Kamikaze Canuck

Apologies for the delayed blog folks (part of the reason is laziness and part is explosive Asian diarrehea.)

So much to say.  I guess I’ll start by saying that we were slightly underwhelmed by Luang Prabang (which we were thinking was going to be a highlight of our trip).  Partly because we were sick and partly because tourism had completely overrun what would be a stunningly beautiful little town.  Nonetheless we used our time wisely in Luang Prabang – playing cards, drinking coffee, and never straying more than 50 meters from the nearest toilet.  Yes, it was that bad.

One productive thing we did manage to do was make our way 40 kilometres out of town to Kuang Si Waterfalls – they didn’t dissapoint.  The rope swing was the best part.

After Luang Prabang, it was time to head South to the Town of Pakse.  We had a one day layover in the capital of Laos – Vientiane.  We used our time to visit “COPE”, a place that builds prosthetic limb for Laotians who have lost limbs from UXO’s (unexploded bombs) or land mines.

A quick history lesson for those that don’t know how these bombs got there.  During the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon went bomb happy on Laos.  Why?  Because the North Vietnamese were transporting arms and troops through Laos.  So much so, that when it was all said and done, the US had dropped more bombs on Laos than the total number of bombs dropped by the US, UK, and Russia combined during WW2.  Wrap your head around that one.  The Laotians basically did nothing wrong. They were simply the victim of unfortunate geography (next door neighbors to Vietnam).  Now here’s the kicker – The American public had no idea that this bombing was occuring.  It was not sanctioned by congress – hence why it’s called “The Secret Bombing Of Laos”.

There are still thousands of tons of unexploded bombs laying around in Laos.  Out of all the bombs dropped, an estimated 30% of them still haven’t exploded and the Laos bomb squad has such poor resources that they will be clearing bombs well after the year 2050 at this pace.

To compound the problem, one of the only ways for rural Laotians to make money is to collect scrap metal.  Therefore, when someone stumbles up a 3 ton bomb in the forest, rather than report it to the proper authorities, they try to salvage the metal – which often ends in a deadly explosion.

After our quick stopover in Vientiane, we booked a “sleeper bus” for our next leg of the journey to Pakse.  For those of you curious about what a sleeper bus may look like, here is a quick pic that we snapped from our bunk.

Upon arrival in Pakse we formulated a plan to get us off the tourist trail for a few days.  We rented a motorbike and cruised the rural countryside for 3 days. 

We biked 300+ km through some of the most secluded and remote areas in Laos.  In fact, we just got back a couple hours ago and we’re both BAGGED and looking forward to a cold beer and a good sleep.

The area we explored is better known as the Bolaven Plateau – Famous for its coffee plantations, waterfalls, and smiley faces.

We quickly understood that our biggest obstacle would be avoiding the goats, pigs, chickens, and cattle that think that they own the road as much as the motorists do…..

Here are some of the sights we took in along the way…

Some of the places we stopped definitely didn’t see many tourists.  This picture was taken in the sleepy, riverside town of Sekong.  This girl acted like she hadn’t seen a white person before – maybe she hadn’t.

We made a quick stop by UXO Sekong to see some of the progress they were making in clearing the local area of bombs.  Here are some of their recent findings.

Megan snapped this picture from the back of the motorbike as we passed this farmer heading to market.

In case you missed it, that’s a live goat strapped to the back of his motorbike.

My morning bath.  Seriously.

The owner of our guesthouse found a rather creative use for this bomb.

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Before finishing the trip, we stopped by a farmers coffee plantation to learn about the process of making coffee.  I never expected that it involved so much labour – gives a new perspective to the coffee I drink every morning.

The children of the village gathered to stare at the “white people” as we learned coffee harvesting 101 from a local farmer of the village.

That’s where we are now.  Sitting in an internet cafe in Pakse, waiting for leave on our motorbike at the break of day to explore the nearby temples of Champasak.

The End

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                             DO HO HO HO HOHOHOHOHOHO!