Vietnam: The Bomb.com

My recent trip to Vietnam wasn't necessarily motivated by cultural interest, but to see my friend Thu. Don't get me wrong, I was and still am incredibly interested in Vietnam, but my interests were mostly centered around Northern Vietnam--to visit Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay, and Hue in Central Vietnam, as opposed to visiting Saigon, which prior to my visit, I'd heard was very similar to Bangkok. However, my trip to Vietnam surprised me, in more ways than one.

First of all, Saigon is nothing like Bangkok--I'm not sure who told me that, but I definitely would have to disagree based on my two days there. Saigon isn't nearly as developed as BKK: the buildings don't even come close to being as tall, the streets are wide, tree-lined boulevards, there are barely any cars, mostly motorbikes--that was definitely overwhelming, it's impossible to cross the street! You just have to step out into the street and allow the motorbikes to go around you and trust that they won't hit you; this I definitely could not get used to. It's also funny because everyone wears a helmet, unlike in Bangkok, because it's against the law not to, so they've tried to make helmets attractive or "fashionable;" there were all these stores selling helmets that were disguised as different types of hats, it was hilarious.

Motorbikes flooding the streets in Saigon

But back to how Saigon was different from Bangkok, in general, Saigon isn't nearly as busy and bustling--it is by Vietnamese standards, but not compared to Thailand. Next, I was surprised by how developed Vietnam was; I knew it was developing very quickly but had still been told how poor it was. I guess poverty has become relative now--from what people told me, I was expecting it to be so poor, as poor as Laos or Cambodia, but this was not the case at all. Ironically, despite its rapid state of development, there is not one 7-Eleven in Saigon, maybe even in all of Vietnam, whereas Thailand is littered with them. There's a saying that if you can't see at least two 7-Eleven's in your view, well, then you're not in Bangkok, or Thailand for that matter. They're so pervasive in Thailand that I just assumed there'd be one in Saigon. When I got off the plane, I needed to top-up my cell phone and I asked one of the women I'd met on the plane where the nearest 7-Eleven was so that I could to purchase more minutes. She chuckled, shook her head and said, "Ha, you're not in Thailand anymore!," meaning that I had to figure out another way to get minutes on my phone.

A small alley in Saigon

Sickle and Hammer

I was also surprised by how much I liked Vietnam--I'm dying to go back and I just got home! I was also surprised by how much I truly fell in love with the food--oh, the food! It was so fresh, light and flavorful, I could honestly eat it all the time. When I got back to Bangkok, I was so repulsed by all of the fried foods and just wanted to run to FoodLoft, a restaurant in one of the department stores, where I know they would have Vietnamese food. Thankfully, I had pho (pronounced "fa;" it's a Vietnamese noodle soup) for dinner last night and I feel a little better, still craving it though. I felt so lucky to have Thu show me all of her favorite things; sometimes I felt like a culinary tourist because sometimes the main sites were the food! In Saigon, we didn't really see too many of the tourist sites, but mostly walked all around the city.

Fresh fruit sold everywhere

So, to start on the foods I had there: I had pho--the noodle soup that I mentioned--at a famous jai (vegetarian) pho shop, and the pho there had the most interesting varieties of tofu I've had, it was amazing! Also, Vietnamese people throw fresh basil, corriander (I left this one out, I hate the stuff!), lettuce, bean sprouts and chilli peppers into everything, it's fantastic, so this was definitely included in the pho. I had santoh, fruit smoothies, which were made from the most unique and delicious fruits I've ever had--Thu and I were on a mission to find another one in a particular flavor, but alas, we couldn't find it; sugar cane juice, which is really refreshing; ban mi, a special Vietnamese sandwhich in a baguette (yes, they too have bread and pastries! gotta love the French) filled with specially-made eggs (I don't know what they do, but I certainly have never had eggs like this, they were great); another noodle soup with a different kind of noodles; rice porridge which is really a misnomer because that name makes it sound bland and unappetizing, but in fact, it's delicious; and a cold-noodle breakfast specialty that is mixed with scallions and dry onions and is flavored, it's a pleasure to the palatte, but I'm blanking on the name! Then, I also has laou, a hotpot. This, by far, was my favorite gastronomical treat. There is a big hotpot which is set over a burner on the table, and is filled with a spiced broth which contains greens, tomatoes, onions, scallions, and other ingredients. Everyone at the table then throws in seafood, fish, vegetables (also pineapple!) and meat to cook in the hotpot (because I'm a vegetarian, we had a separate veggie-only pot). All the ingredients cool in the pot and you then serve yourself a portion of the mixture, which you pour over thin raw noodles in your bowl. The noodles then get cooked and you eat everything together. I couldn't get enough of the stuff, it was so incredible and I wish I could re-create it. I've never tasted anything that good and satisfying that was also so healthy at the same time. At that moment, I was ready to declare Vietnamese food as one of my new favorite cuisines.

