So long, and thanks for all the memories!

On August 1^st it was time to return to Chiang Mai for our final week in Thailand and SE Asia. Our program was coming to a close and while I was extremely sad to be saying goodbye to my new friends and these countries I had grown to love, I was also really ready to be home. I missed my family, my comfortable bed, a humidity free environment (humidity is torture and there is no humidity quite like SE Asia during monsoon season), and Mexican food. But the program was not yet over and so, on our last morning in Phuket, Zenia and I walked around the beach, got one last massage, and then headed for the airport and a flight back to Chiang Mai.

We caught a red truck from the Chiang Mai airport to BABSEA House and were immediately told that “in an effort to mix things up” we would be staying in the house for our final week rather than the apartment complex. Needless to say, this news did not go over so well with anyone. It wasn’t too difficult for Zenia and I to move into BABSEA House as we had all our things packed and ready to go from our return trip, but those who had spent the summer in Chiang Mai had to quickly grab all their belongings from what had been their home for three months and move over to the apartments quite a distance away. While Zenia and I were at first upset at this change of events, we soon realized its upsides as we now had a TV that actually got a channel with English speaking shows! (Throughout the days and nights it would play an endless loop of American science fiction show episodes – Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Star Trek: Next Generation. Crazy and yet awesome.)

Thank you, Lonely Planet. 

We quickly settled in to our new room and headed into the city with all our friends we had just been reunited with. It was amazing seeing all our friends and hearing about their experiences in the various countries. As everyone had travelled far and wide back to Chiang Mai (except the Chiang Mai kids, of course), many using multiple means of transportation (tuk tuk, red truck, bus, plane, etc.), we were all very tired and went to bed fairly early, aware that for the next week we would be spending each morning with BABSEA doing a wrap up of our experiences.

Just a quick summary will suffice for our BABSEA wrap up sessions, I think. Each morning we would arrive at the very same building where we spent our orientation sessions and we would discuss our experiences. Every morning a different group from a different country would present on what they did over the summer, what they saw, and what they learned. Although somewhat a rehash of what we did on our own each evening when we all went out to dinner together and talked for hours, it was still incredible to hear more and see pictures. After our morning reviews, BABSEA would set us free around lunch time and we would all disperse to follow our own whims.

The sad news in all of this is that Zenia left early on the second day after our return. Her cousin was getting married in Canada and she returned home to help out (and, I think, because she was a bit homesick). And so, for the rest of my time in SE Asia, I was without my most trusted and beloved travelling companion. Luckily, I was back with all my other friends and we were able to make the most of our last few days together.

The end of a long trip is always a strange thing. While you’ve had a wonderful time, made some incredible memories, and enjoyed every minute, the knowledge that soon you will be home is overwhelming and overshadows everything you do. And as you contemplate your return to the comforts you have been so long without, the lack of real rest catches up with you and you become almost unbearably tired, such that it’s hard to motivate yourself to go out and finish your travels with the same energy level with which you started them. This period of time is almost directly proportionate to the length of your trip. If you were gone a week – it’s probably no longer than your wait at the airport for your return flight. Gone two weeks – it will last the morning before your flight. Gone three months – the last five days of your trip will be spent in a fog of sleepiness and the overwhelming desire to be home.

Almost every afternoon Bobby and I would head out into Chiang Mai, exploring the parts of the city we had not seen during our previous stay. Then, around dinner time, we would head back to BABSEA House. We would head into my room where the TV was located, lay down “for a quick rest” after walking around Chiang Mai afternoon on my and Zenia’s twin beds, and watch a little sci fi on TV. Inevitably we would both fall asleep, awakening only when it was time to actually go to bed. It was a lazy existence and, perhaps, I could have spent the time more actively sightseeing, but it was precisely what I needed after such a long, action packed summer.

I had one last adventure in Chiang Mai with my friend, Ellie. We each had discussed at length before our return how much we loved Thai cuisine and how much we would love to take a cooking class at some point. Well, we decided to follow Bruce’s advice and “make it happen.” We did some research, found a one day cooking class outside of the city and got permission to go (permission because we didn’t go to the BABSEA review session that day)! It was incredible. Early in the morning a van picked us up from BABSEA House and headed out to a local market to buy some fresh ingredients for our day of cooking. We wandered around the same market we visited on my first stay in Chiang Mai, carrying the purchases of our guides and then headed back to the van and out to the cooking school.

The school was located some distance outside Chiang Mai, set on about five acres of land. The buildings of the school were set next to a small pond and abutted a large garden of fresh vegetables, fruits, and peppers grown specifically for the school. A large veranda was built out over the pond and had two long wooden tables with bench seating running the length. A large building stood across the way and had cooking stations ranging around three walls of the room, ready for our use later that morning. Upon our arrival we filled out a questionnaire regarding what dishes we would like to learn to cook (we had a choice of five out of fifteen), we were give red aprons and large hats, and then were told that to start we would have to learn a little about Thai foods. We headed out into a beautifully tended garden and learned about Thai peppers, basil, broccoli, eggplant, etc. The garden was teeming with beautiful veggies, most of them new to our eyes, and soon we were invited to pick a few for our upcoming dishes. I grabbed a handful of bright red peppers about the size of my pinky nail, a bunch of Thai eggplants that grow no larger than a nickel and are bright green, and some fresh Thai basil.

We then headed back to the veranda and got started on our culinary adventure. We began by using a mortar and pestle to create our very own curry paste (an enterprise not for the faint of heart as it involves crushing the hottest of Thai peppers, which more than one person managed to get in their eyes leading to tears and burning pain), which we then used to make either red, green or yellow curry. It was amazing! I was cooking the food I loved and was actually have extremely successful results. We were provided some pre-made sticky rice (sticky rice takes hours to make properly – you have to soak the rice for at least three hours or overnight before steaming – and so it had been made for us) and were then invited to sit and enjoy the first fruits of our labors. As soon as we finished we were off to cook our next few items all at once in order to create one large feast for the noon meal. I made Tom Yum Soup (a clear, delicious soup with enormous oyster mushrooms and fresh vegetables), Chicken with Basil, and, my personal favorite, Pad See Ew. It was incredible. For each item of the meal we were given a platter with all the ingredients and then our head chef would demonstrate how to make each dish and walk around the room watching as we copied his movements and instructions. It was an absolute blast and soon Ellie and I were laughing like loons as we cooked some of our favorite Thai dishes.

Eating the food was a revelation. Everything tasted incredible, made even more delicious by the fact that we cooked it ourselves. We ate until we couldn’t move and then were told it was time to make desert. I chose a simple dish – mango with sticky rice – and enjoyed the juicy and refreshing taste of the mango after so much rich and savory food. The day was absolutely perfect and the best way to end my time in SE Asia. We returned to BABSEA House at the end of the day and shared our leftovers with all our friends, who were, naturally, overawed by our culinary talents.

The next day was my last in SE Asia. I spent most of the day packing and saying goodbye to all my friends. Around dinner time I caught a red truck from BABSEA House and was off to the airport. Similarly to my trip to Chiang Mai three months before, I was to fly that night from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and then spend the night in the Bangkok airport before flying home first thing in the morning. This time, however, I had a better plan. I decided to stay up all night and on the first leg of my morning flight to Japan and sleep only on the final leg of my journey to facilitate getting back on US time. And so, I ate a salad at the Chiang Mai airport, flew into Bangkok and then sat in front of the check in desks at the Bangkok airport from about 10 pm to 3 am. After checking in my bags, I headed up to the gate and before too long was on my plane and truly heading home, first to Tokyo where I would change planes and then back to Portland, Oregon.

