The Laos Experience

Since we first arrived into Southeast Asia a few weeks ago we've been searching for an opportunity to volunteer our time to help a good cause. The opportunity finally presented itself when we stepped off of the slow boat in Luang Prabang, Laos. Luang Prabang is a historic French colonial town surrounded by jungle-covered mountains at the junction of the Mekong and one of its tributaries. This quaint little town ended up being the perfect place to settle down for a little over a week and spend some time volunteering.

We found an organization called Big Brother Mouse which publishes children's books to distribute in villages throughout Laos. The books are published in both Laos and English and aim to improve the low literacy rate of children in the country. In Luang Prabang, the ability to speak English is vital for a job in the service or tourism industries, which account for the majority of jobs in the area. Since the schools are out for the summer in Laos, Big Brother Mouse is open in the mornings for kids to stop by and work on their English conversation skills. (How many kids in the US would willingly spend their mornings studying during their summer vacation?) During our time in Luang Prabang, we spent every morning at the Big Brother Mouse center helping the local children practice their English. The kids were between 14-22 years old and their English skills ranged from below kindergarten to highschool level. Most days there were only three or four of us "westerners" and 10-15 locals, meaning we'd each work with 3 or 4 kids. We would spend the mornings reading books, playing games, answering their sometimes difficult English questions, and working on pronunciation. (There's now a handful of kids running around Laos with perfect Minnesota accents).

Hard at work at Big Brother Mouse:
After volunteering in the mornings, we'd spend the afternoons enjoying Luang Prabang and the beautiful surrounding areas.

Exploring the local villages outside of town by bicycle:

Hanging out with the kids from Big Brother Mouse. We spent one afternoon visiting their villages and meeting their families. Another day we took them out for fruit smoothies and french fries at a tourist restaurant, the first time either had been to a restaurant or had french fries...and they're both 17 yrs old.
Enjoying the food. If anyone goes to Luang Prabang find this woman and try the delicious fried, steamed pork-filled dumplings with chili sauce she sells on the street...best food we've had in SE Asia so far:

Visiting the waterfalls near town...an awesome series of cascades, falls, and even a natural infinity pool:
Spending time with the local silk weavers (definitely a highlight for Rachel since she studied textiles in college):
Doing our part to help the local economy by shopping at the night market:

Wandering around town with the monks.

Slow Boat Down The Mekong

The Mekong River...just the mention of its name conjures up images of lush, tropical landscapes inhabited by remote, exotic cultures. The Mekong binds together the best of Asia, as it begins its journey in China and works its way through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam before eventually emptying into the South China Sea.

Now, imagine a 3-day excursion through this kaleidoscope of cultures.

On day one you depart from the ancient city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. An air-conditioned bus brings you 6 hours north through terraced rice paddies, towering limestone peaks, and endless green jungles. The first night is spent in Chiang Khong, Thailand - a popular market village for local hill tribes on the border of Laos. The second day, after crossing into Laos, you board the slow boat from Huey Xai en route to Luang Prabang. Over the next two days you'll lazily travel down the Mekong past ancient hill-tribe villages, dense jungles, and crumbling ruins of forgotten empires.

On this relaxing journey you'll spot local villagers fishing from their traditional wooden canoes, water buffalo grazing on the riverbanks and maybe even some of the more elusive wildlife - tigers, leopards, elephants, and bears.

Sounds romantic doesn't it?

Well...our journey was certainly an adventure, but not quite that romantic. It all started when we left Chiang Mai crammed into a hot, stuffy minivan full of stinky backpackers, us included. The scenery was nice on the drive, but it was accompanied by our drivers wonderful selection of Thai-pop music with the occasional Celine Dion song mixed in.

Chiang Khong, the stop for our first night, was a sleepy, mosquito infested village on the banks of the Mekong. On day 2 we boarded the "slow boat", an 80+ ft long, 10 ft wide glorified canoe powered by an unmuffled car engine with 100 other backpackers and locals. Our favorite feature was the one and only bathroom on board which was flooded before we even left. Add in the fact the bathroom was right over the engine room, and therefore about 200 degrees, and you can just imagine how enjoyable a trip to the toilet was.

