Jodi News
Vang Vien
| Today I find myself in Vang Vien, a burgeoning village north of Vientiane. Despite becoming more touristy it is a very pretty place, surrounded by green hills erupting out of the otherwise flat landscape. I decided to come up here a couple of days early because the children have exams today and tomorrow. I figured it would be more useful if I came back next week instead, and to be honest it will be good to see some other areas of Lao. I woke up early in order to catch the 7.30am bus up here this morning. The trip itself was fine, although we were forced to endure 3 hours of Westlife (karaoke style video) for our sins. I had my earphones in, and my music cranked up as loud as possible in order to drown out their pitiful wailing- but it was almost impossible. What an awful awful band... How on earth have they managed to become popular here as well! Anyhow, Westlife aside I arrived in Vang Vien at around 11am and set about finding myself a guesthouse. I had hoped to stay by the river but they were asking for $US28 for a room. Now I know this is hardly breaking the bank, but for here it is very expensive and my funds, eerrr I mean credit card. is already running low enough. So I headed back up to town where I found a room for $3. It is actually quite decent- clean, double bed, hot shower. Can't complain! After setting down my things I wandered down the main street of the village, which has a bit of a reputation for being like Koh San road (the main tourist strip in Bangkok for those who haven't been there). True, there are restaurants playing English shows every few metres, but I would hardly say it is an overblown metropolis. Actually it quite annoys me to listen to travelers whine about how touristy places are or the fact that they show signs of western influence. Firstly, they are the reason it is like that- they aren't different to any of the other travelers who come through here. Second of all, despite grimacing over the poverty I think deep down everyone just wants these "poor" countries to stay exactly how they are. It suits them perfectly to make trips out here for a couple of months, feel like they experienced the developing world, and then run home to their cushy house and job. It's a deep hypocrisy I think. We tut tut over the fact that over half the worlds population live on less that two dollars a day, and yet when we visit developing countries pulling themselves out of this mire we tut tut over the fact that they are losing their "traditional" feel. It's really quite pathetic... Anyhow, tirades aside, I hired myself a bicycle and decided to head out to see a cave some 6km away. It was quite a difficult ride actually, being that my bicycle had no gears and a young Laos boy decided he wanted to come along for the adventure. He joined me pretty early on, grabbing onto my seat and running behind me for about 100m before I realised he wanted to hop on the back. I happily obliged and he sat there, periodically slapping my bum - apparently to make me go faster. He made the ride slightly harder going, but also much more enjoyable as he regaled me with Laotian songs. The scenery en route was beautiful, and took me through a number of very rustic villages. By the time I arrived at the cave I was absolutely exhausted, and dying for water. I took a brief break to feed the masses of fish in the lagoon fronting the cave and then heading up a 200m slope to the cave itself. The climb was tough- just boulder after boulder worn smooth by countless feet. I was wearing birkenstocks which didn't make it any easier, but I made it to the top in one piece, and found the cave to be well worth the effort. From a small opening, it led into a cavernous room over 100 feet high. Although at one stage there were three other people there, as I was by myself I felt quite nervous because there were a number of precipitous drops and it was pretty dark. It's times like that I wish there was someone here with me because I know if something happened then I'd be in real trouble. Anyhow after wandering around the cave I headed back down the hill and started the ride back to town. On the way I stopped to purchase some beautiful weaving from some villagers, and to hand pens and stickers to various children. They absolutely love the stars! I have also found that people find it greatly amusing to see their photos on the digital camera and will pose multiple times in order to see their faces on screen. It's a great way to get some extraordinary snap shots. Now I am back in Vang Vien. I have eaten lunch and am feeling quite sleepy. I think I will head back to the guesthouse and have a shower before going for another wander. Tomorrow I head to Luang Prabang on 10 am bus. |
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Nov 30, 1999