'Friends' City

Entry 25:

Vang Vieng is a small riverside town about halfway between Vientienne and Luang Prabang in the rolling hills of Laos. Its handful of streets are packed with guest houses, t-shirt shops, and restaurants. Western faces outnumber Asian faces by an astronomical number. All that being said, it is also the center of all adventure and eco-tourism in Laos.

After we dropped off our bags at the guest house, we began wandering around town. To our dismay, every other restaurant had large screen televisions playing episodes of "Friends," the popular 90's sitcom. On the bright side, we did discover a handful of restaurants that were serving Middle-Eastern cuisine, including falafel, sabich, and shakshuka. In addition to the food, signs in Hebrew were posted by previous Israeli travellers on almost every restaurant claiming to have Lao's best Israeli food.

The most popular activity in this town, bar none, is tubing down the river in giant tractor innertubes. The reason for this "sport's" popularity is because bars have been set up along the river, allowing tubers to climb up for a few drinks. In addition to the bucket sized cocktails, tubers are also invited to try "happy" shakes, brownies, and pizza. In our experience, it was a mix between MTV beachparty and a rowdy fraternity happening. Despite our relatively "old" age, we enjoyed ourselves, particularly as spectators of extremely wasted travellers swinging like monkies and jumping into the river. We also enjoyed flying through the air on the zip lines and sliding down the flumes into the river while throngs of onlookers cheered and yelled. The techno beats and hip hop were certainly not our choice of music, but we bounced along with smiles on our faces. As the day went on and we realized it was time to float downstream back to town, Marc was particularly happy that the DJ started playing a Pearl Jam song as we pushed off from the last riverside bar.

Notice how the football misses the swinger:

More fun:

The next day, we met someone who had gone tubing two days in a row. In his words, "it's fun for a day, but a big mistake to go a second time around. It's the same music and same drunk people everywhere you go."

On our second day in Vang Vieng, we signed up for a full day of rock climbing. We all jumped into the back of a pickup truck and sped off to get our equipment before heading to the rocks. Sharon had never climbed outdoors before and Marc hadn't climbed outdoors since his vision loss. Needless to say, the rock climbing guide was a bit nervous about sending a blind guy up an 18-meter high rock face.

The morning started with a safety lesson and rope tying instruction. It was then time to climb the rocks. For the rest of the day, all of us took turns climbing various routes on the walls while our instructor pointed out the hand- and foot-holds on the rocks. At the end of a long, tiring day, the instructor expressed his amazement at Marc's ability to climb and felt proud to have had the experience of leading a blind man up the walls. Most people might think of rock climbing as a poor choice for a hobby for blind people. Despite this, Marc thinks that it is probably one of the best sports to participate in for people with vision loss. You don't really need sight; rather, you need mental toughness. One can just use hands and feet to scan the wall to find the holes. It may require a bit more energy than it does for other climbers, but this is easily overcome with some determination. One positive note is that Marc can't look down and be frightened by his distance from the ground.

Our exclusive look at Marc's climbing skills:

To see more of our fun-filled adventure, check out more photos on: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Payback's A B*tch!

Entry 24:
As is customary in SE Asia, we were picked up from our guest house in a minivan to be transferred to a larger bus. Since bus companies in Laos do not assign seats, when we arrived at the bus terminal, Sharon ran onto the bus and placed our backpacks down on two seats. Marc waited outside and the two of us made sure our bigger luggage made it from the minivan to the big bus.

As we boarded the bus, we found our backpacks on the floor of the aisle and a middle-aged couple sitting in our seats. All other seats seemed to be taken. We told the Frenchies that those were our seats and that our packs were already on them. They claimed not to speak English because they were French. The conversation really began heating up when a Laotian woman jumped up in their defense, claiming that there are no assigned seats. The woman kept talking to the French couple, so we assumed she must have been their tour guide. Since the couple refused to move and the other passengers were keeping silent, we picked up our bags and moved to the back of the bus, but could not find two seats together. Apparently, the bus had been oversold and if not for the generosity of the happy-go-lucky drinking Russians, Sharon would have been sitting on the floor. What the French couple failed to realize was that what comes around goes around.

