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Drunk In Canada

Hope its as fun for you as it is for me!

MB

The end is near...But First!

The countdown is on. And not in a good way. In a very bad ‘Back-to-reality’ way. And it always happens – on every trip. You end up getting to the end of the trip, and dreading the ‘Real World’, and try to plan ways to make this heaven last just a little bit longer. The end always comes, and it gets harder with every trip to accept it. But it happens, and you have to deal with it.

I know what happens when you get home. You spend a week or two just dreading life..Just day dreaming of the places you have been, and the places you still want to see. A week or 2 after that, you are back in the groove of things, still cleaning up the loose ends of the trip…Pictures, presents, story telling. Then, it happens about a month after you get home…its gone. No more stories, no more leftovers to deal with, no more people to meet. Just gone. All that is left is the memories and the pictures.

…And you can never take those away from me.

It’s those memories that I look back on and cherish. It is those memories that make me want to go to new places on new continents and meet new people and see new things. It’s those memories that put the smile on my face when I am most depressed, or most lonely. Those memories are worth more than the dollars I have spent to be here, and like I said…You cannot take those away from me.

Sorry about the soliloquy to start the post, but that is just the mood I am in right now. I decided to go experience the Laos countryside on my own, and have found myself at the foot of a mountain. ½-way up the mountain lies the Proukan Cave, and right in front of me is a topaz lagoon, filled with locals basking in the cool fresh water. I expected to see some sights on my solo journey today, but the extent of its beauty was a shock to me.

Memories…This is another one that I will file away…

Going back a couple days, I have to tell about the night out in Luang Prabang. We met up with some guys that Julia (the American we are traveling with at the moment) had met in Vietnam, and these English/Irish/Israeli’s were ready to tie one on. So we fell in line, heading out to the local pub for a couple pints of Beerlao, the beer of choice in Laos, and one of the best beers I have had in SE Asia. By 11:30, the bar was closing. You see, there is a national curfew in Laos for all residence. They have to be in by 12-midnight, or they will suffer grave consequences…That means the only place that sells booze past midnight is the….BOWLING ALLEY.

So there we were…2 Canadians, partying it up in Luang Prabang, Laos at a goddamned bowling alley! Just for the record, I bowled a 119, and won!

SIDEBAR STORY: During the tuk-tuk ride to the alley, our driver got in a little bit of trouble. While loading into the tuk-tuk, the driver wanted as many people as possible to make for a good fare. ‘Get on the roof!’ And up the girls went. Midnight, full of beer, and in a speeding tuk-tuk towards a goddamned bowling alley. The police frown upon this behavior, and immediately placed a fine on the driver, which was then put on us to pay. After a lengthy discussion on where this money would be coming from, we all forked over the 5000 kip ($0.70) and got a free ride. I was under the impression that the driver was REALLY stressing about it, with the fear of him losing his job a real possibility.

Back to the fun of the night…Heading out, I knew I wanted to see the monks morning ritual which occurs every morning at about 5:30am, so therefore I was smart enough to head in early for a good night sleep before seeing this…right? Wrong. In bed at 3am, out at 5:30. As for the ritual, every morning at 5:30, the monks walk the streets of town asking the towns people for food and money. This is all they can eat and spend during the day, so they basically live off of others donations. Anyways, seeing hundreds of monks, all covered in their orange sashes, walking in formation down the road was as interesting as I expected it to be. But the sleep was going to be much more important, so it was back to bed to catch another hour’s worth of sleep.

You see….

We left Luang Prabang at 8am. Little did the 4 of us realize that this bus would be a loooong, weaving, bumping, tiring journey that at times would have us staring down the side of a canyon. What made it even better for me is the young monk (probably 15 years old) I was sitting beside decided to catch some Z’s, and also decided that ¾ of the seat belonged to him. I guess Buddha says it’s ok to take another man’s seat.

After what felt like eternity on that bus, we arrived at our destination: Vang Vieng, Laos. The town is known by all backpackers in Asia, and leading up to the trip, I had probably 100 people tell me that I had to come to Vang Vieng. Why? Tubing.

