laos

laos was great.. good people, landscape with a potential (but you can't really see much, since there fire and smoke everywhere), cheap accommodation, good food, free drinks..

i started taking the 2 day / 1 night slow boat down the mekong river from the thai border to luang prabang.. the boat was indeed slow, unsafe, very overcrowded (i had to either stand or sit on the floor with my knees to my chest), the river is brown and the scenery is gray (smoke), but still, it was worth the experience and i met some great people there..

luang prabang is a cute little town, with a few temples and a big night market.. just 30 minutes outside of the town, there's the kouang si waterfall, which isn't amazing, but it's good enough for some pictures, and there's also some swimming pools, one with a swing on a tree.. the water was cold, so i jumped off of the swing a couple of times, then headed back to town..

nightlife is interesting there.. you go eat and hang out at the bars, but there's a curfew at midnight, so after that, you go to the little bowling alley, the only place open and serving drinks until 3am..

a little south of luang prabang, there's vang vieng, town of the wasted backpackers.. the schedule there? wake up late, eat, go to the bars by the river, drink, swim, drink, swing, drink, dance, drink, then head back to town by sunset time, hit the bars, and.. well, drink and party more. repeat the next day.. and the next..

the town is pretty much a few blocks with guest houses, restaurants and clubs.. most of the restaurants have tvs playing either friends or family guy all day long.. i spent at least a couple of hours watching family guy every time i went for lunch!

most people wouldn't think of laos as a party country, but most people don't know about the "lao lao", or whiskey lao.. it's their own liquor, made out of rice.. tastes horrible, but they give it for free everywhere, just to get people started.. and it works.. i've never seen so many wasted people wandering the streets..

from vang vieng, i went to vientiane, the capital, where there's absolutely nothing to do, but i was going to fly out of there, so it was a necessary stop.. the plan was to sleep at the airport (my flight was at 6am), but once i got there, i was told i couldn't.. since i was felling sick, i went to a guest house, took some medicine and rested a little...

4am, the next morning, the taxi driver didn't show up.. the receptionist tried calling other drivers, but it was to early and nobody answered the phone.. he said my best option would be walk down the dark and deserted streets and try to find a cab or a tuk-tuk running..

sick and getting late for my flight, off i went.. with a drunk out of her mind lady boy following me on her scooter, harassing me, offering me a ride to the airport (yeah, right), not speaking a word of english.. i tried everything, but she wouldn't leave.. the most uncomfortable situation so far..

she finally left me alone some 10 minutes later, and i found a tuk-tuk right after.. i made it to the airport safely and in time for my flight to cambodia.. but what a crappy last day in laos!

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good times on the overcrowded slow boat

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a potentially good landscape covered by smoke

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swing at the kouang si waterfall

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xieng thong temple, right in time for the prayers

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canada, england, and the usual brazil

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can you see the guy jumping off of the swing? (upper right)


-- pt --

laos foi otimo.. boa gente, paisagens com potencial (mas nao da pra ver muito, tem varias queimadas e fumaca por todo lado), hospedagem barata, comida boa, bebidas de graca..

saindo da fronteira com a tailandia, eu peguei um barco que desce o rio mekong em 2 dias / 1 noite ate' luang prabang.. o barco e' bem devagar, perigoso, superlotado (eu tinha que ficar de pe' ou me sentar abracando meus joelhos), o rio e' marrom e as paisagens sao cinza (fumaca), mas ainda valeu a pena pela experiencia e pelas pessoas que eu conheci..

luang prabang e' uma cidadezinha pacata, com alguns templos e uma boa feira noturna.. uns 30 minutos da cidade, fica a kouang si watterfall (cachoeira), que nao e' nenhuma maravilha, mas e' o suficiente pra tirar algumas fotos, e tem tambem uma piscina natural com uma corda pra voce pular da arvore.. a agua estava fria, entao eu pulei duas vezes e voltei pra cidade...

a vida noturna e' interessante.. voce sai pra comer, depois vai pros bares, mas tudo fecha a meia noite.. menos um lugar: o boliche! o povo todo vai pra la, ja' que e' o unico lugar aberto e servindo bebidas ate' as 3 da manha..

um pouco ao sul de luang prabang, fica vang vieng, o paraiso dos mochileiros bebados.. o que se faz la? acordar tarde, comer, ir aos bares a beira do rio, beber, nadar, beber, pular, beber, dancar, beber, depois voltar pra cidade no fim da tarde, ir aos bares e.. bom, beber e festejar mais.. repetir no proximo dia.. e no proximo..

a cidade e' basicamente alguns quarteiroes com acomodacoes, restaurantes e clubes.. a maioria dos restaurantes tem tvs passando friends ou family guy (uma familia da pesada) o dia todo.. eu passei pelo menos umas 2 horas assistindo family guy toda vez que eu ia almocar!

a maioria das pessoas acha que laos nao e' um pais festeiro, mas a maioria das pessoas nao conhece o "lao lao", ou whisky lao.. e' a bebida local, feita de arroz.. o gosto e' horrivel, mas eles oferecem de graca em tudo que e' lugar, so' pra dar um incentivo.. e funciona.. nunca vi tanto bebado andando pelas ruas..

de vang vieng, eu fui pra vientiane, a capital, onde nao tem absolutamente nada pra fazer, mas como meu voo sairia de la, foi uma parada necessaria.. o plano era dormir no aeroporto (meu voo era as 6 da manha), mas quando eu cheguei la, me disseram que era proibido.. eu estava meio doente, entao fui pra um hotelzinho, tomei uns remedios e descansei um pouco..

as 4 da manha seguinte, o meu taxi nao foi me buscar.. o recepcionista tentou ligar pra outros taxis, mas era muito cedo e ninguem atendeu.. ele disse que a minha unica opcao seria andar pelas ruas escuras e desertas e tentar achar um taxi ou tuk-tuk rodando..

e la fui eu, doente e quase atrasado pro meu voo.. e com um lady boy bebado e drogado me seguindo numa scooter, me enchendo o saco, me oferecendo uma carona (sei, sei), sem falar uma palavra de ingles.. eu tentei de tudo, mas ele nao me deixava em paz.. foi a situacao mais desconfortavel ate' agora..

ele finalmente resolveu ir embora usn 10 minutos depois, e eu achei um tuk-tuk logo depois.. cheguei ao aeroporto sao e salvo, e em tempo de pegar meu voo... mas que ultimo dia horrivel em laos!

(foto 1)
bons tempos no barco superlotado

(foto 2)
paisagem com potencial, coberta pela fumaca

(foto 3)
swing na kouang si waterfall

(foto 4)
templo xieng thong, na hora das oracoes/cantos

(foto 5)
canada, inglaterra, e o habitual brasil

(foto 6)
ta vendo o cara pulando do swing? (lado direito, acima do centro)