Best Day

Now that my trip is ending and since have spent almost as much time in buses as not, I have been able to think about what has been my favorite day of my trip. In actuality my favorite day was really parts of two days, but since they fall into one 24 hour period I will consider it one day for the sake of a better memory :-)

I rode into the small town of Viangkhan at dusk (I left Luang Prabang, just as the sun was about to hide itself behind the Xuang river and mountains. There wasn't much in Viangkhan, the town didn't even get a mention in my guide book and was just a blip on my map. I had left Luang Prbang that morning and headed north into the mountains, with the intention of staying in Nong Khiaw, a decent sized town with known services. However when I got there I still had good light, and so pressed on. From my map, it was pretty clear that it was Viangkhan or the side of the road as there was nothing within the 40km between Nong Khiaw and Viangkhan, nor was there anything but tiny villages for 150+km after.

Viangkhan town has only one street, the main road which divides the town in half. One side hugs the mountainside to the southeast and the other overhangs the Xuang river to the Northwest. After riding most of the way through town, I met up with a German couple who were waiting to catch a night bus out of town. They had been stuck there a couple of days, as there is not much transportation service out of the town. They told me about an old man in town who spoke English and had a kind of guest house. The old man, Mr. Phoumy, was a veteran in the Laos civil war and the de-facto English teacher for the town. He said his town gets very few visitors, and I could tell he was happy to be able to practice his English with me. He made me a very simple dinner, and we talked for hours, well into the late night. He explained the Lao civil war, and the reasons behind who were involved, the current political and social situation in the country (as he understood it), and the differences between Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. He asked me where I was from, and what I did. He was impressed by the fact I am a farmer. It is interesting, most of the people I talk to are more impressed with me being a farmer than others who are lawyers, or doctors or business men.

After we ate dinner I asked him about Lao food and he said it is very strong and different (what he had served us was not traditional Lao food). I asked if i could try it, he looked at me, sceptically, and reiterated that it is very different, spicy, and tough. I told him I was used to spicy food due to all the Mexican food I eat. He finally agreed with a sheepish smile. I went to sleep that night, excited, but a little nervous about the food I was going to have the next morning.

What you see above is my Lao Breakfast (the first picture at the beginning of the post is Mr. Phoumy cooking part of it). The bottom right dish should be obvious, sticky rice. The bowl in the upper left is a type of chili pepper mix, kind of like the Lao equivalent of the Mexican mix of pickled chilies, carrots, and onions. The lower left dish is called Yot-Wai which is made by boiling the inside tissue of a thorn bush until it becomes soft. A bit of pork is added to add flavor to the otherwise bland thorn flesh. The mixture is boiled for quite a while and reduced to allow the flavors to concentrate, and then at the end some spices and a type of leafy green is added. The last dish, Sakhan, was the strangest and the most difficult for me to eat. While everything tasted good, and I was able to finish everything else, I just couldn't finish the Sakhan. It wasn't like I began to feel sick while eating it. It was more like my stomach just closed itself off as if to say that this is just too tough for me to handle and digest. Sakhan kind of has the consistency or thickness of gumbo, or a caldo. The primary ingredient is the vascular tissue (xylem and pholem) of a common local tree. This is boiled for a long time to soften tissue (imagine trying to eat a piece of wood). After the wood is softened, some combination of spices that I had never tasted before are added with "part of a water buffalo". I still have no idea what type of water buffalo meat it was, but based on is texture and uniform structure I am guessing it was the tail. When I had finished eating and explained to Mr Phoumy that i liked everything but just couldn't finish the Sakhan, he gave me an appreciative, yet at the same time, "I told you so", smile.

