Sunday, March 27, 2011
Post #10 - Southern Laos
Hello Bloggers,
It's hard to believe we're already writing our tenth installment, but time flies when you're having fun.
We flew from Vientiane to Pakse, in the south, before taking an interesting Songthaew ride to Champasak. We stayed here for two nights, mostly to stop and see the ruins of Wat Phou. These pre-date the Angkor ruins in Cambodia, and the perfect location made them a pleasure to visit. It was interesting because the government is still in the process of protecting the site and collecting important artifacts. In a lot of other places like Italy or Greece, this had been done long ago, so it was cool to see a work in progress. Pat almost had a heat stroke, however. We rode the 10 kilometers out to the ruins on bicycles at the hottest point in the day. We were pouring out sweat much quicker then we could drink water. Wat Phou is small but it's straight up hill a few hundred feet, so by the time we climbed it and biked back we were both starting to get headaches. We drank as much water as we could, but it was too late to stop the migraine-like pounding from taking hold. Luckily that's all it was and Pat was fine by the next day. Lesson learned. There is nothing else to speak of here except for the largest cockroach that has ever lived. It was the size of a man's fist and literally screeched like a bat! Incredible.
We left for Si Phon Don and arrived there after a quick two hour bus ride. The two main islands people stay on are Don Khon and Don Det. We stayed on Don Det. This is a wonderfully relaxing place, and we were happy to spend four nights here. It's pretty basic, with 24 hour electricity only being introduced a couple of years ago. We stayed at "Mama's" Thong Don Family Bungalows. It was idyllic. Our "bungalow"" (more like a shed with a bed) was one of three sitting on the water. As we laid in our hammocks on the balcony, we could take a break from reading and turn our heads to see a perfect sunset every night. When we weren't lounging on the hammocks, we were lounging on inner tubes in the river. A tough 10 step walk from our bungalow led to the Mekong, and the water was perfect. The days were hot, but it didn't really matter since we could jump in the water all day. The river is still deep and powerful, but it's a far cry from up north. It's much wider than in Louang Prabang (which makes sense; think of the Hudson River in Manhattan and then in Albany), so the current is much weaker and the water clearer. They say there are 4,000 islands, but many of them are nothing more than a bush or sand piled an inch above the water. There are sandbars everywhere, and they make for good spots to meet other travelers as we wade in the middle of the river and exchange stories.
The only drawback, which didn't turn into a drawback at all, was the money situation. We weren't thinking and didn't take money out before traveling to the area, so we had to ration everything to make it last the four days. This meant we didn't take the boat out to the pool to see the rare Irrawaddy dolphins, but it was probable we wouldn't have seen them anyway. Everyone we talked to who did go did not have any luck, despite the fact they're the islands star attraction. The one day we didn't just sit on our asses we rented bikes and rode to Don Det's larger neighbor, Don Khon. We rode about 15 kilometers overall, but we were sure to drink a ton of water. We were also able to stop whenever we wanted for a refreshing dip in the river. The best site we saw was the impressive Somphamit Waterfall(s). We coincidentally bumped into our friends Jon and Sarah from the north of Laos as well. We've agreed to meet up in Phnom Penh for dinner.
The best part of Si Phon Don was the relaxing, however, and meeting all sorts of interesting people. The Thong Don family are awesome. There is Mama and Papa, along with a multitude of other family members, our favorite being Oui. One day Papa and his friends decided not to work, and took a bottle or two of laolao (Lao rice whiskey) over to one of the islands and got smashed. Shauna and I were invited to join them as we passed by on our tubes. We drank the harsh, homemade whiskey and ate fresh raw snails they collected from the river only seconds before. After wrapping them in the leaves ripped off the bushes and dipping them in sweet chili sauce, they weren't half bad. Papa and his friends said we were friends for life. They loved we were brave enough to try it. The different guests also added to the atmosphere. There were a group of young hippie French students who didn't move much from the floor of the restaurant/hang out area. They helped organize a "dance party" our first night there and it was a great introduction to the island. Two Brits, who overlapped us by only that first night, ordered a bottle of laolao and promptly finished it seven minutes later. There was a lovely American couple from Portland, OR, who were traveling for six weeks after a year of teaching in Korea. There were a ton of Canadians as well for some reason. They're all over SE Asia of course, but an inordinate amount of the people we met over the four days seemed to have come from Canada. They've given us a lot of tips for our cross continent trip this summer and have gotten us excited for the Canadian Rockies.
