Journal: Laos, 25 Feb 2002 This morning we passed through the Gate to Indochina and crossed the Mekong River to Houay Xay in Laos. On our way out of Thailand, we paid a US$5 fine for leaving the country one day after our visas expired. Our first order of business in Laos was to change money. Until this point in the trip, we have been able to use our bankcards at ATM machines to get money. However there is not even one ATM machine in all of Laos, so we must exchange some of our traveller's checks. The current exchange rate is almost 10,000 kip for one US dollar. I exchanged US$50 and received almost half a million kip. The largest note in Laos is the 5,000 kip note (which is worth about 50 cents). This means that, upon changing my money, I received two very large wads cash that were bound by elastic bands. Each of us delighted in the sensation of feeling wealthy for a few moments. Most travellers are heading south on a two-day boat trip along the Mekong River to Louang Prabang. We are diverging from this path. Instead, we are heading further into northern Laos. We are hoping that by going off the beaten track, we will enjoy a more authentic Laotian experience. However, we expect that it will also mean that we will not be able to rely on speaking English to locals, will not meet too many other travellers, will not have access to many organized tours, and will probably not have internet access. By the way, the place names that I quote differ slightly depending on which map or guidebook you consult. The place names are phonetic equivalents of the local names. For instance, I have seen several different spellings for Houay Xay. There are four people in our little band of travellers: Tony, Davie, Julia, and I. Noel said that he would come along as well, but after seeing how much he was drinking the previous night, none of us were surprised when he didn't show up in the morning. After getting our bearings, we took the long songthaw ride to Louang Nam Tha. The road to Louang Nam Tha is not paved. Accordingly, the journey is far from comfortable. The road is very bumpy, especially at the speeds at which we were travelling; and it was no surprise to us when we had a flat tire. Eight of us were crammed into the back of a pickup, along with some chickens, dead fish, and gun-toting locals. Our cramped quarters and the poor conditions created an atmosphere of camaraderie as we faced the adversity together. At the end of the arduous journey, the right side of my body, which was facing the direction of travel, was caked in dust, while the left side of my body was relatively clean. The journey was not all bad, however. Each time we would pass a shack, the children would race out to greet us as we passed, waving and shouting saa-bad-ee at us. saa-bad-ee is the Lao word for hello. And then, when we would stop, the locals would gather around, greeting us with equal measures of smiles and wonder. Julia said noticed that when I got out of the truck at one of these stops, all of the children adopted a look of amazement and took a step backwards in unison. We all agreed that the reactions of the locals on this journey was one of the highlights of our trip. Louang Nam Tha is a relatively small town that sprawls along a couple of main streets. It has sprung to prominence after the recent opening of a nearby border crossing with China. The Chinese influence is immediately apparent, with quiet a few Chinese goods and people about. We are staying at a Chinese-run guesthouse. The people who run the guesthouse do not speak English. Our communication with them is reduced to the level of making hand signals and playing charades. We end up paying US$1 a night for reasonable accommodations. In Thailand, many streets were lined with tour operators, internet cafes, laundry services, and restaurants. Thai towns are really geared up for tourism. Louang Nam Tha has no tour operators and no internet. The town has electricity between the hours of 7 and 10 at night. Tonight, we were presented with the strange phenomenon of everybody rushing back to their guest houses at 9.45 before the lights went out. Laos, 26 February 2002 Tony, Melinda (from Australia), Julia, and I rented bikes and explored the surrounding countryside today. Davie (the accomplished cyclist) decided to give it a miss. I rented a big black, Chinese-made bicycle for a mere 80 cents. If the bicycle were to be involved in a crash with a Japanese-made car, I wouldn't fancy the chances of those in the car. Although the bicycle certainly had character, it wasn't the most efficient mode of transportation. Made of good communist steel, the bike was as sturdy as a tank and almost as slow as a tank. (In Ireland, we call this style of bicycle a high-nelly.) We enjoyed a lovely cycle through the surrounding countryside. The tapestry of rice paddy fields made for some very picturesque scenery. And, when passing each roadside shack, we would once more be greeted with the heart-warming sight of children waving and shouting saa-bad-ee. Other notable sights today included the killing of a pig and a market stall selling fresh boar's head. During the daytime, the temperatures in these parts are very hot, with the midday sun almost making things unbearable. At