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Vientiane, Laos –> to the Local Village in Vietnam

Vientiane to the Local Village
The next day was an early wake up and was the start of our 2.5 day journey to Halong Bay, Vietnam stopping in several locations along the way. We all packed in to this really comfortable 18 seater bus, in which I got the back and four seats and we were off. Our local guide/chef’s name was Ky and the driver was Mr. Pa. They were both friendly and like our previous guides, Ky loved to talk, talk and talk some more. This day the drive was going to be about 7-8 hours depending on traffic, stops and all that jazz. The drive was pretty scenic but really only the second half as the first half was boring and flat. Eventually we would climb up in to the mountains and that was pretty cool. We did stop at a few scenic photo stops for a chance to stretch the legs, snap some photos and enjoy the scenery. There were “happy house” stops as well (bathroom breaks, referred to in SEA as Happy Houses). At one stop the driver thought we needed to walk so he left us at the top of a hill and we had to walk down. That was fine, but at first I didn’t really understand why since I had my bose noise canceling headphones in and could not hear anything. The walk was nice, and there was this incredible echo between the mountains that surrounded us. I am talking about a six to seven second echo. I would scream and just hear to for a long time. It was awesome. Of course I could not control myself and had to do it over and over again until Deb yelled at me.

Our stop tonight was at a local village in the mountains of Laos approaching the Vietnam border. Unfortunately I forgot the name of the village and have it on a photo saved somewhere. Ky was familiar with the village as he had been doing this type of tour with Intrepid for about four years. When we got there we were happily greeted with “Sabaidee,” which means hello in Lao. Kids ran up to us, local villagers smiled, it was a really warm and unexpected greeting. I mean after the first village and how I felt with the one Chan took us too, this was completely different and a great overall experience. I got to interact with locals, children and people who actually wanted us there and were able to show it, not with vocal communication but with body language which was good enough for me.

When we were settled, Ky offered us the opportunity to go on a boat trip along the river that ran along the village. I decided to pass and wanted to just settle down, relax and walk around the village. I was keen on seeing the village without Ky, or with anyone else for that matter. Well everything happens for a reason, because I was able to have an incredible experience with locals. I decided to walk off up to the main road, where the bridge was located at the front of the village. When I looked to the left I noticed local village men playing this game I had once seen on television. Basically it is a small ball, volleyball net and you play with your feet and body, no hands. I walked over and began to watch. I found it really interesting and they were playing with a hand woven straw ball which was also cool. After watching for about 10 minutes, the locals must have noticed I was interested in the game and with a hand gesture invited me to play. At first I said “no, no,” but after some encouragement from the locals, probably because they didn’t understand me saying no, I rolled up my pants and got in to the action. I wasn’t bad, and we played in the late evening heat for about 30-40 minutes. I had a few kills, I served the ball in to my player who then kicked it over the net several times, and in the end we won! I was able to coordinate through gestures and hand motions and beat the locals! It was sweet victory and ironically enough it was time for the sweet dinner.

Ky had made us dinner, and it was all made old school; fire burner, pots, pans, and it was all good; Vegetables, rice, meat, and some fresh pineapple for dessert. I was sweating profusely from playing this game with the locals (trying to look up the name), and was hungry for the first time in a few days. I needed that exercise to get my body going, almost like a jump start to the system. I missed exercising and being active (besides walking).

After dinner most of us just hung around, digested dinner and walked around. We wanted to go to the bridge that attached the two villages and provided an access way for traffic and the rest of the population. Unfortunately when I got there, there was too much natural light coming from the villages, coupled with the full moon, it was no good. Still saw some stars, but not nearly as many as I would have hoped to see. On my way to the bridge I ran in to some local children. One boy came up to me and did his best to ask me politely if he could talk to me in English and practice. I said sure. He rambled off a few questions which seemed to be programmed in to his memory to ask people who spoke English. I entertained his questions, and spoke as clearly and slowly as I possibly could, which would maybe give him a chance to understand and respond. Asking the questions was easy for him, comprehending the answers and answering mine were not. He really wasn’t able to answer mine, which were identical to his, which basically told me he had memorized those questions and really didn’t understand what he was saying, but anyway, speaking English at all is a huge success for a child like himself; 12 years old, education stops around that age, and then it is off to work for the family in the fields, in the shops, or wherever.

While I was talking to him these two older boys came over and my little friend basically went silent and deaf. It was almost like speaking English was a sin or looked down upon, because he really went deaf and silent. It was so strange to see that reaction from him. His head turned away from me, as we were sitting along the sides of the two lane bridge. After the boys left he spoke to me a little more, more boys came over and before I knew it I was surrounded by 20 boys who were just trying to communicate, talking to one another and it was really interesting and a great time. Even though there was an extreme language barrier, we were still able to communicate in other ways, that we both understood.

I was able to snap a few photos of one group of boys. They were so excited and made a great pose, trying to be tough guys, and then at the end after being surrounded by many more, they all got together for a group shot, making funny faces and all that.

After that it was time for bed. It was only 930-945, but we had to get up real early the next morning (630am) to continue our journey to Halong Bay, Vietnam



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