Southern Sabai Sabai

After yet another easy ride (sorry again), we arrive on Don Khon, the more remote island of the 2 southern islands most backpackers go. Don Det, the other island, is known to be more "Island party backpacker", and I didn't want to go there. I find the "Island Party Backpacker" to be young, arrogant, culturally insensitive (although they think they are like the locals), wanna-be hippies. Three guys got off at Don Det before us and they fit the mold to a tee (sans dreadlocks). I said an internal thank you that the unanimous group decision was to stay on Don Khon instead.

Arrival to Don Khon led us to the search for a guesthouse, leaving our bags to be watched by Marj. We made a right and walked for 2km before we were all satisfied with a deal. After the little trek, we see a cute guesthouse literally right next door to where we got dropped off. We decided to scope it out, just in case. As we scoped out the potential new digs, Yens opened a bungalow door to peek in and we hear a yelp of sorts....apparently somebody was in there! As Yens begins his profuse apologies, he realizes the girl in the room was Ihsane, a Moroccan girl who Yens and Dane met previously along their travels. This world simply cannot get any smaller. Ishane expanded our crew to an extra level of fabulous, because that's exactly what she was: Fabulous with a capital F. We had dinner at a place with a nice sunset - food took about 2 hours, taking the concept of sabai sabai (take it easy) to a whole new level. However, the food was good and the nice atmosphere made it well worth it. We completed the evening with an awesome thunderstorm and walk back to the bungalow in the mud. 

The next day, our crew of 6 rented bicycles and biked the long way around Don Khon to avoid some ridiculous $3 rip-off fee. Glad we are so cheap because it made for a great day of biking and taking the beautiful scenic route. We had lunch at a restaurant near the beach and later on, Paul and Ihsane went on an adventure to see a waterfall while the rest of us laid around on hammocks, sippin on coffee shakes. What?! This is called integrating into Laotian culture. Sabai sabai and enjoying it! Another night of a late dinner, thunderstorm, walk home in the mud. I was enjoying it all.

Due to some sicknesses and desire for Sabai Sabai, Marj and I were the only ones to rent bikes to scope out the other island of Don Det for something to do. It was still a quiet location but the aura was different from ours: nothing but guesthouses, convenience stores and the smell of pot in the air which gave me a feeling of foreigner over-accommodation. Insert internal thank you here. However, we did get to see some expertise over-packing of janky delivery motorbikes by a Laos man - always impressive to watch. Despite the pure joy Marj and I get out of that (it doesn't take much), the best part of Don Det was bumping into New Zealand Gus, AGAIN! Unfortunately, Heidi and Liam were not with him but he ended up staying with us and joined Paul and I for the evenings excursion. 

These islands are known as the home of the rare and endangered Irawaddy dolphins, with only about 20 left. Boat rides to see them are promoted everywhere and we were all convinced it was just another scam...everyone except Paul, that is. He was convinced he would see dolphins. Despite my teasing about this the past 2 days, I found his enthusiasm sweet and decided to join him in the boat ride for the evening excursion, since nobody else would. But now we had a party of 3 since Gus was also into the dolphins. 

We rode bikes to the boat dock and got in a wooden boat with gramps. I'll tell you, the boat ride along the Mekong alone was worth it. The trees, including the roots looked windswept from the form they've taken on due to the current. Some of the most bad-ass trees I've ever seen. 

After about 20 minutes, Gramps stops the boat at a random rock, docks and tells us to look at the dolphins. Oh, ok. Once I had decided to go on this little excursion, I joined in on Paul's enthusiasm but was still surprised and super excited when I actually saw one! And then I saw it again and then another little guy popped up....and it went on like that for the 20 minutes we manned that rock. Granted, we saw them from afar, but close enough to distinguish an endangered dolphin popping it's scrumch little head out of the water with the naked eye.

Elated, we made our way back to share the news with our crew mates who, I'm pretty sure pretended to be excited. Off for another late dinner at the same place where we waited 2 hours, but enjoyed each others company. We had breakfast there the following day but didn't appreciate the wait as much since Marj and I were on a bit of a schedule. We were heading back to Thailand for a week and had a boat/bus to catch. Of course it all worked out and we were off to the Land of Smiles, a place I once called home and on some level, still do. A country that I love, but know intimately enough to have endured its frustrations.Yet this time I was going back as a tourist, no longer a PCV working there. Of the many emotions I felt, excitement was by far the most prominent and I was really looking forward to it.