nighttime, however, the temperatures fall to levels that require the use of warm clothing. Tonight, we bundled ourselves up and enjoyed an evening of playing cards before the lights went out. And then we went back to our rooms and climbed into our much-appreciated sleeping bags. Laos, 27 February 2002 Today, we embarked on a two-day guided trek through the Nam Ha National Park (on the Ban Nalan Trail). The trek is costing a relatively expensive US$24. There are eight people in our group; David and Daire (from Dublin), Christine (from Cork), Bill (from Iowa), a Swiss couple, and the two of us. Christine stunned me by immediately inquiring as to whether it was a Spioraid Naoimh accent I had... she said that us Spioraid Naoimh boys have a distinctive accent (Spioraid Naoimh is my secondary school). We enjoyed wonderful scenery as we trekked through the forested hills on our way to a Khmu village. Our five-hour trek was laced with frequent and generous rest breaks. We stayed overnight in a large bamboo hut (that our guide referred to as the guest house) at the Khmu village. My abiding memory of our stay is the incredible cacophony of croaking frogs that persisted through the evening and the following morning. Each family in the village has a house on stilts, a rice store (that resembles a house), and a fenced-off garden. The garden includes such plants and vegetables as potatoe, cabbage, lettuce, and opium. Cows, pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys, and dogs roam around the village. As do groups of children, some of whom are in a constant state of nakedness. While our western conditioning resulted in us feeling a little awkward about the fact that some of the children were naked, it was clear to see that they thought absolutely nothing of it. Nonetheless, we did hesitate when taking photographs that might contain naked children. It seems silly, but that's how we felt. We spent the evening in the company of the village chief, with our guide acting as an interpreter. We took turns introducing ourselves and asking questions. A few shots of lao-lao, a rice-based whiskey, helped the flow of communication. Most of us had one or two interesting questions for the chief, however, Bill inundated the poor man with a series of inane questions. The chief, and the rest of us, were relieved when Bill finally ran out of questions. Laos, 28 February 2002 We awoke to a wonderful misty morning. Actually, I should say that some of us awoke to a wonderful misty morning. A few of our group had difficulty sleeping because of a combination of the cold temperatures and Bill's snoring. Davie and I were snug in our comfortable sleeping bags. I will refer to the David from Dublin as David Eile (eile is the Irish word for other; when talking about two people with the same name, we often append the word eile to the end of one of the names). I was amused when David Eile jealously referred to Davie and I as "the two boy scouts" because of our state of preparedness for any weather condition, whether it be sun, rain, or cold. A six-hour hike was once again punctuated with frequent and generous rest breaks. We enjoyed one last meal together, as we once again ate lunch on freshly cut bamboo leaves. All meals on this trek featured sticky rice. Sticky rice is eaten with the hands. One takes a handful of rice and rolls it into a ball, and uses the ball of rice to then scoop up meat and vegetables. After the past two days, most of us are now well and truly sick of sticky rice, and vow never to eat it again. A visit to a Lanten village provided an interesting diversion. As did our walk past a large opium field that was hidden away in the hills. In the late afternoon, a songthaw took us back to Louang Nam Tha. While we were away, we continued to pay for our room at the Chinese guest house. We felt that it was easier to pay for the room than it would be to use hand signals to explain that we were going away on a trek for one night. Laos, 01 Mar 2002 Today was another day spent travelling on the dusty and bumpy roads of northern Laos. Although this time we were on a bus instead of the back of a truck. I had a seat at the back of the bus, while Davie and some of the others had to sit on plastic chairs in the aisle. David Eile, Daire, Christine, Davie and I are travelling together. We traveled to the crossroads town of Udom Xay. Needless to say, we experienced another flat tire along the way. We could tell by the ease with which the driver changed the flat tire that he had a lot of practice with this particular task. The most notable sight along the way was a young gentleman selling the wonderful delicacy of rat on a stick. Unfortunately our truck did not stop for him and we could not purchase one of the tasty looking rodents. There's not much to say about Udom Xay. It's just a stop off point before moving on. Laos, 02 Mar 2002 We were back on the road again early this morning, taking a bus to Nang Keo. For the first time in Laos, we undertook a road journey without getting a flat tire. We paused for a lunch break in Nan Keo, before taking a boat an hour upstream to the village of Muang Ngoi Neua. Muang Ngoi Neua is a sleepy village that straddles a dirt path on the banks of a misty river. It is overrun with