Lets cut to the chase…Yesterday, we paid our $7 CAD to get our tube, and a tuk-tuk ride up river - 4km north of town. Before we even got our tubes wet, we had beerlao in our hand. You see, the entire river is lined with bars. Each bar has its own way of luring the tubers in, whether it is with a 10m swing, a zipline into the depths, or a massive waterslide ending with an upward turn that will rocket you into the air before you hit the clear water like a rock.

At ever bar, tourists gather to cheer and jeer at the spectacle in front of them. Some people do a graceful jump into the water, while others smack the water, leaving bumps, bruises, and scrapes. Some people are even more unlucky. As you walk around town, you see people on crutches, and with casts on arms. And just 16 days ago, a girl died while taking the massive slide into the water. The story goes that the smack of her head against the water knocked her unconscious, and no one was paying attention at the time, and she drowned. Very sad tale, but times go on in Vang Vieng, and we knew we had to be safe.

Yes, I swung. Yes, I zip lined. Yes, I slid. Yes, I drank beer while I did it all. It was just another day on this trip that the afternoon beers did me wonders! J

At night, all the tubers that are still standing (tons of people are too drunk to continue on) take to the island in town which has been converted into a number of outdoor nightclubs. We met some tubers we met on the river and started a big drinking game (basically sociables). We had Canadians, Americans, Dutch, French, English, and Swedish all playing along. Did I mention that I love the memories made while traveling?

So that is kinda Vang Vieng in a nutshell. Tubing, caves, lagoons, drinking, and backpackers. It’s a ton of fun, but 2 or 3 days is good. Plus, we have to be on our way, Bangkok is calling.

…And that means back to the bad part…Just 4 days until we hop on a plane for the journey home. Please go back and read the first couple paragraphs again to understand how I feel about that.

You and Me
We’ve seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary,
And the soles of your shoes
Are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
There is nothing to cry about.

Starting the last leg of our tour...Boo!

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Pictures for this post can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/96693629@N00/
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Another couple of days have come and gone, and there have been more new, unbelievable experiences than I can count on all my fingers. It’s been a pretty exciting last 72 hrs, to say the least. It all started on a train heading to Sapa, and concluded here in Luang Prabang, Laos.

If you have never taken an overnight train, you really can’t truly appreciate the sights and sounds on it. And taking one in Asia is so much different that those in Europe.

Here in Asia, they are broken into 3 classes; the first is obviously the first class…The upper echelon of train travelers, with teak lined cabins, and comfortable sleeping compartments, made for the fortunate of Asia, and those travelers wishing to dole out the extra $15 a piece. 2nd class is where we lie (no pun intended). These are just your average cabins, built to ‘store’ 4 people for the night. Nothing special, but still including AC, and a blanket to cover yourself when the chill hits in the middle of the night. Lastly, 3rd class is made for the average Vietnamese person…People are piled into the car, as many people as the tickets they sell. The whole car reeks of cigarette smoke, and bodies are stored and strewn everywhere. People are sleeping on top of one another, under the wood plank benches. It’s really a sight that is unforgettable, but somehow the idea of pulling out the camera and snapping shots would just be an insult to these common people of the area. Instead I am the spectacle as I walk through the maze of bodies. Most of the people on these cars have only seen the white devil a handful of times in their life, let alone one that carries a spare tire around his waist at all times. I could feel the icy glare of all eyes in my direction, from the youth, the elderly, and everyone else in between. It’s not rare to catch an Asian staring in my direction, but all of them at once was a little, well, surreal.

Before we even had the opportunity to board our train, we had a difficulty navigating through the human maze on the platform made up of one train’s inhabitants leaving, and another 2 trains future dwellers attempting to make their way on board. A platform made for possibly 6 across was crammed 10-12 across. It was a human traffic jam the proportions of which I had never been privy to. The entire crowd made me a little nervous, enough so that I refused to take my hand of my wallet that was deep within my pocket. Who knows what these little poverty stricken devils would do to get their hand on my mastercard.

