Monday, May 9, 2011

Stay tuned for more!!!

Sorry its been so long since we've posted our adventures.  After leaving Chiang Mai, we had 2 days in Bangkok, flew to Hong Kong stayed a few more days there and then crossed into mainland China.  China definately practices censorship!!!  We couldn't access our blogspot, Facebook, search for jobs in the States, or book airline tickets on American carriers.  I couldn't even watch the royal wedding!!!  It was so frustrating when you are used to having information at your fingertips.

I have several more blogs to post in the coming days to update everyone on our past adventures.  Currently, I'm writing this from a little store in Busan, South Korea.  We jumped on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Beijing and that will be our ride home.  We have one more port of call in Vladivostok, Russia, before the boat begins its trans-Pacific crossing.  We arrive back into real life on May 21 via Anchorage. 

Cheers!

Chiang Mai, Thailand (April 7-13)



We left Luang Namtha in the morning via tuk-tuk for the bus station.  We had purchased our tickets the night before from the same travel agency we had booked our hike through.  So when our tuk-tuk pulled up to the bus station and the driver pointed at the already packed bus, we knew we had a long day ahead of us.  This bus was so packed there was no way that we were going to fit on.  However, since we had pre-purchased tickets, we got seats and people that had planned to buy tickets on board, had to get off the bus and wait for the next bus to depart.  This bus ride was pretty much like the rest of the bus rides, hot, bumpy, and mostly uncomfortable, although it was made a little bit more interesting by the caged bamboo rat that was by the door.  It would hiss as you got on and off the bus during stops.

We made it to the boarder and sadly checked out Laos.  To get back to Thailand we had to take a long boat across the Mekong.   We got to the Thailand side found that we had missed the public bus for Chiang Mai and would have to get into a minibus if we wanted to make it that night.  This minibus turned out to be worth the money.  Not only was it nice and the air-con worked really well, but we only had to share it with two other people.  We arrived into Chiang Mai around 9 o-clock pm and then wandered the streets for a good hour or so before we found a cheap clean guesthouse to stay at.  The night guard had checked us in so in the morning I went to the front desk to pay and confirm that we could keep the room.  The guesthouse was completely booked for over a week due to Songkran, the Thai new year.  So we packed up our bags, stored them at the guesthouse and went to the Chinese consulate to apply for visas.

Before I go any farther, let me update you on our plans.  We planned to stay a couple of days in Chiang Mai, then Bangkok, fly to Hong Kong, travel in China for two weeks before jumping on a cruise ship in Beijing that ends in Anchorage.  We’re reached the bittersweet part of our trip; where it’s sad its coming to an end, but we’re starting to be excited to get home too. 

Anyways, we rented a couple of pedal bikes and rode to the Chinese consulate only to find out that they are closed until the following day because of some Chinese holiday.  So we pedaled back into towards where the guesthouses are and started another search for a place to stay.  We found a guesthouse with a really nice gentleman that ran it.  He filled us in on the Thai New Year.  It traditionally is the start of the rainy season and the Wats and temples hold ceremonies bathing their Buddhas with scented water (Buddha’s yearly bath time).  It also is a time for celebrating and the streets turn into a huge water fight.  Originally, we weren’t planning on staying for so long in Chiang Mai, but we decided to stay for almost eight days to experience Songkran first hand.. 

Chiang Mai can really grow on you in eight days…. We made it to the Chinese consulate, turned in our paperwork and received our visas about six days later.  We took a Thai cooking course from a professional chef.  He also took us on a  market tour.  This was very informative as he explained the different ingredients in Thai cooking and he also explained what we could use as substitutes if things weren’t available at home.  Jeff and I also learned what we had been eating some of the bowls of noodle soup we had.  In some soups, there would be brown chunks that had tofu like consistency. We were fairly confident it wasn’t organ meat, but it turns out it was steamed chicken blood.  I’m glad I didn’t know that before I tried it!  During our cooking course, we made Pad Thai, chicken with cashew nuts, banana spring rolls, tom-yum soup, and a yellow curry dish.  It was a great evening!

On another day we did a tour called Flight of the Gibbon.  It’s about a 45 minute drive out Chiang Mai, and is a series of zip lines strung in the jungle canopy.  I’m scared of heights and was nervous as our guides fitted us with harness and went through the safety briefing.  The first platform you come to is a short line and it was pretty easy just to sit back in the harness and let go.  That being said I screamed on almost every line!  The longest line was 850 meters long and the fastest line was about 550 meter long.  It was a lot of fun flying through the jungle and we did see three gibbons.  There was a black male and a tan female carrying a baby. 

We spent a day lounging by a hotel pool and another day wandering around Chiang Mai looking at the Wats and temples.  On Sunday, Chiang Mai has a Sunday walking street market.  They close one of the main roads and the street becomes lined with market stalls, food stalls, and places to get a cheap foot massage.  The fruit smoothies and street noodles were awesome! 

