Hi everybody.
“Hi Dr. Nick.”
So it has been a little while since I’ve written and in the intervening time Ive left the beautiful but somewhat spoiled Thailand behind and entered deep into Laos, which so far seems like a truly amazing country, and reminds me of India and Nepal more than Thailand. But lets go back.
Last time I wrote on here I was in Pai a little town in the lovely northern Thai mountains that is quite beautiful but also quite overrun. For a lot of people these marks their favourite place in south east asia and it certainly is a beautiful little place, but I couldn’t quite fall in love with it, probably due to my no drinking and drugs life clashing with the traditional Pai backpacker. That said I enjoyed the rest of my time there spending an awful lot of it in hammocks relaxing, reading, and detoxing. I started a diet in Pai and have managed to keep it up so far, i think i’ve lost 10-15 pounds so far and would love to keep that up.
From Pai it was a 4 hour motion sickness exercise of a minivan back down out of the mountains and into Chiang Mai. From there I spent 2 hours waiting in the bus station, and writing frantically and more productively than in a long time and then another 3 hour bus to Chiang Rai, a sleepier and smaller Chiang Mai and home of the wondrous and yet to be completed White Temple. A unique and startling creation on the outskirts of the city.
Beyond the wandering and the leaving of a token behind for my dear mother the day was made complete by wandering into the workshop area and following on the heels of a documentary crew who met the master behind the design of the entire thing, a man who i followed for a while and even got to speak with briefly. It is strange to think about but he is already deep into middle age and the temples are not due to be completed until 2070, a date he is unlikely to live too. Still he spoke with passion about the work and the work of his apprentices and he certainly has a unique and beautiful vision for this temple complex.
After Chiang Rai I embarked on a long 2 day journey into Laos, up the Mekong river. A public bus and tuk tuk combination took me to the thai boarder which went smoothly, then after a confusing bus ride to the Lao side where the wait was almost 2 hours to get my visa on arrival. I began to worry I’d miss the slow boat and have to take a night bus to Luang Prabang, but after a dramatic dash down the steps to the pier and a minor jump onto the last boat I settled in to watch the scenery drift by.
The journey was pleasant enough and a great place to meet people, including a pretty awesome american guy with the thick carolina accent and a definite way with words. “That girl looks like she got stung by a bumblebee. I’d pull the stinger out of her ass any day” That kind of thing.
I’d heard a lot of horror stories about the slow boat and a lot of wondrous tales. As is the case in most things, the experience was neither extreme. It was a pleasant journey and probably beats a bumpy bus ride for the scenery and conversation, but after a while the scenery gets old and your left to catch up on reading and thinking, which is also nice.
I will admit that by the time we reached Luang Prabang around 5 pm the second day, I was eager to get off the boat, especially having a german man about the size of me dozing against me for the last few hours. I ended up climbing down into the river and helping them unload all the bags before grabbing a tuk tuk with 7 dutch guys into town.
I settled into my dorm which was nice for the social aspect, though not so nice for sleep. Lots of drunk snoring backpackers who came home late at night, i even got the joy of waking up to listen to the welsh guy in the bed next to me get lucky, which is just always super awkward. Still I enjoyed my stay at Khammany house and they certainly can’t be blamed for guest behaviour.
Luang Prabang itself is a beautiful little town on the mekong river, and while there is definitely a lot of tourists, it doesn’t have the same swarmed feeling of a lot of thailand and doesn’t spoil the vibe. the city is filled with Wat’s (temples), good food (french influence), and lovely french inspired architecture. I will say it’s a frustrating place to diet as food is plentiful, delicious, and cheap and french pastries are all over the place. Still I stayed strong. I’ll give one thing to the Mekong it has some of the nicest sunsets I’ve ever seen and lots of nice reading and writing nooks on it’s banks.
Today I left Luang Prabang behind for a few days though I will be back before long. I’d booked a seat on a minibus to the small riverside town of Nong Khiaw, however when I made it to the bus station I was told the bus was not running but my ticket was good for the pick up truck. At 3.5 hours it was a long journey but well worth it and not just because of the destination. I was the only tourist amongst the tightly packed passengers and I must say that after only a few days in Laos the locals seem like the nicest folks in all the world, always smiling, laughing and very helpful. while the ride was not comfortable, or good for my damaged leg, the scenery was terrific and the local children seemed enamoured with my white face, which is always fun.
I’m now in Nong Khiaw and loving it, dramatic cliffs sprout from nothing beside the lazy river which runs through a town with just a few guesthouses and lots of spectacular nature walks. Tomorrow I’m headed out on a trek called the 100 waterfall trek, so let’s hope I live through it. It should be fun.
All the best everyone, and know that I’m loving life in Laos.
