Our Motorcycle Excursion in Central Laos

Happy Holidays!

I hope this finds you enjoying the holiday season with family and friends. I also hope you have finished whatever shopping you need to do this time of year, and, if you haven't, you'll be in my thoughts. The holiday rush is definitely one thing I am NOT going to miss this year!

As you might expect, I've been thinking more of family and friends as 2006 draws to a close. Even with the risk of being labeled sappy or mushy since I include this in every email, I want to say again that I miss everyone very much and love you all. If you're getting this email, then I mean it. :) Alright, now that the mushy stuff is out of the way, I'll get on with the email.

Michele and I will be celebrating the holidays in Northern Laos near the borders of Thailand, China, and Myanmar. Right now we're in Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos, enjoying a bit of a break from traveling (4 days in one spot!!!). I have really enjoyed Laos. The people are very kind and sincere (and patient - something I put to the test every time I try to pay for something since $1 = 10,000kip; I think I'm developing a disorder where I lose track of or add zeros). The scenery is also stunning with jagged limestone peaks, rivers, and dense jungle. I've also enjoyed learning more about it's recent history, especially the secret war the USA fought in Laos during Vietnam to try to prevent the spread of communism (it didn't work). I'll save that for another email so I don't dampen that holiday spirit, only know that there is a lot to learn about this small and fascinating country and the war is still impacting people's daily lives.

In the last 3 weeks, we have visited more sacred Wats (buddhist monastery temples) than I can count, sat on 10 hour bus rides through minority hill-tribe villages (where around 25% of the people get motion sick), visited the secret headquarters of the communist rebels built into Limestone caves, and hit the road on a motorcycle for a four day trip to one of the longest caves in the world. (My family has already heard the following story, but it's the most interesting one I have from the last 21 days that doesn't include the war, so I hope they don't mind reading it again.)

You read right, motorcycle. As most of your probably know (or could guess), I've never ridden a motorcycle before. I learned quickly on a four day trip through rural Laos on rural roads, but had a great time and don't really have any cool motorcycling stories to tell. The good thing about communist Laos is that there aren't many cars on the road (just buses, tractors, and a lot of children and farm animals); the bad thing is that some of the roads are non-existent. I wish I could say I was a natural, but Michele's pictures show otherwise. (all Laos pictures have been updated at http://www.justalittlemoretime.myphotoalbum.com/)

The highlight and purpose of the 4 day trip was to visit a 7km long cave that took 45 minutes to get through by motorable canoe. The thing was HUGE and had HUGE stalagmites. The best part was getting there, because the village was on a 40km dead end road that's only open during the dry season (now). Getting there took 4 hours (10km or 6mph) on roads going through rice fields and many villages. We ended up staying in a homestay at the end of the road and were the evening's entertainment for all of the villagers. Village life in Laos apparently resolves around drinking, so our interaction with the villagers also revolved around drinking. Luckily Michele knew enough Thai/Lao (the languages are very similar) to make things interesting and everyone appreciated us at least trying their home brewed Lao-Lao (STRONG whisky) and Lao-Yai (rice beer). It was strong stuff, but I have to admit that the Lao-Yai wasn't that bad. Lucky for me I have a much higher tolerance coming from altitude, so I was able to outlast the seasoned villagers who, to their defence, had a HUGE head start. :) The whole village comes out and even the kids get in the act. They just set up two huge speakers and blare music from 5pm to 3am. The craziest part was the kids! They just have a huge keg with two straws sticking out set in the middle of an open space and the kids are dancing around and merrily chugging as much of the Lao-Yai as they please. The youngest had to be around 6 or so. Needless to say we got some very boisterous "Sa Bai Dee"s (hello) from the kids...and apparently they do this every day!!! (and still wake up at 5am) It was a really good cultural interaction seeing how they live (still very, very basic apart from the speakers and bottomless kegs) and feeling like we got to meet some authentic people who aren't putting on faces for the tourists. Their kindness is really humbling. The rest of the trip was basically a scenic drive through the Laos jungle near the Vietnam border and visiting a couple more caves (including two that were turned into sacred Buddhist sites). It was a really good detour.

Now that I think of it, this will be the last email you'll receive in 2006. 2007! Insane! So what are your New Years (or next two weeks) resolutions? :) Any wisdom gained in the last year? I've spent the last 30 minutes writing and deleting my feelings on the end of this year and start of the next, but I must admit that I don't have any pearls of wisdom (I'm sure you're shocked). I guess the main thing I've learned from 2006 (apart from the crushing facts that I can't grow a respectable beard and 2006 will be my adult peak as far as the hair on my head is concerned) is that life is a beautiful thing and much less complicated than we make it most of the time. The main goal for myself and wish for everyone in 2007 is just to enjoy each moment and to maintain a perspective on the things that are actually important in life. Easy as that. :) Happy new year!!!

I hope you have a great holiday and happy new year! Holiday pictures, updates, stories, etc are always welcome.

Thanks for everything in 2006 and I can't wait to catch up in 2007. Take care of yourself!

much love,

jason



Vang Vieng:




Born to Ride:




Just trying to get Jason to smile!