Songkran (the new year) didn’t officially start on Wednesday April 13, but starting on Monday if you didn’t want to get splashed or wet, you didn’t go outside.  In fact the drier you were the bigger the target on your back.  Jeff and I bought some water cannons and buckets and were armed to protect ourselves.  On Tuesday, we spent our time in the main square and shot water at anyone that walked by.  The streets were packed and everyone was wet.  There were refill stations at  every store doorway; the shop owners would fill up barrels or garbage cans with hoses.  It really was the biggest water fight I’ve ever seen let alone been in!In the evenings for Songkran, the city would shut down the same street that the Sunday night walking market was held on.  Here Jeff and I stuffed ourselves full of noodle soup, pad thai, sushi, fresh fruit smoothies, and all other sorts of yummy street food.

The next day, we spent on a side street from the main square.  We hung out at a bar that had a huge container of water to refill our weapons at.  Pick-up trucks would drive by with people piled in the back, slow down as they approached the bar, and then the water started to fly.  Sometimes, the water in the trucks would be ice cold and would quite a shock as a it hit you.  Another favorite target were the tuk-tuks as they came whizzing down the street.  If you timed it right, you could a full bucket on water dumped right onto the passengers!  We spent the afternoon engaged the water festival, ate some delicious street food and hopped on a night train to Bangkok.  Bye northern Thailand!

Me flying through the jungle

J doing a pretty good job of freaking me out on the zipline

Sunday walking market in Chiang Mai



The first bucket of water thrown for the Thai new year

Jeff getting ready for battle

Direct Hit!

Happy Songkran!



Luang Namtha, Loas (April 2-April 6)



We arrived into Luang Namtha and booked a 3 day-2 night trekking trip in the jungle of Northern Laos.   The area is inhabited by 20 different ethnic tribes and there is a lot of focus on eco-tourism.  So the money we paid for our trip was broken down into what the travel company would receive, what the guides were paid, how much each village received, what went to the national preserve, and so forth.  

In the morning we met our group, which totaled 12 people, including our two guides. Thai and Sedeep were our two guides, who bravely lead us into the jungle. There was Jeff, Leah, and I plus one other American named TJ.  There were three Israelis, Ita, Maayan, and Noa. Two Italians, who really confused me because they spoke a German deltaic and are a minority in Italy, Peter and Celica .  And rounding out the group, was Pacome from southern France.   To get to the trail head, we took about a 45 minute tuk-tuk ride and then our guides had to ferry us across a small river by a bamboo raft.  The rafts could only accommodate two other people besides the guide, so it took a little time for all of us to reach the other side.  Then our march began.  It was a fairly nice trail that wove in and out of a bamboo jungle. At some spots along the trail, we would see locals digging up bamboo shoots to sell at market. Up and down hills we went in the muggy hot weather.  We stopped for lunch at a little hut after several hours.  While our guides, cut down banana leaves to use as tablecloths and bowls, people were wringing the sweat out of their clothes.  Lunch was eaten with our hands and consisted  a curry dish, a tomato dish, and sticky rice.  After several more hours of hiking, we reached another river with a village on the other side that would be our home for the night.  Once again, our group was ferried across the river via bamboo raft, but this time a boy of about ten was the skipper. 

Once reaching the other side, we were greeted by the little kids of the village.  Leah, who had taught English in China, sang the ‘head-shoulders-knees-n-toes’ song with them both fast and slow.  The kids giggled through most of it.  A couple of little boys really enjoyed playing and laughing as TJ teased them.  Jeff went down stream little bit where the men of the village were fishing and tried his luck with them.  He did not end up with a very exciting fish story… The only one he brought to shore was the dead one he plucked out of the net and it wasn’t a very big.  Everyone else sat and swam in the river and just relaxed.  The villlage was very peaceful and it was nice to just soak it in.  Evening seemed to be the time when the ladies and children came down to the river to bath and wash clothes as the men fished.

Thai and Sedeep showed us to where we would stay of the night.  It was a little house, more or less in the middle of the village.  It was built on a platform like the rest of the houses, had bamboo floors, a metal roof, and the walls were made of woven strips of bamboo.  It had one main room and a small kitchen off to the side and an outhouse in the back.  Although, it was a traditional house, no family lived here; it was built for trekkers , like us, to stay at for the night.  After a long day of hiking, everyone was craving a Beer Lao.  We weren’t sure if we were going to find any, but we lucked out at the little general ‘store’.   The village was on a road and recently in past couple of months had electricity supplied to it, so not only was there Beer Lao, but it was cold too!  The group sat around, enjoying our beers, exchanging smiles and greetings with the local people.  The little boys ended up getting into a hide ‘n seek chase with TJ and one of the little girls sat on the bench next to us, shyly holding her little baby brother. 

In the space next to the store, the villagers were in the process of moving a large pile of dirt to another area.  The women were shoveling dirt into the wheel-barrels and the older children would cart it away.  TJ, Jeff, Ita, Peter, Thai, and several others from our group got their hands dirty as well by helping shovel and cart the dirt away. 