The flight was easy and uneventful and, I’m happy to report, my plan of postponing sleep worked perfectly. I awoke about thirty minutes before touchdown on my last flight, just as we were coming back over US soil. I was home. Of course, the last leg of the journey required actually being readmitted to my native country. I got off the plane in the terminal and soon passed through passport control with no problems.

My excitement to be home was palpable and all too soon I was collecting my bags, which somewhat dimmed my excitement as to get from the International terminal at the Portland airport to the portion where I would be picked up by my family I had to take a short bus ride and walk what felt like a mile. To fully understand my consternation, it is necessary for me to reveal a slightly embarrassing fact about my return…I was loaded down with luggage like a pack mule. I can’t overstress this fact – I looked like an over-weighted turtle trying to walk on two legs. By the time I got home I had visited several cities in four countries and had bought souvenirs and trinkets from each. And so I was dragging one large traveler’s backpack, my large black purse, a small black backpack, a small(ish) knockoff roller suitcase from the mall in Laos, a medium sized green duffle bag from Cambodia, an art tube filled with paintings, and a self-made flat, rectangular carrier for two art prints that couldn’t be rolled and had to remain flat. I must have looked ridiculous! But, to their credit, my parents didn’t laugh too hard when they saw me. As I walked down that final stretch of hallway I could see them at the end like a light at the end of a dark tunnel, a sign that I was truly home. I ran (well, attempted to run, but only managed a speed closer to that of a medium paced walk) toward them and hugs were exchanged all around, my parents clearly relieved that I returned to them safe and sound.

My SE Asia trip was officially over. I was back in the US and happy to be home. But if there is one thing this trip taught me, it is that I love to travel – explore new places, eat new food, and make new friends. So don’t be sad that my SE Asia tale is done, because this bookworm will be having more adventures abroad before you know it. The world awaits…

And so, there is only one way to end this chapter in my life, one of the best chapters yet written. So long, and thanks for all the memories, SE Asia. I will return.

Lazy Beach Days

Travelling in SE Asia had so far been a thoroughly enjoyable and truly rewarding experience. I had immersed myself in the cultures, eaten…interesting…local cuisine, and made friends from around the world. What this trip had not provided so far, however, was much downtime. While most of my trips took me to interesting regions and beautiful parts of the world, many (most) these places were also filled with suffering and such a significant disparity between our lives as Americans (or any 1^st world country residents) and those of these countries that it was hard to divorce myself from the depressed feelings they inspired. No matter how beautiful, it was hard to forget that the people around me were often living on less than $1 per day and didn’t even have access to clean water or housing. And, on the whole, I think that this is absolutely necessary if you are going to travel in SE Asia. Part of truly travelling is experiencing how the locals live for yourself and immersing yourself in that lifestyle (to a certain degree – I never gave up my fondness and preference for Western toilets).

But after almost 3 whole months living in that manner, I came to the point where I just needed a break and I said to myself: I wish I could just take a day off at the beach. Well, for our second full day in Phuket, Zenia and I did just that – we took a day off at the beach. As per our usual method of travelling, Zenia and I spent the first day of our trip sightseeing and exploring our location (sure, we did it quite leisurely by boat and even had our kayaks paddled by someone else, thus completely negating any physical activity on our parts, but it counts). On this second day, however, we decided that we needed to take a day off and simply relax, enjoy our time in this island paradise. After all, how could you visit the islands of Thailand without spending a day lounging on warm, white sand beaches and swimming in the beautiful blue-green sea? Inconceivable!

We arose early once again and headed to the docks for our second day out on the water. The day was once again cloudy and gray, although the rain had stopped before we arrived at the boat, allowing us a dry start to our day (relatively – this is SE Asia after all, a place that defines “sultry”). We headed out on the open water in a speed boat, flying across the sea at a breakneck pace. I suspect our driver was racing the other speed boats headed out at the same time and based on the rapid pace our boat adopted, we won. Soon, however, we broke away from the pack and our boat was racing around the myriad islands rising out of the water. Zenia and I rode in the bow of the boat, the best place to sit when in a speed boat, and thoroughly enjoyed the wind whipping through our hair as we anticipated our day of swimming and beach lazing.

Our first stop of the morning was at a white sandy beach. The beach was located on a large island boasting three jutting hills covered in trees and shrubs, all cradling a beautiful beach. The beach was clearly a place to relax and swim and was already covered in speed boats and people enjoying the water. Our boat slowly pulled up to shore and we all clambered off and into the water. The water was once again a glorious blue-green color, softened by the white sand of the beach and ocean floor. The beach was inlaid enough into the island to create a small bay with a gently sloping ocean floor, providing a wonderfully shallow area to swim. Zenia and I wasted no time finding a place on the beach for our towels and clothes and then hopped into the crystal clear water. The temperature was amazing, everything you imagine a tropical beach to be. Sliding into the water felt like sliding into a gently warmed bath and immediately all our cares and troubles slid out of our minds. For the first time, we were able to relax.

All too soon we were called away from this idyllic spot by our captain and we returned to the boat for more adventures – a tour of some nearby islands. One island in particular was pointed out to us as a location that had appeared in several films, although the only film I can remember it being in at present is “The Beach,” which I’ve never seen myself. The islands were beautiful, however, regardless of the supposed fame added by their cinematic history and the smaller size of our boat today allowed us to get a closer look at some of the soaring and sheer cliffs that predominate these islands.

We stopped at the base of one such cliff and were provided slices of stale bread. We were then told to lean over the side and throw pieces of the bread in the water to see the pretty fish. Well, as some of you may know, I have an irrational fear of little fish (I always feel as if they are going to bite off my toes, but for some reason I only fear little fish, those that could not possibly accomplish this feat – weird). I’m really not sure where this phobia came from, but it certainly seems to be here to stay and the experience of feeding these fish definitely did not help. As we all dropped small chunks of bread in the water, dozens, nay, hundreds of small fish appeared and ripped them apart. Small yellow and black striped fish (think clown fish, but with neon yellow and black/brown stripes) attacked the bread and decimated it in seconds. As soon as one piece of bread was gone, the group would disperse from the tangled ball they had become and would await the next offer of food. We stayed until all the bread was gone and all I could think about during this display was how easily fish could take over the world (or at least the ocean) if they all simply made a concentrated effort to work together and attacked boats. (Think about it.)

After fattening up those small fishes, our boat moved on to another rapacious and dangerous wild animal to feed (why, oh why were these people obsessed with feeding wild animals that shouldn’t be fed by humans??) – monkeys. After arduous research (typing the words Thailand and monkey into a google search), I have discovered that these monkeys were long-tailed macaques. While it might not seem so bad to feed a wild monkey, it is not really a smart move as these are wild animals that could easily spread diseases and so should not become too comfortable with human interaction. Nevertheless, our boat stopped along a cliff face on an island where ropes had been hung and where the monkeys knew to congregate in order to get free treats from tourists. We were each given a bag of food and encouraged to let the monkeys eat out of our hands. Being of a more practical nature and fearing a “Planet of the Apes” scenario, I relinquished my bag of food to others and stayed away from the scavenging beasts (killers). And after five to ten minutes, I was more than happy to move on.

