Anika auf Tour - I am in Laos Vegas

25/02/2007 - I am in Laos Vegas

Typical way of doing retail in Laos.

Short update on my travels:
After two days in Vientiane (near the Thai border) in a cute hostel right on the banks of the nearly-non-existing Mekong River, I followed the rumor of some tourist-free, paradise-like islands existing on the Ang Nam Ngun (Nam Ngun Lake), which is an enormous water reservoir created by an equally enourmous dam. And yes, after a whole day of adventurous travelling, which included a few kilometeres of severe hiking in the heat, I DID find the lake....and the islands. A lucky coincidence (Zufall) made me end up on a dinner-cruise boat that was hired by a large Laos family, celebrating the grandfather's funeral. Not only that they gave me a free ride to the guesthouse-island, I also had the best dinner since I have set foot on asian ground. The only english-speaking people where Cola and his mother, who fled to Australia in the early 80s. Cola, being a Chef (Koch) near Sydney, could not only explain WHAT I was actually eating, but also HOW to eat it correctly... That came in handy.

Once on the island, I pitched up my newly baught tent (4 Euro in Bankok) and enjoyed Laobeer, sunsets and fantastic swims in the clear water.

I continued my way north to Vang Vieng - the most artificial setup I have seen so far. What a weired place that is .... This litte village between Vientiane - the capital of Laos - and Luang Prabang - the former capital and today's cultural and touristic center of Laos is a hub (Treffpunkt) for backpackers of all sorts, who love to do some outdoor activities or to just sit in a bar all day long and watch all the series of 'Friends'. Well, I belong to the first group and the second one is just plein weired to me. The funniest thing is the window between this internet Cafe and the 'Friends'-Bar. Here you can do anything: Tubing, Kayaking, Climbing and mainly beeing lazy staring on some TV screen.

And being happy, happy. But, as my little guidebook explains 'happy' in combination with 'pizza' does not mean some extra garlic. The amount of sings put up here that remind you of the consequences of drug consumption will have (actually the prison is on an island on Ang Nam Ngun) is proportional to the options of getting drugs here...anywhere.

When I entered this place, I decided to just walk through to get on the next bus to Luang Prabang. But it came differently...because I just saw the most beautiful (situated / gelegenen) bamboo-bungalow which made me stay here for three nights.

Well...I will do some tubing tomorrow. So far, I have just done an incredible tour with the mountainbike, along ricefields trapped by fairytale-like limestone mountains.

Check out the Fotoalbum for more...

I am happy, healthy and not yet caught by any police for bad or wrong comments... I am meeting the most interesting and funny people along the way, with fascinating jobs or passions. Such as Marcello from Italy, who hates Thailand, Thai food and thinks that Thai women are too flat - but his mission is the exploration of a certain species of carnivorous plants that only exist in southeast asia. Then, I ran into a photographer for 'National Geographic' who also had some nice stories to tell. Or Nina, Joe and Stefan - Expats from Thailand who do their visa-run to Laos every 3 months because they ar not allowed to stay there for a longer period of time. And not to forget Arild, my temprorary housemate, who is a directer for theatre in Norway...

It is getting late, closing time at the 'Friends'-Bar and time for me to go home and enjoy a cool Laobeer on my terrace with my neighbour!

Hugs -
anika

PS:For those having my lao cellphone number: It seems like Telecom Lao has a really bad net. So do not worry if you cannot get through. Cris finally succeeded...

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26/02/2007 - Melancholie

written by Melanie

Um meinem Namen alle Ehre zu machen: Da werd ich ja ganz melancholisch, wenn ich das alles sehe! Ich schließe mich den anderen an, die Bilder sind unglaublich!
Und ich wünsche mir auch, dort zu sein... und ein bisschen bin ich froh, hier zu sein - ich glaube, das nennt man dann Melancholie, diese Zerissenheit zwischen Sehnsucht und Sicherheit...

Du klingst nach wie vor toll und das freut mich am meisten!
Liebe Grüße!!!
Melli

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27/02/2007 - Neeeeee - anders:

written by Melanie

Es ist nicht die Sicherheit... es ist die Zerissenheit zwischen Sehnsucht und Abschied... das nenne ich jetzt mal Melancholie... *seufz*

Ums dir leicht zu machen: Hier in Wiesbaden verpasst du zur Zeit gaaaaar nix!

<br>:-) Melli

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