Boarding the slow boat:

Just a little crowded:

Since the back half of the boat was taken up by the engine room and baggage storage, everyone was crammed into the front half of the boat. Every hard bench, rickety plastic lawn chair, and wooden floor space was taken up by travelers dripping with sweat from the unrelenting heat and smothering humidity. After 6 1/2 hours of cruising downstream we stopped in Pakbeng for the night...a rustic town, which according to our guidebook, "isn't nearly as grim as it once was." (We would've hated to see how it was before.) We even had a debate about which was worse, the dirty, stained sheets in our room or the bugs crawling all over the bed.

On day 3 we awoke bright and early in an attempt to snag the prime, first class seats - plastic lawn chairs near the front of the boat. Over the next 8 hours on the hot, crowded boat we managed to settle into a routine of switching spots every few hours...window ledge, plastic chair, floor, window ledge. Finally, at 6pm we pulled up to the dock at Luang Prabang, a lovely village in the middle of Laos...our home for the foreseeable future.

As uncomfortable as the journey was, the scenery was stunning, the villages exotic and we received a glimpse of what makes the Mekong region so special.

The mighty Mekong:


Everyone from the village coming out to watch the boat go by:

Mekong Fisherman:

Offerings

This picture was taken at the mall in Chiang Mai, Thailand. There have been shrines to various gods everywhere we've been in Asia. The locals put out offering at these shrines everyday for the gods. Typically these offerings consist of rice, flowers, noodles, etc. We've seen the occasional saltine cracker, cookie, and hard boiled egg, but this was our favorite...

Starbucks coffee, fruity coconut drinks, and last, but not least, a personal pan pizza with one missing slice.

Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Bangkok, Thailand - a city where old and new Asia collide. One minute you are riding the skytrain to state-of-the-art shopping malls and the next you are surrounded by simple street stalls and ancient temples. As much as we enjoyed exploring the modern Bangkok, we were eager to check out the Thai markets, so one of our first stops was Chatuchak Weekend Market. With over 15,000 stalls, everything imaginable is sold here. From snakes to hand-made crafts, to aisles and aisles of clothes, you can spend days exploring this market. In one afternoon we went from eating fried grasshoppers and maggots, to having a fish pedicure and a Johnsonville Brat for dinner.

After scouring maybe a 1/4 of the market, we came upon a stall offering several varieties of fried bugs. We agreed that true "foodies" are obligated to try all sorts of "delicacies" so we apprehensively dug in. Seasoned with chili powder and soy sauce the fried bugs were actually pretty tasty...a nice crunch with a salty-spicy flavor. Carrying the rest of our bugs in a bag we continued on and passed sections of live rabbits, cats, dogs, and fish (for pets, not to eat we assume).

It was here, in the fish section, where we splurged and spent the $3/person on a fish pedicure. This "spa treatment" involved soaking your feet and calves in a tank filled with fish that would eat all of your dead skin. Only 20 minutes later you emerged with smooth, soft skin.

After exhausting ourselves at the market we headed to The Roadhouse for dinner. This bar/restaurant could have been in any Midwestern city as its interior was filled with rustic furnishing, darts, pool, and even a shuffleboard. The best part of this place wasn't the Midwestern feel, but the fact they had grilled bratwurst on the menu...and not just any bratwurst, but Johnsonville Brats. There was no way we could pass up this Midwestern delicacy. So, 8,000+ miles from home, we went from eating fried grasshoppers in the afternoon to enjoying a Johnsonville in the evening...proof that you can find just about anything in Bangkok.

As much as we love the MN comfort food, we have to say we have become addicted to Thai food. The creative combinations of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy are thoughtfully balanced in every dish. The past week we have been feasting on green curry with chicken, Pad Thai, fried morning glory, spring rolls, mango sticky rice, and numerous unknown dishes. We even took an extensive full-day Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai to help further appreciate our love for their cuisine. Who's coming over for home-cooked Thai food when we get back?

Figuring we needed a break from indulging in the local fare we rented a car with a cool Canadian couple we met a few days prior. Our road trip brought us to the small village of Chiang Dao. Chiang Dao is known for their intricate network of limestone caves and the four of us were ready to explore them. We set off into the caves with headlamps on playing the role of spelunkers. We had a blast squeezing ourselves through small nooks and crannies.

After our long day of exploring caves we were famished. We hit up the local street stall and stocked up on rambutans, mangosteens, and even durian. Exotic, sweet tasting fruit is insanely cheap and plentiful in Thailand. Our diet has been filled with these fruits along with an enormous amount of mangoes and papayas. Since all of our bellies still had room, we headed back to Chiang Mai's Sunsumi restaurant for dinner. At Sunsumi you pay $6 for all-you-can-eat pork, beef, fish, prawns, vegetables, rice, noodles, and a plethora of spices. The only catch is you cook it yourself at your table. Between the four of us we were boiling and grilling heaps of delicious food like pros.

