I don't even know where to start this one. In a matter of 14 days I have lost an epic travel companion, gained 7 new friends for life, almost lost my "snake" to a cobra, said a bittersweet farewell to a faithful friend, and lost my heart not just once, but TWICE in Northern Thailand. Its been a wild ride...
As always a quick summary. I left you guys in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Since then Ive been travelling north through Laos( Vientienne, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang) and then back over into Northen Thailand, Chiang Mai. I am currently sitting in Stuttgart Germany, a funny story I will touch on later...
So Mica and I left Phnom Penh in the early morning after our farwell to Karen. We embarked on our nonstop journey up into Laos. We minibused and overnighted our way up through the Cambodia\Laos border, through Pakse, and up to Vientiane( the capitol of Laos.) 24 hours of straight travel was worth it. We reached Vientianne in the pouring rain, which weve been experiencing all the way into Laos, but I was getting to the point of checking flights to the coast of Thailand to run from the rain, skip the rest of Laos, and just GET TO THE BEACH. But like always, my intelligent sister persuaded me to to stick with it a bit longer and see how it went.
REASON #1 I am a LUCKY man.
Literally within minutes of hanging up the phone with my sis( ps Mom..excuse the long distance charge from Laos to California, it had to be done) the weather cleared up and the sun was shining. I spent the rest of the day exploring the city. Seeing the Laos versions of the Champs Elysees and the Arc Di Triumph was awesome. To be honest though, neither were ANY comparison to the original, but it was neat to see the french influence in the Capitol. |
| OOOO Champs Elysees!!! |
Vientiane is located right on the Mekong river that creates the border with Thailand, so for the evening I spent sometime just sitting on the bank looking over the river into Thailand, crazy cool. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but the Mekong River and I would be spending A LOT of time together in the next couple days.
For dinner Mica and I tried to take a Tuk Tuk to a bar famous for its sunsets. We got dropped off on a muddy road along the bank and were pointed down the road...shoulda been a hint of what was to come. We ended up being the only white kids at a Korean BBQ house. Quite a strange feeling, BUT an awesome sunset. We were given menus in nothing but Korean at first and were served by a waiter that spoke zero English. Good thing my travel book had how to say " Beer Please" in Lao. We finally made a break through with our waiter and got the English menu. This then lead to the most expense meal I've had on this trip. 4 dishes each, including crocodile( check that off the list) and then arguing about the incorrect bill. Turned out to be a very memorable night. After searching for a tuktuk home, the one time there wasnt a tuktuk when I wanted one, and capturing this GREAT shot for Otter, we headed back to our riverside hotel and I headed out to explore the night market.
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| Night Market |
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| Keep Walking Otter, Ill be back soon. |
I think Im hooked on bartering for things. I was buying things I didn't need at all just for the fun of price slashing. At the same time I also bought some MUCH needed things....
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| The BEST Slippers known to mankind |
I take my random souvenir shopping as another sign why I am a LUCKY man. I went back to the hotel early( because I ran out of money) and if it wasnt for that I wouldn't have met the girls,Becky, Gemma, and Joanne...I was downstairs when I overheard the girls getting ripped off for a bus ride the next morning up to Vang Vieng. So of course I piped up, I couldnt break the travellers code, any penny counts. I told them they could get the same ride cheaper just around the corner, which happened to be the same bus Mica and I were on the next day. We ended up kicking it a bit after they bought theyre tickets, saying goodnight early and heading up for our early bus ride the next day. And what a ride it was.
This was my first taste of Laos country side and travel and I LOVED it. We drove through floods, were 3 hours late, saw incredible country side. One of the guys on the bus said it best, " There`s too much Beautiful for one country."
We finally got to Vang Vieng well after dark and our mini convoy( that grew from just Mica and I now into 8 after the bus ride) began wandering the streets looking for Spicy Laos. It was a hostel recommended to us by someone in a coffeeshop in Luang Prabang and sounded nice. She mentioned it was "rugged." It was wicked. Living in a giant Bamboo shed with a maze of bunk beds throughout it. Mica was instantly in love with the place, and Im sure I would have been too if it wasnt for the fact I was starting to feel a bit under then weather. Keep in mind I havent really been sick in well over 2 years, so when I had goosebumps in 90 degree weather while everyone else was seweating bullets I didnt have the best feeling for what was ahead. Going to bed in a cold sweat in a bamboo shed probably wasnt the best idea either, but Ill take the rough night and waking up with a 101 temperature the next morning as just another sign as why I am a LUCKY man. Jo, Becky, and Gemma werent totally impressed with Spicy Laos accomodations( the number of spiders ) and given my current state I was more than willing to move to a nicer guesthouse with the girls. We packed up and moved down the road a lil closer to the river.
