Hippie Communes, Rice Paddies, and Motorbikes

Hi All!

After Vientiane, Shaina and I were ready to ditch the city scene and rough it in the boonies a bit, and that is exactly what Thakhek gave us. The town of Thakhek is little more than an outpost from which one can launch into different backpacker-oriented activities. We decided to opt for motorbike cruises through the countryside and rock climbing.


Beautiful karst hills are the backdrop to Lao rice paddies.

Out first day in Thakhek was spent going from holy cave to holy cave and tiny village to tiny village on our awesome 100cc scooters. It was a total blast! This part of the country is completely flat in between the karst mountains so there was no need at all for a bigger bike. We had one small hiccup of a flat tire along the way, but that just added to the experience!

Our second day was spent rock climbing in an area just outside of Thakhek that has been developed by Green Climbers Home. This is a hippie climber paradise. Twelve bungalows, two dorm rooms, a big open area to pitch a tent, over 89 routes, and a huge range of difficulty ranging from 4's to 8a+'s What more could you ask for?! The biggest downside to this area was the horrible little flys that incessantly buzz into your eyes, nose, and ears! In the picture of me below, I am trying to prevent the little buggers from going into my ears by pulling my shirt over my head.


A few snapshots of our climbing trip to Thakhek.


Hippie Climbing Commune!



Signs of development are creeping into Laos.

After getting our fill of climbing, we hopped even further south to a slightly more developed town called Pakse, where we promptly rented motorbikes and headed for the hills. To be precise, we headed for the Bolaven Plateau which is due east of Pakse and rises up a good 1300 meters. This area is notable for three reasons. First, it is wonderfully cooler in temperature than the rest of southern Laos. Second, it is a very fertile area where the main crop is coffee. Third, it is full of amazing waterfalls. I thought that we would have been waterfalled out by this point, but there is no getting over a waterfall that plunges hundreds of feet and is surrounded by lush green forests.


Tat Yuang Waterfall.


Our Southern Laos Experience.

Our time in Laos will be coming to a close very soon and we just hit our half way point in our trip. Sad day! So far the trip has met and exceeded all our expectations and let's just hope it keeps going that way!

Cheers!

Maxell

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Location:Southern Laos

Chilling, Climbing, and Partying in Vang Vieng

Hello Friends!

After leaving the slow pace, quite streets, and solemn monks of Luang Prabang, Shaina and I bussed 200km south to the party central of Laos: Vang Vieng. This town is enthralling, disappointing, fun, pathetic, and exciting all wrapped up in one.

The best part of this town is its location. It is set in a valley in the middle of a huge range of karst mountain peaks, which is criss-crossed by rivers of smoothly flowing warm water. These conditions have lead to a burgeoning tourist industry focused on tubing, kayaking, white water rafting (wet season only), rock climbing, and river rope swings; ziplines; and slides. We indulged in the climbing, tubing, and river rope swings and it was fantastic!


Shaina and me on the "sleeping wall" just outside Vang Vieng.


Short clip of our amusing time on the river in Vang Vieng.

The worst part of this town is all the tourists who overindulge in copious amounts of drugs and alcohol and end up stumbling, falling, vomiting, and pissing themselves through the streets. According to Lonely Planet, the main attractions for Vang Vieng have traditionally been the aforementioned outdoor awesomeness, but in the last ten years the popularity of these activities has been eclipsed by a huge growth of ramshackle bars that blast music as loud as can be and pride themselves on their "happy food". (Happy food being anything from fruit shakes to pizza laced with any combination of drugs ranging from opium to methamphetamines).

As bad as this is, it has led to one thing Shaina absolutely loves: endless repeats of the show "Friends". The connection might not be immediately evident, but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. What would you rather do the morning after an all-night drunken whacked-out raver than lounge around in comfy recliners, eating super tasty fried food, and watching a show that is so mindless and funny that even one who is totally hungover from last night's bender can giggle at it?!

