We spent a few days in Sapa in hopes of better weather because the whole city was inbeaded in clouds this time around. After three days of waiting and touring some of the local minority villages that I missed last time we decided to head for the Laos border by bus. The good thing about bad weather was that I had time for some books once more. At the moment I'm eying the last pages of Neil Gaimans American Gods book which my lovely Sas brought out for me. Couple of friends from back home had already recommended to me but it doesnt seem to be available anywhere here in SEA. Before that I managed to go through Dan Browns Digital Fortress which reads like a Hollywood moviescript and Henri Charrières Papillon. Great true story book about a young man escaping multiple times from the prisons of French Guynae and his adventures on each side of the bars.
Back to the maters at hand. The road to the border crossing had to be the worst one I've been on so far during the 6 months I've been on the road now. Needles to say I found completely degrees pain in my ass after that. Stayed at a hotel that god had abandoned or had allowed to be created by accident because there is nothing good to be said about it. Just take my word for it. We had heard that the border crossing should be now open to international tourist and everything should go smoothly. Still there is always room for doubt in Vietnam. In the end the worries were worthless. Ofcourse the were! I said that everything would go smoothly and Sas could spare my thumbs. Two thumbs up for the Tay Trang border officials in Laos for excelent work.
The bus ride was actually a bit more better than the one to Dien Bien Phu because there werent that many people onboard this bus, just a shit load of noodles which almost killed Sas in a moment of collapse. The views were amazing as the whole horizon was filled with every shade of green that which the eyes can feed the brain with. The tiny little villages on the way down through the endless jungles could only be described as accient and the motorbikes and satelite dishes (that served as nice shades for the pigs) were really sticking out of the scenery.
The road lead all the way down the river village of Muang Khoua where we decided to stay a couple of days. During this time we managed to meat two french canadian landscape gardeners that were riding their bikes through SEA, uninvitedly entered a street party that had been going on for a couple weeks and visited a massive collection of local schools. The people here seem really more chilled out than in Vietnam and it really shows. Ricshaw drivers dont follow you, there are no touts in sight and the street vendor owners are busy sleeping on the fake t-shirts their selling. The country is a little bit more expensive than its eastern neighbor but thats the price you pay.
The latest issue would be Luang Prabang where we landed a couple of days ago. Like it read on the Lonely Planet, it really has to be the most photogenic city in the whole country. Every street, every building, every river (there are two) and every hill seems like a work of art. Be it the mahong wood on the French colonial buildings or the lantern lights on the street corners, it just blows anybody away. The day has been spent admiring the scenary, playing water games with the kids on the banks of the Mekong and watching monks change light bulbs on the temple cealings. How many it takes you ask. It's five.
More pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/timo.laaksonen/
No comments:
Post a Comment