Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Feb 15 - Coffee served us breakfast of pastries and fresh fruits. After what seemed like a dozen cups of coffee we headed to the first farm. Coffee taught us the fine details between Farm trade and Fair trade. The methods of coffee production and plant productivity, natural fertilizers and much much more. After the farms and nursery we headed back to the coffee shop to hand roast our own beans. This was the most exciting part to me. We got to cook the beans in a wok then taste them all afternoon. When the sun was getting ready to start falling we left for Pakse to return of already late bike rentals. About a mile out of town my front brake locked up. The only way we could get the brake to release was open the bleeder valve and manually open the brake. So I rode home with no front brakes but at least the brake wasn't rubbing the rotor. When we got to Pakse we returned the bikes and retrieved our bags and passports before they found anything wrong with my bike. I've heard horror stories about getting over charged for problems with motor bikes. Close call.

At night we meet up with the Belgians, Curt and Tom. Bought a bottle at the Pakse Hotel which has a great 360 deg view of the city. Stayed till closing time and moved to the hotel. Said our good byes, in the morning we all head our separate directions.
Feb 14 - Continued the ride to Paksong today. Even longer stretch of dirt road then the second day. I ended up being covered from head to toe in road dirt. Great views from the road and no mishaps today. Got coffee in Paksong from a guy named "Coffee" who runs tours of the plantations and coffee production. Decided to take his tour the next day and also convinced some Belgians who showed up to come along. The 6 of us got dinner at a local restaurant. Just about cleaned them out of Beer Lao before the end of the night.
Feb 13 - Continued on to Tad Hua Khon. Good long stretch of dirt roads today. At some point I hit a pot hole and laid out my bike. Didn't get hurt at all but it sheered of the front brake handle. Got that fixed in the next town for a mere 3 dollars. The Lao guys had that bike apart and back together is just a few minutes. After arriving we went for a swim in the waterfall and enjoyed the secluded nice guesthouse.
Feb 12 - Finally decided its time to leave this amazing island getaway. Time to take a motorbike trip into the Bolaven plateau with Jake and Kristine. After arriving via mini bus in Pakse we rented motorbikes and left for Tat Lo. Tat Lo is a waterfall and village with guesthouse accommodations. Found a great place with a view of the water and eat a big dinner. Then headed to the high class Tat Lo Lodge for desserts and wine.
Feb 10 - Went for a morning run with Kristine. Rented a bike again to checkout more of the falls and beaches on the islands. Eat/drank my first coconut. At least that I can remember having ate. Later we collected wood to have a bonfire on an island. Ended up being to much work to find a boat driver. Watched sunset from an island and swam back after dark. Eat some food with Mama and family. Usually you don't eat at Mama's unless you have several hours available to wait. Food always good though!
Feb 8 - 9.
Spent two solid days doing nothing. I read, I swam, I went to a bonfire and I ran into Melodie who I met in Vang Vieng.
Feb 7 - Went to breakfast and eat with Chen. Swam out to some islands for a morning workout. Ended up getting uninvited sit-up lessons from a some old German guy. Turns out he was actually there to play Frisbee with some friends so I tossed the bee for a while. Spent most of the day reading a book in between swims. Ended up finishing my book and trading for "Off The Rail". Its about to Australians that bike across Russia.

Saw a bunch of mullet dreadlocks today. Anyone know what the deal is with that? I saw a few in Seattle but WTF?

Meet Chris, Jake and Kristine from California and Minnesota that stay at the same guest house. Then I found Tom to go get a world famous Don Det pumpkin burger.
Feb 6 - Awoke to a great sunrise over the Mekong and islands. Before it got hot out I ran the perimeter of the island. Ran into the Swedish couple I climbed with and a couple other people I meet in Vang Vieng. Got a great breakfast with Chen and Tom at the cafe Rouge then moved my stuff to "Mama's" place on the sunset side of the island. Two reason for the move. 1. Closer to all the action on the island which isn't much. 2. The swimming is better. Rented a bike for the day and rode to the island of Don Kon and the waterfall and beaches. Later went to dinner with the Tom & Chen as well my climbing buddies Hanna and Martin. Chen lead us in a Jewish prayer to start the Shabbat. Ended the night with Reggae bar.
Feb 5 - On the road again. This time to Si Phan Don (4000 islands). Took a ferry ride on the Mekong to the island of Don Det. While trying to find a hip bungalow I met Tom who was looking for a room as well. We found a nice place with cheap rooms on the sunrise side of the island. The place is a bit far from the town area so we decided to walk around the island in search of more ideal accommodations for tomorrow. The whole loop is probably 3 miles. Afterward went to dinner with two Germans Tom knew and Chan a pretty Israeli girl. For after dinner drinks the Reaggee bar is the only real option. So I hit that up with the Germans until the islands generator power shuts off at 11pm.
Feb 4 - Headed across the Mekong from Champasak today to an island called Don Deange. At first the people seemed nice and I got the usually hello from everyone. I rode the perimeter of the island which amounts to about 12 miles. During the ride my bike pedal fell off. Nothing a little sports tape couldn't fix. Then the begging kids started. First they would demand money then pens for school work. I don't mind donating pens to a school. I think it's a great idea. But don't give them to the kids! They get the idea that all foreigners own pen factory's and give out samples from bikes. On my trek in Luang Prabang Cathy and Scott brought books for the school. The guide said you always give a gift like that to the village leader. So follow that example and give your pens to the students teacher. After that experience a local guy started following me around asking for money because his rice crop is dry. I informed him that it is the dry season in South East Asia and all the crops that are not irrigated are dry. He stopped following me after that. By this point I was ready to leave when some kids road by on bikes. I decided to chase them down and started a race around the island with the kids how were just getting out of school. My bike pedal completely disintegrated so I had to head back to Champasak.
Feb 3 - Moved on to Champasak. Took a fury across the river with a guest house owner. Seemed like a nice guy, always laughing. Turned out he runs a great operation so I got a room. Next I headed to the Wat Phu ruins. The road is a solid 45 minute bike ride which seemed to take forever on an ancient fixed gear bike. To start off I viewed the little museum they have set up. The exhibit kept mentioning the Linga. So I asked a girl who worked there. She got all embarrassed and didn't really answer my question. Turns out to mean phallus. So that's why she was giggling. The Ruins were neat but I hear nothing compares to Angkor Wat. On my way back to town I took the back roads. Little kids always yell "Saba di!" or hello as you ride by. Spent the night planning my trip in Cambodia.
Feb 2 - Showed up in Pakse to late to watch the super bowl. Turns out no one had the game in Pakse anyways. Found a guesthouse and rented a motorbike. I wanted to take the bike up into the hills. Ended up seeing a few small waterfalls and some local swimming holes. People had mention finding neat villages in the hills but I didn't have any luck. Went to my first Laos 7-11. Turns out once you leave the tourist areas pricing is completely different for locals. The smallest bill I'd used was 1000. They lady behind the counter didn't know what to do so I just rounded up the bill. I think she said something about foreigner not being allowed to shop there.