Our boat took us a little ways out to sea and passed out goggles and snorkels to all passengers who wanted an up close and personal look at the ocean floor and inhabitants. I wasted no time grabbing my equipment and jumped into the water, eager to swim and enjoy ocean life. The water felt incredible – so warm it was almost hard to believe I was in the ocean. I have visited some other warm watered areas, namely Hawaii, but I’ve found that even in those places the water is always a bit brisk and never the temperature we imagine of exotic locales. Well, Thailand more than lived up to my expectations. I’ve never felt such a wonderful sea and I spent as much time as possible in the water before the boat moved on. Underwater I saw quite a few species of fish and was entranced by the sight. Unfortunately, however, it is hard to escape the obvious deleterious effect humans have had on this ocean environment. Perhaps at one time the ocean floors of Thailand were covered in beautiful sea life, but the burgeoning tourist trade (of which I was now a part) has taken its toll and beyond a few craggy rocks underwater and some beautifully colored fish, there is no life to speak of at a depth for the average snorkeler. While I enjoyed what I saw and the warmth of the water I swam in, I couldn’t help but miss the reefs I had seen in Hawaii that were covered in myriad plant and animal life, protected by the government from additional harm by visitors. Not so in Thailand, where no restrictions had ever been placed on tourists. Still, the experience was amazing and I loved the opportunity to see Thailand ocean life.

We docked for lunch at a large island where a small community existed along another gorgeous white sand beach. After quickly eating a rather forgettable meal (provided by the tour), Zenia and I began exploring the island shops before heading back to the beach and the boat for the final leg of our day. Our final stop was on the furthest island out on our trip. This island was a small speck of land, but unique amongst the many thousands of islands in that it boasted a large mountainous region occupying one half of the island, but pure white sands along the other half. The island’s entire purpose was for relaxing and enjoying the sun and water. The white sand was covered in low seated beach chairs and umbrellas and offered a full service bar along the base of the mountains. Of course, the chairs were to be rented and the drinks were ridiculously expensive (keep in mind, ridiculously expensive in SE Asia is about $3 per drink), but as this was our final adventure, Zenia and splurged. We rented two covered chairs and ordered a pina colada in a coconut for Zenia and a pineapple drink in a pineapple for me, complete with little flowers and fruit. The afternoon was amazing. The sky cleared just as we arrived on the island and set up our camp and as the temperature rose, Zenia and I would alternate between sitting on our chairs, listening to music, and relaxing in the sun and shade and taking dips in the beautiful ocean. We spent about two hours just sitting and enjoying the beach. It was blissful after three months of constant travel and activity.

It seemed like no time at all before our captain called our group back to the boat and we returned to Phuket. Not wanting to give up our day quite yet, Zenia and I hopped into our guesthouse’s pool upon our return, continuing our lazy day until the sun went down and it was time to shower and get ready for our evening. I wish I could now regale you with tales of a fabulous evening out, but in reality, Zenia and I put on some more dresses we bought in Cambodia, took a red truck downtown, and merely spent the evening walking around and enjoying the sights. We returned to our guesthouse somewhat early, exhausted from our lazy day, yet completely satisfied with our time in Phuket. 

The Sight to See? Bond, James Bond.

One of the most dangerous aspects of travelling, particularly of travelling to a 3^rd world country, is the food. I don’t mean that the food will be bad or that you won’t find things to eat – if you keep an open mind and open stomach then you are sure to find things you enjoy. Rather, I mean that you must beware that most dangerous malady that befalls every traveler at least once – food poisoning. It’s never an enjoyable experience, but it’s somehow infinitely worse when you’re stranded thousands of miles from home and Western plumbing on a separate continent. So far in my trip I had managed to forego this unpleasant upset, mainly by using common sense and taking reasonable care when buying and eating food. Here are some good tips to follow when travelling to aid in avoiding the more suspect food options:

1. Don’t Go Cheap – cheap food is the enemy when you’re travelling. It is very easy to get through a day in SE Asia spending only about $2 on your food, but this will invariably lead to some quality time spent with your commode. If you’re dining out, be smart and spend a little more –the extra money is ensuring that your food is cooked immediately and only fresh ingredients (that have been properly refrigerated) are used.

2. Watch Them Cook Your Food – if you are eating at any establishment other than a sit down restaurant, watch them cook your food. You will be crowned “King of the Can” later if you don’t. If you’re buying food from a small hole-in-the-wall establishment and your food just magically appears from a back room, it is probably suspect and you should move on. More than likely, the meat is quite old and has never seen even the most rudimentary cold storage system. Watching the cook prepare your exact food ensures that you know what is going into it, you know it was cooked immediately, and you know if anything looks a little off.

3. Avoid Too Many Uncooked Vegetables – this advice might seem contrary to popular opinion, after all, the freshest food and thus most trustworthy food are fresh veggies, but when you’re in a foreign land where you can’t drink the water and even brushing your teeth with the tap water can lead to intestinal issues, it’s not a good idea to eat raw, uncooked vegetables that have been rinsed in said water. Cooking kills the bacteria the water has transferred to your veggies. One of the worst things you can do in SE Asia is order a salad.

4. Follow the Crowd – it’s always a good idea to eat where others are eating. If a restaurant has a large crowd, particularly a large crowd of locals, there are good odds the food is tasty and it won’t give you problems later. So don’t be afraid to wait a few minutes to get your order in if there is a crowd – that is a good sign. An empty restaurant is a recipe for disaster.

5. Reconsider the Beef – actually, reconsider almost all meats. I know I’ve already warned you of vegetables, but now it’s time to consider meat the enemy too. Meat has the unfortunate tendency to spoil easily without refrigeration and in countries where electrical power either doesn’t exist or has the tendency to be unavailable for long stretches of time, this presents problems when you are talking about meat storage. Eating meat in a large city is probably safer than a small city or town, but caution is always advisable. Also, NEVER eat seafood in a landlocked country – that’s just asking for trouble.

These are just some of the basic tips I followed while traversing my way through SE Asia and although I fared fairly well, there were still some minor issues that it would be unseemly to go into too much detail over. Leave it to say that I managed until that first day in Phuket. Upon our arrival the night before in Phuket, Zenia and I ate pad see ew at a boardwalk restaurant in downtown Patong Bay where we were staying. Well, the next morning, Zenia and I awoke long before we needed to for sightseeing trip via boat around the islands surrounding Phuket and began the dance of travelling roommates – swapping places in the bathroom every few minutes as our pad see ew caused some unfortunate consequences. Luckily, I had followed Rule #5 and avoided most of the meat in my pad see ew, which I am absolutely certain caused our unfortunate discomfort so I did not suffer too badly, but Zenia was not so lucky. Before our Phuket trip had even really begun it was off to a bad start. We had our tickets and were ready to go enjoy the islands, but it was going to be problematic trying to get more than 20 feet from our bathroom. Thank goodness I had gotten some medication for just this situation before leaving the U.S. Zenia and I each popped a couple of pills and within no time were feeling well enough to get to the docks for our day of adventure. It just goes to show that when travelling, nothing can replace good common sense and a well stocked emergency kit.

