Life on Laos Time

Due to confusion over the exact timing of these events a new feature has been added to the blog, you will now notice both a travel day number as well as a Roman Calendar date.

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Day 79 - April 19th
Got up nice and early this morning to catch a flight from Ha Noi, Vietnam to Vientaine, Laos. The guest house had prearranged a taxi for us and the guy was there right on time (unusual in our experience thus far). About 10 minutes into the ride it became very clear that our driver was at the tail end of a very very long night, or not ready to be awake and starting the day. Either way, he would start to sort of nod off and drift before shaking himself awake again. At the point John and I both noticed this, we began a loud conversation and I quickly developed a strange cough, one that would act up every time we noticed him starting to drift. At the airport we realized everyone was in the process of getting a start on their day. Though our flight was in 1.5 hours, the ticket counters were not quite up and running, and one rat who partied to late was seen scurrying across the ticket area in a last ditch attempt to make it's curfew.
Upon arrival in Laos we realized our passport sized photos were nicely packed away in our checked bags. Lucky for us, the Laos visa process is one of the most laid back we've encountered. Since we forgot photos they just took a copy of our passports, got the visas in order and we were on our way.
Found a nice cheap guest house, decided to try roughing it with a fan room, deposited our stuff and went for a wander around the Capital city.
By the time we were ready for bed the city had cooled to a balmy 92 F, not boding well for the fan room. Opened the windows, turned the fan on high and attempted to catch some sleep. Sometime in the late night/early morning John got up and shut the window claiming mosquitoes. In the morning I realized he was right, very very right. We got to about 70 bites on me before deciding it was not a fun counting game at all. See day 80 for repercussions of night 79.


Day 80 - April 20th
So after last night's no AC room I set off early the next morning with a mission: Find an AC room (and don't come back until you have, or you're no use to me). I tracked down a couple of nice hotels and finally settled on one (with AC). I then returned to Eliza with the news. Normally it takes her a good hour and a half to pack her bag. Today, three minutes flat. So, after depositing Eliza in the ACed room, I headed off to the National Museum. For some reason Eliza decided to stay behind and rest. The National Museum of Laos is not that impressive for a "National Museum". It did provide me with information I didn't know. However, most of the diagrams and maps look like they were illustrated by a fifth grade class. If this is actually the case, then there are some good artists in Laos. If this is not the case, the I am gong to apply for a job as the Official Museum Artist of Laos, load up Paint on my computer, and blow their minds. On the way back from the National Museum I stopped of at a small monument named That Dam. Which is in the middle of a traffic circle and holds back no water. Who's on First?


Day 81 - April 21th
After a full day of recuperation and news that the heat wave we were in was not planning to end anytime soon, we walked down the road and rented bicycles to see the sites of Vientiane further afield. John picked the tallest bike in the bunch but sometimes that only helps a little bit. Riding behind him, it appeared he was auditioning for a clown role in the Laos circus, the straightest his legs could get was about a 75 degree angle. Despite a later claim he wanted to inflict harm to the bicycle, we were able to visit the Laos Arch de Tromph, Pha That Luang and have lunch. Post lunch we made a stop at the US Embassy to get pages added to my passport. One of those moment we were very glad to already be US citizens, at the embassy there was a huge outdoor area for non citizens and a small, AC'd indoor area for those holding US Passports, made the 30 minute wait much better. That and making up stories in my head about the gentleman who was trying to get a new passport as his had lapsed. This gentleman took the time to share with John that a) he has not been in the US for 10 years b) they are making him bring his baby to the embassy in order to get her a passport c) the real reason they ask so many questions is they want you to mess up so they can call you a liar (pretty sure 'they' refers to the US government). Time to go pack for our journey north.

Pha That Luang


Day 82 - April 22th
Today we hopped aboard a bus to Luang Prabang. The description of the road is going to require some audience participation. First, get in your car and find a stretch of road were you can maintain a solid 35-60 mph. Roll down the window (and does any one actually have a roll down window anymore?) and stick your hand out like your making a right turn signal. (Basic traffic law review for right turn signal: Arm is stuck out window with upper arm horizontal to the ground. The elbow is bent at 90 degrees to the upper arm and vertical to the ground.) Now rotate your arm, at the shoulder, until your forearm is perpendicular to the ground. Hold your hand out flat and begin to "wave" your arm with the wind. You should be undulating up and down depending on where your fingers point relative to the wind. If you don't know what I am talking about, ask a five year old. Now rotate your hand about the wrist until your hand is sideways to the road. Your arm should now be waving back and forth with the wind. Combine the up and down with the back and forth. Now you have a good idea of the topography of the region we drove through. Let me get to the road condition. The road condition was not actually that bad for SE Asia. Laos is a poor nation and so several countries (US, Japan, France, Australia to name a few) have donated the funds to build public works. The particular road we were on was donated by the US so I don't feel bad complaining that we didn't pony up for handy, but not technically necessary, items like guard rails. By the time we completed the 11 hour ride into Luang Prabang several people had lost their lunches.

We found a nice guest house and and as we were checking in the owner told us it was going to rain. True enough as we unpacked the sky started to dump. No problem, we are from Seattle. We donned our rain gear started to head out to dinner. Turns out it was a short lived rain storm and we were entirely overdressed for the evening. I did get the best $1.50 hamburger ever.


Day 83 - April 23th
Today began the two day tour of all the Wat's in Luang Prabang. Okay not all, but it sure felt like it. Luang Prabang is a former political capital of Laos, and the current spiritual capital. There are dozens of temples and Wats (a Wat is a Buddhist temple or monastery that actively houses monks. As opposed to other temples that have been abandoned or turned into other things, like museums (I think)). We began the day at the former king's residence (which is now a museum), walked up Phu Si (a giant hill and temple complex), and passed by and through countless other Wats. For dinner we hit up the local street market for some grilled sticky rice (Eliza's new favorite food, after anything with sugar of course) and a grilled chicken sandwich (which was also really good). We ate as we toured the market and walked home. Just was we finished our dinner and stepped into our hotel room, the sky bust into a really cool rain/thunder/lightning storm and drenched everything.

So cool!


Day 84 - April 24th
On our second day of Wat touring we crossed the Mekong River and toured the less developed side of Laos. There were a couple of really cool old/decaying, but still active, Wats on this side of the river.

The local population is much poorer and hardly gets any tourism. The highlight of the day was our young guide. We toured a cave that houses old Buddha statues and other discarded religious items. Our guide for the cave was probably eight years old, and made all the doors in Asia appear huge. We'll get pictures up sometime.
Our awesome cave guide
Back on the LP side, we ate dinner at a local restaurant right on the water, and headed to the Night Market for some souvenirs. We have been to a couple of souvenir markets and have begun to work out a system. Eliza walks in front and points articles of clothing, scarfs, and other trinkets that "we should" like to purchase for various people back home. I walk behind and hold the wallet. She asks my opinion of all potential purchases: Does this color look good on so-and-so, what size is blabity-blah, and so forth. I walk behind with the wallet. She sharpens her bargaining skills, converses with the vendors, and arrives on a mutually agreeable price. Here is where I shine: I remove the money from the wallet and hand it to the vendor, collect the purchase and place it in my backpack. Eliza moves to the next stall to continue her purchasing conquests. I walk behind and carry the wallet AND purchased goods. All in all the system works until I run out of money, and then we go home. I have learned to remove any money needed for a taxi (or tuk-tuk) home before the shopping begins, or their won't be any left.

As stated before, we will get pictures up as soon as we can and plan to be less than a month behind at some point.