Waterfall Mecca

I hate to disappoint, but the bus to Pakse provided us with another smooth ride (this is me assuming you get a kick out of the nutty bus rides as I do). We met a really nice monk who spoke decent English and really wanted to chat. We shared some food with each other and done deal, we were friends! Marj and I got a kick out of this woman on the bus that was so similar to many Thai women. She just talked and talked out loud throughout the bus ride - not to anybody in particular, and not really sure if anybody was listening, but she didn't really care....she just wanted to talk....at high volumes. It was funny to us, at least.

Once in Pakse, I was faced with a dilemma. My stomach still had seen better days, but I was confronted with Indian food and couldn't say no which, clearly I suffered for. As soon as I ate, I was in the bathroom. The poor restaurant owner thought his food made me sick so I had to explain to him the truth of my situation. Later, I went to a cafe to Skype with the fam briefly (awesome), before the cafe suddenly just shut off the wifi with no warning of closing. Thank you SE Asian communication skills. Late night, Paul arrived in Pakse to continue our travels together....it was great to have him back. 

The next morning we had a really sweet tuk tuk driver take us to the southern bus terminal to catch a song-taew to Paksong, the hub to explore the Bolaven Plateau (dubbed by Lonely Planet as the wild east). The bus terminal was pure craziness, in a fascinating way. It was small and over-crowded with song-taew's everywhere, tons of people loading bags and boxes. The station was surrounded by an enormous market, supplier of the freight (fruits, veggies and other goods) that was loaded. Our song-taew was no different and we delivered everything along the way to people who, we assumed, place orders as many locals don't have motorbikes or the big markets are too far away. It was quite the ride and we met some really sweet locals while squished in together, nice and cozy. Paul had recently gotten into snacking on raw veggies (I take full credit for his new habit), and sharing of fresh market snacks with the locals on the bus was nice.

The next day our agenda was chock full of waterfalls, what the area was most known for (oh, and cool weather, a lovely reprieve). We took a song-taew 10km from our guesthouse to the first beautiful waterfall, Tad Yuang. There was a stairway to a view point in the middle of the fall and then on to the bottom by walking through some little cave/tunnel things, which of course we did. The bottom of the falls were more powerful than I expected and we got soaked - it was great! There were some kids playing in the river at the top of the falls and an older, but still young guy laying in the river drinking a beer - he raised it in cheers....now that's the life! 

The second waterfall was called Tad Fane, 2 falls directly next to each other at 120 meters high. These were very beautiful, but you could only see them from a distance. Here, we stopped at a restaurant overlooking the waterfalls for a lovely lunch and people watching. The 3rd and final waterfall of the day was Tad Champsee and it was the most fun! It was a 2km walk through a nice village from the road. Once down at the base of yet another powerful waterfall, Paul spotted a raft with a pulley-rope that delivered you across the river and underneath the falls - we were like kids in a candy shop! We rafted to the other side (well, I did while Paul took pictures telling me how strong I was) and spotted a break in the falls. Despite our attempts to go the route with the break, we still ended up right in the midst of it and got soaked...it was awesome. Once we were back on the other side, we realized there was a walking path! We didn't care though, we were more than pleased with our mode of transportation. Back at the main road, it was after 6pm with no song-taew's on the road. Within 8 minutes, we hitched a ride back and scored a great view of the sunset - it was a great day. 

The Bolaven Plateau, ideally, is seen on a motorbike. There's a loop you can ride that allows you to hit all the main spots and we were determined to do this via public transport. The big disappointment was that public transport didn't ride on the Ho Chi Minh Trail part of the loop. But we did make it to Attapeau Province, which was a feat in and of itself, and ended up at a basic guesthouse with the cutest owner. Amidst a thunderstorm, we decided to watch a movie and left the room door open because it was so hot. The guesthouse owner took this as an invitation to come in, sit down on the bed and chat with us....only in these parts would one find this adorable rather than weird! 

Later on, beer on the river was a callin'. It being day 6 of diarrhea, I skipped the beer but enjoyed the lightening show in the sky from the earlier rain. Laos has some of the best lightening ever.

To see some sights around Attapeau, we hired a tuk-tuk to take us around. The first stop was to a Wat being built by monks. Attempts to the top of the mountain to see an area housing dead monks from years ago were made, but half-way there, the route was blocked. When suddenly we were approached by a curious monk, and what do you know? It was the same curious monk that chatted with Marj and I on the bus a few days prior! Such a mall world.  