We took a red truck (yes, the time of the tuk tuk was over and red trucks were back) to the docks where we were scheduled to meet our tour boat. The inauspicious trend of the morning continued as it was raining quite heavily when we arrived for our boat tour, but as that was the norm and something we had grown quite accustomed to in Laos, we remained relatively unphased and were excited to have made it even this far (it’s amazing how stomach problems can put everything in perspective). Our boat was a double-decker pink and green monstrosity that could easily fit around 50 people if you didn’t mind sitting quite close together and soon we were all jammed in like sardines and ready to set sail.

Our tour began as we pulled out of Patong Bay and our boat guide gave us some basic information concerning Phuket and the islands we were to see throughout the day. The sky was a steely gray color, filled with dark clouds, allowing no sunshine to poke through. However, the air was steamy and warm and the water was incredible. A beautiful blue-green color, it looked warm and inviting, just waiting for us to stop for a swim. But today, we were travelling around the islands.

We sped around the islands for some time in the morning. There are thousands of islands off the southern coast of Thailand, some large enough to support communities and towns and some only 15-20 feet across. The most amazing feature of these tiny specks of land was their shape. Each small island rose high out of the sea, often taller than they were wide. Water had slowly eaten away at the base of these islands so that they somewhat resembled mushrooms – the islands arose out of the sea, then flared outward in a rocky, craggy mass, until reaching a large horizontal shelf (the cap of the mushroom) that sometimes extended 20-30 feet out over the water, and then rose high into the air in a dome. The dome of the islands were covered with vegetation, large shrubs and trees, so thick it was clear no one had been on these islands for years, if ever, and it was doubtful they could be scaled in any case – likely anyone trying would be swallowed whole by the plants and would never be seen again.

The larger islands were dominated by trees and forests as well and sported craggy faces and sheer cliffs. Our boat slowed at one such island and our guide pointed out a small, horizontal opening at sea level at the base of a cliff. We were told that we would stop here and would enter inflatable kayaks – two per kayak plus a guide to paddle – and would go into the caves below the island. Some caves were big enough for larger boats, but many could only be accessed at mid to low tide on a smaller craft and still required quite a bit of head bending and care.  Zenia and I quickly claimed a kayak as our own and we were off to explore the dark underworld of the caves of Thailand.

The caves were amazing to see. Although not filled with some of the geological wonders of the caverns in California (my bias showing, perhaps), these were beautiful in their own right. It was easy to see the high water mark inside the caves, often near the ceiling, as a white line delineated on the rocks. Huge boulders hung from the ceiling, forcing us to duck this way and that in efforts to avoid them. Enormous rooms could be found further into the caves, filled along the roofline with bats. Toward the ends of the caves, the rooms were so small we were forced to lie flat in the bottoms of our kayaks to avoid the low hanging ceilings. It felt incredible to be exploring these caves, but also a trifle intimidating. It was impossible to forget that you were floating beneath an entire island and it was all too easy to imagine the island crashing down on your head as it finally gave in and fell into the sea. This in no way dimmed the beauty of the sights, but it did add a sense of danger and urgency to our trip. All too soon we headed back outside. The mouth of the caves began as a mere pinprick of light that quickly grew larger as we approached and after so much time in the dark (but probably only 15 minutes actually), the light seemed incredibly bright, even on such a cloudy day.

We remained in the kayaks and began to paddle around the island, into a beautiful grove of trees, lush vegetation, and vines that nearly met the water – clearly this island had not eroded quite so much at the base. After some time looking around at the beauty of the island, we returned to the boat for our next adventure.

We stopped at another island for more kayaking fun. This new island was broken into pieces, allowing the kayaks to travel under huge craggy stone archways and into the heart of the island. Trees seemed to grow out of the stone itself, needing no soil to prosper here. The islands were beautiful and we all spent some time just enjoying the day and being out on the water. At this point it became clear that the persistent cloud cover was a blessing. The day was managing to stay reasonably comfortable, never unbearably hot as it might have been in full sunlight. After we finished with that island, we were off to the main event of the day – James Bond Island.

James Bond movies are, of course, classics, but it would perhaps take a real connoisseur of the films to recognize the James Bond Island without someone telling them of its history. Luckily, I just happen to be a connoisseur of all things James Bond and even without the guide’s information was able to pinpoint the exact island where the final showdown of Roger Moore’s “The Man with the Golden Gun” was filmed. I’m not sure if there is anything particularly special or remarkable about this particular island other than its now famous pedigree thanks to that superspy, but it is now a destination location for tourists in Phuket. The island from which you view the tall, yet thin rock rising out of the sea is fairly inhospitable beyond the beach immediately facing James Bond Island. The beach also boasts a crack in the rock face along one side, which is absolutely sheer and nearly smooth as if someone had taken a knife and cut into the rock, slicing a chunk out of the rock face.

After taking dozens of pictures in front of James Bond Island, we returned to the boat, and began our return journey to Phuket. A van took us from the docks to our hotel where Zenia and I took full advantage of the amenities (aka our bathroom) and got ready for our evening out in Phuket.

For the first time during our 3 months in SE Asia we truly felt as if we could dress up for the evening. Always in SE Asia you are aware of the overwhelming heat and humidity. There is no point in putting on makeup as it will soon melt away and wearing nice clothes is a mistake as SE Asia has a tendency to ruin anything you wear. But that night Zenia and I had something special planned and decided to go all out. We took extravagantly long showers (7 minutes each), put on our best dresses (purchased in Cambodia), cute sandals (Vietnam), and actually straightened our hair and threw on some eye shadow. It felt incredible – perhaps the closest to clean and normal I had felt in 3 months.

That night Zenia and I were going to a show called Simon Cabaret. The show was a transvestite (or lady-boy, as they are called in SE Asia) cabaret show featuring exotic costumes and popular songs. It was an absolute blast. Of course my hair began to curl and my makeup began to come off as soon as we stepped out of our air conditioned room, but it was worth it to have such fun and to feel almost normal for even a few hours. The show was hilarious and actually quite good and after we went outside and were able to meet all the stars as they stood around in costumes (sequined gowns and large head-dresses). Following the show we took a red truck downtown and walked along the beach again, but soon headed back to our guesthouse for the evening as we had another day of sightseeing planned for the next day, requiring another early start.

Returning to Thailand

At this point in our travels, Zenia and I had been on quite a few trips. We had travelled from Thailand to Laos, Pakse in southern Laos, Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng in northern Laos, all over Cambodia, and to Hanoi, Vietnam. On each occasion, my packing skills would improve and my bags would lighten. I learned how to pack and travel light, getting down to simply 7 kg (about 15 pounds) for a five day trip (and trust me, based on how I usually pack, that is incredible). Each trip to another place would see me taking less and less, lightening my load. What I didn’t count on, however, was the fact that on each trip my bag home would be just a little bit heavier and all that new weight, the result of souvenirs and other items bought, would add up when it came time to go back to Thailand and then home.

As the time to return to Thailand got closer, I began to look at the shear amount of stuff that I had accumulated over nearly three full months in SE Asia and I realized that I had a serious problem. There was absolutely no way I could pack all of it in my backpack and the purse I had brought with me. I would need more bags. In preparation for packing, Zenia and I began to pull out all of our stuff to lay out on our beds to consider packing options and the piles just kept growing and growing, soon resembling Mount Everest. Even going through my clothes and discarding those items of clothing SE Asia had clearly ruined (SE Asia eats your clothing and then spits it back up after you have been there for any length of time) didn’t reduce my belongings to the point that I could make it home without needing another bag. So, I headed down to the Talot Sao Mall in Vientiane and bought a knockoff Ralph Lauren roller bag, the size you would usually use as a carry on to help tote home all my newly acquired belongings.