Overall, Don Det was a great place to chill out before hitting the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat.
We'll be back in a week or so.
Peace,
S&P
It's hard to believe we're already writing our tenth installment, but time flies when you're having fun.
We flew from Vientiane to Pakse, in the south, before taking an interesting Songthaew ride to Champasak. We stayed here for two nights, mostly to stop and see the ruins of Wat Phou. These pre-date the Angkor ruins in Cambodia, and the perfect location made them a pleasure to visit. It was interesting because the government is still in the process of protecting the site and collecting important artifacts. In a lot of other places like Italy or Greece, this had been done long ago, so it was cool to see a work in progress. Pat almost had a heat stroke, however. We rode the 10 kilometers out to the ruins on bicycles at the hottest point in the day. We were pouring out sweat much quicker then we could drink water. Wat Phou is small but it's straight up hill a few hundred feet, so by the time we climbed it and biked back we were both starting to get headaches. We drank as much water as we could, but it was too late to stop the migraine-like pounding from taking hold. Luckily that's all it was and Pat was fine by the next day. Lesson learned. There is nothing else to speak of here except for the largest cockroach that has ever lived. It was the size of a man's fist and literally screeched like a bat! Incredible.
We left for Si Phon Don and arrived there after a quick two hour bus ride. The two main islands people stay on are Don Khon and Don Det. We stayed on Don Det. This is a wonderfully relaxing place, and we were happy to spend four nights here. It's pretty basic, with 24 hour electricity only being introduced a couple of years ago. We stayed at "Mama's" Thong Don Family Bungalows. It was idyllic. Our "bungalow"" (more like a shed with a bed) was one of three sitting on the water. As we laid in our hammocks on the balcony, we could take a break from reading and turn our heads to see a perfect sunset every night. When we weren't lounging on the hammocks, we were lounging on inner tubes in the river. A tough 10 step walk from our bungalow led to the Mekong, and the water was perfect. The days were hot, but it didn't really matter since we could jump in the water all day. The river is still deep and powerful, but it's a far cry from up north. It's much wider than in Louang Prabang (which makes sense; think of the Hudson River in Manhattan and then in Albany), so the current is much weaker and the water clearer. They say there are 4,000 islands, but many of them are nothing more than a bush or sand piled an inch above the water. There are sandbars everywhere, and they make for good spots to meet other travelers as we wade in the middle of the river and exchange stories.
The only drawback, which didn't turn into a drawback at all, was the money situation. We weren't thinking and didn't take money out before traveling to the area, so we had to ration everything to make it last the four days. This meant we didn't take the boat out to the pool to see the rare Irrawaddy dolphins, but it was probable we wouldn't have seen them anyway. Everyone we talked to who did go did not have any luck, despite the fact they're the islands star attraction. The one day we didn't just sit on our asses we rented bikes and rode to Don Det's larger neighbor, Don Khon. We rode about 15 kilometers overall, but we were sure to drink a ton of water. We were also able to stop whenever we wanted for a refreshing dip in the river. The best site we saw was the impressive Somphamit Waterfall(s). We coincidentally bumped into our friends Jon and Sarah from the north of Laos as well. We've agreed to meet up in Phnom Penh for dinner.
