What a difference two years can make!
Hi everyone.
I am now in Louang Namtha.
Well, looks like I will be fairly well connected in Laos after all. According to my book internet is hard to come by here, and according to people I asked it was slow when you could find it (which isn't often). Two years ago this town had electricity for only 3 hours a day. Two years ago they had only one place planned to be an internet cafe, and that would have been dialup. Now this town has at least 3 internet cafes (maybe more) all with ADSL lines. Since this is the most remote place we are visiting (we took out the two towns that are only reachable by boat because of water level concerns and extra cost of hiring a boat), chances are we will have internet for the rest of the trip. What’s more, Laos has fewer restrictions on what sites you can visit, so now I can read comments again.
Our ride to the Chinese town of Mengla was long (17 hours on a big bus 4 on a small one), uncomfortable (it was a sleeper, but an old second class sleeper sized for Chinese people, not 6'2" westerners), and smelly (for the last four hours people were vomiting because the roads were so bad). Because the sleeper was partly enclosed around my feet and legs, and I was too tall for the space I was seriously concerned that if we hit something or the bus stopped quickly I would break my legs. I was also concerned the top-bunk-so-you-don’t-fall-off-guard would break my arm if I got slammed to the side.
The roads were new, but through some treacherous terrain. 15 KM down hills and tunnels galore. Some of the roads are so dangerous they are closed for the night (we had to stop for 5 hours because of this). We saw one truck flipped over on this road; by the time we got there crews were trying to right it again.
The 4 hour ride was all old roads, but they were building new straight ones next to it. The roads themselves (besides being pot holed) were the true definition of serpentine. They snaked up and down and around many mountains, making for a ride that could even give an iron gut motion sickness in the right conditions, like a too recent meal. It took everything I knew from boating to keep myself together (deep breaths, picking a point on the horizon when there was one, etc.)
Our hotel was all right (clean) but had a squat toilet and no hot water. But for $7 in China, that’s not bad. Dinner in that town was iffy too (I think it explains my upset stomach today). It was basically cold beef jerky with cilantro, mint, and lime juice. The whole mix is then dumped into hot chicken broth. It would be tasty if not for the jerky.
We were able to get tickets straight to our first stop in Laos for $4 each; a good thing because the trip would have been a pain otherwise. It took about 5 hours including 1 or so at the border.
And what a difference a border makes...
The skies cleared, the temp. shot up into the "warm" range, the people started understanding English and speaking Lao, the buildings were replaced by bamboo stilt homes, and the scenery opened up into some of the most beautiful vistas I think are possible.
The people seem nicer here, and genuinely happy to have us here. They don’t stare and instead wave and say hello. There are fewer people spitting every where too. This is also the very first place we have been in a very long time that we were not met as we got off the bus with hotel offers, currency exchange, baggage help, taxi ride, tour information, etc. It is the first place that no one has tried to sell us something. It is truly a relief.
Our hotel is also one of the most interesting places we have stayed. It is an Eco Lodge; so they want to minimize impact on the environment. They have hot water, but it is solar heated. They also have lots of advice on how to make the most out of a stay in Laos. Our room is a bungalow, bamboo walls and wood floors. We are right on the river and they also have a very nice garden (with an amazing variety of butterflies). The land itself is protected as a bird sanctuary. Gifts from the local villages were also left in our room (a bag and a scarf); presumably included in the room rate. They also boast the best restaurant in town. We had lunch there and it was great; some of the best food all trip, and authentic Lao food at that. (There is a price for all this though, at $25 a night, it is probably about 6 times the average room rate for Laos.)
The scenery in town is some of the most beautiful (though not the most amazing, that title still belongs to Sapa) we have seen all trip. Louang Namtha is situated in a valley, so we are surrounded by mountains. Outside of town, there are some small villages but mostly rice fields that extend all the way to the mountains (probably about 3 miles in each direction). The fields are all dotted with small huts (the purpose of these huts is unknown at the moment, but they do not seem to be long term living quarters). A little mist in the air tops it all off, making spectacular sights.
Tomorrow we go on a mountain bike tour. We will visit several villages and get to see some of the greater area around the town. We are both looking forward to it, but it is rated as difficult.
Lunch:
Kelly had Sa Pork. This dish is made with ground pork, spices, herbs (mint, cilantro, lemon grass, some others?), peppers, lime juice, and ground rice. It’s served in a mound with sticky rice on the side. She says she enjoyed it a lot, but also said it reminded her of something I would make...not sure what that means.
I had Larp Pork, a dish that looked identical but tasted completely different than Kelly’s. It had most of the same ingredients too; the only differences were probably in preparation, spices, and the other herbs. According t the menu, larp is to Laos what the hamburger is to America. It was also served with sticky rice (one of my favorite foods).
I think we will like Laos a lot.
-Tim
I am now in Louang Namtha.