By the time Zenia and I finished packing, we were going to have to carry four bags a piece. We each wore a large hiking backpack, filled to the brim and reaching over our heads, had a sling purse filled to overflowing, carried a separate smaller duffle bag by the handle and dragged a rolling bag behind. Imagine giant turtles walking upright, trying to drag a bag of deadweight behind, ready to topple over at any moment and you’ll have some idea of how we looked. To say we were an amusing sight would be a vast understatement. We must have looked absolutely ridiculous and on the morning of July 29^th, as we travelled from Laos to Thailand, that fact was driven home.

Now, the easiest way to travel from Laos to Thailand is definitely by air. It’s a simple process to travel by tuk tuk to the Vientiane airport and then fly to Phuket. But, by this time, Zenia and I were severely low on funds and traveling by air from one country to another in SE Asia is quite expensive. When planning our final adventure, Zenia and I discovered that it would be significantly cheaper to take a tuk tuk to downtown Vientiane, hop on a bus to cross the border into Thailand, and then take a red truck from the bus depot in Udon Thani, the first large city across the border into Thailand with an airport (and the city we stopped in on our original trip to Laos), to the airport and then fly to Phuket within Thailand. Travelling in this manner would save a great deal of money, but it presented certain problems in terms of logistics as Zenia and I now had a ridiculous number of bags. But, we were willing to take the chance in order to save a bit of money and so, on July 28^th we hired a tuk tuk driver to pick us up at our house in Vientiane first thing in the morning to take us to the bus station downtown.

When our tuk tuk driver showed up on July 29^th I don’t think he knew what to think of the sight of us. Two girls and eight bags – we managed to overload that tuk tuk. At first he stared in amazement at the shear amount of luggage, but in the end simply shook his head in disbelief, said something about farang (white people or Europeans, but pronounced “falang”), and loaded us into his tuk tuk to drive downtown. He drove us down to the bus station and unloaded our luggage onto a huge pile, much to the shock of all the other people waiting for buses. As Zenia left to get our tickets from the counter, I stayed with the bags on guard duty and watched as the local people stared in wonder at the shear amount of baggage we had compiled, pointing to us, chuckling, and muttering farang to one another. At first it was slightly humiliating, but after a while Zenia and I simply started laughing, enjoying our notoriety as those crazy foreigners who seemed to have bought all of SE Asia to take home. Our bus left at 10:30 am for the border, carrying more luggage for the two of us than any other passenger (and perhaps all the other passengers combined).

When travelling across the border, bus is by far the easiest method and one I highly recommend. Travelling across the river border between Laos and Thailand requires first stopping on the Laos side and exiting the country. You go through passport control and receive an exit visa from Laos, then reboard the bus, which travels across the river to the Thailand side. It is possible to walk across the bridge, which is probably about ¼ mile long, but it is much simpler to simply deboard and reboard a bus, which drives you across. When you reach the Thailand side, you go through the same process, deboarding the bus and going through passport control, this time to receive an entrance stamp and visa for Thailand and then reboarding the bus for the final journey to the bus depot at Udon Thani. At each stop you can leave your belongings on the bus, something Zenia and I were very grateful for as I’m not sure we actually could have made it through the lines with all of our bags (at the very least we would have been knocking people over right and left).

The process of travelling to Thailand was actually surprisingly easy, which perhaps should not be such a surprise as the bus companies have travelling between countries down to a fine art at this point. We arrived at the Udon Thani airport with plenty of time to spare for our 4:15 pm flight to Phuket and were able to enjoy the luxury of a Thailand airport, one with padded seats, quiet air conditioning, and a variety of food options. To say it was exciting would be a vast understatement. We had made it to Thailand, checked our bags, and were on our way to Phuket for some island adventures, our final trip in SE Asia!

Now, it would probably be helpful to say a little about Phuket. Phuket is the largest island off southern Thailand in the Andaman Sea. It is surrounded by dozens of smaller island, some simply 20 feet across, but rising much higher out of the sea and topped with trees and other plant life. Flying into Phuket is a revelation. As you get closer to the island you are greeted with beautiful, clear oceans a stunning shade of blue-green, and the dots of green islands poking out of the water everywhere. The island of Phuket is not exceptionally large from the air, but creates an exciting and entrancing sight as you come down, a beautiful island retreat.

We arrived on Phuket just at sunset and by the time we had collected our bags and arranged for a taxi to take us to our hotel on the opposite side of the island, to the main city on Phuket, it was fully dark outside. The drive from one side of the island to the other takes about an hour as the roads wind their way through mountains that run along the island from north to south. When our taxi reached Phuket, Zenia and I were quite tired from our long day of travel, but the sight of the city soon revived us. Phuket is a serious destination location for travelers from around the world and it can certainly be said that it is a city that never sleeps. The streets are lined with shops, restaurants, and clubs that stay open almost 24-hours a day, a sight we hadn’t seen for a long time. At that point, however, having been away from a noisy and bright city for a couple months, we probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep had we chosen a guest house downtown, so it was lucky for us that our guesthouse was located just on the outskirts of the downtown area and at the top of a small hill, affording us a measure of peace and quiet at the end of each day in Phuket.

Our taxi dropped us off at our guest house and we quickly checked in and were shown to our hotel room. Our room was one of the most beautiful sights I had seen in a long time. Our beds were double beds with regular pillows, sheets, and comforters (no plastic sheets beneath or odd, stiff sheets here). But the bathroom was the best part. At each place we stayed, no matter how nice, we had been forced to make do with SE Asian showers. This could consist of anything from a mere showerhead attached to the side of the bathroom wall, pointed toward the toilet and sure to spray the entire bathroom with water whenever it was turned on, to a step-in bathtub complete with shower curtain, but with a spray so weak it could barely wet your hair and produced only cold water. But in Phuket, the bathroom was a marvel – it boasted a walk in shower with glass doors and a showerhead that produced a wonderful stream of hot water. A true Western shower and never has a shower felt quite so good. Immediately upon finding such bounty in our room, Zenia and I took advantage and took long, hot showers, then changed into two of the dresses we bought in Cambodia and walked down the hill from our hotel to grab a red truck to downtown Phuket.

Upon arriving downtown, Zenia and I set out to find some dinner and stopped at a local outdoor eating area, almost like a food court, ordering a simple meal of pad see ew (my favorite Thai dish, but which turned out to be a huge mistake – more on that later). Following dinner, we strolled along the beach front, taking our shoes off to walk barefoot in the sand, and ordered some delicious crepe-like deserts from a cart bordering the beach. The air was warm and sultry, the water clear and warm as well, and we enjoyed our time just strolling along the beach, free of all cares. It was incredible and as we walked I could feel the worries draining away and I was ready to enjoy my island adventure. All too soon, however, our long day caught up with us and we headed to the main boulevard paralleling the beach to catch a red truck back to our hotel, ready to get some rest for the night and for more adventures the coming day. 

My Final Week in Laos

I have begun writing this entry and the ones that will follow in my mind a thousand times (not surprising since I finished my trip and left SE Asia over two years ago now), but something has always stopped me. Initially, I was simply too tired. Travelling away from home for three straight months can be rather draining regardless of how wonderful and exciting your trip. I had been living out of a backpack for three months, eating out for every meal, and constantly trying to adapt to new and very different cultures. I was, frankly, exhausted by the end of my trip. Additionally, returning home was more than slightly depressing. Going back to the same old routine of school – without pause from my travel – and trying to reintegrate into American culture brought on a serious case of the blues, preventing me from even considering finishing my blog for some time. Eventually, however, I realized that I needed to provide a conclusion to my trip and give my time in SE Asia its final pages. And so, here we are – the final stories of this bookworm’s adventures in SE Asia.

