Lovely Laos, lilac smalls and things living at the bottom of the loo...

Well we're now in Laos!
How did we get here? Via boat along the Mekong river. We got ripped off at the border but hey, that's what we've come to expect from SEA now. Cynical - me? NEVER! ;)
We knew that the visa for Laos was $35 but we had also read various accounts that you could pay for it in Thai Baht. So we got enough money out to cover 15 days in Laos (as there are no ATMs) and for the visa. You can pay in Baht, however, they charge you extra for the privilege. If you work out the difference in Baht, it's an extra 500 Baht! That's 7 pounds or so. We almost paid an extra 200 Baht on top of that when we were accosted upon crossing the river to the Laos border by smiley gentleman offering us the correct forms to fill in etc on the roadside. There's a moral to this story - NEVER under any circumstances trust a smiling SEAsian. They are likely trying to fiddle you. Thankfully we realised and took our completed forms straight to the officials at the immigration office. Still, next time we know to get US $s. ;)
The last few days in Thailand included a trip from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, where we stayed in a not so great place complete with an ant-infested bathroom for 3 days. We were also recommended 'nice' accommodation by an American Hell's Angel look-a-like in an internet cafe who was looking at porn! I mean come on, would you trust this man's definition of 'nice'?! You just don't do that sort of thing in a public place! Do these people have no shame?!!
We also visited the Karen Hill Tribe village which consists of 4 tribes, including the Along Neck Karen tribe (see fifth pic), whose female members wear these massive brass rings around their necks. They are put in place at the age of 4 to elongate their necks, so by the time they hit adulthood they are not dissimilar to giraffes. These collars are only removed once a year, to clean them and the neck of the lady. They are so heavy, our guide weighed one and it came to 4 kilos! Can you imagine the strain?! The poor ladies. Again, why is it the women who have to suffer? The men don't have to wear them. This little girl I took a shot of is one of the last generations to wear these, so there is hope to this story!
They wear them because their people believe the longer neck to be beautiful. It's like the moisturiser you buy here - everything has a 'whitening' agent because Asian people believe our white Western skin to be more beautiful. Legend has it that one of the tribeswomen once got bitten in the neck by a tiger, so they wear them to protect themselves, but no-one knows how true that is.
The sixth pic is of people from the big earring tribe (yes, that's their name!). I guess those earrings are heavy but not as bad as one of those collars. The collar-wearing women can't tip their heads back so have to drink through straws. And it has such a pressure on their spines that they waddle rather than walk!
These tribes came across from Tibet, China and Burma. The government had to put strict controls on them because due to their nomadic nature, they were destroying the land. Now they are stuck in one place and charge an entrance fee so that they can support themselves. Tourism is their main source of income. They farm their own crops and cannot leave the compound unaccompanied. What a life. I guess when you look at those people you realize how lucky you truly are.
We also paid a visit to the Golden Triangle (see first pic - proof I'm with Shaz and Andy): the only point where you can see Thailand, Laos and Burma (even China on a good day) all at the same time. There were some ornate carvings and Buddha there. But once again, rip-off city, especially where cafes and taxis etc are concerned. The local bus we got on to get there was rammed and it really reeked because one guy dropped a big sack with what must have been fish inside on the floor right infront of us (we were at the back of the bus so it was the most floor space). Thankfully my shitty sinuses were once again bunged up - for once I'm glad. ;)
We were going to head straight to the nearest border town of Chiang Khong for the night so we could cross the border into Laos first thing, but no locals seemed to know from where or even what time the bus ran! Andy and Shaz ended up going into the police station to ask but the very inebriated local boys in blue were not exactly helpful! ;) Apparently they kept grabbing Andy's arm - he's convinced all the men are gay, he thinks that's what happens when you spend time as a Buddhist monk! ;) He must just look shifty cos ever since we've been in Luang Prabang guys keep offering him 'blow' or weed! They drive past on motorbikes and make a puffing signal as if smoking. He doesn't have much luck when it comes to food either: whenever he specifies no salad with his choice, he always gets it. Poor guy. ;)
So anyway, I digress. We ended up going back to Chiang Rai and staying in a very nice guesthouse called City Home. Beautiful place, TV again. Very modern. We got a triple room this time which saved a bit of money. Any guesthouse with 'Home' in the title seem to be very fortunate for us. Kinda wish we'd stayed there from day one in Chiang Rai really but hey ho.
So we set off at 05.45 the next morning to get to the border. The 06.00 bus was full - but don't let that stop the Thais trying to get you on. We'd have probably ended up on the roof if we'd said yes! We got the much quieter 06.30 bus instead. Some of the countryside en-route was stunning: misty mountains and waterlogged fields.
