Laos? Eh, why not?
The title says it all. I'm in Laos.
Why am I here? That's a fair question, no doubt. Will you accept "I don't know" as an acceptable answer? It was a strange combination of cheap travel, favorable reviews from other backpackers, and the ever effective "why not?" factor.
Ok, forget this. I need to type something NOW, because quite frankly, I need to address this situation myself. I'm currently at an internet cafe that has 8 children under the age of of 12. They are all watching Laotian You Tube and playing a game that I think has something to do with crop reports. They are screaming their heads off. Apparently a dancing horse on You Tube is the Laos equivilent to "Home Alone" and "Home Alone 2," the only two films that have ever elicited proportional excitement from me.
Also, there is a teenage boy, a single computer to my left, who is looking at hardcore, gay pornography and a middle aged man who is leering over his shoulder.
This may be a short post.
Laos is easily the most relaxing country I've been to in Asia. The population is low, the pressure to buy things is lax, and the frequency of people trying to screw you out of your money is next to none. Believe me, nothing pops blood vessels faster than finding out you paid four times as much for a travel package as did the guy sitting next to you on the bus. Not in Laos baby! Fixed prices are so, so sweet.
One Laotian place we visited was Vang Vihn, a backpackers haven. There are two things that seperate Vang Vihn from just about every other place in the world. First, it is a town that is situated on a river and the main attraction is a long and winding tube ride down that river. Every 100 meters or so, you'll find a "bar" that serves ice cold beer and gut wrenching hard liquor. To be honest, these "bars" were little more than makeshift platforms, though they often featured huge swings, or zip lines that catapulted you into the river. Inevitabely, you end up on the same movement schedule with other particular tubers and conversations are easily struck. I've said this many times before, but I am blown away at how easy it is to find friends in Asia. Everyone seems to be a single comment away from planning an entire evening around each other. Who was it this time around? Four Frenchies, four Irish lasses, and a English gal to boot!
I'm getting sidetracked. The SECOND thing that places Vang Vihn next to none is the fact that in town, away from the river, there are something like 20 cafes that only play episodes of "Friends". I'm going to let this point sink in for a bit. Now, I'm not saying that there are "Friends" episodes on in the background. No, no, no, each cafe is set up like a hippie movie theater, or an Opium den. You take off your shoes, climb up to your lofted bed, and snuggle up to one of the 30 pillows at your disposal. Huge and numerous screens make it impossible to not catch a glimpse of Joey's adorable face and bumping speakers make sure you don't miss a single joke. I'm not sure what it is about "Friends". It certainly has an international appeal, but I also have to assume that there was a major bandwagon situation after one cafe struck gold. To be fair, we were able to find one cafe that played non-stop "Simpsons" episodes.
Beyond that, bars, cafes, and even hostels close down at 11-11:30 in Laos. That sucks. It's also very surprising when you are kicked out after your second beer. Ah well. Just about everything else has been incredible. I'm truly loving life right now. It's exciting as ever and the big trip is yet to happen...coming home!
All right, this is ridiculous. The kids are now wrestling in the middle of the floor. I wish I was joking.
ifyousaywhatyouhavetoleaveacommenta;lkdj;lkfj;plkasjdf;lkasjd?
What?
Oh man, now you have to comment.
Tommy
Why am I here? That's a fair question, no doubt. Will you accept "I don't know" as an acceptable answer? It was a strange combination of cheap travel, favorable reviews from other backpackers, and the ever effective "why not?" factor.
Ok, forget this. I need to type something NOW, because quite frankly, I need to address this situation myself. I'm currently at an internet cafe that has 8 children under the age of of 12. They are all watching Laotian You Tube and playing a game that I think has something to do with crop reports. They are screaming their heads off. Apparently a dancing horse on You Tube is the Laos equivilent to "Home Alone" and "Home Alone 2," the only two films that have ever elicited proportional excitement from me.
Also, there is a teenage boy, a single computer to my left, who is looking at hardcore, gay pornography and a middle aged man who is leering over his shoulder.
This may be a short post.
Laos is easily the most relaxing country I've been to in Asia. The population is low, the pressure to buy things is lax, and the frequency of people trying to screw you out of your money is next to none. Believe me, nothing pops blood vessels faster than finding out you paid four times as much for a travel package as did the guy sitting next to you on the bus. Not in Laos baby! Fixed prices are so, so sweet.
One Laotian place we visited was Vang Vihn, a backpackers haven. There are two things that seperate Vang Vihn from just about every other place in the world. First, it is a town that is situated on a river and the main attraction is a long and winding tube ride down that river. Every 100 meters or so, you'll find a "bar" that serves ice cold beer and gut wrenching hard liquor. To be honest, these "bars" were little more than makeshift platforms, though they often featured huge swings, or zip lines that catapulted you into the river. Inevitabely, you end up on the same movement schedule with other particular tubers and conversations are easily struck. I've said this many times before, but I am blown away at how easy it is to find friends in Asia. Everyone seems to be a single comment away from planning an entire evening around each other. Who was it this time around? Four Frenchies, four Irish lasses, and a English gal to boot!
I'm getting sidetracked. The SECOND thing that places Vang Vihn next to none is the fact that in town, away from the river, there are something like 20 cafes that only play episodes of "Friends". I'm going to let this point sink in for a bit. Now, I'm not saying that there are "Friends" episodes on in the background. No, no, no, each cafe is set up like a hippie movie theater, or an Opium den. You take off your shoes, climb up to your lofted bed, and snuggle up to one of the 30 pillows at your disposal. Huge and numerous screens make it impossible to not catch a glimpse of Joey's adorable face and bumping speakers make sure you don't miss a single joke. I'm not sure what it is about "Friends". It certainly has an international appeal, but I also have to assume that there was a major bandwagon situation after one cafe struck gold. To be fair, we were able to find one cafe that played non-stop "Simpsons" episodes.
Beyond that, bars, cafes, and even hostels close down at 11-11:30 in Laos. That sucks. It's also very surprising when you are kicked out after your second beer. Ah well. Just about everything else has been incredible. I'm truly loving life right now. It's exciting as ever and the big trip is yet to happen...coming home!
All right, this is ridiculous. The kids are now wrestling in the middle of the floor. I wish I was joking.
ifyousaywhatyouhavetoleaveacommenta;lkdj;lkfj;plkasjdf;lkasjd?
What?
Oh man, now you have to comment.
Tommy
posted by The Friendly Liberal at
8:25 AM
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