Ray's Travels

At this point I am thinking that this has been the best day of the adventure. The weather was beautiful. We biked about 50 miles on a good road without having difficult climbs. We passed through friendly villages. The children almost always waved and greeted us. We biked through a very rural area. These people are very poor but they don’t seem to be miserable. We see a lot of construction going on and many of the houses are doing things to improve their structures. It’s not all gloom, doom and abject poverty. That’s not to say that the typical household is anywhere near middle class status but it’s not an overall depressing experience to see the lifestyle.

Tonight and tomorrow night we are staying at a small, newly constructed hotel, the Phanxang Lodge, that is located at a spot that is breathtaking. There is a shear mountain cliff on the other side of the road. The hotel is on a river and on the other side of the river is a mountain that rises out of nothing. The place is a slice of heaven.

No photos can do this place justice. The mountains are too high and too close for a camera to capture the perspective.

A shot of some of the hotel rooms.

A shot of the river that runs by the hotel.

I’ll include one more picture. This is of rice noodles drying in the sun:

Oops, one more:

As I said, we are in a very rural area. Our guides set up a rest stop on the side of the road for us.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday (or Monday) in Laos. Yes, the game is available on our hotel television but started at about 6:30 am. The audio is done by Thai announcers which makes for a strange broadcast.

We have an off-day today in Luange Prabang which is a UN Worldwide Heritage site and located on the Mekong River. Luane Prabang was the capital of Laos before it was moved to Vientiane. Our hotel is very nice, modern but small. We overlook the Mekong River. This morning our guide took us to the old Presidential palace, the main temple and the day market. The day market is the place where common people go to buy anything and everything. There are small vendor stalls that sell everything from 23k gold jewelry to fish, to cell phones, to soap, to vegetables, to freshly slaughtered meat, to used clothes, to dried rats. It’s not as hectic as the market in Ho Che Minh City (Saigon) or Addis Ababa but it is still quite amazing.

A cut up python for sale at the day market. The same vendor was also selling dried rats.

The old Presidential Palace. It is nice but not overwhelmingly ostentatious.

The main temple in Luange Prabang.

A few random observations on Laos:

– The country is developing but it is outwardly more appealing than Vietnam. Vientiane is not nearly as hectic as Hanoi or Hoe Che Minh City. This probably has a lot to do with
the much lower population density of Laos.

– The country is developing but it is quite clean. There is little garbage to be seen. Streetside businesses seem to be much more orderly than inVietnam which has a lot more visible garbage. The public areas in Laos are much cleaner. Garbage is the curse of developing country. In dirt poor areas of rural Congo you will so no garbage. In wealthy areas you will see no garbage. It’s that middle ground in the development process where the problem occurs.

– So far, we’ve observed no abject poverty. Like Vietnam you see poverty but you don’t see misery. Unlike Vietnam, there are no beggars (not that there are a lot there). This may have something to do with the communist rule.

– Like Vietnam, Laos is getting “scooterized”. Bicycles are for kids, you have to have a scooter. Fortunately, the population is far less dense than Vietnam so you don’t get the feeling that scooters are like a flock of bees that are constantly buzzing you. The preferred scooter of choice is a Honda which is produced in Taiwan. Other “Japanese” such as Yamaha and Suzuki are also desired. They will cost about $2,000 US. There are a lot of cheap, lower quality scooters from China. They may cost as little as $500 US.

– The personal “car” vehicle of choice seems to be the Toyota Hilux 4-door, short-bed pickup. Usually they are in liquid silver and are spotless. I never imagined that we would see so many of them. When I say many, probably more than 1 out of 10 personal vehicles are a Toyota Hilux. Nisson and even Ford have a few copycats but there is nothing to the extent of the Toyota.

– The Laotians seem to be among the more honest of people in the developing world. Stated prices are not a rip-off, yet things are cheap on a comparative basis. Yes, you can and need to negotiate at times, but it’s not like Egypt where they quote you a price 5 times what they will accept. Maybe as Laos develops this will change but right now I’m comfortable with dealing with the Laotians.

