item themselves and I tended to believe them. There were so many beautiful handicrafts on sale, and so many endearing sellers, that I found it very hard not to fill a second backpack. So, I filled a box destined for home instead. Here’s hoping the Laos postal service won’t let us down!

Once we felt nice and relaxed again, we decided to do a day of mountain biking in the area around Luang Prabang. It was great to be on a proper bike again, i.e. one with gears and suspension. Due to our initially slow pace, we at first assumed we were in for an easy day. However, on the 10th steep uphill, I was only hoping I would make it back to town before drowning in my own sweat. It was tough, but the views were great and it felt good to get some real exercise. Our guide “Geer” was lots of fun. I’ve no idea how he made it through the day in his jeans and on a bike that was obviously way too large for him.

On our last day in Luang Prabang, we made the effort to drag ourselves out of bed early enough to observe the morning alms giving to the monks. There are many temples in Luang Prabang and consequently many monks, as well as a large number of young novices studying in the temples around the city centre. It truly was a colorful sight to see, all of them in their bright orange robes taking to the streets. We didn’t partake in any offering, as we are not Buddhist. We merely watched from a distance. Of course the day we chose it poured rain, but that seemed to add to the experience. It was interesting to see all of the young monks hiding under their umbrellas. They looked truly freezing! Watching them, I realized that many of them were really just kids, laughing and joking with their friends.

After the charm of Luang Prabang, we headed for the absurd craziness that is Vang Vieng. I’ll let Perry tell you all about that.

We have put up three albums from Luang Prabang (journey, 1, and 2) at
http://gallery.me.com/adamschen

Love to everybody at home. We miss you!
Jen