I should explain what Vang Vieng is all about...TUBING. An all day riverside party at multiple bars along the shore. You start by taking a tuktuk up river and then floating down from bar to bar on big tractor tires. Each bar has kids that through ropes out to tubers to pull them into their bar. An all day event of drinking, sun, whiskey, women, and just an all out goodtime. Ive been REALLY looking forward to this my whole trip, so after popping some pills and getting my temp down to a moderate level I decided to take advantage of the sunny day and join everyone else on the river. See what this tubng experience was all about. UNREAL
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| Mica STOKED on life |
I do admit I did try and take it easy, I didnt want to get wicked sick and miss the next couple days, but I couldnt resist. From the first bar they were pouring bottles of moonshine at you, beerpong, sunshine, then BOOM monsoon. Tubing, free liquor, and dancing in the pouring rain. How could it get any better?
Wait...it can. A GIANT SLIDE.
The best was still yet to come. Tubing back to the village in the monsoon was a blast. Getting back to town jsut after sunset wasnt an ideal situation, but it all worked out in the end. After a quick dinner and a few hours of Friends, yes Friends. All the bars play reruns of Friends and Family Guy ALL DAY everyday. My kind of spot for sure. We were all wiped from tubing so called it an early night.
I woke up feeling alright...or so I thought. I looked down at my foot and it was like this..
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| Ya..Kept this pic from my Mom for the time being. |
A good explanation of my fever and obviously a small infection. With my good judgment I decided to take the day off or partying, start a lil cycle of antiobiotics, and hangout around town for the day. I walked around the city for the afternoon and it was like a ghost town. The city thrives on how drunk the tourists get, so during the day while everyone is upriver partying, NOONE is in town but the locals. I ended up at Namsong Garden rocking beers with the Norwegian man that owned the guesthouse. Just sitting back, watching the day go by and assesing life. I met back up with Mica and the girls for dinner after they got back from tubing and this is where my rough night in Spicy Lao payed off. The girls met 3 MORE English girls that night in the bamboo hut and met up with them again tubing today. So now with the addition of Hannah, Tiffany, and Jasmine we all quickly became one big family. We attempted a night out after dinner, but I was still pretty tired and infected and called it an early night..well tried. I stopped off at Jaidees Bar on the walk home and was stuck there for a bit and came home just in time to witness WWIII, the battle of the Sharpe sisters.
NOTE: Gemma and Joanne are sisters
Not a fight by their standards, but either way I was assured it wouldnt happen again for atleast another 2 weeks. So it looked like I was in the clear. All the girls and I had similar travel plans, heading north and into Thailand, so plans were made for one more EPIC day of tubing then off to Luang Prabang. It all sounded like fun and games until we heard rumors about the 5 hour trip north taking 18 hours due to landslides. These rumors were enough for Mica to leave a day ahead of all of us in fear of missing his flight to Bangkok. So I had to say farewell to my partner in crime since the beginning and now I was stuck with 6 girls all by myself...rough life right?
So off we all went tubing and what a day it was. Bright and sunny ALL day AND the first day in Vang Vieng I actually felt 100%. Tubing couldn't have gone better; rope swings, buckets of whiskey, the giant slide, and a nice 2 hour float down the river to cap it off. Too good to be true.
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| This should be on the cover of a Movie.... |
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| Races.. |
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| Look Ma! No Hands!!! |
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| Just Floating Home... |
One of the best parts of the day wasn't till we got back to town and I grabbed a snack on the walk home...
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| BANANA CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PANCAKE |
We all met up for breakfast before our ride to Luang Prabang. Wow, did we not know what was in store for us. This ride was a PERFECT example of the "goodtimes" traveling through Laos. With an overpacked Minivan we headed off to tackle mountain passes, landslides, and GORGEOUS views.
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| Washed out the night before |
7 hours and many good memories later we made it to Luang Prabang! We decided to give another Spicy Lao a try, this time it worked out WAY better. With a group of 7 when you check into a dorm you get the ENTIRE dorm room to yourself. Well let me restate this, I as the one guy got a small section around my bed, while the girls got the entire dorm. It was like a bomb went off of clothes and bags the second we walked in. I began to realize that traveling with all girls would be a little different than with Mica...speaking of Mica, he was still in Luang Prabang for another night. So we all had a mini-reunion and headed for the night market for a bit, cane home, watched a movie and said our goodbyes again. The girls and I headed to bed in preparation for our waterfall exploring the next morning. We hired a minibus and headed to Koung Si waterfalls with hopes of swimming areas and crystal blue waters. Instead, we were given flooded trails, muddy waters, CRAZY river currents, and spicy lunch. Think that stopped us from having a good day? No chance.
