From Udomxai to China

Early this morning, we woke the sleepy children and walked to the bus station to catch the 7 hours journey to China.

A dusty looking mini bus greeted us. We hurled our backpacks onto the roof of the bus. The bus was packed with mainly Chinese and Laos trying to get home.

We were a bit worried how this journey was going to end up. The children both had stomach bugs so we had episodes of diarrheas and vomitings. We had to delay our move twice.

Fortunately, the journey passed quickly bringing us through bumpy, dusty, windy road over beautiful mountains with beautiful blossoms and wooden houses on stilt.

We said our goodbyes to Laos at the immigration office which is just a wooden hut.

Thank you to the hospitality of the Laos people. Being one of the poorest country, your welcome has been warm and sincere.




- Posted by Mich using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Mengla, China

Week 3 - Lao to China

Crossing the Lao/ China border into Yunnan at Botan was something of a deliverance from shadow into light. The dusty primitive hill tribes, rough winding roads and mountains scared by slash and burn gave way to a lush vista of organized agriculture in a startling transition. A transition that somehow had the feel of a home coming. Sprawling plantations of banana, rubber and tea; neat rows of vegetables connected by excellent roads and managed from sturdy and pretty brick built villages sparked the mumbled comment of; "back to civilization...." Having dropped the Lao folks off at Botan, the mood of the Chinese on the minibus visibly relaxed. After a long slow bumpy and silent journey from Udomxay, the speed trebled on the smooth roads of Yunnan, laud Chinese music came over the sound system and the bus filled with cheerful banter.

Lao was a very relaxing place but as we progressed north, the grinding poverty, poor sanitation and hygiene and resultant sickness and diarrhea picked up by the kids slowed us down, leaving us in a bit of a catch 22. An urgency to get out of the dust and the grime whilst at the same time becoming trapped by it, wary of eight hours of bus contained foulness. Paranoid of everywhere we ate, constantly washing our hands and looking for places with the least flies became something of a family obsession, tainting the tranquility of Udomxay. So it was with some reliefs that we finally crossed the border with no more drama than the occasional scheduled pee break.

After a big bowl of famous Yunnan 'over the bridge' noodle soup - settling everyones bruised stomachs - and a night at one of Mengla's most modest of guest houses, we were up well before dawn and back on the bus. This time heading northwest to Menghai into the 'sacred' tea plantations and factories of Pu-er to buy tea at it's source. We are relying of Michelle to get us a great price!

- Posted by Dave using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Menghai, Yunnan

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang was a quiet French colonial country town. It is now a popular tourist destination, someday you can see more tourists than locals. There are many temples. The unique sight of the morning alms giving is very special to the buddhist side of me. This tradition is brought forward from the time of Buddha. We are so honored to be allowed to join in by the locals to gain merits through the way of giving.

Unfortunately, this tradition is being threatened by tourism. We saw tens of tourists poking their camera and disturbing a sacred practice. It felt like an animal in a zoo.

In addition, some tourist would unknowingly buy bad alms and give the monks food poisoning.

We came prepared. Thru reading on lonely planet and other website, we requested our guesthouse to prepare alms for the mornings. The owner of Vanvisa kindly brought us with her in the mornings and corrected what we did wrong. Doing it this way has made it memorable.

Apart from temples, there is the quiet life of Laos. It has been a privilege to stay here for 4 days and not rushing around. There was the incident of Sansan being sick from stomach flu.

However, all is well and we are now waiting for our pickup to go to Udomxai, 4 hours on a local bus because we had to cancel our previous day minivan. On it's own, it will be an interesting journey. More on that later...

Recommended: Vanvisa Guesthouse, near Wat That, alway from the main tourist busyness but still near enough to be close. A fan triple beds is 150,000 kip. A family run guesthouse, so if you preferred the formal hotel accommodation then it is not a place for you. Book through a phone call. Contact: +856-71-212 925 or mobile 020 5 408 133
Mrs Vandara spoke fluent French and English and is always willing to help.


- Posted by Mich using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Luang Prabang, Laos

UXO

It is almost 40 years after the second indo-china war. For the rest of the world, everything have move on from that 9 long years battlefield. However, the people of Laos are still suffering from the consequences of it.

According to UXO Laos there is a person a day still being killed by UXO - unexploded ordinance. Villagers' life could not be reverted to what it was before the bombings. Fertile land could not be sowed, children could not play freely in their backyard. Proper road and infrastructure could not be built. Going to work and school become a hazard.

Not really being directly involved in the vietnam war, but due to it Laos became the most bombed country on earth. There was no direct combat yet the damage is unbelievable and the killing is still on going!

It is sad but real. There is nothing we can do to turn back the clock. But at least we could be more aware of the sufferings of these people from the land of a million elephants. There is no justifiable violence. Patience Acceptance is the only way to real peace. Accepting other people's way of thinking and way of life is important. It does not mean we have to do the same but instead of an enemy we will have a friend due to our understanding. Then perhaps what had happened here will not happen again.


