Laos (photos)

December 5-10

On the 5th of December, we crossed from Thailand into Laos. Here is a map of Laos.
We crossed from Chiang Ria to Huay Xai, and of course, Rover was with us at the border. After crossing the border, we boarded a slowboat and made our way down the Mekong River toward Luang Prabang. The whole trip two full days, stopping overnight in Pakbeng.
On the first day, we stopped at a little riverside village. Here is how they dry fish there. We had some good views of the river and I climbed up into the village. Here are some boaters on the Mekong. We went all the way until sunset and then stopped in Pakbeng, which was a pretty remote place. I only got this photo of the river before it got too dark. We spent the night in a $2 room and had a great Indian (???) meal for dinner.

The next morning we set off for Luang Prabang. We were travelling with our English friends Lisa and Paul and our Dutch friend Jeanette. Here we are on the boat. We sat around and played with wooden puzzles and took turns asking each other riddles. It was a slow boat. The scenery was nice though, with mountains everywhere, and you would pass people on the shore. On the first day, a big group of English folks drank all the beer on the boat by 2pm, so on the second day we had no choice but to start early. We passed by a cave filled with miniature Buddahs, and before long, the the sun slowly went down, and down, and down. Soon after sunset we arrived in Luang Prabang.

We stayed in Luang Prabang for three nights. The town is a peninsula built at the confluence of the Mekong and another river. Here is Rover, with the other river behind him. We walked all around the peninsula. They don't use wheelbarrows to move dirt. Other interesting vehicles were a Mercedes, and a colorful tuk-tuk and another colorful tuk-tuk. We spent most evenings drinking Beer Lao and going to the night market. One evening, Dara and I bought a hand-sewn duvet cover. The woman we bought it from cooed like an Ewok and when we handed her the money, she tapped each of her items for sale with it for good luck. I wish I had video of it. One day we went to see a waterfall near Luang Prabang. We took a tuk-tuk from town through the mountains and got to the boat launch, where some kids were having a fire. We got to the boat stop and hiked up to see the falls. The falls were a series of shallow falls, and minerals in the water caked onto the trees. By the way, I wear sandals and a man-purse and I'm not ashamed. On the way back I took a picture of Dara (she has NOT grown green horns) and a picture of myself.

In Luang Prabang we said goodbye to Jeanette and headed to Phonsavan. Here is the bus we were on. We had two guys with us, each with an AK-47, one in front and one in back. Also, along the road were little outpost of paramilitary armed guards. I got the sense that maybe we were on a dangerous road. We stopped at a bus stop, and I saw people carrying sugar cane and a kid playing with a stool. We also saw some kids playing near the bus stop, and a typical roadside hut.

Eventually, we got to Phonsavan and crammed into a tuk-tuk. At the bus stop in Phonsavan, a woman who had a guesthouse seduced us with the promise of a bonfire, so we left with her. When we got there, we got on a mini-bus and headed to the Plain of Jars. The plain is filled with ancient crematory jars and also happens to be one of the most heavily bombed (by you know who) areas in the world, with Laos being the most heavily bombed country in the world. Here is Paul standing in a bomb crater, and Rover next to a MAG marker, signifying that the path has been cleared of landmines. Here is a photo of me and Dara and a bottle of Beer Lao, and Dara standing next to a jar. We were there for the sunset and then headed back to the guesthouse.

We had a nice meal by the fire and talked to the guesthouse owner about Laos history. He brought out a five-gallon water bottle filled with Lao-Lao, which is some kind of grain alcohol with bark floating in the bottom. I went into the kitchen to ask for another beer and saw them butchering up a bamboo rat for dinner. They said that we could have some, and I stood at the bar at picked at the cooked rat with all varieties of rusting bombs swaying on strings above my head. The guesthouse owner was teaching his son English, who came running toward the fire with a butcher knife saying "Big Knife". Dara went to bed early and I hung out by the fire with some Irish guy and then he went to bed and I was alone, so I went to bed too.

The next morning we got on a bus for Vinh, Vietnam. The border crossing was only opened to foreigners about two months ago, so it was pretty primitive. I was tired, and since we're married, Dara has to share her pillow.

Here is Rover at the Vietnam border.