falangs (the Lao equivalent of farang - the Thai word for foreigners). There are 17 guesthouses in a village of about 60 houses. It is not surprising that we bump into a few friendly faces this evening, including Tony (from my Reiki course). Once again, our nighttime options are constricted by the turning off of electricity and subsequent shutting down of everything (this time at 9pm). It is incredibly inexpensive in this very remote part of Laos. It costs a mere 80 cents for a room with a double bed, 60 cents for a large bottle of beer, 20 cents for a freshly-made fruit shake, and 50 cents for a delicious vegetable curry. It is almost impossible to spend more than US$10 a day. The Irish among us are delighted to find potatoes on every menu... potato curries, french fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, and so on. Laos, 03 Mar 2002 This morning our happy little group went to explore some nearby caves. David Eile, Daire, Christine, Patrick (from New Zealand), Davie, and myself set out together. After about 40 minutes walk, we arrived at a set of caves. The most interesting cave is one in which you wade through water to get to a large pitch-black cavern. Armed with my tiny flashlight, David Eile and myself decide to be brave and explore the cave. After wading through the cold water, which at times reached our necks, we reached the cavern. We then turned off the flashlight and waited in vain for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. After waiting for a while, we decided that there was no light for our eyes to pick up. After exploring the cave, we went on to check out some other smaller caves and the surrounding countryside. Upon returning to the village, I was amused to find my clothing spread along a wooden fence on the path through the village. Earlier this morning, I gave my laundry to the young lady at my guesthouse. She then went down to the river, bashed it with a few stones, and hung it out to dry for all to see. Although the clothes smelled fresh, I cannot recommend the stone-bashing method of laundry cleaning as a good way to remove dirt stains. One interesting aspect of this village is way that the locals have made use of the bomb shells that have fallen on them. Thanks to US involvement in Indochinese conflicts, Laos is the most bombed country on the face of this earth. Locals have taken these bomb casings ad used them to create flower pots, fences, and even support beams for houses. At first I did not notice the bomb casings, but when told about them by other travelers could not help but notice them everywhere. Laos, 04 Mar 2002 This morning we had planned to rent a boat and go see a nearby waterfall. However, we had heard that a boat driver on a similar excursion yesterday had gotten so drunk on lao-loa (the local rice whiskey) that he could not walk, stranding the people who rented his boat. Then when we went to talk to the boat owners about hiring their services, they started joking about drinking lao-lao and smoking opium. These factors resulted in David Eile, Daire, and Davie opting out of the proposed trip, leaving Patrick, Christine, and myself to proceed. We went an hour upstream to a Khmu village. The scenery on this part of the river was spectacular, as the sheer banks on both sides closed in on us. However, at the village, we had the unusual experience of not being welcomed in usual over-friendly manner of this part of the world. Instead the locals viewed us with suspicion and distant curiosity. The consensus was that this opium-producing village was probably wary of rarely-seen falangs. Laos, 05 Mar 2002 Today most of us are heading south to Louang Prabang. Louang Prabang is a small city with electricity, internet, showers, bakeries, and other such luxuries. We are eagerly looking forward to being back in civilization. David Eile, Daire, Patrick, Claire (from England), Davie, and myself are travelling together. Christine is heading north, further into the wilds. The first leg of our journey is a one-hour boat journey downstream to Nang Keo. This boat journey was to be provide a little excitement for us. While negotiating a set of rapids, the boat driver was overcome by a few large waves coming over the side and lost control of the wooden boat sending it crashing into a set of rocks on the river bank. However, the damage to the front of the boat was relatively minor. We scrambled onto the rocks, while the driver used some rope to bind the font of the boat back together. After a while, the driver took half of the people downstream, before returning for the other half. At this point, I decided that, cleansing diet or not, I was going to enjoy a cool beer once we arrived at our destination. After a three-hour bus ride, I enjoyed my nerve-calming, ice-cold beer. Louang Prabang was everything we hoped it would be... pastries, baguettes, internet, warm showers, and so on. Because of it's colonial architecture, the city is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed sight. It is a lovely, lazy city. It is not usual to see groups of locals conversing while driving their scooters alongside one another at 10 kilometers an hour. I have decided to treat myself to a lovely room with an en-suite bathroom for the extravagant