My last week in Laos was understandably nostalgic and more than a little sad. I had been living in this remarkable country for two full months now, had made friends in the local community, and learned the streets of Vientiane almost by heart. Zenia and I were putting the finishing touches on all our projects at work during the day and we spent each evening making the rounds of the city, saying goodbye to our favorite places and our new friends.

So Long, Noy’s Fruit Heaven

One of our first and most important goodbyes was made to our friends at Noy’s Fruit Heaven. You will all recall that Noy’s became one of our favorite spots in all of Vientiane, home to the most delicious pineapple-apple smoothies in the entire world. In fact, Zenia and I stopped there every single day after work to enjoy a fresh and refreshing drink. Over the course of our two months of daily visits we had come to know the two girls who ran the stand very well. Neither girl spoke any English and my Lao was extremely limited (basically: hello, how are you, I’m well, counting to ten, and “no egg” in that language, but that was the extent), so our friendship was built on the unique form of communication that crops up when people don’t speak the same language, but really want to communicate.

Each evening Zenia and I would ride our bikes up to the stand and begin our ritual. We would each look briefly at the stand to see which fruits were available that day and then would point to the fruit that caught our eye. Upon saying the names in English, the two girls would look at the fruit to which we were pointing and would then say the name back to us in Lao. After two months we had learned most of the names and could order our drinks in Lao, my favorite being a combo of mac-nat and mac-apun (“mac” is the word for fruit, while “nat” or “apun” describes the type of fruit), or pineapple and apple. Zenia and I would then sit at one of the tables outside and wait for our drinks. Once the girls finished, they would bring over the smoothies and sit at the table next to us and our conversation for the evening would begin. First, the girls would say something in Lao, pointing emphatically to us, our bikes, or random objects and making hand gestures in order to explain their comments or questions. Next, Zenia and I would attempt to discern what they were talking about and would respond in English, using similar gestures and pointing motions. This would continue until it became clear that we were talking about the same thing or not, usually with a 50/50 rate of correct guessing. After our conversation was concluded, Zenia and I would take our leave with much smiling and waving on all sides and assurances, in both languages, that we would return the next day.

And so, over time, we developed a friendship with these two young girls. (Names were never successfully exchanged as Lauren was too hard for most Lao people to say – the l’s and the r’s were problematic, so problematic in fact that one man I worked with at VFI called me Flower – and Zenia was equally confusing. Thus, as we couldn’t really understand what their names were either, Zenia and I referred to them as “the Noy’s girls” and I assume we were “the bike girls”.)  Zenia and I managed to explain that we were visiting from America and Canada for the summer and working in the city and they managed to tell us that they were from southern Laos, but had moved to Vientiane and were now working and living in the city. We all looked forward to our visits each evening and it was with heavy hearts that Zenia and I contemplated saying goodbye. We both realized that something more was needed than our customary communication process to properly say goodbye to these girls and so we wrote out a note in English saying how much we appreciated their friendship, how we were returning home in just one week, and how much we would miss them both. I then asked Chinda to translate the note into Lao for me and that evening we took it to our favorite place in all of Laos.

We arrived at the stand at our customary time, but were surprised to see only one of our friends there. We produced the note, however, to the one remaining and, with the help of some Lao men sitting at one of the tables, the note was read aloud and we finally held a more usual conversation with our Noy’s friend. One of the Lao men spoke some English and was able to translate. It turns out the other girl was called away home to southern Laos, but we were assured she would be read our note as well. We all exchanged hugs, well wishes for the future, and assured each other we would always remember our time and friendship. And thus, we said goodbye to our friends at Noy’s Fruit Heaven.

Farwell, VFI.

Our last week in Laos was also our last week at VFI. Naturally we had become good friends with all of the people there, making friends with nearly all of the staff and the locals who came by each day for English lessons in the afternoon. In the middle of our last week at VFI we were told that the we would be ending early on Wednesday for a lunch and party in the seating  and coffee area in front of the VFI office. Mid-morning a group of the women of the office and I went out to buy some traditional Laos food for our party. We went to some local stands just a few blocks away from the office and bought bags and bags of various meats, laap, kebabs, chicken-foot soup (ew!), and sticky rice. We set up a buffet table of food, the men brought out two cases of Singha Thai beer and everyone was invited outside to enjoy the festivities.

Before we began gorging ourselves on the bounty of Laos food spread before us, my supervisor, Na, gave a brief speech about the important work we had all accomplished at VFI during our summer and what it meant to them all to have us there. It was extremely touching to hear her speak about us in such glowing terms and how much they enjoyed our time at VFI. However, upon her conclusion, she clearly expected one of our group to give a similar speech about our feelings on our time in Laos and at VFI. The six of us looked at each other and waited for someone to step up to the plate and give a speech that we clearly had not prepared for. As I looked around, I could see the hesitancy on each face and as I had become the closest with our Lao friends of the entire group, I took it upon myself to say a few words. My speech went a little something like this:

Thank you all for this wonderful party. I have had the best time of my life here in Laos. Thank you for welcoming us all to VFI, into your country and into your lives. We have all made friendships here that will last us our lifetime and we will never forget you or the time we have spent in Laos. We have learned so much from all of you and you have made our lives better by being in them. I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I speak for both Zenia and myself when I say that we wouldn’t have wanted to be placed anywhere but Laos. Zenia and I have been doing a lot of travelling around SE Asia in the past three months and have visited Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam and I can tell you that Laos is by far our favorite. Not only in terms of food and sights to see, but also in terms of people. The Laos people are the friendliest and nicest people in all of SE Asia and it has been a privilege getting to know you all and becoming friends with you all. So thank you. We will miss you all terribly.

It was a speech given from the heart and I meant every word. I was hugged by all my new friends and then we began feasting and it was clear how well my new Laos friends had gotten to know me as they each drank Singha Thai beer, but gave me my very own large bottle of Orange Mirinda (orange soda) to drink instead. (Of course, they were all laughing at my distaste for alcoholic beverages during that time, but I chose to take that as a little friendly ribbing.)

Alveterzane, Vientiane.

Each evening of our last week in Vientiane was spent riding our bikes around the city and eating at our favorite restaurants. We also made time to visit some of the sites we had yet to see, stopping at a local temple and receiving a fortune (I still have it, but have no idea what it says), and simply riding around streets we had yet to see.

On one of these outings Zenia and I came across a strange rock creation we had never seen before. A simple spire built from old stone, it stood in the center of the street and had been simply built around, creating a roundabout on the road. Grass was growing up the sides and when we consulted our maps of Vientiane, we realized it was not even labeled. The structure seemed noteworthy, however, and as we found it terribly amusing that we had managed to miss this fairly massive structure during our two months of living in and riding around the city, we stopped our bikes to take some pictures. We were standing a good deal away from the structure and alternating poses in front of it when a man with a very large rifle came out of an entryway to our house and began to yell at us in Lao and motion us to leave with his gun. Zenia and I froze on the spot, unsure what we had done wrong, but as he continued toward us with the very daunting weapon, we decided that retreating was our best option. We put our cameras away, got on our bikes, and continued toward the structure and away from the guard. As we rode past the man, we saw a sign on the wall surrounding the house in front of which the guard was standing and realized it was an ambassador’s residence. Evidently, two foreigners taking photos in front of an ambassador’s home was a little suspicious and the guard had simply been ensuring we were not taking photos of the house, but it was a fairly terrifying event nonetheless.

