We are the "Champ"ions

April 30th is Queen's Day in the Netherlands, which as far as I call tell involves wearing lots of orange, drinking heavily, and engaging in general silliness. Oh, and there is something about the Queen celebrating her birthday, but that didn't seem terribly important.

Here are the Dutch girls (Marije and Jennifer) who were forced to spend Queen's Day in Champasak, Laos with a Brit, a German, and four Americans, but somehow I think the alcohol took the sting out. Notice the home-made Queen's Day shirts they are wearing. I'm sure you are as shocked as I that they couldn't find ready-made ones in Laos.


Here are Jeff, Jennifer, and Daniela as the party really starts to get underway. I assure you that the pictures are blurry because of poor lighting, not because of the number of beers and Lao cocktails I consumed. In fact, the bottles are just for show. There was no drinking involved -- all of the smiling is just happiness for the Queen on her birthday. And if you believe that, I have some oceanfront property in Kansas to sell you.

By the end of the night, which, at 12:45, was a late night for Laos, the local cats had found some very receptive new friends. Here are Marije and Daniela playing with a cat that somehow made his way into everyone's arms at some point during the evening.

I will cease with the pictures now, as they become very silly and blurry. Suffice it to say that Queen's Day rocks!

Like a Champ

This morning, Jeff and I headed to Champasak to see Wat Phu. On our way there, I got my first glimpse of bug-eating, but chose not to purchase any myself. I think I will have to travel for a lot longer to do that voluntarily.

Here is a pretty little wat that we saw in town, but this is not what we really came here for.

We drove out to the hills to see the ruins of an old Angkor-era temple that lies on an ancient road leading to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

There is not much left of the original buildings, but you can get a feeling for what it must have been like and what is to come when I visit Cambodia.

The view was great, so we took a seat on a wall and relaxed. Just a little while later, our Dutch and German friends arrived and we spent the rest of the afternoon with them.

Hitting a Plateau

Today, my new-found-friend Jeff and I, with a handful of other tourists, took a tour of the Bolaven Plateau, which consisted of watching people hand-pick tea leaves at a plantation...


... seeing three different waterfalls...

... and learning about different varieties of coffee from our tour guide.

But the best part was visiting a village with two different ethnic groups where we had a chance to meet some of the people and see them in their daily lives. At times it felt a little strange to enter this village and watch the people, but we tried to interact as much as possible, which was very difficult because they don't speak Lao, let alone English.

This is our tour guide smoking from the village's pipe, which some people on our tour did.

But for the most part, we played with the kids and handed out bananas to them.

While most of the kids were really gregarious, the children in the picture below were a little shy at first...

... but as soon as I showed them the image on my camera's screen, they became very enthusiastic about having their picture taken.

The image below is specifically for my nieces and nephews. If you lived in Laos, you would have to carry Mary on your back like this all the time so Mom could get some work done. What do you think, Michelle? Good plan?

A Pleasant Surprise

I set out this morning in search of a tour to the Bolaven Plateau and ended up finding something better -- some new friends.

After checking several travel agencies with no success, I tried a popular guesthouse, where I found not only a tour, but also Matt who I had met in Kong Lor. Matt was supposed to have left for a multi-day motorbike tour, but was delayed a day because of the rain. He introduced me to a guy from San Francisco named Jeff and a man from Guadalupe (now living in France) named Fred.

With nothing to do but wait for the rain to end, we chatted and played cards all afternoon.

The picture below is a caterpillar that we saw today. I think it perfectly represents the day's level of activity (i.e. none). Cool creature, eh?

That night, the guys intoduced me to Marije and Jennifer from the Netherlands and Daniela from Germany. The whole crew went out for a family-style Indian dinner and had a really good time.

Take the Long Way Home

This morning, I found myself walking across the dry rice patties before 7am, starting my journey onwards, intent on heading as far south as I could reach in a day. Fortunately, I was immediately picked up by a sawngthaew headed for Na Hin, one hour away on a dirt road. By the time we reached the town, both I and my belongings were covered in a thick layer of dirt. This is why...

In Na Hin, I tried to find out where to catch a bus to Tha Khaek, but couldn't find anyone that understood me, so I hopped into another sawngthaew that was headed that way. It turned out to be a four hour journey on hard benches, crammed between people and produce. One woman boarded with practically an entire store. This is actually a fun way to travel for about three hours. The last hour is painful.

We, of course, had a flat tire and while we were standing on the side of the road, the bus I had wanted passed us. Just a little frustrating. By the time we reached Tha Khaek, I had missed the bus to Pakse. I had another 3.5 hours until the next bus, so I chained my backpack to a bench and took a nap.

The bus was full and became incredibly packed when we departed Savannakhet several hours later. I had a real seat towards the back, but they lined the aisle with little plastic stools right up to the front. Then they continued to add more people who had to stand at the front, including a family with small children and a man on crutches. There is no such thing as a full bus in Laos.

In the aisle next to me, was the resident comedian who welcomed each new person to the bus enthusiastically, clearly joking about the lack of free space. As it grew late, I tried to get some sleep, but this same man kept trying to cram a pillow under my head.

On the bus, I had met an Israeli couple, which was fortunate because we pulled into Pakse at 1am and I would not have wanted to wander the lonely streets by myself. We struggled to find an open guesthouse, nearly resigning ourselves to sleeping on the porch of one, when we found someone who told us about a place with an open gate. It was nearly 2am when we walked in and rung the bell, waking the proprietor, who seemed all too happy to have the business.

It was a heck of a commute today.