sum of US$4 a night. Davie is sleeping on a bed in a hallway for US$1 a night. This evening I revelled in the intoxicating intake of meat and alcoholic beverages. And I am happy to report that I was at my magnanimous best, helping a homeless man out with a 100 kip note (the equivalent of 1 penny). Laos, 06 Mar 2002 I awoke this morning with an anticipated sore head and resolved to return to my healthy diet. The day was spent reading and strolling around town. The highlight of the day was lunch at the Fresh and Healthy Bakery. For US$2, we got a wonderful vegetarian sandwich on freshly-made whole wheat bread, a warm chocolate muffin, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. How lovely it is to eat a meal without sticky rice! I discovered that I used to hang out with David Eile's first cousin when I lived in Galway. We both worked for Digital at the time. It was interesting to trade stories. Laos, 07 Mar 2002 Today, Patrick organized a truck to take us to a nearby waterfall. Six of us paid US$9 between us for the half-day excursion. After an hour's drive we arrived at one of the best waterfalls that I have ever visited. I have probably seen more spectacular waterfalls, however I think that this is probably the most enjoyable falls that I have encountered. You can hike up one side of these sizable falls, walk across the top, and then down the other side. On the way up and down the falls, you can walk out and wade in intermediate pools that have formed along the way. David Eile, Daire, and myself spent quiet a while fully exploring this lovely spot. Laos, 08 Mar 2002 We finally got around to a bit of cultured sight-seeing today with a visit to the former royal palace and some temples. On the way back to the guesthouse, I enjoyed a shot of lao-lao from a street vendor. I was attracted to the bottle of lao-lao by the sight of a meter-long snake and scorpions in the bottle. The lao-lao had such a vile taste that I needed a bottle of beer or two to remove the taste from my mouth. Today is a national holiday in Laos - it is Women's Day. Now, if there ever was a subject worthy of a national celebration, it surely has to be Lao women! Although, I reckon that beer comes a close second. I think that we should have a Lao Women's Day in Ireland as well. This evening I put all my energies into celebrating this hallowed event. We went to a party at a nearby house, mixed with the locals, and danced the night away to a selection of the very best Lao hits. Laos, 09 Mar 2002 In Thailand and Laos, it is the year 2545. Buddhist countries orient their calendars from a different year. So if you have any questions about life in 2545, just send me an email. Today was a lazy day in Louang Prabang, notable only for the fact that Tony arrived. Tony is the French guy that I met on the Reiki course a while back. It was good to catch up on the tales from his hitchhiking adventures. Today marks the end of my 21-day cleansing period. For the most part, I have not consumed meat, alcohol, and sweet things during this period. I am quiet happy to have had only an occasional slip up or two and am reasonably proud at the fortitude that I have displayed under the constant front of peer pressure. Laos, 10 Mar 2002 I awoke at 6am this morning to take the bus to Vang Vieng. Davie wasn't feeling up to the bus journey, so he said that he would catch up with me tomorrow. The 7-hour bus journey proved to be very spectacular with fabulous mountain scenery. Upon arrival in Vang Vieng, I quickly caught up with David and Daire (from Dublin) and Patrick (from New Zealand). Along with most other falangs in this town, we lazed the day away and went to the Beer Garden to watch the sun set behind the beautiful karst outcroppings on the other side of the river. Watching the sun set was to be the start of a session that would introduce me to most of the other falangs in this town. Quiet a few travelers end up staying a lot longer than expected in this town. A combination of beautiful scenery, interesting activities, great food, and inexpensive cost of living make this a very attractive place to take some "time out" and relax. Laos, 11 Mar 2002 Today saw the arrival of Davie and some acquaintances from Louang Prabang. Our ranks were joined by Nissan and Ila (from Israel), Toby and Lecky (from England), and Pelle (from Denmark). It is strange how you get to know so many of your fellow travelers in Laos. Maybe this is because there are relatively few places to visit, relatively few people visiting those places, and because we are so distinctive. By the time I had recovered from my hangover today, it was time to begin another session. This time I ended up at a party around a camp fire on the other side of the river. I stumbled back to my room at about 4.30am, which was not a bad achievement considering the town shuts down before midnight. Laos, 12 Mar 2002 Today was spent recovering from the party, strolling around town, talking to fellow travelers, reading by the river, and eating wonderful food. I must admit that the first item in the list occupied most of the day. Laos, 13 Mar 2002 Myself and Pelle (a Dane with a mohawk who we first met in Louang Prabang) meet for breakfast at 10am. We plan to go and work on an organic