Just a Joke

De australische variant van ezeltje prik. Gemaakt van karton , voor een wereldspel op een lagere school.

Nong Khiaw is beautiful! Nested along the riverbank of the Nam Ou and the karst mountains on the background. Early in the morning you can see the clouds clearing away from the mountain tops. I went to the Viewpoint, 1.5 hour walk to the top and enjoyed reading a book with a breeze and a 360 degree view. Afterwards I walked to the caves (another 3km). I got lost at first but when I finally found it the adventure really started. A guy had to rescue me from the cave because I got myself at the bottom of a steep slope I couldn’t climb up again by myself. The guy then showed me another cave which was a real climb. At one point he turned off the lights and lit up a cigarette. A bit freaky and I was happy when I could see the sunlight again. Covered in mud and scratches I went back to my guest house (4km) to get a shower. I survived!

The second day was a exhausting day. It took us about 6 hours to climb and descend 4 hills before we got to the first village. I can’t remember the name of the tribe, but I sure can remember the Indiana Jones bridge we had to cross to get there! At one point a piece of bamboo broke- I was sure that was it for me. Luckily I was wrong :) The villages were very primitive. Pigs, dogs, chicken, cows, ducks and kids were all running about. Some children thought I was pretty scary, others thought it was hilarious when I showed them the picture I made of them.

The last day of our trek we wanted to leave early, so we could walk a bit before it became hot. I started to realise it was time to leave the villages and the jungle again. It was hard work, walking around through the wilderness but it was also an amazing experience.

I got on the bus in Luang Prabang and was dropped of at the Luang Nam Tha bus station at 2.30 am. The horror. After about half an hour of freaking out quietly in a dark bus station, I managed to get on a tuktuk to the ‘city’ which was about 10 km away. I had to wake up the owner of a guesthouse, but man, I was so happy to get a bed for the rest of the night. Next day I had a slow start. I decided to look for a trekking the next day and then I rented a bicycle. Cycling in between the rice fields, through little villages. so much fun! Also, this was only the first day I got sweat in my eyes. So hot!

Wednesday morning, I set off on my next adventure: a 3 day trek through the jungle! Together with a Swiss couple, our guide and a helping hand from a nearby village, we set off into the woods. I did see more wildlife than I thought I would see, but unfortunately they were all creepy crawlers (bugs, lots of bugs). We ate local food, tasted herbs that grow in the forest and learned about their medicinal qualities. The first night we slept in a hut in the middle of the jungle. No electricity, but we did have running water- from a little stream. Good thing we had mosquito nets because it’s hard to relax with things crawling over you or flying at you.

A little bit more of Luang Prabang

Last night I watched a movie at L'etranger, but the romcom had me crying my eyes out. It made me miss Bob, so I made myself feel better by shopping at the night market. First pic is of a Hmong woman of whom I bought a hand-embroidered table cloth. This morning I got up at 5.15 to see the monks get their alms at dawn. You could see the city slowly waking up. Today I just went walking around the peninsula, and I still have to pick up my Vietnamese visa before I get on the 10 hour long bus to Luang Namtha.

May 24th, still in Luang Prabang. Today I went to the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre and the Royal Palace Museum. At the museum a man wanted to take pictures of me, well that’s a first. When I visited Buddha Footprint, I had a chat with a monk who wanted to practice his English. I then crossed the book bridge where minutes later I was dragged into the water by a drunk Lao women, who wanted me to bathe with soap and then offered me some Lao Lao whiskey. Fun times :) Tonight I’ll watch a movie at L'etranger Books and Tea (and apparently movies)

Short post with some pretty pictures. First one is my wallet filled with probably a million kip. I heard Vietnam is even worse with all the bank notes. The green wraps are filled with sticky rice.