Luang Prabang - Leaving Mae Sot, Grand Voyage across Thailand, Vientiane, Luang Prabang (Luang Prabang, Laos, 16 August 2007)

Well, if you've been following my last few entries, you might know that I've been all over the place in the last few days. For this reason, and for the reader's convenience, I've decided to break down this entry in convenient chunks.

Mae Sot: My last days in Mae Sot were far from boring.... it almost came to the point where I wanted to be bored. From Friday morning to Saturday night, I was in my guest house for a total of maybe 3 hours. On Saturday, Zin Dee invited me to sleep over at his place.... on our way there, he took me to a local bar, with plenty of attractive Thai/Burmese waitresses to keep us company (perhaps they were a bit too close at times....). On Sunday, I wanted to go to the Burmese church with some of the kids. Turns out, there was no church service that day due to a wedding. We actually ended up going to this wedding, which was in total boony land (as if Mae Pa itself wasn't already boony land.....). Out of maybe 200 people, I was the only white person. It was a bit awkward, considering I didn't understand anything, and didnt know anyone besides Min Saw Thwin and Dar Yee Hla (and they didnt really know anyone). But, there was a lot of really good food.... I spend most of the day Monday at the school, as it was my last day in Mae Sot. It was really tough/weird saying good bye.... this was really the first time that i had been somewhere for a significant amount of time (10 weeks), that I may possibly never see again.

Grand Voyage: On Tuesday, at about 7 am, I left Mae Sot. I took a miserable minivan to Tak (2 hours to do 80 km). From Tak, a nicer bus to Phitsanulok, and from there to Khon Kaen, and from there to Udon Thani. I actually got really lucky with my connections and was put on pretty comfortable buses. If you have a map handy, you'll realise that I did quite a large distance in a day.... my voyage finished at about 20:15 in Udon Thani.

Udon Thani: This is actually the 3rd largest city in Thailand (Chiang Mai, surprisingly, is actually the 4th largest), and is not horribly unattractive (although I wouldnt call it pretty....). Thanks to Lonely Planet, I found a hotel that was a fantastic value: a private bathroom, hot water shower, mechniacal flush toilet, Satelite TV (!!!!) with English channels, and a really comfortable bed.... for 190 B (or just under 6 USD)..... considering I paid 150 B for a pretty depressing place in Chiang Mai 2 months earlier...... But whatever coolness points UT gained in my book (and Thailand for that matter), disappeared on the bus to Nong Khai, when they tried to insult my intelligence by charging me twice what they charged everyone else on the bus (i was the only foreigner). I called her up on it, and she tried to explain that they were all teachers and I wasn't (I find that kinda funny after 10 weeks of people calling me "teacher"). I got the last laugh, when, as she was explaining this, she didnt pay attention to the fact that she gave me too much change. I, of course, had no desire to point this out (even with the extra change I still paid more than everyone else).

Vientiane: I arrived in VIentiane rather smoothly and ahead of my self-made schedule. Now, Jon Gerber is right about 90% of things in life, and about 95% of things related to SEA. However, he was dead wrong about Vientiane. He told me (of course, hed never been there- so i shouldnt really hold it against him), that Vientiane was nothing more than a boring brothel town. What I found was totally different. Vientiane, which I sadly only spent 24 hours in, is an aesthetically exceptionally attractive city. Archetecture is an interesting mix of Budhist, Soviet, and French. Streets are generally quite wide and clean.... sidewalks are in pretty good shape, and there are plenty of pedestrian crosswalks. The city lacks nothing in terms of modern shopping facilities, and buildings for that matter, nor does it lack in beautiful monuments and temples. I was expecting a really poor city more along the lines of Rangoon.... and while this is no doubt a poor country, and there are surely a lot of poor people in VT, there is also a growing urban middle class. And the city is so clean and attractive, that it feels more like a European city than a 4th world city. It is also, except for the annoying tuk tuk drivers, largely free of the hastles that plague almost all of Thailand (except for Mae Sot!). Bread, coffee, and beer are top notch, and things are quite cheap. It is also surprisngly welcoming to tourists, yet not overrun (like Chiang Mai). Overall, I very much enjoyed my time in Vientiane, and would strongly recommend it to anyone with an open mind and a desire to travel.

Luang Prabang: LP is not uninteresting. Picture an old Asian city (complete with dozens of attractive temples) and combine 80 years of French influence- and you have Luang Prabang. Despite being very much catered to tourists, I don't feel as though its too plastic. It's also surrounded by hills and rivers, so the natural beauty rather adds to its appeal. Despite being a bit touristy, there is a local scene here (although its definitely not as integrated as in Vientiane). LP is definitely worth seeing, but in itself couldnt justify a trip to Asia. In reality, I would recommebnd going to Vientiane, and maybe seeing LP if you have extra time (despite many suggestions to the contrary).

In only 3 days, I will be back in the 1st world (Hong Kong), soon thereafter, back in North America, and soon enough thereafter, back in Canada. I will try to upload BHSOH pictures sometime tomorrow (but forgive me if I'm unable).

Kawp Jaii.