farm for a few days. However, by the time breakfast finishes, the sun is getting a little high in the sky and we think it is a bit too hot for work. So breakfast stretches into lunch, and then who can resist afternoon pastries. Eventually, we head out to the farm at the end of the work day in time for dinner. I spent the late afternoon reading by the river. As I lay on the river bank, with my feet in the water, a little girl came up to me. I was surprised to hear her speak English to me "me name Noi, me twelve, you?" What an adorable little girl I thought to myself, my faith in humanity at an all-time high. I responded and complimented her on her English. Then smiling sweetly, she hit me up with repeated demands for "money", pointing to my pocket. Petulant little brat - my faith in humanity sank to an all-time low. This evening we meet our workmates. The very-friendly Sascha (from England) and Shona (from Canada) are the life and soul of the party. The very-Danish Christine (from Denmark) is always dressed in the height of fashion, even when composting plants. The gregarious Gerry (from Australia) offered his ill-formed opinions on every topic under discussion. Laos, 14 Mar 2002 The farm produces mulberry plants. The leaves of the mulberry plants are used to produce tea. The berries are used to make wine, fruit shakes, pancakes, and so on. Starfruits are grown for the production of wine and bananas are harvested for banana liqueur. Aside from these principal crops, there is also a comprehensive garden of fruits and vegetables. The farm is run by the diminutive Mr. T (a Lao mini-me version of the real Mr. T). He gave up a high-ranking job in the Lao Forestry Service to pursue his dream of organic farming and communal living. Laos is a capitalist country with many collective and communal organizations. Lao people, by their nature, organize collective businesses. So communism is a good fit for the Lao people. The farm consists of 5 hectares of land, a guesthouse, and a restaurant. The guesthouse accommodates volunteer workers, who pay US$1 for a dorm bed or US$3 for a room. The restaurant serves outstanding organic food to both volunteer workers and passers-by (the mulberry pancakes are to die for - definitely the best pancakes I have ever eaten). In exchange for four hours of work, the volunteer workers get free lunch and dinner. We got up at 7.00am, hoe in hand, and started weeding a recently-planted field. We got up at this time so we could work before it got too hot. Full of enthusiasm, we began working at a furious pace. Within an hour, most of us had blisters on our hands. The higher the sun rose into the sky, the slower our pace. We straightened our aching backs and broke for breakfast at 9.30am. Then we decided that it was too hot to go back to work and waited until 4.00pm to resume. After this tedious and back-breaking work, I am now a steadfast proponent of herbicides and pesticides! It seems like the only way for me. Seriously though, I now have a newly-found appreciation for the high cost of organic produce. I will no longer grumble when paying the little extra that organic food costs. Laos, 15 Mar 2002 This morning we got up at 6.30 and work our four hours straight, allowing us to laze around for the rest of the day. As I worked today, I wondered if a person that uses a hoe is called a hoe-er. If so, I feel that I have become quiet an accomplished hoe-er. (At this point, I will resist the temptation to make a joke about my sister Sheila and her ho-ing... you can thank me later Sheel!) Once we finished work, we went for a refreshing swim in the river before enjoying the fruits of our labour, so to speak. Today we had a few friendly faces visit the farm. Tony (my buddy from Reiki) and Julian (a party friend from Vang Vieng) showed up and hung around for a while. We spent the day playing cards in the shade and joking around. Laos, 16 Mar 2002 Today I took a 3 hour songthaw ride to Vientianne, the capital of Laos. Within minutes of arriving in the city, I bumped into Davie who arrived here yesterday. I have decided to treat myself to a rare luxury for my stay in Vientianne. I am staying at the Land Xang Hotel. The Lane Xang Hotel was, for many years, the premier hotel in Laos. It has hosted a considerable array of dignitaries over the years. Although the hotel is beginning to show it's age, it is still a nice hotel by western standards. I am paying US$22 for a room with a balcony overlooking the Mekong River. My bathroom alone is bigger than most rooms that I have seen for the past few months. And, I have something that I have not seen in quiet a long time... a bath! The room has air conditioning, satellite television, a mini bar, a large cotton bathrobe, and so on. Free facilities at the hotel include a snooker club, swimming pool, sauna, fitness center, tennis courts, badminton courts, and internet. Nice freebies include drinking water, newspapers, breakfast, and transfers to the airport. But the best thing is the greeting from the guards. As I walk into the hotel I pass a number of guard posts. As I pass each post, the guards stand to attention, click their heels, present a military-style salute, smile, and greet me with a big saw-baa-dee (the Lao word for