In our cozy 2nd class cabin laid our heroes: Michele, Trevor and I. The fourth person to share our night quarters was a young Vietnamese man, probably about 20 years old, who by the way did not speak a lick of English. Just as the train was about to leave its platform, a middle aged women entered our cabin, and began unloading her goods, including a young infant. An argument broke out between our cabin-compadre and the aggressive woman. The three of us had no idea what was taking place, but we knew we were the only ones that spoke English…So Trevor and I started to use our imagination on what was going on. First thing we had to do was create nicknames for the characters involved in the altercation. ‘Homeboy’ was our bunkmate. ‘Junior’ was he child that was seemingly a pawn in the whole scheme of things, and ‘Biznitch’ would be the loudmouth, pushy woman that seemed to have all the answers. What we could figure out was that Biznitch knew Homeboy had a 2nd class cabin for the night, and didn’t want Junior spending the night among the riff-raff in the 3rd class car. Homeboy denied Biznitch the trade of bunks, knowing that he had paid more for the ticket just to get a comfortable sleep. Many arguments ensued, and in the end (about 30 minutes after the whole disagreement began), Biznitch angrily dragged Junior and her 4 pieces of luggage out of the car and placed a curse on Homeboy. That is how we saw it, anyway. To us, it was a solid 30 minutes of entertainment, and something that you just don’t experience outside of Asia.

We arrived in Sapa at 5:30am, ready to see what the day had in store for us. All we knew is that we were to be trekking in Sapa, which is an area of Vietnam wildly known for their rice terraces, and breathtaking scenery. After a quick stop in a hotel to prepare, we met the rest of our group (9 people in all), and our tour guide, a 19 year old named Sue, who’s house we would be staying at, along with her husband and 8 month old son named Hi.

Like I mentioned about the train, these people rarely see a man of my size trekking down the side of a mountain, so as usual with my times in Asia, it turned into an ongoing joke about me being the ‘Buddha’ of the group. Many jokes were made by Sue (who was about 4-foot-4, 85 lbs) about how I needed to eat the skinny foods of the valley. I kept telling her that I have been eating the skinny foods of all of Asia: Beer.

All said, Sue was an absolute sweetheart as she lead our way thorough the vividly green mountains of the region.

I should mention that it was our group that made this one of the most enjoyable treks of my life. After the 3 of us, there was another Canadian, Hannah from Victoria. There was also 3 Japanese travelers, Ko (who was the comic relief of the trip, and an awesome guy), Chack, and Yoshi. There was Louise, a 17 year old Belgium who was living the dream of traveling at a young age, and 2 Russian women, Tanya and Paulina. Together, the 2 days was filled with many hearty laughs, and even more memories.

The terrain itself lived up to expectations. Imagine mountains like the interior of BC all covered with rice terraces, extending as far as the eye could see. Every kilometer or 2 you would run across a water buffalo playing in the water of the paddy’s, or even a local merchant selling her goods.

Speaking of the local merchants, I should mention a little about how they operate…

As our group gathered at the hotel, preparing to leave on our journey, we noticed a crowd of Vietnamese mountain women gathering outside the door, all dressed in the traditional mountain garb: dyed dark blue dresses, hair done up to the nines, black leg warmers, etc. After spending the last 2 weeks in Cambodia and Vietnam, the last thing we wanted to see was more women peddling their useless goods in our face, claiming a ‘good price’, or a ‘good product’. But little did we know that these women would be joining us on our trek, asking all of the important questions: ‘What is your name?’, ‘Where are you from’, ‘Do you have any brothers or sisters’, ‘How long have you been in Sapa?’. These women, ranging in age from 10 to 45, some even carrying babies as young as 4 months on their back, ended up being a massive source of entertainment, and amazing women, to boot. Not one of them I talked to have ever…EVER left the area of Sapa, let alone Vietnam in general. I did not talk to one that had even taken the train to Ha Noi for a weekend away. These people were born in their village, and were bred into a simple lifestyle of rice harvesting and clothe making.

