Well, I've enjoyed a few towns since I've last posted.
From Vientiane I went to Ban Na Hin (also called Ban Khoun Khan). I can't call it a town - we were at a guesthouse on a road with not much in walking distance. I met a wonderful family from Minnesota - Amy and Mark and their 9 year old son Oliver. We had a great time hanging out with them, playing cards at night and talking. The main site in Ban Na Hin is a 7km cave with a river running through it. We all got together and took a minivan to the site and then a 3 hour boat trip through the cave and back. It was beautiful. Makes me want to read up on geology - how do these things come into formation? It the strength of a river really enough to gouge out a mountain and create a cave that high and long?
The next morning, we waited on the side of the road about an hour for the bus to come. The buses just stop wherever they see people and pick them up. Makes for a long trip :) As given that these are local buses, as opposed to the tourist buses which are not as readily available in Laos as they were in Vietnam, it's always an interesting ride. Full blown hot and sweaty - no AC - but the door is usually wide open the whole time as are the windows. Extra people sit on plastic chairs in the aisles, surrounded by the sacks of rice, produce and random goods (for example, about 30 moped tires). At every stop, vendors swarm the windows and walk through the bus selling meat, eggs (and once, crickets) grilled on sticks, drinks and other unknown snacks. It's always a surprise :)
Grittiness is a must when traveling in countries like this. Even though it sounds like situations you would want to avoid, it's actually quite a refreshing experience. There is something psychologically strengthening about enduring hard experiences. Of course, "hard" is a matter of perspective - even going without A/c, clean buses, general efficiency/organization is hard for westerners or at least for me. But to be able to let go of control and go with the flow is a good lesson. I remember feeling I learned his in India too (not sure whether I ever put it into practice when I got home :).
From Ban Na Hin, we went to Savannakhet, a quiet river town. They say its a town that time forgot - it used to be a hub of boat travel and trading between Laos and Thailand but with cars and bridges now, its more subdued. We had a delicious hot pot meal on the river one night. The main event was a one-day trek through "sacred" forests. We got to have a meal in the shade of the forest for lunch full of local food (the ubiquitous sticky rice!). In addition, as we walked our kind local guide showed us many plants used in cooking and medicine that we got to try: quinine plant for malaria (and gin & tonic?), coriander plant, a plant that smelled like cinnamon, a plant that helps with mosquito bites (tested on of the girls on the trek with success), a plant the leaks from water from its stem when you pick it (drinkable!), a tree the leaks oil that can be burned in torches, a tree the bleeds when you cut it (red sap), etc.
And now...Pakse - the hub of southern travel in Laos. We met some nice Israeli people on the bus. It's so neat meeting people from countries all over the world and talking about relevant issues. It's humbling to learn so much from others. Our Laos visa expires in 6 days so we are anxiously planning it out now. More later!
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