Did some joy riding around the city before returning my bike. Took a few photos and was reminded of how much the tourists in Luang Prabang could get on my nerves. This was one of my reasons for heading south. It seemed to me that hordes of amateur photographers swarmed that city and got in the locals faces a bit much. Especially the Buddhist monks. Pakse was devoid of that kind of tourism.
Feb 1 - Long day of bus rides. From Vang Vieng to Vientiane was a regular bus. From Vientiane to Pakse is a sleeping bus. This was my first sleeping bus ride. I had no idea what to expect. How it works is you get a to share a little sleeping area with another guy. I figure each person gets a sleeping area about 5"11 long and width just smaller then my shoulders. I felt bad for the poor Australian who had to sleep next to me. I woke up drooling on his pillow a few times. Not to mention the one speaker that worked on the bus was directly over my head. The driver had it cranked to the max so he could here the music. After he refused to turn it down I rigged up book over the speaker in an attempt to muffle the Thai pop. He was kind enough to turn the music off between midnight and 5am.
Jan 31 - Back on the rocks! I've been wanting to climb again ever since I left Tan Sai. Vang Vieng is known for its lime stone walls that compare in difficulty and quality to Krabi. The main differences I found are the routes tended to be shorter. The rocks are sharper and less polished since less people climb there. And the views once you get up aren't of the ocean and beaches. During the day I made friends with Flow and a Swedish couple. To end the climb we went up a route that had just been made by one of the local guides. I was lucky enough to be the third person to climb it. It was cool to see how sharp the fresh rock can be. Also the weak rocks are still breaking off the wall so your hand or foot hold might just disappear.

Got dinner later by myself and was joined by some Welsh guys and a French girl. Turned out I had heard about them earlier on my trip from other travelers. Small world. Long story short, very entertaining dinner.

Purchased a ticket to Pakse for an afternoon departure.

Met up with my climbing buddy Flow for a drink. Went to Smile Bar and met Flows friend Melodie. Learned a bit about French culture over drinks.
Jan 30 - Missed rock climbing since I still felt ill and hadn't much sleep. Took my daily malaria pill and felt even worse. Side note: its cheaper to buy pills in Bangkok than the states so wait to buy them if you go to South East Asia. Took it easy all day with plenty of nap time.
Jan 29 - Hopped on a bus back to Vang Vieng. I've decided to head back south eventually landing in Cambodia. As soon as I arrived in town I headed for the tubing. This time with no tube and the intention of trying all the swings and madness. Had a good time swimming around and drinking some cold beer. Two things only Laos would encourage doing at the same time. Later I signed up for rock climbing on the 30th. In the evening I played pool with some Brits. I awoke in the night sick as a dog. Wretched my guts out till sunrise. I think bad food again. No more street vendors for me...
Jan 28 - Time to hike out of the woods. On the way we passed through another village and eat some lunch. While there we ran into another trekking group. It turns out the areas aren't that remote and roads seemed to lead to all the villages. That aside it was a great experience. After we got to the road a few of us checked out the river and watch some gold panning on the banks. By the end of the trip our group Cathy & Scott, Kelly & Tim, Bjorn and I all got to know each other. In the evening we got together for a drink at a rare (in Laos) wine bar.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Jan 27 - Left early for two days of hiking to some hill tribes. The guide and guide trainee did a great job leading the group of 6 through the woods. Our first stop was lunch. A great selection of Laos food laid out on a banana leaf. Next we headed to the first village Mon(sp?) people. Afterward we hiked farther to another village. Where we meet some kids who taught our trekking group how to play a bad mitten like game. You use your hands to hit a birdie. Which is made of feathers tied with woven leafs. Then you try and volley with the kids. After play time we headed to the top of a hill for the sunset. Some village kids came to meet us and help navigate the slick hill side. In the evening we rested with another good meal and some "Lao Lao" or homemade rice whiskey.