Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Hay-Nicholls Holidays
Monday, 28 December 2009
Three day journey to Bangkok
One thing we figured out early on about Laos is that it’s not the easiest country to get around. There is no train network and the majority of travel is by bus or boat. We opted for the two day boat option which would take us up the Mekong River to the Laos-Thai border. In hindsight, this was probably the least efficient way to return to Bangkok but we had fun nonetheless.
Weirdly, a cold spell had hit this area of the world since our kayaking adventure; locals were feeling it more than us, but without my one and only long sleeved top (it never returned from the laundry) I was forced to sit in my sleeping bag for the two day journey! Feeling left out, Chris joined me and we looked rather like two homeless people!
We met some other travellers on the boat, including Canadians Tia and Jordan who were celebrating Tia’s birthday and who we went out for dinner with on our second evening. This kind of thing made our two day journey worth it.
When we finally reached the border on the evening of day two, we were forced to wait yet another night because the boat never reaches the town in time for the immigration closing. Of course this means that tourists are forced to stay in the border town for an evening and spend money. Clever.
We eventually crossed the border and then had to wait until the late afternoon for our night bus to Bangkok – by this stage we definitely knew we should have taken a different route! This had taken over three days now!
We were nonetheless excited to meet up with Adam, our good friend and neighbour from Paris, who was going to be spending the next three weeks with us adventuring in Thailand.
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Reflections on the former French Indochine
Indochina has suffered heavily over the past two centuries due to both internal conflicts along with Western imperialism and ideology, most recently in the 70s (and even up to the 90s in Cambodia). Vietnam showed me the horrors of it's recent past in museums; Cambodia showed me at the sites themselves whereas, despite being the most bombed country in the world, Laos has yet to make a tourism industry out of it's miseries. This was one striking difference between the three countries.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
The calm that is Buddhism...
The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the world's ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
AtishaWe are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world.
Pay no attention to the faults of others,
things done or left undone by others.
Consider only what by oneself is done or left undone.
All know the Way, but few actually walk it. Bodhidharma
The Four Reliances
First, rely on the spirit and meaning of the teachings, not on the words;
Second, rely on the teachings, not on the personality of the teacher;
Third, rely on real wisdom, not superficial interpretation;
And fourth, rely on the essence of your pure Wisdom Mind, not on judgmental perceptions.
You only lose what you cling to.
Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much
as your own unguarded thoughts. - The Buddha
Monday, 21 December 2009
Kayakking
Blistered feet and tired bodies...
We were all exhausted after just one day of trekking and I think it's fair to say that every one of us was a little anxious about what the second day would bring. After a breakfast of omelette, our morning's hike began with the steepest and most painful ascent ever. The HUGE blisters on the back of my heels (formed due to crossing rivers the day before and having to put my boots onto wet feet continuously - WHY did the company tell us not to bring sandals?!) were being rubbed and broken every time I took a step uphill. So painful... As my friends and family know, I don't do physical pain very well. Ouch!
We ended up with a third guide today, a local villager with a GUN! This was because we were the first tourists to trial this route which the company's guides hadn't even trekked themselves. The reason for the gun was in case of a tiger attack, I think! Along the way - often the paths were non-existent and we just trekked through jungle and terrain making paths as we went - the guide would chop down a huge tree and make a little sign with the chopped branches, directing the next trekkers along the right path. This was all very exciting for us.
On this day, we hiked to a cattle village of ten families where the women and children had never seen white people before. The men, who had been more occasionally to neighbouring villages, had come across our kind before but for the women and children, we were a new experience for them. Some of the children were so scared of us farang (foreigners) they cried. This was a special experience for us too. I didn't think I'd meet people so detached from city life and globalisation in my lifetime.
We ate lunch in the house of one of the villagers with the bravest of the little boys looking on through the doors at our intriguing behaviour, skin and hair colour!
The village that was to host us on our second night, our guides jokingly called 'Electricity City' because, you guessed it, it had electricity. Not only this but a tarmac road for vehicles. It felt like we were walking on the moon to walk along this road, back in civilisation after two days out in the jungle. In this village, we stayed in the home of the village leader.
Men would come and go with little note books for meetings about their rice productivity and plots with their elected leader.
There was no toilet in this home so we were to walk down to the road to the forest to relieve ourselves. Showering was slightly easier than the previous night however. As I stood at the river about to 'shower' watching the local children splashing around, Khit told myself and the other girls that before us, these people had probably never seen a bikini before, not even on television.The six of us farang slept in the rice storage shed and it was probably the best night sleep any of us have ever had! After rinsing off in the river and another fabulous meal of sticky rice and bamboo stew accompanied by Lao-Lao rice whisky, we were ready for a very early night. After our own meal, we were invited to eat with the family. I loved being in their kitchen, sitting underneath their clear plastic bags of preserved foods such as bamboo.
Being part of this trek has undoubtably been one of the best things I've done in my life. When Chris and I set off on this around the world adventure, what we wanted was to really get to know other cultures and embrace the differences between other people and ourselves. In Laos, by going on this trek, we were able to do this. I have never met people who are so untouched by capitalism. I learned so much and hope I never forget how this country has made me feel. I hope with all my heart to return to Laos in the near future and spend longer here.
Hill Tribe Trek - Day 2
Chris> As we trekked up Elephant Mountain on our second morning, Steph's boots gave her more and more blisters. We were all exhausted from the day before's over-extended journey the company had tested on us, without mentioning the need for different footwear to cross streams or water bottles that closed shut. This lead to much complaining on our part between ourselves. Elephant Mountain had us exhausted by 10am. As we dragged our feet, I wondered why we decided to trek through the world's epicenter for malaria mosquitoes...
