Well here I am, back on the blog after my trek in northern Laos... I've had about a week of non-stop early starts (sorry, I'm not looking for sympathy, being saddelled with all this tiresome travelling;) so my mind is a little bit frazzelled at the moment... but I'll plough on and we'll see where we get!
I'm now in Vang Vieng in the centre of the top half of Laos... it's the party place with "tubing" which some people might be familure with (you hire an inner tube, float down a river (apparently used by locals as a depositary for human effluent (read, poo (tee hee)) and rumoured to cause pink eye and infections in cuts... (I won't be doing it!) ... and bars chuck you a rope, pull you in and you drink before potentially heading off further down the river, just a little more pissed... there are also rope swings and stuff like that... it's almost the definition of 'bad idea' and I won't be partaking) ... I've come because it is between where I was (Luang Namtha) and where I am going (Vientien, the capital) and I heard everyone goes here... I am coming to observe, much like David Attenborough might... see these species in action, watch their mating dances, and watch them generally implode in front of my beautiful eyes... I'm sure many people would summarise that whole statement by saying something like, "you boring sod" but I can live with that... it's possibly less likley they can live with floating down a river or crap pissed... but the jury is still out... ...
...it'll be interesting and I won't stay long... :)
... So anyway, trekking:) ... it was really great... As me and Venetia (wait, actually she might want to remain anonamus (some people I know are a bit shy about their name going on the internet;)... in that case I'll protect her privacy... I'll call her Miss V (she didn't do anything to merrit needing ananimity though (just to be clear))) (Blimey, I'm starting to get confused by all the parentheses I'm using in these blogs!)... anyway, as me and Miss V took the bus (10 hours) up north to Luang Namtha I started to worry... I'd chosen to go there because I wanted some trekking under my belt... I heard Hervey (English-Belgun, see Chiang Mai blogs) say he trekked in the north and he seemed a man-o-nature and knowledgable so I thought I'd go for it (if I only do one trek might as well go all out:)... so the journey was rather bumpy on the public bus... when we hit roads smooth enough to read, it was evening and too dark to read... Miss V had also been looking into trekking and she made up her mind to come to Luang Namtha after I told her I'd booked my ticket, so I felt a little responsibility... she was on limited time and so I didn't want to lead Miss V to waste 5 days of her travels, so I hoped it would be worth it... on the bus we met some cool English lads (James and Kush... Mr J and K respectivley) and we all found a gesthouse together to stay at... we managed to find a cheap tour late the night we arrived which had 4 people already signed up (prices get cheaper with more people)... so we signed up and left the next day... everything falling into place nicley like dropping jigsaw pieces out of their box and them all just falling into the correct places (ok so maybe that's an exxageration)... ... ... ... ... I'm getting bored with this chronology malark, like normal, so let's just meet the group I toured with: There was Dan (Mr D), an Ozzie who had worked in England (like English go to work in Oz) and then travelled europe and South America before (he's joined me now on the sceptical travels to Vang Vieng... we are both enjoying "quiet" internet time now), there was me, Miss V, Mr J and Mr K and then there were an American couple, Lukas and Amanda (a chef and a bus driver... Mr L and Mrs (... would it be 'Mrs L' or 'Mrs A'... ... ... ... oh sod this, I'm bored with people's privacy... normal names are back in use!) ... they were and are a cool group... (shit I forgot 'Milko' the Slovenian... a bit of a legend, he bought Schnapps (read, 'some kind of dirty spirit') for "medicine") ... we got on well despite some obvious irritations which come with the territory (I didn't enjoy Amanda suggesting to the group how much we tip the guides!) ... ... it was a really great hike but I'll get the one negative out of the way at the start... STICKY RICE... sticky rice has broken my 'gastronomic' back... the food was great really... delicious and spiciy and flavoursom... but with every meal you have sticky rice... it's like rice you ball up with your hand (there was no cutlery and just banana leaves for plates) and use to scoop up some meat or veg and eat (eating with my hands was suprisingly easy for a man of my disposition:) ... but we had sticky rice for every meal... it is basically a bit like overcooked rice... it has kind of destroyed my love of asian food... until now I couldn't get enough rice and privatley mocked those who said they've had too much rice and couldn't stomach it any more... now I can empathise... the first thing I ate after the trek... chips... mmmmmmm:)
... Anyway, we did a 3 day hike with two sleeps... one in a jungle camp after a nigth by the fire, which was cool but nothing special... the next day we hiked to a local village in the forest/jungle... a village of 11 families which had only been visited 3 or 4 times by hiking groups before.... it was quality... they stared at us almost non-stop... we sat in the hut where we were to sleep and they just sat opposite us, staring and giggling... it was really cool... in the evening the whole village seemed to come by to watch us eat and drink the local spirit (Lao-Lao)... the room was packed and glowing with yellow candle light as we ate and the shot glass (made out of bamboo) worked it's way around the room with perpetual motion... the rounds quicker and quicker... I had somewhere between 7 and 9 shots of the toxic green stuff by the end... I wasn't that drunk and didn't have a hangover the next day... but I was decidedly 'dopey' on the next days trek and tripped frequently... but I wasn't the only one surprisingly;) ... The village was a really great experience and I want to write more about it but I also want to rest my fingers soon... so I will comment breifly on local buses in Laos before I depart...
... they are an experience... you need to be patient but they are enjoyable... they come with a driver and a small crew of lackies ready to patch it up when (not if) it breaks down... the trip down south was a bit cold because the journey was so bumpy that the window by me actually fell out and smashed on the road... I was windowless and had to hide behind the chair in front for shelter from the wind... with monks all around me and even in the corridor of the bus sitting on bag of what I'm guessing was rice... the seat in front had a monk with a wolley hat on... It gleamed to me like a button with 'do not touch' written on it... (monks are sacred and to touch their head is incredibly rude... so I resisted despite the curious looking texture to the hat he was wearing)... on the way up to Luang Namtha the bus broke down by a rural roadside village... I looked at people come and go from the local well... pigs and chickens and dogs and cats were milling around... it was a cool scene... I watched as an old women went to the tap... a woman in her pensioner age still working in this little village... such a natural life, I wonder what she is doing? Still fetching water from the well at her age? ... then as I watched, she removed her top... ... ... ... ... oh christ, look away, the old dear is taking a wash next to a broken down bus from the city... oh bloody hell, don't look don't look... ... ... ... ... (N.B. I imagine that is the one and only tale re. me and naked women I will regail on this blog;) .... needless to say, I was glad when the bus moved on...
... OK, in the not so distant distance I can hear girls 'wooing' to the enivatable try hard guy downing a drink to win the fair lady's hand... the courting rituals commence... quiet time is over... time to get my Michlin, I spy drunken bahaviour book out and start observing:)
... Keep well every one and I hope I haven't bored you too much with this!
Love from Matt:)
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