Other than the food, it was wonderful to see and hang out with Thu and also to meet her family, who are a very interesting bunch--some are French, others are Vietnamese and she's American (with Vietnamese parents). I also enjoyed how relaxing it was. We went with her family to Mui Ne, which is a small beach town 4 hours northeast of Saigon. We were driven up by her cousin's private driver, which was certainly much nicer than transportation by bus. Driving though, in Vietnam is crazy, it's a bit of a free-for-all and no one really pays attention to the lane demarcations, I guess they're there for show? Also, on the narrower roads, people didn't really pay attention to directions either, but somehow, I never felt endangered in the car.

In Mui Ne, we stayed at a very nice beach front resort which was certainly nicer than anywhere I would stay while on vacation with friends in BKK (it was pretty pricey). The resort has beach access and a private pool. At the resort, Thu and I didn't do too much--we lounged, swam quite a bit and relaxed. The beach itself was okay; the countryside on either side of the beach though, did make me feel like I was in the south of France, not Vietnam (forgetting that I was in Vietnam actually happend a couple of other times as well). Our first night in Mui Ne, we took the hotel bikes and rode towards the main part of the "town" (it was basically a row that was lined with resorts) to get a late dinner before going to bed. We found a very local beach-side barbecue of sorts--it was basically all the Vietnamese people who work in the hotels and go to eat after they're done with work, it was pretty cool to be in such a local setting.

Our resort and the pool

The beach at our resort

By the beach at the resort

Down the beach from our resort

On Sunday morning, we took the bikes out again and biked about 5 miles uphill to the red sanddunes. We got up really early, while it was still dark, so that we could see the sun rise over the sanddunes. It was beautiful and we got there just in time for surise (it took us a little longer to bike up there than we thought it would).

Approaching the sunrise on the way to the sand dunes

Thu in the red sand dunes

Tourists at the sand dunes, all wearing matching red hats

Sunrise

A portion of the fishing village we biked by on the way back

I know I didn't really "do" too much, but I really enjoyed myself and still felt that I got to see and experience a lot, even though none of it was touristy. Through Thu, I felt that I learned a lot about Vietnamese culture, far beyond the cuisine: I learned about Vietnamese family norms and values; the Vietnamese language (it's the most tonal language in the world, but they do use the Roman alphabet!); habits of the Vietnamese youth and trends in the youth culture (apparently they're obsessed with Japan and romance!); religious ceremonies, including the upcoming autumn festival where all these little mooncake shops pop up to sell mooncakes for the festival; traditional Vietnamese clothing to be worn at special times (Thu had 2 tailored while I was with her); social and gender norms (women don't drink, smoke; most men and women marry at around 25, etc); the educational system (Thu was teaching for the summer, first in a university at Danang and then at a university in Can Tho); conceptions and standards of beauty; ideas about foreigners, and many other things.

One of the only touristy things I did: rid in the Vietnamese version of a rickshaw. This used to be the main mode of transportation for Vietnamese people but now motorbikes are; Thu's cousin insisted that I ride in one

I would thoroughly recommend trip to Vietnam; it is a fascinating place with a rich cultural heritage, an amazin cuisine, and wonderful people. Of course, my perception was probably skewed a bit because I was with my friend who is Vietnamese and spoke the language, but I think it's still accessible for anyone, without someone Vietnamese.

A Word on the Bangkok Protests

I've gotten a number of emails from concerned friends about the current political situation in Bangkok and about the protests that have been going on. For those of you who don't know, there have been large-scale protests (about 10,000 people gathered on Tuesday) against the current government. On Tuesday, protesters actually stormed and broke into the Prime Minister's residential compound.

