What's New with the Tours?
See below for a Trip Report on the December 1, 2005 Lao Tour.
Watch for something on a mid-summer trip in the future. Summer is prime time for many people and something in North America is on the Far and Away short list.
An across the board price increase of $100 was put in place effective Jan, 2006. However, this is far less than the increases posted by most companies and the tours are still an average of about 40% below the cost of similar length tours offered by others.
There are only a few spots left for the Fall Spain and Spring Slovenia trips. Here is the complete rundown of who is now signed up for 2006:
Laos - Dec 1 2005 Trip Report
The final tally for participants on the 12/1/05 Laos tour was 11, including (from top left) John and Graeme from Australia, Jeff and Mike from Canada and Grace, Trace, Don, Michelle, Mary, Patrick and Brian from the States. Unfortunately, Tom from Milwaukee did not make it due to coming down with pneumonia at the last minute. We are hoping he can make it next time.
This was an adventuresome group. For some, the Far and Away trip was simply part of a bigger adventure. Mike, Michelle, Trace and Don all had extended travel plans before and/or after the cycling trip. It's always great to see people on extended stays.
After a miscue at the airport, Trace and Mary found their own way to the funky but "charming" Riverview at about 2:30am and 4am, respectively. The Riverview is located on the edge of Bangkok's Chinatown amidst a combination of high rises, corrugated metal shacks and piles of axles, flywheels and miscellaneous scooter parts that are reworked by hand in this neighborhood. It's wierd enough in daytime much less the middle of the night. I can only imagine what was running through their minds. The thing about the Lao tour is that you wonder what you are in for when you arrive at the Riverview, but you feel like you just checked into a Ritz Carlton when you return. Such is the nature of the Laos tour.
The next day, the lovely Ying and a couple of her very nice friends provided a tour of Bangkok while Jeff, John and Graeme, bought stuff at the Pro-bike shop in Bangkok. Jeff got a great deal on a Trek mountain bike that cost him maybe 60% of what it would back home.
After flying to Chiang Rai, we assembled our bikes at the Chian Guesthouse and then pretty much everyone headed to Chompoo and Bird's bike shop. It was well stocked with everything. We bought big time: helmets, bike bags, shirts, cycling apparel, fanny packs. The next morning Chompoo called to see if we forgot anything. We had and she made a special run to the guesthouse with even more stuff. Nice of her.
We got a lift in four trucks to the famous Golden Triangle. It's a nice 60K ride to the Laos border at Chaing Khong from the Triangle. There are two routes: one with some super nasty hills, which Mike and Patrick opted for; and one with garden variety nasty hills which everyone else opted for. Somehow Patrick and Mike got separated and Patrick thought he had made a wrong turn and doubled back after being 95% of the way to Chaing Khong. Patrick therefore did the super nasty hills twice and the nasty hills once. I think he was a little delirious when he finally found the guesthouse, but he recovered nicely. Such is the recuperative power of Beer Lao and the attention (or maybe, intentions) of Ms. Soupaphone.
The next day we rode our bikes to the riverside border crossing to Laos. There we met up with Boun Yang, traded in some cash for kip and made our way via tuk tuk to our chartered boat waiting for us up river. It's about a 7 hour relaxing boat trip to Pak Beng from Chaing Khong. Most of us read a book, listened to music or chatted with our fellow riders. We had nice sandwiches that Ms. Soupaphone had packed for us and some Beerlao and pop to wash it all down with. John even practiced his piloting skills by taking a turn at the wheel.
Once in Pak Beng we met the truck and Mr. Deng and Mr Thom, our Lao driver and helper, and then made our way to the Bonhomme GH where there is nice deck overlooking the Mekong. Since last time they have upgraded the place. There now are attached baths. That was a nice surprise. Most people walked the town a few times, had dinner and crashed.
Our visit to Ban Faen is often a highpoint, and this trip was no different. We visited the local school, presented about 100lbs of atlases that Meghan Kieffer had donated, contrbuted some cash to the school and listened to and made a few speeches. The school kids put together a program for us....dancing. It was a delight. For anyone not familiar with dancing in Laos, there is sort of hypnotic elegance to it. It's a definite case of less is more even when kids are performing. After the program, it was off to the river for a long awaited clean up with the villagers. Everyone heads to the river at about the same in Ban Faen. There is no running water in the village so, for most, a wash in the river is as good as it gets. Most everyone goes daily. The kids there had a blast cannonballing off a bank about 20 feet high. Looked dangerous.
