My first meal at AMD was very eventful. There was an Australian miner meeting with a table full of Laotians. As soon as we sat down the Australian sent over a bottle of wine to our table and said, “On the house!” We were appreciative. Throughout the meal two of the Laotians he was meeting with came over to cheers our table. After they finished their meal, the Australian stayed behind to pay the bill. He gave us two more bottles of wine and explained that every quarter he meets with the heads of the military. We spent some time chatting about his 8 years living in Laos. He told us that when he first arrived there were very few cars in the country due to extremely high taxation. The year the government lowered the tax rate, 1.6 million cars were sold and only 200,000 licenses were issued. That statistic alone convinces you to not even consider renting a car in Laos.
This leg of the trip has been filled with new and quirky people. On a bus I met an older American named Henry. He was extremely outgoing to an obnoxious extent. On the tuk tuk ride to the bus there was a South Korean girl. Once on the bus he felt the need to make sure all Koreans on the bus were aware of one another’s presence. It was really strange. We kind of adopted him. He had nowhere to stay and seemed a bit senile. So we found him a guesthouse and booked it for him. Meeting him definitely opened my mind to alternative retirement plans. Instead of paying the high cost of living in the US, he places his social security checks towards an apartment in Bangkok (only 100 USD a month) and travels around teaching the importance of peace. I just pray that at his age I have kids to keep me in line because I already know I will be a hand full and will constantly be planning some big trip. We also met two really enjoyable Germans, Miriam and Simon. Miriam and I have already made plans to meet up in Cambodia and as I write this Simon is traveling with us for a week in Luang Prabang. Both are very down to earth and my type of people. I also met a French woman named Lauren in a swimming hole. It is so nice to meet people my age with similar interests.
One day we rented scooters. I was warned the road to the Blue Lagoon was bad. Well I had been warned for a reason. The road is HORRENDOUS. Over the years the massive quarry trucks have left behind huge craters and rocks along the road. Frankie was bounced all over the place. Once at the Blue Lagoon, I was extremely unimpressed. The water was a brilliant color, but the area was very small and there were huge groups of tourists. The area is so overrun that I don’t really advise spending time there. The cave above the lagoon is awesome to explore. We spent about 35 minutes walking about 400 meters into its depths. The trip inside wasn’t easy and you must have a flashlight. If you have a headlamp, bring it! If you don’t have a light, you can pay 10,000 Kip down the hill to rent one. Inside there are huge craters that made the exploration a bit more hazardous. At one point we entered a cavern and in the far distance I spotted a light. When we reached it, we found Paychung, a South Korean walking about with nothing except a cell phone light. He just naturally joined our group, since we came equipped with high powered flashlights. He didn’t speak very much English, but it was nice to have our numbers swell. We continued to run into him over the next two days at random spots usually far outside of town. He would wave and say, “I bike here!”
The last day in Vang Vieng was a perfect close to the city. We joined Wonderful Tours for a kayak and inner tube tour. The tour took us into the Water Cave on inner tubes. There were ropes inside that we could pull ourselves along. I was really amazed how deep the cave is and recommend a visit. Beware of the massive groups of Korean tourists. It is really odd how many older Koreans were in Van Vieng. The guide advised us to avoid any establishments that have signs in Korean. They normally have higher prices, since the Koreans are willing to pay more just to have a menu in their language. Inside the cave all the Koreans, at the encouragement of the guides, would take much joy in violently kicking their legs to splash us. After the Water Cave, we visited the Elephant Cave. The guide explained a bit of history of the region. He said that the area was originally a thick teak forest with lots of elephants. After conflict broke out in Vietnam many farmers were displaced. So they moved west away from the Vietnam border and massive areas of land mines. They cleared large parts of the forest to create farmland. He pointed out that the massive bell in the cave, which monks use to tell the village the time, was made out of a massive bombshell. The people of this region had to suffer so much. It is really amazing to see how strong they are and the fact that they show such kindness to foreigners. I think a lot of people in SE Asia are a bit jilted against the foreign tourists, but Laos is so inviting. Several restaurants we went to were decorated with bombshells collected from the Field of Jars. One even had a bomb barbeque!
After the caves we kayaked down the river for 2 hours. What a beautiful place! If you come to Laos, do a kayak trip! My boat partner was Miriam and we did stupendously if I do say so myself. She and Simon joined for dinner at AMD. I wish they were going to be my travel partners for the whole trip!
The last thing I have of value to share is the 8 hour bus ride to Luang Prabang. As soon as I stepped on the bus I shucked in a mouth full of dust. Since we weren’t heading out right away, I went in search of a mop. The bathroom attendant looked apprehensive when I commandeered her mop. I went up and down the aisles of bus to the other passengers’ amusement. Several people called out, “Are they paying you? Do you get a free ride?” The scenery the whole way was really beautiful. Green mountains were lined up one after another. The problem with the mountains were that we had to go up and over them. Many people got motion sickness. To prevent my own bowels from evacuating themselves too freely I had to take some of Tim’s mysterious Dutch pills. They worked. My bowels wouldn’t let me relieve myself for two days. At every rest break the group of Australians sitting behind me bought beer. About half way through the trip I heard a loud gargle and inhaled a strong sniff of vomit. One of the guys had thrown up on an elderly woman sitting next time him. The smell bothered her so much that she then began throwing up. It was Puke Fest 2014. Stay tuned soon for an update on the French colonial town of Luang Prabang.
