Lost in Laos

I like to hope I have some faithful readers out there who have been missing me desperately. If not, I'll just pretend.

I did make it down to Southern Laos earlier this month, Paxse and Savannakhet. I visited two provincial clinics and got to know the staff.

I apologize for the absenteeism this month. I'd love to say I've been swept up in exciting new adventures but truth be told I've just been working and trying to stay cool. The good news is that I received my ID card today. It's a little red book, how very fitting, that is an intermediate step in my receiving a work visa and being able to leave the country. Our visa guy, who is employed specifically for the purpose of getting visas for the expats, says I should have my work visa by the end of June for sure. So, with that in mind I'm planning my holidays.

I'm taking my birthday week off in June to travel up to Northern Laos. There is an environmental project called the Gibbon experience, www.gibbonexperience.org, where you trek into a nature preserve, sleep in tree houses, zip around on zip lines, and hopefully see some gibbons. I'm pretty excited about it. Then I'll take a boat back down the Mekong to Luang Prabang for a couple days.

I've found a couple amazing looking yoga retreats. One outside of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the other on a little island off Phuket in Thailand. They both look great and pretty affordable so I'm planning to take a week in July to check out one or the other.

I promise to be more diligent in the near future and make some good use of my camera.

National Parks Laos style

My housemate Zoe bought a car this weekend. An old school 1987 Isuzu Trooper for $12000, ridiculous but apparently cars in Laos maintain their value.

So Zoe, Rory and I took a road trip Sunday to the National Park/Protected area north of Vientiane. It's a good 2.5 hour drive but worth every minute when you finally arrive. A day of lounging, swimming, tanning, and enjoying some much needed nature.

Sunbathing after a swim.....now this is how life should be.

Four little monks climbing in a tree. I think we scared them off when we stripped down to our bikinis.

Can't beat this!

Living in Vientiane, it's amazing how much I miss going on hikes, even in the ridiculous humidity.

Low tech bridges.

Laos Wedding

I'm wrapping up a busier than usual weekend in Vientiane. Rather than the usual pedicure, massage, yoga and napping, this weekend I actually made it out of the city for a bit.

Saturday, a coworker had his wedding. My first Laos wedding was quite the experience. Keeping with the theme lately, the weather was insanely hot, which led to wedding of minimal dancing, excessive sweating and ridiculous consumption of liquids of all kinds.

As you enter a Laos wedding, you are greeted by a couple girls holding a shot of whiskey. So every guest at the party drinks from the same little shot glass as they enter the party (a little unhygienic if you ask me). Then you drop your envelope into a great golden container (the envelope has your name printed on the front so they know exactly how much money you give them). You're then seated, handed a glass of beerlao and invited to enjoy the buffet of all the standard Laos grub.

Your second mandatory whiskey shot comes when the bride and groom walk around with the same shot glass (yet again) on a platter full of money. You place money on the platter and take the shot of whiskey while congratulating and greeting the bride and groom. Amazing what a drinking culture Laos is. All social events revolve around drinking and forcing your friends and family to drink as well.

After a couple more shots and maybe a beerlao or two, you find your way to the dance floor for some good old traditional Laos dancing. You must be asked by a man. You then stand in a line across from your partner, avoid making any kind of eye contact, casually step side to side while moving your hands up and down. It's pretty much mandatory, despite the heat and the strangeness of dancing with a straight face (smiling seems to be a no no). 

Luckily, this Mung wedding was an afternoon ordeal and wrapped up after a couple hours (lots of Laos weddings go all night).

My coworker, Bounma.

Some Laos women putting on a show in hopes of catching a man...single women are forced to participate (yuck).

One day on Earth

Happy Earth Day! As part of the earth day celebration, UNDP hosted a viewing of the movie "One day on Earth" here in Laos and around the globe. The video was made from compiled footage filmed in more than 80 countries on the day 10/10/10. It was really interesting. A tiny peak into life around the earth.

It struck me how fortunate I am to have been born in the US. It's so easy to take for granted, as it is a given in my life. I highly recommend watching the movie if you can and considering the bigger picture. It's so easy to become complacent and overly occupied with our own worries and day to day life. Taking the time to realize that we are all interconnected and seeking the same things in life, even when we live in what seems like completely different worlds.

http://www.onedayonearth.org/page/trailers-and-videos

Green Climbers

Just back from my first ever rock climbing trip. By all accounts, was a great success. Green Climbers is tucked away outside of Thakhek, a town 6 hours from Vientiane to the East. It's a beautiful little spot, ran by a German couple. They have built a number of little stilted bungalows and dormitories, as well as a great little bar/restaurant. There are loads of climbing areas in walking distance and an amazing cave with a great swimming hole is just a stroll away as well. The pictures don't really do it justice.

Morning yoga location and tent spots for those unwilling to spring the $6 for a dorm bed or $20 for a bungalow.

Such an amazing cave and swimming hole. My favorite spot for a little sunbathing and snoozing.

Gorgeous pink dragonfly.

Tha Falang - a pretty little lake just down the road. We borrowed some bikes and came over for a swim.

I didn't capture any of my graceful moves on the rock but you can see the blood running down my leg from my first rock climbing injury. The rock was incredibly sharp....everyone had scraps and bruises.

Some of these guys are just incredible climbers, fun to watch.

Yoga every morning at 7 am, beerlao flowing like water, 100 degree weather and one rocking Pi Mai celebration. I climbed for my first time and got a nice battle wound right off the bat. But I had a great time and since my housemate is such an avid climber, I'll likely be going back in the near future.

They do close in rainy season, when the Germans return to Germany and the Green Climber area floods (hence the stilted bungalows). Over the Pi Mai holiday the place was packed with both backpackers and local expats from Vientiane. Saturday night, the Lao staff threw a celebratory water fight/dance party. It seems to be the one time of the year when Lao girls can let their hair down and party. Quite the spectacle but definitely a good time.

Damn Hot!

Somehow when people talk about the hot season coming....it just never really prepares you. Perhaps this explains why things move so slowly in Laos....everyone is just too damn hot to do anything at a normal rate. Standing outside causes you to break into a sweat almost immediately....even in the shade.

I know my walk to the gym (normally a ten minute stroll) has turned into a week long voyage across the Sahara. By the end I'm usually crawling, seeing mirages, and crying out for water and a camel. Good thing there's AC at the other end.

I guess I should have known when the country celebrates it's new year with pouring ice cold water on each other. Something about inviting the Monsoon season....which by the way is pretty intense. My palm tree in the backyard has taken multiple tumbles already....poor little tree. The nice aspect of the Monsoon is that it cools everything off, albeit briefly. Lots of thunder and lightening though and apparently nothing in Laos is grounded. So instead they cut power when they know lightening is coming. Doesn't seem incredibly reliable to me but alas. Hunker down and hope for the best.

Pi Mai-Two weeks of Lao Party

The Pi Mai holiday kicked off Friday night with our COPE work party. We started with a Basi to rid ourselves of bad things from the previous year and invite in good things in the new year. It involves striking the pose, as I am above. Not quite sure why but that's the way it's done in Laos.

Luckily I left before they broke out the Lao dancing and karaoke. I'm not sure my feelings toward Lao music will change much over the next year.

Pi Mai party number two kicks off Wednesday but truly very little seems to get done over the entire two weeks. Today was a going away party for Conny, an expat who works at the visitor's center. The combination of alcohol and extreme heat (only 94 degrees today) has sent me into a downwad spiral. It feels like nap time despite the fact it's two in the afternoon. I guess if you want to be at all productive in Laos you have to learn to function after throwing back some drinks with lunch. Back to work I suppose...