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back to the city

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

by Rachael
Vientiane, Laos

We woke and our bamboo bed had not disintegrated, despite being held together by a piece of string. We were in the French capital of South East Asia, Vientiane, but it was none-too-French-romantic! The contact paper floor covering was peeling back in strips big enough to trip you up, the grubby paint was peeling off the concrete walls, the toilet was blocked and the handbasin….well, there wasn’t one. Neither was there a window, so if any roosters were crowing, we didn’t notice, not even at 7:30. Hang on, what’s that behind the blue ruffled satin curtain? It’s almost a window – it’s a hole in the wall covered with mosquito netting. But it doesn’t face outside, it’s just over an indoor stairwell, so it doesn’t really qualify as a window! Even at midday the room was dark and depressing, hiding from its occupants the fact that outside the sun was shining warmly. 

We had arrived the night before about five. Some hard bargaining (from 100,000 down to a still-excessive-but-worthwhile-for-both-us-and-tuktuk-driver 40,000 kip)saw us being dropped in town near the one cheap guesthouse we had heard of. Leaving bags, children and ailing husband on the pavement, I began the search for beds, preferably cheap and hopefully with wi-fi facilities. We were dreaming!
“ALL FULL” signs were posted on the doors of three places, a fourth had only one double room. Time was marching on as I continued my own march up and down streets, asking, hoping, starting to get nervous.
“You have to understand two things,” I told the becoming-impatient crowd on my return. “firstly, it’s the only cheap place with enough rooms that I could find, and number two, it’s not as bad as the rat-house.”
“Is it *that* bad?” They looked dubious.
“Come and see for yourselves.” And so we donned backpacks and walked the two blocks to the shabby-looking place opposite Vientiane’s Big Brother Mouse store.
Rob inspected and we offered 300,000 kip for two nights instead of 170,000 for one. Somehow I find it easier to bargain in another language!

and the view at each end of the street:

Rob’s “feeling funny from the winding roads” exploded into something more dramatic, and so this morning the rest of us left him suffering in our dark hole, while we went exploring this city rebuilt by the French almost 200 years ago after it had been razed to the ground. We happened upon ancient wats, the presidential palace, massive flags, numerous cultural centres and traffic lights that gave a pedestrian cross signal at the same time as giving cars the green light, in our quest for the Talaat Sao with its bus station, and then the replica Arc de Triumphe.
In the afternoon we would repeat the same walk with a feeling-much-better Rob, and would climb the arch to watch the sun set over this quiet city. A magnificent orange ball it was, dipping into a hazy shadow just above the wide tree-lined avenue with its fancy streetlights running down the centre. Gorgeous.

For some French experience, we ate baguettes for breakfast and I was treated to a ham-filled croissant so that we could use the wi-fi facilities at a cafe (oo-la-la, the internet is so S….L…..O…..W here in Laos – roll on Bangkok!)

(And while we’re on the topic of food, tomorrow I’ll be writing this in my journal:
We could not leave Laos without mentioning our last meal. Apart from the odd ice-cream and bottle of fizz, it was the first non-local food we have eaten in over ten weeks. It was a tonic for our tastebuds that have been hanging out for cheese. It was tomato-y and salami-ish and ham-and-pineapple-y and altogether familiar, even if it was from a Swedish bakery! It was pizza. And it was delicious. Each pizza (and we polished off four of them) cost more than the five bowls of rice porridge and noodle soup we had shared for breakfast, but they were worth every kip!)

And we didn’t even get a photo! Not of pizza, nor croissant nor baguette.

If I were Noah….

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

By a very tired Rach
Phonsavanh, Laos

If I were Noah….there’s one animal I’d have refused entry to the ark!
Please allow me to explain.

One of our readers commented: I’d love to hear stories about teamwork, group problem solving and other adventures you get yourselves into. We can give you teamwork, problem solving and annoying animals, all in one post.

We think we’re going to Phonsavanh, but when we pull into the station, the signs say something else. We did get on the right bus, didn’t we? Ah, that’s right, there was only one! Judging by all the smiling faces of folks holding guesthouse advertisements, we are at the end of the road. This is it. “It”, however, is very obviously not near town; it’s in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by rice paddies. We don’t know where town is. We have no accommodation booked. Children are hungry. Sunset strokes are being brushed across the sky. We have no plan.

“How about I hop off the bus and check out the guesthouse options?” I suggest. Rob agrees, “OK, take ER2 with you. I’ll bring the others and get the bags off the roof.”
“Please may I come with you Mama?” Tgirl4 wonders.
“Not yet Sweetie. Could you stay with Dadda and help him carry the rice basket?”
“OK and I can carry my backpack too.” (Sometimes we get pouts or appeals, but this time we just had teamwork! No menacing animals just yet.)