While Mr. Phoumy was cooking, and while I was eating, I noticed the skirts his wife and step daughter were wearing, and that frankly all the women in town were wearing. These skirts were simple but at the same time quite pretty (see picture above of the girls going to school in their uniforms). I asked Mr. Phoumy where I could get a skirt like his wife was wearing, as I thought it would make a good gift for my mother. Immediately he said you can buy from my wife, she makes them right here, and pointed to her loom right next to the table where I had eaten breakfast. He went on to proclaim that they very nice and a better price then I would find at the Market in Luang Prabang. He immediately called to his wife, who, in bubbling excitement, brought out her recent creations. She then frantically began setting up her loom (See picture below) and Mr. Phouy exclaimed that she can make me one right there on the spot. I said that it wasn't necessary, as I had to get going soon if I was going to make it back to Luang Prabang before dark. Their actions affirmed my belief that tourists are a rare occurrence in Viangkhan!!!


I ended up liking the skirts so much that I bought three. I could tell the mother and daughter were appreciative that I wanted to buy something, and I sensed that they, probably mostly out of pride, showed me ones that they thought were well made; some of their better examples. After the ladies bagged up my items, I said goodbye and thanked Mr. Phoumy and his wife, also his step daughter, and even gave a little goodbye to his two grand daughters. Laotian kids are some of the cutest I have ever seen :-) (notice the white boards with the Lao-English translations in the background)


After I left Viangkhan I rode up into the mountains, taking the long way round back to Luang Prabang. After about 60km I came upon a small hill tribe village. Riding through this place I really got to see what Rural Laos is like. The life these people lead is tougher than I can even imagine, and yet they still seem to have so much joy in their lives. As I rode through town these little kids, barefoot and filthy, would run out of their houses to wave to me and say "Hi". A couple even gave me "high-fives" as I passed. (watch the video)

The rest of the ride back to Luang Prabang was beautiful, but relatively uneventful, nothing that came close to my experience riding through the village. I will remember those kids always!!!

Vietnam

It is fortunate for Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Robert McNamara, Henry Kissinger, William Westmoreland, and others, that Hell does not exist, and is merely a construction of Christianity, designed to control primitive peoples.

That being said: Any person (not having been shot at or to have shed blood in the Vietnam War), who lays blame on, or has contempt for, any grunt solider, for anything done during Vietnam, should truly ask themselves if an 18-20 year old kid; sent to a strange land; not knowing why he is fighting; not knowing who is friend and who is foe; should he be held personally responsible for what he does... I say No!!!

On a side note, I think it says a lot about about the propaganda machine in the US that we use the same nickname giving to president Lyndon Baines Johnson as we do for LeBron James. Do we really want to be comparing arguably the best athlete in the world, and by all accounts a decent man, to a president who deliberately lied to and deceived the American people into an evil war. A man who could actually be considered a war criminal!!!! Were Johnson's actions fundamentally different than those of say, Slobadon Milosevic, or Augusto Pinochet? Perhaps? Maybe we don't need to go as far back 150 years and James Buchanan to find a president as bad as George W., we had Johnson and Nixon back to back just 35 years ago!!!!

Random thoughts

In the last 1000 years, aside from the Magna Carta, is there any (political) document, where a legitimate argument can be made, asserting it to be more significant or important, than either the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, or the Bill of Rights. Granted, I am a fairly ignorant man, but I cannot think of any. The Napoleonic Code (Code civil des Français) could be put forward, but it was eventually ended, or so heavily modified as to no longer exist in form.

That being said... has there ever been, in the history of the world, a greater concentration of genius and brilliance than that which existed in the US colonies during the revolutionary period of 1776-1800. Perhaps the golden age of Athens, with Pericles, Socrates, Plato etc. can be argued for, but to my knowledge no other modern equivalent exists. What made it so incredible was not just the degree but the variety present. The economic and ambitious genius of Hamilton, the political astuteness and foresight of Madison, the written eloquence and "ideas" of Jefferson, the shear brilliance and breadth of understanding in Franklin, the tenacity of cause in Adams, and the shear moral rectitude and integrity of Washington, all combined to make the time truly unique. In any other time, and any other place, a republican experiment such as this this would have most certainly failed, but the fact that it has endured for nearly a two and a half centuries is one of the true amazing feats in human history.

side note: All of you know I am not an ameri-phile, in fact the more I read and learn the more I resent what my country has become (is becoming), but that doesn't preclude me form having hope that the amazing institutional foundation we (Americans) have will allow us to resurrect, or maybe more appropriately, finally implement, the ideas espoused in the above mentioned documents.

