Around The World With 30 Litres On My Back

The bus to Luang Prabang from Vang Vieng is meant to take 6 or 7 hours. We set off at about 11 and bingo, I got a window seat. I spent a lot of the journey reading a story my friend had written off my phone. I read quite far down and then realised the rest of it hadnt downloaded and with no wifi to help me carry on, I fell asleep. Just as well. When I woke up I looked out of the window. The view was magnificent. Green hills and mountains for as far as the eye could see. One problem: sheer drops with not a lot in the way of a barrier. And if the wheels skidded, we weren’t going to have much of a hope of staying alive. I tried not to think about this too much; the drivers here do this journey frequently and I have lived to tell the tale. To be fair, our driver went very slowly until we ended up getting stuck behind some construction guys building the road ahead. To make up for the hour or so lost, the driver went really fast around bends and corners. It was OK though, I’ve had worse journeys.

We stopped for food twice and arrived at the bus station just before 7. We had to get a tuk tuk into town. Again, I hadnt booked but managed to get myself to the best part of town for backpackers – Ban Ho Xiang. I was really happy to find a little alley way lined with well-lit and pretty guesthouses. I went to the Xayana Guesthouse. Dorm beds were 3500 kip. They were full but had a single for 10000. I took it, this place looked cool.

I dumped my stuff and went for a little wander. The Night Market was right on my doorstep which was great. There seemed to be cliques of people together as well as the compulsory couples. I started to feel a bit out of it and tried to work out the best strategy to get talking to people.

I got some dinner and headed back to the hostel courtyard. There was a group of people sat in a corner laughing and drinking. I sat across from them to do some writing. They beckoned me over to sit with them. Yeah!! They were from Korea and spoke some good English. Turned out 2 of them also work in TV. I didn’t have to tell them I baked bread for a living.  People always think telly is glamorous and want to know more. Its been fun inventing new personas instead…

A couple of Japanese guys Id seen on the bus came by – they were staying across the way. And then we were joined by an Aussie, a couple of people from California and a really cool German guy (also in media!) who invited me to go to the waterfalls on a motorbike. Yikes. That would have been good but you know me and motorbikes… We partied on way past curfew and long after the front door was closed. It was only when we saw people stumbling back from the bowling alley (the only place in town you can get a drink after hours) that we realised how late it was. The Koreans had gone to bed (guess what..? They were leaving tomorrow) but the rest of the guys recognised these new drunkies and decided to join them for some drinks at their hostel. My new German friend asked me to come along but I was pretty knackered by now so I went to bed. All good.

I thought Id woken up pretty late the next day. Even the lads from last night were already having breakfast. We said morning and I headed off to do some wandering. I sat in a bakery and got a coffee. A guy sat down near me. I didnt pay him too much attention but it’s always interesting to people-watch and work out which other travellers might also be alone. I sat there for a long time just doing a bit of reading.

When I was ready to leave, I took my time walking down the main road, taking everything in. Id attempted to do this last night but most things start to close around 10pm, leaving just darkness. I saw the boy from earlier again in another cafe reading his book. I walked to the end of the peninsula,  where the Mekong converges with the Mae Kok River. Locals were swimming, saw some tourists sunbathing. Pretty idyllic.

The riverside was clearly where the older folk with dollar stayed. It was quiet. In fact the whole town was quiet. Where was everyone? I walked alongside the river and discovered that this breed of Lao man (touting for boat rides) was clearly not intimidated by western females. I think at one point I was followed for a few hundred metres but it was all pretty harmless.

It was too hot to do much so I wandered back into town and got an iced coffee and read.  I later went to visit the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre to learn about the different Lao people and their courtship rituals. It was very amusing!

I then made my way to an organisation called Big Brother Mouse which has been set up to help Laotians improve their English. They accept volunteers so I decided to give it a go! I was walking over when this American girl, Monica from NYC, stopped me to ask where the university was. Didnt have a clue but we got chatting anyway and she sounded interested in BBM so came with me.

I was expecting to read to a group of children but the group was mainly made up of young men. I listened to a 17 year old called Sivan read to me about dinosaurs. Mate, there were words, even I couldnt pronounce! Sivan came from a province 6hrs drive away but was working in a hotel to fund his way through college. He wants to return to his village as an English teacher. Monica was having a great time teaching a small group of lads how to say names of fruit and veg!

