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Archive for November, 2006

Muang Ngoi Neua

Sunday, November 5th, 2006

Probably my favourite picture of the whole trip – a small girl on the boat to Muang Ngoi Neua, capturing our interaction perfectly :

Despite getting up early considering our travelling, we took a while to have breakfast and stuff so didn’t get the boat until around 11am. Of course we chose to ignore the ticket seller that said there were no boats back after 2pm, I mean how do the locals get back?

We headed off on our own small trek as described in ‘The Book’, the Lonely Planet. We ended up walking past a small cave (didn’t stop – all caved out), rice harvesters, and ended up at the Hoy Bor village – obviously quite well visited as there were signs up along the trail, erected by a couple of enterprising locals. As it was still officially low season we were pleased to walk past only two others on the way, and only cross around 7 tourists in the village. Of course we prompted to eat and drink at the restaurant with no-one else in it, and a selection of food to match. The owners were very interested though and surrounded us, asking us to fill out the guestbook with praise for their place, and to try and coax some visitors in. The balloon trick was used when the kids came up, and before we knew it, Angelica and I had infalted the remainder of the balloon pack, and the village kids were dancing around with multi-coloured balloons lighting up the village. Mothers even came carrying small children asking for balloons for them. I also left one of my scotlandswildplaces.com postcards behind and pointed where it was on a map.

We had a fantastic time there, staying long enough to know we had sacked off any chance we had to get us back to Nong Khiaw for the night to reacquaint us with our luggage left behind, and the guesthouse owners who maybe wouldn’t even spot we weren’t back, but it was well worth it.

We got back to town just before darkness, had a quick glimpse to see if there were any boats. We had been offered a charter back when we got off earlier, but it would be $20. We rapidly decided that paying $20 for a boat was way too muchover paying $2 for accommodation twice. We secured another $2 accommodation of similar standard, but this time with a hammock on the balcony overlooking the river, and right next to the boat landing. Another night was spent discussing world history and german policymaking with three other complete strangers.

There had been signs for a Muang Ngoi Neua version of a full moon party a local had arranged to ‘help me with my school fees’. When we realised there was a $10 charge for the riverside bonfire and far more on offer ;-> we decided to stay and eat food, as did everyone else who had apparently signed up, as the organisers became our friends for a while. I had already made my mind up that despite paying two times for our accommodation, I had effectively saved $16 by not taking the boat back, and I was determined to drink as much of my saving as I could.

Of course this resulted in me convinced it was a great idea to don my iAudio MP3 player and my jacket and crashing out on the hammock, taking in the scenery with some ‘me time’. That was until I woke up at 1am with a few mosquito bites on my foot and decided I really should go to my real bed.

We caused quite a commotion in the village with the balloons :

Me in a paddy field en route to the village :

The main street of Muang Ngoi Neua – only accessible by boat, so no vehicles :

The view from my hammock :

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Sam Neua to Nong Khiaw journey pictures

Saturday, November 4th, 2006

I’ve muddled around a few pics, but here is the view from our accommodation in Nong Khiaw here :

Here is more commotion caused by balloons during a pit stop on the journey :

And there is a view as the bus rose out the valley from Sam Neua :

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Sam Neua to Nong Khiaw

Saturday, November 4th, 2006

Market vendor in Sam Neua :

The kid I made cry when pointing a lens :

The group all caught buses early in the morning – all the other guys heading to Vietnam, and Angelica headed to Nong Khiaw with me on her way to cross up into China. We visited the market briefly to see all kinds of fruit and vegetable for sale, and rapidly departed after I went for a cracking shot of a tiny kid at a stall, which instantly sent her to bawling and tears as the lens pointed at her. I did ask someone first so didn’t feel too bad, but luckily, Angelica’s trick she practised well in Vietnam and Cambodia got me through it – blowing up a balloon for the child, already rescued by her mother. As soon as westerners approach some of these kids they give you looks, so it had to be left next to the stall, but it was smiles all around as her mother picked it up for her. I’m going to use that tool in the future! (I’m writing this in Vientiene a couple of weeks later and have already secured two bags of balloons!). We also saw our ‘Orange truck guy’ who gave us a lift last night selling his goods, minus the ones we ate on route and the ten or so I nobbled at the end.

