Note: The lack of sleep had the past 48 hours will be noticable in this post. So velly solly.
Crossing Borders
The past couple of days I've been on so many busses that I've spent more time being driven around than actually having my feet touch solid ground. I did spend a full day speaking 'French' in Oudomxay (rightfully the Lonely Planet's 'ugliest town in Laos'), got invited to a drinking game by six Lao women in Muan Khiaw (and informally got married to one of them, apparently) and got up at four o'clock to see a local market unfolding in Muan Sing at some point.
The trip out of Laos was interesting, as I needed to take a boat to cross the Nam Ou river before I could get on the bus to Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam. Most of this all took place around 5 o'clock in the morning with only plastic bags, dogs and a family of pigs for company at the local pier.
The border crossing itself was completely hassle-free. No overcharging, no delays and only three people that were crossing into Vietnam. Wow.
Same, Same But Shut The Hell Up
After half a day of Dien Bien Phu. famous for the 1953 battle which was the beginning of the end for French Indochina, I hopped on a bus to Sapa. After a ten hour bus ride, I was dropped of at the local church at 4 am. During the trip the road conditions were very poor, a truck had driven itself into a ditch (nobody helped, we just had to wait until our driver got sick of waiting and forced his 15 tonne vehicle past the truck, flirting dangerously with a cliff in the process). This nighttime arrival in Sapa was unpleasant, but saved me the welcoming of a dozen Hmong tribeswomen, all wanting to show me their village, and the motorcycle drivers, all wanting me to supposedly get their kids through high school.
The Aunt Of All Tourist Traps
Sapa is a mess. Xe oms or motorcycle drivers are pushy as ever and guesthouses, restaurants, spas and hotels practically poke you in the face. A local 'village' right down the road from Sapa charges 2 dollars entry fee and is a long stretch of stores that pretty much all sell the same things (scarves, pipes, earrings, bracelets...). All the way down in the valley is a with plastic littered waterfall. The city itself is colorful and some of the buildings are nice. Hmong tribeswomen are everywhere, offering info, tours and things to sell, usually in that order. In the local tourist office, I met a Chinese and an Isreali woman, and spent most of the day with them exploring 'Cat Cat village' and sipping local apple juice.
The region is famous for its layered ricefields, spread over the slopes of the hills. So you have that, yes. I'm more a fan of old fashioned primairy rainforest, though. This time of year, a lot of things also seem to be on fire for some reason. Tomorrow I'll explore the local market and the days after that I'll be going a little further afield, depending on the weather.
Pictures unavailable thanks to same, same but different computers.
On a brighter note: At least it's cooler here.
Crossing Borders
The past couple of days I've been on so many busses that I've spent more time being driven around than actually having my feet touch solid ground. I did spend a full day speaking 'French' in Oudomxay (rightfully the Lonely Planet's 'ugliest town in Laos'), got invited to a drinking game by six Lao women in Muan Khiaw (and informally got married to one of them, apparently) and got up at four o'clock to see a local market unfolding in Muan Sing at some point.
The trip out of Laos was interesting, as I needed to take a boat to cross the Nam Ou river before I could get on the bus to Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam. Most of this all took place around 5 o'clock in the morning with only plastic bags, dogs and a family of pigs for company at the local pier.
The border crossing itself was completely hassle-free. No overcharging, no delays and only three people that were crossing into Vietnam. Wow.
Same, Same But Shut The Hell Up
After half a day of Dien Bien Phu. famous for the 1953 battle which was the beginning of the end for French Indochina, I hopped on a bus to Sapa. After a ten hour bus ride, I was dropped of at the local church at 4 am. During the trip the road conditions were very poor, a truck had driven itself into a ditch (nobody helped, we just had to wait until our driver got sick of waiting and forced his 15 tonne vehicle past the truck, flirting dangerously with a cliff in the process). This nighttime arrival in Sapa was unpleasant, but saved me the welcoming of a dozen Hmong tribeswomen, all wanting to show me their village, and the motorcycle drivers, all wanting me to supposedly get their kids through high school.
The Aunt Of All Tourist Traps
Sapa is a mess. Xe oms or motorcycle drivers are pushy as ever and guesthouses, restaurants, spas and hotels practically poke you in the face. A local 'village' right down the road from Sapa charges 2 dollars entry fee and is a long stretch of stores that pretty much all sell the same things (scarves, pipes, earrings, bracelets...). All the way down in the valley is a with plastic littered waterfall. The city itself is colorful and some of the buildings are nice. Hmong tribeswomen are everywhere, offering info, tours and things to sell, usually in that order. In the local tourist office, I met a Chinese and an Isreali woman, and spent most of the day with them exploring 'Cat Cat village' and sipping local apple juice.
The region is famous for its layered ricefields, spread over the slopes of the hills. So you have that, yes. I'm more a fan of old fashioned primairy rainforest, though. This time of year, a lot of things also seem to be on fire for some reason. Tomorrow I'll explore the local market and the days after that I'll be going a little further afield, depending on the weather.
Pictures unavailable thanks to same, same but different computers.
On a brighter note: At least it's cooler here.
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