Dinner was served on the floor of our little house and was delicious.  While the women had been out shoveling the dirt away, the a few men of the village had been in our little kitchen cooking us a wonderful meal.  After dinner, the rice wine was brought out.  The rice is fermented in a pottery jar and drank with bamboo straws, like LaoLoa it must be an acquired taste!  At bedtime, mats were laid out on the floor with mosquito nets and we slept peacefully. 

In the morning, we were woken up the roosters, chickens, and pigs rooting around under the house.  Thai look us on a tour of the village and showed us where the villagers were building a new house and where their grain store houses were.  The most beautiful experience was watching the villagers go about their everyday lives; feeding livestock, cooking meals, washing clothes, and visiting with each other.   After breakfast of eggs, spicy noodles, and sticky rice, we were off.  We walked along the road for about a kilometer and then it was off into the jungle again.  Just before lunch, we stopped a waterfall and saw a big eight hundred year old tree.  Lunch was severed in a little hut on banana leaves and we were able to try some bamboo shoots that we had seen being dug up the day before.  They taste a little bitter, and weren’t my favorite, but the rest of the food was wonderful.  Everyone ate their fill, which some of us regretted because right after lunch, we hiked up 400 meter hill.  It was hot, and even more uncomfortable with a side ache, but we made it!  After the climb up the hill, we had to go down and then cross an agricultural area.  Slash and burn farming is very popular in Laos, and this area was drying up, waiting to be burned.  There was no shade and the sun was shining brightly.  It was a relief to finally see the little homestead we would be staying at for the night.

Unlike the previous night, we would be staying with a family just outside the village.  The was river nearby that we swam in and we were surprised to see that this family had their own little hydro-power system rigged up.  Their home was a series of several buildings.  The kitchen, store houses, and sleeping areas all had their own buildings, and us trekkers had our own building to sleep in. There were dogs, pigs, and chickens running around the yard.  The family killed two chickens for our dinner and TJ, who had never seen a chicken be killed, helped out.  After dinner, the elder male of the family brought out the ever famous  LaoLao and Sedeep, Thai and him took turns singing traditional songs while the rest of us clapped along.  It was a great evening. 

In the morning, we had breakfast (scrambled eggs with grated ginger might be my new favorite breakfast food) and we headed out.  The elder male had to wish us all a safe journey by toasting each of us with a shot of LaoLoa before we left…. He was back in bed before we left the courtyard; 12 shots of LaoLao is just too much!  We walked about 20 minutes before coming to main village.  The tribe that lived in the this village was very different from the other village.  The women all wore black clothing, with silver decorations in their hair and ears, and they were strikingly beautiful.  Their facial features were so different compared to the other peoples we had seen in Laos; almost more Chinese.  This village was not only know for weaving and dying their own cloth, but for making bamboo paper as well.  I bought a huge piece for 10,000 kip (about $1.25) for a future art project when I get home. 

We hiked about three or four more hours, before we came to the last river of the trip.  The group had a great time swimming and cooling down before walking up to the road where the tuk-tuk was to take us back to Luang Namtha.  Thai and Sedeep were wonderful guides and were so informative of their culture and of the villages we visited.    They made this trip spectacular and we’ll never forget their hospitality as they shared their country with us.

That night after we checked into our hotel for the night and cleaned up, we meet most of our hiking group for dinner and Beer Laos.  We also met back up with Mondona and Denise, the French couple we crossed from Thailand into Cambodia with over a month earlier.  They had spent their time in Vietman and it was great to catch up with their travels and give them some advice for traveling in Laos.  We ended the night as the restaurant ran out of Beer Lao and we said goodbye to our friends.  We said goodbye to Leah as well, who traveled into China the next day as we went the other way into Thailand.    

Lunch the first day

Leaving the first village morning of the second day
Hiking in the blazing hot jungle





Group photo

Locals in the last village we visited



Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Luang Prabang, Laos (March 29-April 2)


We, Ms Leah included, booked the VIP bus out of Vieng Vang, but unlike the last VIP bus we took this was the local bus.  Thankfully, it wasn’t a very hot day so the fact the air-con or the fans didn’t work, wasn’t that big of a deal.  Northern Laos is mountainous and can be very rugged in some areas.  The bus would slowly chug up the hills, only to get to the top and go speeding down the narrow curving roads.  This was not a fun bus ride, but we made it to Luang Prabang. 

Luang Prabang is located along a peninsula formed by the Mekong River on one side and the Nam Khan river on the other side.  It is absolutely enchanting.  The buildings are either built in the Indochinse architecture style or are old French villas and Unesco has named this former French capital a World Heritage site.  We had arrived in the later afternoon and wandered around to a few guesthouses before finding a clean, cheap place with two rooms (one for Jeff & I and one for Leah).  We dropped our things and then went out to explore the town.  Every evening Luang Prabang has a wonderful night market that spans several blocks.  There are, if I remember correctly, over 40 different ethnic tribes living in northern Laos, one of the biggest tribes being the Hmong people.  The market has colorful textiles from these tribes, paper lanterns, wood carvings, jewelry, paintings, chopsticks, and hundreds of other items.  I think the best part about this market is that it is extremely low-key and low pressure.  You could actually look at things without being pressured.  That night we ate a really good little noodle stand at the end of the market.