A monk turned up too. Monica and I weren’t sure if we were even allowed to look at him let alone talk to him but Sivan said we just weren’t allowed to touch him. He was a lovely chap and spoke English very well – he’d been learning for 2 years. He told me how he wanted to go to Thailand to see a doctor as he kept getting stomach cramps and had been for about 3 years every day. I really wanted to give him some buscopan but probably best not play doctor!

Monica left with another girl to take one of the boys to anotherEnglish class 20 minutes away. I decided to stay on at BBM, I was really enjoying finding out about these boys’ lives. It was really interesting learning why they wanted to speak English and also what their lives were like.

AT 7pm we finished and I found a great little place for dinner; I had noodles and a drink for 20,000 kip – just over £1.50!

I wandered a bit more and felt a bit more in place; Id met a great group of people yesterday and had had more interactions today. I decided to head back to the hostel to see if anyone was about. I passed the post office and heard some music coming from behind it so I decided to find out what was going on. I had to pass a security guard but he was asleep with 2 big empty bottles of Beer Lao next to him – don’t think he’d be a problem. I peered behind a wall and was excited to see a Lao party in full swing! People were drinking beerand dancing and they all looked happy. A couple of people noticed me and smiled. A man beckoned me over to dance. I wanted to but I had bags with me and I really wanted to share this with someone. I watched for  a few more moments and then headed round the  corner to the hostel.

There was an open air showing of Avatar in the courtyard. Quite a few people had gathered. This was good. I would sit down and watch too and then maybe find someone to come back to the Lao party. I decided to just go pick up some laundry Id left across the road that morning and come back. Then someone caught my eye. Sat at the back in a corner; the boy Id seen twice already today! So he was staying here too! Anyways I went over to pick up my clothes and mistakenly assumed a man sat outside to be an employee. Turned out he was a Japanese tourist. I invited him over to watch the film!

I got back and the bloody film had finished! A few older women started chatting. They included the boy in their conversation. In the meantime, the Japanese dude who’d been on my bus and had sat with us yesterday turned up so I got chatting to him. I told him about the Lao party but he didnt seem up for it. In fact it was already getting late – maybe about 11 by now. It was St Paddy’s night. Id clearly missed the party people somewhere. The women and the boy had gone to bed within half an hour. I sat outside and read. A couple of people Id met the night previous came back looking worn out. Didnt look like anyone was going to come Lao dancing with me. (I did ‘gatecrash’ a lunchtime performance at a school on my last day with Jiang. They were doing it outside and we stopped to watch, got asked to join in so we did. Everyone clapped haha)

The next day I went to play with elephants! I went for an elephant ride and fed my elephant sugar cane. She was cool. And very hungry. She kept pointing her trunk at me. I just wanted to give her a big hug. But probably not a good idea. Such long eyelashes. I wonder what they think about.

The two Aussie girls Id met at Vientiane airport were on this trip with me. We talked about where we’d gone and what we were doing. They had got lost in a National Park near Vientiane and they’d ended up phoning their parents who then phoned the Australian Embassy who then got “3 men in thongs (in hindsight not sure if they meant flipflops or pants) to come out with torches” to rescue them. I asked if they weren’t worried about snakes. “Snakes??” they asked…

Later on we went to visit Kuang Si waterfall which means Big Waterfall. It was beyooootiful! Turquoise water! But it was cold. I had a nice swim anyway. I didnt like the fish trying to eat my scabs. I also saw some really cool sun bears. Dont know much about their plight, Ill look it up when I get home, but I do remember seeing a bear being chained up as a pet from my first but brief visit to Laos many years ago. On the way back to town we stopped by a Hmong  tribal village. They were selling things I just didnt want to buy. It was difficult. I dont understand at what point  contentment with a a simple life ends and poverty starts. That put a bit of a downer on things.

Back at the hostel I got a visitor; Jiang! She’d made it to Luang Prabang but my place was full so she’d gone to stay by the river. We were going to go to the Night Market to meet her friend and get some dinner. But first there was something I had to do. Sat alone in a cafe across the road was the boy. He was reading his book. Maybe he just didnt enjoy company. Or maybe he was shy. Well, I just went over, introduced myself and invited him (Nick) out for some drinks later. I left it completely open and said MAYBE Ill see you later. Cool.