A little later we learned the authorities had nixed our scheduled homestay. This was a little disappointing since an overnight in the village is a once in a lifetime experience for most people. We stayed in a nice guesthouse so, in a way, it was easier, if less interesting.
That evening included a basci ceremony, followed by dinner and a village party. It's not possible to do this evening justice. I will simply say that the villagers made it a point to let me know that we were a FUN GROUP! A big thanks to John and Graeme for introducing the hokie pokie. I don't think the place will be the same. Also, Trace, thanks for devouring that fishhead bud! I don't care if it was fried to resemble a thick potato chip, the entire group is proud of you.
No one cut off their basci strings except Don. Cutting off the strings means a lot of bad luck. I'm guessing that's why no one has heard from Don since the trip ended. Don: check in soon. We don't want you to end up like Jim Thompson (never seen again after traveling to highlands of Burma).
In the morning we took off for Oudomxai. It rained and then it rained more. I bought an umbrella even. We stayed in the Oudomkham Hotel. A brand new, nice place. The only downside is that it is a pretty good hike to town down a dark, very dark, road. We ate at the Mongolian BBQ joint. It's the real deal with charcoal laden clay pots that have about half burned through the tables. You grill your own meat in the center of what looks like an upside down cake pan that rests over the coals. Soup stock is ladled into the pan around the outside and you throw veggies and other stuff into it. I did not last too long here though. I'm not sure what got to me. It must have been something earlier, but I only made it through half the dinner before excusing myself and going to bed. No one else seemed affected. In the morning I felt fine. That was a relief.
In the morning we headed to Pak Mong. Nice ride that day, but what can you say about Pak Mong? It is about the way it sounds. The main guesthouse was full so Patrick and I stayed across the way at guesthouse #2. You had to pass the kitchen to get to your room. I have only one question: did you see that thing, Patrick? I know Mike did. I took a picture, but I'm pretty sure it will have to stay in the private section.
From Pak Mong on to Luang Prabang. LP is a great place. Most people were intent on shopping and relaxing (except for Mary who set a world's record running up and down Phousi Hill 10 times). We ate at the Riverside Garden Cafe which is always very nice. We also met up with another bike tour group, Redspokes, headed in the opposite direction. Anyone looking for alternative dates should definitely talk to Dermot MacWard who runs Redspokes and check their schedule. Everyone got up early to watch the monks collecting alms on the departure day.
South of Luang Prabang, the riding gets truly spectacular. We head to Kiewkacham which sits on a ridge and is often in the clouds. In the morning, the guesthouse was hugely busy with mainly busloads of Thai people on holiday. That was a show all by itself. The guesthouse itself actually isn't too much, but the people that run it go so far out of their way, it becomes a nice stop. There are no showers here, but they heat up a super hot buckets of water for everyone. That makes all the difference in the world.
Kiewkacham to Kasi involves a long, long downhill but it still is a challenging ride. We finally stopped at the hotsprings for lunch and took a soak. Most everyone needed it. From there it flattens out with rollers for the final 20K.
The next day out of Kasi is short as we stop around noon and take to the kayaks. It's a nice break. We had some kayak pro's some of whom want to go solo and helmetless. No dice on the latter. Boun Yang even jumped in on the kayaking action. Boun Yang also provided some pre-lunch entertainment when he observed that you can eat those little fresh water crawfish in the water. He tracked one down and promptly ate the tail off it. I thought Michelle might pass out. Boun Yang, you have some "Survivor" potential! Anyway, a couple of us dumped our kayaks over in the rapids. I won't say who was involved, but suffice it to say, Grace, that my watch no longer works.
After lunch we stopped for some spelunking and for some general hanging around at one of the beer gardens on the river. 4 of us spelunker wannabes engaged in spelunking. It took some time to spelunk. Unfortunately, the music at the beer garden was so bad for those choosing to hang around that Beer Lao could not even make it better. The kayaking guides had all they could do to keep the non-spelunkers from bolting.
