Around Muong Ngoi, and a distant farewell

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Christine

Muong Ngoi, Laos
Nam Ou River
Tuesday, Feb 16

Before I retire to my bed, lying in the hammock on my verandah in the quiet night I am mercifully far removed from the noise and seed of ruin of this village. It is cool and lovely and peaceful, with frogs for a serenade.

In the morning chill I am back out on the verandah, wrapped in a heavy quilt, watching the river emerge from the morning mist. Eventually the hills on the other side emerge, the sun appears. Today I will go walking. It is a 45 minute walk to the cave where the Lao hid during the Indochina war, emerging only at night to tend their fields. From there I will continue on to two of the nearest villages. Continue reading →

Posted in *mostly photos*, Laos | 1 Comment

reflections from a tiny village in the process of change

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Christine

Muong Ngoi, Laos
Nam Ou River
Monday, Feb 15, 6:30 am

I am living again just above the river; this is what I was seeking. I awakened yesterday at 8 am after a good sleep, but not at peace sharing such thin walls, nor especially with being away from the lovely view of the Nam Ou. The night had been comfortable but so entirely removed from my setting; dark, featureless, could have been anywhere. Continue reading →

Posted in Laos | Leave a comment

Muong Ngoi, Laos

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Christine

2 am, Sunday Feb 14, 2010

I am staying tonight at the Lattanavongsa – a solidly built building, with paper thin inner “walls”. Nice enough. Rat free, bug free, clean bathroom. But it is back from the river, and lacks the charm which has so spoiled me the past two nights. I miss the river, I miss the perfect privacy of my own bungalow. I miss everything about Nong Khiaw and Ban Saphoun. Continue reading →

Posted in Laos | 2 Comments

Leaving the Grid

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Christine

Feb 13

Hello my friends,

In a little while I will be heading up river to where the electricity is produced by generators which run only from 6pm til 10pm.  I will be leaving the one internet connection in Nong Khiaw behind, and expect no more til I reach Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, whenever that might be. Continue reading →

Posted in Laos | Leave a comment

Nong Khiaw, Laos; River Crossroads

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Christine

Yet another small change of plan, I will spend two nights here after all, instead of none, or one.  My journey flows as the river, responding to land and time and whim.

Nam Ou upriver, at Nong Khaiw P1040058

Nam Ou upriver, at Nong Khaiw

I am in Nong Khiaw, Laos (pronounced key yo), north of Luang Prabang.  I had intended to go onward another hour by boat, but instead find myself wanting to just stay in this lovely spot. Laos has been open to tourism for only a relatively short time and the changes wrought by the presence of falangs are dramatically less up here.  Continue reading →

Posted in Laos | Tagged | Comments Off on Nong Khiaw, Laos; River Crossroads

Sabaidee

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Christine

Saibai di is the sound of Laos.  Said with a smile, it means hello, or welcome.  The smile is part of the word – it lights up the Lao face and lights a smile in the recipient as well. Sabai di baw means ‘how are you?’  The answer ‘I’m fine’ is also sabai di.  So basically the sabai dis just flow back and forth, and the smiles and relaxed good feelings of Laos fill your heart.

From there, the language grows more complex, at least to my ear, and I am totally lost.  Continue reading →

Posted in Laos, Southeast Asia | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Luang Prabang

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Christine

I am staying in a backpacker’s hostel here in Luang Prabang, and it is turning out to be a most interesting place. Continue reading →

Posted in Laos | Leave a comment

Kratie

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Christine

In Kratie, Cambodia still, and finding this place to be quite fascinating.  Inside resting, as all do in the afternoons here, escaping the worst of the heat, computer on, and theoretically online.  But just as it was for all of yesterday, nothing goes out, and nothing comes in. Continue reading →

Posted in Cambodia | Leave a comment

Angkor and the tourist dollar

Posted on January 31, 2010 by Christine

At Angkor, there are a great variety of ways that the local people appeal to the tourist to leave behind dollars. Some of the ways get to you after awhile, the learned pathetic looks on the children’s faces, the endless and draining persistence which turns you from feeling compassionate to regarding them as locusts. It is a very bad feeling when empathy is replaced by such disdainful annoyance.

The land mine victims who play music and sell cds to support themselves is a more pleasant and non-aggressive method. And the students who sit and paint or draw to earn money for their educations are also far more appealing than the ones who chase you and follow you and try what you eventually understand as a repertoire of tricks. Continue reading →

Posted in Cambodia | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Angkor

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Christine

If you have any interest in the ancient cities and archeological sites of Southeast Asia, you will already know of Angkor, and of its best known temple Angkor Wat. Angkor was the urban area at the heart of the Khmer Empire of Cambodia during the Angkorian Period (802-1431).

The city was first established in 891 with construction of a temple on the top of the hill which stands directly west of Angkor Wat. Continue reading →

Posted in *mostly photos*, Cambodia | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Cambodia is Rice

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Christine

Wed Jan 27, 2010

Cambodia is rice.  The sole source of income for most of the population is rice farming, grueling hot exhausting labor, done as it has been forever, all manual, plowing behind the family cow.  This is what I saw on the drive from the border at Poipet to Siem Reap, and ‘picturesque’ as it may have been, the difficulty and harshness of it was evident.

And this was the story told to me high up the steep stairs, on the top of Ta Keo.  Continue reading →

Posted in Cambodia, Southeast Asia | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Bangkok to Siem Riep

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Christine

Yes bangkok is teeming with people, and the views as we left town to the east showed this in all clarity – from the motorway, along the khlongs (canals) were structures patched together extending out over the water, ramshackle, falling down, yet clearly providing living space. Unimaginable to a westerner that people were living this way. the street people in Bangkok were less of a visual surprise as we have all seen people living on the street, under cardboard, under umbrellas, surrounded by piles of rubbish. But this was different – this was so called homes.

This sadly and oddly picturesque view gave way to countryside dense with cultivated fields, Continue reading →

Posted in Cambodia, Thailand | Leave a comment

Gently Touching Thailand

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Christine

late January 2010

After a week of first baby steps on my first ever international solo trip, then increasingly adventurous forays around Bangkok, and a one day excursion to the old capital city of Ayutthaya, I am very suddenly ready to continue onward.  My destination is Siem Reap, and Angkor, in Cambodia.  Continue reading →

Posted in Bangkok, Cambodia | Tagged | 2 Comments

Underway

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Christine

Tuesday 3 am, in Bangkok.

This will be a quick message as the last time I had any normal sleep was Saturday night. I will say that it turns out I actually can doze off repeatedly on a plane after a long enough time without sleep, and this certainly was long enough.

All has gone quite well, other than United Airlines nearly not letting me on the flight in RENO. Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Leave a comment

All journeys must begin somewhere

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Christine

All journeys must begin somewhere, and this one begins in Southeast Asia – a region which has utterly captivated me these past two winters.  Though I had done some limited travel before this, the 2010 Southeast Asia trip was my first ever international solo, with almost nothing planned.  With a plane ticket to Bangkok and a first night’s accommodation in hand, I was off into the unknown.

The emails sent to a list of friends are the starting point for the 2010 segments.  In 2011 the reports went to the nascient blog.  Photos from both trips are still being added in – slowly.

So off we go.  If you would like to be notified when significant updates are posted, please let me know.  You can do this in the comment field below, or using contact information on this link.

happy travels
————-
Southeast Asian Luggage

Posted in at Home | Leave a comment