After three days in the craziness that is Vang Vieng we decided it was time to boogie out of there and grace the capital of Laos, Vientiane, with our presence. Our hopes for Vientiane were really not that high, and the reality of it was not that different: a big hot city without a whole lot to do.


Shaina and me in front of the Lao Arc de Triumph!


A view of the Arc Plaza.

The only highlight we had in Vientiane was our dinner at a fabulous French restaurant called L'Address de Tinay. Everything from our starter made from seven varietals of organic goat cheese to our confit de canard served with Toulouse sausage and sweet garlic cream were absolutely stunning.


Our goat cheese starter and confit de canard.

Next, we will be heading south of Vientiane. See you then!

Cheers!

Maxell

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Location:Vang Vieng, Laos

Mekong Cruise, Waterfall Hike, and Monks on Procession

It's time for a video!

This covers our time cruising down the Mekong, playing in waterfalls, and watching the Alms Procession in Luang Prabang.

Enjoy!



Cheers!

Maxell

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Location:Luang Prabang, Laos

Mekong River Boat Cruise and Monks on the March

Hi All!

After finishing the Gibbon Experience, it was time to move out of the border town of Huay Xai and on to the cultural capital of Laos, Luang Prabang. The only question we had to answer was how we wanted to get there. Two options laid in front of us: 17 hour nonstop bus ride or pleasant 2 day Mekong river cruise. Needless to say we chose the latter.

The cruise was by no means a luxury affair. The boat is fitted with seats for 75 and they stuffed us like sardines until we were well over a hundred. People and their baggage we strewn everywhere! And to top it all off, the engine compartment wasn't insulated at all so the ear splitting drone of the huge diesel engin was a constant companion.


A few of our boat mates as we made or way down the Mekong.

Despite the few drawbacks of the boat it really was quite an enjoyable experience. The scenery was pretty amazing as we wound our way through lazy valleys, huge karst mountains, and some exciting rapids. Our time was split pretty evenly between soaking up all those views, chatting with newfound friends, and playing the game Risk on the iPhone!


One of our Aussie buddies, Luke, taking in the views on the Mekong.


One of the many awesome karst mountains that dot the shores of the Mekong.

At 5:30, after a long second day on the boat, we pulled into the boat ramp at Luang Prabang. We made our way through the clamoring packs of tuk tuk drivers and guest house hawkers and into a lovely city full of wats, markets, quaint eateries, and small secluded side streets ripe for exploring.

As much as we enjoyed the city of Luang Prabang and all of its offerings, the true highlight of our stay here came from a 32km motorbike ride to the Kuang Si waterfall. While it was perhaps not the tallest waterfall we have ever seen it was definitely the most spectacularly dynamic one in our books. For starters, the water is a milky turquoise blue. It is milky because of high concentration of calcium in the water that is picked up from the limestone mountains from where it descends. The excess calcium creates pool after pool of this stunning water, each connected by a waterfall.


The lower pools at Kuang Si falls.


A full view of the Kuang Si waterfall.


The upper portion of the multi tiered Kuang Si waterfalls.


Shaina above the Kuang Si falls in a meadow full of purple flowers.

Another very neat thing about Luang Prabang is the daily Buddhist monk procession of alms that takes place at dawn. At 6:00 sharp the monks bang their gongs to announce the arrival of the new day, and then they head into the streets to collect offerings from the locals. The most common offering is sticky rice, but they also accept bananas, marigold flowers, and of course cash. With these items the monks sustain the faith, take care of the poor, and restore the older wats to their former glory.


Neat wat at the end of the alms procession.


The monks of Luang Prabang on their morning procession.


Two novice monks walking the streets under a parasol.

Luang Prabang was wonderful to us. As far as South East Asia goes it was one of the more expensive places we have been, but I guess there is a price to pay for a location as amazing as this one.

Cheers!

