Blessings come in small packages
Monday, January 16, 2006
December 29, 2005
I think I'm speaking for both Kat and I when I say we were both extremely excited to go to Laos. Since I've arrived in Cambodia, the small town of Luang Prabang, set high in the mountains, has been described as a magical place. I've been wanting to go for ages and was truly in awe that our plans had worked out so that we could spend New Years in a place so revered by travellers.
Thoroughly refreshed and ready for a change of scenery, Kat and I grabbed some lattes at Starbucks and sped off to the airport, once again. We were pros at negotiating the Bangkok airport at this point, and checking in went smoothly. The flight was 20 minutes late, which was a bit frustrating, but really nothing could dampen our mood.
When we flew into the mountains of Laos and I saw the small town from the air, I became giddy like a child. I'm not sure what it was about this place, but it really didn't disappoint. It was amazing.
After walking off the plane and into quite possibly the smallest airport I've ever been to, we sat in the long line for visas and customs, grabbed our bags from the claim area, and hopped in a sangthaew to our hotel. The scenery was amazing - terrace farming along the riverbeds (there are two rivers in Luang Prabang, including the Mekong), small little houses built in the traditional Laotian style, horse-carts bearing large amounts of goods, and locals enjoying the natural beauty that comes with fabulous geography and landscapes.
Kat had spent a great deal of time booking our Lao and Thai hotels from California, and so far everything had worked out well. This is where a wrench was thrown in our plans.
When we arrived at the hotel, the reservationists were unable to find our booking. After about 15 minutes of searching and comparing with our Internet printout, they realized that we had been booked at our first choice hotel (which we had been told was fully booked). They made the phone call, confirmed with the other hotel, and sent us off in their hotel van.
We actually were quite happy about the mix-up because we had preferred this other hotel - located along the Mekong, small and charming... When we arrived they greeted us with sweet drinks and began searching for our reservation. After additional examination of our Internet printout, they announced to us that there had been a mistake and they thought we were someone else. Their hotel was indeed booked and there was no place for us.
The man at the front desk was extremely kind, apologizing for the confusion, and ensuring us that he would find us a place to stay. The online reservation service had already charged Kat's credit card, but there was really nothing else to be done. He began calling hotel after hotel in the area, looking for a vacant room. The entire town was booked - which was funny, because Luang Prabang felt EMPTY - that's the kind of place it is.
After nearly 30 minutes of phone calls and searching, the man informed us that nothing was available. Would it be alright for us to stay in a guesthouse? At this point we had no choice and reluctantly agreed to take whatever there was available. We both were just hoping there would be a place for us to sleep that night.
Another van drove us down the street and stopped in front of a small guesthouse, also along the Mekong. It was very spartan and plain, but it had two beds and a warm shower - we didn't need air-conditioning in Laos, the weather was so crisp and cool!
Disappointed but tired of dealing with logistics and ready to explore, Kat and I dropped off our things, secured them with my bike lock (thanks Ron!), and went off to find some food. There was a strip of empty, open-air restaurants along the Mekong, and after merely glancing at the first menu, we sat down.
Over some fried veggies and tofu, spring rolls, and stir fried noodles, we both relaxed a bit and took in the gorgeous views of the riverside. It really was incredible.
I don't know quite how to explain the quality of light in Luang Prabang, but it was certainly unique compared to other places I'd been. The skies were gloomy and foggy early in the morning and the air was cool. Around 11 am the sun broke through the clouds with a warming glow and a fierce contrast against the proliferous foliage. This intensity lasted until nearly 4 pm when the sun began to fall in the sky, and the light and temperature became perfect.
By the time we finished our *very* late lunch, we began to wander up the street, peering into shops and tour agencies. We had no orientation of the town at this point, but Luang Prabang is an entirely walkable area. So we just began exploring.
At the end of one block we arrived at an eco-tourism agency, promising great tours of some of the caves and waterfalls we wanted, and day treks to villages. Since this was the first company we visited (and we weren't sure that there'd be others), we immediately signed-up for a boat trip to the Pak Ou caves and the Kuang-si waterfalls on New Years eve. We put our names down for a New Year's day trek and promised to return the next night to pay.
We continued left down a street that seemed to lead towards a city center. We stopped in a cute gift shop that had these amazing antique/second-hand fabric bags and bright pigment dyed fishermans pants - a staple in Asia. After window-shopping for a bit, I bought a pair of the pants for a potential trek (I had forgotten to bring long hiking pants with me) and kept the bags in mind.
