Tuesday, November 20, 2007

'Trekking' in Laos

OUr two day 'trek' through a national protected area(NPA) down the south of Laos was quite an experience! Again we were blessed with the fortune of three great travelling companions who we got to know throughout the two days...
THe first day consisted mostly of scrambling DOWN DOWN DOWN through the rain, and some very dense rainforest to a tiny clearing near a waterfall where we were to camp for the night...It was like the rainforest experience that you imagine when you are little..moss growing all over the vines that wrap themselves around, and around, and around every tree that surrounds you...ahh I'm doing a crappy job of describing it so I'll just stop there...Basically it was VERY beautiful and the rain, though annoying at the start, only helped in adding to the beauty of it all...

That night we got an insight into what its like to REALLY live off the land with the local guides cooking sticky rice in bamboo poles, and creating quite a cool grill apparatus for the meat...They were exceptionally good at using our surroundings to prepare our meal and create a comfy camp sight in what first appeared a crazy spot to stop for the night...The fact that someone had forgotten to pack any tent flys provided for an interesting nights sleep but in the end it was all just part of the experience!

On the second day we climbed down a bit further to the stunning waterfall we had listened to raging through the night...The rain had thankfully stopped and it was really amazing to admire whilst knowing we were amongst only a handful of tourists who had seen that waterfall, and gone trekking in that area(we were the first group of tourists ever to officially do that specific trek...the path we had followed earlier was used only by the locals who lived in the village where we had started our trek)....From there it was a crazy hike back UP(via a different route) to the village ....At this point we knew we were well and truly 'off the beaten track' as there WAS no track for a good couple of K's....We relied entirely on the knowledge of the flip flop wearing, machette(spelling??)-happy local guides who, for a few hours, hacked away at everything in their way so to create a path for us through the towering grass, bamboo and trees...When it started to POUR with rain we were no longer just scrambling through a rainforest with no idea where we were....but scrambling through the mud....struggling to keep up with the guides...I truly struggle to think of any other time in my life when i have been more wet than i was on that second day...Even with a raincoat on i was soakedthrough....Whenever I stopped to look around and catch my breath i would just find myself laughing at the craziness of our situation...
But anyway....we did make it back to the village before dark(which at one stage i thought was seriously doubtful) and after peeling off the numerous leeches we climbed into the taxi, still dripping to head back to Pakse, where a warm set of clothes awaited.

Trek is not really the word I would use to describe what we did over those two days.,...I think bush-bashing, rock climbing or scrambling up a hill through mud are all more fitting descriptions however it was still a really great experience and something I'm glad we did.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

update on the last few weeks...Nepal-Bangkok-Laos

So...this is to update you on what i have been doing in the last two weeks...
After the amazing trek, and an equally awesome three days rafting we headed bac kto Kathmandu to enjoy the luxuries of staying in a HOUSE with a friend, Cindy who mum met on her trip to Nepal...Was pretty excited to sit on a couch and cook a meal after three months!
We spent three days there(i think..i lose track of days!), one of which i went on a day trip up towards the tibetan border to do a bungy jump....At 160ms its ONE of the highest in the world...Bbut no1 could actually tell me where there is one that is higher...anyway it was pretty scary but very exhilirating too! Glad i did it...There was also this giant canyon swing that has a free fall of 8secs which was more frightening than the bungy jump....a mad adrenalin rush...

We then flew to Bangkok to spend a few days there organising our Laos visa's and transport to the border...IIt was strange being in such a large, developed city after being in poverty for so long...Felt a fair bit of culture shock in reverse....Realised how much stuff we cluster our lives with that just isn't necessary!
Did act like a bit of a tourist by going to the floating markets with a friend of Ell's who we bumped into...
WE then spent a crazy 24 hours making our way to the very south of Laos to the area known as the four thousand islands....A very beautiful place...Spent a few days there riding around on pushys and reading in our hammocks on the balcony of our $2 bungalow....Laos is crazy cheap! Even more so than India and Nepal..Which i found quite suprising....
From what we have seen so far its a very beautiful and laid back country! and no1 trys to rip you off which is nice!
Tomorrow we are going on a two day trek through an area that is famous for its coffee plantations...apparently Laos coffee is quite famous in the coffee world...so that will be cool to be trekking again, whilst enjoying some good coffee!
Will also check out some waterfalls before heading up to the capital, Vientiane to meet up with a friend...
The volunteering that we had planned in Laos has kinda fallen through so we are trying to find some other volunteering to do but had no luck as such....If we can't find anything here we may head into Vietnam and try our luck there!
Till next time xoxo