Adam’s Not Here

We are in Vientiane at the moment before heading to Cambodia via Thailand. Laos is an insanely beautiful country. I think I am going to run out of adjectives to describe the scenery. Luang Prabang was really nice, it certainly deserves its UNESCO World Heritage designation. On our third day there Melissa and I went biking around the city and its surrounding area. It was so nice to be on a bike again. It wasn’t until I started pedalling that I realized how much I missed biking around the city back home. It was also good to get some exercise. There is a lot of walking when travelling but it is not that intense, one starts to feel a bit out of shape.

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Date: 07/03/2005Views: 633

From Luang Prabang we went down to Vang Vieng which is sort of a dumpy little backpacker town. The bus had a guy on it with an AK-47 because apparently buses sometimes get attacked on route 13 (the road to Vang Vieng and Vientiane). However, the only excitement on the ride was an hour long delay due to a truck that had driven off a cliff. Vang Vieng itself isn’t much to look at, but the surroundings are unbelievable. We did a couple treks around the area. For the first one we went caving (one of them was filled with water and so we had to traverse it using inner tubes - so much fun). Leaving Vang Vieng, we did a kayaking tour through whitewater rapids towards Vientiane. It was about 2 or 3 hours of kayaking and then we got driven the rest of the way.

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Date: 07/05/2005Views: 751

Vientiane is an odd city. It really doesn’t feel like a capital city. There isn’t much to recommend it esthetically and it seems fairly quiet. Tomorrow we are going to make our way to Siam Riep (in Cambodia) to see Angkor Wat. The map indicates a fairly direct route through Thailand to get there but I am having trouble finding buses that run along it. So we’re still trying to decide whether to take the beaten path back to Bangkok and then over to Cambodia or see whether it is possible to traverse this ‘fun’ direct route.

I am writing this at an Internet Café in Luang Prabang, Laos. At the computer next to me sit three monks. Their robes are a brilliant saffron colour. We saw them all over Thailand too. I have desperately wanted to take their picture, but have been shy about asking. Is it rude to photograph a monk?

It was a three day journey from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang. We took a bus to the border where we stayed the night in Chiang Khong. The next morning we crossed into Laos and boarded the “slow boat.” It was about 7 hours on this boat until we reached the town of Pakbeng. Not much going on there, but it was a nice little town. The next day we completed the journey with another 8 hours on the slow boat. It was a peaceful journey and a nice way to see the beautiful scenery along the Mekong River. But man is my butt sore, those seats are hard. The boat was very full, so it was difficult to get up and walk around.

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Date: 07/01/2005Views: 575

Apparently when Laos was created, the French mispelled the name by adding the ’s.’ So everything here is Lao. The scenery and the people seem fairly similar to Northern Thailand, but at the same time there is definitely a different vibe here. The country seems to have a fair bit less exposure to the West and the rest of the world in general than in Thailand. In Thailand a lot of places felt like they were made just for the tourists. Here it seems more like people have their own lives. Sure it is touristy here too, but it does feel different. It is little things like lots of kids running around the streets, and not seeing any 7-11s.

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Date: 07/02/2005Views: 535

While I am enjoying this trip immensely, there are certainly times when I feel conflicted about it. Walking through market after market with stalls catering to Western tourists makes me feel uncomfortable. I feel bad when I see these people in the position where they are catering to Western wants to make their living. And at the same time, I don’t like buying these things. People who do are at least giving these people something. I think this is a big reason why I am really looking forward to China. This trip was basically designed to get the experience of living somewhere else. I love being here, but I feel uncomfortable in the shoes of a tourist.