The food at the night market was fab. For 10000 kip (about 80p!!) you can eat whatever you like at the buffet – BBQ fish, chicken heads, eggs, salad, rice, noodles. Bargain! We ate it all up and then Jiang and I and Jiang’s friend, Natalia (from Spain) headed through a series of dark alleys to a very cool bar called Utopia – you need to see this – http://www.utopialuangprabang.com/ – and we got some loungers on a bamboo deck over the river to chill out on.

Quite a way into the evening I saw Nick. He did look like he was looking for us but he was with a girl. I later saw them sat very quietly at the front of the bar. I didnt want to go over and pester him, it had been a totally open invite.

Jiang and Natalia wanted to leave at a good hour. I wanted to stay and watch some breakdancing. So I did. I was a bit worried about navigating the dark alleys back to the main road but I had seen several people from my hostel so wasnt worried about getting back. However, soon it was moving on to midnight and nobody showed signs of leaving. I was tired so I left. I didnt talk to Nick so didnt ask if he’d walk back with me, haha. I got as far as the front and 2 older guys were leaving on a motorbike. I asked if they’d mind riding along side me as I walked. “Why, you are scared?” asked the passenger. “well… yeah” I said. When they found out I was from London they laughed at me. Apparently London is way scarier than a series of dark alleys in a foreign country. They took me a different route to the way we’d come. They turned left instead of right and took me across a bridge. And the road was right at the end! What?! It had taken us ages to get there when there’d been a simpler route all along.

The guys left me there and went in the opposite direction. All I had to do was walk up this road and Id be on the main thoroughfare. At that point a man appeared out of the shadows and asked if I wanted a tuktuk, No thanks. OK… you want opium…? marijuana..? WHAT?? Really?? You think Im gonna buy off you? Me, a lone woman and you a dodgy Lao. No way man! My image of Lao men as intimidated rather than intimidating was fast being washed away by the men of Luang Praband. I wasnt worried in terms of safety – there were loads of people ahead walking around. I was a just bit shocked as I heard of boys being asked constantly, especially in Siem Reap. But this was new for me.

The next morning I went to get breakfast at a bakery up the road. Guess who was sitting alone in that very place reading his book…?

Vientiane

And on to Laos! I was a bit dubious about the safety record of Lao Airlines but apparently they haven’t had a crash since 2000. So that’s OK then. Siem Reap airport was very modern and kind of hi-tec, a stark contrast to the rest of the country. I discussed this with Simon, a guy Id met on my 2nd trip to Angkor and who happened to be getting a flight the same time as me but to Vietnam. I had thought about getting a long distance bus to Pakse and to go exploring the 4000 islands and coo at Irrawaddy dolphins but that wouldn’t really leave me enough time to see the rest of Vietnam. No. Flight straight to Vientiane would be more convenient.

And it was, it was very pleasant. We didn’t have to fly up too high so I got a great overhead view of Cambodian rice paddies and rivers. They gave us food. A ham and cheese sandwich and a doughnuts filled with green cream. I chucked the ham. The green cream was good. I like the sugary bread here but boy oh boy I am going to suffer. Wheat+sugar=VERY BAD TUMMY!

We landed in Pakse after an hour. Here, we’d pick up more passengers and go on to Vientiane. I like the name Vientiane. It looks nice written down but you say it veen-chan.

Upon landing,  Japanese guys bounded off the plane and as they ran down the stairs onto the concourse, they shouted really excitedly, “Ohhh LAOS!”. They were funny. Then this guy at the bottom was checking if we were stopping at Pakse or going to Vientiane. They didnt understand what he was after so I explained to them “Oh. This isnt Vientiane? Where are we?” Funny boys.

I had to get a visa on arrival which cost $35. Aussies get it for $30 as 2 Aussie girls pointed out to me. Damn it, I was 4 dollars short. One of the girls offered it to me (the milk of traveller kindness) but turned out you can pay by card so I did. On the last leg to Vientiane, they gave us food. A ham and cheese sandwich and a doughnuts filled with green cream. I chucked the ham. The green cream was good. Yes.

Arrival in Vientiane was OK. You pay 55000 kip for a taxi to the city centre. Apparently if you walk 500m to the airport gate you can flag down a tuk tuk but I couldnt be bothered with my big backpack so I paid the equivalent of $7 (and probably the most Id ever pay for a ride that wasnt long-distance) and got in with the nice taxi man. Now here’s something: I didnt book accommodation!! I just asked the taxi to take me to the best spot. And he did. He dropped me outside quite a smart guesthouse which I later found on tripadvisor had 4 or maybe even 5 out of 5 and was smack bang in the middle of cafes and bars and between the Mekong River and the main drag. Result. Well worth paying that 55000 kip. I got  a great night’s sleep there and bed bugs became a worry of the past.

