Written on the bus from Savannahket to Pakse on 12 June
While in Vientiane, I experienced a bit of a travelling lull. It felt like there wasn't much going on; there wasn't a whole lot to see, and we didn't meet very many people. Lizzie's infection put a downer on things. I decided for good that I'll be returning to Toronto in September. I really started to miss home! I know now that things are on their way back up--I'm beginning to remember why I'm travelling in the first place, and what makes it such a worthwhile experience.
We had a morning and part of an afternoon left in Vientiane before taking an evening bus to our next destination, Savannahket. We decided to take this time to find Siphone, a monk whom we'd met in Luang Prabang. Monk Siphone had given us the name of his Vientiane wat; however, because it wasn't on our map, we had yet to visit him there. We decided to use the remainder of our time in Vientiane to find our friend. This involved going from wat to wat asking resident monks to point us in the direction of Wat Chomtai Dongnachok. This was no easy feat! We had hired bikes, which turned out to be absolutely necessary--Siphone's wat was far! We were very pleased with ourselves when we finally arrived. Monk Siphone was, too. He thought we'd left Laos already! He was having a nap when we turned up, so he showed us his sleeping quarters, which were just as basic as we'd imagined them to be. Siphone's possessions were minimal: all he had in his tiny room were some books, a neat stack of orange robes and a small radio (monks may only listen to quiet music music in their rooms). He gave Lizzie and I a small introductory book to Buddhism, which I read later that evening on the bus. We were very glad we'd made the effort to see our new friend.
After an eight-hour bus ride--throughout which Thai music videos were played altogether too loudly for our liking--we arrived in Savannahket at 2 AM. The bus station was closed, but not completely deserted. We knew the town centre wasn't very far from the station, so we took our bags and started walking; it was either this, or staying at the station till daybreak. We'd made the right decision: a few metres down the road we found a guesthouse in which a group of young Lao men was up watching Euro cup football. For about $6, we got a room with two beds, a bathroom, and even a TV! It felt like such a luxury to be able to watch TV--it's been a while! We spend the night flipping between the Greece-Sweden game and the Scripp's National Spelling Bee. Both were equally riveting.
Savannahket was a small town with very little to do. It saw few tourists, so our presence was even more of a spectacle than usual. Everyone grasped at the opportunity to practise their English with some foreigners.
That evening, Lizzie and I wanted to check out the Savan nightlife, but as expected, there wasn't much to it. Both bars listed in the Lonely Planet were completely empty, so we ended up having some food and drinks at a Lao restaurant with some live music. On our way home Ya, a waiter who wanted to practise his English, coerced us into having a drink at Roses Garden, which was fairly close to our guesthouse. He was quite drunk, and extremely friendly. When we found out he played guitar, we asked him to play something for us. Instead, he got his co-workers to play Enrique Eglaisias' Hero through the speakers, while he sang along passionately. Lizzie and I could hardly contain our laughter--Ya was so taken by this cheesy tune! Luckily, though, Ya was too focused on his singing to notice. All of a sudden, he stopped. He then told us his 21-year-old girlfriend was killed in an accident only a week ago. Our faces dropped. We now understood why Ya was so drunk, and why he stopped singing: he'd been writing a song for his girlfriend, and never got the chance to sing it to her.
Lizzie and I stayed and talked with Ya for about an hour. He told us that he rarely had the opportunity to talk about his tragic loss. He gave us the impression that Lao people do not often express such deep emotion; indeed, Lizzie told him that he was the first Lao person we'd seen cry. He was frustrated that his girlfriend had to be one of the many people who die everyday. He wished it could've been him instead. Our conversation with Ya left Lizzie and I in tears. What touched me the most was that despite all that Ya had been through, he was very concerned with our well-being. He kept changing the subject, asking us if we're happy, and telling us that he wants us to have a really good stay in Laos. He continuously apologised for being drunk and for his English not being good enough. After we'd left him, he followed us to our guesthouse on his motorcycle to thank us, to apologise once more for his drunken state and to say goodbye properly.
Speaking with Ya was a very humbling experience. It is easy to forget that the people we meet along the way, who are so friendly and warm, experience hardship just as we do (if not more so). It felt good to be able to help Ya a tiny bit, if only by listening to what he had to say, and attempting to comfort him as best as we could.
