Sabaidee!....

...means "Hello" in Laos!

In the morning we caught the 5 hour bus to the Thai town, Chiang Kong where we spent the night. Early morning we were shuffled through numerous line-ups, onto numerous buses and boats and at each stop there was someone demanding money from us. In the end we figured it cost each one of us nearly a hundred dollars just to enter the country! One stop demanded we pay extra money because it was a Sunday and we had to pay the collectors overtime! As soon as we arrived on the Laos shore, our first encounter was with a hysterical girl telling anyone who walked by that a Laos man broke into her room the night before and ransacked it while she was in bed. Great.

Eventually 60 of us were allowed to board the long slow boat, and they meant SLOW. It moved about 6 inches our first hour and a half. No wonder it took 2 days to get to our destination! We spent the first 9 hour day all sitting on the floor (oh, did I mention it had no seats) playing games, reading and basically trying to catch up on all the things we never have time to do. We finally reached shore only to be greeted by a massive sandune with a rope that we all had to climb up with our packs. We finally made it to our hotel only to find that they had given away the rooms we had already paid for so 8 of us were forced to squish into two rooms. So far, not so good. At that point I think we were all just about ready to turn around and head back.

The second day on the boat was worse. We mainly spent the day staring at eachother, willing the boat to move faster. It didn't. By the time we hit shore I nearly kissed the ground. We arrived in Luang Prabang, this pretty little town with amazing night markets, all you can eat veggie buffets for 60 cents and jumbo drinks for 80 cents. What more could you really ask for? The next day was Ian and my anniversary and we headed off with the other eight to a tiger and asian bear conservation area. It had beautiful lagoons and waterfall which we spent the day smimming in and jumping off of (I chickened out of the jumping).

The next day we took an eight hour bus ride through the most stunning scenery. We drove through village after village, through the most distinct mountain range I have ever seen. The bus was totally silent as we all watched the enormous orange sun set behind the peaks. We did make frequent "restroom" stops along the way where they basically dropped you off in some random village leaving you to fend for yourself. I must say it was a lot harder for the girls since we had to walk much further into the bushes, usually with a trail of children following us, laughing. There is also the added bonus that at least 25% of Laos still has undiscovered landmines and you are constantly warned not to go off any paths. Approximately 200 accidents involving landmines happen every year, usually to people tending their own farms. It is so hard to comprehend.

We reached Vang Vieng at nightfall and the first thing we noticed is that "Friends" was playing on every TV in every bar. The bars and restaurants were also without chairs and tables. We would eat our meal up on a platform with a bunch of large cushions and a small low table in the middle. Very cool. This was definitely a tourist oriented town and either you love it or hate it. I'm sad to say we loved it. As much as the North American television killed the authenticity of the town, all of us fully welcomed the few mindless hours it provided for us.

Vang Vieng is famous among travellers for its tubing. We got driven a few km up the river where we all jumped in with our personal inner tube and sailed down the river, stopping at each drink station along the way, which provided you with free shots of Laos rice whiskey. Basically the most disgusting thing you could ever taste. As we went along, each drink station got larger and larger and provided more and more entertainment, to the point where the tubing became secondary. From high platforms they strung flying foxes that ended above the river. We'd have to time our descent so as not to crush a passing tuber. Further down the river, the flying foxes were replaced with 30 foot high trapeezes which Angie and I allowed the boys to do on their own, thank you very much. They took turns swan diving, back flipping, and belly flopping from stomach turning heights. Onlookers just sat gasping and providing standing ovations for excellent performances. Four hours later as the sun was going down we finally decided we had had enough and made our way back to shore for hot showers and cold beer.

The next day Angie, Alex, Ian and I once again rented motor bikes and cruised out of town along the bumpiest gravel roads you could imagine. It was scary. We headed toward some famous caves we had heard about. The ride was definitely worth it. We climbed up into the caves and using my flashlight went into the darkest depths clutching onto each other, nervously commenting on how tragic it would be if my flashlight died. We headed to the second cave and after a very difficult climb up 50 feet of jagged rocks, we entered into the most beautiful, serene setting. There, in the middle of the cavern was a giant sleeping gold Budda. There was a ray of light coming through a small hole that landed perfectly on it and the sight was breathtaking. Since a lot of people can't do the climb, there were only three others besides us in there. It was like we had discovered a secret hidden chamber. It was just incredible. At the bottom of the rock fall was another lagoon with two ropes hanging from a tree above it. The four of us spent the next hours swinging and jumping in until the sun started to set. What a beautiful day.

The next day, everyone's plans lead them in separate directions. We had a very sad "Good-bye" and Ian and I went on our way south to Vientiane, Laos' capital. Ever since arriving the only thing we have wanted to do is leave. It has been beyond disappointing. Compared to the other towns, this one is dirty, unfriendly and dull. There really isn't much to do and it's very expensive so since we still have four days until our Vietnam visa is activated we're heading back to Vang Vieng for another day of tubing and Friends. Aw, the life!

