The VIP Bus

The VIP bus is anything but.  The only indication that it is in fact the VIP bus are the huge letters emblazoned across the front windshield that read "VIP."  The seats are all made of the plastic pleathery material that makes you sweat when hot, the seat numbers are scrawled in permanent marker on the backs of the seats, and the rest of the interior is in various states of disrepair.  As I write this an unknown liquid substance is dripping on me from a crack in the shelving above my seat.  Attempts to stem the flow of the dripping with the ugly green curtains have so far proved unsuccessful.

 A sarcastic thumbs-up from Court

Several of the windows are cracked from what appear to be bullet holes but are hopefully just from stones being thrown at the bus by kids as it passed through one of the many villages that line the road.  Probably not though. I'm pretty sure I saw one of the guys that loaded our bags onto the bus carrying some sort of machine gun over his shoulder, loosely concealed by his jacket, which seems to suggest that buses being shot at is not completely unheard of.

Bullet or rock?

 

Court is asleep next to me, mouth open wide, catching up on the sleep we missed out on last night on account of our 5am start to go and watch the monks receive their morning alms.  I don't know how she does it.  The roads are so windy and bumpy, I struggle just to stay upright in my seat.

I finished my book an hour ago and it looks like we still have several to go.  A stop for lunch was promised when we bought our ticket but I'm not so sure now as we pulled over a short distance back, apparently so that anyone needing to relieve themselves could do so in the bushes.  The break was not a moment too soon for one young Lao woman who proceeded to throw up several times on the ground beside the bus as she held her baby next to her so he could go potty.  Now there's some multitasking.

Looking around the bus to occupy myself I notice that the emergency hatch in the roof that is commonly found, and probably mandatory, on buses is sealed shut with what looks like a piece of kitchen countertop.  Also just noticed that the holder for the little hammer that is supposed to be used to break the window in an emergency is missing.  Apparently once you're on the VIP bus, you're on it.

The curtain seems to be holding for now but I fully expect it to collapse at some point, one drop too many, and soak me in my seat.  Court is still sleeping.  Lucky girl.  Maybe if I put the pen down I'll be able to catch a few winks before the curtain gives.

Update:
We've been on another VIP bus since this was written and it was sooo much better than this one.  The windows were in tact, seats comfy, no leaks, TV.  It even had a quite fetching design on the outside.  Apparently not all VIP buses are created equal.

Now THAT'S a VIP bus!

Monks with Umbrellas

Prior to getting on the slow boat we decided that after being crammed on to a boat for 2 days straight we'd need a few days in one place to relax before moving on again.  A UNESCO World Heritage Place and described in our trusty LP guidebook as "a tonic for the soul", Luang Prabang seemed like the perfect place.

We ended up spending 5 days here and really enjoyed it.  When we first arrived on the boat we were greeted by the usual cluster of touts attempting to get us back to their guesthouse.  As we hadn't done much research we didn't have anywhere in mind to stay so we shopped around with a couple of the touts to see what was on offer.  We eventually chose one that looked decent and decided to check it out.  The place was ok and we spent the first night there (Lee even watched Man U v Liverpool on a little TV with some of the guesthouse staff) but it was a bit basic even for us and was located a bit far from the center of town so we decided to look for somewhere a bit better the following day.

After stopping into a few places we finally found Chanhthaphone Guesthouse, a great guesthouse on a little side street just off of the main road where the popular night market is held each night.  Our room was immaculate and the bathroom was nicely decorated and large.  The shower was amazing - the best we've had in southeast Asia, possibly the whole trip.  The owners were also lovely and they had a cute little dog called "Dodo" which Courtney played every time we were either coming or going.  We got the room for about $9 a night which is a pretty good deal in Luang Prabang as prices have been rising sharply the last few years as tourism has grown.

It might not look luxurious but this bathroom was amazing!

We spent most of our time walking around town exploring the old quarter and soaking up the laid back atmosphere.  Laos was under French rule until 1953 and the French influence can definitely be seen in the architecture and cuisine of Luang Prabang.  Beautiful Chateaus are interspersed with huts constructed of wood and corugated iron and gourmet French food is served alongside traditional Lao dishes.

Talking of food, there are tons of restuarant choices in Luang Prabang but our favorite place to eat was the narrow alley just of the main street with the night market.  During the day it was lined with empty wooden tables but at night it was packed with street vendors serving all kinds of delicious local food.  Pretty much any appetite could be satisfied here.  Our favorites were the all-you-can-eat vegetarian place (put as much as you can on a plate for about a $1) and Sum Noodle which had delicious bowls of noodle soup made by Mrs Sum herself.  The soup cost about a $1.20 but Mrs Sum's smile was free.

                                                                                    Mrs Sum's Noodle Soup

Monks with Umbrellas
Another enduring image of Luang Prabang is the Buddhist monks with their umbrellas walking around town.  All Lao men are expected to enter into monkhood at some point in their lives and it, judging by the amount we've seen, it seems like all of them go to Luang Prabang to do it!  It's so interesting to watch them going about their business.  Courtney is fascinated by them and has been inspired to learn more about Buddhist monks just by being around them for the last few days.  Tomorrow morning we're getting up at 5am to watch the morning almsgiving, a ritual involving people giving rice to the monks.

Kuangsi Waterfalls
On our 3rd day in LP we rented a tuk tuk and headed out to the famous Kuangsi Waterfalls.  The waterfalls are about 32k outside of the main town and it cost us about 60,000 kip ($8) to get there and back.  There are several falls with the biggest being about 180 meters high.  We hiked up the very steep slope to get to the top of the biggest fall (probably not worth the hike in the end), crossed at the top and then back down the other side.  The best part of the day was swimming in the beautiful turquoise pools at the bottom.  There was a smaller waterfall near the bottom that we jumped off a few times and also a rope swing that was great fun.  A great way to cool off.