hello). This is the way it should be :-) The evening was spent playing pool and watching the English football on television. Myself and Davie were playing partners for the pool and proved to be a deadly combination, going unbeaten for the evening. Laos, 17 Mar 2002 Happy St. Patrick's Day! I am undertaking a little diversion from our original plans. I am going to the Plain of Jars. The Plain of Jars consists of a number of sites with numerous jars of unexplained origin that are confounding archeologists. I feel that after coming all the way to Laos that it would be a shame not to make the little additional effort to visit this "Wonder of Laos". I am flying to Phonsavan on the only domestic carrier in this country - Lao Aviation. Many state departments advise their citizens against travelling on Lao Aviation. Safety records for Lao Aviation are not made public. However, the fact that pilots use only visual flying techniques does not inspire confidence. I was amused to see a sign in the departure lounge requesting passengers to present their weapons for inspection before boarding the plane. In the light of recent world events, you might expect the sign to ban the carrying of weapons. However, in this country, there is no threat of terrorism and the carrying of hunting weapons is a common part of everyday life. I wanted to take a photograph of the sign and guard beneath it, but I was afraid because our guide books advise against photographing anything related to officialdom in Laos for fear of having the camera and/or film confiscated. On the flight, I struck up a conversation with the only other foreign passenger - Andrew from England. We enjoyed a very turbulent 30-minute flight over the mountains to the town of Phonsovan. Until now, most of the landscape that we have seen in Laos has either consisted of river valleys or mountain passes. Phonsovan is in the middle of a great plains. The scenery in these parts contrasts considerably with what we have been seeing up until this point. While flying, it was startling to see the extent to which the plains are pockmarked with bomb craters (from the US bombing of Indochina around the time of the Vietnam war). In Phonsovan, Andrew and I team up. After enjoying a few days with pastries, the internet, and other such luxuries, we have traveled back in time to a place with no internet and electricity only for a limited period of time each evening. We get a twin room at a very nice hostel for US$1.50 each. And then we hire a car and driver for a couple of days. We are paying a total of US$20 for a well-spoken local man to drive us around is his monstrous Russian-made car. This afternoon our driver took us to Site 1. The Plain of Jars (or Jar of Planes as Patrick insisted on calling it) consists of a number of large sites that are littered with large stone jars. The jars are enormous, each ranging in weight from 600 kilograms to six tonnes. They are not made of clay or any such material, but are carved from stone. The origin and intended use of the jars is a mystery. Site 1 contains hundreds of large jars strewn amongst the bomb craters on a couple of small hills. We watched the sun set on Site 1 before heading back to the dim lights of Phonsovan. Laos, 18 Mar 2002 There was a considerable storm during the night, with very heavy rains. The heavy rains cleared the haze that has been our constant companion for a few weeks now. It is fantastic to be able to clearly see the faraway hills once again. The scenery is suddenly much more colourful. This morning we searched in vain for any breakfast offerings that did not include rice. The bread supply that arrived a couple of days ago from Vientianne has since been exhausted and we are resolved to eating unappetizing local fare for breakfast. Our driver picked us up at 9am for a tour of the very picturesque Sites 2 and 3. We are perplexed at the purpose of the jars. They are very large. In fact, they are so large that I cannot imagine people moving them. However people did indeed move them, and they moved them in large numbers to the tops of hills. Another curiosity is the fact that it must have taken considerable effort to carve these enormous jars from large rocks. We did notice a giant lid on one of the jars with a carving of a person. And we also noticed another jar with a carving of a person on it. After much debate, we reckon that they must have been some sort of burial device. We spent this afternoon on a wild goose chase around Phonsovan. Lao Aviation accepts only dollar bills in payment for flights. It seems strange that Lao Aviation does not accept the Lao currency, but it does accept the currency of the country that, for little reason, bombed the hell out of it. With considerable difficulty, we found the one bank in this town only to be told that they do not sell dollars. Our next stop was the market, where we were swamped with curious dodgy-looking locals. We had difficulty conveying to them that we wanted to exchange Thai Bhat for US Dollars. Try that as a subject for a charades game some time! Eventually we broke down the communication barrier and ended up getting a better exchange rate than the banks offer. Spending: $428 for 22 nights
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