4: Waiting for Inspiration in Laos
17 Mar 2002
It is said that Laos is the most bombed country in the world – and it’s never been at war. I thought this was a little unfortunate considering. I would love to tell you that I love the place or even that I hate the place, but I have not formed an opinion of Laos as of yet.
For me a country is not so much the seeing it as the feeling I get, and I haven’t felt overwhelmed in any way yet. And for this I feel a bit bad, because everyone I have come into contact with says it was their best country in SE Asia and I’m just waiting for inspiration – patiently – with only 7 days left to be “moved”. And to be entirely honest I have not seen any craters formed by bombs either because they are generally near the Ho Chi Minh trail and/or surrounded by UXO’s (Unexploded Ordinances) or landmines.
So after Thailand I crossed into Laos at Chiang Kong, a short ferry across and the recommended 2-day romantic slow boat down the river. Well there is nothing romantic about it. Piled on like livestock, the boat filling up with water at a steady pace, the roaring engine at decibels above the recommended yearly allowance, breathing in diesel smoke and sitting on wooden benches for 2 days with very little view of the outside from our wood-paneled cell, ceased to be the romantic little setting I envisaged. I watched, green with envy, as the speed boats whizzed by – only 6 hours of sore bums and engine effluent as opposed to two whole days and double the price, but worth it.
Luang Prabang never stirred me either, but all along the way I have been meeting so many people. I am starting to see what others meant when they say you are never alone as a lone traveller. Although that’s not technically true, it is more out of choice because you cannot really pick the people that cross your path too easily.
Tonight’s example is a good one. We (myself and 2 Canadian guys) were sitting at a corner shop drinking coffee this afternoon when an Australian guy came sauntering our way. Very muscled and tanned, wearing a straw hat, chewing on a toothpick, spitting from great distances and the strongest ozzie accent next to Crocodile Dundee I have ever had the pleasure to meet. What a character! He started by asking us if we were any good at chemistry, and then moved on to tell us how to go about getting the purest form of opium possible using measurements, size of PVC piping and the scientific formula of the pressure on the butane and ethanol.
He then moved on to tell us that his family run the mafia in Australia and also gave us his views on worldwide politics, religion and organised crime, which made Mel Gibson in the movie Conspiracy Theory seem tame. He told us how he had been jailed for 2.5 years for drugs, how he was staying away from the “war” going on back home (Australia!!) and that he was looking for his type of Utopia where people aren’t discriminated against for colour or creed.
And soon after that he was propositioning the Canadian guys I was with to come and find some “Nice Girls” on the Esplanade here in Vientiane. So one minute we’re talking about refining drugs, and the next he’s ordering the chef not to put MSG in his food for fear he might die years earlier than he should. The whole time I’m completely absorbed, because even though he is extreme in his views he is very intelligent and clearly “wasted talent”.
But the straw that broke the funny bone was when I asked him what his name was and he said, as serious as the pope, “Rainbow”.
And that was me – over and out.
Anyway – so little about the country and even less about the local people. I’m sorry to tell you that the best local experience I have had so far is a conversation in very broken English with a 57-year-old local man. We were on our bicycles, on the way up to a cave in Vang Vieng.
He was an ice-cream salesman, and his ice-cream was in a bucket strapped to the back of his bike so he was in a bit of a rush to sell it in a village before it all melted. He was very humble and good for a laugh. Other than that, the locals are not particularly excited to see the foreigners traipsing about – I guess there are just so many of us. I am not saying they don’t like it – I get greeted and smiled at all the time (“Sabaydee!“) – but I think we are becoming more common than “muck” out in these parts.
I must say that I liked the vibe in Vang Vieng. There is a lot to do, including kayaking, trekking and heaps of caves! A must is to slowly float down the Nam Song River on an inner tube, without a care in the world. It took us 4.5 hours to cover a distance which takes 30 minutes just after the rains!
I am having difficulty deciding where to head next, because if I go too far south I may not get back up to cross over into Vietnam before my visa expires. I guess you will find out next time what I did.