Alighting from the bus, I’m not sure which cardboard advertisement to look at first. The decision is made for me as two signs are thrust in my face and two competing touts engage in conversation.
“I have room. Two big beds. 80,000”
“I have room only 60,000”
“But you only have one bed”
“It’s a big bed”
“It’s only one bed,” and he turns to face me, “and I take you in a minivan, centre of town. You look first. If you don’t like, it’s OK.”
Free ride into town did I hear?
We fill up the van, tout follows behind on a motorbike. While we wait for him to reach the hotel we’ve been taken to (not the guesthouse we’d been told about!), I zip across the street to check out other guesthouses. Someone is at my elbow, showing me to one for 50,000. He came from nowhere – he’s good at his job! But all full.
“I know 20,000 and 30,000”
Even better. Let’s check it out.
Dark, but with hot showers and toilets in the room, happy to give extra duvets for sleeping on the floor, no limit to the number of people in one room and a stash of war artifacts to rival any museum.
Just right for us.
I race back up the road.
Original 80,000 place has turned out to be 150,000. Problem is, Rob went inside and it was *nice*, very nice, proper hotel room nice. But 90,000 for three rooms, dark as they are, appeals even more.
We drop our bags and head out to find some equally cheap dinner (buffalo stew and sticky rice, actually).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We turn the lights out and something clunks on the tin roof.
“Must be a cat.”
Pity the dogs barking nearby don’t scare it away.
Exhausted, we sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scratch, scratch, scratch!
Startling from our slumber, we exchange questioning glances in the darkness.
“That’s no cat,” I whisper, “Bang the wall to scare it off.”
Teamwork: my idea, he can DO it <wink>
Bang. Scratch, scratch, scratch.
BANG. Scratch, scratch, scratch.
“You go and bang the ceiling.”
What? Rob’s not meant to make those sort of suggestions! And I don’t intend getting any closer to the rat.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
Rob stands on the bed and gives the ceiling a jolly good heroic thump. Silence.
It is not until we are snuggled back under the covers that the scratching resumes.
Scratch. Bang. Silence.
Scratch. Bang. Silence.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
We give up. The rat wins. Actually, that should be *the rats win* There’s a whole family of them up there.
Fitfully, we doze.
But you can NOT sleep when the scratchings move from the ceiling above you to inside the wall beside you; you can’t help but wonder if their gnawing is going to break through the bamboo walls, especially when two of your children are sleeping on the floor!
At least we know morning is near – rooster chorus is sounding across town.
Eventually, Family Rat quietens for more than five minutes. Although it would seem unbelievable, there is no poetic license at work here – Family Chitchat starts its squeaking. Do you know how noisy these little lizard cousins can be? Let me tell you, they are no quieter than hungry rats. And to top it all off, every so often, the *something* clunking on the tin roof performs his dance with a rattle, a clatter and a thud.
By 5am Rob is slugglishly suggesting, “Shall we look for somewhere else tomorrow?”
At 6 he insists, “I’m serious.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so we did.
After an early wander to the market in search of noodle soup for breakfast, we started our door knocking. The options ranged from a dark, musty, windowless (and with no working electric light) room to the Nice Guesthouse, which was nice, but also beyond our budget.
In two places we bargained 65,000 kip rooms down to 50,000 kip (take note anyone who might come to this town some day – as for us, Rob has already observed, “Well, you wouldn’t come back here, would you?”)
We are now settled in our first HOTEL. We have stuffed a pillow in the hole in the wall in an effort to keep mosquitos out – and being concrete walls, one storey up, we are hopeful there’ll be no rats. There is, however, right outside one of our rooms, a rooster who is crowing as I type!

But it’s rats that we think should never have been allowed on the ark.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Saturday, December 13th, 2008
by Rachael Luang Prabang to Phonsavanh, Laos We don't know why - but we did see lots of them trying to on the road from Luang Prabang to Phonsavanh. And I mean dozens, not two or three. We are bouncing down the ... [Continue reading this entry]

culture quiz: laos

Thursday, December 11th, 2008
by Rachael Luang Prabang, Laos Part One YES or NO? In Laos, is it rude to:
  1. stare at someone when they eat?
  2. be noisy?
  3. read someone's journal over their shoulder?
  4. hug an adult?
  5. hug a child?
  6. touch a monk?
  7. wear shoes inside?
  8. hoick on the pavement?
  9. stand above a monk?
  10. take drugs?
ANSWERS
  1. It ... [Continue reading this entry]

inspired by experience

Saturday, November 29th, 2008
by Mama Luang Prabang, Laos  "Sabai dee, Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Would you please take a seat and put down your electronic games as I am about to perform a puppet show for you. Kop chai lai lai" Elephant made ... [Continue reading this entry]

ripped off!

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008
by Someone Who Is Now Wiser Luang Prabang, Laos How do you know if someone is bona fide or if they're ripping you off? Short answer is you don't! Especially if you are in a hurry. As we were racing up the ... [Continue reading this entry]

mighty mekong

Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
By Rach, who ordinarily is not fond of boats, and was happy you could see land at all times

 

Jungle-covered hills rise up from the river. Crops of ... [Continue reading this entry]

*chop*chop*

Friday, November 21st, 2008
from J14's journal

To prevent ourselves from looking like cavemen we sought out a local barber. This did not take too long as there was one not 50 metres away at the end ... [Continue reading this entry]

apparently Sydney

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008
Apparently.....if you spend less than 24 hours in Sydney, you don't pay departure tax. Apparently you can get from the International Terminal to Circular Quay, which is just a very short walk from the Opera House, in about 20 minutes on ... [Continue reading this entry]

chopsticks anyone?

Sunday, August 17th, 2008
It's altogether possible that for the first six months, a dozen chopsticks is all we'll need. So we by-passed the fancy-schmancy ultra-light with inversely-proportioned-pricetag cutlery sets at Kathmandu, and opted instead to pick up a knife-n-fork ... [Continue reading this entry]