As we reached the main street (in the old part of town), hundreds of vendors were setting up blankets in the middle of the street. The light had fallen into the "golden hour" and it brilliantly began to illuminate the many brightly-colored Laotian wares. We were both extremely pleased to have stumbled upon the nightly Hmong (an indigenous people living in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam)market, especially since neither of us had read about it :).
We slowly wandered up the long sreet, realizing that what we had seen in the gift shop was just the beginning of some of the gorgeous crafts made in Laos. There were placemats made with black burlap bordering colorful scarf segments, aprons, slippers, blankets, and bags made out of a beautiful applique swirl design, figurines of all types, silk scarves, the inevitable "BeerLao" t-shirts, Hmong hats, lanterns, parasols, ceramics... The list goes on and on.
We were enamored by all the goods and I was inspired by the fantastic light to take lots of pictures. It really felt like a magical afternoon.
When we reached the end of the blankets we began to notice another type of market entirely devoted to prepared food and fresh vegetables. Some vendors were offering all the food you could fit on a plate for 5,000 Kip ($.50!) and it was easy for me to see why backpackers adore this place so. The place where we had eaten lunch was also significantly cheaper than basic meals in Cambodia.
I was also amazed by how many vegetables were for sale in Laos, and I attribute this to the better developed irrigation systems in the country and the benefit of two rivers in the area. In Cambodia there are few vegetables in the countryside, but just from reading the menus of the restaurants earlier, it was obvious to me that this country utilized many more vegetables in its diet.
As the sun went down, we wandered back up the main street and were tempted by a tour agency offering "unique encounters" and the best ecotourism in town. The sign referred to a Canadian man who could answer any of our questions. We wandered inside, not prepared to get swept up in the spiel of one slightly undermedicated, over-zen'd dude.
We left the agency after about 30 minutes of pictures, map diagrams, and explanations of different treks we could go on. *Obviously* we wouldn't get the most "special encounter" since we only had enough time to go for a day, but we were promised *delic-i-o-u-s" food and the best "encounters" of any organization. When he said encounters, he was referring to being exposed to the local cultures in their indigenous environments - aka village visits. The whole thing sounded way too clinical to me, but it seemed debatably more organized than the one we had considered earlier that day. We told the guy that we'd be back in the next evening to make a decision.
We continued to wander down the street, in the opposite direction of the market, looking into shops, checking out the street-side restaurants, and looking for one in particular: "L'elephant". After our hotel had fallen through, Kat and I had made a decision to find a really nice restaurant in town and to book a New Year's dinner. Both of our books bragged about "L'elephant" so we figured we'd give it a try. We were pleasantly surprised when we came upong a quaint, elegantly decorated house, glowing with warm light inside. The New Year's menu was taped on the front door and after examining the 8-course meal and the delicious food promised for a mere $30, we decided to book.
Pleased with our decision, we wandered back up the main street and stumbled upon a restaurant doubling as a spa. Who knew? Kat - always looking for an opportunity for a great massage - suggested we take a look. The prices here were even cheaper and after a 2 minute deliberation, we settled on a 2.5 hour package of a body massage, a foot massage, and a hot herbal steam massage, for the steal of $8.
The women led us to the back porch, where the air was beginning to grow more chilly than I've felt in months (probably very low 60s). We laid on mattresses on the wooden floor, and relaxed into a massageful bliss. The steam massage in particular, was really lovely as we were both cold and the steam felt great against our skin. It was pretty surreal to be experiencing this lying on a porch during a very beautiful Laos evening. By the time we began our 1-hour foot massage, I was starting to get a bit ancy, but it was still very enjoyable. The place really began to fill up with other tourists around 8 pm, so it didn't seem *as* weird.
We finished our treatments around 9:45 and began to wander down the street looking for some place to eat. We soon realized that everything closed relatively early there and that our best bet for food was likely the restaurant where we had just come from with our massages. We were both FREEZING since the weather had gotten even colder and even with our prepared packing regiments, hadn't prepared for these temperatures. We both were craving a nice hot soup to warm us up.
The restaurant was outdoors as well, and we both shivered as we waited for the steaming bowls of Tom Yum Goong to arrive. After a very quick meal (since we were so hungry and cold), we walked back to our guesthouse, bundled under the covers, and fell into a deep sleep -that is, until the rooster began crowing at 5 am....
Posted by kalabird at January 16, 2006 2:26 AM
Comments
I LOVE this photograph!!
Posted by: Matthew at January 22, 2006 10:44 PM