Day 57 - The WORST Bus Ride Ever

The bus wasn't so bad, and the A/C was working quite well...but I think Laos buses are notorious for being very cramped... They call these buses “VIP” buses, but they are really just a step up from the regular buses. There is very little leg space and the seats are pretty narrow. I couldn't imagine what a tall European must feel when he rides this type of bus...

Anyways, it didn't rain too much, but the roads were very underdeveloped, so I had the same problem Agoes did...The bus felt like it was going to tip over evertime it tried to go through some of the potholes in the dirt roads. We also stopped about 20 times throughout the night to grab food, fix the bus, or just stop for pee breaks. Some of the time, we were riding the bus going 5 mph probably for safety reasons when we were going uphill or through the darkness. It was almost impossible to sleep through most of the night...and this was supposed to be a 12 hour bus ride...It ended up being 16 hours...............

Experiencing this makes me worried about my travels to Burma. I think the roads are going to be even less developed....so the rides will be even worse... We'll just have to see when I go in August.

When we arrived at Huay Xi, we took tuk tuks to Lao Immigration, before taking boats to the other side of the river to Thai Customs. Afterwards, we had to take another public bus to Chiang Rai, which would be another 2 hours...I dreaded this because the buses looked worse than the VIP buses...but the ride was actually nice, thanks to the roads being very smooth and the open windows that provided a nice breeze.

The city is pretty small, and there isn't much that I see in the guidebook that really interests me, so I decided that I would book a ticket out of this town and into Chiang Mai early the next morning. I checked out the food market to grab dinner and saw some bugs on sale...I asked if I could try the cricket, and tasted it...but wouldn't even think of buying a plate FULL of them to eat...

Tuk-Tuk Ride in Huay Xi

Bus Ride to Chiang Rai

Dinner at the Street Market in Chiang Rai

Insects for Dinner

Day 56 - Bathing Elephants

It was difficult to sleep at night at the lodge because the electricity kept going out, and I was used to the white noise from the fan to put me to sleep. There were lots of insects making noises since we were in the middle of the forest, and the geckos especially made funny sounds that woke me, along with the rats crawling on the roof. I tried to light the citronella coils, but they would go out after 10 minutes. I slept in the net bedding, which is also hard for me to do. The last time I slept in one was at a homestay where I ended up getting a ton of bites on my feet.

Luckily when I woke up, there weren't too many new bites. We headed to the forest to walk our elephants to the river so that we could wash them. We had to share elephants because there weren't enough, and I rode behind someone, which is a lot scarier because there is less to grab onto than if you were in the front.

We got to the river and I was able to switch elephants. We rode them into the river and used brushes to help clean the dirt off their skin and hair. My elephant kept submerging herself completely underwater and I got soaked because of it. It was fun, and of course the mahouts made sure to have them splash water on all of us while we were cleaning them. While I was washing my elephant, I noticed some red marks near her ear that I suspected was blood, but when I washed it, nothing came out, so it was like a stain on her ear...It was probably due to the mahouts using their hooks to stab them when they weren't behaving... I'm not sure what I think about this. Reading the pahmplet, they tried to reassure us that the mahouts only used it when necessary, and for the safety of everyone around them, and for the safety of the elephant herself...and that elephants are just like humans, and sometimes we can react to things in irrational or dangerous ways...It doesn't seem like the mahouts use their weapons ONLY under these circumstances, but I don't know enough to really decide...

After the bathing session, we packed and headed back to the village to grab breakfast before getting transported back to Luang Prabang. Agoes told me that his bus ride to Thailand was horrible and it was impossible to get sleep because the bus felt like it was going to tip over every minute that it tried to get over the muddy dirt roads... I planned on getting a flight to Chiang Mai, but flights were booked for 3 days, so I had to take the bus today... With no hotel room, I had to plan my day so that I could be fresh and clean for the bus ride at 7PM...

I decided to get my laundry done, chill around a bar with wifi, and go to a sauna so that I could use their showers to wash before leaving the town. I rented a bike to do all this, and everything bad just happened in the span of around 2 hours! Some parts of the bicycle fell off while I was riding it...The sauna was a bad idea, because even though I got to shower afterwards, I continued to sweat for the next hour...and when I picked up my laundry, it wasn't ready, and I had to pick it all up semi-wet still... Hopefully the bus ride will be better than what Agoes said since it doesn't seem to be raining as much as when he left...