The next day was cold and rainy.  Leah, Jeff, and I wandered around the streets for a bit and then decided to get a massage.  After we were relaxed, we sat down at a street side cafĂ© to have a couple of beers.  We were sitting there chatting, when all of a sudden Jeff stands up and starts yelling ‘Jackie! Jackie!’  Jackie is a French lady we volunteered with in Kalcutta and who was also on our flight into Bangkok.  She sat down and we had a few more beers.  It was a wonderful evening of friendly chatter!

In the morning, Leah, Jackie and I had decided to meet to take the walking tour of Luang Prabang recommended by Lonely Planet.  We viewed the cultural center and up the 100 m hill to the temples of Phu Si. From here, we had amazing views of all Luang Prabang. The walk brought us down to several other wats (temples) in the town center and finally to Wat Xieng Thong.   Xieng Thong is a beautiful temple and monastery.  The buildings of the complex are covered with amazing mosaics of trees, people, boats, rice paddies, and pictures of everyday life.  One the eastern side of the Wat, is the royal funeral chapel, where several of the royal family urns are kept. 

On our last day in Luang Prabang, we booked a kayaking trip down the Nam Ou river with Leah.  Although, we didn’t come across any big rapids, there were a couple of splashes here and there.  From the river we could see some farms, people fishing, and surprisingly people panning for gold.  We pulled the kayaks on shore and had a lovely picnic lunch.  After lunch, we continued down the Nam Ou to where it meets with the Mekong.  Just before we reached the Mekong, we came to some huge limestone cliffs.  After crossing the Mekong river, we beached the boats again to view the Pak Ou Caves.  These caves have hundreds of images of Buddha in them.  We rafted a few more kilometers down the Mekong, before exiting the river and loading the kayaks on the tuk-tuk. The tuk-tuk then took us a village called Ban Xang Hai or more commonly called the whiskey village. Although, it was an authentic village, it felt a lot like a tourist trap.  Lots of textiles and goods being sold out of doorways.  It’s called the whiskey village because the villagers make a lot of LaoLao here to be sold at the night market.  We were given a few samples of different types, and it doesn’t matter what kind of rice is used, its still disgusting!   

The next day, we took a bus north to Luang Namtha, just 17 kilometers from the China border.  We booked this bus with a private tour company for about 20,000 more kip (about $2.50) then the local bus.  It was well worth the extra cost!  Leah, Jeff, and I had the bus to ourselves and we had a driver and a ‘guide’ as well.  The guide would explain some of villages as we passed and answered our questions in the local market we stopped at as well.   
View of Luang Prabang & the Mekong from Phu Si

Me outside one of the wats in the center of town

Main temple at Wat Xieng Thong with the tree-of-life mosaic on the end


Locals panning of gold along the Nam Ou river

Leah, Jeff, and I on the Nam Ou

Jeff inside one of the Pak Ou caves

Lady with a bamboo rat at the local market the bus stopped at

Close-up of the ROUS, aka the bamboo rat



Sunday, April 10, 2011

Vientaine & Vieng Vang, Laos (March 25-29)


We left Tha Khaek on the morning VIP bus.  Unlike the previous VIP buses we had been on, this bus was deluxe!  Two stories, air-con that worked, seats that reclined back when you wanted them too, and TV/DVD that ranged in entertainment from karaoke to Fast and the Furious in Laotian.  It was a very pleasant ride and after about 5 hours we arrived in Laos capital city, Vientiane.  Although Vientiane was a very nice, clean city, I felt that it lacked character and was much more expensive than the rest of the country.  J agreed and we caught one of the first mini buses the next day to Vieng Vang.

On the ride we met a very nice American, Leah, who despite being a Vandal was really interesting to talk too.  (For those of you who know about college loyalties, the Vandals are from the University of Idaho & is 8 miles from where I went to college at Washington State University GO COUGERS!)  Leah had spent the past year and half teaching English at private schools in China.  We chatted for bit and picked her brain for the ‘cool’ places to visit in China.  Several hours later we arrived into Vieng Vang, found a guesthouse, and acquired Leah as a neighbor.  

At dinner that night, the three of us met another American and an Australian at the table across from us.  The Australian, Kallie, worked for Lonely Planet doing some editing and freelance photography.   We had a festive evening of drinking beers and laughing.  The thing to do in Vieng Vang is to rent an inter-tube and float down the Nam Song river.  We all agreed on a meeting place and time for the next day and said goodnight.  The next morning we meet up with Leah and walked to the appointed meeting spot.  The walk turned out to be much longer than we had thought.  It turned out to be a couple of kilometers and we arrived late. Kallie and Emily (the American) were no where to be seen.  So we ate lunch and crossed the river to rent the inter tubes. 