Their life was truly as simple as it gets.

Back to the trek, Sue led us down the mountain, through villages that seemed to be nearly 100 years behind the times of Canada. Running water was a real privilege, and an electricity drop into the house meant they would have a treat of lights at night, possibly even a TV for the more fortunate families. It made me think that this is the way things were in Justice, Manitoba at the turn of the 19th century…Farmers doing their best to make ends meet with what they had been blessed with. A year of bad crops, or a real shitty winter mean the livestock was going to die, and the people as a whole would suffer as a community.

Finally we arrived at our destination for the night, Sue’s house in the village of Lao Chai. She and her husband had added on a guesthouse to their dirt floor home that would house the 9 of us for the night.

We spent the early evening playing with the children of the town. Michele, smart enough to plan in advance, pulled out some super balls, which I don’t believe had ever been seen in this village. We had a group of about 15 children gathered around as we bounced the ball from child to child. The group laughed joyously as the ball would go bouncing down the dirt street. At times, it would take an errant bounce into a rice paddy (or even into a piece of ‘Buffalo Chocolate’) where one of the girls would peel off her leg warmers off, and jump in, eager to have the next toss. It was an amazing site to see the village children having so much fun.

The evening was spent eating a home cooked meal made by Sue, and her extended family who all lived in the same house. After the round of Rice Wine that was used to wash things down, the cards came out, and we taught everyone the game of ‘Shit Head’. The Japanese took to it immediately, while others had a little trouble picking it up. In the end, it really didn’t matter as we were all winners knowing that we were experiencing something that our friends back home would have idea how cool it really was.

Bed time came, and we each got our own mattress, neatly dressed with mosquito netting to keep us from being drained of blood. Yes, Malaria is a problem up here, and I understood why when I killed a mosquito on my leg that was the size of a hummingbird. This thing put the bastards in northern Manitoba to shame.

Morning came early on day 2. You see, roosters really do like to welcome the morning by doing their thing over and over again, and when you have a village full of the little peckers, it becomes very difficult to sleep.

Breakfast was downed, and we were on our way to discover more of what the area had in store for us. First up was a pretty neat waterfall that made a great backdrop for group photos, and even the odd facebook profile picture. A few hours more trekking through the rice paddy’s, lunch, and eventually to a minibus that would take us back to the town of Sapa, giving us plenty of time to shower, email, eat supper, and be on our way back to Ha Noi on another overnight train.

For those of you keeping score at home, that means that the last 4 nights, I have slept on a boat, a train, a village in sapa, and another train. Damn, its time for a proper bed!

The morning in Ha Noi was pretty uneventful, other than the fact we had the locals attempt to rip us off 3 times in an hour. We would have nothing of it, and got to the airport unscathed.

By 11am, we arrived in Laung Prabang, ready to start the last leg of our tour. Laos!

We picked up a new 4th for our party…this time a New Yorker named Julia. Once we found a place to stay, we new our time in this quaint town was limited, so we got right into tourist mode. First thing first: The Tian Koung Si Waterfalls.

I know I keep saying this over and over again, but I really mean it this time: Pictures just cannot do it justice. These cascading falls started at the top of the mountain, and created turquoise pools all the way down the mountains, some of which were big enough to swim in, and many even deep enough to dive into. With a little off road searching you could find pools off the beaten path only accessible by walking UP a goddamned waterfall.

I can’t even start to tell you how amazing our time at the falls was. More pictures were snapped here than in Ha Long bay. It also made me wonder what this place will be like 5 years down the road…I assume it will be inundated with tourists, all looking for their own little slice of paradise. I am very thankful to have seen this site before that time hits, and its only a matter of years before that happens. Something this good is not kept hidden for this long.

Just take a look at some of the shots, and I hope you can appreciate just what Laos has in store for the world.