Had a nice wander around the city and eventually made it to the river for sunset. It made me happy being at the Mekong; it made me feel not so far away from Cambodia. Oh and they have daily displays of dance exercise!! It’s brilliant! I saw a couple of westerners at the back. Great stuff. People would buy snacks from the adjoining night market and sit on the grass and watch. I felt a bit bleurgggh after all that sugary bread so had a really simple supper of a rice fritter and some barbecued prawns on a stick for under £1. Bargain! Later on, I sat at a cafe round the corner from my guesthouse and got talking to a really nice English couple who’d been teaching English in Korea. They were having a quick holiday before flying to Madrid to teach English there. We chatted until we were thrown out – at 10.30pm! Vientiane, as many other Laos towns apparently, has a curfew. Everything shuts down by midnight and a lot of guesthouses lock their doors. Rah!

On my second day in Laos I started to experience some weird feelings in my tummy. Not sick or cramping. Like butterflies. Except every wave of butterflies was making me dash to the toilet! Oh god, oh god, it was really bad. Maybe the malarone was kicking in? Maybe it was the sugary bread? It wasnt nice. I visited the national monument and climbed Laos’ equivalent of the Arc de Triomphe, the Patuxai. I really hoped the views would be fab but the city’s quite flat so the view wasnt that interesting. I also read about UXOs in Laos. Apparently Laos is the world’s most bombed country. The Cope Centre rehabilitates those who have been maimed by cluster bombs. I wanted to check it out. I walked for ages and was quite far out of the city but really couldnt tell where I was going. I stopped with some locals and through mime and pointing they worked out where I wanted to go. A nice man offered to take me on his motorbike. I was hesitant. He was able to tell me it was only another 500m up the road. Oh yeah, OK, why not, so got on the back of the bike and off we went. The ride was OK but Im still pretty nervous after that accident so many years ago now. Never will be my preferred method of transport again but there you go.

The Cope Centre is housed in a pretty courtyard and some of the staff are English. Its really informative and there are loads of films you can watch about people who’ve had legs and arms blown off but who, thanks to this place, have learnt to walk and rebuild their lives. I met a young boy there called Peter Kim. He had lost his hands and was partially blinded too. He was really chatty and told me he wanted a girlfriend. When I told him how old I was to his 20 years, he asked me to have children quick, a daughter that he might be able to date, haha. The thing that struck me about this place was how upbeat everything and peoples’ stories were. A big contrast to S21. I guess those Cambodians have lost their lives. These Laotians can still make a go of things. I liked it and I felt privileged to talk to Peter and also privileged that I live in a country without the daily fear of running into a bomb.

Vang Vieng

OK… so Vang Vieng… I’d be warned off going because it’s touristy and has no culture and is full of kids getting drunk. Looking at my trip so far, I guess it’s been rich in learning about these countries. It hasnt exactly been a party. But as I said to Simon at Siem Reap airport, I think it might be time for a bit of fun! I got picked up at my guesthouse and chucked in the back of an already packed songthaew. We went round the streets and packed a couple of more people in and then we stopped in a car park by the river. The driver got out, came round the back to us and said quite simply, “Get out!”. So we did. We stood in the car park, bemused, all looking puzzled at each other surrounded by our bags and the songthaew drove off! He came back about 10 minutes later with another load of people. We hoped that the main bus would pick us all up from here. About 20 minutes later, it did. It was already full of people though and the crew offered plastic chairs to 2 unfortunates who didnt get a seat (WHAT!) until a nice couple offered to seat their 2 youngsters on their laps. For 4 hours. Fab.

I slept for a lot of the journey and firmly plugged my wobbly tummy up with buscopan. Apparently this is a secret weapon against stomach cramping although its sold to relieve IBS. Had I known about this years ago I might never have suffered another bad period. I was given it to counteract any cramping I might get from the malarone (which Im on for at least another fortnight). Side effects: constipation. Perfect for a long bus journey where I might need to make a dash for it.

