Ok, Ok, I know I've been slack on this blogsite lately, but I've been on the go and there hasn't been good email access; and if there has I would still write that and lie because most people don't know how the email access is in Laos, let alone where Laos is.
Last I wrote I was in northern Thailand in Laos where we had bonfires along the river at nights and would try not to do too much to tire ourselves out during the days. We rented mopeds for a couple days and went on little trips on the outskirts of the city to visit waterfalls, hotsprings and just to drive around the countryside and see the small little villages that don't get many tourists. I got my first oil massage before leaving Pai which was nice, but in the end I want pain. I want to know that someone is working on my body and that I could be more sore the next day from the massage.
After Pai we headed back down to Chang Mai where we booked a 3 day trek. This started the next morning and was a great change of pace. The first day after hopping in a truck and heading out of the city for a couple hours we stopped and boarded our elephants which we road for a little over an hour through hills and across a river where the elephants stopped to drink water and to hose themselves down, which meant we were getting wet too since we were on top of them. The guides who control where the elephants go find that the best way to get them to do what they want is to hit them. They don't use a whip or kick with their heels. The have this stick which has a nail on the end of it. They say that the elephant doesn't feel the nail, but then why do they jump everytime they are hit with it. All and all it was good fun, but for the sake of the big creature, put the nails down. We then started our hike into the jungle. For the first few hours it was up, up and more up. This was exactly what I needed to remind myself how out of shape I was in and why I like relaxing at beaches soo much. It was a beautiful hike with great views. We had two local guides with our group of 7. I spent a good amount of the time with one of the guides, Tony (Ton) who would answer all my questions about the different uses of things in the jungle and about the local ways of life. At the end of the first day we came too our huts which were perched halfway up a hillslope that overlooked mountains, valleys and when the nights came we sat on the big porch and looked at the stars and watched the line of fire in the distance (it is dry season here now). The next morning was the big hiking day, and in total we hiked for about 6-7 hours, at some points walking through the jungle fires, over streams and eventually coming to a waterfall where we swam for an hour or so. Lunch this day was prepared in the morning (vegetables and rice steamed and mixed together). When we got it at lunch we were each handed a rolled up banana leaf with our food still hot inside. We made chopsticks from the bamboo we found and learned how to make cups from the bamboo in the jungle as well. On our final day of the trek, after walking a few hours we ended up at a river where we had lunch before going on an hour white water rafting trip. When the excitement of the rapids were over (they may have been level 2 rapids at the most, which isn't very difficult at all) we boarded bamboo rafts and lazily floated down the river before getting back in the truck and heading to chang mai to conclude our trek.
I immediately went and got a thai massage the minute I got back into town and this lady twisted my body and pushed on muscles that I didn't know existed.
The next morning we were up and at it again, this time in a minibus to head to the border of Thailand/Laos. After a day in the bus and getting our visas we took a short boat trip across the river to spend our first night in Laos. We had to get up early the following morning to board a big slow boat that we were to ride for the next two days down the mighty Meng Kong river to Luang Prabang. As I sat in the boat on the first day and watched the beautiful scenery and contemplated a different life here that I would never really see from the inside of a boat passing by, I made a cocktail or two and before I knew it the full day boat trip was over and we arrived in our first little village where for some unknown reason we ended up at an Indian restaurant. It quickly reminded me of the family I stayed with in India and all the great things about that country. I was back in the boat again the next morning, and this time since I was late, the chairs were running out which forced me to the back of the boat. This turned out to be a godsend because when I got to the back of the boat I found a big comfortable looking floor space with loads of cushions around. How had nobody found this area? I layed down and fell right asleep. When I woke up I found that many others have found this area and I had neighbors sleeping and playing cards and enjoying there spacious floor space all around me. When we finally arrived in Luang Prabang we got our rooms and headed out to the night market to get some food. We found one area where for less than $1 they give you a bowl and you can fill it as much as you can one time. As I sat down with my towering bowl and a fresh grilled piece of chicken and a fresh caught fish that was flavored with lemongrass inside I thought about this new, exciting place and how lucky I was to have this experience. It then hit me that I was on the last leg of this trip with just over a month to go and I panicked for a short time and decided the best thing to make me feel better was to walk a couple of stands down and buy a fresh, moist piece of carrot cake. This helped, but didn't completely do the job so I followed it up with a fresh piece of pineapple cake. Ok, life is good and everything must come to an end at some point.
I INTEND
I intend to rejoice in the energy of the dawn, savor the stillness of dusk, and accept both events as an invitation for contemplation.
To imagine at sunrise the realm of joyous possibilities for the day and to expect only a perfect unfolding.
To reflect at sunset what I have learned and to be grateful for the gifts of the day.
To set my expectations for tomorrow to bring an even more beautiful experience and understanding.
To let the stars disappearance with the dawn remind me that just because I can’t see, hear, taste, feel or otherwise perceive something it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
-I'm not sure who wrote this
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