The rest of the days visits included an original missile made by the Russians and Vietnamese to fight the Americans and a special Wat within a small village. In the village, I heard music and went to scope things out. There was a wedding in the hood and stopped at a nearby home to chat with a few locals. With the wedding as the opening conversation starter, I was naturally offered a marriage to a Laos man which I graciously declined. 

The next and final stop in the Bolaven Plateau was Tad Lo. Getting there via public transport was simple and were dropped off at the first guesthouse on a small block full of them. We were greeted by a German couple Yens and Dane we had briefly met earlier in our trip (seriously, such a small world) and Martin, a Czech guy managing the guesthouse. They had informed us that Martin was making Czech soup for dinner. We signed up immediately! 

With some time on our hands, we took a walk to Tad Hang, 1 of the 3 waterfalls in the area. In the evening, they release the dam making the water plentiful and powerful. Paul shared that as kids, he and his friends would have stick races: drop a stick in the water and whichever stick makes it to the finish line first is the winner. For fun, we played a few rounds before heading back for Czech soup and wait, get this, roasted potatoes. Its been a long time since potatoes went down this throat, so that was a special treat. 

The next day we rented a motorbike for a few hours to hit up Tad Suong waterfall, the big waterfall. Paul shuttled Marj and I back and forth, one at a time. It was a beautiful ride and it was great to be back on a bike. We got there and the waterfall was more a drizzle of water than a fall of water (not quite yet the rainy season). We walked to the top of the waterfall and I hiked a bit on a little trail in the surrounding woods. Back in Tad Lo, we went for a late lunch at Mamapops, their slogan being: big  food, small kip. And wasn't it the truth! Mama gave me the biggest bowl of noodle soup I've ever eaten and for the first time in my travels, was unable to eat it all!

Tad Lo waterfall, the waterfall of the town, was my favorite in this area. While enjoying the view, we met 2 French Canadian girls and everybody met later for drinks. It was a nice last night before heading to Si Phan Don, also known as 4,000 Islands, so we could get our relaxation on in the most southern tip of Laos.

Off to the big city!

When deciding our next stop after Phonsovan, I debated between 2 places simply to break up the long journey to our main destination, Pakse, hub of the south. One option was Tha Kaek, the province directly across the river from my hood in Thailand, this being a big draw for me. There is also a famous cave outside of Tha Kaek, but I knew it was the kind of cave that you simply took a boat ride through and I like a cave that makes me work to appreciate it (i.e. caves in Sagada, Philippines). Savannakhet, a city further south sounded appealing. Lonely Planet called it charming and said it was the second biggest city in Laos after Vientiene, the capital, but more authentic. Since we were not going to Vientienne, Savannakhet sounded like a good option. The fact that Pauline and Marion were going was also a big attraction for us. Savannaket it was!

The ride was smooth with the exception being that my stomach was in shambles. Pretty much everybody gets sick in Laos, so I figured this stint of diarrhea was the hand I'd been dealt. Our first morning in Savannakhet, Marj and I went out for a little stroll and it didn't take long for us to be convinced that Lonely Planet didn't know what they were talking about. To call this a city was pushing it, and then to say it's the 2nd biggest in the country is a joke. And charming we  were not finding it!  

Positive note: we had known it was Rocket Festival time throughout the country. This festival takes place in the very beginning of the rainy season to request rain from the Gods to have a healthy rice season. What better way to aggravate the Gods and bring on the rains than shooting enormous rockets in the air? I can't think of any either. Often, the rockets are shaped as penises because the impoliteness of this will piss off the Gods more. It's also known as the Fertility Festival (product being rice, the most important thing in their lives) and well, penises assist in "fertilization". They are clearly clever folk. The region in Thailand I'm from celebrates this same festival excluding a few provinces, mine being one of them, so I'd never experienced it during my Peace Corps days. Each village celebrates on a day of their choosing and we were in luck as Savannakhet was celebrating the festival on this very day!

We met up with the girls later that morning and their excitement about the city surprised us. Within the hour of strolling around, they fell in love with it because they find beauty in almost anything. After 2 days in this town, I ended up loving it too....I believe it was because of them.

