“If you stand in the same place for too long, the sticky comes off on your feet.” “...Eew. It does!”

Laos, Day 2... And return to Chiang Mai

On our second day in Laos the whole group of us nine students decided to trek to the waterfall and possibly on a cave tour as a group. We decided to meet for breakfast and head out as soon as possible afterwards. That was as far as our planning got. We had no idea where the waterfall was or if we could walk or if we had to take a taxi. We didn't even really know how to get a boat/cave tour. Oh yeah, and we're in Laos so we don't speak the language at all. Fun.

We set out, swimsuits on under our clothes, and walk the 15 minutes from our hotel to the main "downtown" of Luang Prabang. We're starting to squabble about whether to just ask a taxi or try to get a tour company to help us when one of the taxi drivers stops to talk to us.

Now, the taxis in Laos are a bit different than those in Chiang Mai. In Chiang Mai you have a handful of regular taxis, but mostly people get around using song-taows - covered pickup trucks with benches in the back (also called rot-dang or "red machine", because song-taows are almost exclusively red) - or tuk-tuks (covered three-wheeled motorbikes with a bench on the back). In Luang Prabang the most common sight was the love child of song-taows and tuk-tuks, which we christened the song-tuk. This name makes no sense if you look at the Thai etymology, but it's definitely fun to say.

So, back to the song-tuk driver. We try to explain to him in a mix of broken Thai and English that we need to get 9 people to the waterfall, and we want to know how much and how long this will take us. It took about 15 minutes for us to get the whole deal worked out, but eventually everyone is satisfied that the driver is going to take us to the waterfall and bring us back, and he'll do it for a reasonable price. Sweet. Then we take a closer look at the back of the song-tuk and worry a little about it both fitting us all and getting 9 Americans (who are fairly larger than Lao and Thai people) all the way to the top of the mountain. Hmm... but no time for nay-sayers! We're going to the waterfall. :) This is why I love traveling with this group.

It takes us over an hour to get up to the park where the waterfall is located, and our song-tuk gets a flat tire when we're about 15 minutes from the park. But the drive up is gorgeous. Laos is very green and has these beautiful mountains that while not as young and rugged as the Rockies are also not yet as old and rounded as the Appalachians. They're teenaged mountains and are a fabulous mix of points and outcrops, but still completely green. Gorgeous. And some farms have a rice crop in the field right now, which is not the case in Chiang Mai, so we all spent the ride up taking a ton of pictures. I kept trying to take pictures of the villages and towns we drove through to the point that people started telling me to stop. But I couldn't. I'll post some of the best when I have some time.

Once we get to the park, we find out we still need to purchase tickets for the waterfall itself, and the ticket people are very cranky because we only have baht rather than kip (last time I listen when Drexler says we don't need to change money). We're also pretty sure that they over charged us. But it was still worth every penny.

The waterfall we visited has about a bajillion levels as the water makes it's way down the mountain to the rice paddies and eventually the Mekong. I started by walking up to the base of the main falls. You aren't allowed to swim in this part of the falls anymore - although they have lots of postcards with people swimming, so I think you could in the past. Once we were done climbing around on the rocks and taking pictures, most of our group wandered back down the hiking trail a ways, until we reached a quiet pool where we decided to swim. Our pool was not posted as a swimming or no swimming area, and we took the lack of signage to mean that it was allowed, just not publicized. We quickly found out why it wasn't publicized, too. There were lot and lots of rocks at unpredictable intervals. The were mostly rounded but you could still scrape shins and elbows on them if you weren't careful. Also, the decaying leaves and sand made a very squishy and sticky bottom of the pool, and as we found out - if you stood in one place for too long the bottom would coat your feet with the sticky slime. Fun! Despite this, swimming was still a blast. And very refreshing (read - freezing cold). 

That night we went to see a performance of traditional Lao dance.  They performed a portion of the Ramayana - think Beowulf, or Illiad/Odessy, or King Arthur and then make it Asian and Buddhist, and then you kind of have a cultural understanding of the Ramayana. It tells the story of two lovers who go through a bunch of rebirths and perils in order to be together. He goes to war and she gets kidnapped but remains chaste.  The part of the story we saw involved the Princess being tempted by two separate men - one of whom wanted to kill her handmaids too - and not only did she refuse them and remain chaste, she also saved her handmaids.  Pretty badass for a pouty princess. 