Quite honestly, it's hard to even know that there have been such huge protests, and I live here. The only reason that I'm aware of the protests is because the Thai press is covering it and there have been photos on the front of newspapers; otherwise, I might never have known. No one in my office talks about it, the city functions as usual and the protests and activity have been isolated to one area of the city, near Democracy monument where all the government buildings are (ironically, this area isn't too far from Khao San Road, the hippy-backpacker haven of fame). There hasn't been a feeling of tension or increased security--it's as if everything is normal and today is just another day.

It's somewhat unnerving how laid back everyone is here about this--if protesters broke into the White House, shut down a TV station for a portion of the day and effected the government's function for a portion of the day, I think that most people would be talking about it and that citizens all over the US would be up in arms. My friends and I speak so casually, wondering, "is there going to be a coup?," but that's the laid-back attitude many people have here. It's really "mai ben lai," a Thai mantra meaning the equivalent of "no worries," and surprisingly, I guess this applies to governmental protests as well--well, maybe the protesters don't feel this way, but it seems like the city as a whole does.

For a bit of background, the protesters don't like the current Prime Minister, Samak, and accuse him of being Thaksin's pawn in office, that he's just continuing in Thaksin's place. Thaksin is the previous PM who was deposed; he's currently in exile in London, but he faces possible emprisonment for charges of corruption if he ever returns to Thailand, and other charges too, I believe. The protesters are part of a group called "The People's Allicance for Democracy," which is actually a bit of a misnomer because they don't want Thailand to be a democracy at all--they believe that the democracies in Thailand have led to corruption. They are in favor of a military government with appointed officials.

Anyway, moral of the story is that I'm fine, I've been unaffected by the protests, though I hope for the sake of Thailand and the Thai people that this gets resolved soon.

Amusing Anecdotes

Thought I'd post some funny occurrences, especially those that only seems to happen in Bangkok:

I spent last night with my cousins Beth, Andy, Jenna, Hallie, Owen and their aunt Susan and cousin Evan--we went to a market, dinner, and then, after dinner, I took them all, minus a few, to Patpong, the red light district in Bangkok (men walk around with "pussy menus," displaying all the types of "shows" you can see), but which also happens to hve a decent night market and is a particularly good place to find handbags. We were on a mission to find a nice bag for Jenna and also a tasteful ladyboy show (I guess this seems like an oxymoron). Trying to find a show was fairly amusing. One man came up to me and said, "Ladyboy show?" I said, "Yes, but I would like the ladyboys to be in costumes (I'd seen one where they were in costumes and it was cabaret style, very campy, very entertaining). Are they in costumes? Are they wearing clothes?" "Yes, yes" he assured me and led me to where his venue was. I climbed up the stairs into what seems to be a strip club, only to find ladyboys stripping, clearly not what I wanted. I started to head to the place I'd been to before when yet another man approached me and said, "Ladyboys with clothes;" he'd clearly heard me speaking to the other man. I tried to clarify again, pointing to my dress, and tugging at it for emphasis. He said, "Yes, yes, clothes, clothes," so I tried one more time, following this man to his questionable venue. I went up the stairs and all I could see this time were naked ladyboys, and I just turned running, signaling to my cousins to turn around immediately.
Finally, we made it to the place where I'd seen a show and I asked the maitre de of sorts if there was going to be a performance tonight. He told me, much to my dismay, that "the drag queens are all on vacation! they're all out of the country! not in Thailand! The show has to take a break and wait until they come back." How was I supposed to know that all the drag queens in Thailand take a vacation at the same time (or together)?! It was pretty hilarious when he said it, as if it was a totally normal thing to say. He told me to come back when they're back, and was actually quite flattered that I love his show. He asked me which number was my favorite, and I told him the Madonna number. "Ohhhh! (In an excited, high-pitched voice) 'Give it to me!' That's not me but another guy. I'm Rihanna now (which he stressed because he was clearly so proud of this, it was so cute!) Come see me!!" I told him I would and went on my merry way.