The 4 of us, the only tourists around for miles (Awesome), spent the afternoon at the Wat (temple), watched traditional dancing, making of music and the main attraction, setting off rockets. The celebrations, traditional garb, music, dancing and food were exactly like the celebrations in my Thai village. Marj, who lived in central Thailand, had never experienced anything like it, which shows how my region is more similar to Laos than Thailand. 

Later, we stopped at a place serving this vegetable herb shake that was  known as a Savannakhet specialty. It tasted, well, like vegetables mixed with too much sugar, but the best part was the man who lived there. A Thai man, named Watt, moved to America when he was 19 to study and lived there for 30 years. Through friends, he met his current Laos and he moved there 2 years ago. He was such a cool guy, very smart, totally tatt'ed up and really took care of us while at his home. He showed us birds of his, eagles, that were babies. I was upset because I believe all birds should be free, especially those suckers. But he explained that he buys the captured animals from the local markets, such as these birds, and sets them free. He does this with any captive animal he can find: iguanas, snakes, you name it, he saves it. Made me love him even more! 

The following day we set off for the museum and exhibition, but since Savannakhet is the sleepiest place ever, everything was closed. We passed by the local hospital and interested to learn more, we asked to speak with a doctor for a few minutes, time permitting. We spoke with an English speaking female doctor who told us most of her patients have Dengue Fever and Malaria this time of year (I found this funny because the Laos nurses in Sam Nuea told us malaria is no longer a problem in Laos! One never knows!). The doctor looked worn out and exhausted and she explained it's because each hospitals biggest problem is they are understaffed. The government sets a doctor quota for each hospital and they won't pay for anything more than that. Gabby, Swiss volunteer doctor, previously told us the government often doesn't even pay the salaries it sets the quota at so it leads to the attitude of "I'm not getting paid, so I'm not going to work". I can understand that, it just leads to many untreated people. Another Laotian we met said doctors will only treat people with money, and if they have none, they don't help them. Clearly, there are no health insurance policies.

The infant mortality rate is shockingly high at 4%, largely because people do not have the money to pay for a proper delivery. To address this, the government recently implemented free deliveries for everybody. But of course there is more than 1 factor to this problem! The doctors who deliver are in the big town/cities, so people in rural areas (which is most of the country) must wait for hours to find a ride. Transportation here to any destination, regardless of distance, can take an entire day. I mean, when I say these people are poor, I mean they are poor. So, this free delivery system certainly is well intentioned but doesn't address all of the factors to the problem. What the country needs is more local health stations with trained midwives who can deliver safely and provide pre-natal care close to or in home. 

The discussion with the various doctors here! made me recognize how this would be a great Peace Corps country. I spoke about this in depth with a Laotian man who was curious about my time in Thailand who believed that Laos would benefit from a similar program. I couldn't agree more, but I shared with him that it's a service through the American government and we must be invited by a country. This is just my opinion, but I believe because of the sad history we have here, the Laos government wouldn't trust our good intentions. What he said next blew me away: But that was so long ago, Laos people are OK with all that happened, we want to move on, we want to develop and improve. 

Maybe America has offered PC services and Laos has declined, or maybe America has simply never offered, I don't know. Either way, this country could use some assistance - I believe the people would be so receptive. I spoke about PC in Vietnam with Peter the Easy Rider I biked with, and he flat out told me that the Vietnamese government would think PCVs were spies. This is not an uncommon thought and PCVs usually laugh about it; I had to convince a Thai man once I wasn't a spy for the CIA. But considering the history we have in this part of the world, well, I can't say I'd blame them. It's a shame.

Back to reality in Savannakhet - the 4 of us carried on to have a lazy, lingering day stopping for food and staying for hours just talking. As we were walking, Marj was approached with a hug by Gus, one of the awesome New Zealand guys we met in Vietnam. Following him came Liam and Heidi! We spent some time catching up and ended up at a massage place serviced by the Laos Association of the Blind. Instead of a massage, I spoke with the leader and founder, Sai Ngeun. He had a sweet 2 year old daughter who took to me as soon as I showed her an interest. I was amazed by Sai Ngeun's enhanced senses - every time his daughter went too close to the street, he could sense it it and went to retrieve her. He shared with me the Nepalese massage style training his workers went through that provided my travel buddies amazing massages. He said that business was challenging because nobody knows of the services - good people deserve good things so I'll be promoting his services via Trip Advisor (041-252419;020-555-955-36).