The best part of Si Phon Don was the relaxing, however, and meeting all sorts of interesting people. The Thong Don family are awesome. There is Mama and Papa, along with a multitude of other family members, our favorite being Oui. One day Papa and his friends decided not to work, and took a bottle or two of laolao (Lao rice whiskey) over to one of the islands and got smashed. Shauna and I were invited to join them as we passed by on our tubes. We drank the harsh, homemade whiskey and ate fresh raw snails they collected from the river only seconds before. After wrapping them in the leaves ripped off the bushes and dipping them in sweet chili sauce, they weren't half bad. Papa and his friends said we were friends for life. They loved we were brave enough to try it. The different guests also added to the atmosphere. There were a group of young hippie French students who didn't move much from the floor of the restaurant/hang out area. They helped organize a "dance party" our first night there and it was a great introduction to the island. Two Brits, who overlapped us by only that first night, ordered a bottle of laolao and promptly finished it seven minutes later. There was a lovely American couple from Portland, OR, who were traveling for six weeks after a year of teaching in Korea. There were a ton of Canadians as well for some reason. They're all over SE Asia of course, but an inordinate amount of the people we met over the four days seemed to have come from Canada. They've given us a lot of tips for our cross continent trip this summer and have gotten us excited for the Canadian Rockies.
Overall, Don Det was a great place to chill out before hitting the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat.
We'll be back in a week or so.
Peace,
S&P
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Post #9 - Northern Laos
Sawat Dii.
Our first night in Laos was spent in the sleepy border town of Houayxai, situated on the mighty Mekong. Looking over the river into Thailand, we realized we'll be on the banks of the Mekong more or less for the next month. We'll follow it down Laos into Cambodia until it finally empties out into the South China Sea through the river delta in Vietnam.
Houayxai was a necessary stop to catch the two day slow boat down the river to Louang Prabang. More on this fantastic city in a minute. It turned out that our last day in Thailand was the beginning of a freak 7 day cold and rainy spell. It drizzled consistently all day with a heavy cloud cover, hovering around 60 degrees. This meant our slow boat experience was not as enjoyable as it is for many. For a lot of people this is one of the highlights of their trip to Laos, but by the end of our 14 hours in the boat (split in half by a night in tiny Pakbeng), we just wanted out. Between the cold rain and strong wind, it was a long haul. It was still beautiful, as the pictures will show. Gorgeous lush hills on both sides with unique rock formations and silt beaches. The strength of the current surprised us, and we can only imagine how dangerous it is during the wet season. Maybe the most enjoyable part of the trip was watching the local people and their way of life. It's totally dependent on the river, as it has been for centuries. Besides being the biggest transport artery in the country, the Mekong is also a major source of food and leisure. The whole way bamboo fishing poles are casting lines out into the water while children are splashing each other and having fun.
By 5pm on our second day we reached the small but beautiful Louang Prabang. It was raining heavily still so we got a tuk-tuk for the 3 minute ride to our hotel. Thank goodness Shauna was shelling out for the nice room for Pat's birthday, as it couldn't have come at a better time. La Calao Inn consisted of six spacious and modern rooms all contained in a century old French mansion overlooking the Mekong (Yellow with white trim on the corner). Ours had a huge balcony looking onto the river as well, so we couldn't ask for more. As the weather worsened before finally breaking two days later, we made the most of the relative luxury. Our first night we took long, long hot showers and found l'elephant to eat dinner. One of our top five meals so far. Louang Prabang was at one time the capital of the Lao Kingdom and a favorite spot for the French during their 100 year occupation of the region. It almost feels like they're still there. It's feels like a French village, but set in a lush jungle. Pat couldn't get over all the beautiful architecture, while Shauna focused more on the food (and wine, of course). This brings us back to l'elephant. We ordered a bottle of 2007 French Pinot Noir and ate steak frites. Both were fantastic, but the wine was out of this world. Keep in mind that besides that vinegar we tried in Udaipur, this was our first taste of vino in almost two months! It was so good.
The next day was Pat's birthday but the weather was miserable. We woke up, ate breakfast and promptly returned to bed for another 2 hours to catch up on the news and the latest bad movie. Japan is awful, we hope everything works out there. Not much else to say about that. Secondly, we do not recommend You Got Served. Anyway, we finally made our way into the rain and tried to take in the city. We managed to walk an hour or so, which was enough to make it to the other side of the city and back. We tried to find an Irish pub, but we're sad to report there isn't one. Maybe Pat has found his true calling. We found a Belgian pub instead. It's close enough to Ireland. We had beef stew and frites there (again really good), and sipped some beer while the rain continued to pour. We had some down time at the hotel Skyping our parents (who had to talk to Pat on his day) before a low key dinner at a wine bar.
