Luang Prabang Day 3

Went to the pier to check out how to catch the slow boat to Pak Ban tomorrow. We bought our tickets and then looked for a seamstress to sew up a hole in my levis. I asked a woman, in Thai, at a shop on a main street and she pointed me up a small street to the house on the end. Joan saw the dog barking and waited on the main street (where she got a fancy coffee). The pants got sewn, but not as nicely as they did the other side in Thailand. As we walked back to have breakfast, the lady who told me where to find the seamstress opened her garden gate and asked in incredible English if I’d gotten my pants sewn. Turns out she studied Education in Hawaii and knows a Lao teacher Joan knows in Anchorage. We talked for a long time about the projects she’s working on to help various schools in the area. She’s teaching at the College here in town now and appears to be the senior teacher in town.

As we finally made our way back to get some breakfast we ran into our Japanese friends who are taking the same slow boat we take tomorrow. We had breakfast with them and then went back to see make an audio recording of Phonesvan in the exhibit area near her house where they are developing products and figuring out how to do fundraising.

After that we ran into our two Italian friends and had an Indian lunch with them. And we met some monks at the temple where they are learning how to restore and maintain the temples here. This is a UN – New Zealand funded project. More later.

Luang Prabang Pics

Here are a couple of shots of the first evening. Here are our Italian friends Enrica and Cristina.









The vegetarian dinner spot where everyone sits together. See the first Luang Praban post for more.









The evening market set up on the street.















Joan at the riverside restaurant where we hand light snack.

Luang Prabang Sunset

Here are some shots of Luang Prabang from Phousi Hill the first evening.

Luang Prabang 2

I'm figuring out how to use this machine. Sort of. These are pictures from yesterday's bike ride. Here's the lady at the shop with her son who got us pointed in the right direction to the grave site. By the way, that extra woman in the picture yesterday was a German woman who was biking alone and also couldn't find the spot.

You can see how hazy it is, and how nice it could be from this mountain view.

Luang Prabang

Our 10:10am flight left at noon - the smoke in Luang Prabang was too bad to fly in. But eventually we got there. Then several of the people we got to know waiting at the airport - Enrica, a Japanese couple, and Christina - got a taxi together to a guest house in town. At the guest house Enrica and Christina discovered they were both Italians working in China.

Luang Prabang - what to say? I've wanted to come here since back in Peace Corps days, but it was tricky back then and I only made it to Vientiane. This has been designated a world heritage site - the whole town. It is full of temples. It is a beautiful little town, former royal capital of Laos, sitting on the Mekong. I'm not sure what it is - narrow streets, not much traffic (mostly motorcycles). I think it's the details - the buildings and the streets are nicely finished, clean, and plants and trees are everywhere and blooming. And of course the people are delightfully friendly. But this place has been discovered and is crawling with tourists. And it has obviously changed to accommodate all the tourists. It seems that every fifth house is a guest house and there are outdoor restaurants everywhere aimed at tourists.

Last night after watching the sun set over the Mekong and Luang Prabang from the temple on the little hill in the center of town, we met all the folks from the taxi ride and while looking for a place to eat, stumbled on the vegetarian buffet. Fill your plate for 5000 Kip (about .$50). The amazing part was the long tables filled with people from everywhere. There was a Canadian next to me who had worked summers in Cordova. Two others from Vancouver who are taking a semester abroad from UBC law school in Hong Kong. One of them started speaking great Japanese with our Japanese friends. Joan was talking to a customs official from Holland.

And then we walked down through the night market that was filled with displays of various local crafts. On and on and on.

Today we biked to see the grave of Henri Mouhot, the man who found Angkor Wat buried in the jungle. He died up the road from here of malaria at 35. It was really just a destination for us that seemed like a reasonable bike ride. We couldn't find the sign. We finally stopped at a little shop - a shack really - and asked. It turned out we could walk to it in 15 minutes from there. A young man led us to it. When I got back we met the headmaster of the school and visited a few classrooms and one of the men took me into the village to see his house. I have lots of pictures to print and send them.

And I have lots of pictures, but again, I can't figure out how to reduce the image size to post them in a reasonable time. I'll try a couple. Anyway, Luang Prabang is truly an incredible place. Don't know how long it can last with the influx of tourists, I know it must have been much more interesting 5 years ago. It is really an unexpected jewel of a town way out in the jungles of Northern Laos.

Vientiane Walking Tour

Our room at the Inter Hotel


We're out following the Lonely Planet Guide to Laos' Vientiane walking tour. After the Arch d'Triumph Lao style copy, we wandered thru the morning market and then to the Vegetarian Restaurant for a nice buffet lunch for a little under $3. Here's Joan in the restaurant. I'm having trouble reducing the size of the pictures on this computer so it is taking forever to upload them. It was easier to upload the videos.

Hornbill

OK, this is short and a little shakey, but hey, how often do you see Greater Hornbills? They hide out way up on top and they are hard to see. Look carefully, you'll see it once it starts to move.

Thai Classical Music

Sunday morning, March 4, at 7:30am, before class, Manit picked us up and took us to his Gold Shop in downtown Korat where his friends were playing an informal concert. They practice Tuesdays. They also have a Western Classical group.

Vientiane

The 10:30 am bus from Korat to Nongkai was full. So we walked over to find the other bus company that had a bus at 11:30am. (They start in Bangkok and you can't reserve in Korat unless you buy a seat from Bangkok. These are the VIP fast, well airconditioned busses.) Anyway, where we asked, the pushed us on a bus that was leaving right then (9:30am). In Udontani, they pulled us off and got us another ticket (no extra cost) and we waited 45 minutes for the bus to Nongkai. We met an American from LA who lives in Nongkai and has the Black Canyon Coffee franchise in North eastern Thailand. He told us where to get off the bus to get to the bridge where you leave Thailand and enter Laos and suggested the Inter Hotel. Things went pretty smoothly and the hotel room is great - it is a very nicely refurbished old building across the street from the Mekong River. Not sure if I'll be able to get pictures us while I'm in Laos. This computer isn't cooperating at all. I have a great, if short, video of a Great Hornbill, but that will have to wait a bit.

Travel Plans

It's Friday. I have class tomorrow. My foot is in much better shape than yesterday. We took a tuk-tuk to the Hospital for Joan's last rabies shot. Then walked the couple hundred meters to the Mall to check on email and to post. Email was fine, but couldn't post. The student who had us listen to the classical Thai music last week, invited us to visit a private Chinese-Thai school. He's president of the foundation that funds it along with the Thai government. I'm in his office now, above one of his gold shops, posting. Unfortunately, I didn't bring the cord to download the pictures from my camera or I could offer you some pics of the school.

Before we went to Khao Yai, we bought AirAsia tickets from Chiegmai to Bangkok for March 22. Low cost airlines have made it to Thailand like they have to India. The fare, one way, was B599 on line, but I couldn’t book from the internet store I was in. So we went to the AirAsia outlet where it turned out to be B1500 each (fees and taxes, plus a small commission.) So it’s about $45 one way for an hour flight. We have reservations at the Royal River Hotel in Bangkok for the Peace Corps reunion March 22, 23, and 24. My class is over on Sunday, March 11, and our visas expire on March 14. So we plan to leave Korat Monday, March 12, and go into Laos that day or the next. Then we’ll move on up to Luang Prabang, the old capital in the north, and slowly move our way back into Thailand through Chieng Rai and to Chieng Mai. It looks like bus from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, and then a two day boat ride up the Mekong River (I think) to where we cross into Thailand at Huay Xai.