The eleven hour bus journey was great lasting 8am to 7pm, a good few hours longer than expected. We passed through superb terrain, rishing up through the morning clouds, passing through amazing villages and waving to the locals. Luckily the bus was half empty so we had loads of space to wonder around, open windows, take pictures and the rest. We listened to tunes, read books, chatted, and laughed as the kids closer to Nong Khiaw started to scream louder as the bus passed through their village, it’s pretty much a lifeline here. Again, we were the only tourists on the bus. I was given a South East Asia phrasebook (thanks Angelica – note to self – use it more!!).

The villages were real rural Laos. This was another journey I wished I was undertaking by motorbike. I would have stopped more, but travelled faster, probably balancing it out. Under or next to several houses in the villages, they were dying material and weaving, and going about their daily lives, drying chillies and other foods on the woven roofs.

We got to Nong Khiaw in the dark, and glad we did. It’s weird how it’s different strokes for different folks as I was told I could maybe miss this place out if heading to Vang Vieng. Angelica and I were a smiling walking across the bridge as the mountains around us were lit by the strong moonlight. We settled for the second accommodation we looked at (Pha Noi guest house (I think!) right next to the end of the bridge with the restaurant the first thing you see) and shared the $2 charge for our bamboo hut looking towards the river (albeit beside the main bridge over the river), and settled in for some well deserved food and beers. The accommodation was nothing more than a bamboo shack with fan and balcony, but nothing more or less than we required.

I had made it almost back to Luang Prabang in record time, only a few days elapsed since I left, and now only a few hours north of the place. I had been thinking about heading north with an Irish lass Claire, and a couple of Scottish blokes she was travelling with. I wandered if they had now passed through and went to Luang Nam Tha, or to the Gibbon Experience, but was glad I had opted for the trip I did, and glad I never went back to Luang Prabang. As happens in trips like this, who walked up the steps, but Claire. They had moved north and were taken in by the quietness of Nong Khiaw and had stayed a few days, opting for a day trek to village and a waterfall which she was buzzing about, and a cycle along the main road which ended up with them playing cards with local kids by the riverside. After a quick catch up Angelica and I headed to speak to the guide they used, at 9.45pm!

We spent 45 minutes with the poor guy discussing options for our next day, and haggling hard (they got their day for $15 but ours,a bit more complicated, with only two of us was going to be $25). We debated over a beer and decided we’d do it ourselves. When we went back, the price dropped to $15, but we stuck with it, returning again to say we wouldn’t be there at 7am to tell him whether we’d go or not. It was a shame as the guy was super friendly. If you go there, head to the turn off for Sunset Guest House (on the East end of the bridge), and directly opposite there on the main road is a yellow sign for a tour guide – pop your head in.

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Sam Neua and Vieng Xai Caves

Friday, November 3rd, 2006

Me arriving in a chilly Sam Neua after the overnight bus journey :

Unloading the bus at Sam Neua :

In our drowsy states, we caught a share taxi (Sawngthaew) to Vieng Xai. As you’ll know I catch these everywhere. The world translates to ‘two rows’ describing the the rows of seats laid in the back of the pickups – typically old Toyotas with a metal cage on the back making the seats, roof, particularly the roofrack, used to transport all sorts around Laos, and a small standing area off the back.

We got there a bit late so had to arrange specific tour for us, and hire pushbikes to move around in a short space of time.

The main cave here is Tham Than Souphanouvong where the ‘Red Prince’ of the same name used to hide during the Indochina War. Army officers and others used to meet and stay here, sheltered from the bombing around the area. We got told a load of historical information from the guide, but I won’t pretend to remember it all. Apparently there are around 102 caves in the area there’s been a bit of confusion whether they were a military secret or tourist attraction until recently (i.e. within the last 15 years).

Although there is less history attached to this site, we all found it more interesting than the Plain of Jars. Whether it was worth two days on a bus is up to you, but most of this group were continuing to Vietnam, and the border is very close to here. Vieng Xai is a picturesque wee place though, surrounding by limestone cliffs with a small lake in the middle.