About half way through the 4-hour trip, the bus stopped to allow passengers a bathroom break. Everyone left the bus except for us. We moved to our original seats, lifted up the Frenchies' coats (which were left there to reserve their spots), and deposited them onto the floor. As passengers returned to the bus, Sharon noticed their smiling faces and overheard their positive remarks about us reclaiming our rightful seats. The French couple were among the last ones onboard. They realized what had happened upon their return, and instead of arguing with us, took their newly purchased bottle of water, released the cap, and poured some of the contents on our heads. As they headed to the back to look for seats, a brawl erupted amongst the other passengers because the Laotian tour guide lady was pacing up and down the aisle and making a scene. But soon enough things settled down and we were on our way. The two of us sat in our seats with big smiles on our faces looking forward to the next few days in Vang Vieng.

Welcome to Laos

Entry 23:

Leaving Thailand, we had very high expectations for the little known country of Laos. Throughout our travels, many backpackers had told us about their journies through the country. Our guidebook painted a picture of a bargain paradise. By the end of our travels through Laos, both of us would come to love this country even if it was not such a bargain.

Without definate plans outside of the towns we wanted to see, we wandered around and discovered fun and interesting places that made our time enjoyable. It may sound cheesy to hear that we had two lunches at a mall food court. However, this was no ordinary food court. In fact, mostly locals go to what is referred to as the Morning Market, a market/mall that has a food stalls consisting of local cuisine that is made to order before your eyes. Tickets must be purchased at the entrance to avoid paying each merchant in cash. Even though we purchased $5 worth of stubs, we ended up with a full belly as well as change back. You can see our papaya salad being made in the video below:

Not everything was as cheap as we expected. Upon our arrival in Vientienne, we thought we would be able to find a guesthouse for under $10. Each of the places listed in our guidebook was suddenly more than $15. Sharon left Marc in the lobby of a guesthouse with the backpacks and disappeared for over an hour trying to find an affordable place. In the end, we settled on Saysouly Guesthouse ($14 a night) as it had all the amenities.

Laos was previously a French colony and it still maintains some of the cuisine from that era. So for the next couple of days, we would enjoy coffee, baguettes, and croissants. There is also some leftover architecture. The most obvious example of this is the Victory Monument, which resembles the Arc de Triumph in Paris. The road leading up to the monument looks like the Champs Elysees. In back of this monument is a large fountain and adjoining park filled with locals, tourists, and of course saffron-clad monks.


Victory Monument

Inside the dome

Street resembling Champs Elysees

Fountain

Like most of Southeast Asia, Laos is a Buddhist country and it is possible to visit all types of shrines dedicated to Buddha. We may not remember each temple's name, but the photos speak for themselves:

On our first night, we made our way to the busiest falang restaurant in town. Falang is the Laos word for "French," but it is generally used for all foreigners. Think of it as the Laos equivalent of gringo. We managed to score a great table on the second floor near the balcony. Since Marc ordered a Beer Laos, he had the undivided attention of an attractive Beer Lao maiden, a representative sent by the beer company to ensure customers continue to fill their glasses with beer. Not a moment went by during the entire meal where Marc did not enjoy a full glass of frosty Beer Lao.

The Mekong River has its origin in the Tibetan Highlands, but snakes its way through Southwest China and divides Thailand from Laos as it makes its way to Vietnam and the South China Sea. Vientienne sits on the bank of this mighty river and we decided to walk alongside it to find the perfect place for a sunset. We made our way to a floating riverside bar and enjoyed the picturesque view of the sun setting into the river. On the walk back, we discovered a local restaurant perched above the river. We sat Indian style on cushions beside a low table and had Lao style BBQ dinner. The waitress brought over an electric grill/pot with the ingredients on the side. Sharon grilled the fish and threw the noodles and vegetables into the pot. Ten minutes later, we were feasting like the locals.

We spent the next couple of days wandering around the city visiting various museums and temples, but on our last day we would have an experience to truly remember. One of our favorite activities back home was visiting the BRC Russian bath in New Jersey. Although we are far from home, we found a nice alternative while on the road. On our last evening, we hiked to a temple in the jungle that has a small treehouse sauna. The guidebook stated it was only three kilometers from town, but we ended up walking for almost an hour to get there. We found the temple entrance and befriended a novice monk who brought us directly to the sauna.