After the dance, we went out to dinner and had delicious pizza. Drex also wanted us to try Mekong Whiskey.  I still like girlier drinks better. Drex and I also had the "what are you going to do with your life" talk. His daughter just graduated with a masters in journalism and he seems to think that would be great for me to do. I still think I'm gonna end up teaching girls in Pakistan or working with some group in Africa.  I don't really have active plans for either, I just feel like it's an eventuality at this point.  I also told Drex that I'm still thinking about grad/law school at some point. His response was something about how all of that could still lead to journalism. Apparently he really thinks I should grow up to be Samantha Power. 

After dinner we spent some time at the market, looking around mostly, and then headed back to the hotel.  As this is going on I'm hearing the first stories about a ghostly visit that two of our party supposedly had at the hotel the night before. 

It was pretty freaky stuff.  Vera couldn't sleep on one side of her bed, because the ghost would push her until she moved. She and Michelle both saw someone that was not either of them in the room that night. Then my roommate tells me she wants to sleep in the haunted room with Becca, leaving me alone for the night. 

So we're all in a bit of a creepy mood when we get back to the hotel, at which point Becca finds her key missing. Did the ghost steal it? Vera and Michelle were going to stay with Becca, rather than in the haunted room - was this the ghost's way of trying to dissuade them from leaving? This is what everyone was thinking, but, priorities, we get the hotel to unlock Becca's room and check to see all of her things are still there... Everything's there, but it's been moved... Definitely the ghost.  

Or as it turned out two creepy men, who turned the key in the next morning.  Becca had moved out of her room and into mine and Catherine's the evening before, once we were certain the desk clerk hadn't just misplaced the key.  Ghost or no ghost, no one was okay with her sleeping in that room when someone, or something, else had the key. 

The next morning we left and flew back to Chiang Mai.  Nothing too exciting happened. We had the same flight attendant as we did on the flight to Laos. That was kinda crazy. 

And that was my adventure in Laos. 

“I just ate a baby animal?!” - Laos Day 1

Friday we left for Laos.  We were only staying the weekend, and this was definitely the lightest I have ever packed. Ever. I was pretty proud of myself. I even used everything that I brought - including the deck of cards, which was probably the biggest stretch. Before we left for the Chiang Mai Airport on Friday morning, I spent 60 baht on all-organic (read all citronella) bug spray, because, well, I forgot to start my malaria meds on time... oops. I was a day late.  And really, only 12 hours late. So not horrible, and better than one member of our group who just decided not to take his. I am being a good kid though and taking them for the full week after the day we got back, and I'm even making sure to take them at the same time everyday.  I take meds the way Emily takes care of her diabetes - "Why do I feel funny? Oh yeah. I haven't taken drugs (or in her case insulin) yet today."

But anyway. Laos. Or Lao People's Democratic Republic as the country is apparently called. 

We cancelled class for Friday and took off for the airport at 11.  As we're all gathering downstairs with our overnight bags, Ajaan John turns up with a HUGE bunch of bananas.  He was out walking and decided we might all like to have some food for the airport.  Luckily for him security, while frequent at the Chiang Mai Airport (we went thru three times), was not very strict, so he was able to bring them through to the waiting area, and may have even brought some on the plane. 

While we were waiting to board our flight, I started editing the English language booklets for my NGO. I had tried to do this once before, but got intimidated by this opening paragraph "Students at the age of curiosity: experimenting with off-class sex education.  At the conjuncture age, high school students have much to learn and cope with changes in relation to the environment."  Jigga wha!? (and yes I have been channeling Amelia lately.)  I still don't know what to do with that, so at the airport I started in on the other booklet, and got through about half of it during our weekend trip. It was interesting though, because I did a lot more editing of "quotes" than I have ever done before.  I figure people know how to speak, someone just doesn't quite know how to translate their articulate comments from Thai so that they are equally articulate in English.  I'm just taking it that next step. 

So not only did we go through security three times at the airport, not only was our boarding delayed for almost an hour (no clue why).  The whole Lao Airlines experience was pretty different than other plane rides I've taken.  When it was finally time for us to board, we exit the gate, but there is no plane in sight. Instead we get on busses that are built like a cross between tour busses and subway cars. After about 15 seconds on the bus, we've gone around the corner of the airport building and are stopping in front of the smallest, most brightly colored airplane I have ever seen.  The Lao Airlines logo is very tropical and once you climb the stairs into the back of the plane, the upholstry is even more neon and flowery.  I was impressed. It was dreadful. Once we're airborne they conduct the fastest meal service I have ever experienced - it seems even more harried than the 45 minute flight from CR to Chicago, despite it being an hour long flight. It is also the shortest safety presentation - basically they told us how to fasted our seatbelts, that there were four exits and to read the safety card for all other information.  (On the way home, the woman sitting next to me says something like "that's basically their way of saying 'don't bother. if we go down in this plane you're screwed anyway.")