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With just over 7 days of travel left, our options are limited. We can either rush through the quiet mountain country of Laos, seeing and doing what we can, or extend our trip by another couple weeks. I voted for the extension, or even just escaping to the Chinese side of the boarder that was only 30km from Sapa, falling off the grid, and staying for an extended period of time. Reality got the best of me, though, and we are being forced to see a country in 7 days that I think I could spend another 6 weeks in alone.

7 days. Wow. That sucks. It really blows ass. This is really the life I love to live. I need to figure out how to do this more often. Sorry Dad. This might not be the last trip!

Ha Long Done - Next up? Sapa!

Lets start this by saying I am writing this post from the top of a junk boat in Ha long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Northern Vietnam, located on the shore, 180 kms from Hanoi. There are very few places more relaxing than this to be writing this blog. It seems like I am writing 5 words, then lifting my head from the computer to admire the sandstone cliffs that dominate the sky. They come in all shapes, all sizes, and most rock formations are covered with a thin layer of vegetation, adding to the beauty and mystic.

Ha Long bay is currently in the running to become on of the 7 new NATURAL wonders of the world, and judging by the sights, it has to be considered one of the favorites to make the final cut. With These sites I am currently laying my eyes upon, I know it will get my vote as a top 7.

The last post I made was a little short winded (which is strange for me, I know), so I thought I should go back and tell a little more about Hoi An and Ha Noi…Half because I want to, and half because I have the time to do it between glances at the cliffs.

Oh look….a Vietnamese fishing boat, and we are passing Skull island…

In Hoi An, I mentioned that we had some clothes made, but I should explain the process in which it is done. First thing that happens is that your hotel reccomends a tailer shop to go to, so you head that way only to find it is the most expensive one, and owned by the hotel, so you proceed to another of the over 400 tailor shops to get a good price. At that time, it basically turns into a carnival of cloth design. Anything you can imagine, whether it is in your mind, in one of their many books, the internet, or even a picture on your camera, they will take the design, and recreate it in your size using whichever fabric style you decide on. Trevor saw a fellow traveler in our hotel with a neat design, took a picture, and a day later, he had it in his hands, fitted to him in just the way he prefers.

The suit and shirts I bought were great, and Michele loved the tanktops, dresses, and shirts she had, but the real jem of the bunch was having shoes made for my fred flinstone style feet, built to fit. For those readers that don’t know, I have abnormally large and akward feet (size 13, extra wide), and have never been the benefactor of shoes that fit properly on the first try, so having sandals made for me that fit like a glove, in a design that I chose was like something out of a fairytale. I actually went as far as to hug the man that made them for me. All for the low low price of $15 USD. In retrospect, I should have really had 3 or 4 pair made.

Oh look…Fighting Cock Island. It’s a rock formation in the middle of the water that looks like two chicken

fighting, and is also the symbol for Ha Long Bay.

Other than the tailors, we also experienced a couple of nice beaches. The frist we found was the locals beach, which, at the time was completely empty. It was overcast, but the temperature was just right to play in the good sized waves that were crashing in from the South China Sea. Trevor, always the adrenaline junkie, even asked the locals to take a fishing boat out in the surf, only to have it topple on top of him. Thankfully, Michele, the photographer of the day, caught the memory on film at JUUST the right moment.

I am looking at an island formation right now that is on the Vietnamese 200,000 dong bill (about $14 CAD).

The evenings in Hoi An would have been quiet if it wasn’t for the King Kong bar, which tempted the tourists with free rum and coke’s between 10:30-11:00pm. 2 nights out of 3, you could find me there putting back as many as possible, and for both of those nights, it was officially the ‘Turning Point’. Lets just say that I joined the large crowd on the dancefloor (read: Pooltable) on multiple occasions.

Neat…A Floating Village!

One of the mornings after indulging at King Kong Bar, we were up at 5:30am to get ready to hop on a plane to come to Ha Noi. Good times.

