Big Brother Mouse

Today I have two main things to tell. The first thing is about my morning activity, the second on what happened to me this afternoon. Not a big deal, but enough to change my plans for today.

After two sleep ins in a row it was time to try to get up before 9 am in the morning. Especially since I had made plans. One of the two youth centers I visited yesterday organizes every day a meeting where Laotians can meet native or fluent english speakers to practice their English. Of course I had to be there, even though my English isn't perfect I think it is good enough. The meeting is between 9 and 11 in the morning and when I finally managed to drag myself out of bed I walked my ten minutes walk over there. When I got there some people had already started conversing and I found a free chair. The first one I spoke to was still in the very beginning of his learning process and we mostly spend on time looking at pictures and discussing it, and reading some texts connected to the picture. After a while people start talking to each other and I am introduced to a number Laotian boys/men aged around 20, all of them on a different level concerning their skills in the English language, ethnicity and background. The one I talk the most to is Phanh (pronounced Pan). He is from the more northern part of Laos but has come Luang Prabang to work and study. I am told he is of the Khamu or Khmu tribe, one of the hilltribes of Luang Prabang and the largest ethnic group in Laos. He then continues to telling me about the other tribes and ethnic groups that exists in Laos and what differs them from each other. I am also told that he works at a restaurant in town. Before we leave we exchange phone numbers and I just made my first friend in Luang Prabang.

After lunch a take a quick nap and then take my now traditional reading time somewhere in town, trying out what Luang Prabang has to offer. I ended up at the Scandinavian Bakery again, this time having a lemonade which is most delicious drink and I again wonder why we don't drink this in Sweden. My plan was to then swiftly drop by Dala Market to shop for some trekk sandals before going up Mount Phousi, one of the more popular tourist sites in Luang Prabang. I am however trapped in the market by the pouring rain that only exists in Asia, but after ten minutes the rain is OK to walk through.
"Lucky me!" I though "Managed to avoid the rain" The next thing I do is to almost slip on the wet sidewalk in my extremely slippery flipfliops, and after two minutes manage to slip and, as the English says, fell right on my arse. 100 meter later I step into a pool of water which splashes up and manage to soak the before-dry side of my body. After this I decide to skip Mount Phousi and its 350 steps to the amazing view I heard about since I would probably manage to slip and fall down at the bottom again once I reach the top.

Also, when I returned home from dinner today who don't I see if not Phanh standing outside the restaurant where he works. We exchange formalities in the traditional shy Laotian way, well not me of course, and I promise him to eat at his restaurant in a near future.

Also, here is a taste of what Luang prabang looks like.

Bicycle Race

Today I had the courage to throw myself out into the Luang Prabang traffic. I can't really say the traffic is dangerous, but you have to get used to it. Compared to Bangkok it is probably a piece of cake. The hotel I will work for have bikes for the guests to borrowsince the town is easily discovered by bike. This is because of the flat terrain and lack of cars on the roads. But what the city lack in cars it makes up for in motorbikes and vespas. They are everywhere. And only about 20-30% wears a helmet. And out of those per cent only about half has it fastened correctly on its head. Also, some people bike with an umbrella protecting them from the sun, which I understand because it is hot but they are also in the way (and they don't go very fast either, the umbrella bikers). But as soon as you figured out the system biking in Luang Prabang is easy. And lovely.

I went down the street on the Nam khan side of the town and after a couple of minutes I realize that it is a one way street. And I am not going the same way as the others do. The Swedish blood in me tells me of course to stop and start walking on the sidewalk until I figure out where else to go, until someone passes me on a motorbike in the same wrong direction. I conclude again that the same rules in Sweden do not really apply in Asia. The day is spent riding around town, getting a little lost and finding my way again, drinking Lao Iced Tea at cafés while reading and also visiting two similar but different youth centers not far from the hotel. I have to say that I am not a big fan of the Iced Tea, but maybe its a learning process.

I also got myself a phone sim card and keys to my stepgrandad's house in which I'm staying. I feel a little more at home for every day that passes.

Day 2

As the café is not open yet, I am free to do whatever I like during the day. But, since I am new in Luang Prabang, I have been given the mission to get to know the town. Since the café is going to be connected to the hotel, a should be able to answer any questions the guests might ask. Things to see, places to go. Therefor I am now educating myself for the future.

After two days on the road (technically more in the air) it seems that I needed a good night sleep. I woke up at 7 am for a mysterious reason, returned to my pillow and didn’t open my eyes again until noon. Which meant I probably slept for more than 13 hours.

The hotel together with my guide book recommend several spots in Luang Prabang and my plan is to visit them all (I call it preparing). After eating lunch at the hotel, I walked down main street and paid a visit to the Scandinavian Bakery and treated myself to the classic Lao fruit shake (basically a smoothie). The money in Laos is called Kip and a fruit shake for 10000 Kip might sound expensive, until I tell you that 10000 Kip is $1.25 or about 7 SEK.

I then visited the local “supermarket”, which is a little bigger hole in the wall store than those you find in China Town. I bought what was needed, and then walked straight across the street to visit another market where is bought flip flops. I was too lazy to haggle but I can tell you I didn’t really need to anyway.