This river float was very different from our peaceful float down the Mekong River in Don Deit.  Bars line the river, each having its own drink specials, loud music, and rope swings or zip lines.  We crossed the bamboo bridge to the first bar and talked to the bartender about renting inter tubes.  He informed us that the inter tubes were rented back in town and then everyone takes a tuk-tuk out.  Leah, Jeff, and I came into a little group huddle about what we were going do, when the bartender changed his mind and rented us three inter tubes.  Before we set off, Jeff had a bucket drink of Lao Lao (Laos whiskey, trust me its gross!) and Red Bull and launched himself off the rope swing at the bar several times.  Then we were off down the river.  It wasn’t long before we got to the next bar, maybe 20 meters, and we had ever intent of moving on, but ropes were being thrown out and we were being towed back into shore.  Jeff launched himself off another rope swing several times before we were ready to move on. 

By moving on, I mean we drifted across the river to the next bar.  This one not only had a higher rope swing, but a zip line as well.  Jeff took the zip line out but didn’t let go before it hit the end of the line. When his hands slid from the handles of the zip line, the momentum he had going flipped him, literally head over heels, about three times before he hit the water.  From someone who didn’t hit the water hard, it was pretty funny to watch. 

We were towed into several other bars and Jeff went off every rope swing around.  I, being scared of heights, was perfectly happy to watch, take photos, and chat with Leah.  We floated past the bar area of the river and down into the quieter areas.  Once the noise disappeared into the distance, the river was quiet relaxing and beautiful.  As the sun set, the temperature dropped and we exited the river before reaching the town center.  It was a fun day.

The next day, the weather changed, it is was a bit cold and rainy.  Jeff was really sore from all the swinging so we took it easy.  In nearly every restaurant in Vieng Vang, there are endless re-runs of Friends or Family Guy replaying over and over.  After watching about 10 episodes of Friends, it was time to move on!  
Boo Vandals !! Go Cougs!
Floating down 'bar street'


One of J's many launches off the rope swings that day

Not all Vandals are that bad!  Thanks for floating with us Leah!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Tha Khaek, Laos (March 21-March 24)

