Vang Vien - home away from home

We're three days into our stay in Vang Vien and I think we'll stay for another week. We are flying from Vientiane to Hanoi (Vietnam) on May 27 and we've got the time to spend chilling out in this little haven. To some, Vang Vien is boring and not very attractive. Other people come for a day and stay a month. We're in that category. Vang Vien is just like a country town but is buzzing with backpackers. Not in a bad touristy way - but in a casual, colourful, youthful way. The roads are dirt, every shopfront is a cafe or bar, and if the pace were any more relaxed time would be going backwards. The cafes and bars are mainly a room of coffee tables and cushions where everyone sits about, chatting, watching movies, eating and drinking. There's always a new wave of backpackers coming through to get to know or challenge in the nightly pool competition. And the river the town straddles provides fun day trips. We fell in love with this place as soon as we arrived. And it's only costing us $3 a night for a double room!

First arriving in Vang Vien all suited up

Not an unusual sight for the main street

Just behind the main street lies the river

Kids here don't need technology for entertainment!

Yesterday we went tube riding. Seemed the whole town was doing it and now we can see why. A group of six of us hired big tractor innertubes and got dropped at the tubing start point about 8km out of town. You get left to slowly make your way down the river on the four hour journey back to town. In most spots the tubes cruise slowly but every now and then a rapid keeps things interesting. Louise (an English girl we met) and I were fortunate enough to have about five Laos children join us on our tubes for the first hour of the journey. We were not sure what was going on, they just jumped on our tubes and never got off! We were in hysterical laughter as these children persisted to paddle for us, guide us through rapids and so on. We couldn't understand a word they were saying but for some reason they selected us. We saw at least another 60 people on tubes that day and none had been joined by children!

Our river companions

"Life's tough!"

All along the river are makeshift bars - like bamboo platforms with people selling beer and food. At the third bar along we found about 20 other tubers who we hung out with for about an hour before continuing our journey. At the bars there are swing ropes and flying foxes into the river. The scenery along the journey is amazing as the river is backed by limestone cliffs. Such a great day. I think we'll make the tube journey again in a couple of days.
Other than that we've just been relaxing in Vang Vien and will continue to do so for a while. We've heard Vietnam can be quite hectic, so we're enjoying having lazy days before our trip picks up pace again. We met a couple the other night - the girl was from Adelaide and her boyfriend was Hungarian. He was so excited to meet Bol because he hadn't had anyone to speak Hungarian to for a couple of months. Listening to them talk all night gave me an idea of what it will be like in Budapest. I better start practising my Hungarian!!

Luang Prabang

Our time in Luang Prabang was very relaxed - we hung out with a lot of the new friends we'd made on the boat journey and generally just lazed about. There's not a whole lot to do in the town, which is Laos' "second biggest city". In reality it's the size of Stirling and Aldgate combined, but even more picturesque. Given we had been on the move for several weeks now, we were more than happy to have some lazy days. And Luang Prabang provided the perfect backdrop to do just that.
When not chatting with mates, sipping beer, or lying in bed because of the food poisoning we encountered one night (terrible), we ventured out of town to see the waterfalls and took a walk to the town's highest wat, which overlooks the city. (See pictures below).
One night we went out to a traditional Laos feast and musical performance in a large hall, filled with dining tables and a large stage. The hall seated about 150 - and our group of five were the only ones there! A group of about 20 Laos dancers and musicians performed for two hours for the dismal crowd. We ensured they had plenty of claps and cheers though - enough to make up for the lack of an audience.
Another Luang Prabang highlight came on our second to last night. Phil (an English guy we've been travelling with) coaxed us into heading to the pub to watch the FA Cup Final - (soccer for those who don't know) - between West Ham and Liverpool. Despite neither Bol or me being avid sports fans, especially not on TV, we headed along for the ride. Surprisingly I ended up absolutely loving it, cheering with the best of 'em. When the boys wanted to head home before the match was through I was adamant not to miss it, so they assured me they'd organise our guesthouse to put it on so I could catch the end. Very fun! Will definitely go to a live match when in Europe.

After about five days we decided to move on to our next Laos destination - a smaller town called Vang Vien, right in the centre of the country. We were pretty relaxed by then and on arrival in Vang Vien, the relaxation took on a new meaning.

Bol and Phil at the base of our walk to the wat

Having a refreshing dip at the waterfalls

The view from the wat overlooking Luang Prabang

To Luang Prabang

We had a choice; take the speed boat to Luang Prabang in six hours or take the two-day slow boat stopping overnight at a village. We chose the latter - probably wise. Neither option is considered comfortable but the speed boat has been known to claim lives.
Picture a wooden boat with rows of hard wooden seats - and about 90 tourists crammed inside. Those 90 tourists are aged in their twenties and they all like drinking beer. That was what our two-day journey to Luang Prabang was. It was like a party on a boat - but the beer was warm and in between excited chatting you had long stretches of silence when everyone wanted to sleep but couldn't get comfortable. It doesn't sound too great but when noone has to get up to go to work in the mornings and our sole task each day is to see sights and try to have as much fun as possible, the lack of stress provides enough comfort to carry you through!