Speechless

In addition to my amazing cave experience, this area is fantastic simply for the scenery. I took a ton of pictures because everywhere you looked was another great view. I will let these pictures speak for themselves, with just the comment that the first picture is the view from the grounds of the guesthouse. Not a bad place to spend a few days...

Maybe I'm Amazed

Today, I saw one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I went to Tham Kong Lor, which is a river running 7km through a cave, taking you clear under a mountain. If you ever plan to visit here, stop reading because the uncertainty of what to expect is half the fun.

For starters, here is the mountain that we passed under. Justing thinking about how much rock was over our heads as we cruised down the river was mind boggling. You can see the cave entrance near the waterline.

The water in this river is crystal-clear, unlike the Mekong, and refreshingly cold since it spends so much time out of the sun as it passes through the cave.

At the entrance, you can see well enough for pictures. Note the huge boulders just hanging from the ceiling. The cave opening at this point is probably about 30-40 feet tall.

But just a hundred feet or so into the cave, it starts to get really dark. The only light you have as you pass through the tunnel is the driver's headlamp, but when he turns his head away to check the motor, you find yourself in pitch black darkness, your eyes straining to see nothing. I also had a flashlight with me, but chose to only turn it on when I caught a glimpse of something that looked interesting, preferring to enjoy the atmosphere of the relative darkness.

Shortly after entering the darkness, the boat motors upstream into another "room" of the cave, in which the ceiling just vaults up. It is like entering a giant cathedral. It is such a humbling feeling -- you feel just so small and weak in the presence of this great mountain.

At several points along the way, it is necessary to disembark and wade through the river, while the boatman hauls the boat over small rapids and shallow water. This is not so difficult for the tourists, but is a pain for the boats carrying cargo through the tunnel, since they have to unload and reload heavy sacks at each of these points. At one of these areas, we were led up a slippery rock slope to view some of the cave's rock formations. Throughout the cave, there are drips falling from the ceiling, slowing creating the typical stalagmites and stalactites...

... but it was these curtains of rock that I loved. They even make a metalic sound when you whack them with your hand.

The river continues through many bends, just as any "outdoor" river would. At one point, we passed under an arch and around one of these curves to find ourselves in a long, straight, narrow passageway, with a boat coming in the opposite direction. It was an odd feeling, like being in a roadway tunnel, but on the water. It really enhanced the already existing feeling that we were somehow secretly "sneaking in the backdoor".

A few minutes later, we turned a corner and I thought I saw some light. It is hard to tell, though, because sometimes it is just the driver's headlamp reflecting off a light-colored rock. This time, it turned out to be the upstream exit, where we found the water much warmer as it flowed into the cave. A few minutes upstream from the cave, we parked the boat at the edge of the river and got out to stretch our legs before starting the journey back down the river.

The journey had taken more than an hour and it was nice to have a little time to reflect with awe on the wonder we had just experienced.

The trip back was, naturally, faster since it was downstream. This also meant we didn't have to disembark quite so often. For the tail-end of the journey back, I got to ride in the front of the boat, which holds a completely different experience. With no one sitting in front of you, you almost get the feeling that you are the first person discovering an untouched cave. And even though the water is flowing, it is slow enough that you get perfect reflections of the ceiling on the water, making it seem like you can see clear through the water to the bottom of the riverbed.

It was an incredible experience that was over too soon. And to think, I almost didn't make the journey out here because it consumed three days. What a mistake that would have been.

I know for certain that there are similar caves in the US and in Central America. I am sure there must also be others throughout the world. If you have the opportunity to see a cave river like this, don't pass it up.

In the Village, the Quiet Village...

The man running my guesthouse spoke not a word of English, so I found myself finally using my phrasebook. Since I was the only guest and there is not much to do in such a remote place when you don't speak the language, I walked back through the village and across the rice patties to check out the main town, which is not exactly hopping. Stopping at one of the two restaurants in town, I asked the woman for a menu. She looked at me for a moment before saying, "Noodle soup." I am not sure if it was the only menu item she could say in English or the only dish they made, but I took it. A few guys at the restaurant spoke a little English and were kidding around with me. They tried to get me to stay for some beers, but I knew that I needed to get back to "my village" before dark if I was to ever find my way home.

On my way back to my little village, I got up close and personal with some of the local livestock. This little goat was barely a foot tall. Nearby, his bigger bretheren were having a stand off with a pack of small wild dogs. I was impressed to see that the goats won.

Further down the road, I heard some splashing. Expecting to see kids running through puddles, I looked down from the slightly elevated road to see these water buffalo bathing. Not wishing to get too close, I snapped the picture and moved on. They are soooo much bigger in person!

The kids here are really friendly. The only thing I can say to them in Lao is "sabadee" ("hello"), but they will gladly say this repeatedly, waving until you are out of sight.

I walked back through my village, cutting between the houses and around the pigs, cows, ducks, dogs, and waving children. Upon arriving, I discovered that there was indeed one other guest, Matt from London. He is also traveling for 10 months, but is on the tail-end of his journey, unless he decides to stay in Australia and get a job there. We chatted for hours, happy to have someone to talk with.

Knowing how Lao kitchens work (sometimes you need to order breakfast the night before), I pointed to the breakfast menu and tried to ask our host whether we should order it "tonight or tomorrow." I was so excited when he said "tomorrow", because it was a word I had taught him earlier in the day using my phrasebook. But Matt took the wind out of my sails when he said, "I bet he thinks you just asked when we should eat breakfast." It cracked me up; he is a very funny guy.