Home!

HOME...oh how we are going to miss thee. Sitting in the new Swiss Lounge at the Zurich airport - which by the way is the swankiest lounge we've been in over the past few years - its time to look back over our trip to Laos and then an awesome five weeks spent at home in India (Picasa link).

Sunset in Luang Prabang

Getting to the mid-point of our travels, the wife and I were running out of patience for long bus rides. So when we heard that the bus from Hanoi to Luang Prabang would take 30 hrs on a good day and upto two days on a bad one, I knew there wasn't much point in arguing. We ended up plopping down some serious cash for an hour long flight and landed in Luang Prabang on a cool November evening. Laos is the country that hid in the bushes while the 'Asian Tiger' roared, and the airport was testament to that fact. Imagine a single runway off which sat a single room containing customs, immigration, baggage check, a tuk-tuk stand, a tourist information stand and a cafe, and you have the entirety of the airport. Having run through the formalities we got a shared ride into town and began hunting for a hotel room. After a bit of walking and a lot of haggling, we settled for a fairly nice hotel on the Mekong. Laos was colonized by the French towards the end of the 19th century and their influence was evident everywhere - from the architecture to the profusion of 'French' cafes. UNESCO promptly declared the town as World Heritage Site and as a result the town is a pleasure to walk through, albeit a bit touristy. The old town consists primarily of guesthouses and cafes, interspersed by some great Wats (Buddhist Temples). We picked up a bike on one of the days and went of a nice ride through the country-side to a waterfall. There's a bear sanctuary at the base of the waterfall where Asiatic and Sun bears rescued from the streets are kept and we spent quite some time watching their antics.

Show me the money!

From Luang Prabang it was onto the capital Vientiane, which though only 250 kms away on their one and only highway, took us over 12 hours to get to! We decided to keep going onto the village of Konglor, which has absolutely nothing going for it, except the fact that it lies next to one of the longest subterranean tunnels in the world. Unlike other rivers that, when they run up against a mountain flow around it, the Hinboun river decided to flow straight through it. The result is a stunning 7.5 kms long tunnel carved through a limestone mountain. We got to Konglor late enough to ensure that all the rooms at the three guesthouses in the village were taken and spent the night at a homestay. The homestay concept is something that is fairly popular in South East Asia, but one that we experienced for the first time on this trip. It basically involves calling out to one of the houses in the village and asking if you can spend the night on their balcony/porch/verandah. If you are lucky, you might even be fed. We entered one such home and after a light dinner hit the sack. The next morning we walked to the cave and hired a canoe. After a stunning ride through the cave that included stopping to check out some stalagmites, stalactites, and other weird formations we exited from absolute darkness into the bright sun. Rather than hurry back to Vientiane we decided to stay in Konglor and do absolutely nothing. There being nothing else to do, it wasn't too hard a decision to make and the evening was spent in a nice long run (me) and yoga (her).

Arch de Triomphe...or something like that

Heading out from Konglor the next day, we took a bus back to Vientiane. We got to Vientiane in time for me to realize that something was seriously wrong with the ole' tummy. For the past six months I had been eating all sorts of food from all possible locations. Some of the not so wise decisions included lamb kababs at a road-side stall in Morocco, fruits cut by not so clean hands in Cambodia, and water and ice of all colors and consistency. I guess it had to catch-up with me someday, but what I didnt figure, was that it would happen four days before we were scheduled to fly home. Things got serious enough that I considered actually visiting a doc - only to find out that such a thing didn't exist. I kid you not. In Vientiane - which just happens to be the capital city of Laos - travelers are advised to make their way as fast as they can, over to Thailand for anything more serious than cuts and burns. The only thing masquerading as a hospital is a travel clinic at the Australian Embassy and even their advice is, 'run to Thailand'. Thankfully, popping a few antibiotics did the trick and after two days of sitting in the hotel, I was able to venture out and explore the city. We first headed to Pha That Luang - their version of the Ashoka Chakra. The Wat's image is on everything that matters - from currency notes to stamps and is dazzling to look at. Other than the Wat there's not much else to report on barring a monstrous edifice built in the middle of the city. In the fifties, the US Govt. in their ever desperate war against the VC, gave the Laotians cement to build a new airport and runway. The rulers, in their infinite wisdom, promptly decided that an airport could wait, but a monument celebrating a past victory could obviously not. The result is something that looks like it was airlifted from Paris and then dressed up to fit in with SE Asian sensibilities. They ran out of money well before completion and resorted to opening an entire floor of the monument to trinket shops in an attempt to earn a bit of revenue. Again, given that this is one of their most important monuments in the capital city, it's not too hard to imagine the state of the rest of the country.

It's a long way to the bottom..

The next day we caught a flight to Bangkok and from there to India. Man, did it feel good to be back home. We were at home for five weeks and other than a couple of day trips we did absolutely no traveling. The days were spent in going for runs (me), doing hours of yoga (her), hanging out with the family, meeting up with friends, and eating loads of food. Alice and Camille, our friends from Paris, came visiting and we took them for a hike to Harishchandragad. The fort is one of the biggest there is, but is better known for the 'Konkan Kada'. The forts sits on the edge of the Konkan plateau and is well defended by the sheer 1800 foot drop to the Konkan coastal plain. The picture gives some idea of the drop! Alas, all good things have to come to an end, and we found ourselves stuffing our possessions back into the backpacks and catching our flight to Miami. The plan is for a nice family weekend in Miami before we head onto Guatemala. New cuisines, new people and a new culture...can't wait for it!

- Ashish