Day 55 - Mahout Training at the Elephant Village

Took a minivan with a group of 6 others (2 couples from London, and 2 girls from Holland) to the Elephant Village, a center who's objectives are to care and save elephants. Booked a 2 day/1 night tour that includes learning some of the Mahout commands to the elephants.

The center saves elephants from poaching by providing them a viable means of maintaining the expenses needed to feed them and keep them healthy. Due to deforestation and logging  in Thailand and Laos, many elephants don't have enough area to survive in the forests. Most of the Asian elephants are from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Burma, Indonesia, India, and Nepal. The elephants are supported by the tourism industry, while giving people a chance to interact with them and ride them, bathe them, and feed them. They are able to exercise by giving rides to people, and walk around the sanctuary.

When we arrived, we were taken by boat to our lodge across the Nam Kwon river. The lodges were beautiful and basically in the middle of nature and the forest and beside the river. We all got our own private balconies overlooking the river. Afterwards, we each got a little lesson in how to mount the elephant and give verbal commands on how to go forward, move left or right, and stop. We were told to approach the elephant from the right side, and to make sure the elephant seems relaxed (flapping ears and tail, and moving a little) instead of tense (staring intently at you and not moving).

Afterwards, we each rode our elephants through the forest for an hour. We were all supposed to be sitting on the howdahs, but my mahout switched roles with me and I rode on the front of the elephant, grasping for dear life the entire hour. It gave my arms and legs a good workout. Along the walk, the elephants frequently tried to stop and just eat eat and eat! I think our tour guide said that elephants eat as much as 250 kg of food per day. 

Near evening, we all rode our own elephants to the jungle with the mahouts to chain them in the forest (or else they would continue to roam and get lost or run away). This gives them an ample amount of food to eat. On the ride, I kept thinking I was getting bitten in the butt cheek while riding the elephant, but I think it was just their thick hairs.

Afterwards we went to the Tae Chae waterfalls. The entire day it rained, but not as bad as yesterday. It was a light drizzle throughout the day that kind of enhanced the surroundings we were in. The water was chilly cold, but it was fun to swim next to the waterfalls. Not as impressive as yesterday's Kouang Si Waterfalls, but the waterfalls were wider. I showed my new friends how to eat a balut egg, and they were all gagging. I love eating balut in front of white people!

When we got back, we went to the elephant village to have dinner. Had a conversation with the Dutch people about their marijuana laws. It is legal to own 5 plants in your own house, but no more than that. What's interesting is that there's something fishy about where coffeeshops get their marijuana with this law. There isn't another law that makes it legal for a company to produce it, yet police officers don't really crack down or try to find out where they get it from. Maybe they are getting paid to shut up? 

These girls also told me that they wish that people would have better perceptions of Amsterdam and Holland instead of the marijuana culture because there is much more to see there. I do admit, the only place I remember visiting when I was there was the Red Light District...when I was underage...on an Asian tour...with my mom...

Balcony View from my Room

Getting Mahout Lessons with 36 Year old Mae Ouk

Sophie and Eveline from Holland

Feeding Bananas to the Elephants

Tae Chae Waterfalls

Day 54 - National Museum and Kouang Si Waterfalls

The National Museum/Royal Palace Museum was closed yesterday when I visited because it was during lunch hours, so I headed there early in the morning to catch a visit before heading to one of the famous waterfalls on the outskirts of the city.

The Royal Palace was the main residence of King Sisavang Vong in the early 20th century before being converted to a museum. You could catch a glimpse of the living arrangements of the Royal Family, including the bedrooms of the King and Queen as well as the childrens' rooms. One of the rooms near the front of the palace was painted with various scenes of city life in Luang Prabang, each highlighted at different times of the day by the sunlight shining through the windows. I wish I could provide pictures, but no cameras were allowed inside the Palace.

At the back of the museum grounds was a photo exhibition called "The Floating Buddha" which housed a collection of photographs of novice monks at a retreat learning about the practice of meditation. The retreat was created because meditation was often neglected or less important and they were trying to revive it, or at least teach these monks how to do it. There was a quote used at the introduction to the exhibit of what of the Buddhist teachings:

Sabbe dhamma nalam abhinivesaya - nothing whatsoever should be clung to

I could see why such a saying is fundamental to successful meditation, because you really have to let go of everything to clear your mind and transform yourself into another state of consciousness. Is there compassion and connection if you don't cling onto anything though? What about love?

