We stopped for a break mid morning at the bus station in Oudomxai. I was still not sure how my stomach would be doing from last night, but we had an hour and I knew I needed to eat something. But all that were there were crisp and snack vendors and a line of food shacks. I decided to order some chicken noodle soup at one of the food shacks where others were eating. I figured if it is made with boiling water, than all the germs would be killed. The soup was good with cilantro, flat rice noodles, spring onions, and chunks of chicken still on the bone. It did the trick and I felt much better after having a bit.
After being on the road a bit more, we stopped at one of the Hmong Villages along the way and our Lao guide told us a little about their way of life as we toured around. We got to see how they make their houses of bamboo and rushes on stilts, what types of food they grow in their gardens and got to meet and hang out with all the children that had gathered round.
We had several hours still left to drive so we couldn't stay long at the village. To help pass the time, our Stray guide prompted a game of Name that Soundtrack. I won with 8 out of 10. Katie who was sitting next to me, though, got the lowest score (so you know we weren't cheating, right?) so she had to write a 1-min rap about the person next to her, which happened to be me. It was really funny. She said she is going to email me a copy.
Butterflies. I just wanted to take a moment to note about all the really pretty butterflies we have seen here. There are just so many of them flying around everywhere of different shapes and sizes and colours. I have gotten a couple good picture of a few of them.
We were meant to go to Phathok Cave just outside of Nong Kiaw before checking into our guesthouse, but the heavy rains had washed the bridge out and we weren't able to get to it.
The rain we had all afternoon began to let up shortly after we checked into our guesthouse, so we decided to go for a wander around town. We stopped at a restaurant along the river where some of the other gals were and I had a Banana and Yoghurt shake. It was very yummy and refreshing. And then we walked around town some more.
Nong Khiaw is a picturesque, sleepy little village along the Ou River, tucked between a plethora of jutting limestone cliffs. Life here appears to be simple and focused on local life - our waitress said she rarely even gets to Luang Prabang, the closest major city. It also seems a juxtapositing existence. While many local households have satellite TV, they only have basic accommodation that is difficult to keep clean to western standards even if they wanted to.
Stephen said he thinks this shows a key difference between the local faith of Animism and the western, Judeo-Christian worldview. Westerners look to control the environment around them, stemming from God's command to Adam to subdue and rule the earth. While the Lao locals follow an Animist belief of their being spirits in the things around us and don't seek to control such spirits. Similar to the difference experienced between American settlers and the Native American culture.
We all met up at 7pm to head for dinner at a restaurant down the road. As the restaurant was part founded by Germans, they had a few western items on the menu. Steve and I both took advantage of ordering the Bratkartoffeln mit Eier. It was a little bit of a wait to get, but was very comfortingly familiar and quite delicious. The Nana Fresh Lemon-Mint icy I had was also highly refreshing and lived up to its 'most refreshing drink in town' advertisement.
We stayed at the Sunrise Guesthouse, which our guide referred to as 'basic bungallows'. It was not 'basic' by Western stanbdards, but maybe basic by local standards. I might have agreed with the 'basic' label if it was at least clean as the room had a large bedroom, a shower room with a Squatty potty, and a gorgeous view from private balconies with chairs and hammocks to relax and pass away the time. However, there was no sink or mirror in the bathroom, the water out of the tap ran brown, the pillows were stale and heavy with dustmites, springs poked you as you lay on the mattress, and the bathroom smelled of stale urine - so clearly not clean. The bed did have a mosquito net, though, and was more than large enough for the two of us. At least we didn't have the cockroaches and spiders that others had to deal with in their 'bungallows'. I made use of my own pillow and sleep sheet -- definitely glad I brought these along!
Ok for one night, but definitely NOT something I could get used to living in long-term. I prefer a few more 'basics' than the locals, I guess. Does that make me high maintenance?
Turns out, though, that after asking around these were the best of the options along the river there, unless you went to the hugely expensive resort down the road.
Hard to believe we're now one week into our trip already.
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