After this outing, I went home in a taxi since the BTS was already closed. My taxi driver, who I'd addressed in Thai, then asked me in English where I was from, what I did here and we started chatting. Then, he asks me if I like American Football, it's his favorite! Now, while this may be normal in the States, it is not normal in Thailand. People don't even talk about it, I haven't heard the NFL mentioned once and the only time I've heard anyone utter the word "football," it's in reference to soccer--so you can imagine how shocked I was. And then he went on and on and on, "I LOVE football! The Patiuts (Patriots)! I love the Patriots! Tom Bady (Tom Brady)! Quat-uh-bak (Quarterback)! Best position!" I was so amused, "No! Not the Patriots! The Giants! I'm from NY so I love the Giants! We're better than the Patriots! We won the superbowl." I also told him that if I played football I would want to be a linebacker and he laughed so hard, not really sure why. "I would be a quarterback but I'm too small! I would run and catch the ball, run since I'm fast!"
He then asked me about all the players on the Patriots line-up--"Who is that man with black skin (he points to his arm)? He so fast!!!" "Randy Moss?" I responded. "Yeessss!!! Rady Moss (Randy Moss)!!! So fast so fast!" After some other player discussions (he also loves the Texas Longhorns as a college team!), he then told me he watches American Football on his cable box (I don't even have this?!) and that he has 3 NFL DVDs he watches. Needless to say, I never thought I'd be talking about American football to a small Thai taxi driver. So amusing.

Anyway, thought those moments were post-worthy. Stay tuned for a post on my trip to Vietnam coming soon!

Pinch Me?

Yes, actually, please do. This past weekend, I went with a few girlfriends to Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. Although the infamous Full Moon Party was supposed to be the highlight and focal point of the weekend, another completely unexpected experience overshadowed the supposedly "epic" beach party--a 24-hour stay at the luxurious Four Seasons Estates in Samui. A friend from NY invited me and a friend (I brought Kate) to stay with her and her friend in their hotel room they had gotten for the weekend, so that we could all go together to the Full Moon Party. But before I explain the shock I was in for, let me begin with how I got to the Four Seasons Estates, because the contrast, in retrospect, is too hilarious.

Kate and I took an overnight train departing Friday night down to Surat Thani, a major hub town for travelers going to Koh Tao, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. When we made our train arrangements, we were told that we would get beds to sleep on on the train--the ability to be completely horizontal at night was one of our main reasons for taking the train down as opposed to the VIP bus which we'd taken to Nongkhai. However, once we got on the train and were escorted to our places, we were shocked to find that they weren't beds, but normal train seats. We immediately started freaking --how were we going to sleep on seats that didn't even recline! Here we were thinking we were so smart to get beds! The woman seated across from Kate saw we were clearly distressed and to try and make matters better for us, she offered Kate a wing from her KFC dinner (?!). After Kate kindly declined, she then explained to Kate that the train staff makes the beds at about 8pm--our seats would be transformed into bottom bunks and an upper bunk would be pulled down from above. Thankfully, we did get beds and were able to sleep comfortably, curtained off from the train passageway. It was a bit noisy, though this didn't disturb my sleep nearly as much as the elderly woman who pulled back my curtain and woke me up at 4:45 AM, barking at me, in what seemed to be a very concerned tone, in Thai (she'd had clearly lost her memory). After I patiently told her that I did not speak Thai, and close my curtain to fall back asleep, she wouldn't take no for an answer--she opened my curtain again, tried to talk to me, again, and I tried the same tactic, to tell her that I didn't speak Thai and shut my curtain. This went on for about 3 or 4 more rounds until finally she woke up the KFC woman who spoke to her in Thai and I could finally go back to bed. In the morning, the KFC woman told me she was an old woman who'd lost her mental faculties. Other than the noise and the early morning visitor (albeit humorous after the fact), the train, overall, was a great way to travel.

After the train arrived, 2 hours late, in Surat Thani, Kate and I boarded a double-decker bus to take us to the ferry where we would cross from the Surat Thani pier (40 km away from the train station) to Samui. The bus was packed to the GILLS with backpackers--old, young, European, Australian, American, hippies, punks, yogis--I've truly never seen such an interesting mix of Westerners in my life. Kate and I immediately knew that we were on the "Full Moon Express" and that the majority of these people would be heading to the Party. The bus attendant asked Kate and me where in Samui we would be staying so he could recommend an appropriate mode of transportation. When we told him, "The Four Seasons," he just stared at us blankly for a moment, to make sure we were serious, repeated what we'd said, and after a nod of agreement, he told us, still in disbelief, where on the island the hotel was and how much we should expect to pay to get there.