We all had a lovely dinner on the Mekong River - it was quite beautiful and peaceful. Later at our guesthouse, I met 2 Laotian men from Vientiene and had great discussions with them comparing Thailand and Laos. We agreed that Thailand is developing too quickly for its own good.....just add it to the list  of interesting conversation on these travels. They also generously gave me a few glasses of their boxed red wine. It had been a while since red wine went down this throat, so that was real special. 

The following morning, Marj and I were off to Pakse. It was quite hard to say good-bye to Pauline and Marion. We really connected and I just found them to be exceptional women - I can't wait to learn what they will be doing 10 years from now because I know they'll be doing something amazing. Til then......

The Secret War

The Secret War.....sounds so scandalous (Now, that's a lot of s's), no? It's the perfect name because that is exactly what it was, a scandalous mess.

My basic understanding of the Vietnam War was ultimately to fight Communism. The story of the Secret War in Laos is similar and it became a target for many reasons:  

1) America was supporting the anti-communist Royal Laos Government and was against the Pathet Lao Communist party. 

2) Laos was supporting their friend Vietnam with parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail running through central and southern Laos to transport men, goods, food, weapons, etc.

3) Geographically Laos is positioned in between Vietnam, the enemy and northeastern Thailand, an American base (fairly close to my province). From Thailand, American planes had to pass over Laos to get to Northern Vietnam. 

Northeast Laos has a history no country aspires to - it is the most bombed place in the entire world. Over 9 years (1964-1975), the American CIA dropped 2 million tons of bombs from the air in this area alone. They had 280,000 official missions, averaging 3-10 bomb raids per day. That's 2 tons of bombs per person (denominator being Laos population at the time). This equates to more bombs dropped in Laos compared to the number of bombs dropped in Germany and Japan combined during WWII. Cluster bombs were used, a crater that holds many small bombs and when released from the air, they spin and detonate upon hitting the ground. Bombs were dropped all over the area with hopes of killing not just Laotian soldiers but Laos farmers, children, grandmas/grandpas....everybody. As far as money goes, our government spent 2 million USD per day to destroy the people of Laos. 

It's said that for 9 years, the U.S Congress had no idea this was happening. The American people were completely unaware and misled (that's my nice way of saying that Americans were lied to) throughout as well, hence the 2 names for it: the Hidden War or the Secret War.

Vieng Xai, a small town in this region (for reference, read the previously written blog) is home to 486 natural caves. We went on a tour of these caves with a local tour guide named Neg and an audio tour which was super informative and for once, very objective. Neg, knowing that Marj and I were American, would apologize before he provided any negative information about what was done by the Americans. He was trying to be polite, but this didn't curb my embarrassment. 

These bad ass caves were used as protection during the many years of bombing. The Leaders of the Communist Party (there were 9 of them) all lived and planned the retaliation for independence inside of them. The caves also housed people, schools, hospitals and daily life existence. Bombs came daily and usually at random points during the day, so farming was done at night. Sometimes even the caves were not safe as one known bomb raid hit directly inside the cave, killing the ~400 people living in it. 

Laos people, particularly people of the H'Mong tribes that America convinced to fight for us, were taught to shoot bombs from the air at things like ducks because that meant there was human life in the area. Even once the Vietnam War ended and American planes had to get out of dodge and back into Thailand territory, pilots were ordered to drop the rest of their bombs over Laos to get rid of them. They didn't want any unused ammunition to come back into Thailand. I mean, I just can't make this stuff up.....  

The Plain of Jars areas that we visited was also heavily bombed by air raids over the course of 9 years. Some of the jars were destroyed but not as many as one would think, considering the large number of bombs dropped over the area. Of all the bombs dropped throughout the country (mostly northeast, but also central and southern regions) 30% were never detonated. This means that there are still 600,000 bombs (known as "bombies") sporadically laying around just waiting to be detonated. When, how and by whom are these bombies detonated you ask?  Well, think of kids playing around and picking up something that looks like a fruit to eat or a small ball to play with. Or think of a farmer tilling his land, or building a school/home/hospital, or basically think of doing anything in your daily life. These are the things that can and do detonate these bombies.  

Curious about what happens when the bombies are detonated? People die. Still. Every day. Over 30 years later these bombs continue to kill at least 1 person every day.  Many more live through the trauma but end up maimed, disfigured and disabled. Well, our tuk-tuk driver and Plain of Jars guide, lost his 2 closest friends when he was 15. Naturally curious, the kids picked up a bombie to play with and they blew up. Neg, the cave tour guide, shared with us that his pregnant sister-in-law died 5 years ago from a bombie while she was farming the families land.  