Due to time constraints, we have had to pack extra things in to very few days, and that included seeing Ha Noi in a day, and I think we did a pretty good job. And thankfully, we were there on a national holiday, as well, to see some traditional Vietnamese entertainment, and partying. Although, we didn’t really participate in the partying. What we did do was go to the Snake Village to drinks snakes blood, and eat snake. It was another one of those ‘experience’ moments that I really love.

So that brings us to Ha Long bay. Yesterday morning at 8am, we were back on a mini-bus, heading to Ha Long for a 2 day journey out into the bay to see the cliffs and water I have described. We were fortunate enough to hop on a boat with a number of fellow travelers that were, simply, a good time, A few Americans, a few English, a few Isreli, even a Spaniard. We spent the day on a junkboat, touring the sites of the bay, the evening diving off the boat into the emerald water, and the night singing karaoke until our lungs were exhausted. The evening also included some liquid courage that was needed for the karaoke to be a success. Dad, you will be happy to know that I sang a version of Suspicious Minds that brought down the house!

So with all of these fun times, amazing experiences, and great times, there has to be some bad news. Mine came just as we were hopping on the boat to see the bay, and came in the form of my big camera not turning on. We have changed batteries many times, and there is still not a drop of power getting to the camera. I spent the first hour of the boat ride fuming, but since have mellowed a bit. For 2 travelers that came to asia with 3 cameras, we are down now to one ole reliable Sony powershot camera. I hope to hell this one lasts the rest of the journey.

Once we disembark the boat, we will be hopping back in a minibus for the 3 ½ hr. drive back to Hanoi. Once there, We have a 3 hr. turn around to get onto a train to head up to Sapa, known for its mountainous region, picturesque rice terraces, and treks through the Vietnamese countryside. It also includes a homestay, meaning we will be crashing at a local’s house. Right now, it sounds really cool, and I am pretty excited for it…Sounds like I will have another experience to write about.

During the 3 hr. layover, I am going to try to find a camera shop to take a look at my camera. If I could get it up and running again, I would be one happy camper!

So its off to Sapa! Should be some good times.

MB

PS – I have no idea what is going on in the playoffs, but someone please tell me the Canucks are losing!!!

Lots to report, but....

I lack the time to report them. We are now in Ha Noi, Vietnam, arriving here this morning after a nice, relaxing stay in Hoi An. Upon arriving in Ha Noi, we have made plans through to Laos on the 6^th.

There is only one small problem…

I am basically going to have no internet (or laptop) between now and then. You see, tomorrow, our heroes embark in a 2 day, 1 night tour of Ha Long Bay, where we will be spending the 1 night on a boat, in the bay. We arrive back in Ha Noi at 4:30 on the 3^rd just to hop on a train, and book it up to a town in Northern Vietnam called Sapa. This is a town nestled right in the mountains, only 30 kms from the Chinese boarder.

That will be a 2 day, 3 night trip, getting back to Ha Noi at 5:30am on the 6^th. Less than 4 hrs after that, we will be hopping on a plane en route to Louan Praubang, Laos. So you see, internet and posting time may be limited for the next 5-6 days. But I promise a monster post once we reach Laos.

As you can see, our time in HaNoi was limited, so we had to do everything we wanted to do here in one day. Really, we only had one MUST to do here, and we completed it tonight.

I drank snakes blood tonight. I actually drank the entire snake heart. I also indulged in 5 dishes, all made from the meat, skin, and bone of the snake that we had just killed and drank just moments sooner.

Oh, I also drank the snake bile, which, when mixed with Vodka turns green.

Trevor drank the blood, and ate the snake with me. Michele took a little coaxing, but eventually had some snake to eat as well, but couldn’t be bothered to take the shot.

Anyways, I know it was a quick post, but I have to be up nice and early to head out to Ha Long Bay. Sorry about the promptness of this post, and it should be known there are a couple good stories to tell from Hoi An, but most of it revolves around the clothes we all had made, and free rum at a bar we found. There was plenty of dancing on pool tables, plenty of beach time, and plenty of rain in between.

Hope all is well in Canada! Talk to you in just less than a weeks time (at the latest!)…

MB