Our hotel in Laos was beautiful.  Lots of dark wood, everywhere; comfy beds and soft pillows (a nice change from Thailand; dressers (not that we needed them for two days); complimentary drinking water; and a GORGEOUS rooftop garden. I think Emily and I declared "This roof garden kicks Mountain View's garden's ass!" You could see all the mountains surrounding Luang Prabang and there were hammocks to sit and read in. Sweet!  Emily still got bored of the roof pretty quick and decided we should go walking around the town. 

While Luang Prabang is a fairly large city as far as Laos goes, and is possibly the most popular tourist spot (due to having two rivers - both called Mekong - caves and a waterfall in or close to the town) it is tiny compared to Chiang Mai, and even Cedar Rapids. It's probably closer to the size of Mahtomedi or White Bear Lake, Minnesota - where I grew up. We wandered around the two wats (or vats in Lao, but still said like a "w") next to our hotel. At the first vat, we saw a guy jogging around the chedi. Em and I joked how he was gaining merit while getting his exercise - multi-tasking, Buddhist style! I bought postcards for 8 baht at the market between the two wats. A lot of people here in Chiang Mai like to charge 20 B. It makes me sad. After the vats we just wandered around the city for a while up and down the two streets by our hotel - which were not, in fact, the most interesting, but we didn't want to get lost. Our wanderings also included a quest for Lao music we had heard from our roof, and occasionally caught snippets of while elsewhere on the street. Turned out it was coming from another vat at the end of the block. 

Things that struck us while we walked were, in no particular order: fewer street animals, less western looking structures, the cobbled street and sidewalk, less smog, more small children and young mothers, fewer motorized vehicles and those that existed were more likely to be motor bikes than trucks (including the "song-tuks" as we christened them - the size of song-taows, but pulled by a three-wheeled motor bike (like tuk-tuks) rather than a truck), and bikes were more popular than anything, lots of wood or coal fires, rather than electric things, fewer lights on patios or at vender stands. 

The vats we walked around and others we passed all had what we think were Mara images.  Emily and I couldn't figure out why they would want to build Mara statues, since Mara represents all the worldly vices that the Buddha had to ignore to reach enlightenment and then worked to subdue.  One of the poses of the Buddha is actually called "Subduing Mara." Mara is usually represented by a woman with uber long hair that she's wielding like a whip. These statues were definitely women with whip-like hair, but she didn't look as crazed as Mara usually does. So... I'm not sure if they were or not [Edit - Monday - So apparently they are not Mara images but instead are the Rice Goddess - Mae Phosop (meaning Mother Rice) who is very, very important in Northern Thai and Lao folklore and traditional religion.  Not Mara; Mae (said Mah) Phosop (said Pohso).]

Along with vat vs. wat there are other subtle differences between Thai and Lao.  They're similar enough that whenever people were talking, I felt like I should be able to understand at least something, but I didn't. Here are some English-Thai-Lao comparisons:

Thank you (very much) : Kop khun (mak) kha : Kop jai (lai lai)

Dollar : Baht : Kip

Hello : Sawadee kha : Sa bai dee

How are you : Sa bai dee : I actually don't know this Lao, but notice that "Hello" in Lao is the same as "How are you" in Thai.

The last great adventure of our first day in Laos was going out to dinner at a French/Lao restaurant.  They mostly just served French food, some of it with a Lao twist.  I had the most delicious pumpkin soup, ever. Oh I wish that could be in my life more often. Two of the other people I was traveling with decided to order meats they had never had before - quail for Nikki and lamb for Gen. As we're about halfway through out main dishes and sampling each other's food, Gen asks "What's the difference between lamb and sheep anyway? Is it male and female?" "No. Sheep is the adult and lamb is the baby," I respond. Gen's eye's get wide and her jaw drops as she gets this petrified look on her face.  As we start to ask her if she's okay she says "I just ate a baby animal?!" and starts apologizing to her lamb. Nikki, Holly and I try to calm her down, explaining that lambs live good lives and it's not a baby, persay, just a younger sheep. But she pushes her plate away a little and starts to cry. "I just feel so bad. I'm so guilty I ate a baby."  

My telling of the story is most likely no where near as funny as it was in real life, but as it happened Holly and I were in silent stitches. I have never seen anyone get so upset over food before, and I watched my younger brother freak out over a feed-lot and give up burgers for a month. Gen is such a sweetie. :)