Lovely.
Everytime I get off a bus or plane in Vermont I smell trees and breath again; after splurging on a flight from Ho Chi Minh Vietnam to Vientiane Laos I took the same big breath.![161444144_4b97eb3b51[1].jpg](http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Greta/files/2006/06/161444144_4b97eb3b51[1].jpg)
On the way to Laos the flight stopped in Cambodia and 20 businessmen, Beshlie, and I were hearded into a gift shop to sit for one hour while the plane sat for one hour. Then we reboarded.
Beshlie was also raised by hippy parents who redefined and lived out their values. She grew up all over Ireland in a horse-drawn cart. I met her on her way back from Australia with a stopover in the area to meet up with a younger brother, Billy Joe. School wasn’t such a big part of her life because of all the travel. She might get to art school but she might just make art.
I liked her perspective: “I was a little pissed at my parents for awhile becuase I was not on the Uni track but then I realized that you can’t judge your parents and expect them to make your childhood perfect – they are leading their own lives and I respect them for trying to figure stuff out.” Hola mom and dad – I know you guys read this because you post some great comments!
Laos was colonized by the French from the late 1800’s through the mid 1900’s. The next morning I woke up in Vientiane, had a baguette with the Irish crew, drank in the town, and caught a local bus to Vang Vieng.
Vang Vieng is the best place to play in the world. I played for two days straight; tubing and kayaking down the Nam Ngum river, swam in caves, stopped along the way at bamboo river bars. Beer laos was $1 at the bars but a death-defying bungie rope trapeze was free! I wish every bar had a trapeze because swinging and water are my two favorite things.
Here is some swing action – the soundtrack features the beautiful Laos wildlife! The first video features me Jumping with Noam on camera and the second is the reverse.
Greta jump.MPG and Noam Jump.MPG
In the 1970’s America decided that Laos was the key to control of South East Asia and bombed it enough to give it the distinction of “most heavily bombed country in the world.” Today there is occasional unexplained rebel activity along route 13 and otherwise it is a peaceful country. Laos is poorer than Cambodia but the wealth is more evenly distributed. On the buses I see fathers holding sleeping children, a wife sleeping in her husband’s lap, people sleeping and safe. I also see a man with an AK-47 but somehow he also feels safe – later I realized that the Lao government places guards on the buses along route 13 to cut down on the rebel activity – he wasn’t just a man with a gun.
The bus ride made me think of Vermont again but we don’t have to do this in Vermont because we did it 200 years ago and now we have enough money that we can grow trees again.
It’s nice to hop on and off (or is that still on?) the tourist route and it’s time for off.
Tags: ประเทดไทย, Laos
Greta
I got the hint in the posting, and the email!! Yes I have been reading faithfully, but you have to come back soon because there is a hell of a lot for both of us to say. Can’t wait!!!
I went home last week and aside from the occasional remark about how long the wait was for your next post after the posts about hallucinations and border crossings, I think mamad is doing pretty well with the travelling family business. I also now have a camera that takes enormous pictures, so we can exchange those across the globe when I head out in one week–reading your stories makes me so impatient! Where are you going next?
Love!
I love you Helfgott!
Ella, I can’t believe you’re leaving this week and getting paid for it! Where in Scotland are you going? Are you Blogging so mom and dad can worry, I mean read about your travels too? Happy Graduation!
-G
So where are you know?!?!? It has been a week and you have reduced the size of those beautiful pictures and changed Laos to Roman letters within the past six hours from my comment, which means you are someplace that has internet, so where are you and where are the beautiful pictures?!?! See if you can meet up with this French guy who is hitchhiking around the world. I think he is in your part of the world. http://www.ludovichubler.com. Ciao ciao.