http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWSZk8wjh-g
The week in Bangkok was
something else, the results of which would eventually have huge changes in my
college career once I return stateside and actually apply to college. The train
ride heading east to Ubon Ratchathani from Bangkok is a quiet one, my brother Christopher
and I sleep as the countryside rolls by. Bangkok is as far west as we will go
on this journey, we have met some great people so far, but it is time to start
heading back to Vietnam. Crossing into Laos is rather uneventful, I’m angry
because I think the border patrol is gouging me on the price of a visa for
being American. It is never the monetary value that bothers me, just the
dishonesty that I hate, but this is part of traveling abroad I guess. After
crossing into Laos we find a cheap hotel in Pakse, as small border town on the
south west side of the country. The
usual ritual of finding and internet café to share photos and going out to eat
takes place, Christopher is drawing in his sketch book on the roof of the hotel
while I jump in the shower. I’ve come to realize how much I could get used to
this lifestyle; no bills besides food and housing when we’re not staying with
Christopher’s friends in the area, no possessions outside of what I carry on my
back and no worries about my schedule from day to day. Our concerns revolve
around food and adventure, we decide after a delicious dinner of fresh grilled
fish by the lakefront that we should go get a massage somewhere, they run about
three dollars on average for an hour and nothing feels better after a day of
walking then having someone rub your tired feet.
After
the massage we return back to the hotel and start considering where to go next.
We should be heading east, but everyone tells us we should go south to 5,000
Islands, a great little getaway that is only reachable by small boat and has
limited hours of electricity, along with giant waterfalls and some of the
world’s only pink river dolphins. It doesn’t take much to convince us that this
should be our plan of action for the next week or so, but first we decide to
head out tomorrow to check out the Tad Fane waterfalls east of town. Waking up warm at your own leisure in a bed
is something I’ve come to appreciate. The nights spent outside in the Marines
have given me this appreciation, and on this trip I repeatedly have this
thought going through my head when I awake, as the service is still fresh in my
mind. We go rent a scooter for a minimal amount of money and take off for the
day, it is sunny and Christopher and I take turns driving until we get to some
tourist shacks that mark the entrance to the park. We hike around a bit and
check out some trinkets, I am constantly on the prowl for bracelets which I
collect as we travel along, but I don’t find anything I like so we head over
towards the observation deck. The view is anti-climactic; as we look over the
small cutout of trees we can barely see the top of the waterfalls. Finding
enforcement of laws and regulations to be more relaxed in southeast Asia,
Christopher and I decide to mosey on by the signs warning of death and climb
down the rather sheer hillside a bit to get a better view, we joke about the
short haired butch looking women following us down. We eventually reach a drop
off cliff face and hang on to tree trunks, I start to think about the
probability of falling off and the fact that any medical help would be days
away, we turn back and start to head up. The girls also follow suit and start
climbing up behind us. A few sections are rather steep and we offer to help the
girls up and are met with looks of contempt, we laugh it off and climb back up
to the scooter, heading back to Pakse for the evening.
The
next morning is beautiful since Pakse sits in a valley between mountains by a
lake. I snap photos of the local market before we climb onto our transportation
for the day; a pickup truck jerry rigged with bench seats in the back and a
platform that hangs off the back where you can stand up as the truck drives
down the road. Being rather tall I spend
most of the time hanging off the back of the truck laughing to myself about how
fast you would be pulled over in the United States for doing this on the
highway. As the truck stops in very small villages on the way to 5,000 Islands
we are met by groups of about a dozen locals selling various forms of
refreshments and food for the passengers. Christopher and I eyeball some of the
insects on a stick, but decide we’re not that hungry after all. We eventually
arrive at another very small village that has a muddy boat ramp leading into
the river. We joke about the “Mighty Mekong” as the Vietnamese like to call it,
Christopher says they never just say “Mekong river” it is always “Mighty
Mekong.” The boats here all look hand made from local trees, the small outboard
motor is not a typical one you would find at a lake back home. The propeller is
on a long pole that extends behind the boat and is really only dipped in the
surface of the water to propel the craft. I remember hearing it was because
there is a lot of driftwood and other things in the river that the boatmen have
to watch out for. The current begins to pick up as we get closer to the islands
and we get excited about spending some time away from anything resembling a
city. Coming ashore we wander around the small island and try to find where we
would like to sleep for the next few nights. We eventually find a place that is
hanging over the river, the owner lives across the dirt path with his family
and some chickens under a large tree. Changing into bathing suits we drop our
packs and wander around the little island, finding that there are bridges
connecting some of the small communities here. Renting bicycles we head down
towards the waterfalls which seem too big to be so close to us and not erode
away all of the land we’re standing on. As is get dark we head back and meet
some other travelers who invite us to their shack on the river for dinner and
drinks. We converse and trade travel stories from the trip, discuss where we are
coming from and going and how long we’re on the road. I decide to take a stroll
to check out the view of the sky, by this time the eight o’clock curfew for
electricity is well passed and the establishment is illuminated only by candle
light. The sky at night in the wilderness is always impressive and I can easily
make out the Milky Way, the only other time it has been this clear is when I
was traveling across the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the U.S.S. Bataan a
couple years ago. I eventually return to the present and decide I’ve been
walking around enough and should head back to grab Christopher and go to bed.
On the way back I find some small luminescent mushrooms growing by a tree, I
try in vain to capture them with my pocket camera and instead just admire their
bizarre glow before continuing on. Running into and intoxicated young couple on
the way back I tell them about the mushrooms and they sound very eager to see
them, after going through the traveler’s ritual of exchanging routes and
experiences we part ways.
Everyone is
rather pickled as I return; Christopher and I are about to leave when the lady
from Italy stands up and suddenly passes out on her feet, no one is close
enough to catch her and she hit her head with a thud on the wooden floor. It seems
the mixture of pot and alcohol has gotten to her as she has been on these
islands for a few days now and may be relaxing a little too much. She comes to
rather quickly and after a few minutes of concern from everyone we volunteer to
walk her back to her shack, as she is staying on our side of the island. After
she is in bed Christopher and I return to our shack and climb into bed in the
pitch dark. I think of how great this trip has been so far and that I am
grateful my friends whom I was originally supposed to go to Europe with for
this time bailed. I listen to the river in the dark and eventually drift off
into a peaceful sleep.
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