From the North

I have been quite reticent in my writing recently. Excuses being numerous, but the one I am going to pick is hellishly long bus rides, followed closely by cheap bottles of what might not pass for whiskey in many parts of the world... I digress.

Travels have taken us from the quiet colonial streets of Vientiane to the quite colonial streets of Luang Prabang and now to the noticeably busier streets of Chiang Mai, Thailand. The journey through northern Laos was truly epic. The buses were an adventure I would recommend only for those that have no love of their fillings or their temporary sanity. But it was amusing nonetheless. The ride from Vientiane north was not so bad, just quite windy as we got into the mountains. It was not easy to sit without being tossed from side to side. I am positive I experienced g-force in some of the turns.

Luang Prabang was a charmer to say the least. The kind of place UNESCO certainly creams over. Monks with umbrellas. Old French buildings. The bends of two rivers to laze by. A quaint night market. Karst topography. The list of sort of superlatives could go on and on. It was a nice place to while away a few days and was certainly similar to my visit to Hoi An in central Viet Nam. The place was probably a little too quaint for my tastes. Something I am sure I would like to go back to when I am older. Kinda the pace and outfitted for the middle aged, more moneyed crowd oh holiday. However, it did give me a nice glimpse into Northern Laos and I am certain I will make it a point to visit the region again. Probably devote a whole month to the north if possible. I think I am merely in love with the idea of the Mekong region. Inspires some sort of romance. I am sure Edward Said is now turning in his grave. This could easily bog down in a digression about "authenticity" again, but I will resist the urge.

The bus ride from Luang Prabang to the Huay Xai/Chiang Khong border was possibly the most amazing thing ever. I was never really aware of how important a proper infrastructure is to a country's development. Precious me living in a nice place like the US where my family makes the conscious choice to own a house accessed by a road that washes out all the time. Not so for those living in Northern Laos. The choice is not a choice at all. Your roads will suck. There were long stretches of road where I was unable to hold a coherent thought in my head because the potholes were so numerous. That coupled with the obvious lack of suspension in the bus. Also, I ate cat. Didn't mean to, but I pulled a full cat's foot out of my mouth. Still had its pads and half retracted claw. Don't ask.

I will spare you any more details of what was basically a lot of monotony from the border to Chiang Mai. I am now in Chiang Mai soaking up the northern culture. It is a great change of pace from the seething mass of Bangkok. Wats. Monks. Tuk-tuks. But all with some nice seasonal flavor. Showed up on the last day of Loi Krathong so it was almost too good to be true to get to a bus station, after dark, full moon, hop on the back of a motorcycle and look up to see constellations of lanterns ascending into the night sky.

I have a lot of more detailed things I want to discuss, but I will leave that for later. Of a side-note those of you wanting more pictures will have to wait. I dropped my digital camera in a stream in Laos. As you might imagine that was not good for it. I don't think it works, but I will investigate that further when I get less lazy. I have my film camera so that will more than do for now. Just be patient.