We then kayaked the rest of the way to Vang Vieng where we walked to the guesthouse.
Vang Vieng is a strange place. It's a backpacker town. Everyone seems to lie around on pillows, drink beer and pretty much do nothing except watch "Friends" reruns on TV. However, it does have some great street vendors who make nice crepes. We took full advantage of the crepes. That evening we ate by the river and watched the locals ride their scooters over the narrow and wobbly suspended footbridge that crossed the river. It looked tricky. No one dumped though.
The next morning, we made our way out of town with some difficulty as some roads in Vang Vieng are being rebuilt. Overall, the road from Vang Vieng to Na Nam is relatively flat (except for the stinger at the very end). We made good time. We stopped for lunch at a floating restaurant on the way. We had french fries along with the quite good fish. We also had some fried cicadas. They are quite good also. Mary even went for some.
Na Nam is on a Lake. Nice place if a little run down. We ate dinner at yet another floating restaurant. Our reputation from last year preceded us. The very fun waitresses wanted to know: "would we be dancing with them?" What kind of question is that? Of course we will be dancing with them....and so we did. Boun Yang, Siam Pi and pretty much everyone got in on this action. Why not? It was the last official nite.
We rode on in to Vientiane the next day. Michelle opted to get there early so she took a bus. In Vientiane we booked into the Inter City Hotel which is a very nice place right on the River. We deserved it. We took a dinner cruise on the Mekong, we went to a nite club and listened to Billy Page. He was pretty good and our little group personally got him to go for two encores. I even bought his CD. Mary took calisthenics with a couple hundred Lao women at dawn on the banks of the Mekong. We went to the market, stocked up on souvenirs, decals, flags silks, etc etc.
The final morning we said our good-byes. Most of us headed to the airport for Bangkok. Don and Mike headed overland to Thailand. Trace headed to Cambodia.
Anyway, everyone made it through safely and it was a lot of fun. Thanks. More Lao pics.
"World Traveler Club" Scorecard
Congrats to Brian Towns, Beth Gentry and Jerry Nitz for being the first on their way to achieving "Bronze Status". A half price tour (for the winner and his/her guest) is awaiting the first person that completes all the Far and Away tours and thereby achieves "Gold Status". (Yes, it's a moving target). You can judge who the likely prize winner will be for yourself by looking at the Scorecard. It's tough to call, but I think anyone with Laos or "the Beast" under their belt has a leg up on this one.
Bill and Kent (are on vacation this month)
What to do in Burma in the middle of nowhere when you discover your flat tire is the result of the tube blowing through the 1 and 1/2 inch rip in the tire sidewall; looking like a double wad bubble of black chewing gum?
Initially I thought, "no problem", you can patch a tire in a pinch with a dollar bill. At first, I thought I would use a Burmese "kyat", but a quick comparison of paper quality seemed to indicate otherwise. Luckily, I did have a buck in my wallet and this repair actually did hold for the few miles to the next tiny village, but it clearly wasn't going to get me 35 miles to our next overnite destination.
Chantal and I stopped in a family restaurant where the locals soon became aware of my tire situation. A guy took off with my wheel on his scooter to go see if he could have the local expert attend to it. 3 minutes later he was back and indicated "no can do". Then the guys hanging at the restaurant took over. I couldn't believe it. They (a) washed my bike and wheels, (b) found an old tire tube out of which they cut a 3 by 5 inch heavy rubber patch and (c) sewed the patch onto the sidewall of the tire using a nylon string and a small screwdriver as a needle. We tried to pay for their two hours of effort but they would not hear of it. We finally got them to take some earrings from Chantal and some cigarettes that we had bought to barter with. This wobbly repair held for 35 miles on a loaded bike and may have held for the rest of the trip.
Perhaps a small thing, but, to us, that patched tire symbolizes the people of Burma who have nothing (and I mean absolutely NOTHING!) except a couple of the most important things: a positive "can do" attitude and an eagerness to help. It traveled the 10,000 miles home with us and is now headed for a place of honor.
More Burma Pics.
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All the best,
Bob