Afterwards, we took a minivan to the Kouang Si waterfalls, about 30 km from town. At the start of the trek up the waterfall was a bear enclosure with bears that were taken from the wild and kept safe from poachers. It's sad to think that we have to capture these animals and create an artificial habitat for them to live in, just to protect them.

The entire waterfall is multi-tiered, and it took a while to get to the top, but along the way, you could stop and take a dip in the cold waters. It was different than other waterfalls that I have seen because the falls were not too high but more like powerful streams, except for the main waterfall at the top. It started to really pour by the time we got to the top and we found ourselves trapped seeking shelter at the restaurant at the top, waiting for the opportunity to trek down when the rain stopped. That opportunity never came and we had to get back to the minivan by a certain time, so we ran down, getting soaked from the pouring rain.

Back at the city center, Agoes left for Thailand, and I decided to stay for a couple more days. I visited the local Red Cross because someone recommended their massages and herbal sauna room. The sauna room was nowhere as hot as the sauna in Vientiene, but was nice nonetheless. I decided near the end of the night to book an Elephant Mahout Training for 2 days and 1 night starting tomorrow. Can't wait to see the elephants tomorrow!

Kouang Si Waterfall

Wat Ho Pha Bang

Photo Exhibit at the National Museum

Wat Ho Pha Bang

Bear Enclosure

Kouang Si Waterfall

Day 53 - Biking Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is one of those bike-able cities that I love to explore. It's small, but many of the major landmarks are all right there for you to explore. Traveling for a long period of time, sometimes it's better not to be overwhelmed by a huge city, trying to understand it all...

Agoes and I rented bicycles and used our Lonely Planets to guide us through the city. We headed to the top of the mountain at the center of the city to check out That Chomsi, which is a famous temple at the top, providing great views of the entire city. Descending the mountain, there was also a spot that was supposedly Buddha's footprint in stone. 

Afterwards, we cycled the city along the edge of the Mekong River, checking out what the city had to offer. Tuk-Tuk drivers tried to bargain with us to take us to one of the popular waterfalls just outside the city, and boat drivers tried to get us to take a ride across the river to one of the caves. We instead decided to book a tour to the waterfall for tomorrow and opt out of cave, since we'd seen some in Vang Vieng a couple days before...

Pun Mieng

Jaew Bong - Sweet Laotian Chili Paste

Day 52 - Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang

Transportation day heading north on our travels in Lao from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. We booked a "VIP" bus that would take 6 hours..but everything's relative... The bus was horrible, smelly, old, and lacked sufficient air conditioning. I doubt the head of state of the country would be caught in such a "VIP" bus, but these buses are probably a step up compared to local buses. We booked our tickets through a travel agency, and they drove us to the main highway, before stopping a random bus headed north, probably originating from Vientiene. I guess that's how they do it here. They just find any extra space in any bus, and pay the bus driver a cut of what they made off of us.

We arrived in Luang Prabang around 5pm and found a guesthouse with a balcony overlooking the river. Once settled in, we did what I usually do the first night in any city - check out the night markets! It was about a 5 minute walk from our guesthouse, around a mountain with one of the city's famous temples perched on top. We found the food area and bought ourselves a 10,000 Kip buffet dinner ($1.25 USD). The fish was exceptional as well, a whole fish for only $2.50. Fruit shakes were $0.60... Cheap food everywhere!

We ended the night strolling through the night market checking out the new merchandise being offered. Nothing caught my eye, but it's hard for me to find anything since it better be worth it for me to carry throughout my trip, plus I'm not really a fan of tchotchkes...

Laotian Buffet

Breakfast in Vang Vieng

Traveling through the mountains to get to Luang Prabang

Fruit Shakes for 60 cents

Night Market Merchandise

Day 51 - Caves and Kayaking in Vang Vieng

Woke up early to start the kayaking/cave tubing tour around Vang Vieng. It was nice to have a small tour group again, this time with a Canadian, French, and San Diegan(?) with us. We took a truck to the starting point next to the Nam Song River, where we got some training on how to paddle and what to do if the boat capsized.