By this point in travelling, the journey becomes as much of the trip as the destination to be honest. Just to back this up we had another adventure! The tour guide assured us if we missed the last sawngthaew back to Vieng Xai we could share a lift back with him for the same cost as he was teaching English in Sam Neua. Unfortunately the class had been cancelled that night and there was a $15 taxi waiting for us. You pay around $20 for a half day trip so we were clearly being taken advantage of a bit, but hey we weren’t going to let that stop us.

Angelica sprinted on the back of his moto to the bus lot, but we had missed it. We bodyswerved the taxi and walked up there, ready for some hard negotiations with locals. We asked around and people who said they’d take us, then decided not to after speaking to the original driver. Eventually we stopped an orange truck…now this wasn’t an orange coloured truck, it was was a truckload of oranges. He agreed to take us for $6 as he was heading that way. The original driver intervened so we said we’d give him $10. The original driver was trying to intervene again so we told him to back off – “He get’s money, we pay a fair rate and don’t get ripped off, everyone’s a winner”.

By this time, half the people around the bus lot were watching. We knew we were sitting ducks as we had no transport. A local guy got off his moto and asked what was going in, found out the situation, spoke to them in Laos, and confirmed the price we were willing to pay the truck driver.

Thanks to that guy, we boarded the truck and said bye to the guy trying to take advantage of us. I thanked the local who seemed very keen to speak to tourists and ensure they enjoyed their visit to Laos, so I told him he was very kind and thanked asked him not to let the locals get more into the rip off mentality sometimes witness in other SE Asian countries.

(All aboard the orange truck 🙂

The truck driver was great. Both parties were happy with the resolution, and so much so he invited us to help ourselves to the oranges in the back – 4 of us inside after the oranges were pushed back, and myself and Owen perched on the back. We got some funny looks from the locals and plenty of waves and smiles.

The perfect way to travel.

A view from one of the caves :

Me on the crap bikes we had to hire (ok we could have paid more and got a mountain bike) :

One of the cave tunnels :

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Plain of Jars

Thursday, November 2nd, 2006

I spent today going on a tour that cost myself and another girl $18, and the two other girls in the van $6, and I didn’t even see the town I wanted to see where they have houses built using old bombs etc. I wasn’t willing to pay the extra $15 he wanted so am splitting town on the overnight bus tonight…heading to another ‘beautiful scenic’ area, but ready to be disappointed. I had it out with him about him ripping us off, but he had his money so I’ll just go away and bitch about him. Anyway, short post as it feels like I need an elbow to push this keyboard down….oh yeh, and in my ‘No Holds Barred’ SE Asia guide…Phonsavan has nothing as a town.

Plain of Jars :

Lao Lao brewing from sticky rice….knock ya out! :

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Phonsavan to Sam Neua

Thursday, November 2nd, 2006

After one night in Phonsavan I was keen to do an overnight bus trip out of there rather than face another night there. Despite this, my sister had been on the phone after visiting Nong Khiaw and she never thought I’d see better scenery than there and Vang Vieng. Even an hour before I had to get to the bus station I was debating whether to use my prebooked ticket or not (again, a hefty cut taken from the Phoukham Guesthouse). I went for my original plan, then it was bolstered by bumping into a group from our Luang Prabang bus that were doing the same.

I met them (Francisco and Mauro from Argentina, Angelika from Germany, Owen from England, and Nick from Boston) again at the bus station, and got to know them pretty well while waiting for the bus. This bus was doing a complete trip from Vientiene to Sam Neua – a beast of a journey of around 20+ hours. Due to this, it didn’t turn up at 7.30 as expected so we waited. And waited. And waited. Put on more warm clothes (well, the few I had not posted home). And waited. It was cold in Phonsavan at night, like Scottish cold. Eventually after a few sandwiches and coffees later, the bus turned up at 11pm, and we burst into lively (nervous) hysterics.

