My people

Sah bah dee!

The white folks here are slowing starting to get on my nerves. At first glance, they ask all the right questions. Can they see the room? How many beds? How long is the boat ride? Where does the bus stop? But as of late, I've come across some real snobs. They've paid for a full meal yet only got a few jumbo shrimps. Granted we are used to bigger dinners, but for $2, order another! There have been a couple who complain about the cleanliness of a room or the speed of the internet. May i remind you where we are...where we chose to be? Be happy there is a western toilet, let alone tp. Even happier there is actual internet and clean water and electricity! And again...we get what we pay for...Technically we're probably getting more if the room is only $6. It's not always fun or glamorous, but necessary to at least attempt to adapt to our surroundings when choosing to visit. Which technically I should be learning more than just thank you and hello if I'm here. So I'll step down from the soap box. Khap jai!

That being said, Don Dhet in the 4000 islands of Laos has been my favorite for the country...if not my favorite for all of SE Asia that I've seen this far! Pai Thailand,I must say, comes in at a close second.

From Pakse I took a short two hour bus to Ban N. something, which was a port to the island I'd be staying on. I had no hotel reservation, but saw a flyer at my hotel in Pakse so decided to head towards that. I knew it was to the right of where we'd deboard the boat, but people in town told me to keep walking...it'd be another 3.5km. No big deal. That's like 2 miles. Once again, why do I get myself on these long walks with my backpack?!

An hour later I made it. It must be like the Machu Picchu...kinda...but totally worth the hike. There were signs advertising sunset or sunrise bungalows...this one was on the south end of the island and featured both! For US$2/night. To myself. Besides the occasional noise where my bathroom wall joined with my French neighbors...good thing I feel like anything they say is beautiful just by the way they speak it.

Anyway. My bungalow is directly beside the friendship bridge that joins to another island with a waterfall, the old train, some endangered dolphins, and pretty much no inhabitants. I journey across by a beat up old cruiser bike...mindful of the one working brake which is for the front wheel. Good thing there are zero hills. Just lots of rocks in the dirt road. And the northmost point to the southmost point is 4km. Easy.

I honestly just went to the island to find an iced coffee. But actually met some white folks from Canada who made a good impression for us with the locals. They were brothers, speaking highly of the Khmer food I'd soon be eating in Cambodia, and encouraged me to check out this waterfall. I saw it just about at sunset. Great views even though to me it was just raging waters through rocks...no air separated the water from the rock. But now who sounds like a snot? :) it's like when Wisconsin calls its highest point a mountain. Just humorous when you've skied in Colorado :)

So what else? My appetite came back full force! Not sure if its me or some MSG, but I think I've eaten about 6 meals today! I learned how to ask for 'not spicy' after getting a delicious slaw type salad that was just too spicy to finish. And Asian dishes here don't typically come with rice either, so one must ask for it. Pancakes are a toss up for breakfast...some are deep fried, others are the most tasty crepes. Shakes are a toss up too...some are severely watered down and sugared up...others you have to eat with a spoon and are all 100% fruit.

Where I was getting my shake today, there was a groups of dogs procreating and getting in a big barking match. More interesting was the restaurant owner fighting them off with her broom. Guess once I saw kids pooping on public sidewalks in India, anything goes. This will be my permanent vision of each country...Vietnam with people picking their noses for some serious gold...did I see anything deemed socially unacceptable in Argentina or Thailand though? Hmm. Guess they are more second world than third world countries.

The only other things I've done on this island are lay on the 'beach'...the small area of sand that we docked...and lay in various hammocks, reading. And from my views I've watched ducks get into fights, seen a ton of cute baby chicks learning to scrounge for food, walk cautiously past unfenced water buffalo, and have had little baby piglets on leashes squeal at me. The backpacker number might equal to the number of locals. And the locals seem to each have their house double as a guesthouse/restaurant/travel agency/money exchange/laundromat/etc. As primitive as it is, the people don't seem to work too hard...sitting on their stoops chatting with each other throughout the day, yet still happy to help at any request for their service. During one of my many lunches today, I watched a man take the entire hour to replace a hook for a ceiling fan with a hammer and nail. Screwdrivers haven't made it here yet?

I do wonder about the expats here, who live here now with young kids. Sure it's the relaxing life, just the basics, but would it get boring? To me I guess it'd depend on if one has family and friends...those cannot be replaced.

On that note, I'm so freaking excited to say that I will have not one, but two of my friends joining me in the next few days! It's been fun to get some space and alone time...but it will be sweet to share some of these places with some close friends.