The next day it finally stopped raining (despite still being overcast) and we were able to take in the main sites. The city really is beautiful, and is another where we could see ourselves living without much trouble. A decent amount of expats live here as well, but it's much quieter than Chiang Mai. One of the cooler sites is Phu Si mountain. Check out the cool stairways and the American made bombs now being used as flower pots. Apparently these were duds. Remember that many more bombs were dropped in Laos and Cambodia than Vietnam. More on that in our Cambodia blog (Sorry, Pat is a history geek). We were meeting a couple our age for dinner (we met them in Houayxai and again on the slow boat) so we went back to the hotel for yet another snooze (the weather, coupled with a nice room, will do that to a person). We met John and Sarah at this picturesque jungle bar for a few drinks followed by dinner in a picturesque jungle restaurant. We both split the BBQ for two, which consisted of us cooking our own meat over a tiny fire they put in the middle of our table. John and Sarah are a lovely couple from London and we had a great time. Shauna's father says we can't make any friends over here as the wedding list is already getting too big. Watch out, Yonto!
Our last day in Louang Prabang; SUN! We hadn't seen it in a week and were surprised by its warmth. It jumped 35 degrees in a day. Crazy. We debated going to this famous waterfall 35km away but decided to lounge in the room again (surprise!). We got out around noon and walked across this bamboo bridge to the other side of the Nam Khan River (LP sits at the meeting point of this and the Mekong river, making the city a narrow peninsula). Maybe it was the rain but when we saw it that last day it looked as if it was about to collapse. We did the stupid thing and decided to walk over it anyway. You could feel the current in your body. It was scary but cool. We were rewarded with lunch at yet another perfect jungle restaurant on the other side. We then meandered the streets making our way back to the hotel to catch a tuk-tuk to the airport. Our first SE Asia flight was a breeze, and we landed in the Lao capital of Vientiane.
We weren't going to stop here but we couldn't get a direct flight to the southern hub of Pakse, so we laid over for a night. This is the smallest capital we've ever seen. It had its charm, however, with its share of French boulevards, night markets, and nightlife. We had a pleasant dinner and walked along the Mekong before passing out at 9pm.
We're off to Pakse and southern Laos for the next week. We're going to some of the best Khmer ruins outside Cambodia and relaxing in Si Phon Don (4,000 islands on the Mekong), where we're hoping to spot some rare fresh water dolphins. Note that it's pretty rustic down there so we may not have access to the internet. If we don't respond for a week or so, we'll get back to you in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Until next time.
S&P
Our first night in Laos was spent in the sleepy border town of Houayxai, situated on the mighty Mekong. Looking over the river into Thailand, we realized we'll be on the banks of the Mekong more or less for the next month. We'll follow it down Laos into Cambodia until it finally empties out into the South China Sea through the river delta in Vietnam.
Houayxai was a necessary stop to catch the two day slow boat down the river to Louang Prabang. More on this fantastic city in a minute. It turned out that our last day in Thailand was the beginning of a freak 7 day cold and rainy spell. It drizzled consistently all day with a heavy cloud cover, hovering around 60 degrees. This meant our slow boat experience was not as enjoyable as it is for many. For a lot of people this is one of the highlights of their trip to Laos, but by the end of our 14 hours in the boat (split in half by a night in tiny Pakbeng), we just wanted out. Between the cold rain and strong wind, it was a long haul. It was still beautiful, as the pictures will show. Gorgeous lush hills on both sides with unique rock formations and silt beaches. The strength of the current surprised us, and we can only imagine how dangerous it is during the wet season. Maybe the most enjoyable part of the trip was watching the local people and their way of life. It's totally dependent on the river, as it has been for centuries. Besides being the biggest transport artery in the country, the Mekong is also a major source of food and leisure. The whole way bamboo fishing poles are casting lines out into the water while children are splashing each other and having fun.