Khit soon cheered us up by carving us each a bamboo walking stick for the uphill climb. Sao went for bigger vines and even full palm trees to clear the way and clearly mark the new trail for the next trekkers. Down in the valley we crossed over a stream or two and stumbled upon a grapefruit tree. It was almost surreal - an oasis maybe from our exhaustion. The grapefruit was delicious but the acid made my stomach much worse for the rest of the day.
Today's trek required a third guide, Sao, armed with a bayonette, as we were taking a brand new trail that had just been cleared. Now Laos has the unfortunate status for being the most bombed country in the world after the US carpet bombing campaign during the Vietnam War, with unexploded ordnance still abundant - another thought that came up every so often I took a step.
We stopped for lunch in a village where many of the women and children had never seen a foreigner before. The boys all stared from the doorway as we ate more of our sticky rice. I don't remember much from the afternoon since my weakened and dehydrated body just focused on each step. After reaching the end of the trail just before dark, we were all relieved to hang up our boots. We were staying in the village leader's house. This village was on a paved road, had electricity, some brick houses and some people also owned a bike. The family cooked bamboo soup for us, and for them, buffalo in its own blood. I stuck to sticky rice. Khit stayed up late again to tell us more about his country and answer all our questions. He shared his dream for seeing eight countries in the world. He also wishes to live until he is 85 and have 24 children: 12 girls and 12 boys. He laughed. In truth his first dream is to see Australia. We encouraged him to use WWOOF to work on farms for free and couchsurfer to stay for free along the way there. This should enable him to see his eight countries without too much expense. But I'm not sure how good he is with the internet for arranging flights and the online visa site for Australian visas. Hopefully he will stay in touch. I want to help him with this, if he wants.
Steph and I realized that we have never been to a country like Laos and we have never met people like this. We were up again this morning to the sound of chopping wood and people talking in the street at 5h30. We see the mountains rise misty above our little village. Roosters crow and dogs play. The village is full of morning smells, floating up from smoky wood fires and spicy food simmering in blackened pots. Today (day 3) we'll jump into kayaks to descend the rapids of the Mekong River all the way back toward Luang Prabang.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Hill Tribe Trek - Day 1
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Visiting the Hill Tribes
By the end of the trek I was truly humbled and overwhelmed by...lovliness.
We left Luang Prabang with two local guides, Jin and Khit: these kind, friendly and patient guides would spend the next three days cooking for our group of six, helping us through the treacherous terrains and setting the pace during our eight hour treks. We were touched by their humility and kindness. Despite being tired themselves having been trekking with tourists for the last six days without a day off, their patience with us was unbelievable.
Khit and Jin, our guides for the next three days.
I kept wondering what they must be thinking about us from Europe and the US, struggling up the mountains, breaking out in massive sweats and needing so many breaks! If they found us funny or frustrating, they never once let it show and conducted the whole trek without complaint or comment. I doubt I personally would have been able to show the same humility in their position! This is one thing I have come to love about people here in Laos; their kindness, constant positivity and uncomplaining nature is like nothing I've experienced before.
At the first village we came across, boys played with wooden spinning tops the whole time we were there. I could tell these gave them hours of fun.
These were clearly the cool boys in town; the smaller children stared wide eyed dreaming of the day they'd be allowed to join in with the bigger boys.
Something as simple as this brought on all kinds of emotions and thoughts in me. It surely isn't too long ago that children in Europe were content with small wooden games like this and spent hours competing outdoors with their spinning tops. The modern, technological world means things are different now. I don't know whether I felt happiness that these boys were so engaged in such a simple game or sadness that this kind of entertainment is far gone for a lot of children back home. Either way I was overcome by emotion: perhaps it was the sight of the next mountain looming before us, inviting us to climb it!
This trek was the most physically challenging thing I've done for as long as I can remember. The heat combined with my severe lack of fitness after three months of doing nothing but drink beer and read/sleep all day meant that climbing the mountains and even descending seemed near impossible to me. It wasn't helped by the huge blisters that had been forming and were being rubbed raw by my boots.
By the time we reached the village where we were to sleep on our first night, emotions were running high. I had almost given up twice... Goodness knows where I expected to sleep but I felt at times that I just couldn't go any further! On normal treks, we would have stopped at the previous village (after five and a half hours of trekking) but because we were on a brand new trek, the first ever to trial it, we continued another two and a half hours to the next village. It was dark when we arrived and we were apparently the first tourists to ever have spent the night there. This was special. The village leader greeted us with 'Thank you'. Whether this was the only word he knew in English or whether he wanted to express his gratitude to us for staying in his village, I can't say, but either way, it was fitting and of course, made me even more emotional. When he brought his six year old son out to read for us, well... you can imagine how moved I was! Completely overwhelmed by lovliness. I took a video and will post it in a following blog.
The Village leader with his wife.
If we wanted to shower, we were to go to the village water pump and wash there. The toilet reminded me of that in one of the scenes in Slumdog Millionaire. A hut covering a hole in the ground, below which a, let's say, 'waste disposal' cave had been dug.
One thing's for sure, after an eight hour trek, a good meal in our tummies, a few hours with our guide listening to him tell us of the history of this particular tribe and stories of his childhood, we were all very pleased with out humble accommodation and dropped right to sleep.