After about an hour on the bus, we were dropped off at the pier to board the ferry to Samui, which was the first stop; the ferry continued on to Phangan after. The ferry, which was also packed with people headed to the Party, traveled through the Samui archipelago for about 1.5 hours in some of the most beautiful seas I've ever seen--we passed gorgeous mountainous islands emerging from the crystal-clear waters, which varied in shade--sometimes blue, and other times turquoise or aqua. Upon arrival in Samui, Kate and I took the most memorable motorbike ride ever--two of us on the back of one bike, with our backpacks stored up in front of the driver. The bike strained under the stress of our weight as we climbed up the island on our way to the hotel.

View from the ferry

We finally made it to the hotel and took a seat in the reception. I think the concierge was just as surprised as Kate and I were--what were two young backpacking girls doing here?!?! Kate and I looked out and we really did have to pinch each other; this wasn't a hotel, but a collection of villas steeped into the luscious green mountain, overlooking a breath-taking view of the ocean. We were given a complimentary welcome beverage, which we sipped, still stunned by the beauty and elegance of the resort, as we filled out our arrival forms, becoming actual guests in the hotel. After the registration, we were taken in a golf cart to our home for the night and two days. We passed different "villas" until the cart stopped in front of a residence with the sign "Estate 10;" we weren't staying in a hotel room, or even a villa, we were staying in an estate.

Views from the Four Seasons

We entered the building, which then opened up into a dining room, living room and I could tell there was a pool. It turns out, the estate was a collection of four villas, each a separate building--3 for sleeping, and 1 for entertainment; there was also a dining pavilion, 2 private pools (each the size of any respectable hotel pool), heaps of outdoor lounging space, and a downstairs living space, as if the main, upstairs living space wasn't enough. In total, we had 9,000 square feet of indoor space, let alone the outdoor space which included 2 outdoor showers, 2 pools, the dining pavilion, significant reclining space around the pool, and massive day-bed like pieces of furniture for outdoor resting and reclining. There were 2 floors, 4 marble bath tubs, 3 bedrooms, 2 living rooms, 1 dining room and many gorgeous bathrooms (I did not count). The pool was perched on the edge of our estate grounds, overlooking the water from a few thousand meters above sea level; the pool was also connected to the dining pavilion to facilitate extreme laziness, and there were two stone gargoyle fountains at the edge that were amusing, though their Gothic-like presence did seem a bit out of place. We also had a private butler, Chai, who was on-call 24-hours a day. He was such a nice man, who could anticipate any possible need or desire you can fathom.

The main living area

One of the three baths

One of the outdoor lounging areas

View of the main building, the pool and the food pavilion

The food pavilion and the fountains

One of the smaller residence villas

Residing in such luxury (there must be an even more powerful word for this...maybe they've invented one in Dubai) also comes with incredible food and service. All weekend, we had food brought to us by the pool at our beck and call, and we could order just about anything. The alcohol, top shelf of course, was also freely flowing and available on demand. For lunch after our arrival, we had caprese salad, sandwiches, and hummus and pita by the pool. For dinner, we ate at the hotel's beach-side restaurant, which on Saturday nights was a buffet-style barbecue complete with fire-dancers for entertainment; we had a lovely meal.

Kate and me hanging out by the pool

Kate, me and Gill at our beach-side dinner

Before arriving at the Four Seasons, Kate and I assumed that we were invited by my friend's friend, paid for either by her or her family. It turns out all of this was provided by, not my friend's friend and her family, but two of her friends (my friend's friend's friends) who were both investment bankers in Hong Kong. They were the nicest guys, and welcomed me and Kate as a part of their Samui weekend. For most of the time, we all ate, drank, swam in the pool and relaxed. The other girls and the two guys got a number of spa treatments and also went on a private elephant trek, which we heard was amazing. It was extreme relaxation and indulgence.

Drinks by the pool

We decided that we would all go to the Full Moon Party together and the guys had arranged a private boat transfer ahead of time to take us to the party and back. After dinner, we were taken in a mini-van to the pier, where we were surprised yet again. We weren't in just any old boat, but a new yacht. It took us very quickly across the sea to Phangnan for the Party; it was only a 20 minute ride.