– There are a lot of ex-pats in Vientiane and many of them are young. It seems as if Vientiane is the 2000+ version of Costa Del Sol of the ’70’s.

– The Laotians are hard workers. We see this everyday on the job site. They don’t shy away from working. The children are very willing to pitch in.

– The beer of choice is Beerlao. It is everywhere. Tiger Beer has some presence and Carlsberg is trying to make inroads. Beerlao rules!

– Laos has some very impressive gas stations. While they may be only 6 pumps, they are modern and huge. Somebody sold somebody on something. In Vietnam we would see stands on the side of the road with a whiskey bottle or a Bell jar filled with petrol for sale. That would get your scooter home. In Laos we see the huge gas stations and many new ones under construction.

– Laotians pay cash for everything whether it is a TV, a scooter, a car or a house. They save their money until they can afford what they want.

– A TV may cost about $50 US. A satellite dish may cost about $40 US. The TV signal comes from satellites that serve Thailand and the signal is not scrambled. Therefore, there is no monthly fee. This is why households that appear to be nothing other than peasants will have a TV and satellite dish.

– As I’ve said, we worked on building a school. The school we worked on is a “complete” school because it has classes through the 5th grade. In Laos the children are only required to attend school through the 5th grade. Yet, only 60% of the children “graduate” from the 5th grade. After that, the kids are on their own to continue their studies. Of course, the limited education opportunities severely inhibit development.

– Garbage. Garbage is the bain of developing countries. It seems that when a country gets past abject poverty but has not achieved prosperity a lot of garbage starts showing up along side the roads and in empty lots. Loas seems to be entering this condition. We heard an interesting take on this. It used to be that goods that were sold were wrapped in banana leaves. Of course, the banana leaves were just discarded. Then the switch started to the plastic bags which are ubiquitous in developing countries. Old habits don’t suddenly change. The plastic bags get discarded but become an eyesore. Therefore, a lot of visible garbage and a lot of it is either plastic bags or stuff that is inside plastic bags. It is unsightly.

This could have been the signature, most demanding day of the tour. If we had decided to take off at the break of dawn we could have cycled 150 kilometers. But we are older, wiser and have a much better perspective of our abilities and our limitations.

Therefore, we took the van to the top of pass, We rode the bikes down for about 12 miles and had lunch. Then we attacked an uphill climb of about 11 miles. It took about 2 hours of constant climbing. There were no downhill breaks. After reaching the summit we descended for about 7 miles where the terrain leveled out. In total we rode for about 38 miles today but it was challenging.

The road was in quite good condition. It passed through some very impoverished areas where the hill tribes have settled. Many of these people subside on farming the hillsides in a method that is called “slash and burn”. They cut down the trees on the hillside, burn off the remnants and plant a variety of rice that will grow there. It is very different from the rice paddies. This method of farming is an ecological concern because it is probably not sustainable in the long term.

We are in an area that is so rural that you see the naked children and a style of life that is very brutal. Nevertheless, you don’t see misery and the people are generally curious and friendly as we pass through.

The world economic downturn has affected Laos. Here is a picture of an abandoned strip mall, something like you would see in Texas:

Tonight we had dinner and then walked through the evening market. The place is amazing! The amount of beautiful, handcrafted goods is overwhelming. The prices are obscenely cheap when you consider the amount of hand labor.

We will spend two nights in Loange Prabange. Then we will resume our biking.

We are back on the bikes. Old, out of shape, but ready to go. We did about 48 miles today on a fairly challenging road. The entire ride was on the same road so there was no need for trip notes or the possibility of getting lost. There were some long, difficult climbs. I was the only one that rode the bike the whole way. At some points the others took a ride in the van. At the end of the day I had spaghetti legs.

We are staying in a very remote area. Our rooms are cabanas and the electrical an plumbing leave a lot to be desired. It so happens that there are hot springs in the area so we were able to take a warm bath in a pond nearby. There is no internet access but there is a new cell tower across the road.

The scenery is absolutely gorgeous. I don’t think I have ever seen mountains this dramatic that just rise out of the ground.