After the waterfalls we all came back to the hostel and made plans to head to Chiangmai the following morning. The decision between a 19 hour bus ride without reclining seats, a speed boat, or a "slow" boat up to the border had to be made. We were all bussed out so that option was out. The speed was a 6 hour nonstop ride on a race boat with a supplied helmet and life jacket crouched into a ball hanging in for dear life...so that is obviously out. That left us with the slow boat. A 2 day, 1 night trip up the Mekong River stopping halfway in Pak Beng. Sounds nice and relaxing right? Good views, good company, space to walk around, all sounded perfect...too perfect. All the "horror" stories of traveling in Laos did not prepare us for this...The slow boat meant slooooooww. We should have taken it as a sign when our boat broke down in the first 20 minutes after leaving 45 min late, but we were already booked in. We transferred boats and continued on. The views were INCREDIBLE. I've never seen a landscape like that before in my life.
But back to reality. The delay of the late departure and boat issues caused us to be so far behind schedule that we didn't make it to Pak Beng, our overnight stop, before it got dark. So instead our Captain casually pulled the boat to the shore, tied us up and started settling in for night. It was quite a shock. The girls weren't really too keen on spending the night on the hardwood floor, I thought it was funny, but MY main concern, which I found a common ground with Hannah on was FOOD. I have never seen a girl get SO serious about food so fast! It was awesome. All I remember was, " Ty, if we dont get food...they're going to have issues." In the best English accent I've ever heard! Becky was the saviour with Mars bars, and the captains wife ended up cooking dinner in the back for all of us. Things were starting to look up. We rigged up a couple mosquito nets, all snuggled up and settled in for a goodnights sleep. Youd think sleeping in the middle of 6 girks would be a dream right? But between Tiffs "sighs" to get comfortable and Jas' "ARE YOU GOING TO THE LOO?" you could imagine the sleep I got. Right around 5 am we were all rudely woken to the sounds of the ferry motor starting up. This impromptu "campout" on the river turned into one of the most memorable nights of my trip.
With a great rest behind us we started our second day of 10 hours on the boat. We all napped for a good couple hours then filled the rest of the day with Rummy tournaments and shithead( a great card game.) We made it up to Houxyai, the Lao border town with no issues and some great views.
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| Just me and the Mekong, No Big D. |
We checked into a decent hostel with one of the funniest old ladies that Ive met on this trip. After dinner I was once again reminded that I was travelling with 6 girls as the evening plans turned into haircuts and girl talk....awesome.
We got up the next morning and headed out early for our "ferry" over to Thailand and had a nice uneventful ride, for once, into Chiang Mai. Ahh...Chiang Mai, the city I left my heart in...TWICE. It was love at first sight when we walked into Namkong Guesthouse and I set eyes on Noo. She was the manager at the place and the sweetest and nicest lady ever. Gave us room discounts, free A/C, hand drawn maps with all the best spots, hooked us up with a great jungle trek, and even called me Tyguy...too cool. Our first night in Chiang Mai the girls and I headed out for a nice dinner along the river. Great spot, good food, and even better company. A great start to the night. After dinner we headed over to a jungle bar with the Flinstones as the house band and ended up racing tuktuks to the nearest Karaoke parlor. Which we soon found out was just a front for a...how do I say this? Whorehouse? Ya, thatll work. I think we were the only people who ever actually requested a song there and ROCKED OUT. We all sang a couple, but there was one standout act....Tiff. She showed a side I dont think anyone had scene before. Give that girl a few and she is a Rockstar! Capped off the night with a songthaew home among "rabid" dogs and passed right out. The next day in Chiang Mai was a HUGE turning point in the trip. The arrival of James. James is a friend of Hannah and Jas's that came to meet up with them. This guy and I were on the same page from the first second, street beers, street food, and sexy pants. Yes, all in ONE DAY. Quite a casual day and night, we had to be up EARLY for our 3 day 2 night jungle trek.While starting this blog I planned on including all the way up to where I was now...but seeing how LONG this part has been and the fact that the Jungle Trek deserves a blog in itself....I will leave you all here for now. Much love,
Ciao
Tyler
