Greetings from Laos, a week that has been dominated not by the
Olympics, but by Olympian amounts of rain and mud. We spent our last
few days in China heading South into ever more green and lush
surroundings. It's true that you can't have a rainforest without the
rain, so as the vegetation changed and became more tropical so did
the refreshing rains.
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| Lush Laos |
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| Plenty of puddles |
Dali was enjoyed by all (after recovering from Jody's birthday), a
world away from the rest of China we've travelled through. The
compact old town completely unspoilt by high rises, beautiful
decorations adorning the walls of traditional houses on narrow
streets. The ancient city ranking as one of the most noted
historical and cultural cities in China, constructed in the Ming
dynasty from 1368 and home to the Bai minority. A slight throwback
from the hippy era, with still a few westerners lingering on, untamed
beards, dreadlocks, Bob Marley t-shirts for sale around town and a
not unwelcome smattering of western cafes serving a decent steak and
chips. Nestled in a corner of the old town was also an unusual
Catholic church, built in 1938 by the French and surviving the
cultural revolution. Chinese in style on the outside but inside
completely European, now home to a small but thriving congregation.
With natural sights to see as well, the Cangshan mountains on one
side and Lake Erhai on the other, some of the group braved the rain
and went on a day tour with Sam, or was that Eddie, from our
delightful Sam's Hotel, including an entertaining fishing trip on the
lake.
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| The outside of the Dali Catholic Church |
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| The inside |
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| Cher & Gill enjoying a feast |
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| Getting used to the rain |
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| A hard day selling cabbages |
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| Mahjong |
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| Betsy |
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| Chris |
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| Cormorant fishing |
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| Traditional Bai batik |
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| Dali traditional street |
Our next stop, Kunming, lived up to its title of Spring city when the
sun came out, albeit briefly. We ventured out enmasse by local bus
to find a well reviewed Indian restaurant. We didn't quite find it
but had fun trying.
The final big drive in China and across the highest bridge in the
world, to the pretty town of Jinghong, an unexpectedly pleasant last
night stop. Literally hundreds of elephant statues all over town
hinting we were close to the country known as the land of a million
elephants. Thinking we had found a good parking space on a quiet
side street we headed off to explore the town, only to be phoned by
the hotel to say the police were there having tracked us down and we
needed to move the truck as the night market was setting up. On
returning to the sleepy street we'd left we found stall holders
engulfing the truck and a couple of disgruntled traders waiting to
set up their wares in Calypso's place. A tricky reverse manoeuvre
avoiding all manner of obstacles, eventually out and with a smile and
a wave off we went to find a more suitable place.
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| View from the bridge |
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| Jinghong elephants |
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| Calypso in the night market |
The next morning we waved goodbye to China, and Calypso and Rogs, for a short time, when missing paperwork being sent from Kunming caused a lengthy delay so on we went by local bus. In our month in China we clocked up 159 driving hours in China and covered over 8,000km giving us the opportunity to fully appreciate the vastness of the country and all its diversity.
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| Cattle making a run for the border |
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| Farewell to China |
We spent an enlightening few days in Luang Nam Tha, our first stop in
Laos. Having dined in China on a lot of fried, very spicy food and
pot noodle lunches, the flavours and ingredients in Laos cuisine are
astounding by comparison. Our taste buds are dancing with the array
of flavours, lemon grass, lime, ginger, coconut. Fresh fruits in
abundance, juicy pineapples, papayas and mangoes and a return to
French bread, thanks to the country's colonial past. The night
market a stone's throw from the guest house spoilt us with roast
duck, pork or chicken accompanied by papaya salad with flavours
pounded together in a giant mortar and pestle. Another treat were
the bags of fresh (and hairless!) pork scratchings, Mr Porky eat your
heart out. Even the Indian restaurant in town was rated “the best
Indian I have ever had” by everyone that went.
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| Nick, Calypso's outrider |
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| Carving duck |
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| The night market |
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| Some interesting menu choices |
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| Rowan & Jeff, and lemon and mint shakes to die for! |
With full bellies some braved the elements and went out for a full
day hiking and kayak or rafting tour. Nick returned a few short
hours later having struggled to make it up the first hill made up
purely of mud. On sliding 50ft down for the third time he admitted
defeat and frightened passers by as he trudged back to the guest
house covered in mud. The sleepy town was also a good place to hire
motorbikes and scooters, buzzing along through the little streets and
seeing daily Laos life, wooden houses on stilts, chillies laid out to
dry on the street, chickens and children darting around the place.
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| Betsy crossing the river |
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| Biking fun for Rogs and Hels |
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| Rogs is filled with confidence as Hels gets her first lesson... |
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| Back on dry(?) land after a great day of kayaking |
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| G Rod and Pip enjoying some muddy fun |
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| Nam Tha girls |
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| More muddy fun |
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| Kev |
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| A slightly muddied Nick |
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| Ryan |
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| Wet but happy hikers |
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| Starting early riding a scooter |
Three nights in one place allowed us to recharge our batteries and
continue on refreshed anew and full of goodness. Our next stop was
Nong Khiaw, a small town on the banks of the Nam Ou River which leads
into the Mekong and a perfect hide away from the world. Some sat on
their balconies or swung in the hammocks enjoying shelter from the
rain, watching the huge river silently flow past below. Others
donned their still damp clothes and hiked/waded to some nearby
limestone caves. Strangely reminiscent of the Arab crab in the tent
scenario in Turkey, Nick awoke to find a chicken in his room, wonders
never cease.
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| Laura, Mikkel & G Rod demonstrating more river wading |
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| Mikkel in the bat cave |
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| Climbing into the cave |
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| Entrance to the temple at the Nong Khiaw caves |
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| The offending chicken |
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| Party on the balcony |
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| Welcome back Cindy |
We have now arrived in Luang Prabang in North central Laos on the
banks of the Mekong, dotted with gleaming wats and temples. For a
change, the group travelled by boat down the Nam Ou and then into the
Mekong river, a stunning journey, looking up to the jungle covered
misty cliffs rather than out of the truck windows. We are settling
in to four whole nights here giving us time to sample all the town
has to offer, including riding and swimming with elephants, more bike
riding, learning to cook Laos style, and having had a quick wander
through the night market last night, a fair bit of early Christmas
shopping.
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| Landslides en route to Luang Prabang |
Having mentioned the rain rather a lot, it is worth noting that we
have really started to enjoy it, embrace it, ignore it, or something,
and making sure it doesn't stop us getting out doing and seeing
things. However, any advice on how to dry laundry in a damp climate
without a tumble dryer would be greatly appreciated.
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| Calypso getting wetter, and cleaner |
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| Snow? in Laos? |
