Life in Som Roung

Where to start on the last ten days, I just don't know. I've had great, satisfying classes where I felt the students gained a lot. Then I've had one or two tough classes. It's getting easier. I'm gaining a technique or probably just getting better at robbing the other volunteers techniques. One or the other. 

Generally life in the village is good. It's so much more preferable than being in Phnom Penh. We had a day off there last Tuesday and myself and my new roommate, Sophie, stayed in the village. We took the schools bikes and cycled round the village and out into the rice fields. We did freak ourselves out thinking about snakes emerging from the flooded fields, a totally valid fear since a cobra was found outside the school during the week. When we got back to the village we were met by a few children playing outside. One enterprising boy made a drum out of scrap and was belting out the beats. A few of the others had old Buddha masks and we all had a little dance. One of the best days I've had in Asia so far I think. 

And then I was introduced to Cambodian culture last Friday night with a rude awakening. Literally. I stayed behind in the village Friday night to catch up on some sleep but at about one in the morning the whole house was shaken awake with a loudspeaker blaring out local music and such. So strange. I didn't know what was happening. After a while it faded out but not for long til it started up again at around 4. I went down for breakfast at 8 and was laughing about the music. Well, I was laughing until I was told it was a funeral and playing music all night is a way to honour the dead. Awkward. 

Last week we also had our first tablet lesson! So the school has wifi (I've been online more than off the whole time I've been in Asia) but a couple weeks back 14 tablets were donated to the school. The intention is that we lead the students in self learning. We hand picked 14 students across all age groups to attend the first few weeks of classes to see how we structure this. The first classes were great but unfortunately we had to cancel towards the end of the week because we couldn't get all tablets to connect successfully to the wifi. It's a pity but we should sort it out this week and then on we go again. 

And then the last word on the last couple of days is this, the inevitable has happened. I had to visit the doctor. Before I came to Asia I never ever felt the need to talk about any toilet habits. However, here in Cambodia, it's the main topic of the day. All day. Everyday. The doctor told me plainly I'd eaten something dirty and have a lovely intestinal bacterial infection. And that's not all folks, I've probably got a nice little tropical parasite to boot! Not to worry, it happens to everyone and easily fixed. I just hope I never have another day in my life where I have 26 'successful' visits to the bathroom. One for every year I've been on this earth. Below is a pic of all the medicine myself and another volunteer were given to fix ourselves. It was either that or go on a drip for 3 hours. 

That's about it for the moment, just a short and sweet round up. This weekend I'm planning on staying in the village, avoiding Phnom Penh and getting ready for Christmas here in Cambodia. 

Vientiane

We had little over 24 hours in Vientiane, which I think marks a change from our lazy 'Friends' watching days in Vang Vieng. We are heading into the final 3 weeks now before Lorna leaves for Ireland and I start my volunteer work in Cambodia. I mentioned before we were having extremely vivid dreams from our malaria tablets. Well, the other night I happened to be a ghost buster with telekinetic powers trying to save my family from a massive poltergeist. Lorna on the other hand dreamt of being late for her brothers wedding and was wearing her dress underneath her hippie pants on the plane home from Asia. Both of us woke up in a sweat.

Anyway, back on topic. Vientiane is a definite change from Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. It's very much a faster paced city where stuff looks like it might actually get done. It also has its own 'Arc de Triomph' in reference to its past relationship with France. To be honest, I didn't have much expectation of the city. So many people told us nothing is happening there and were only passing through to catch a flight out. Such a pity, I think. Now, I'm not saying stay a week but two days at least. Within our first hour we caught a Tuk Tuk out to the COPE centre which is an excellent centre teaching visitors about unexploded ordinance leftover in the Laotian countryside by the US 'secret war'. I actually can't believe a bigger deal hasn't been made of the US bombing in Laos. A massive third of the country still needs to be officially cleared and deemed safe again. The worst thing is that the metal the bombs are made of is worth money as scrap and people, particularly children who don't know any better, are killed and injured trying to make a few extra quid for themselves. The centre teaches you about this and also about how they are giving injured people back their lives with physiotherapy, counseling, prosthetics and occupational therapy. I was only able to donate a few euro on my budget but if the chance arises again I'll try do more. It only costs 75USD in Laos to create a fully functional modern prosthetic limb. Not a lot to give someone back their future. 

The rest of our few hours were spent walking by the Mekong river, visiting the National Lao Museum and climbing up the Laotian Arc de Triomph (I forget the real name). Me and Lorna got into a heavy discussion about 'ladyboys' and what's the big connection with this part of the world. I had read somewhere before that Kathoeys in Thai are grouped together in the 'third gender', not specifically a man or a woman but more belonging to the feminine space. It's a pity because us westerners who don't understand the acceptance of the third gender have turned them into a tourist attraction. We took a look at Wikipedia. Thousands of years ago civilizations were honoring those neither typically 'male' nor 'female' and being plainly heterosexual itself was only a minor part of the plan. In some cases ancient civilizations classified up to 6 different gender types and a hell of a lot more to talk about sexuality apart from gender. From the Greeks to the Incas to the Polynesians, they all accepted and wrote about something as complex as the 'Third Gender' and sexuality. So...why are we having such a hard time with something as straight forward as same sex marriage? 

And that's us in Laos. A good two weeks in the country and still haven't seen enough. If I go back I'd love to spend more time exploring villages and hill top tribes. I'd make sure and visit the prehistoric site of the Plain of Jars and I'd absolutely go down south to see the 4,000 islands and highest waterfalls in South East Asia. Laos is special. It's official name Lao PDR (people's democratic republic) is affectionately known as Lao Please Don't Rush. I am only two hours in Vietnam and beginning to appreciate the 'please don't rush' motto very, very much. 