I had already got used to buses being pretty overloaded in Laos, and Asia in general, but this one turned up with the rear six rows full of boxes and luggage, full of people, including the several sitting in the typical kids-style mini plastic seats deployed in the aisle. And at least 5 motorbikes, plus all the other luggage strapped on the roof.

Where were we going to fit in?

Just as we were about to load our luggage, a second bus arrived which was one third empty. There was no choice as we scrambled onto the second bus, milliseconds after confirming it was bound for Sam Neua as well. That was only after I had taken a photograph and watched my open camera drop to the ground from my wrist. I had nothing else in my hands, no excuse. I was gutted. My second camera within two months, and it was only four weeks old. As happens in travelling, you realise there’s nothing you can do about it, so you just have to carry on.

The 9 hour bus journey wasn’t the comfiest in Laos, as the road was quite twisty and I couldn’t really stretch my legs out. I was sitting next to a local who used my shoulder as an occasional headrest. The other five were sprawled out on the raised back seat, however it turned out they weren’t as comfy as they looked either. My stuffed paclite jacket didn’t prove to be an effective bum rest either.

We arrived at 8am in Sam Neua and it was even colder than Phonsavan. We were all pretty knackered but decided to get some food, and go straight to Vieng Xai rather than take a wee nap. It was refreshing to meet this bunch as there was no hassles – straight into a shared room to cut costs, and laughter all around. Despite them travelling together for a few days I wasn’t left out of it at all, so cheers guys if any of you read this.

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Phonsavan and the Plain of Jars

Wednesday, November 1st, 2006

I spent today in a bus for 8 hours travelling from Luang Prabang to Phonsavan to see the Plain of Jars. I’m not too fussed about this really, but I am passing through so couldn’t not go. I’m on my way to see some caves beside the Vietnam border where they hid during the American bombing campaign they are still picking up the pieces from. Around here there is still loads of unexploded ordnance being cleared, largely supported by MAG from the UK. I think I’m doing a whistle stop tour tomorrow, and head to a Mong village to see where they have made some houses from parts of ordnance.

I think I’m going to tortue myself and come back from the tour and straight onto a night bus to Nam Sua (maybe spelt incorrectly) to save me a day as I already feel badly short of time for stuff I want to do. I could easily kill a month in Laos!

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Luang Prabang to the Plain of Jars, Phonsavan

Wednesday, November 1st, 2006

I left Luang Prabang for Phonsavan a day after after my sister left Luang Prabang. After multiple options of where to head to I decided to stick to my original plans and got the 8hr daytime road trip to Phonsavan, arriving just in time for dinner. At lunch we stopped briefly in a transit town where I ended up chatting to Cecile from France, well, the French Reunion Island off Madagascar. She was to become my travelling partner and fellow conned merchant for the next day’s trip to the Plain of Jars.

Phonsavan is a pretty, well it’s fair to say, dead town. There’s on strip with guesthouses and a few less than outstanding restaurants. And it’s cold (at least it is in October, but not as cold as other places in Laos). We stayed in Phoukham Guesthouse which turned out to live up to it’s phonetic English sound (alberit slightly manipulated) – “F*ck’em”. We paid three times as much as the other two girls on our tour the next day, and he refused to take me to the town I really wanted to see (he wanted an extra $15 each for that, despite already paying $12 more than others). After some negogiating (pleading) I decided to bin visiting the town over giving him extra cash so left Phonsavan a tad disappointed as I never managed to see the town that has houses constructed of UXO (UnXploded Ordnance) stilts. About the most interesting thing about Phonsavan, but in a very sad way, is that it’s the home of the UK based MAG group that tries to find UXO in the area, which was the most bombed in recent wars. Their office only pointed me to the website when I asked about volunteering and how you went about it. They must be well funded though as they had a load of flash 4×4’s outside.

Oh yeh – the Plain of Jars…is it worth the trip? If I had known I probably wouldn’t have done it, but I did as it was on my way to Sam Neua / Vieng Xai and it broke up my journey. Our tour guide didn’t give us too much background, but that’s partially as their origin isn’t totally understood yet. I’m sure it’s of interest to many, but it is just a field with ancient rock jars on it, which are pretty weird in their own right.

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