Friday 20 June 2008
Sunday 8 June 2008
Monks and buddhas, drum and bass
We've been in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, for three days now, and I must say that I've quite enjoyed myself! Lizzie, on the other hand, has not been so fortunate: a cut she got in Vang Vieng got seriously infected, so she's been in loads of pain and had to make a trip to the hospital yesterday for some injections and antibiotics. Nevertheless, she's remained positive in her pain, and is happy to be on the road to recovery.
On the night we arrived, Kevin and Paul wanted to meet up for a game of pool with some girls we'd met on the bus ride down. Lizzie and I agreed to come along, although I had my doubts about a few of these girls. Sure enough, one of them--who'd been to Vientiane before and claimed to know where everything was--ended up leading us from bar to bar looking for a pool table, with no clue where she was going. Lizzie and I got fed up, so we decided to abandon the group and head to a place called Bar Pan Nyang, a rooftop bar described by the Lonely Planet as the place to be if "you're on the pull and/or looking to meet fellow travellers". The bar looked really cool: it was very big, with lots of seating, pool tables and a view of the Mekong River. We noticed that there were many Westerners there, but also many locals; we also noticed that they seemed to be mingling with each other quite well. But then we took a closer look, and realised that there was a complete absence of Western women and Lao men. The tables were filled with one or two Western men, surrounded by five or more Lao women. Hmmm... maybe you should revise that despcription of yours, Lonely Planet!
The next bar we found was a swanky little place called Martini. It was very empty and way too pricey for us, but we sat down anyway because we got chatting to Joi, the Lao barman. Joi works as both an English teacher for Lao kids and a Lao teacher for foreigners. Naturally, we got him to teach us loads of new Lao things (like the days of the week) and had a good laugh while we were at it. Apparently, the "kwai" in "Kwai hak jao" (I love you) should actually be pronounced khoi, as kwai means "buffalo".
The next day, I checked out Wat Si Saket, where I met Monk Phanty (I had a good laugh at that name, too). He was eager to improve his English, so I helped him with some of his reading and chatted with him a bit. He offered to take me to see Buddha Park the following day, and I happily accepted. Hanging out with a monk for a morning was quite a cool experience. We took a public bus, on which I was the only non-Lao person. The bus ride was quite long, and (after the paved road ended) very bumpy. I had to pay for the both of us, since monks don't have any money. It was cool to have a monk as a tour guide, though!
That evening, Lizzie was feeling much better, and we decided to hit up a hip hop/drum and bass concert that was going down at the circus, of all places. The crowd was a mix of Lao people and foreigners of all ages--including lots of children!--not really what you'd expect at this kind of show. The opening act was a Lao hip hop group, formed of about ten guys and one girl, all decked out in usual hip-hop attire. The main act was was X Makeena, a French hip hop/drum and bass group. They put on a really good show--it's been a while since I danced so much! Needless to say, I had my best Lao night on the town!
We will be spending the next few days in Vientiane, waiting for Lizzie to heal up before moving on.
On the night we arrived, Kevin and Paul wanted to meet up for a game of pool with some girls we'd met on the bus ride down. Lizzie and I agreed to come along, although I had my doubts about a few of these girls. Sure enough, one of them--who'd been to Vientiane before and claimed to know where everything was--ended up leading us from bar to bar looking for a pool table, with no clue where she was going. Lizzie and I got fed up, so we decided to abandon the group and head to a place called Bar Pan Nyang, a rooftop bar described by the Lonely Planet as the place to be if "you're on the pull and/or looking to meet fellow travellers". The bar looked really cool: it was very big, with lots of seating, pool tables and a view of the Mekong River. We noticed that there were many Westerners there, but also many locals; we also noticed that they seemed to be mingling with each other quite well. But then we took a closer look, and realised that there was a complete absence of Western women and Lao men. The tables were filled with one or two Western men, surrounded by five or more Lao women. Hmmm... maybe you should revise that despcription of yours, Lonely Planet!