There is an amazing British non-profit organization called Mines Advisory Group (MAG) that train local Laos people to do Bombie cleanups and to educate communities about how to identify them and what to do if they are found. MAG has done much clearing, especially at the Jars site, but nothing is 100% cleared. The clearing of bombs is very time consuming and costly. At the Plain of Jars, visitors must stay in the MAG identified path or risk the chance of detonating a bombie. Sound scary? Think about the many locals who call this land their home, use this land for their homes, farms, schools, and hospitals. Think about how many children think bombies are something to play with and realize it's not, only after it's too late.  Or how many people set one off by providing food to feed their family. For many, it's a matter of taking the chance or starving. 

Laos remains one of the poorest countries in the world, largely because the use of their land is a danger. Income generating occupations that require land, such as agriculture and tourism, cannot be developed upon. Forget income generating, simple life sustaining farming is taking a chance for life. How are people supposed to live and support their families? And yet, the Laos people see it simply as their way of life. Nobody complains or demands, they just accept - I can't understand it, yet I admire their mentality.

In addition to this awful story, let me share more sad news with you. During the war years, the CIA was supporting the growth of opium in the region. They were using the American pilots to deliver heroin all over the place. It's noted that there were more American, Vietnam/Laos War soldiers addicted to heroin than there were addicts amongst the entire American population. I can't help but think the support of opium farming was for more than the money; I have a theory that the CIA wanted our soldiers mixed up in that nonsense because they'd be more likely to do whatever was asked of them without question. And from what I've gathered, our soldiers were trained to kill everybody, ruthlessly, mercy to nobody. I'd need some drugs to be able to follow through with those orders.

The highest peak in Laos, Phu Bia, was home to the American secret base during this war (don't forget, the Royal Laos Government and America were in cahoots, so America had internal support). Apparently, this base still exists and the American government pays the Laos government (may I remind you, pays a Communist government, one that caused us to kill millions) quite the pretty penny to maintain the guarded base and forbid foreign visitors, making this a "secret zone". Will the secrets ever end?

This atrocity in Laos is called the "Hidden War" or "Secret War" because only the CIA was involved and kept the rest of our government oblivious to it all. I don't know about you, but I find this hard to believe. Could the CIA really have done so much damage and used so much money and other resources without Congress ever knowing it? Did our President know and lie every time he publicly spoke to the people he was representing or was he also taken advantage of? We have been told so many lies, how will we ever know the whole truth? 

The Wild Northeast

The 16 hours to Sam Nuea actually wasn't too bad.  I mean the first 6 hours we were surrounded by more things than people.  Apparently, the attendant wasn't putting any freight underneath the bus, so it was all going on the bus: bags and bags of God knows what was in many of the seats and the aisles.  Walking the aisle was like jumping stones crossing a river.  People were getting on and off constantly and each time, lights went on to figure out a way to get their crap out of the disorganized pile of things.  We were the last few to get picked up so we sat in the back with the majority of stuff in a huge pile. All the locals staring at us like they couldn't believe there were foreigners getting on the bus.  Once again, it all made for a more interesting ride. No A/C so we opened windows for a cool, night breeze.  It was actually nice to be cold after the intense heat of the past week. One thing you can count on during these bus rides is the side of the road pee stop. Typically, only one official stop is made for food, but that's not enough for a 16 hour journey so side of the road pee stops are made; everybody gets out and pees in the bushes, women, kids and me included! We woke up in the morning to beautiful view after beautiful view of mist over the mountains, which thanks to Paul, we got some good shots of.  

We got to the bus station but had to go to the other bus station to catch the hourly song-taew to Vieng Xai, where we were headed for the caves of the Hidden War (about 30km from Sam Nuea). We got this information from guide books and internet travel information. When we actually got to bus station number 2, the conversation with the attendant went like this:  

Me: We would like to go to Vieng Xai by song-taew.

Attendant: oh, the last one left at 9am.

Me: Ok, is the next one at 10am

Attendant: No, there are no more.