The rest of our goodbye to Vientiane and Laos was less eventful. Our time in Laos was wonderful, but after returning our bikes and saying our final goodbyes, we were ready to leave for the last leg of our SE Asia journey, a quick trip to Phuket, an island in southern Thailand, and then a final week of de-orientation in Thailand with BABSEA.

Goodbye, Laos.

Having said goodbye to all of our new friends and favorite haunts in Vientiane, we were ready to actually take our leave. But that is the beginning of our Phuket story…

Vang Vieng Part 2 – Caving & Tubing

Our second cave of the day was called Cave Hoi and was quite different from our first cave explorations. This cave was formed by water running through the mountain, from the very pinnacle to the base. The water formed a huge tunnel through the base of mountain where 50 years ago (before deforestation in the region changed the water route) water flowed in a river. Now the cave system is almost completely without water except where it is bisected by a small stream running almost perpendicular to the old river path. We were unable to explore the entire thing as it is 2 km long, but what we did see was amazing. This cave is another limestone feature, but in this case, the river that used to run through it left something behind. Embedded within the limestone, projecting out into the main portion of the cave are huge clumps of small pebbles lodged within hardened earth and rock, reminiscent of a dried riverbed. In addition, the ceiling of the cave is composed of similar material, but with larger rounded river stones. We meandered our way through the cave, slogging through the crisscrossing stream at one point until we came to a bend in the cave where the stone floor changed to a stone strewn mess that we had no desire to navigate.

It was around noon when we emerged from this cave, so our guide led us about 1 km back down the path we had already trekked until we reached a small river where a bamboo structure was built extending over the rushing water. Lunch was provided with our tour, fried rice, kebabs, baguette, and fresh pineapple. We tried to take our time eating, but were actually famished from our trekking and caving adventures and fell on our lunch like ravenous wolves. As soon as we were done eating our guide came over and informed us that it was time to “swim to the water cave.” My eyes darted to the river that was rushing by at a very fast pace. I was sure I had misheard him. We looked at our guide again and asked, “Uh, swim to the cave? Not tube to the cave?” “No. Swim.” Okay…That seemed a bit extreme, so I was sure it was simply a language problem. Soon, however, he returned with a headlamp attached to a large battery that is worn around the neck, which he informed us was waterproof. It became obvious. We were going to swim through the river to the cave, which would be filled with water. Talk about an adventure!

Zenia decided swimming through a cave was just too much, so she stayed behind on dry land, while Kevin and I got loaded up with headlamps and proceeded to enter the rampaging river. To assist with our battle against the river currents we had a rope that we used to pull ourselves across the worst portion of the river. Our guide was quite emphatic about holding onto the rope with two hands or death would surely follow as we were swept downstream. He constantly shouted, “Two hands! Safety first!” As we moved away from the shore into the cold water I understood his instructions and grabbed onto the rope with no thoughts of letting go even if aliens came down in a spaceship over my head. My feet were immediately swept behind my body so that I lay horizontally along the top of the water, dragging myself sideways to the opposite side. The force of the water was incredible. It felt as if a thousand hands were dragging against every inch of my skin and clothing, trying to pull me away from the relative safety of the rope. We expected to reach the other side, but the rope did not reach the other shore, instead coming to an end about 10 feet away where it ducked into a crevice in the rock, leading to the interior of the cave.

The cave itself was filled with water (indeed, it’s called the Water Cave) and due to the high water level, which pushed us up toward the narrow top, only about as wide as twice the distance of my shoulders. We swam sideways through the cave, carefully holding on to the rock walls with one hand, while looking out for spiders and other creatures with our eyes in the handholds. The cave was very similar to the others we had seen, but made more interesting, perhaps, by the fact that we were swimming to see it. We only swam inside for about 5 minutes until we were forced to turn around and return to shore due to an increase in currents in the cave, which made swimming inside too treacherous for my state of mind. It was a difficult process as the cave was so narrow and you could only kick your feet in a small area directly under your body or else you would be kicking the rock walls. Standing back on the shore felt exhilarating, as if we had truly conquered something by swimming in that cave and it only occurred to me at that moment how truly stupid it was to swim into a flooded cave. Now that I look back on the experience I’m glad I did it, but probably won’t be doing it again for fear of death. :)

After we all emerged unscathed from river, we set off on a return journey to the Nam Song River where we would begin our tubing. As we walked down the path Zenia and I took stock of our appearance and were amazed to see that even though I had just been thoroughly drenched in the river I was still just as muddy and Zenia was only slightly more so. Evidently the water here is less powerful than the mud. We walked through muddy fields until we reached the river where we viewed one more cave (more of a cavernous room cut out of the side of the mountain) and then loaded into a wooden boat for a quick trip across the river. The river was so powerful at this point that the only way to get a boat across was to aim it upstream, run the motor as hard as possible, and drift to the other bank where you will arrive in a relatively straight line across the river from where you started. It’s quite an amazing current and a bit disconcerting when we considered the fact that we were expected to sit on a small tube and float downstream for 4 km or so.

We managed to make it safely to the opposite side, however, and got a tuk-tuk ride downstream to the area where the tubing starts. We were outfitted with lifejackets, handed a tube, and told to get moving. The process of entering your tube on the water is an interesting one and worth noting. It’s a very awkward process getting into an inner tube at first. You must start by finding a fairly calm area of the river where you tube will not be pulled away by the current immediately. Then, you drop the tube into the water, turn around so your back faces it, and allow yourself to fall backwards, hopefully aiming with enough precision that your butt falls into the center, legs across the edge of the tube and back propped against the other side. While this does not sound like a difficult process, it can be quite tricky and I can now attest from personal experience that there is simply no graceful way to do it. Once you are in the tube, your next job is to get yourself out into the current so you can begin your trip downstream. This involves paddling yourself backwards, arms restrained to a large extent by your lifejacket and the edges of the tube so that you look like a beached whale. As soon as the river catches your tube it is simply a matter of not running into the shore and enjoying the scenery. Luckily our guide was in a kayak with us and able to take care of the first requirement, which meant that we were free to enjoy our surroundings, which were incredible – mountains rising on either side of the river to soar majestically overhead.

We stopped at one bar along the side of the river, a process that involved catching a rope thrown out to us from the shoreline by locals and then waiting to be hauled in against the current. Zenia and I enjoyed our time relaxing and people watching before we set out on the river once again, this time finishing our trip down the river at Vang Vieng where we returned our tubes, said goodbye to our guide, and set off for our hotel for a much needed shower. At this point I had accumulated enough mud to appear the color of milk chocolate and was in desperate need of shower. Nothing has ever felt quite as good as that shower after our long day as rivers of mud washed off my skin and clothing. We spent the remainder of the evening exploring the town of Vang Vieng more and watching Friends while eating dinner with our reunited party (Vanessa, Ellie, Chris, and Lorena). It was an early night that evening as we were all quite tired from our long days.

This final trip was undoubtedly a success and I believe it was the best way to spend our final weekend in Laos.

