Everywhere I go it rains on me...

3/29/2010 Luang Prabang

There were only 6 people on the plane. The flight took 2 hours with a small plane (I’m no expert but it really was a small plane), lots of turbulences, but luckily I’m feeling much better now, so I didn’t need to use the sick bag ;)

D. – a girl I contacted via couchsurfing – was so nice to pick me up from the airport. It was about 1 p.m., I got to my guesthouse, slept for few hours and then went with D. for a walk. Correction: wanted to go for a walk, but heavy rain started, thunderstorms, strong wind and it was not possible to walk around. So we’ve been just sitting in a bar, waiting for the rain to stop (a bit at least, so we could go back).

There’s apparently a small hurricane over Thailand at the moment, and it moves East, that could explain the sudden change of weather and the downpour.

In Laos it turned out that my mobile doesn’t work (no roaming), no Internet access (not to mention constant power breakdowns in the city). For the first time in many years I felt for a moment like being totally separated from the outside world. Then, my second mobile (I took two – just in case) finally connected to the network. So, I could let everyone know I’m all right. And I’ve learned that there’s been a terrorist attack in Moscow, just few hours after I got out of the city. So, my friends were actually really worried if I was OK.

Well, somehow this trip didn’t start very well... But then, when I was having a Beerlao and a cigarette in the evening in the garden of my guesthouse, listening to the barking geckos I had a thought that all in all it was just perfect. And all these ‘adventures’ will make it a trip to remember – that’s for sure ;)


3/30/2010 LP Day 2

I woke up early in the morning. It was raining. So, I went back to sleep. Few hours later the sun has finally started to shine. I decided to catch a tuktuk and go to see the waterfalls of Tat Kuang Si. It turned out, it’s not that easy (and cheap) to go there on your own. So, finally I found a tuktuk driver who had one spare place and I could go there with five other people.



The waterfalls were awesome! :) From the waterfalls you could climb up the hill. All the people were climbing the path on the right, I took the path on the left. And so, I landed on an empty trail with no other tourists and was just walking and hiking through the woods. Moreover, I found a path to the ‘spring water caves’...

After an about one hour walk I didn’t find the caves though :D But anyways, I wasn’t there to see something particular. I went to Laos to be in the jungle on my own. Mission accomplished :) And it was great! You know me, that’s what I like the most. Being alone in the woods in some remote areas :) It was awesome and I felt really happy (tired though after a while of hiking).



When I got back, at my guesthouse I met a woman from Pennsylvania who has been working in Laos for five years. Later on I was told by my friend D., that everyone in LP knew her. She was a manager of a quite famous Lao cafe and then moved out, apparently she has just got back and it was “amazing that you met her!” – I was told. The lady shared with me lots of interesting stories about the local life, how the lack of infrastructure has impact on e.g. medical services; that the famous local snack was the roasted chicken feet and that you could actually eat dogs in Laos (bigger dogs taste apparently better than the small ones ;) Not that I would ever eat a dog! It was interesting though.

In the evening I went with D. and her friend for a dinner to a super-nice place called Utopia. If you’re once in LP, go there! A couchsurfer , R., a nice guy, is actually managing the place and I must say he’s doing some pretty god job! We were eating, talking, drinking and chilling out. Basically, it’s all about chilling out in Laos. The next day I decided to go to see the Plain of Jars – I was talking about it to my new friends and they were all like “no, don’t go there! There’s nothing to see. It’s just boring. You’d better stay in Luang Prabang”. Well, thank you guys, you managed to set my expectations really low. It can only be better ;)

Once interesting thing I found out – it’s a season of marriages in Laos now. LOL! Do you remember my blog entries from Sri Lanka and Cambodia? Everywhere I go, whenever I go, there’s marriages season. It reminds me of the book I brought with me to Laos - “Lonesome Traveler” by my all time favorite Jack Kerouac. At the beginning of the novel there’s kind of a small introduction to Jack Kerouac – like a questionnaire, among other questions: “Married?” And the answer: “Nah”. And that’s exactly how I feel about the institution of marriage ;)