Luang Prabang

At this exact moment I can be found sitting in a restaurant in Luang Prabang eating a plate of fried rice with tofu watching the heavens pour down. We've been in this little city 5 days or so, a few days more than planned but we liked it here. I knew the city had a very 'French' feel but I was still surprised at how familiar the streets felt. All the cafes on the main street have French names and offer croissants for breakfast. Oh and the best yet; the toilets are immaculate. 

I thought Chiang Mai would be hard to beat but I think Luang Prabang has done it. It's the locals. Of course we've been approached to take this and that tour but it's been in a far more genuine way than in Thailand. It isn't cut-throat and people are happy to see other locals do well too. Children play outside with other children (such a novelty now) and we've seen kids pretend to play guitar with an old tennis racket and play war with bamboo sticks (boys will be boys after all!). 

And then there's the side of things here that makes up for the elephant ride we took in Chiang Mai and the day we spent in bed in Pai because we were too hungover to deal with life. We've managed to clock up a few socially responsible activities which has been on my agenda since I booked my flight to Asia. Good for the soul.  

LIVING LAND PROJECT

Friday morning we took a tour out to a little rice farm that gives workshops on the traditional method of growing rice. A bit expensive at 30eur per person but the money goes towards the rice farm that feeds 7 families and provides jobs for the village also. Not to mention its just a great experience. We got to work barefoot with a water buffalo in the paddy field and plant rice with our own hands. We also got to see how they make all their tools from bamboo. They do not waste one bit of bamboo or rice, everything can be used for something. We were literally watching thousands of years of tradition in front of us. Our tour guide was called Lee, told us he was from a hilltop tribe but his parents sent him to school in Luang Prabang when he was 8.  In 20 years he has only been back 3 times since. We asked him if he came to live with some family when he was 8 but he told us himself and two of his brothers just built a little hut for themselves outside the city and lived there together going to school. Can you imagine?

LUANG PRABANG LIBRARY

I saw the library and popped in the door to take a look. Turns out the library runs a little charity where visitors can buy and donate a reading book to children in river villages with no schools. If you buy the whole lot of books (250usd) they will take you out to the village to deliver them. I could only afford one book, can't have money for everything I'm afraid.

VOLUNTEER AT LOVANH COLLEGE

We were approached on the street by a few students asking if we'd like to volunteer at their school to help teach English. We said we'd give it go. Such a great experience. We really thought we'd just sit and have little conversations with students. Wrong! We were both given our own classes and literally told to teach the class. I had no idea what to do and the poor students were so shy with me too. But I got on with it. Half way through me and Lorna swapped classes, this time I had a more advanced class and I could chat a lot more freely with them. One fella was even trying to sell me a Tuk Tuk tour to the waterfall. It was such a nice introduction to volunteering before I join the school in Cambodia. I think with a bit of training I might be ok at it...

Actually, in the spirit of giving I also gave a street beggar 2000 kip (20cent). I never, never do this normally but I felt so sorry for him with his one eye and his limp and he was so grateful. Two seconds later we turned around and saw the fecker sauntering down the street with the use of both his eyes having a laugh with a few fellas. I was so angry but it's a lesson learned for the future. 

There are far more Eco-conscious trips and community development opportunities than this in Luang Prabang. We just didn't have the time to explore them all. If I had a few more days I would have liked to visit all the craft villages outside the city and gone to the Weaving centre to take a look. Oh well, next time.

One of the mornings we got up at dawn to watch the 'Tak Bat', where people give food offerings to monks. This is supposed to be an old tradition where local people personally prepare food themselves. Now, it's a tourist attraction which is really sad. The monks who do the rounds are just young boys and tourists are sold food to give to them. Some tourists get too close to the monks. I'm not religious but I did have a good scowl at the French tourists snapping away in the boys faces at 6 in the morning. 

And then we also got the chance to visit the most unbelievable waterfalls yet, Kuong Xi. Forty minutes out of town it's easily accessible. Lorna got distracted by the rope swing and we nearly missed out on seeing the jaw dropping falls way in the back. My pic below doesn't do it justice but I did almost propose to Lorna it was that romantic. 

The paragraphs above might make us sound super motivated and full of energy but in truth this week has been touch and go. We are about a week into taking our malaria tablets and suffering from extremely vivid dreams, groggy heads, upset tummies and extreme lethargy. I didn't think I would have such a strong reaction but I haven't slept so much in a long, long time. If it gets any worse I might consider just coming off them entirely. I'm not sure though. It's a risky decision. 

A couple of afternoons we felt so unsettled we just left our guesthouse and set up camp in some of the more laid back cafes, reading, watching movies, even napping. I've listed our favorites below. 

- l'etranger, they let you watch movies of your choice in the afteroon and show a set film in the evening. They also do book swaps and have a little exhibition upstairs of Laotian culture. 

- Utopia has a deck outside overlooking the Nam Khan river with comfy cushions on the floor. They have yoga lessons there everyday at sunrise and sunset which is nice. Really chilled out place but their food isn't great. 

- Joma, the most European coffee house you will find in Asia, I think. Might as well be in Amsterdam. I'm not so much of a coffee drinker but Lorna was in heaven. 

- Icon bar, just off the main street, it's a cute little retro bar serving expensive (but awesome) cocktails. This bar could also be in the centre of Amsterdam. Worth a visit. 

And that brings me up to this evening, eating my fried rice and watching the rain. Our plan this evening was to watch the locals launch their homemade boats into the Mekong river to celebrate the end of the Monks fasting for this year. However, Lorna is feeling awful and I'm not far behind her. (Actually, I think my low mood has affected my tone in this post. I love this place, I swear!) Time to head home and rest up before our 8.30am bus to tubing country tomorrow. Bleh.