Our third stop in Laos was the notorious Vang Vieng made famous by its reputation for a very dangerous tubing activity down a three mile stretch on the Mekong. Thankfully and unfortunately (yes, at the same time) this tubing activity was closed down in 2012 after, legend has it, 27 Westerners died partaking in the activity. Before it was closed down this section of the river was lined with pubs, zip wires and rope swings landing you in the Mekong. It was these rope swings, combined with copious amounts of alcohol, which are responsible for all these deaths (I'm not sure 27 is true, but two Australian boys did die in one month and their government demanded it be closed down). Anyway, hence the reason why I say 'thankfully' and 'unfortunately' at the same time. 'Unfortunately' as it sounds fun, but 'thankfully,' as, well, I am travelling with Beedie and we all know his attitude towards potential danger, zip wires, rope swings and alcohol!
Although Vang Vieng sits in a beautiful setting of limestone mountains, the tourism and built up town, which reflects something a bit like Costa Del Sol, relies on the tubing to attract young travellers over from Thailand. As such a much tamer three pub stop tubing activity has been created. Knowing that there were no accompanying rope swings I decided there was less chance of Beeds killing himself so we decided to partake. Still travelling with our small crew it was a lot of fun floating down the Mekong on a tyre enjoying a beer, stopping for a game of volleyball at a bar and meeting lots of people. Unfortunately after a whole two weeks without rain it decided to pour all day! This resulted in us huddled round a fire at one bar and it feeling and looking a little more like Scotland than Laos!
Realising there was a bit more to Vang Vieng than just the tubing, we hired bikes and cycled into the beautiful countryside and visited two huge caves. Being claustrophobic and freaked out by caves after watching 'IT' as a child, they are not normally my thing, but they really were very cool! To visit one we had to sit on a tyre and pull ourselves along a rope on the water. With a guide, we then army crawled through sections and smeared mud on ourselves, instead of going to an expensive spa.
We left Vang Vieng and headed for Luang Prabang in the north. The bus journey was so bumpy and long, but the views were incredible. Laos really is beautiful and definitely takes second place to Nepal regarding scenery. Luang Prabang is a beautiful town and the French influence here is more than evident. I will comment again on how you could come to a place like this and think the rest of the country is rich, as it is just so modern and a complete contrast to the countryside.
For Laung Prabang we planned a trek to sleep overnight in a homestead with the two couples we had been travelling with and an Irish couple whom we met tubing. For the trek we each paid $65, which for two days of activity and accommodation in a hut, is a lot of money here. Our tour organiser assured us there was no water to cross and that we would do four hours of kayaking as a part of our trip. You can imagine our surprise when after we had set off we found out our guide was actually only 16 years old, was not being paid and was in fact doing it voluntarily to learn English. There was 19 river crossings with some reaching my chest in height and so ferocious that we had to link into a chain to avoid being swept away. Also our 16 year old guide could not only not swim, but really disliked kayaking (no wonder)!
However, after being in Asia for three months we really have learned not to expect much in terms of rules and/or health and safety and things have kind of stopped phasing us. Thank god we have developed this attitude as our kayak trip only turned out to be two and a half hours and all kayaks were riddled with holes resulting in us having to stop several times to empty them!
Our group were all a great laugh and the trek was really fun. We escaped the 'on the surface' look of Laos, of wealth and prosperity, and visited some lovely little tribal villages much like the ones in Cambodia. Beeds brought his frisbee which was a lot of fun as the children were amazed by it, curious at first and then building up enough courage to have a shot. At night it was pitch black with zero light pollution and peaceful, that is until the only generator 'in town' kicked in. We then heard what sounded like the whole village going to watch the only television in village for their daily viewing of one hour! They each take a turn to pay the £1 cost each evening!
Our two week stay in Laos was amazing. the people and scenery are so beautiful and we both agree our second favourite place after Nepal. We said goodbye to our little crew we had travelled with in Laos (with an invite to go skiing next winter with our Swiss friends who live in a ski station = yes please) and set off on a plane to Hanoi the capital of Vietnam.
I have been very excited about visiting Vietnam as I was here 8 years ago and I am interested to see the amount of change and development. Also, I had a great time, and in Vietnam we are millionaires! It s probably one of the only countries in the world where I can take two million out the ATM (this is actually only £66 and to be honest the money confuses me)!
Hanoi is pretty much how I remember it, but with EVEN more motorbikes and to add to the mental traffic, now a lot of cars. There are also more modern buildings, designer shops and a growing cafe culture for students and young professional types. They are so fashionable! I think it'd be a fare assessment to comment that economically they have done well since I saw it last. Hanoi is a very cool city to spend a couple of days in but the place is a bit crazy and tension headache definitely springs to mind. The noise of the tooting horns is relentless and the streets are just to busy with bikes and people. After our first few minutes of walking it was clear we were back in a city where the pavements are used for parking bikes, cars, selling tat and making and selling food!