Gill and Kate caught in the wind on our speedy yacht

We got to the island and I can honestly say that I'd never seen anything like this in my life--the beach was jam-packed, a sea of people dancing the night away to all sorts of music. There were 20-25,000 people on the beach for the party; the August party is usually the largest because it is peak season. People had bright lights like at a rave; others were painted with neon paint (at the end I got a Danish flag on my cheek); others were half-naked. I saw men urinating in the water; trash strewn about everywhere; girls mooning and flashing people; people dancing on top of unsturdy wooden structures (I won't even justify them with the word "table"); people grabbed my butt, breasts and stomach--it was a huge free-for-all. But it was funny, because on one part of the beach, you might be dancing to hip-hop music and that section of the beach would be its own micro-party where you couldn't hear any other music, but then, 100 meters down, people might be dancing to trance or classic rock, but the sounds would never mix or overlap, they were totally contained units! Kate and I got a standard-size sangsom (whiskey) bucket, but there were super-sized buckets too, like the size of buckets painters use! I felt as though I didn't really have the typical "full moon experience" since I wasn't with backpackers, I arrived and left on a private yacht, and we left at about 2:30 and not 5 or 6 AM since that's as long as the boat could wait for us--I'm not complaining at all, I prefer the luxury and brief encounter any day, I'm just saying that my perception and experience may be different from others'. However, I can't deny that it was a crazy party.

Me, Kate and our sangsom bucket

A sea of Full Moon Party-goers

Our full-moon group: Me, Kate, Gino, Sarah, Gill and Wai

A beach-side bar snapshot and lights galore

Face paint

On the boat back, we hopped the line to our boat and heard people asking, "what color is their sticker?!" It was a pretty sick exit, if I do say so. When we arrived back at our estate, we had late-night food and champagne waiting--we had pad thai (some of the best I've had), margarita pizza, french fries, hummus and pita and a cheeseburger (for the guys)--all warm and ready to be eaten in the food pavilion. We went to bed full and satisfied.

In the morning, Chai woke us all up with breakfast ready--fresh mango, pineapple and other fruits; bagels, smoked salmon, capers and freshly sliced tomatoes and onions; scrambled eggs with mushrooms and other items were featured at the meal. The rest of the day was pretty much the same as the day before until we had to leave in the early afternoon to catch our flight (yes! flying, an appropriate mode of transportation after a luxury stay) home. We took the ferry, then the bus and then song-taew to the airport; then a short flight and a taxi ride and I was back at home, back in reality, though this is certainly a weekend I won't forget.

Farewell to my sublet

Urban paradise from the my pool

Take 2

My oasis for a month

Life or Death and then Baguettes in Laos

I've just returned from a four-day vacation in Vang Vieng and Vientane, Laos. This past Tuesday was Mother's Day (i.e., the Queen's birthday, replete with the traditional Royal, nation-wide televised procession), so I had a long weekend. Kate and I took an overnight bus on Friday night went through immigration, and then passed over the "Friendship bridge," the bridge linking Thailand and Laos, which crosses over the Mekong River. In Thai, the literal translation of "Friendship Bridge," is "bridge which connects Thailand country with Laos country," so not sure where the "Friendship" came from, seeing that almost every south east asian country seems to dislike Thais and Thailand. Anyway, we went over the bridge, paid a slew of entry fees, and then took a short taxi into Vientiane.
Even in the taxi, before we reached any destination, I could immediately feel that Laos was different from Thailand--much calmer and laid back, not as heavily developed; overall it had a more relaxed feel. We got to the bus station in Vientiane, met Chris and Phil, and immediately got tickets and boarded a bus which would take us three and a half hours north to Vang Vieng, our first stop. Our bus was a "VIP bus," just as our overnight bus was, but this bus seemed to be out of 1970's Japan--it had plastic seat covers a la the Bradys, with interesting Japanese writing. Regardless, it got us, through windy mountain roads steeped in incredible scenery, to Vang Vieng, and actually dropped us off right in front of our hotel, which was basically a main building and a cluster of bungalows. Our little bungalow was adorable, much nicer than the one we stayed in at Samet. It was perched right on a river with views of giant mist-covered mountains. It was also clean, had a bathroom with a flushing toilet (!!), and a nice mosiquito-net over our bed which made us feel like little princesses out of "The Secret Garden."