Can you believe these mountains?

The air is somewhat hazy. Apparently this is due to the lack of rain and the fact that farmers are burning fields getting ready for the next crop. We were told that March is a terrible time to travel in Laos because of all the burning.

The area we travelled through appear to be very poor. It seems to be, for the most part, subsistence living. Yet, it is not uncommon to see a bamboo shack on stilts with a satellite TV antenna. Wherever you go in the world, TV seems to be a top priority. Apparently you can get a TV for about $50 US and can get a satellite dish for about $40 US. The signal comes out of Thailand and is not scrambled so there is no monthly fee.

Biking through the rural villages, the children shout to us and wave. The Laotian children are particularly beautiful. I think it is the naturally round face that suits a young child well.

The road was in fairly good shape. The traffic is light except for the many construction trucks and a good number of busses. The Chinese and the Japanese are investing in Laos. A lot of construction is going on. Laos is highly dependent of foreign aid but the Chinese and Japanese seem to see an opportunity here.

As I said, we are in a very remote rural area. Tonight I was able to go out and see a million stars. That is a precious thing for us city people.

Today was the first day of the “biking” portion of the trip but we didn’t actually get on the bikes. We left Vientiane at about 8:30 am by van and took about a 4 hour trip to Vang Vieng. What is Vang Vieng you ask? Here’s a picture from the terrace of our hotel room:

Vang Vieng is a major tourist spot in Laos. The mountains around here are unique and spectacular. Less impressive is that it is a spot that is overrun with young Western trekkers and other assorted characters that happen to be at loose ends.

We were given the option to kayak down the river as an activity for the afternoon. Marie and I decided to go for it. A van took us up river where the kayak was launched. The area was overrun with the “trekkers”. Both side of the river had crummy bars offering cheap drinks while blaring terrible “music” from cheap speakers that were delivering more distortion than music. The participants in the event were sitting in inner tubes drinking themselves into oblivion. It was like the worst frat party you could imagine.

I’d venture to say that many of those visiting this place thought they were doing an “eco” tour but the concept of noise pollution is totally lost on them. It was pretty obnoxious.

As we kayaked down the river the festivities thinned out. The second half of the trip was quite pleasant and peaceful but it didn’t make me want to do it again or recommend it to anyone.

Tomorrow we get on the bikes. We are told that we will spend the night in a very rural area so probably no internet.

Water buffalos in the river.

We had dinner tonight with Chit, the guide. He has a very interesting history. His dad had an official position in opposition to the communists. When the communists took over his dad fled to Thailand twice and spent four years in a reeducation camp. The experience broke up the family. His mother lived a hard life and is now dead. His dad is working as a farmer. Chit was a schoolteacher but then decided to make a career elsewhere. He managed to become a guide and has worked for several tour companies for the last dozen or so years.

It is Tet (Chinese New Year) yet you would hardly know it here in Laos. In Vietnam it is a huge holiday. Nearly everything closes down. Here in Vientiane things look quite normal. Many of the Chinese owned businesses are closed but most everything else is open. Last night you could hear a few isolated fireworks but there was not an air of celebration.

Today is a free day for us. We had a short meeting with the CRS country representative, Sarah Alexander, to wrap up our involvement in the project. Sarah has been wonderful. She was the perfect person to coordinate the first CRS project of this type. She attended to all details and, responded to our needs and requests, and understood what it was we wanted to accomplish. She wasn’t one to tell us why we couldn’t do something, she was one to make every effort to help us do what we set out to do. The synergy throughout the project was amazing.

After meeting with Sarah we met with Chit who will be our guide through the bicycling portion of the trip. We will leave Vientiane at 8:00 am tomorrow and begin our “vacation”. We are very interested to start traversing rural Laos. For all it’s limitations, there is something very charming and very genuine about this country.

We are anxious to begin the second half of the adventure.

The Buddhist temple that is the most prominent site in Vientiane. It is said to contain a bone of Budda. It is the centerpiece for festivals. It is quite beautiful.