Maxell

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Location:Luang Prabang, Laos

Zip Lines of Bokeo

Hello All!

I apologize for the delay, but good internet has been a very finicky thing here in Laos.

The video that follows is a fun compilation of our goofing around on the zip lines at the Gibbon Experience. Take a look and let me know what you think.



Cheers!

Maxell

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Location:Bokeo Nature Reserve, Laos

Adieu Chiang Mai, Bonjour Zip lines

Sabaidee My Friends!

On Saturday morning, our time in Chiang Mai came to a bittersweet close. It is always nice to be off on the next adventure, but at the same time we really made our selves at home in this fun hustle and bustle town; it will be missed quite a bit. Clay and Su were kind enough to take us to the bus station, and at 12:00 on the dot we pulled out of Chiang Mai on or way north to the city of Chiang Rai.

In 2007, when we were last in Chiang Rai we totally fell in love with this small northern town. We were very eager to revisit a place that is so closely associated with zooming motorbike adventures, fun guesthouses, delicious food, and city wanderings. Unfortunately, we were in for a few unexpected surprises. The biggest shocker was the untimely death of Brian, the owner of Baan Bua Guest House. We had so looked forward to sharing a beer with him in his front garden, but instead we only found a rather rude Thai lady who now runs the joint.

Feeling rather despondent, we decided to do a little exploring in the old city. We found a really cool market that sold everything from lanterns to crickets!


Paper lanterns in the Chiang Mai Saturday evening market.


A busy night at the Chiang Rai market.



Crickets for sale!

I was feeling a little funky by the time we made it through the market so we decided to meander back to our guesthouse for the evening. By the time we got there I was so feverish and racked with chills that I could hardly move. I spent the next 48 hours in and out of fitful sleep and running to the toilet with some really gnarly GI issues. Needless to say, this was the low point of our trip so far, but I knew that I had to get well ASAP since we had to be happy, healthy, and ready to move into Laos by Tuesday. With a little aid from our antibiotic friends I was right as rain when it was time to hop on our bus to Huay Xai, the Lao boarder town.

There are really only two things that people do in Huay Xai: leave on a river boat cruise and go on the Gibbon Experience (more on this below). We did both!


Our first night in Laos as we watch the sun set over the Mekong River.

The Gibbon Experience is an outfit that takes tourists into Bokeo Nature Reserve where they are able to trek endless kilometers, zip line over thousand-foot spans hundreds of feet in the air, sleep in tree houses over one hundred feet in the air, and if you are super lucky get to see a family of gibbons.

Our adventure into the Lao jungle started on Wednesday at the Gibbon office where we met up with the six other members of our group. We had a great group consisting of three Aussie guys, a French couple, and a British woman.

Day one started with 3 1/2 hours of intense trekking to a refreshing waterfall plunge and on to our first tree house, which was 90 feet in the air and had an awesome circuit of zip lines.

The waterfall was underwhelming at only 9 feet tall, but the water felt great.

Day two was a beautiful and fairly easy day of hiking that took us to our second tree house, and this one was way up there at 154 feet! The zip lines at this house were really long and took you over some incredible scenery, but you had to hike quite a bit between zips. No free lunch, eh? Day three took us to a string of back-to-back zips that were a lot of fun. Then we hiked out of the jungle and called it a day. Here are some of the photos I took along the way.


Young Lao girls in an opium poppy field.



Our guide, Boun Peng, taking a rest during our hike, not that he needed it!



Shaina at the base of one of the trees used for supporting the tree houses.



The view to the ground from one of the landing platforms in the treehouse.



Our second-night treehouse as seen from the zip line.



Launching onto the zip from a jungle platform.

I am working on a short video that will be posted as soon as I get better internet.

Cheers!

Maxell

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Location:Bokeo Nature Reserve

Technical Difficulties

Hello all!

Shaina and I have made it to Laos! I have an update all typed and ready to go, but due to the lack of reliable internet I can't upload photos or video. So please hang tight until tomorrow evening and then we should be all good to go.