So much for the guidebooks providing guidance. The attendant got all flustered because she couldn't give me what I wanted so she put me on the phone with some guy who says there's a local bus, but it'll drop us off 5 km from the center of town. We figured we would walk if we had to, or hitchhike (which I'd never do with just marj and I, but Paul was with us - hitch hiking is pretty common around these parts and I've done it numerous times in Thailand). After some confusion we get on a rackety bus, with locals staring once again, surprised there are white folk on the bus. It was a beautiful ride and the bus ended up dropping us off 600 meters from center of town, rather than the 5km we were expecting. I love it when things end up working out.

We walk the 600 meters or so in the blistering heat, tired and hungry, and stumble upon the only other foreigners within miles.  It was a relief to see them drinking coffee, knowing they could be of assistance (as it turns out, those guide books I told you about became less and less reliable with every step we took) and that coffee was in our future.  The 2 foreigners were an absolutely lovely couple, Jacob and Christina, from Czech Republic and showed us where to get a cheap place to stay in this adorable, sleepy town.  We got food and met a french women running a Women and Children's program through Doctors without Borders. It was interesting to talk to her and gather some health information here - that always gets me going.  We carry on to the Cave Information Center and we pass a statue of Laos people stepping on a USA bomb in victory. I had done a bit of reading about this Hidden War, but this statue spoke volumes to what I had been so ignorant to and would learn a lot about over the next few days. 

Later that evening we went back to the same restaurant for dinner. An Indian man runs the joint; he moved to Laos 4 years ago to work in the mines and opened this restaurant 6 months ago. He spoke fluent Laos and English and was a gem. His Indian food also rocked my world.....we completely overate and Marj hit the sack early after the long stint of traveling. When I went to the room later that night, Marj was sick. She had all the symptoms of malaria, which I had heard was still prevalent in Laos.  I did the math and the incubation time would've meant a mosquito bite from our time in Luang Namtha where Marj spent 2 days kayaking on a fairly stagnant lake, in the midst of the jungle with many mosquitoes.  I was concerned but it was late and figured I'd see how she was in the morning.  

Next morning she was still not well.  Paul, despite him being English, was raised in East Africa and has had malaria many times; he suggested Marj get tested.  We went to the local health clinic and we learned they test and have medicine but it was Saturday and they don't test on weekends, go figure.  The more time went by, the more I thought Marj was dehydrated and / or had heat exhaustion, but we didn't want to take any chances so we decided to go to Sam Nuea where there was a hospital.  Sam Nuea is still a remote and small town, but it was our best option.  Transport back and forth between Sam Nuea and the even more remote Vieng Xai, is not easy to come by, so we hustled to get on a song-taew with Jacob and Chrisitna.  The ride in the song-taew was not comfortable and I imagine awful for somebody not feeling their best, but we got there an hour and a half later. 

I'm actually really glad we ended up going to the hospital because it was a really good experience, sans Marj being sick.  As it turned out Marj was, thankfully, free of malaria, typhoid fever and lime disease. She had heat exhaustion, was dehydrated and exhausted.  The nurses/ladies at the hospital were unbelievably helpful and patient. I was impressed with how clean the hospital was - much nicer than many of the hospitals I've been to in Thailand. I was unable to understand some of the medical terminology of the blood results, so they brought over a Laotian doctor who spoke English well to help. Through this doctor, we met 2 Swiss ladies: Gabby was a doctor and Claudia was a midwife. They use their 5 weeks of vacation every year to volunteer through a program that sends them to the same hospital to assist with Ob/gyn related issues, train staff and provide equipment. They were remarkable women and really helpful with Marj. While Marj rested, Paul and I went out to lunch with them and randomly bumped into Christina and Jacob who also joined us. It ended up being a nice afternoon.  

Our song-taew guy came back to the hospital later that day to bring us back to Vieng Xai where Marj slept until the next morning. I went for a run through this lovely little village. Huge karst limestone popping out everywhere. I'd look up and be right next to this beautiful and enormous mass of limestone and was impressed each time. Later that night, Paul and I went back for dinner at the Indian place for another nice evening. The next morning, we hit the caves with a tour guide named Neg who was a young 30 year old Laotian man. We learned a lot about the Hidden War and the caves through this tour, but the next blog will include details.

After our tour, we went back to our Indian guy for some delicious Laos food. We left later that afternoon back to Sam Nuea as we were moving on to a new destination the following day. Of course there was haggling and much debate before actually getting a ride - you have to work for everything here, but we made it. Marj was still run down so she relaxed the rest of the afternoon in Sam Nuea. Paul and I walked around the lovely town and ran into Gabby and Claudia again, the 2 Swiss volunteers.  We ended up spending the night with them, drinking, eating and having a great time. We went to this little fair (when I say little, I mean little!) with a game or two where Gabby and Claudia were determined to win a stuffed pillow by shooting 3 darts into balloons.  We all tried and nobody succeeded, but we had fun trying. I bought some of the grossest, sweetest "ice cream" I've ever had and we had a few laughs mocking the market clothes. It was a fun night with 2 very cool women.