View from our bungalow

Kate in our bungalow modeling with the mosquito net

Starving, we decided to head into town for a quick lunch. The "town" was basically one road with a few small streets off of it, but overall it was very cute. It was filled with internet cafes, a few massages parlors, street vendors serving sandwiches and crepes (!! so different from my Thai street vendors where bread does not exist!) and lots of little restaurants, all seemingly showing old episodes of "Friends," (no joke), advertising pizza and other types of pizza: "pizza contains...", "happy pizza," pizza with "other stuff;" most of these restaurants were playing Bob Marley or Jack Johnson in the background. So that was funny. After lunch, we went on a hunt in town to go tubing.

The main street in Vang Vieng


A small shop in Vang Vieng

Apparently, Vang Vieng is the tubing capital of the WORLD. Yes, that's what the ads say. We'd read about this before we came. The catch though, in Vang Vieng, is that the tubing experience includes drinking: as you tube down the river, there are little bars that you're supposed to stop at. So, Chris, Phil, Kate and I rented our tubes, and headed to the river. Our driver drove us about 200m from the river entry point and left us to walk the rest of the way. Normally, wlking 200 m would not be a problem, BUT, we had no shoes since the tubing company took them and told us to go barefoot, AND, the reason our driver left us so far away was because the mud was too thick and deep that his tuk-tuk could have gotten stuck in the mud if he tried to move. So, we were left to walk 200m barefoot, in the gross Laos mud. It was truly a disgusting experience. Chris then taunted me and Kate that we'd get hookworm from this--I'm seriously hoping that we don't.

Me and Kate walking barefoot in Laos mud

Anyway, after the mud debacle, we finally got in our tubes into the river, which was a lovely shade of poo-brown, and after a few strong paddles, we were headed on our merry way, awaiting our first bar stop. Luckily, we didn't have to wait too long--within a minute of our almost peaceful floating, we heard loud bar music--"Paradise City" to be exact, and within second the bar was in site. The bar was like a little alternative universe, filled with wasted, mud-covered farang (white foreigners; from mud-wrestling of course), and was complete with a zip-line into the river. We got to the bar, zip-lined some, but were just not in the state as the others were, so we left after 20 minutes or so, onto the next bar. However, as we were leaving, there was a mass exodus and people started to frantically grab tubes. Someone took mine and sailed off with it, so I ran and got the last tube left at the bar. Some clearly too-drunk girl, who could barely stand, yelled a feeble "bitch" at me, since she was left without a tube. However, karma seemed to catch up with me pretty quickly, since right after I got into the river, I was pushed by a very strong current into a tree, and then a pole which supported the zip-line, which, unfortunately for me, had a big hook which cauht the tube and quickly deflated it, leaving me bobbing in the water under strong currents, trying to hold onto anything that came my way for dear life. After a very scary current-ridden minute or so, I came upon the next bar, was thrown a lifesaving tube to be pulled into the bar, got to the bar, stole someone's tube there to replace my long-gone deflated one, and then headed out to the river again with my group. We relaxed for a bit--my fast-beating heart needed it--deciding not to stop at the more rowdy bars and opted for a calmer, more empty one.

Kate and I enjoying a bucket-beverage at one of the

Chris, Kate and Phil--calm tubing

View along the river

This was our last stop before the last bar, which marked the end of the tubing experience. We were pulled in by young children, literally about 7 or 8 years old--it was kind of sad that they risked their lives (for a small fee) in strong currents to get us safely onto land. To return the tubes, we all had to walk barefoot and practically naked in our swimsuits, with our tubes, through town to return them. I came to the conclusion while tubing that although this was an awesome concept, the only reason it probably existed in Laos (and almost no where else) was because of the lack of an insurance industry.

The next day, Chris and Phil went back to Vientiane and Kate and I decided to go on a day-long trek called "The Secret Eden." Let me just say from the get-go, someone's eden is certainly someone else's hell (perhaps hell is too strong though). To sum up the trek/hike experience, Kate and I scaled two mountains--went up and then down both of them; were ankle deep in mud though covered in mud up to our knees; bitten alive by possibly malaria and dengue mosquitos (don't worry, we're fine); rcok-climbed up huge rocks; hiked up through three caves; used our hands and knees to hiked up and down the steep, muddy mountain terrain; and waded through 3 rivers and swam through rapids, all in 8 or so hours, without helmets, harnesses, or any of the Western gear probably mandated by a Western insurance company (again, not in Laos). The pictures, all though amazing and show some sublime views, cannot really illustrate what we went through on this hike/trek. All I had to show for my experience were two matching leech bites on the backs of my heels, mosquito bites galore, and a very sore body in need of a Laos massage.