An early morning start was needed to catch our bus from Pakse to Tha Khaek and we were on the road at around 7:30 am.   We knew we were in for a long day the moment we stepped foot on our old rickety public bus that did not seem to have a working AC system since the French colonial times.  The bus would stop to pick up people anywhere along the road and there were a lot of people spread out that wanted a ride.  By 1 pm the sun was out in full force and we were reduced to puddles of human flesh in our seats even though the ceiling fans were putting up a noble but futile struggle to combat the heat. Lucky for us the bus would stop every 15 minutes for a 45 minute break so we could move our roasting bodies from the bus to the sweltering blacktop but at least  there was cold beer Lao available to prevent our internal organs from slowly cooking inside the crock pots we called our bodies.  At 5 pm we finally arrived at Tha Khaek our journey taking 9 hours to cover about 300 km (187 miles).  We hightailed it to our guesthouse to begin to plan our adventure and reason for even going to Tha Khaek, a 440 km long bike circuit commonly known as “the loop”.  Information was gathered from the guesthouse and from other travelers who had just recently finished the loop and our hog was picked out from the line up.  She was a teal blue Chinese made 4 speed 125 cc scooter that was way underpowered and going to be excessively overloaded, it was perfect.  After looking the bike over for a few hours with the shop I felt confident that it was up to the task of safely getting us around the loop.  We consolidated our bags to one small backpack that Teresa wore and a smaller daypack that went into the front basket, the rest went into storage at our guesthouse. We were gassed and ready to roll.
                We were up at the crack of dawn (that’s 9:30 am in Jeff and Teresa Time) and proceeded to drive 600 meters to our first stop for breakfast. We had noodle soup ( pho) and this was to be the kickoff of a 4 day pho fest where every meal consisted of inexpensive yet delicious spicy broth filled with rice noodles, mystery meat, and assorted veggies.  The first day of the loop was amazing.  We headed east towards Vietnam through towering karst spires and lush countryside.  The loop was basically a tour of a multitude of caves that had formed in the soft karst limestone due to water erosion with the coup de grais being the last cave which was a 7.5 km long river that had punched its way through a mountain.  Our first cave,  Tham Pha Pa, was a recent discovery by a local guy who was hunting bats and came across the cave finding over 220 bronze Buddha statues that had sat undisturbed for the last 600 years. The cave itself was unremarkable and quite developed with lights, flooring, attendants, and of course a bunch of little buddhas everywhere.  The entrance had an emerald  blue lake that recessed into unknown depths of the karst tower which was beautiful.   A few kms down the road we reached what was to be my favorite cave of the day, Tham Xing Liap.  It was just a massive natural cave that has been left alone.  A small stream had cut a passage through  the karst creating a vast cavern that had 2 huge entrances and one small one. I somehow convinced Teresa to overcome her fear of caves and we meandered our way through with our trusty headlight. Crystal clear pools of water were scattered throughout thel cave system and were often the only way to pass through. We took a break from the sweltering heat by swimming in a cold river swimming hole that was popular with the folks taking on the loop.  Next up on the cave agenda was Tham Sa Pha In.  This was a holy cave with numerous prayer flags and banners  strewn throughout and It also contained a Buddha shrine.  At the bottom was the most spectacular pool of water that extended deeper into the cave and  was illuminated by a massive natural skylight. The sun lit up the water and made it shine such a bright blue that seemed to beg for you to take a dip in it, but since it was a holy cave swimming was not allowed and  we reluctantly made our way back to our bike to continue  our journey. We visited one more cave that was crap and was not worth the visit.  All we had left for the day was an 80km drive to our guesthouse and figured that we would get there with plenty of daylight remaining…we were wrong.  About 20 km from the village our guesthouse was in was the last of civilization we would see for a full day. The road became rough, hilly, windy, and unpaved and of course we got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. We figured we had about 8 km to go so we started walking and eventually flagged down a passing truck that we got a ride with to the next village with a bike repair shop. We weren’t really that concerned since we had already dealt with flat tires in Ban Lung and we figured it would be a straight forward fix…we were wrong.  The tire in question  had already been patched 3 times so the repair guy deemed it was new tube time which required the removal of the wheel from the bike.  Seemed like an easy task…we were wrong.  The wheel was removed, the tube changes, and the wheel replaced. The repair guy checked how the wheel spun and was not satisfied with the result.  The wheel was again removed and the rear brake was tinkered with. The wheel was reassembled and it still did not spin correctly. His fix was to loosen the axel bolt slightly and viola, its fixed.  We paid him the 2 bucks for the repair and we were on our way. As we left we sensed something funny in his attitude, he wouldn’t look us in the eye but we didn’t really think much of it since we were back on the road and would be relaxing soon…we were wrong. About 2 km from the shop the bike started to severely bog down and eventually would almost not move under power. We got off and noticed smoke from the rear wheel and the brake was glowing hot. We put the bike up on the jackstand and I checked the wheel.  When it was rotated it made a scraping noise and a tremendous amount of slop when moved side to side.  BALLS!! We were on our feet again walking the bike the remaining 1 km to the village where I found the local “bike shop” manned by a 16 year old kid. It was dark by then and I found him standing under a light bulb with a lit candle trying to ignite the numerous moths that hovered around.  I knew then I had the A team of bike repair guys. I speak very minimal Lao. I can say hello, thank you, please, and I can count to 5, only two of those words were useful that night. As luck would have it he spoke not a word of English so attempting to explain what happened at the previous bike shop was an exercise in futility. Finally I put the bike back up on the jackstand and wiggled the wheel.  “Oh my god!” HA!  The little bugger did speak English!  We wheeled the bike into the minimal lighting of the shop/living room/kitchen and he disassembled the rear wheel.  When he removed the rear brake unit a shower of ball bearings, metal shards, and melted plastic fell into a sad little pile on the floor.  “OH MY GOD!!!” My heart sank at his exclamation.  We were literally in the middle of nowhere and replacement parts were not an option.  He began to examine the pieces in the same way I expect a coroner examines a corpse.  His older sister was watching the process and they began talking to each other in very serious tones all the while shaking his head as he looked over the carnage.  The brake unit had come in contact with the hub so it was metal to metal  causing massive amounts of heat, stripping away chunks of metal, melting the hard rubber chain/gear buffer, and possibly contributing to the bearing going out. Finally the kid got out a flathead screwdriver and a hammer and started to go to town on the parts. There was much scraping and chiseling, peeling and prying.  He finally got the pieces relatively cleaned up and installed new rubber chain buffers. He did have a extra bearing laying around but it was a bit too small so he cut up an pop can and used the aluminum strips to shim the bearing in place.  I was impressed so far.  The wheel was reassembled but the same problem remained, it wouldn’t spin correctly.  He realized he needed a spacer between the hub and the brake unit, picked up a nut that was larger than the bolt and between the two of us managed to get it between the hub and brake.  He then torqued down the axel bolts with considerable strength and gave the wheel a spin. Presto! Smooth as a baby’s bottom.  It took 3 hours but he did it with spare parts that were laying around. The kid had defiantly earned his cash all 50,000 Lao kip which was $6.25. Teresa had checked into the guesthouse in the meantime and had returned to watch the victory and we hopped on said our goodbyes and thank you and made our way to our guesthouse to clean up and grab food and a few beer laos since we figured the guesthouse restaurant would still be open at 8 pm…we were wrong.  The tiny village we were staying in was basically shut down by the time we were finished with the bike. We walked down the deserted streets in search for any kind of nutrition and water. We finally found a shop where  we could get snacks and water and, in a complete change in our luck, they also had hot pho and cold beer. We then went to sleep.
                I’m glad to say the next day was highly uneventful.  We had 66 km of very rough single lane roads through the jungle.  They had  conservation checkpoints set up on either side of the 66km that were to prevent people from  poaching trees.  The jungle was pristine and untouched and since the road was so bad we spent a lot of time in it going very slow.  Once back on the main road we pushed on to our final destination the big 7.5 km long cave at Kong Lo. The last was gong to be a long one since we were visiting the caves and making the 185 km drive back to Tha Khaek.  We were up again at the break of dawn (9:45am) and hired a boat to take us into the caves.  We paid 110,000 kip ($13.75) for the two of us in our own boat with 2 guides. We walked into the cave to find a lake where about 2 dozen longtail boats were parked.  With the four of us onboard the boat was nearly flush with the water and maybe 2 inches of freeboard remained.  Our spotter in the front of the boat was blind in one eye thus eliminating all depth perception and the driver was busy steering the boat and constantly bailing the water that seeped in through every crack and hole.  So the four of us took off in the S.S. Minnow  to go deep into the bowels of the mountain…and it was spectacular.  Its my understanding that the cave and river was traditionally used for trade between villages and the driver and guide whisked us through the dark depths with ease.  There were areas where we had to get out and walk due to shallow waters and small rapids but for the most part the trip was made cruising along in the longtail.  We finally saw the light of the cave opening and popped out of the other side of the mountain range and into the sunlight. We rested on the other side of 20 min that had the pleasure of getting back in and going it all over again.  Teresa, who is normally not fond of caves, loved the trip.  The cave was massive and at one point the guide and I tried to hit the ceiling with rocks throwing as hard as we could.  The best part of the cave was that it was not lit except for a small area with interesting geological features and the only light was from headlamps and there were relatively few visitors to the cave.
                We exited the cave, jumped on our bike, and sped off for Tha Khaek in hopes of getting there before dark.  The road back was boring since it was on the main highway that paralleled the Mekong River.  Got back without a hitch, ate some food that was not pho and called it a night.  We have an early day tomorrow as we take a bus to Vientiane to start our next aventure. 