We had to get 2 tuk tuks to the border (for us and baggage - bear in mind my bag is probably bigger than me). Getting across was simple. Getting the visa was relatively simple (although somehow we managed to miss the 'check-in' window where the police were supposed to stamp our passports, so had to go back). We then got an 850 Baht 2-day boat trip to Luang Prabang. We bought seat cushions too for 80 Baht each (every money-making opportunity they seize upon - they was even a lady with tripods and telescopes set up at the Golden Triangle!). The boat was supposed to leave at 12noon. We were put on one boat (when we finally found the right numbered boat) but then when another one with much posher seats pulled up alongside, the rest of the occupants decided they wanted those and jumped over! Needless to say we were too slow and missed out on the posh seats - well, seats full stop cos there weren't many.. the staff started bringing on plastic chairs. Yay - plastic chairs for a six hour journey. :)
I was one of the lucky ones: a lovely Thai lady gave me one of the posh seats next to her. So I left Shaz and Andy at the back of the boat with their plastic and sat in comfort for 8 hours, listening to my iPod and catching up on my journal. I did offer Shaz and Andy the seat first but they didn't want it, so what's a girl to do?! It was a warm day too which was nice.
I guess the Laos people are similar to the Thais in that they never miss a trick, cos half way through the boat trip, a load of kids jumped onboard with snacks: I like to call them the Pringles Brigade, cos that's what they shouted: 'Pringles'. Probably the only English they knew, along with 100 Baht! ;)
We stayed in PakBeng the first night which was a 10-house riverside village with guesthouses and restaurants. We had a triple room again which was ok, apart from the bathroom's toilet was not flushing - there is a vat of water with a 'scooper' in it, which you fill and then pour down the toilet to wash away the 'contents'. God only knows how many germs are on that. Thank God for antibacterial dry hand wash. ;) Still, it was relatively modern and comfy, despite cold water showers, and there were mosquito nets (stylish bright pink ones, which I had fun trying to get into once I'd switched the light off!).
If the first day was the Orient Express of Mekong River boat journeys, the second day was the Transmongolian Express: the weather was damp and cold, and we were on wooden benches for 7 and a half hours (see second and third pics). But we got there in once piece and that was the main thing. Other annoyances included this arrogant middle-aged Italian guy who wanted everyone to help him with his luggage but never bothered to help anyone else - he even left me stranded on the plank to the boat from the land once he'd got his wife over, and people repeatedly smoking. It's a wooden boat for God's sake!? Is it me or these people STUPID?! Grrrr. Apparently China is awful for this so really looking forward to that one!
Still, I'm a gnat's breath away from completing my paper journal (for the first time since I set off - hoorah!) and I've almost completed this blog too.
Luang Prabang is a lovely small town. It has French heritage so you can get baguettes everywhere - they offer them on the stalls around the night market (which seems to be a trend here in SEA). The food stalls are not as nice as the ones in Thailand but the restaurants are nice. We expected Laos to be a very underdeveloped country with no internet or hot water etc but there are loads of boutique shops here and posh guesthouses and restaurants! Not at all what we expected.
We stayed in a really lovely brand new place for the first two nights but moved yesterday to somewhere a bit cheaper. I had to get them to fix the shower this morning and I think there was something living in my toilet bowl because as I brushed my teeth there were bubbles coming out of the toilet water. Air bubbles. I looked down and I didn't think I could see anything but then I noticed a translucent white shape - on closer inspection (how brave am I?!) it looked like the back end of a frog! I promptly flushed but will in future pay close attention to where my arse goes before I set it down! ;)
There are no ATMs here but there's plenty of internet cafes! So there you all were thinking you wouldn't hear from me in 2 weeks but I'm now bang up to date. That's progress for you.
They also drive on the right-hand side of the road here. This is the first country I've been to where they do that and it takes a bit of getting used to. I wonder why it's different to Thailand? They also have a lot of orange-robe clad monks so let the official monk watch begin (see fourth pic)! ;) Shaz and I got up at 6am this morning to see the queue of monks walk down the main streets to get food from the shops, until we realized that it was pitch black outside and the photos would be crap. So we went back to bed.
It really is a charming place here and from what we've read on the internet, by all accounts it's the nicest place in Laos. We thought we'd have to go to the capital Vientiene for the Vietnam visa but we can get it here in 4 days so we're going to do that instead I think. I'll find out when I find Shaz and Andy.... wherever they may be.
So my photos of monks obsession will hopefully be sated by the time we leave here, which will prob be Saturday.
We watched the sun set on the Mekong yesterday evening (seventh pic) and the people here seem much friendlier than the Thais - not so in your face, especially at the market. You can browse without being pounced on. The quality of the products are much better too, much nicer to look at and much cheaper. I really can't buy anything here though cos no way of posting it and no room to carry it in my rucksack. :( It really is nice stuff. Boo.
And they still do your laundry here like in Thailand. I'm a little wary of letting them do that now though. I've gotten used to throwing everything in together now (so white underwear has become faintly grey or blue) but adding the purple fisherman's shorts I got in Chiang Mai was in hindsight probably not a wise move. I now have bright lilac smalls and a faintly purple white shirt. Ah well, a change is as good as anything. ;)
So lah gorn from Luang Prabang. :) x