Crossing the road is an experience. They don't stop at traffic lights or zebra crossings and instead you just have to walk out and they avoid you. Being brought up in the UK, this of course is not an easy concept to grasp, but so far, so good! (I have just spent AGES trying to get three videos to load to this blog but it frustratingly is not happening, however they are all on Beeds and my Facebook pages so please look!)
Throughout our time in Asia we have witnessed so many crazy scenarios involving motorbikes and how much cargo and people one can transport. However, Vietnam definitely takes the biscuit! The funniest is the way they transport the young kids. They strap them to their back with a sort of seat belt round the back of the baby and the parents stomach so if it falls asleep it doesn't fall off. Other children stand in the foothold and if it rains only the driver can see as the rest are covered by a huge poncho.
After a day of noise in Hanoi we ventured off to the beautiful Ha Long Bay for two relaxing days on a boat. After hearing horror stories of rats etc on cheaper boats we decided to forget about our budget and enjoyed two nights with a reputable company. It was completely idyllic with beautiful limestone islands towering out the sea, jumping off the boat, visiting floating villages, good food, good company and a very nearly spot of romantic star gazing on top of the boat in the peace and quiet. I say nearly, as our tour guide, Duke, decided it would be a great idea to whip out the karaoke after dinner, telling us its the 'most loved activity by Vietnamese' and that we should all have a shot. Of course not understanding our western attitude of having to be smashed before engaging in such fun, we spent a lot of the evening listening to Duke and the only Vietnamese guest murder good classics. It was of course very amusing, and their pronunciation was on this scale .... http://youtu.be/HPs7dJvW2X4
Unfortunately my never ending back injuries have not settled at all since leaving Scotland and instead have really flared up since Cambodia. Carrying a rucksack, long bus journeys and kayaking probably hasn't helped, but my lower back, neck and forearm pain became so unbearable I decided to pay a visit to a physio in Hanoi on our return from Ha Long Bay. Our very helpful hotel staff recommended I visit a hospital which specialises in acupuncture and Chinese medicine. On arrival we managed to locate a physiotherapist who speaks relatively good English. He immediately took me for a massage and after asking about my symptoms recommended an MRI. It sounds extreme but after years of back problems, being prevented from biking since last year, on going pain and an MRI for just $160 it was a bit of a no brainier. For my last MRI I had to wait 6 months; for this one I waited less than 6 minutes.
Unfortunately the MRI showed up 5 disc bulges in my spine. 3 in my lower back and 2 in my neck. It wasn't the best news to get, but at least now I know what the issue is. The doctor recommended I stay for a week to receive treatment. Obviously when you are travelling being stuck anywhere is not appealing, but the thought of being stuck in Hanoi for a week is less than ideal! However, being in agony and at a loss with my back we decided I really had no choice.
For the last five days I have spent two and a half hours receiving treatment everyday from the very helpful Doctor Long. This treatment has involved the normal massage, but also their more alternative Chinese medicine, which they swear is the best in the world. I have since learned that Saddam Hussein's son flew from Iraq to get treatment from the director of the hospital when he slipped a disc. It's a shame he was killed two years later as I can't ask him how his treatment has held out! Sarcasm aside, the hospital is obviously well respected, with Aussies visiting for treatment (cheaper and more effective they say) and European professionals shadowing the physios to learn about acupuncture. All of this is very reassuring as on the surface, the hospital does not reflect western cleanliness standards, the physios are regularly on their phones, they play the Spice Girls, gave me a shower cap to wear (they only did this once so it's quite possible they were taking the piss out of me), Dr.Long and I are now Facebook friends, he commented on how good looking Beedie was and that we both have nice bodies, and it hasn't been unusual for a physio to be sleeping on one of the treatment beds!
Below are pictures of my treatment.
Electrical acupuncture, sore. (Excuse my crack, Beedie refused to take a picture from an angle which would conceal it).
A technique called cupping, very relaxing and not sore. They heat the glass bowl and then when it cools it sucks your skin. Unfortunately it leaves horrendous hickeys for abut a week!
Herbal heat being sprayed on. Hot, hot hot! And leaves me smelling all day.
Possibly the worst picture of me ever, but I couldn't move! This machine stretched me by ten centimetres! See the gap between the two blue padded parts on the bed. It also gave me a lot of extra chins and I couldn't change my facial expression! When I went outside I was up to beeds eyebrows, after an hour or so I was back to normal height and below his nose!!
My back is starting to feel a bit better and effective retail therapy stretching into knock off designer skinny jeans has also proved to be helpful. In all serious it will be rest for me throughout rest of Vietnam and everything is crossed this problem subsides within the six week recovery timescale.
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Location:Hanoi