We climbed the stairs up and the crazy lady there handed us wraps made of cotton and told us to go change out of our clothes. Underneath the creeky floorboards was a wood-burning furnice that boiled water to steam up the sauna. When you got too hot, you could exit the sauna and find a refreshing cup of hot tea waiting for you. We steamed for over an hour before lying down on cots to get our traditional Lao massages. Besides being an adventure, this fun evening cost each of us only $6. This was a great way to wrap up our stay in the capital (no pun intended).

For more pix: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Thailand - Take 1

Entry 22:
As we flipped through the guidebook and looked at the maps of SE Asia, it dawned on us that travel through Northern Cambodian and Southern Laos would be a rough and tumble experience. With our limited time, we decided our best bet was to cut through NE Thailand to the Laos border at the capital city, Vientienne. So off we went to our first stop in Thailand.

We read about a town in Thailand called Surin that hosted an annual elephant festival every November, but the book did not specify the exact dates, and we had not checked online either. We decided to head there anyway as it sounded like an interesting place. As soon as we de-bused, we got caught in a torrential downpour. Luckily for us, we were already in a tuk-tuk with our bags. Unluckily for the driver, who was taking us by bicycle, he was not covered, but did not seem to mind anyway. About an hour after our arrival, the rain had stopped and we headed to the night market to grab some food. We found endless stalls with local food offering cheap fare that was a nice introduction to the country. We feasted on stir-fried Thai noodles and corn on the cob. At the edge of the seating area stood chang, an elephant. For 20 Bat, it was possible to feed the elephant and Marc took a turn so he could get close and feel what this mammal felt like close up.

Since the elephant festival would not begin until the end of the month and there was not much else to see in town, we decided to continue travelling North towards our destination. After a train and bus ride the next morning, we arrived in Khon Kaen. The choices for accommodations were thin and it rained all night. Even though our room had a television and we planned to watch the election results the following morning, we decided to leave as early as possible for our next stop.

Our arrival in Nong Khai was warm and sunny. We raced over to Mut Mee, a unique guesthouse we had both heard and read about, as we heard the place fills up fast. By the time we checked in and discovered there was a television in the riverside bar, it was clear that Barak Obama would be the next president of the United States. This may have taken the surprise element out of our experience, but we were thrilled, nonetheless with the results. We spent the next few days relaxing in this quiet town along the Mekong River. This was the first time that Marc had experienced a real Thai massage and it seems like he may have become addicted. They did not warn his beforehand...







Other highlights included a sunset cruise on the Mekong, creamy cheesecake at a German bakery, and a very relaxing facial ending in cucumber strips over the entire face (these were left on our faces for 20 minutes).

The town of Nong Khai seems fairly nondescript. There are several restaurants lining the Mekong River, but we spent most of our time at Mut Mee. The owner is a gregarious Englishman named Julian who cannot stop himself from talking to his guests. He always has a story to tell. On one night, Mut Mee hosted a benefit to help Hmong people from Laos who were being held by the Thai authorities for immigration violations. Julian opened the festivities by retelling the story of how he ended up in this part of the world. He told us how he was terrified of dying, not of death itself, but of dying of boredom in England. Mut Mee is the kind of place that is a magnet for expats who seem to spend weeks or even months lounging around this riverside oasis. Perhaps it is the cheap drinks served on the floating bar, the $5 per night pricetag for the rooms, or the tranquility of the garden setting filled with wooden hammocks.


To see more pictures of our NE Thai adventure, go to: grossmintblog.shutterfly.com

Cambodian John Denver

Entry 21:
In Southeast Asia, most travel agents sell you a bus ticket that includes pickup from their guesthouse in a minivan. Without exception, they always arrive later than the time they tell you in the agency. Our bus to Battambang was supposed to leave at 8am, so we were ready for pickup at 7:30am. Needless to say, our bus did not leave until 9:30am. This really did not start us off well, but it got worse yet. Our four-hour bus ride was extremely bumpy and without air-con. The only saving grace was that we had been assigned the first row of seats on the bus. At least Sharon could crack a faint smile when the manic bus driver pounded his fist on the steering wheel, but no sound came out of the horn.