There were four kayaks, 3 of which were two-seaters and 1 of which was a one-seater. I ended up taking the one-seater to kayak on my own. We started off kayaking for a short distance before reaching the other side of the river to explore some of the caves and karst formations in the area. I believe the first cave we saw was called Tham Nam, and to access it, we had to use tubes to float in the water to the entrance to the cave. There were ropes tied throughout the cave system for us to pull ourselves through the inside of the cave while we were floating in the water. The inside is completely pitch black, so we all used headlights to navigate our way through. It was incredible, but also claustrophobic and scary. It kind of reminded me of my favorite horror movie, Descent.


We reached a part of the cave with ground space to crawl on and shallow waters to wade through. It was like we were at military bootcamp, the way we had to crawl through the small and sandy spaces. I'd never done something like this before, and it was so much fun! Unfortunately, we weren't able to bring cameras so I have no pictures inside the cave, but one of the tourmates had a waterproof camera, so hopefully I'll be able to get some of the pictures once she returns from her long vacation...

After lunch, we took a short trek to Tham Sang, or "Elephant Cave" which is a small cave with a Buddhist shrine and a rock formation in the shape of an elephant.

We headed down to the Nam Song river shortly after, where we would begin our 14 km journey of endless paddling. The river was flowing rather slowly so it took some effort to really paddle downstream. There were a couple spots where there were some rapids we had to go through. The first couple times were a little scary, but after a while, I got used to it. I didn't realize how long 14km, but I had to paddle the whole time since I was in my own kayak...and I was lagging behind everyone the whole time! By the time we reached the tubing drop-off point where all the bars were, my arms were spent... And in the last area of rapids, I ended up capsizing and holding onto my kayak for dear life, while at the same time trying to keep my paddle from floating away, while trying to keep my sandals from escaping the grasp of my toes. To be honest, I think I was focusing more on saving my sandals than anything else... I got some help from another kayak and got back on...how embarrassing!

We stopped by one of the bars for a couple of hours and laid in hammocks, watching some people float down the river in their tubes. It wasn't crowded at all, and we'd see a couple people float by every 10 minutes or so. There were also mud volleyball and tug-o-war pits for people to play and compete in. I could definitely see how people could accidentally get too drunk at these bars and end up hurting themselves while trying to get back to town by floating down the river.

The tour was well worth the money and I got to see a little bit of everything the city had to offer...plus some upper body work out that I'm sure I've been neglecting through these past two months...

Relaxing after Kayaking for 10km

Working the Rice Fields

Tubes used to go through the Caves

I was pretty sure we'd get electrocuted if we dropped the battery in the water...

Elephant Cave

Our Kayaks

Day 50 - Biking around Vang Vieng, Laos

We decided to rent some bicycles to acclimate ourselves to the city, and rode down the main road for about a couple hours. There were a couple caves that were said to be worth seeing, and we set out looking for them. The Lonely Planet guide says that Vang Vieng is known for more adventurous activities like exploring caves, rock climbing, kayaking (along with tubing drunk down the river).

It was extremely hot today and biking was tough because I was sweating profusely the whole time!

We weren't able to find any caves today, but explored some of the local villages by wandering through some of the minor streets. It's always good to get away from the main tourist draws in the city and just see the villages and the people who live here.

On our way back, we stumbled upon an organic farm that make its own goat cheese and grew its own mulberries. I ordered a mulberry shake and goat cheese with a baguette. Too bad the goat cheese smelled like fertilizer, or I probably would have enjoyed it much more.

Across the river from the organic farm was the starting point for people who wanted to tube down the river. “Tubing” refers to using a lifesaver to float down the river, stopping at various bars along the way to grab drinks, listen to music, dance, play mud volleyball, and party. It's like a non-stop Spring Break vacation for college students every day. There are also slides and ziplines that people can use to lauch themselves into the river. There have been many accidents and deaths from dumb people who drank too much, but people also injure themselves floating down the river because it can be shallow and rocky at the bottom.

Agus and I decided that we probably wouldn't partake in the “tubing” since we both didn't know how to swim very well. We decided instead to book a tour tomorrow that included exploring the caves and kayaking down the river, joining the barhopping with our kayaks instead.

Local Kids Playing in the River

My mode of transportation for the day

Local Village Kids

Gravemarkers

Local Kids at a Youth Center

Tubing Drop-Off Point