A Random Story

So, a Random American leaves Dien Bien Phu and runs out of gas at dusk; in the northern mountains; miles from anywhere...

American Man (AM) is pushing his motor bike up the road when Random Vietnamese Man (VM1) stops along side of him. AM tries to describe the problem in English; VM1 says some things in Vietnamese; AM says he doesn't understand; VM1 says a few more things and rides off...

AM is continuing to push his motor bike up the road in the dark, when a second Random Vietnamese Man (VM2) stops along side. VM2 speaks some English and so AM is able to describe problem and VM2. With use of AM's flashlight, AM and VM2 are able to drain a bit of gas out of VM2's gas tank...

Just as AM is about to fill his tank VM1 returns with a 1.5L water bottle full of gas. AM is surprised but very thankful that VM1 went to get him gas. AM asks VM1, "how much", VM1 says 150,000 Dong (~$10)....

AM cries bullshit; says no!!! AM knows how much the gas cost <20,000>

AM wants to part amicably with both VM1 and VM2, and offers some candy to each. Both accept as both are hungry. VM1 shows no resentment to AM, is actually cordial... VM1 and VM2 invite AM to have dinner with then in the next town; AM accepts...

After a 15km ride, AM, VM1, and VM1 share a traditional Vietnamese dinner with some strange meats (said to be chicken and beef), some beers, and a few hits off some strange Vietnamese water pipe...

So finally, a slightly inebriated VM2, is followed by a very very slightly tipsy AM, who in turn is followed by a slightly inibriated VM; riding 125cc motorbikes toward Lai Chau; through the mountains; under a Full Moon lit sky....

My Fourth Ride

So I made it to Laos. My first impression of this country (based primarily on the capital Vientiane), was not favourable. I arrived in the city mid morning after my overnight bus from Chiang Mai, Thailand. After getting a guest house I spent a couple of hours walking around the city. Vientiane is a dump, a complete dump, there are no two way about it. I was very happy that the next morning i was going to get my ride for the next 4-5 days.

After picking up the bike I headed out immediately. After a few hours of riding I made it to the town of Van Vieng, the next stop north on the tourist trail North of Vientiane. Vang Vien is almost as big of a dump as Vientiane. Its only apparent saving grace is the setting, at the foothills of the Laotian highlands. Howver after leaving Vang Vien the whole landscaped changed as I entered into the northern Highlands. The landscape up here was breathtaking and the precariously placed villages along the road side just added to the majesty.

Luang Prabang truly is a magical place; peaceful and beautiful secluded from the world by rugged mountains and two mighty rivers. I wish I had had the time to hike around in the countryside, but good to leave things for the next time :-)

My third Ride

My third ride was a 2005 Honda XR 250. I had never ridden a true dirt bike before, and while the engine could use a bit more power for getting me up hills, it was so much easier riding through the dirt than on my KLR 650. The thing only weighs 270 lbs, and this made changing direction and avoiding ruts and gullies, a cinch. The bike was also so easy to change direction that I pushed it really hard into corners on the paved sections. This I think contributed to my first issue of the trip!!

It happened at about 5:00pm today, 30 km south of Khum Yuam. I at first just felt the rear end getting a bit squirly as I transitioned from corner to corner, and then in a straight bit looked down and saw the tire compressed a bit against the road, and then "poof"... it went flat, and I pulled over to the side of the road. I checked the tire for any signs of a puncture, and could find nothing, I thought it odd that the tire would have gone flat on a well paved sectioned of road, but whatever; I had to figure out how to get from middle of no where Thailand forest, back to a place where I could get the tire fixed. Luckily (or perhaps expectantly) the first truck I flagged down stopped to help. A young Thai man and his wife helped me load the motorcycle into the back of his old pickup truck, alongside a bunch of cabbage :-) We tied down the back end of the bike to the truck via the bike's luggage rack. I them stood in the truck bed holding the metal truck cage with one arm and the motorcycle with my other. This proved pretty taxing after a dozen turns or so, but I figure i got my workout for the day.