For some reason, we had thought that Battambang would be a charming small town with French colonial architecture. At least that is what the guidebook had indicated. But when we got there we could not find anything remotely charming or French. Most businesses did not speak English and there was not much to see for tourists. We had high hopes for the Smokin Pot restaurant if for only the name itself. To entertain ourselves, we found our way over to the Seeing Hands massage parlor where we enjoyed a one hour Cambodian rub down. Afterwards, Marc got to talking with the blind masseurs just to hear their stories. Two of the men lost their sight when landmines exploded in the countryside. This is not uncommon in Cambodia as there are thousands of leftover explosives from decades of wars.

The next morning, in an attempt to get out of this not-so-charming town, we found our way to a taxi company which would transfer us as well as one other couple to the Thai border. The driver was a friendly local who, in his frequent trips, managed to get his hands on a mixed tape of American country music. He especially liked to sing along to the John Denver smash hit - Country Roads. In his own creative way, he embellished the lyrics to reflect our current adventure. At the time, his version - Bumpy Roads - was more appropriate. After three hours in the car, our necks could attest that these were, in fact, very bumpy roads.

Angkor Waaaat?

Entry 20:

The ancient temples of Angkor Wat are the national symbols for the Cambodian people. Everywhere you look, including the flag and the currency, there are images of the temples. We would imagine that 99.9% of all visitors to Cambodia make it to Siem Reap to tour the temples. Needless to say, we were filled with anticipation as we boarded the bus headed to Siem Reap.

When we booked our bus tickets from the agent in Phnom Penh, he asked us for our name, which at first seemed odd as we had not encountered this before. However, he went on to explain there would be a tuk-tuk driver waiting for us with a sign of our name to take us to our accommodation of choice. True to his word, a smiling man with a sign reading 'Sharon Grossman' greeted us upon our arrival. It took us a while to find a decent guesthouse in our price range. Because it was still very hot out, we wanted to make sure we had a working A/C.

One major concern of ours was finding an English-speaking knowledgeable tour guide who could give an excellent description to someone with vision loss. As we would soon learn, it is not possible to book a group tour while you are in Siem Reap. Rather, one has to make arrangements with a local guide whose English may or may not be up to one's standards. We rolled the dice and booked a guide and driver for three days through an agency, not knowing who would show up the next morning.

October is supposed to be the last month of the rainy season. True to form, October 30th was a rain-soaked affair starting at 8:00am and continuing until about 3pm. Good thing we had a rain coat. Before beginning our trip, our driver brought us to the ticket office near the temples. All visitors are required to purchase a photo ID card for the number of days they are planning to visit, or risk a fairly stiff penalty. A three-day pass was $40 per person. We purchased lanyards to hang the passes around our necks. These will remain our most valuable souverneirs.

The first day of temple sightseeing was rather difficult for climbing, as the temples were some of the most ancient ones. Marc decided to skip a couple of them and nap in the tuk-tuk while Sharon ran around getting splashed. Although the first day's temples were not as grand as some others we would later see, it was important to see them to understand the chronological history of the temples. These included the Roluos group - Preah Khan, Preah Neak Pean, and Ta Som.

After getting back to town, we walked around to see the different restaurants and shops the town had to offer. After a delicious meal of Cambodian food, we wanted to try out a recommended dessert place that also was supposed to feature a butterfly garden. As it was after dark when we arrived, no butterflies could be seen anywhere. The desserts did not seem so interesting, so we continued walking. Surprisingly, we crossed paths with a mall, which featured Swensen's ice cream. Although it was cheesy, we thought - let's try it! It had been years since either one of us had been to this American chain.

Day two was filled with action, adventure, and was made even better by the absence of rain clouds overhead. Some of the highlights of this day included the distant Banteay Srei, the world famous Angkor Wat, and the climb up to Pre Rup to watch the sunset. We enjoyed a picnic lunch by the moat surrounding Angkor Wat, rather than being herded to one of the overpriced, touristy restaurants across the road.

It seems difficult to explain the experience of being at these temples. Pictures do them some justice, but the impression they leave is quite astounding, especially considering how old they really are. The bas reliefs at Angkor Wat are over 100 meters in length, and 7 or 8 meters tall. They are filled with intricate carvings of what life was like 1000 years ago. Most of these carvings are of warfare, triumph, and ancient Ramayana stories. Even more difficult to understand is the amount of labor, talent, and number of people it took to build these magnificent buildings. The guide explained how workers used elephants, water buffalo, and oxen to transport massive stones from rock quaries more than 15 miles from the temple sites.

