Ignoring TLC's advice

Apologies if this post isn't as professionally done as my other posts. I just took a 6 hour minivan ride from Luang Prabang to Phonsavanh, which was like going down a bobsled track for six straight hours, and drank three shots of Lao Lao rice whisky with the owner of my guesthouse (what can I say, its a social obligation)--a 64 year old Lao man that could be the Laos version of Poppi, considering how much he was flirting with the 20 something western girls in our group. According to a former bobsledding Canadian in the van with us, though, bobsleds are much more stable than the van we were in.

Phonsavanh is like a wild west town, with dust in the air, and not as cleaned up or put together as some of the other Lao towns, with two story buildings lining the streets how they once did in western mining towns.

I have to ask, was it really necessary for the Lao government to put up "sharp curve" and the snake-turn signs every so often? When the road you are on hasn't had a straightaway longer than 50 yards since you started, I think its pretty safe to say that we know the road will be curvy up ahead. Maybe it would be better to put that money (and metal) into the erection of more guardrails along the road. It was easily a much tougher ride than the trip from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, and the american journalist and I are almost positively going to fly from Phonsavanh to Vientiane (30 minutes) instead of taking the 10 hour bus ride. I was ready to puke at certain stages.

When one is in Luang Prabang, it is best to ignore the advice of TLC's infamous hit song that reminds us to not "go chasing waterfalls." Do it--there's a waterfall and park area about 30kms away that is simply spectacular. Ever watch Saved by the Bell Hawaiian Style intro, with the giant waterfall? That's what it reminded me of. I could literally hear Will Smith's "summertime" playing in the background. Split a tuk-tuk ride with six other people, three of which I had met either days before, or the night before, and the other three just met on the tuk tuk, which was fine. The water was crystal clear, with a bluish tint, and it was refreshingly cool. It also had nice pools where you could go to swim if you were interested. Edenesque is the adjective I would use to describe it.

On the way, you pass an Asiatic black bear sanctuary. These bears have been rescued from the bile and animal part trade, and are now in enclosures, just hanging out. They even have hammocks made of old tires for the bears to relax in, and there is nothing more bizarre/hilarious than seeing a bear lay back in a hammock, just enjoying themselves.

Of course, I also managed to make a major faux pas while watching from the observation deck. I hear an asian language being spoken by some people next to me, and so I naturally assume that it is japanese, and say "sugoi"--meaning, great!--to which the guy responds, "Korean, not Japanese." Confusing Japanese with Korean may sound like an innocent mistake, but if you know history like I do, there is few worse things that you can say to a Korean, north or south, than calling them Japanese. South Korea and Japan might be allies now, but it is purely out of geopolitical necessity. The Koreans hate the Japanese (and have some justification for that position)--look up the term "comfort woman/women" and you will see why. My face turned beet red, and I immediately started apologizing, as I truly felt horrible. All was fine, though, and they were actually nice to talk to, and some wanted their pictures taken with me--they asked me where I went to school, and I said "Yale" and they all were very well aware of it.

I will fill in the rest of the details of the day/night/day later on, but I have to meet some people for dinner to talk about our plans for TMW. A teaser to entertain you for the next couple of hours? Figure out this quote: "Why don't you try to ruin some Led Zeppelin?"

Also, when you watch the travel channel, do so with a certain level of skepticism. Three nights before I left for Laos, the singapore hostel was showing the travel channel, and there was a program on Laos. The host was taking us on a tour of Laos, and decided to go to Phonsavanh, a place that he claimed was unreachable by road, and only reachable by air. My experience today gives me the right to say "bullshit" to that--yes the road is windy, but it is paved--its not my fault that you, Mr. Travel Channel host, were too much of a wimp to drive it.