Our upcoming plans...Saturday we're taking the slow boat down the Mekong into Laos to explore a new area and will eventually be making our way to Vietnam.

Snorkel, Surf, and SUP

After managing to pull ourselves away from the relaxing atmosphere of Ubud, we headed to Amed on the northeast coast of Bali. As it turns out, this whole area happens to be even more quiet and mellow than Ubud. Amed is a small village whose main industries are fishing and sea salt production. It was nice to be in an area that isn't completely geared only to tourists.

We spent four days tucked away in Jemeluk Bay just south of Amed. Jemeluk is a protected area full of brightly colored coral and countless species of tropical fish which makes for excellent snorkeling. We literally stepped off the beach and found an underwater paradise just 30 feet from shore. After exploring the reefs in front of our bungalow thoroughly, we rented a scooter and headed south a few miles to the village of Aas. Just 50 feet offshore we were able to snorkel around a sunken Japanese shipwreck in 10-30 feet of water.

Our last morning Dustin was up early to go fishing with one of the local fisherman, hoping to catch something for lunch. He didn't disappoint as they came home with a boatload full of mackerel which were great on the grill.

The Amed Coastline:Early morning fishing trip:

Although the area was beautiful, we could only relax by the beach for so long before we felt the pull to head off in search of surf. Although Amed is a great place, being on the northeast end of the island means it doesn't get any of the great surf Bali is known for. (The dominant swell comes from the southwest.)

We received a great tip from our Aussie friends saying we needed to head a few hours southwest to Sanur and rent stand-up-paddle (SUP) boards. For those not familiar with SUP, you typically ride an 11-12 foot board standing up and use a paddle to get yourself into a wave. Once you catch the wave the paddle serves as a rudder helping to turn you in the direction you need to go. It's kind of a cross between kayaking and surfing, two of our biggest hobbies back in California. Needless to say, we've been eager to try this sport. In no time we were catching and riding waves. For first-timers we didn't do too shabby and had a blast.

The following day we rented traditional surfboards and surfed Sanur Reef with some friendly locals. The waves were breaking over a coral reef, but since the tide was high the waves were mellow and we didn't have to worry too much about getting pounded into the reef. As we sat waiting for the sets to come in we could see coral and numerous colorful fish swimming directly underneath us.

The last few days we spent in the surf town of Padang Padang. We would spend our time exploring the area by scooter during the day and surfing Padang Padang Reef in the afternoon when the tide was right.

We really enjoyed Bali. The food, surf, people, and landscape are all incredible. Traveling here has been easy and delightful. We are currently in Kuta getting prepared to leave for Bangkok, Thailand tomorrow. As always, the day before we leave a country tuns into an "Errand Day", trying to get as much crossed off our to-do list as possible...usually with mixed results.

Typical "Errand Day":

We've been wanting to buy the Lonely Planet guidebook "Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & the Greater Mekong" for our time in SE Asia. It was for sale in Kathmandu, Nepal for $22, a few bucks cheaper than what you'd pay in the US. We didn't buy it though since we had no desire to haul it through Singapore and Bali. A week ago we stopped at a bookshop here in Bali to see if they had it in stock...they did and wanted $33 for it. We refused to pay $33 when we could have bought it for $22.

Since we leave for Bangkok tomorrow and have no idea how we're going to spend our 40 days in SE Asia we decided to put "Get a SE Asia guidebook" at the top of our to-do list for today. We spent all morning scouring used book stores hoping to find a second-hand copy at a discount. After three hours without any luck we decided to walk two miles across town to the new bookstore. (Who needs to pay $5 for a cab when we have perfectly good legs?)

We headed to the bookstore, ready to breakdown and pay the outrageous price of $33. We arrived only to find "the store closed two days ago, but there's another one down the road". We continued another half mile to the next store..."Sorry we don't carry that book".

We headed back to our room deflated. Of course, we got turned around on our way back and ended up taking the long route home. The long route took us through a back alley we hadn't been in, and a half-block from our hotel we walked by another used book shop...after a few minutes of haggling we were walking out with a slightly used copy of "Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & the Greater Mekong" for $10. It only took six hours and probably 7 or 8 miles of walking in the 90+ degree heat, but we had our book and even saved a few dollars in the process.