The next morning, we walked to the bus station to catch the jankiest bus I've ever been on heading to see the Plain of Jars in Phonsavan. The bus didn't actually look neglected, but once we started driving, I felt like we were on a roller coaster with the little engine that could through the mountains.The van would randomly stall out and the man who regulated the van would get out and place a huge brick behind the wheel so it wouldn't roll back. And as much as I like roller coasters, this was not a fun one. The ride was so bouncy that we would periodically fly out of our seats and slam back into non-cushiony chairs. When this would happen, the brick would fall out of the back of the truck and the van guy would run out to retrieve it. But the driver would never stop the van and wait for him for fear we wouldn't be able to get moving again, so the van guy would have to run back while holding this huge brick. Despite the discomfort, the ride was kind of funny to me. The nice thing about the ride was meeting 2 french girls, Marion and Pauline and an English guy, Shaun. We were glad when we all arrived and set out in the rain to find a place to stay. We chose a place run by an Italian man named Marcello who was married to a Laos woman who ran the show. 

The following day Paul, Marjie, Shaun and I got a tuk tuk out to visit one of the Plain of Jar sites.  Well, a tuk tuk driver and guide rolled into one took us. The Plain of Jars is a plain covered in large stone jars. There are many questions about these jars and fewer answers. The jars are guesstimated to have been in this location since 500 B.C. A written Laos language was created only 300-400 years ago and so there are no written records. The stone they are made of resembles absolutely nothing in the area and so nobody knows where the stone/materials came from to make them. Research has been done to determine a mixture of other materials to make the stone, but none of that stuff resembles stone nearby either. Yet, researchers have ideas of what the jars were used for, which is pretty interesting: to hold whiskey, to cremate dead bodies in, or both! Later that afternoon we visited an organization called Mine Advisory Group (MAG) - I'll share information and the experience of all of this in the next blog. 

We wanted to leave the next day, but the bus was broken and needed some fixing, so we hung around on day 2 and relaxed (I went for the 2nd of only 2 runs in Laos). Paul left this afternoon as he was carrying on to a few other places that Marj and I were not going to, but we planned to meet again in a few days. Marion, Pauline, Marj and I went out for dinner and I got a chance to really get to know these young, remarkable women. They were both positive, creative, idealistic and cared so much about people. Pauline aspired to be a women's doctor while Pauline was a dancer and an artist. They gave their left over food to a poor man outside of the restaurant, willingly, not because it was taken from their hands which has happened a lot in SE Asia. They had a genuine love and belief in people and it was inspiring. They were 24 years old, but were well beyond their years, old souls for sure.

After dinner, us 3 girls were interested in checking out the local club. There is a curfew in Laos in most guesthouses (10:30pm) but every guesthouse has someone who sleeps downstairs if anything should come up and who will let those in who come in after curfew. We ran into Marcelo and told him we wanted to grab a beer and he wasn't very pleasant in his way of telling us that we couldn't come in after curfew. Even though Marcelo had been cool to talk to, we all discussed how his wife was basically his slave. It was the typical "farang man with Laos woman" situation that is so prevalent and awful in Thailand, and throughout Asia. So we decided to take our chances and went out for a beer.

The club was bumpin......with a bunch of teenage boys. Many approached us just to practice their English and all were still in high school, it was crazy. There were like 10 girls in the club, but none approached us and Pauline was really curious about them so we approached a few. They were much more shy than the boys, clearly not as confident in their English skills so I spoke to them in Laos. The girls were 16 years old....we couldn't believe it! It was a random week day too and we couldn't understand why they were at a club.  It was a little sad. 

We got back to the guesthouse a little after 12, almost 2 hours after curfew. Let me state that I've shown up much later after curfew in other guesthouses and nobody has ever given me a hard time. We Marcelo was clearly not happy and showed his discontent with us the following morning. Our justification was that we finally made him, rather than his wife, work for a change so it was a good thing for him! Either way, the 4 of us gals said our good-byes to our friend Shaun and set out to the next destination.