Chiang Mai Oh My!

After 4 days in Bangkok (it felt like a month) we'd had enough of the pollution and constant offers to go see 'Ping Pong Shows' (you don't want to know) so we headed up north to Chiang Mai. After finding the cheapest bus we could ($10) we instantly knew why we had paid so little. It was a 15 hour ride where we rocked back and forth over cliffs gasping everytime we swung toward the edge, and where the air con wouldn't turn off, so we were freezing to death. Inevitably, it eventually broke down altogether.

Eventually we made our way into town. After Bangkok, Chiang Mai was a breath of fresh air. Chiangmai is a very old city, some structures dating from the 15th century, and home to literally thousands of temples. We were lucky to have met an Israeli girl who lived in a monastary in China for a month, and who acted as our personal tour guide for and entire day as we did the temple circuit. They were just gorgeous. The night markets were equally impressive. Km after km of traditional Thai furniture, jewelry, food and live music. It was just amazing. Ian even tried his first fried grasshopper, to be followed up by a large water beetle. Ugh!

We decided to book a 3 day jungle trek, to get out of the city for awhile. There were twelve others in our group, from Australia, America, England and Canada, oh, and 1 Guide named Rocky. Old Rocky, who for the longest time we thought was named "Locky", who called all the men girly boys, and who laughed hardest at his own jokes (mainly because no one understood him), and whose favourite saying was "Oh My Budda!"

Early the next morning we were all piled into a very small truck, with its back wide open and Ian and I holding on for dear life because we were the last two in. For two hours we hung on precariously, white knuckled while we swung over hills and around corners at break neck speed. Unlike Australia which makes you sign a waver for EVERYTHING, in Thailand this is just what they do. If you get hurt, well, that's your problem.

We arrived later that day in a hilltribe village, where the children greeted our truck by running from the bushes, jumping onto the back and attacking our wrists with traditional woven bracelets they'd just pulled from their pants....then immediately demanded 10 baht. Since the bracelets were impossible to take off, we had no choice but to pay. Crafty little Hilltribe children. We spent the day treking through the hills and forests, then stopped in another village for the evening. It was so beautiful. In the middle of no where these villages exsist with no electricity, farm animals running around everywhere and naked children hovering around fires, where their mothers cooked dinner. We ate dinner on the floor of a grass hut by candelight and some of the village women and children performed for us some traditional Thai songs. Rocky played guitar and we sang them some of our "traditional" songs such as "Hotel California" (Ha!), until the last candle burned out, then we went to sleep on mats layed out on the hut floor.

We woke up the next morning to the sound of a pig being slaughtered. Nice. We made our way into the jungle and after hours of hiking came across a waterfall and all jumped in. It was beautiful! From there our hike continued until we arrived at a river where elephants were bathing themselves. It was such an amazing site to see in the middle of the jungle! The guides organized the elephants (and us) and in couples we mounted each one. Now I've had some pretty surreal experinces, but riding an elephant with Ian through the jungle is now pretty high on the list. In fact, my already dreamlike state increased ten fold when Ian suddenly turned to me and proposed, ring and all!....on an elephant!....in the jungle! Can you imagine?! It took me a few minutes to register what he had said. He just kept looking at me, sayng, "So will you?". I eventually managed a "Yes". That night we announced it to our group and we spent the night celebrating by a campfire. We could not have asked for anything better. It was a day we will never forget.

The next morning we were back on the jungle trek until we arrived at a river with long bamboo rafts. There were 3 of us to a raft (standing) and a Thai river guide who was more interested in pushing us off the raft and mushing mud into our faces, than keeping us safe. For 2 hours it was full out chaos, with everyone running and jumping from raft to raft, making it just before hitting another rapid, people falling off, and guides dissapearing, leaving people to fend for themselves. The rest of the time we spent baskeing in the sunshine that streamed through the break in the jungle trees, while we ate this enormous volleyball sized yellow fruit the guides picked out of the jungle for us. It was one of the best experiences so far.

We headed back to Chiang Mai soaking wet and tired, but incredibly happy. We were very lucky with the group we had. Everyone was so much fun, no one wanted to split up afterward. That night everyone took us out for our "Stag and Doe" night. We went to a Thai boxing match, then split up, with me heading off with the girls and Ian having a wild time with the guys.

The next day, with Angie and Alex (a couple who we've become friends with), we rented motorcycles and drove into the gorgeous mountains outside of Chiang Mai until we got to this ancient temple called Doi Sutep that had an incredible view of the city. Absolutely stunning! When we got back, the girls picked me up for the continuation of my Hen's party. They bought me a big white bow (in place of a veil) and they took me to a Thai spa where we all treated ourselves to Thai massages. HIGHLY recommended!

Our time came to an end in Chiang Mai. It was hard to leave, but with ten out of the twelve from our group, we headed off to Chiang Kong, the border crossing to Laos, to begin our long descent together down the Mekong River.