Luang Prabang is half situated on a peninsula and the city is surrounded by two rivers, the Mekong River and the Nam Khan river, the last runs into the Mekong. The hotel, Mekong River View is situated just at the edge of the peninsula, with all the rooms having a view of the Mekong. This means that you can always find the hotel, just follow either ones of the rivers and you get there. Today I walked on the Nam Khan side where many of the towns guesthouses are placed, and many of these have verandas outside to get a good view of the river.

Luang Prabang

At nine in the morning the hotel drives me to the airport where I am to catch my last flight before I arrive to Luang Prabang. THsi time my travel comrades are not two older gentlemen, but a huge chinese family that fills all the seats of the car. Which do not sound very impressive, until you know that the car had 10 seats. Not counting the driver and the passenger seat in the front. I assume they're Chinese because of firstly: they spoke english with the driver, which meant they were not Thai, secondly: they were flying with China Air., and then thirdly: they just felt very Chinese.

However, I go though security, look into some shops at the airport and then find my gate. We travelers fill about half the seats in this little micro-plane that is going to take us to Lung Prabang. When we finally arrive the scenery has changed from the water-rice fields mixed with highways to big soft rolling green hills, small tiny villages and a mud-brown river going through it all. The river is of course the Mekong River, which runs through all of Laos. At the micro-airport I pass security in two minutes, wait for my bag in five and then exits the airport 10 minutes after we landed. There I am met by my stepdad's father, so basically my step-grandad and we drive into the small city of Luang Prabang.

Almost Bangkok

To get to Luang Prabang you have to transfer flights in Bangkok. The only flights to Luang Prabang leaves in the morning, but my plane from Stockholm, after a short stop in Copenhagen, arrives to the airport in Bangkok 2.30 in the afternoon. This means I have to spend a night in Bangkok and this we knew when we booked the ticket. But it leaves me with several possibilities. I can do the “Hangover” way, but I think most people prefer not to. Being a 19-year old girl, I figure it is not a good idea for me to run around in Bangkok by myself, especially since I have never been to this part of the world before. I choose to stay at a small hotel outside the city, just ten minutes from the airport because even though it is the least adventurous choice, it is the most convenient and absolutely the safest way. It is not like my three months stay here in Southeastern Asia is going to lack excitement.

The flight went nothing but smooth, no problem at all. I must admit I wanted to die a little when I first had to pass through the passport/immigration thingy wondering if I had filled out my form correctly, and secondly waiting for my bag to arrive which seemed to take an eternity. To be fair, mine was one of the last to appear

I then met up with the hotel staff who gave me and two other guests a ride to our hotel. These two other hotel guests were two older gentlemen in their mid-fifties from Bali on their way to Bangkok after spending some time in Laos (and here I of course pointed out that Laos was my next destination). I was told by my new friend Hendry from Bali that he had been to Laos four times, both Vientiane and Luang Prabang, spent some time studying in Switzerland, and also that the next time I go traveling Bali should be on my list.

We then arrived at the hotel and were shown to our rooms. I had my first thai massage ever and rediscovered that I am as flexible as an old oak table.

Venice

We arrived at Venice Mestre Train Station in the late afternoon/evening after been on the regional train from Verona for around 2,5 hours. After some confusion about bus tickets we manage to get on the correct bus, and with some help from fellow bus travelers we jump of at the right station. We knew before going that Venice would be our most expensive stay, but after surfing the internet we stumbled upon several cheap campsites 10-15 minutes outside Venice with the local bus. Our campsite is Campo Rialto, where you can either rent a tent with two beds, or space to put your private tent or your caravan trailer. We chose the "rent-a-tent" option and were given access to a 3 square meter tent with two beds. In the area there were restrooms, showers, a pizzeria, a Lidl just across the street and the bus to Venice that went right outside the camp site. It was the perfect solution. We thought.

Next morning after making lunch to bring into town we realize there are no buses. A bus strike. After 20 minutes we managed to get a cab which we shared with a pair of fellow interrailers and we finally arrived to Venice for real. At least the strike only went on for a day.

Three days we spent in Venice. The first day with visited most of the tourist attractions, had dinner at a small Italian restaurant and did not keep to our daily budget. The second day we spent sleeping at the beach on Lido, the perfect exercise after walking around and getting lost in Venice' small alleys the day before. The third day we visited the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and then hung out at Santa Lucia waiting for the train to take us to Budapest.

Verona - A non-love story

"Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents̓ strife.
The fearful passage of their death-marked love
And the continuance of their parents̓ rage,
Which but their children̓s end, naught could remove,
Is now the two-hours̓traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend."

We left Milan on the 21st, with Verona as our new target. Our plan was to spend a day in this romantic little town, and then take the train to Venice in the afternoon. It might seem odd to go a pair of friends to the most romantic cities in the world, but since my travel partner is the most cynical person in the world I think its OK.

Verona succumbed to our expectations. Juliet's balcony was crawling with tourists but the rest of the town was pretty nice, especially all the back-alleys.