Scenery on the way to the mountain

On our hike/trek, we were accompanied by our really lovely guide, Lay, (who completed the hike/trek/caving in flip flops or barefoot at times, while Kate and I, in our Wester sneakers, slipped and had some very scary falls about 8-10 times) who taught us about the Laos people, and Laos culture and history. My favorite anecdote was when he told us that to determine if children are ready to go to school, teachers make the children raise their arm up and try to touch their opposite ear (if use right arm, try to go over the head and touch your left ear). Most children can't do this until about 8, so that's when most start school. It was pretty funny.
Anyway, overall, the hike/trek was a great experience, I'm glad I did it, but would want to wait awhile before doing it again. About 6 hours into the hike, I became paniced that we would be stuck in the forest because there seemed to be no end in sight, and it was getting dark and all the mosquitos were out. So, for the last two hours, all I could think about were the following three things:

1. I'm never getting off this mountain, what if I can't get out. Would a helicopter know how to airlift me out of this mountain if I broke my legs??
2. This would never, never happen in the U.S. No one in their right mind would go on this trek--I had no idea what I was getting myself into. What is this company thinking, that people over the age of 30/35 would actually do this? When ICE does ecotourism, it better not be anything like this or we won't make a damn penny.
3. I now completely and totally understand why the U.S. lost the Vietnam war.
After the hike was over, Kate and I took much-needed showers, got a lovely Western meal, and amazing, amazing Laos massages for half the price they are in Thailand (as if they couldn't get any cheaper).

Kate and our guide Lay

A view of one of the TWO mountains we scaled


Little boys in one of the villages we passed in the valley between the two mountains we hiked

Monday morning we headed back on the bus to Vientiane to do some relaxing, sightseeing and shopping before heading back to Thailand. When we got there, we checked into our hotel which was so lovely and clean, comparable to the $45 hotels in Thailand, but was half the price for the two of us (definitely better hotel value in Laos). We walked pretty much all of Vientiane in two hours and saw the major temples, other sites, and Vientiane's own version of the Arc du Triumph, which they themselves diminish and degrade. Walking in Vientiane though, I really didn't feel like I was in Asia, or not the Asia I knew in Bangkok. The streets were wide and nicely paved and weren't croweded to the max (I could actually walk!); there were tons of little bakeries and cute cafes; the overall pace was slow and sleepy; the people were warm and friendly; there was interesting architecture, a lot of green, and, there were pedestrian crosswalks, truly a novelty; Vientiane definitely had a colonial feel. I was also so surprised by the number of farang in Vientiane, I hadn't seen so many in a long time, probably not since my July 4th celebration thrown by the American Chamber of Commerce, or on my visit to Khao San Road in Bangkok.

A monk sitting in the Wat Si Saket complex

The food was also incredible in Vientiane, my stomach finally felt at home again. I got cheap wine, cheese, delicious baguette, baked goods, and salads (truly a rarity). Kate and I ate at an adorable little French restaurant one night and the next morning went to the Scandinavian Bakery for breakfast. Overall, Vientiane was a much-needed culinary retreat.

Sky in Vientiane

After some market-shopping (minus famous Laos silk scarves since we'd gotten those in Vang Vieng) and last minute purchases, we relaxed and made our way back over the border, into Nong Khai for dinner with Chris and Phil at a Vietnamese restaurant on the Mekong and then back on the overnight bus back home to Bangkok. It was perfect timing since the Mekong was starting to flood in Vientiane and as we left, people were furiously sand-bagging by the river to prevent flooding damage. Our taxi driver said the flooding hadn't been that bad since 2002.

The morning market under the stress of rain

Flooding in Vientiane, the worst since 1966 actually


Boys playing in the flood

Volunteers sandbagging

Stay tuned for more stories coming up from Samui.....

Addendum: As I'm sure my family would like to know, I was able to meet up with my cousins Beth, Andy, Jenna, Hallie and Owen for dinner upon their arrival in Vientiane; they were kind enough to bring me a few items from the states! After about two weeks of intrepid traveling, they will be in Bangkok where we can meet up again for another lovely evening!