The Traveling Experience

I woke up this morning to a bright sunshine peaking through the window blinds. I was ready for another relaxing day. I was tired from the long travels we had done the previous day and wanted to stretch my legs. My eyes squinted from the reflection on the white powdery ground. The air was crisp and clear. The familiar tuk-tuk honks and Taxis could not be heard. This place was different from Bangkok, Krabi, Koh Samui and Lao. It was a bit colder, it was a bit quieter and it had a sense of familiarity.

"The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready."
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

I was back on the ground in Minnesota.

The white powder was no longer a sandy beach, but some of the remaining snow that had fallen the previous few days. It was cold. It was 90+ degrees when I woke up the previous morning. 24 hours later, 3 flights and a few lost boarding passes, it was now 20 degrees and snow on the ground.

We ended our trip early. Our plan was to come back on March 14th. We came back on the 6th instead (local time). After sitting on the wonderful beaches of Phra Nang Bay and Railay Beach, why would someone come home to freezing cold weather? That's really a question that will haunt me for a long time. More importantly, when will I be able to return? I'm out of vacation, I went over budget and I'm tired. I spent too much time traveling to places I have already been to and didn't find the "adventure" that typically finds me on the road. Travel provides me with new discovery and new experiences. I will have to wait to see where those come from in the future ... and where the next adventure will take me.

This trip was 6 month or more in the planning. We set an agenda, but left things open to change. And change is exactly what we experienced. Travel in SE Asia was not for Chris. More importantly, leaving his wife behind proved to be the element that we least expected to modify our plans. He missed his wife and was never able to emerse himself into the experience because of it. I feel bad for him and hope that a trip like this in the future will bring another type of experience. An experience that includes his true love, his true passion ... his wife. I hope they get a second chance together to enjoy some of the sites that Chris was not able to enjoy. A distraction that big can make travel difficult. Missing home does not allow you to become part of your new environment.

"When you travel, remember that a foreign country is not designed to make you comfortable. It is designed to make its own people comfortable."
Clifton Paul Fadiman

In the middle of last week I looked Chris in the eyes and asked him if he wanted to be there. No matter how forceful he tried to convince me, the spirit wasn't there. He was not having fun and I was worried that I would continue to struggle as a travel guide -- trying to find a comfort zone where he could relax and begin to enjoy himself. After two weeks we hadn't found that spot. We had changed travel plans more times that we can count to accommodate this goal. It was at that point that we decided it was time to cut the trip short, fly home and give it another try with the missing elements attached.

Thailand and Lao are not for everyone. Traveling is not for everyone. Backpacking is not for everyone. Cheap bungalows and street stall food is not for everyone. Leaving your loved ones behind is hard for EVERYONE. Coping with these changes are what make and break travelers on a daily basis. For some people, a pre-packaged tour of Mexico or Hawaii are exactly what they need to relax. For others, the constant struggle to get from one place to the other is what drives them forward. As Lao Tzu said, "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." I fall within that category.

My travels are not over. My quest to see the temples of Burma are not over. My desire to travel fast and cheap are deep within me. I will continue to meet local people and chat with fellow travelers. I will spread the word of my experience and share with others the stories I have picked up on the road. I may even act as a tour guide again the future.

For now, however, I will need to seek my adventures in a 12x12 cube. Typing away, reading papers, attending meetings. I will need to create a world inside my own country that satisfies my own sense of adventure. I will need to mend fences and lay another plan.

Vang Viang, Lao: aka: Stevie Gibson’s House

I’m sure everyone has had a friend like Steve Gibson. He’s the kid in junior high and high school that just doesn’t seem to fit in. But because his parents are relaxed with rules, you find yourself hanging out at his house all the time. That’s what Vang Viang, Lao is rather like. It’s a little dirty, it’s a little cluttered, but the most part is just a cool little place to relax and watch the world go by.

Imagine a place where you can lay around all day, tube down a river, get “happy pizza,” drink cheap beer, get stoned and watch movies … all without having to lift a finger, and all under $5.00 a day. That is the best way I can describe this small town located between the Lao capital of Vientiane and Louang Prabang (Lao’s other main tourist attraction) along Route 13. It’s an excellent stop over point that can help break up the 10 hour journey it would typically take to get to Louang Prabang. But for some, Vang Viang is a destination all of its own.

We took our 10,000 kip ($1) bus ride from Vientiane directly to Vang Viang. The bus was packed beyond the normal allotted seats. By Lao standards, this was perfectly normal. Why leave the bus station when there is a few square feet available to hold luggage, chickens or people? For those unlucky few (actually, more like 20) people who arrived late, they were forced to take an aisle seat, perched on a little red plastic stool. Hardly the way I would have elected to spend 4 hours.

Chris was able to get the middle seat in the back of the bus. As comfortable it might have seemed at the time he first sat down, the romantic notion of seeing the Lao countryside in comfort was quickly dismissed as the row of plastic-stoolers were forced to scoot back as far as possible. This was his first experience with bus travel in SE Asia. I could tell by the grimace on his face that he’d rather not experience it again.

We arrived in Vang Viang around 4:00 in the afternoon. We found a room for $8 a night, which included two full sized beds, a hot shower, air-con and full western toilet. The last element had now become standard due to the bad experience at the Lao Border Crossing toilet. We dropped our bags and headed out on the town.

But that I mean we walked down both streets.

Vang Viang, once a popular backpacker stop 25 years ago, has only recently joined the ranks of “places to go” in SE Asia. The entire town, which rests on the banks of the Nam Xong River, is surrounded by beautiful countryside. Vang Viang rests on the east banks of the Nam Xong River, set between spectacular limestone karsts and rolling hills. The roads in this town have no names, which is just as well, since it’s nearly impossible to get lost. By nearly, I mean “I never got lost.” I can’t speak for everyone in my travel party on that part.

In the few days that we spent in this small village, we didn’t do much more than relax, drink beer, eat cheap food and chat with fellow travelers. We were able to get up early one morning and do a bit of caving. For the most part we just chilled out at one of the half-dozen restaurants that flank the main street. We met a young English couple that had just come from Vietnam. We would later meet up with them in Louang Prabang for more drinks and dinner.

Places to Eat:

Give Pizza a Chance - Chilled out with a great menu of both Lao, Thai and Western food. The “happy pizza” was quite popular. We were offered opium on our last morning there, but passed on account of a few things: the most significant being that we were about to take a 6 hour journey through twisted roads and mountain cliffs. The second being that opium can really mess you up.

Places to Sleep:

Anywhere. All places are extremely cheap. Places by the river might be a better bet as they are a bit off the main roads. Rooms in town range from $3-10 a night.

How to Get There:

There is an airport … technically. It’s really only a gravel landing strip. I’m not sure if it’s used very much. Those that are likely to fly aren’t likely to visit Vang Viang. Bus is the best bet, although Sawngthaews run more frequently between the other major Lao cities. There is a VIP bus service that recently started that is a good value, if you’re looking for a bit more comfort along the twisted mountain sides.

Things to Do:

Chill out. Relax. Watch movies. Drink beer. Rent an inner tube and float down the river. Hike the various caves. Rent a bicycle and visit the outlaying villages. Relax.