Stopping for a quick break


Exploring the first cave we saw


Buddhist prayer flags strung in Tham Sa Pha In cave


Exploring the Kong Lo cave


Deep in the Kong Lo cave with one of our guides


Getting through one of the shallow water spots.  Out of the boat!


There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Pakse, Laos (March 16-March 20)

We took a long boat ride back to Si  Phan Don to catch the bus to Pakse.  Although, we had to say goodbye to Don Det, wqe didn’t yet have to say goodbye to Geraldine and Jaci.  They caught the same bus as us to Pakse and we ended up staying at the same guesthouse.  These girls were such fun and so glad that we got the chance to travel with them for a little bit.  I fully intend to crash their flat in London one day and hope that someday they make it across the Atlantic to visit.  The girls left the next morning for their travel adventures, and I will admit I was a little bummed without them. 
The travels must go on and Jeff rented another motor scooter.  We drove out to the Champasak Province and took a car ferry across the Mekong.  From there we drove to Wat Phu Champasak which is one of Laos most important archaeological sites.  It was built in the 6th century and might have been the blueprint for Angkor Wat and the other Khmer temples in Cambodia.  The temple complex is built into a hillside and is divided into lower and upper parts that are joined by steep, steep stone staircases.  The temples were originally dedicated Hindu gods, but at some point was converted into a Buddhist temple .  It was a beautiful temple and from the upper level there were some magnificent views of the Laotian countryside. 
The following day, we drove the scooter  out to the Bolaven Plateau.  Here we saw several impressive waterfalls.  We stayed in a little village that night by the Tat Lo waterfall.  Jeff had fun swimming in the river with the local children.  The next morning we hopped back on the scooter and went to the Tat Meelook waterfall and the Tat Fan waterfall before heading back into Pakse.  We returned our motor scooter and booked our next bus to Tha Khaek were our next adventure awaited us.
Taking the scooter across the Mekong on the ferry

J sitting on the stairs of Wat Phu


Shrine to Buddha at Wat Phu



View of the Laotian countryside from the upper level of Wat Phu


J playing in the waterfall with some local kids at Tat Lo



Tat Meelook waterfall on the Bolaven Plateau

Don Det, Laos (March 12-March 16)