Marc heard the stories of the temples from the guide and the physical descriptions from Sharon. In some of the temples, it was possible for him to touch the bas reliefs and intricate stonework, but still difficult to comprehend the scale of the towers.

Upon our return to Siem Reap, we headed straight to the tour agency where we had booked our guide, Thany. We explained that we wanted to switch guides as Thany was not to our liking. He spent all day attempting to avoid crowds and consequently lead us through Angkor Wat in a backward fashion. He entered at the exits and exited at the entrances. He seemed too lazy to climb the mountain and rather sent us on our own while he waited in a chair at the bottom. He tried to get out of taking us to see a sunset because he wanted to get home early. He asked us for money for his food and was altogether not trustworthy. The tour company was gracious enough to listen to our complaints and assured us a new guide would meet us the next morning. We did praise the tuk-tuk driver who was always ready to pick us up and made sure we stayed dry when it rained.

Our third and last day of touring included the magnificent Angkor Thom complex. Our guide Peter was ambitious and knowledgeable, but was a bit difficult to understand. What is unique about this temple is the four sided figure of a face, still largely intact. This is the face of the Buddha of compassion. Following our picnic lunch, we finished the day with a few minor temples and headed back to town. After three days of climbing around, we were tired and due for a foot massage.

There is no doubt that any traveller visiting S.E. Asia must include Siem Reap on their list of places to see. The town itself is filled with great restaurants and cheap foot massage parlors. Alas, it was time to move on.

Phenomenal Phnom Penh

Entry 19:
Checking out of Vietnam after having spent several weeks there, was exciting, as we were off to a new adventure - we were off to see Cambodia. The bus that transported us to the border had an attendant who offered to get our visa for us while we dined in the restaurant for just $5 per person, as we warned us of long lines at the border. We passed on his offer and upon arrival at the Cambodian side we found not a single person waiting in line.

By this point in the trip, we were a bit tired of the "same same" in Vietnam and looked forward to the changes in Cambodia. After leaving the Vietnamese border, which contained a drab old building, we arrived at the Cambodian side, a building of typical architecture for the country with a beautiful roof and decorative exterior. We hoped this would be a sign of things to come.

The bus eventually let us off in Phnom Penh and we were greeted by the usual suspects...guesthouse proprietors and tuk-tuk drivers. We climbed into a tuk-tuk and headed for the guesthouse. While Sharon ran upstairs to see the room, Marc chatted with the driver. Chang let Marc know that he would take us to another guesthouse for the same dollar if we were unpleased with this one. Could be he was trying to sell his services as a tour guide for the next day.

An easy way to unsure you see all the sites is to join a city tour, so that's what we did. We started off at the Tuol Sleng, a former high school that was used as a torture chamber by the Khmer Rouge, headed by Pol Pot. The classrooms at this site were converted into cells, each displaying a picture of the last prisoner held there. An hour long film was shown which spoke about the story of one couple who was killed by the Khmer Rouge.

After being held at Tuol Sleng for some time, prisoners were transported to what has become known as the Killing Fields, an area where they were brutally executed and burried in mass graves. Their skulls are on display in a large "stupa" or tomb.

Other highlights included the Russian Market, the National Museum, and the Royal Palace.

One thing that we would learn is that Cambodian cuisine has a lot in common with Thai cooking. Needless to say, we were very happy to sit down and try our first Cambodian meal. For the next several days, while in Cambodia, we would be treated to a wide range of excellent dishes.

Us poor travellers sometimes need to recharge the batteries. And even if that's not true, it is still nice to get pampered every so often. At $6 per hour, it's not much of a financial hardship. We had read about an organization that trains people with vision loss to be massage therapists. The "Seeing Hands" massage parlors provide their customers with excellent Japanese style shiatsu massages. You change out of your street clothes and into a pajama-like outfit, climb onto the massage table and let the therapist do the work. The masseurs are extremely well trained and very precise in their actions. After our first Seeing Hands massage, Sharon could not stop raving about how good she felt. Marc took this as a sign that perhaps he ought to consider a career change. Throughout Cambodia, there are many blind people who have lost their eyesight due to explosive devices from the U.S. war in the region. This is a sad consequence to a really aweful period of history.