The next bar we found was a swanky little place called Martini. It was very empty and way too pricey for us, but we sat down anyway because we got chatting to Joi, the Lao barman. Joi works as both an English teacher for Lao kids and a Lao teacher for foreigners. Naturally, we got him to teach us loads of new Lao things (like the days of the week) and had a good laugh while we were at it. Apparently, the "kwai" in "Kwai hak jao" (I love you) should actually be pronounced khoi, as kwai means "buffalo".
The next day, I checked out Wat Si Saket, where I met Monk Phanty (I had a good laugh at that name, too). He was eager to improve his English, so I helped him with some of his reading and chatted with him a bit. He offered to take me to see Buddha Park the following day, and I happily accepted. Hanging out with a monk for a morning was quite a cool experience. We took a public bus, on which I was the only non-Lao person. The bus ride was quite long, and (after the paved road ended) very bumpy. I had to pay for the both of us, since monks don't have any money. It was cool to have a monk as a tour guide, though!
That evening, Lizzie was feeling much better, and we decided to hit up a hip hop/drum and bass concert that was going down at the circus, of all places. The crowd was a mix of Lao people and foreigners of all ages--including lots of children!--not really what you'd expect at this kind of show. The opening act was a Lao hip hop group, formed of about ten guys and one girl, all decked out in usual hip-hop attire. The main act was was X Makeena, a French hip hop/drum and bass group. They put on a really good show--it's been a while since I danced so much! Needless to say, I had my best Lao night on the town!
We will be spending the next few days in Vientiane, waiting for Lizzie to heal up before moving on.
Wednesday 4 June 2008
Hedonistic Vang Vieng
We've been in Vang Vieng now for... a week? It's difficult to say exactly, since days and nights come and go, and it all becomes a bit of a blur. Vang Vieng is a tiny town designed purely for backpackers. Nobody lives here except people who run the businesses that cater to us travellers: food stalls (mainly pancakes and baguettes), internet cafes, restaurants (most of which play Friends all day long) and bars.
The one thing to do here other than eating and drinking is tubing--which also involves copious amounts of alcohol. We did that on our first day here with Paul and Kevin, whom we did our Luang Prabang trek with. For 40 000 kip (about $4.50), you can hire a tube. A tuk tuk takes you down to the river, where you get on your tube and let the current take you downstream. There are bars along the river, and dudes whose job it is to toss a harpoon-like stick attached to a rope at you. You grab hold of this stick, and they pull you into the bar. The strangest thing about these bars is the little children who walk around giving you free shots of lao lao, a horrid-tasting rice whiskey. They are quite persistent, and don't tend to take 'no' for an answer! Each bar has a really high swing into the water--these are loads of fun, but scary the first time around.
Paul and I went tubing one more time, when alcohol had taken a toll on Lizzie's body and she stayed in bed all day. Apart from that, the only other thing we did was hire some bikes to visit the Pak Ou caves, which were wicked cool. The beginning of the rainy season is upon us, and our ride home left us soaking wet.
This crazy week of partying has been fun, but I've definitely had enough. I'm looking forward to moving on to Vientiane tomorrow. Also, I know I've been really lame when it comes to posting pictures... but check out Lizzie's blog for that!
The one thing to do here other than eating and drinking is tubing--which also involves copious amounts of alcohol. We did that on our first day here with Paul and Kevin, whom we did our Luang Prabang trek with. For 40 000 kip (about $4.50), you can hire a tube. A tuk tuk takes you down to the river, where you get on your tube and let the current take you downstream. There are bars along the river, and dudes whose job it is to toss a harpoon-like stick attached to a rope at you. You grab hold of this stick, and they pull you into the bar. The strangest thing about these bars is the little children who walk around giving you free shots of lao lao, a horrid-tasting rice whiskey. They are quite persistent, and don't tend to take 'no' for an answer! Each bar has a really high swing into the water--these are loads of fun, but scary the first time around.
Paul and I went tubing one more time, when alcohol had taken a toll on Lizzie's body and she stayed in bed all day. Apart from that, the only other thing we did was hire some bikes to visit the Pak Ou caves, which were wicked cool. The beginning of the rainy season is upon us, and our ride home left us soaking wet.
This crazy week of partying has been fun, but I've definitely had enough. I'm looking forward to moving on to Vientiane tomorrow. Also, I know I've been really lame when it comes to posting pictures... but check out Lizzie's blog for that!
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