In the morning we jumped into to a minibus that would bring us to the Cambodia-Laos border.  The bus made wonderful time the first 20 km or so until it hit a dusty, bumpy road.  Not only did the road slow us down, but about the bus was making frequent stops at roadside villages and houses to drop off goods and supplies.  Once it stopped just for a lady to get out and walk over to a couple of friends/relatives  just to say ‘hi’.  After a couple of hours of the hot , dusty ride, we arrived into the last Cambodia town before the border, Strung Treng.  Here we unloaded off this minibus, had some lunch at a restaurant, and reloaded unto another mini-bus that brought us the rest of the way to the border.   We entered Laos and climbed unto another minibus that would take us Si Phan Don where we thought we would catch a boat to the island of Don Khong on the Mekong River.  Once we got to the river’s edge and spoke to the ‘boat committee’, we learned that our tickets were only good to the closer islands of Don Kon or Don Det.  When Jeff asked the leader of the ‘boat committee’ how much more to take us to Don Khong, we were quoted an extra 200,000 kip (which is about  $25USD).  So Jeff turned to me and asked whether I wanted to go to Don Kon or Don Det.  Well, once again, I had not read the guide book and didn’t have any idea which island to choose.  We had a tense couple of moments while I flipped through Lonely Planet and declared I didn’t care where we went.  Jeff shot back saying that I needed to make a decision.  Okay, fine, we went to Don Det. 
We took 10 minute long boat ride over to the island.  We disembarked from our long boat and walked up the bank to the village path.  We were trying to decide if we should go left or right, when the group of backpackers that took the boat over while Jeff and I were ‘discussing’ where we wanted to go, came walking down the path from the left.  They informed us that no guesthouses where in that direction, so we went right with the of the group.  We had walked a couple of hundred meters down the path, when we came across the Paradise guesthouse.  It had rustic little bungalows right on the river and was managed by an expat-American couple, but owned by a really nice Laotian family that lived on the premises.  It also had a wonderful little restaurant.  Jeff and I dropped our bags in a bungalow and sat down to have a Beer Loa.  The rest of the group that decided to call Paradise their home for the night where all sitting around chatting and getting to know each other.  There was Julian from France, Ben from Australia, and Geraldine & Jaci from London. 
The next day, we got up and had breakfast at the guesthouse and then wandered into ‘town’.  Don Det village has about 10 guesthouses and about eight restaurants.  We ran into Geraldine and Jaci (the two girls from London) and decided to rent inner-tubes to float down the Mekong in the afternoon.  Jaci grew up in South Africa and never learned to swim, so she was a bit nervous.  We were laughing and having a good time.  Jeff would try to flip my inner-tube every once in a while.  Geraldine, Jaci and I were trying to stay together so we wouldn’t float away or have fish nibble us, but Geraldine did float away from us once.  There she was just floating her tube, when a boat, full of new tourists coming to the island, came speeding up.  She tried to paddled out of the way, but didn’t get too far.  She got the full boat wake as everyone on board just stared at her.  I guess you had to be there, but it was really funny!  We finished our float and exited the river at our guesthouse.  Jeff took a nap in the hammock that hung outside our bungalow while I showered and then we went to dinner with the girls.  Geraldine and Jaci are flat-mates and in a lot of ways seemed like an old married couple.  They wonderful, full of laughter and smiles, and were a little bit on the crazy side.  We had clicked instantly with them!  Over dinner, we learned that Jaci had never learned to ride a bike as a kid.  Growing up in South Africa, if she wanted to go to her friend’s house five houses down, her parents would have to drive her.  It just wasn’t safe to go driving a bike around by yourself as a kid.   Jeff, Geraldine, and I developed a theory that it would be way easier to teach Jaci to ride a bike then a little kid, because her balance should be better than kid’s. 
So the next morning, we tested the theory and rented bikes.  Don Det is connected to Don Kon by an old railway bridge built by the French.  The French would off load goods on Don Det and would transfer the goods by train to the other end of Don Kon to another boat to be shipped up the Mekong and avoid the waterfalls.  So our plan was to ride the bikes over the bridge to see the Tat Somphamit waterfall.  I think we all really thought Jaci would crash and burn within the first couple of meters, but she surprised us all by keeping up on a pretty bumpy, dusty road.  In fact, there was no blood until we were almost home and she ran into a tree branch and scrapped her hand.  So we road across the bridge and saw the waterfalls.  By the waterfalls, we found a little swimming hole where we jumped in with all our clothes to cool off.  Then we had lunch a little cafĂ© by the waterfalls and jumped back on the bikes and pedaled to the tip of Don Kon.  There we hired a long boat that took us out to see the Irrawaddy dolphins.  We were there just before sunset, which is one of the best times to see the dolphins.  They like to gather in a 50 meter deep pool between Don Kon and Cambodia.  The dolphins are pretty shy so there was no Sea World action.  We didn’t get too close, but we did see their spouts when they breathed and a few fins.   It was a beautiful evening and a pleasant ride home, despite Jaci’s little accident.
The next day, we dedicated to relaxing, playing cards with Jaci & Geraldine, drinking  beers, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the Mekong.  We swam in a little swim hole by our guesthouse and took naps in the hammocks.  We originally were only going to spend two nights on Don Det and ended up staying four.  Don Det was a wonderful place to escape.  There was just enough to do so you weren’t bored, and just enough not to do so you had to relax.   When we finally left to Paske the next morning, it was very sad.  Don Det is a place where you could get sucked into for weeks or maybe months at a time.  Beautiful scenery, good people, great food, and relaxation; what else could you ask for?
Filling out Laos visa information at the border

Me, Jaci (middle), and Geraldine (end) floating down the river in our tubes


J swimming in the Mekong


In front of the Tat Somphamit waterfall


Jaci, Geraldine, and me on the boat to see the dolphins