Aussie Assurances

I definitely made the right move in buying that ticket to the Land of Oz. I just met a Canadian girl who has been traveling for nearly 3 years straight now. Wow! She lived and worked in Australia for a year and also lived in worked in New Zealand. Her stories and tales of adventure have me determined to follow suit.

But first, how we met… the day after booking my flight to Australia I found myself on a bus heading further north in Laos to Luang Prabang. I had been wishy washy about whether I was going to go up and check LP out after my supposed “Luang Prabang bus” arrived further south in Vientiane. I had heard LP was expensive and I wasn’t too keen on that. But, I had also heard it’s a beautiful city (the most beautiful in Laos) and that there was a nice waterfall to go visit. Anyway, ultimately I bought another spur of the moment ticket. This time, just to Luang Prabang.

The 5-hour bus ride north boasted breathtakingly dramatic landscapes. The looming limestone crags of Vang Vieng somehow morphed into swollen giants. Now, it was limestone mountains. They reached well beyond the clouds and up into the heavens. I would look out my window and all I could utter was “Wow!” time and time again. I was amazed that I could still even be amazed. Not to brag, but I’ve been shotgunning from one stunning landscape to the next. It just goes to show, the creations not of man in this world never get old, never cease to amaze. The bus ride was a rather spiritual experience for me. It just seemed God was with me…

On arrival to Luang Prabang it didn’t take long to confirm the rumors about how expensive the city is. It seems to be a popular stop for wealthy British, Americans and other Europeans. Thus, the prices for everything have been driven up. But, you can still find local cheap fares. The fruit shakes are actually cheaper here… as little as 3,000 kip or about .30 cents. There’s also this streetside fill-your-plate-with-loads-of-vegetable-dishes-buffet. It costs just .50 and just .10 cents extra per skewer of meat or spring roll to go with it. Imagine that right next to a ritzy café that charges $1.50 for just one cup of coffee. Bullocks! (Ha… the English guys from Vang Vieng have rubbed off on me a bit.) Internet is also significantly cheaper here. Probably because all the wealthy holiday-makers have ridiculously high-end phones with computers and internet on them and don’t have any use of the inet cafes.

There are tons of wats and temples here. I’ve seen so many already though… that they weren’t a priority. My first evening wasn’t much more than inet and .50 cent buffet. I was resting up for the next day… waterfall Laura style!

So, most people get a tuk-tuk or even a minibus to putter them out to the photogenic waterfall 32 km from town. I paid double to rent a mountain bike and cycle out to the falls. (Yeah, in Vang Vieng a bike is $3. Here it’s $10. Again, Bullocks!) Even though Richard decided at the last minute to come to LP as well and we ended up sharing a room again here, I was all on my own for my 64 round-trip cycling adventure through a mountainous valley. It was great! The ride was mostly uphill on the way out to the waterfall, but it was mostly a gradual uphill. There were several significantly daunting bits though. I was beat by the time I got to the falls. Not exhausted enough not to appreciate the tigers and bears I got to see at the animal rescue sanctuary just outside the falls. The animals are rescued from poachers.

The falls are beautiful… water cascading down in tiers into small, milky turquoise-blue lagoons that make perfect swimming holes. They’re a bit chilly though! Fresh mountain water! There was a rope swing, which was fun enough. But, it couldn’t even begin to compare to the bamboo tower swings on the tubing adventure in Vang Vieng.

Anyway, while at the falls I ran into a guy from the bus ride to Luang Prabang. There was a young woman, Joee, with him. In just minutes I learned that she has been traveling for over two years… non-stop. Can you guess what I thought of that? I was completely intrigued. What’s more, Joee had just come from living and working in both Australia and New Zealand. She’s done all sorts of odd jobs to make money on the way including fruit picking, working on a pearl boat (yes, as in living 100 nautical miles off the Aussie coast 2 weeks on and 1 week off harvesting pearls from the ocean) and working as a yacht crew member on a trip from the Land of Oz to Indonesia. Ummmm… wow!! So, I have a new mission. I want to work on a pearl boat and I want to work on a yacht. (Actually, I’ve always wanted to work on a yacht… the pearl boat thing is new though).

Wish me luck guys!

Btw, I’m back in Vang Vieng. Missed it too much… and need to start heading south to the islands in Thailand to be closer to where I fly out from Phuket next month.