- Posted by Mich using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Luang Prabang, Laos

Week 3 - Lao

Michelle mentions below how Vientiane has progressed since our last trip ten years ago. As progress is generally measured in terms of economic growth, this is certainly true. A boom in tourist income, continuing foreign aid and increasing foreign direct investment, particularly in minerals and energy, have firmly make their mark.

The new guest houses, pubs and restaurants are the most obvious signs but we saw extensive Chinese sponsored flood defenses on the Mekong, a beautiful Korean sponsored play ground, a Japanese sponsored road and an Indonesian sponsored world peace gong in Patuxai park. New office blocks, government buildings and foreign banks on Th Lan Xang and That Luang smack of foreign investment and the improved power supply, new shopping mall, roads, pavements, hospital, school and housing developments all point to an economy on the move. Having quietly adopted the Chinese/ Vietnamese model of "free market" communism and with a border with both, Lao could be a country to watch.

It is a far cry from the Lao of the late 1970s and 80s. A travel agent of about my age described hiding in her basement as a child as machine guns on the roof shot at incoming helicopters, endless bombing raids, FBI informants, executions in the streets... She described how in her opinion communism brought peace, stability, law and order to her teenage years; how cheap Korean motorbikes (more than half the price of US bikes) allowed them to upgrade from bicycles; and amusingly watching foreign traveller in tears as machine gun touting immigration officials cut their long hair before letting them into the county; "you not girl - you want see my country you look like man!" (apparently they didn't come back...).

As for "sleepy" - I can see where that is coming from. In Luang Prabang this is literal - tuk tuk drivers snoozing in their vehicles, guest house staff heads down on reception desks, restaurant staff nodding off on their tables all add to the pace of this charming French colonial town. Sleepy indeed!

But I think there may be a deeper meaning behind this observation. A few points made by our landlady in Luang Prabang during a long lazy afternoon chat stick in my mind. She asked me; "what do we need that we do not already have?" Adding; "the more we have the more we want, there is no end to it. We need to be content or we will never be happy." She goes on to say; "we could die any time so why worry so much about the future?" Who can deny the wisdom in these words and how does a thousand years of such thinking manifest itself? This view seems to pervade the heart of Lao and if "progress" here is to be tempered, it is this that will probably do the tempering. I'm not convinced that this is a bad thing.


- Posted by Dave using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Luang Prabang, Lao

10 years on

The last time, Dave and I visited Vientiane was more than 10 years ago in Year 2000, when I had to do a visa run from Bangkok.

We were younger then, and were only here for a night. I remembered the dusty road, the lack of traffic, the square dancing in the local night clubs, eating peculiar BBQ meat on stick, the 11pm curfew...

I did not think much of Vientiane then. To me it was a quiet backward countryside compared to Bangkok.

Today, I return with my family, 2 children and Dave. There have been many changes. Of course, it is still one of the least developed south east Asia country. But one can see progress. It is more relaxed now. Locals are a little more friendly with foreigners as tourism grows. Private Guesthouses appears to have replaced the state owned hotels. Western cuisine are easily found in the main city centre. Not lacking especially in French restaurants since Laos was a French colony. Cars replaced motorbikes and motorbikes replaced bicycles. More and more new high rise office blocks are being built.

Dave said this is part of progress. A French fellow traveller told us Laos is a sleepy place, I am not sure I can agree to that.

Right now we are just about to board the overnight bus to take us to the next tourist town-Luang Prabang. Maybe that is where he meant as sleepy!

- Posted by Mich using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Vientiane, Laos

Goodbye Thailand

After nearly 2 weeks in Thailand, we board the overhead sleeper train in Ayutthaya to head for Nong Khai, the border town with Laos.

"Sawa-dee ka" must now be changed to "Sabai-dee".

A event-less night. No fuss. No bedwetting. No falling off the upper bunk. The children find it interesting to sleep on train.

At 9 am in the morning we arrived in Nong Khai and crossed over the Mekong River by another shuttle train. Jon waved goodbye to Thailand.

Thailand, a place of fascination! Beaches, night life, history, culture, Buddhism... You can find it all here.

We used to live here, back in 2000. This is the country where Dave and I got married and where San-San was conceived. There is a mixed feeling. I know how sleazy and dangerous this country can be. However at the same time, it never fails to amaze
me how simple the people are. "Mai Ben Rai" which means never mind is a phrase constantly used with a smile. They are fiercely loyal to their king and sincerely religious. To see so many Buddhas images everywhere is such a blessing!

As we bid farewell to this amazing country, I sincerely hope that Dharma continue to flourish here.

- Posted by Mich using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Vientiane, Laos