Well, looks like I will be fairly well connected in Laos after all. According to my book internet is hard to come by here, and according to people I asked it was slow when you could find it (which isn't often). Two years ago this town had electricity for only 3 hours a day. Two years ago they had only one place planned to be an internet cafe, and that would have been dialup. Now this town has at least 3 internet cafes (maybe more) all with ADSL lines. Since this is the most remote place we are visiting (we took out the two towns that are only reachable by boat because of water level concerns and extra cost of hiring a boat), chances are we will have internet for the rest of the trip. What’s more, Laos has fewer restrictions on what sites you can visit, so now I can read comments again.
Our ride to the Chinese town of Mengla was long (17 hours on a big bus 4 on a small one), uncomfortable (it was a sleeper, but an old second class sleeper sized for Chinese people, not 6'2" westerners), and smelly (for the last four hours people were vomiting because the roads were so bad). Because the sleeper was partly enclosed around my feet and legs, and I was too tall for the space I was seriously concerned that if we hit something or the bus stopped quickly I would break my legs. I was also concerned the top-bunk-so-you-don’t-fall-off-guard would break my arm if I got slammed to the side.
The roads were new, but through some treacherous terrain. 15 KM down hills and tunnels galore. Some of the roads are so dangerous they are closed for the night (we had to stop for 5 hours because of this). We saw one truck flipped over on this road; by the time we got there crews were trying to right it again.
The 4 hour ride was all old roads, but they were building new straight ones next to it. The roads themselves (besides being pot holed) were the true definition of serpentine. They snaked up and down and around many mountains, making for a ride that could even give an iron gut motion sickness in the right conditions, like a too recent meal. It took everything I knew from boating to keep myself together (deep breaths, picking a point on the horizon when there was one, etc.)
Our hotel was all right (clean) but had a squat toilet and no hot water. But for $7 in China, that’s not bad. Dinner in that town was iffy too (I think it explains my upset stomach today). It was basically cold beef jerky with cilantro, mint, and lime juice. The whole mix is then dumped into hot chicken broth. It would be tasty if not for the jerky.
We were able to get tickets straight to our first stop in Laos for $4 each; a good thing because the trip would have been a pain otherwise. It took about 5 hours including 1 or so at the border.
And what a difference a border makes...
The skies cleared, the temp. shot up into the "warm" range, the people started understanding English and speaking Lao, the buildings were replaced by bamboo stilt homes, and the scenery opened up into some of the most beautiful vistas I think are possible.
The people seem nicer here, and genuinely happy to have us here. They don’t stare and instead wave and say hello. There are fewer people spitting every where too. This is also the very first place we have been in a very long time that we were not met as we got off the bus with hotel offers, currency exchange, baggage help, taxi ride, tour information, etc. It is the first place that no one has tried to sell us something. It is truly a relief.
Our hotel is also one of the most interesting places we have stayed. It is an Eco Lodge; so they want to minimize impact on the environment. They have hot water, but it is solar heated. They also have lots of advice on how to make the most out of a stay in Laos. Our room is a bungalow, bamboo walls and wood floors. We are right on the river and they also have a very nice garden (with an amazing variety of butterflies). The land itself is protected as a bird sanctuary. Gifts from the local villages were also left in our room (a bag and a scarf); presumably included in the room rate. They also boast the best restaurant in town. We had lunch there and it was great; some of the best food all trip, and authentic Lao food at that. (There is a price for all this though, at $25 a night, it is probably about 6 times the average room rate for Laos.)
The scenery in town is some of the most beautiful (though not the most amazing, that title still belongs to Sapa) we have seen all trip. Louang Namtha is situated in a valley, so we are surrounded by mountains. Outside of town, there are some small villages but mostly rice fields that extend all the way to the mountains (probably about 3 miles in each direction). The fields are all dotted with small huts (the purpose of these huts is unknown at the moment, but they do not seem to be long term living quarters). A little mist in the air tops it all off, making spectacular sights.
Tomorrow we go on a mountain bike tour. We will visit several villages and get to see some of the greater area around the town. We are both looking forward to it, but it is rated as difficult.
Lunch:
Kelly had Sa Pork. This dish is made with ground pork, spices, herbs (mint, cilantro, lemon grass, some others?), peppers, lime juice, and ground rice. It’s served in a mound with sticky rice on the side. She says she enjoyed it a lot, but also said it reminded her of something I would make...not sure what that means.
I had Larp Pork, a dish that looked identical but tasted completely different than Kelly’s. It had most of the same ingredients too; the only differences were probably in preparation, spices, and the other herbs. According t the menu, larp is to Laos what the hamburger is to America. It was also served with sticky rice (one of my favorite foods).
I think we will like Laos a lot.
-Tim
This entry was posted
on Friday, March 03, 2006 at 5:11 AM.
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8:36 AMTim, great to have you back on line. Loved your post! Jane
10:12 AM
Just looked up Larp --- from a restaurant menu actually --- it apparently means salad --- where the meat is chopped or ground up --- duck, beef, mussel, fish, chicken, pork, etc. --- larp zeen is chicken salad --- and larp thao is a vegetarian salad --- Dad - H
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