What I saw of the countryside looked pretty. Not sure, I didnt get a window seat and the windows were tinted. Shame because I hear Vientiane to Vang Vieng is a pretty drive. What I did notice was that suddenly I was surrounded by mountains. Huges karsts. Amazing! We arrived and were given vague directions to our hotels. I had booked beforehand this time as I had heard of a really cute hostel with puppies and I really wanted to stay there. A girl who had been on my songthaew in the morning ran up behind me and asked if she could come with me. Sure, I said and off we went.

Champa Lao did not disappoint. It’s set on a road just off the main drag and just a little set back from the river. Again, a perfect location. I had booked a really cool bamboo hut. It was basic but it was brilliant. Luckily my new friend bagged the last room! And the puppies? yeah, they were there and sooooo cute. I cuddled them but they were more interested in sleeping.

I had decided that unless something major happened I only wanted to spend a night in Vang Vieng. I was most keen on going tubing and wasnt really that up for kayaking or caving here although you can do those things if you don’t want to get loaded. It’s a pretty enough town without having to “do teh touristy thing” if you dont want to. And if you’re lucky enough to stay in a cool place then all the better. My new friend, Jiang, from Shanghai, decided to stay a few days purely based on our hostel and she’s definitely not up for getting wrecked.

So I sorted myself out and dragged Jiang off to go tubing! We didnt get going til 4.30pm or so and we hadnt even got in the water before we were being encouraged to down shots of whisky! Basically you have bars set all along the river and you just tube down and get pulled in to drink at each one. We set our tubes down in the river and Jiang managed to let go of hers. Id already floated off. I managed to get people drinking at the next bar to stop her ring from floating downriver and I got out to wait at the next stop which wasnt too far. I was greeted by an Aussie who then tried to pur whiskey down me. Some Lao guys were encouraging him! Definitely a change from the demure. Jiang caught up with me and we set off again. Except, I floated off and Jiang just sort of… sat there.

I floated off and watched cows drinking from the river, Lao girls going crazy dancing on platforms and our very own stumbling drunk onto decks to try the aerial slides; 2 Aussies have died here very recently. Just saying innit…

Stopped at the Fluid bar which was quite a way down to get some food. I hadnt actually eaten all day out of fear for needing the toilet on the bus, haha. They had a fire roaring outside and though it wasnt cold and teh river wasnt cold, it was really nice to stand next to it for a bit. I finished my sandwich and Jiang showed up! She’d made it, but she’d had enough and was going to find a tuk tuk home.

I continued to float on my tube. Sunset came but the river was still busy. About 2km from the end point, people started to get out and jump in tuktuks back to town. I wanted to keep going. It was still not that dark and I could see a couple of people ahead so I kept going.

About half an hour later, I realised that everything was very still. Lizard chirping was very loud. It was dark. It had just suddenly happened. I called out, “Hello..” but no reply. I called again and the 2 girls who’d been ahead called back. OK they were still there. They shouted back to keep going, it was only as far as teh lights in teh distance. Hmmn, that didnt seems so bad. So about 10 minutes later I got there and realsied it wasnt the end. The girls were on the banks negotiating a ride back with some tuktuk drivers. I joined them. Water is weird in the dark.

When I returned my tube I was surprised to be asked where “my Chinese friend” was. Where was Jiang? I wasnt too worried given that she was always somewhere behind me. It turned out that she had got a tuk tuk but refused to pay the fare as she thought it was too much and had got a ride with an Italian guy on a bike. She didnt want to carry her tube so had let it go and in doing so, lost her deposit so she’d thought, sod it and gone for a drink with the Italian. Funny girl!

We met the Italian, Giovanni, for dinner after playing with the puppies for a bit. After dinner we went to check out the parties that Vang Vieng is “famed” for. The main town observes curfew; all the partying goes on on the island in the middle of the river. On the way there, we watched people stumbling back to town drunk; bit like Croydon on a Friday night. Yep.

The parties were full of buckets. It was like Full Moon Party on Koh Pha Ngan except nobody seemed to be over 25. It didnt feel as inclusive as the Full Moon Party. Drunkies jumped through a hoop of fire, the Lao boys kept dousing it in alcohol so the flames got higher and higher each time. An old guy tried it and hit the rope. Everyone cheered him anyway.

I had a good sleep under my mosquito net. I didn’t mind that I could hear music drifting across from the island as I fell asleep. I also had a good breakfast overlooking the river to look forward to in the morning.