Vang Vieng Part 1 – Trekking & Caving

Zenia and I awoke early, excited for our big day in Vang Vieng. We ate breakfast at a small café near our guesthouse and then set off to the travel agency (a 1 minute walk around the block) to await our ride. One of the brilliant things about using a tour is that all the little details are taken care of for you, such as arranging transportation. After planning so many vacations and trips over the past few months, we were very happy to allow someone else take care of all the details for us. So we waited at the travel agency for our tour to begin at 9:30 am, excited at the prospect of having no worries for an entire day.

Our tuk tuk arrived loaded down with kayaks strapped to the roof and a large group of people in the back. We joined the mob in the back of the tuk-tuk and set off on a road leading us about 15 km upriver. One of the options for these tours is kayaking on the Nam Song River, but Zenia and I had opted not to kayak as I have never done it before and it seemed like a pretty bad idea to learn on a rampaging river during monsoon season in SE Asia. Instead, we opted for a slightly easier tour package that included trekking, caving, and tubing. We arrived at the riverside in a small village (where the inhabitants don’t speak Lao, but a local language) and unloaded almost all the people from the back of the tuk tuk and the kayaks from the top of the vehicle. Zenia and I then loaded back into the tuk tuk and we set off again, going further upriver to another small village where we unloaded at our starting location.

It turns out our tour was much less popular than the kayaking option and in the end there were only three of us taking a tour with our guide, me, Zenia, and a man named Kevin (from England). This turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened. I mean, we received an almost private tour for the price of a group tour. :) We began our tour in earnest by trekking across a long valley towards the base of some tall mountains where quite a few caves are located. We hiked along a trail that led from the main paved road to a small village and the caves beyond. We walked beside canals and rice paddies that created a lovely escape from the horror of the road itself. You see, it rained in Laos a LOT in the last few days. In fact, it poured. The result of this downpour of water was a muddy, soupy mess of a roadway. The unpaved road was a muddy swamp that sucked your feet down into the morass of reddish-brown goo. Having come ready for some “easy trekking” and our tubing adventure later in the day, our feet were incased in flip flops. It wasn’t long before Zenia and I were splattered all over with mud, front and back, due to the flip of our flops. Each step sucked our feet down into the mud (unless we were lucky and there was a raised, drier patch of ground), forcing us to yank our feet out, which shot mud up into the air in all directions (mostly in the direction of a clean spot on clothing).

Luckily, we had also come prepared to get very dirty. During our walk around town on Saturday afternoon we had seen several people return from tubing on the river and had noticed that they all returned extraordinarily filthy. Therefore, I had purchased shorts, a tank top, and some sandals simply to ruin during our long day on the river and was prepared. So, the mud did not really bother me and as soon as I pointed out to Zenia that in the US and Canada we would pay hundreds of dollars for a Local Laos Mud Skin Rejuvenating Treatment, we agreed that we didn’t mind getting a bit dirty.

So, we trekked through the mud, tramping along the Laos countryside for about 4 km until we arrived at the first set of caves. The mountains in Northern Laos are astounding sights, imposing crags that are carpeted green at the base and along the top, but look as if someone took a cheese grater to the sides of the top, shredding off patches of forest and revealing the jagged stone beneath. The caves that riddle the base of these mountains were formed from the water that runs down through the mountain, causing huge caverns to be cut out of the limestone sides. There are four main caves that tours in Vang Vieng visit and the first stop covers two of them. The first cave is located a few hundred feet up the side of the mountain, requiring a short hike through some woods to reach the entrance. Unfortunately, I don’t know the local name for the cave, so we will have to call it the Buddha Cave. The cave system is comprised of three main large chambers with some small tunnels connecting each of the chambers to the others.

We entered the cave with only a single, small headlamp each to illuminate our way, which meant that we were unable to see much without some concentrated head angling and that looking at each other caused blindness as we flashed each other with our lights. :) The slight illumination made the caves even more mysterious and interesting, however. The first room was a fairly plain chamber, although huge, with a slanting floor that seemed to push the visitor from the entrance further into the depths of the dark. Once again the rain struck a vicious blow, having run into the cave and turned the floor into one slick mass of mud. Zenia and I relinquished our sandals at the entrance to the cave and proceeded inside barefoot. Simply making it 20 feet past the entrance was a test of strength, agility, and balance. We must have made a hilarious sight, slipping and sliding our way across the floors, legs randomly sprawling out to the sides and us catching our balance with our hands on the floor in the mud, just in time to prevent a disastrous fall on our butts that would have left us sliding across the floor with no real way to stop. It took us about 10 minutes to navigate our way inside the entrance to the first cave and even more time to make our way to some drier ground off to the side of the cavern.

Funny Story-
As we neared the bottom of the first chambers’ initial slope, Zenia let out a gasp and grabbed my shoulders, shifting me in my precarious position so that I was between her and some unknown object within the cave. Swaying in my spot, trying desperately not to lose my balance and plunge down into the mud where I was sure to slide across the floor of the cave to the far wall, I asked what was wrong. In reply, a shaky arm came up next to my shoulder, pointed into the distance and Zenia said, “I saw eyes!” At this moment I could just imagine what she was thinking, “A bear is here in the cave with us!” but I was thinking something more along the lines of, “Ooo! A dragon?” Excitement laced through me, mixed with a heavy dose of trepidation at the thought of a wild Laos beast in our cave. Fortunately and unfortunately, it was neither a bear nor a dragon. As I looked in the direction of her pointing finger, my headlamp illuminated the head and body of a black dog, the same dog that had been following us from the local village and through the mountains, into the cave. Yes, indeed. Zenia had seen the reflective eyes of the vicious cave dog – complete with wagging tail and smiling face. With a quick laugh by me, and a reassurance that there were no bears from our guide, we set off again.

The cave itself was beautiful and we enjoyed our periodic looks around, when our balance was enough secured to allow us to break from our extreme concentration on our feet. When it came time to move into the next two chambers Zenia opted to remain behind, tired of the arduous caving and already feeling some cramping in her legs and feet from the exertion. Keven, our guide, and I pushed on, however, and went deeper into the pits. Each room was more stunning than the last. The second was a large, plain chamber where, we were informed, local kids often liked to come to play a game of football in the dark. But the third was the best. This cave sported a pool of water at the far end where it collected from a continuous stream feeding down from the ceiling. It also had what was called a “snake rock.” This was a bit of limestone on the floor of the cave where the water had dissolved some of the rock, creating small channels on the floor where the water would run back and forth in serpentine streams, separated by thin rock walls. Once you stand below this series of switchbacks you can see a snake formed in the walls that jut out of the floor.

We spent quite a while exploring these caves, about 30 minutes in rapt fascination with our surroundings, before finally returning to the main cave and Zenia and then slowly making our way across the floor towards the entrance once again. In the end I gave up the fight of keeping any bit of myself clean and bent over to use my hands to assist hauling me up the slope while my feet kept trying to slide away from me. When we reached the outside world again it was something of a relief, if only to not be struggling against the slick mud. After a quick hike back down the hillside, we took another trail across the base of the mountain to our second cave of the day.

***I am now getting ready to leave Vientiane for Thailand by bus and cannot finish this day’s adventures at this time. Tune in tomorrow for the amazing conclusion to my Vang Vieng fun and some news about my travels back to Thailand and to the island of Phuket, the next stop in my journey.