By 5pm on our second day we reached the small but beautiful Louang Prabang. It was raining heavily still so we got a tuk-tuk for the 3 minute ride to our hotel. Thank goodness Shauna was shelling out for the nice room for Pat's birthday, as it couldn't have come at a better time. La Calao Inn consisted of six spacious and modern rooms all contained in a century old French mansion overlooking the Mekong (Yellow with white trim on the corner). Ours had a huge balcony looking onto the river as well, so we couldn't ask for more. As the weather worsened before finally breaking two days later, we made the most of the relative luxury. Our first night we took long, long hot showers and found l'elephant to eat dinner. One of our top five meals so far. Louang Prabang was at one time the capital of the Lao Kingdom and a favorite spot for the French during their 100 year occupation of the region. It almost feels like they're still there. It's feels like a French village, but set in a lush jungle. Pat couldn't get over all the beautiful architecture, while Shauna focused more on the food (and wine, of course). This brings us back to l'elephant. We ordered a bottle of 2007 French Pinot Noir and ate steak frites. Both were fantastic, but the wine was out of this world. Keep in mind that besides that vinegar we tried in Udaipur, this was our first taste of vino in almost two months! It was so good.
The next day was Pat's birthday but the weather was miserable. We woke up, ate breakfast and promptly returned to bed for another 2 hours to catch up on the news and the latest bad movie. Japan is awful, we hope everything works out there. Not much else to say about that. Secondly, we do not recommend You Got Served. Anyway, we finally made our way into the rain and tried to take in the city. We managed to walk an hour or so, which was enough to make it to the other side of the city and back. We tried to find an Irish pub, but we're sad to report there isn't one. Maybe Pat has found his true calling. We found a Belgian pub instead. It's close enough to Ireland. We had beef stew and frites there (again really good), and sipped some beer while the rain continued to pour. We had some down time at the hotel Skyping our parents (who had to talk to Pat on his day) before a low key dinner at a wine bar.
The next day it finally stopped raining (despite still being overcast) and we were able to take in the main sites. The city really is beautiful, and is another where we could see ourselves living without much trouble. A decent amount of expats live here as well, but it's much quieter than Chiang Mai. One of the cooler sites is Phu Si mountain. Check out the cool stairways and the American made bombs now being used as flower pots. Apparently these were duds. Remember that many more bombs were dropped in Laos and Cambodia than Vietnam. More on that in our Cambodia blog (Sorry, Pat is a history geek). We were meeting a couple our age for dinner (we met them in Houayxai and again on the slow boat) so we went back to the hotel for yet another snooze (the weather, coupled with a nice room, will do that to a person). We met John and Sarah at this picturesque jungle bar for a few drinks followed by dinner in a picturesque jungle restaurant. We both split the BBQ for two, which consisted of us cooking our own meat over a tiny fire they put in the middle of our table. John and Sarah are a lovely couple from London and we had a great time. Shauna's father says we can't make any friends over here as the wedding list is already getting too big. Watch out, Yonto!
Our last day in Louang Prabang; SUN! We hadn't seen it in a week and were surprised by its warmth. It jumped 35 degrees in a day. Crazy. We debated going to this famous waterfall 35km away but decided to lounge in the room again (surprise!). We got out around noon and walked across this bamboo bridge to the other side of the Nam Khan River (LP sits at the meeting point of this and the Mekong river, making the city a narrow peninsula). Maybe it was the rain but when we saw it that last day it looked as if it was about to collapse. We did the stupid thing and decided to walk over it anyway. You could feel the current in your body. It was scary but cool. We were rewarded with lunch at yet another perfect jungle restaurant on the other side. We then meandered the streets making our way back to the hotel to catch a tuk-tuk to the airport. Our first SE Asia flight was a breeze, and we landed in the Lao capital of Vientiane.
We weren't going to stop here but we couldn't get a direct flight to the southern hub of Pakse, so we laid over for a night. This is the smallest capital we've ever seen. It had its charm, however, with its share of French boulevards, night markets, and nightlife. We had a pleasant dinner and walked along the Mekong before passing out at 9pm.
We're off to Pakse and southern Laos for the next week. We're going to some of the best Khmer ruins outside Cambodia and relaxing in Si Phon Don (4,000 islands on the Mekong), where we're hoping to spot some rare fresh water dolphins. Note that it's pretty rustic down there so we may not have access to the internet. If we don't respond for a week or so, we'll get back to you in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Until next time.
S&P
Monday, March 14, 2011
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