The view from where we sat

Pakbeng - the tiny village at the half way point where you spend the night - is pretty basic. The generators are switched off at 10pm, which means no fan during the night. And the locals tell you to get back to your room before lights out because otherwise people are likely to start breaking into your room to steal your valuables. Great!

Looking out our window at the guesthouse

There's not much more to say about the two day boat trip. The scenery was obviously amazing - it always is - and we met a new group of friends who we will hang out with on and off as the journey continues. Most people are heading in the same direction but on different time schedules, so you always seem to run into each other along the way. Our introduction to Laos has been a great one. So relaxing.

Northern Thailand

After spending three days in Chang Mai - where the Elephant Nature Park was the definite highlight - we decided to take the long route to Laos. Ignoring the option of a simple four hour air-con mini-van, we decided to spend three days checking out some of the smaller towns on the way. We headed north to Thaton, where we spent a night. It's a very picturesque town on the river, but very slow. 24 hours was definitely enough! We hired a motorbike and headed up to each tier of the seven-tiered wat. Massive golden buddhas glistened at every level and the views from the mountain stretching across the farmland and Kok River were spectacular. Nightlife was definitely not something the residents of Thaton were familar with. Bol and I spent several hours meandering around the empty streets in hysterical fits of laughter, claiming how ''I'm really glad we decided to come to this place''. Eventually we found a 70-year-old Aussie who was more than happy to share a couple of tales over beer at the local ''bar'' - a few wooden stools surrounding a bench, with a toilet in the paddock.

From one of the tiers of the wat overlooking Thaton

We then caught the boat to Chang Rai, which made our ''long route'' to Laos worth it. The four hours travelling down the Kok River was very comfortable (a big plus for these parts) and we travelled through gorgeous farmland, orchards, rice fields, mountains and many children swimming in the river who were so excited to see foreigners.

We spent a very simple night in Chang Mai - found a guesthouse for $4 - and wandered the streets, fed our faces and went to bed pretty early for our morning bus ride to Chiang Khong. The ride to Chiang Khong was again very scenic, made even more scenic by the CDs made for me by my gorgeous Australian girlfriends (you know who you are). They provided the perfect backdrop to the jungles we drove through. Made me think of home while still loving where I was. A weird mix of feelings. Anyway .....

At Chiang Khong we crossed the border into Laos and we are already loving it. We can see Thailand across the river but although so close, Laos has a completely different feel. So relaxed and spacious. Like a country town but with so much colour and the people are so friendly. Tomorrow we'll catch the two-day slow boat to Louang Phabang. Write more soon XX

Elephant Nature Park

Today we went to the Elephant Nature Park which is about 64km out of Chang Mai. Unlike all the other elephant operations, including the Elephant Conservation Centre, this place is an actual sanctuary for orphaned and abused elephants. It's not set up as a tourist attraction, but allows up to six outsiders to visit each day to see the work they are doing. During our visit there we worked alongside the centre's volunteers, going through the daily routine with the elephants.
Approaching the 100 acre nature park is like driving to the valley of the dinosaurs. There's a flowing winding river running through the property, lush tropical fields, and of course free roaming elephants. It's hard to describe the scene - you really have to experience it with your own eyes. On the way there we stopped off at the market and loaded the trucks with fresh fruit and veggies. Elephants eat about 300kg each a day!
Once we arrived on the property we were briefed about the elephants and the safety procedures and then it was on to feed these beautiful giants. We got to hand feed most of the 28 elephants which was so cool. After feeding time we broke for lunch which was a massive thai feast. We then walked them down to the river to give them their morning bath. Their muhuts (personal trainers, of which each animal has it's own) get them to lie on their side in the river while you throw buckets of water over them and srub them down with brushes. I don't know who liked it more - us or them. So much fun!

3 month old baby and its aunties

"Yeah it's a hard life here!"

"C'mon mate, I'll have ya!"

"So, thought you could keep me clean hey?"

"Don't move! With this grass on my head we should be camouflaged for sure!"

After their bath we returned to the main communal sitting area, where the elephants always come up to you and stretch out their trunks. Here we learned about the history of each of the elephants at the camp - and the details of how elephants in Thailand are generally treated. All "working" elephants used for tourist trekking, logging and street begging, go through an horiffic breaking in process that can be anywhere from 3 days to a couple of weeks. During this process the baby elephants are locked into a bamboo cage that stops them from moving. They are then prodded with bamboo sticks which have nails at the end and are beaten until they bleed and their will is broken. This is done so they submit to their owners and do whatever they are told to do. It is not uncommon for some elephants to die from this horrible experience.

At the Elephant Nature Park there are 28 elephants Lek (a Thai woman) has rescued since 1992. Except for the three-month-old elephant (so cute), the rest have been used by tour operators in the past and have many scars to prove it. One is missing a foot, another is completely blind from where her owner shot arrows and used slingshots to try to get her to work when she did not want to. The stories go on.
All in all our visit to the park was probably the most rewarding experience of our trip so far. It was fantastic to see a group of people trying so hard to ensure elephants can have a better life. It also made us cancel any plans to do an elephant trek through the jungle, as we previously thought we might do. Going to the centre makes you realise what the animals are put through behind the scenes for the sake of the tourist dollar - definitely not worth supporting.