Until then I hope you are all doing splendidly!

Cheers!

Maxell

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Location:Pakbeng, Laos

Zoos, Bloody Fingers, and Green Curry

Hello All!

This week was really a good bit of fun, and it was the perfect way to finish off our time here in Chiang Mai. It started out with a trip to the Chiang Mai zoo, and Shaina and I both agree that this is one of the coolest zoos that we have ever visited.

The huge gaping maw of a bull hippo.

The bull hippo seen above was in a pool about a foot and a half below where we were standing! We were literally able to reach out and touch this big fella. We have always been told that hippos are the most dangerous creature in Africa so we were a bit timid when approaching the family of hippos, but we quickly realized that we could toss them a few carrots or sweet potatoes and become their new best friends.

The schnoz of an elephant jonesing for his next hunk of sugar cane.

Next, we moseyed on over to an elephant who was chopping at the bit to get its nose around cucumbers and chunks of sugar cane. We've both seen elephants before, but this was the first time that we were able to get this close one. They are huge and powerful, but this one was surprisingly gentle for such a behemoth!

In addition to the hippos and elephants, the zoo also contained tigers, koalas, jaguars, deer, tortoises, giraffes, lions, orangoutangs, gibbons, penguins, flamingos, emus, pandas, black bears, and a huge bird sanctuary.

Here is a 360 pano of the bird sanctuary.

Here is a link to more zoo photos.


On Sunday, Shaina and I decided to indulge in a Thai cooking class. Cooking classes are pretty much a dime a dozen here in Thailand, so we scrutinized the options pretty thoroughly. In the end, we decided to go with an outfit called Sammy's Organic Farm, and we could not have been happier with our choice. Sammy, as it turns out, is a gregarious 40-something father and husband who owns a modest four acre farm ten minutes from town. He is so much fun to be around because he exudes energy and you can feel his passion for cooking and farming.

With the aid of his wife, he helped us make the following: red and green curry (from scratch of course), chicken and coconut milk soup, hot and sour soup, two chicken stir fry dishes, fried chicken wrapped in pandanus leaves, spicy papaya salad, mango with sticky rice, and pumpkin custard! It was a veritable feast, and by the end of it we were all sitting fat and happy.

Sammy squeezing coconut cream from shredded fresh coconut.


Fried chicken in pandanus leaves.


Shaina and me sitting down to heaps of food!


360 Pano of Sammy's Organic Farm.


Per usual, while Shaina was keeping herself busy at the hospital I made my way to Crazy Horse for a bit of climbing. I met up with a German girl named Franziska at the climbing gym on Sunday night and made plans to climb on Monday and Thursday. It was totally serendipitous meeting each other and it really worked out well since we are both climbing at more or less the same level. I made some of my biggest climbing gains this week; I'm feeling confident now to where I can cleanly lead most 6a+ / 5.10b. If you'll remember, I had never lead out doors before this trip so I feel really really good going into Laos where there will be even more climbing for us.

Franziska after she flashed her way to the top of a 6a in the Furnace.


The sorry state of my fingers after two days at Crazy Horse.


A very smokey view from the top of Crazy Horse Buttress.

The next highlight of the week was our trip to the Muay Thai Arena for some Thai kickboxing! Here is some good info on Muay Thai. The quality of the fights and the fighters were not the most awe inspiring, but it was still a lot of fun since we sat with a lively group of people that really got into it.

Here is about a minute of our Muay Thai experience.


Lastly, today was Shaina's last day of medical school!!! I am so proud of her. She has done an amazing job balancing the crazy workload of med school and keeping things fun in our personal lives. In celebration of this momentous occasion we are going to start our tour of South East Asia in ernest by striking north to the small and laid back town of Chiang Rai. Then on to Laos! Talk to you soon!

Cheers!

Maxell

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Location:Chiang Mai, Thailand