One of the reasons we decided that I would take this year in Korea was to take advantage of travelling more on this side of the globe. In May, we did just that. I spent days reading every travel article and commentary I could get my hands on regarding South East Asia (the on-going front runner), Australia, tiny Pacific Islands, Fiji, the Maldives, Guam, etc etc. The original plan was a week backpacking Vietnam from top to bottom or vice versa. However, the weather just didn't seem like it was going to cooperate. Eventually I settled on Laos. It's a tiny, developing country with just the kind of reputation I was hoping to find. Laos is certainly not an undiscovered paradise, but at the same time, it's far away from the standard tourist line from Bangkok to Phuket with 5 star resorts all the way. I've enjoyed travel throughout China and the experience really changed my perspective on life. This trip was a way to invite Chris into the world of international travel and begin to share with him the perspective I found through travel. We met in Bangkok and spent the night at TripAdvisor's highly recommended Silver Gold Garden Hotel for a mere $19. There were, in fact, rooms for $10, but we splurged on something with air conditioning and a free airport shuttle. It was near the airport and no frills but served our purposes just fine. We managed to meet up in the Bangkok Airport despite no cell phones and coming from different continents. After a short overnight, it was back to the airport at 0700 for our flight to Luang Prabang, Laos. The Bangkok Airways turbo prop flight was uneventful (except for a nice breakfast on a <2 hr flight) and we arrived before noon. Walking off the plane made us laugh and Chris commented that "This isn't the sort of airport where you get lost." Ours was the only plane there...the airport is a single runway and then the planes taxi to a small parking lot size space where passengers enter and exit. We stepped up to the visa window then over to immigration, grabbed our bags and headed out to the hotel shuttle which held up a sign with our names (or mine, because I made the reservations). I've never had a sign with my name on it before and the concept was rather exciting. The shuttle took us to Le Bel Air Boutique Hotel. This lovely little place was our jumping off point for our five nights in Laos. We were welcomed to the open air reception desk with champagne flutes of a sweet, pulpy fruit drink and checked into our "upgraded" room. The dark floors and mosquito net created a lovely ambiance to go with the scampering lizards and door that locked at the bottom, just above the floor. First things first, Chris went to sleep, trying to overcome some jetlag. I headed back out to reception to discuss potential travel plans with the reservations desk. Through the hotel we got quotes for potential trekking opportunities which I shared with Chris later. He talked me down from my overly excited idea of a long journey and we booked a 2 day trek with a village overnight. Looking forward to a trek at 0800 the next day, we borrowed bikes from Le Bel Air and began a ride to town. Alas, Chris's tire went flat and rain began to fall less than 10 minutes into our trip. Not to be thwarted by such inconveniences, we returned our rickety bicycles and walked back across the pedestrian bridge in search of ponchos and a taste of Luang Prabang. Ove the next hour, we found none of the markets that had been recommended and sweltered in the humid afternoon air. The city is quite charming, though, and we enjoyed walking around outside the normal backpacker alley places. Poncho-less we continued into town in search of dinner and ended up at Tamarind - a place recommended by the guidebook I downloaded for the Kindle - which showcases a small menu of great local food. I opted for a minty lemongrass drink with steamed fish in a banana leaf complimented with vegetables. Chris got some kind of chicken and the quintessential Beer Lao. Dinner was a success, but we weren't impressed enough to invest in their day-long market-to-table cooking experience later in the week.
Day Number 2 was the far and away the rainiest of our trip. We met our guide at 0800 and rode out in the back of a pickup truck to the Elephant Sanctuary where we would begin our trip. Hardcore hikers that we are, we elected for the 6 hour Day 1 trek and after a 10 min ride in a long boat, began hiking up and up and up into the hills outside Luang Prabang. On this trip to the village, I had read we might see lots of giant spiders or possibly pieces of metal that seemed very out of place. Fortunately, both of these seemed to be outside our attention, the former were waiting for later and the latter, UXO from previous wars, stayed hidden. We walked into monsoon type rain after a couple of hours and with our single borrowed umbrella from the hotel, Chris mananged to stay semi dry and I used my jacket to try and cover the backpack with my clothes and camera. The rain was manageable because we were quickly saturated, but the ground did not have the same issue and the mud got to be tricky. Eventually, we stopped and took shelter under a little hut to eat fried ride out of banana leaves for lunch. The rain abated for a short while and we continued on through the Lao jungle appreciating the weather that creates lush and green foliage in seemingly unpenetrable numbers. However, as we climbed over the crest of some of the hills we were treated to views of truly untouched valleys and endless skies. The clouds had begun to clear in the afternoon and the jungle gleamed with a fresh coat of moisture. Sometimes we'd walk by hills that were cultivated by villagers with the tasty and profitable crop of mountain rice, but most of the landscape was rugged and natural and verdant with wild shades of green. Eventually we reached the village of Hmong people where we would spend the night. The villagers were mostly unconcerned but the small, often at least half naked, children were interested in our arrival. The rest of the evening passed rather uneventfully. We were invited to shower off in the "donation toilets:" A concrete basin was full of water with a large plastic scoop floating on the surface. This scoop allowed one to either flush the flat ceramic "toilet" on a raised platform in the floor or supposedly pour water over one's head and body in the form of a shower. Despite our dirty, muddy, and DEET covered skin, we opted for the less scary use of Dove face cleaner towelettes, vowing for a nice shower when we returned to the hotel. So much for living like a local...but as Chris had convinced me and slightly degraded my over ambitious plans to trek for 3+ days to 2 days total, this was a feasible and not overly disgusting plan. After a stroll around the village with pigs and tiny dogs roaming freely, we sat down to eat sticky rice, soup, and stir fried vegetables with bits of pork. The meal was plain but delicious and soon we were ready to pass out as the sun began to dip and the mosquitos came out hungry. Leaving all of you friends in suspense...I'll publish now and continue this a little later!
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