This leg of the trip has been filled with new and quirky people. On a bus I met an older American named Henry. He was extremely outgoing to an obnoxious extent. On the tuk tuk ride to the bus there was a South Korean girl. Once on the bus he felt the need to make sure all Koreans on the bus were aware of one another’s presence. It was really strange. We kind of adopted him. He had nowhere to stay and seemed a bit senile. So we found him a guesthouse and booked it for him. Meeting him definitely opened my mind to alternative retirement plans. Instead of paying the high cost of living in the US, he places his social security checks towards an apartment in Bangkok (only 100 USD a month) and travels around teaching the importance of peace. I just pray that at his age I have kids to keep me in line because I already know I will be a hand full and will constantly be planning some big trip. We also met two really enjoyable Germans, Miriam and Simon. Miriam and I have already made plans to meet up in Cambodia and as I write this Simon is traveling with us for a week in Luang Prabang. Both are very down to earth and my type of people. I also met a French woman named Lauren in a swimming hole. It is so nice to meet people my age with similar interests.
One day we rented scooters. I was warned the road to the Blue Lagoon was bad. Well I had been warned for a reason. The road is HORRENDOUS. Over the years the massive quarry trucks have left behind huge craters and rocks along the road. Frankie was bounced all over the place. Once at the Blue Lagoon, I was extremely unimpressed. The water was a brilliant color, but the area was very small and there were huge groups of tourists. The area is so overrun that I don’t really advise spending time there. The cave above the lagoon is awesome to explore. We spent about 35 minutes walking about 400 meters into its depths. The trip inside wasn’t easy and you must have a flashlight. If you have a headlamp, bring it! If you don’t have a light, you can pay 10,000 Kip down the hill to rent one. Inside there are huge craters that made the exploration a bit more hazardous. At one point we entered a cavern and in the far distance I spotted a light. When we reached it, we found Paychung, a South Korean walking about with nothing except a cell phone light. He just naturally joined our group, since we came equipped with high powered flashlights. He didn’t speak very much English, but it was nice to have our numbers swell. We continued to run into him over the next two days at random spots usually far outside of town. He would wave and say, “I bike here!”
The last day in Vang Vieng was a perfect close to the city. We joined Wonderful Tours for a kayak and inner tube tour. The tour took us into the Water Cave on inner tubes. There were ropes inside that we could pull ourselves along. I was really amazed how deep the cave is and recommend a visit. Beware of the massive groups of Korean tourists. It is really odd how many older Koreans were in Van Vieng. The guide advised us to avoid any establishments that have signs in Korean. They normally have higher prices, since the Koreans are willing to pay more just to have a menu in their language. Inside the cave all the Koreans, at the encouragement of the guides, would take much joy in violently kicking their legs to splash us. After the Water Cave, we visited the Elephant Cave. The guide explained a bit of history of the region. He said that the area was originally a thick teak forest with lots of elephants. After conflict broke out in Vietnam many farmers were displaced. So they moved west away from the Vietnam border and massive areas of land mines. They cleared large parts of the forest to create farmland. He pointed out that the massive bell in the cave, which monks use to tell the village the time, was made out of a massive bombshell. The people of this region had to suffer so much. It is really amazing to see how strong they are and the fact that they show such kindness to foreigners. I think a lot of people in SE Asia are a bit jilted against the foreign tourists, but Laos is so inviting. Several restaurants we went to were decorated with bombshells collected from the Field of Jars. One even had a bomb barbeque!
After the caves we kayaked down the river for 2 hours. What a beautiful place! If you come to Laos, do a kayak trip! My boat partner was Miriam and we did stupendously if I do say so myself. She and Simon joined for dinner at AMD. I wish they were going to be my travel partners for the whole trip!
The last thing I have of value to share is the 8 hour bus ride to Luang Prabang. As soon as I stepped on the bus I shucked in a mouth full of dust. Since we weren’t heading out right away, I went in search of a mop. The bathroom attendant looked apprehensive when I commandeered her mop. I went up and down the aisles of bus to the other passengers’ amusement. Several people called out, “Are they paying you? Do you get a free ride?” The scenery the whole way was really beautiful. Green mountains were lined up one after another. The problem with the mountains were that we had to go up and over them. Many people got motion sickness. To prevent my own bowels from evacuating themselves too freely I had to take some of Tim’s mysterious Dutch pills. They worked. My bowels wouldn’t let me relieve myself for two days. At every rest break the group of Australians sitting behind me bought beer. About half way through the trip I heard a loud gargle and inhaled a strong sniff of vomit. One of the guys had thrown up on an elderly woman sitting next time him. The smell bothered her so much that she then began throwing up. It was Puke Fest 2014. Stay tuned soon for an update on the French colonial town of Luang Prabang.