The guy had to drive me all the back to Khun Yuam because none of the other little towns had the proper sized tube for my 130 (4.60) sized rear tire. When the guy dropped me off at the Motorcycle shop in Khun Yuam, i tired to give him some money, but he wouldn't take it. I then tried to give him my pocket knife as a thank you, but he wouldn't take that either. I said thank you and he drove off with a smile. I hope he had to go past Khun Yuam anyway to get to where he was going, or else I would feel really bad. Any way the tube change was pretty easy, took all of 20 min, and only cost me $5 for parts and labor!!! The kid, Sam-Bon, who changed the tire wouldn't even take a tip!!!

So I do think I know what happened to the tire though. There was a small tear on the side of the tube, the part that touches up against the side wall. I think the combination of an underinflated tube (reason #1237, not to trust that the shop knows what they are doing), a worn down tire, and me riding the bike too hard, had deformed the tire under the force of cornering, which pinched the tube against the rim, causing the tear. Even though the tire is a bit more inflated now, I think I will take it easier on my way back to Chiang Mai Tomorrow :-)

Sam-Bon fixing my flat tire...

This type of road was common over my three days. It really is more of a dirt path. Going down some of the steep grades was a bit harry, but I managed. I will say the Thai guys amaze me on what they can do, with a passenger, on a little 125cc motorbike!!!
Video: riding a (easy) stretch of the above mentioned road
http://vimeo.com/3028065

Thailand - Northern Highlands

My Second ride

The Mekong River at the Golden Triangle

Rice paddies in what was once opium country

I have spent the past two days riding around The Golden Triangle (confluence of Thailand, Laos, and Burma). My second ride was a bit more powerful than my first. for $25/day I go an early 90's Honda CB400. It had enough power to get me out of trouble, but not so much that it would get me into trouble :-)

I left Chiang Mai at about 11:00 in the morning and headed for Doi Mae Salong, which used to be the opium capital of SE Asia. Set up in the hills, it was isolated and hard to access 25 years ago. Now Tea has replaced opium, and a decent paved road has replaced the old donkey track. I spent the night in Chiang Saen, on the Mekong, just across the river from Laos. Today I rode back to Chaing Mai, passing through, among other towns, Chiang Rai, Chiang Kham, Phayao, and Mae Kachan. The bit of road from Phayao to Wang Nua was a lot fun (see video below)

Overall I was surprised at how well paved the roads were up there. A few of places i had enough confidence to open it up a bit in the twistys. Tomorrow I an renting a dirt bike (Honda XR 250) and heading north west into the mountains, near the Burma border. I will be out for about three days, and hopefully will be able to make it up to the highest peek in Thailand.

Video: Road from Phayao to Wang Nua
http://vimeo.com/2979235

Video: Following a crazy fast kid on a dinky bike
http://vimeo.com/2979647

Phi Phi Island

Phi Phi island was less than a dump than Phuket, but only marginally so. At least there weren't any hookers that I could see. The highlight of our 2+ days on the island was an all day snorkeling trip. I saw a whole bunch of cool fish (puffers, wrasses, etc), a lot of beautiful corals (brain coral, seafans), and 6 Black tipped reef sharks. One of the Six was nearly the same size as me. Even though they don't attack people I was pretty scared swimming alongside it, only 20 feet away. The other cool thing was a cliff diving site in Malam Bay, in the interior of Phi Phi Lei Island. Lief, our guide, said it was about 16-18 meters high which seemed about right when comparing diving off the High Dive at UCSB. Ironically of my three entries, the only one that really hurt was the last one where I went feet first!!! I even ripped my swim trunks in the process :-)