Enough rambling for now! Xoxo

The rest of 'nam and some of Laos

So long, Vietnam. Of my couple days in Hanoi, I saw that it was the craziest busy city I've been to outside of India, so I headed towards Ninh Bihn. My hostel concierge warned me that I might find inflated prices and that I should book a $30 tour package with him. No thanks, I think I got this. After a long walk to the bus and waiting 3 hours for it to even depart, I questioned my decision. No one on the bus spoke English, but some women were friendly enough to share their snacks. We piled person after thing after person on the bus for the two hour ride. I thought I did get the white girl price of double the normal $3 rate, but felt better seeing the girl next to me pay the same amount... Increased for the tet holiday (their new year celebration: A HUGE weeklong event with family) I still didnt understand the bus system. We were taking people's packages like a delivery truck, and there were random unmarked bus stops along the highway on the way. Whatever the case, my stop came and the bus assistant grabbed my bag and tossed it to the curb for me!

The town was the original capital of Vietnam, yet not much was in the city. So the next day, after my hotel manager refused to lend me a mountain bike to see the sites outside the city because it was too far, he taught me how to drive a scooter. Same price too. A few prayers later, I was off in crazy scooter traffic! I thought the girl at the hotel said the Cuc National Park would be better than Tam Loc, so I headed that way...45 km away with a rough map. Turns out my sense of direction got lost somewhere along this journey! I made it half way then none of the roads lined up to the map and everything turned to jibberish. Three hours later I decided to turn around, even though a few men on the street told me I was now close to the park. There just wasn't enough time. The drive itself was beautiful nonetheless. It had turned into country roads, with endless rice fields and small villages between grand hills. I passed a few other scooters, and the ones that past me gave me a 180 glance...probably thinking...was that just a white chic driving that scooter?

I made it back in time for the bus back to Hanoi. The concierge talked with me a bit before I left. She excitedly rattled off facts she just learned about America. About how there are 50 states, the biggest cities, and pop stars like Justin Bieber and Britney Spears. I was surprised, but I guess America is the Mecca of places to live in their dreams! I asked if anyone here had negative feelings towards America and she said that most disliked China. She was personally upset that the Chinese would buy produce cheap from Vietnam then sell it back, with preservatives. She's no farmer but even she understood that preservatives that make something last a year or more is not healthy...and to blame for cancer and diseases. Granted, she's just one girl I spoke with, who's parents I'm sure gave her some influence. Felt better than a guy who yelled at me when I was waiting curbside on my scooter...whatever that was about.

After riding past the cute (meat) goats and hearing pigs squeal and seeing people carrying chickens in plastic bags on their scooters...I realized these were all going to be FRESH dinners. So that day, I was vegetarian.

I didn't find much to do in Hanoi besides fight scooters for possession of the streets. Drivers would even be shopping from their scooters stopped in the middle of the road as they ignored the honking of other scooters who were now stuck behind. Madness! There were some historic sites but I think I'm done with those for the moment. Off to Laos!

I flew into Vientiane. First thing I noticed on my $6 cab ride from the airport. Silence. No honking whatsoever! My driver also didn't know a lick of English, and dropped me off at some random hotel. I walked around for an hour, almost booking at other places if they hadn't been full! But finally found my hostel.

There were a couple girls hobbling around our dorm room...turns out they had gotten in a scooter accident and were being sent home. They were pretty bummed since they were only halfway through their month trip. A good reminder to take it easy :)

Vientiane itself was a nice city. A lot like Paris with the Arc de Triumphe and the French pastries and dishes. Can you believe after all this time I still felt a craving for Vietnamese pho?! Perhaps because I had pizza my last night in Vietnam :)

Since there wasn't much to do in Vientiane, and since it didnt offer hammocks either, I have headed south to Pakse, per a recommendation from a fellow backpacker. Nothing here either, but the town is walkable, there is Italian food to choose from (Indian too but I'm still gonna pass for awhile), and my guesthouse is right along the river. $6 a night and its not even a dorm...but I do share it with a few ghekkos! And after 3+ weeks I'm going to do my bus mates a favor and wash my clothes! By the way, the sleeper bus that I rode in on this morning was awesome. There were no seats, just cubbies with beds. I shared mine with another solo girl traveller from Austria. Who was actually 34! She gave me tips on Thai islands, and I told her where to stay in Pai. In the middle of the night I recall hitting a big bump and smelling some fumes, but it faded, along with my thoughts of it. A girl next to us told us the bus assistant had 'stomped on the floor' and stomped whatever fire out. She was still in amazement how something like that could happen and he just fix it by stomping on the floor! Ha! Only in SE Asia!

It smells like incense here too. I guess at this point the countries and cities are starting to look alike. More mosquitoes and its more humid here, but the people are just as friendly. No one hassles me to buy their clothes or ride in their tuk-tuks either! Maybe what I pull from this experience is how to sell my produce...ride it around on my bike to show it off, but not harass people to buy it.