Goodbye Thailand, Hello Laos

As you can guess from the title we have reached an important intermediate goal: The Thai - Laos border. We covered 775 km in Thailand, walked across 10 provinces and were blessed with easily enough experiences to fill a book. I cannot possibly share all of them with you because a) we would not have any time left for walking and b) I like to keep posts short and digestible. But this seems to be a good moment to look back a bit and share a few Thailand moments in no particular order. 

We had some very different experiences with the local police. There was the drunk officer, clinging on to a 'no drink driving' sign for his sheer two legged life, stuttering that if we ever need help we could call him. This was in the morning and I am sure he didn't walk to the police station... Needless to say that we wouldn't have contacted him because most likely he would have ran us over on the way to assist... In Nan we were stopped by two men in uniforms full of shiny emblems, not knowing what we did wrong. It turned out that they just wanted to take a picture with us, ceremonially handing over their number in case we run into trouble.

Our buddies from the police

Our favourite 'party trick' in Thailand (also works beautifully in Laos) was making random people lift my 25 kg backpack when they came to talk to us. Some of them couldn't even get it off the ground, some nearly flipped over forwards whilst attempting to do so. The noise they made during and especially after lifting, accompanied by clapping hands and grimaces, was (and still is) a joy to watch.

The night before leaving Thailand we had to camp although locals strongly advised us not to do so because of armed drug smuggling gangs. To add to the 'excitement' we also encountered our first UXO. We knew this was coming, did not expect it to be in Thailand though. Since this was the only place to hide from the possible contrabandists we pitched the tent right next to it nonetheless. Let's just say that we had an interesting time until dawn broke...

Lovely last night in Thailand...

Although Laos and Thailand are neighbouring countries, there are huge differences between the two. First of all the nature in large areas of Thailand is (unfortunately) all but intact. In Laos there are vast areas with native jungle, untouched and unspoilt, hosting a huge number of wildlife - pure magic. Also very easily noticeable is the glaring difference in wealth. Whilst all people we met in Thailand had running water of some sort, this seems to be the exception in rural Laos. Water is kept in large buckets behind the house, fetched from a river or the central well in the village. The children usually wear well used clothes, more often dirty than not. Toilets next to the bamboo huts are a rare sight. But despite all this (or maybe because of it) they and their parents seem to lead a happier life than many people back home...

Butterfly and misty morning in Laos. Bottom: wild, native jungle

As you will have guessed, the luxury of Thailand with frequent and well stocked shops, restaurants, houses to sleep in and hotels is now over. We rely on carrying our supplies and sleeping in our tent. This means heavier backpacks and nights with 2 - 4 hours of sleep (due to the heat) in very mountainous terrain. This higher physical strain is accompanied by a psychological one due to the possible presence of UXO. Moving away from the road is essential in order to find a place to sleep. Preferably well hidden in case the odd nutcase (which you will find in every country) happens to be around. This means treading softly, keeping our eyes wide open and avoiding too thick undergrowth. Inching the tent pegs carefully into the ground feels a bit like playing russian roulette. If it contacts something solid retracting it and trying our luck elsewhere is the only option. Hitting the peg onto a possible underground bombie could trigger a lethal explosion. For the first time we can truly understand the mental burden caused by UXO. With a very important difference: If the situation is too dangerous we have the means and funds to move to safer terrain. The residents do not.

Rice field in morning light and our well hidden camp

To sum up: so far Laos is a truly marvellous place. Hiking has become tougher but so have we over the past six weeks. In four days of walking we have covered 125 km and 4000 metres of altitude. We are enjoying the fresh set of challenges and looking forward to exploring this new culture and country. 

Outlook from one of the very numerous passes...

*******

We are walking 5000 km through southeast Asia to raise money for MAG (Mines Advisory Group) to help clear mines in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. If you like this project please share the blog with your friends and colleagues. Donations can be made via JustGiving or bank transfer (IBAN CH79 0900 0000 2513 1893 4, PC account 25-131893-4). Your help is greatly appreciated! 

Klick here to read this blog in German

Change of plans and welcome to the hills

When we set off for our little walkabout in Thailand we had three possible plans in mind. 1) Walking northeast to Vientiane and straight into Laos, 2) taking a north-northwestern direction to Chiang Mai before cutting northeast to the Chiang Khong border crossing and 3) strictly north to Chiang Rai, entering Laos via Chiang Khong. Of course we chose the non-existent fourth option: heading towards Nan and entering Laos via Ban Huay Kong.

Our route options very schematically drawn to give you an idea

There were two reasons for this: route 1) seemed too short and we really wanted to see Thailands north. And the hordes of so called individual tourists with backpacks, all flocking to the same locations in the end, scared us off number 2) and 3). Don't get me wrong, I have met great backpackers who I love to bits and I do not think lower of their way of travelling as opposed to ours. BUT: too many tourists influence the local community in predominantly negative ways. Traditional values are lost and replaced by 'great' western achievements such as egoism, greed and materialism. Yes, the locals still seem friendly to most tourists because a) that is the Thai nature and b) we are used to being surrounded by unjustified grumpyness back home. We experienced the difference numerous times. Clear waters suddenly seem cloudy once you have sailed unspoilt ones.

Countryside impressions

A great example are Mamiaw and Mak. They saw us walking on the side of the road, stopped and asked if they could help. We were looking for a place to sleep and they knew two. Twenty minutes later they drove back to inform us that both had been shut down - and invited us to stay at their house by the river instead, almost apologizing that it is very small. We could not believe our luck and once again were absolutely gobsmacked by the kindness we are experiencing. Despite not having many material possessions (compared to most Europeans) they invited us to eat lunch at the restaurant, they showed us how buddhists pray in their local temple and they introduced us to their family. Mamiaw and her mother even prepared a vegan dinner with four choices - especially for us. It was some of the best food we have tasted to date. They just let us use everything in their home freely without being present and trusted us completely. Honestly: how many people do you know who would let two stinky, sweaty tramps in their house after knowing them for barely five minutes? I know precisely one...

Left: Nan river just in front of Mamiaw and Maks house right: our truly generous and great hosts

These are the moments that make you feel shabby as a Westerner. We have so much and give so little. They own so little but are prepared to share everything. And you wonder who the really poor people are, us or them. This experience has touched us deeply and will stay with us for ever. We hope to be able to return something one day... Thank you Mak, Mamiaw and family!

Anyhow, we were resting in one of our beloved roadside houses (which are actually bus stops) on the first day on our new route when an old, toothless man walked straight towards us. In his hand a machete, pointed at me. On his face a grin and on his chin three 8 cm long beard hairs. Because walking people generally have some rusty screws in the upper compartment (explained in my last blog) I did not know what to think of this for a moment - but decided to wait calmly and see what he wants. He greeted by swinging the knife above his head and sat down next to us. I returned a friendly 'Sawatdee' and realized quickly that he meant no harm. After a while the whole neighbourhood joined him to see these two white strangers on foot.

My friend the machete man and Elly testing the local fitness centre

We absolutely have no regrets having discarded our original plans. The rather monotonous rice fields in central Thailand are no longer. Native rainforest, growing atop sheer cliffs and hosting abundant wildlife took their place. The hills have also gifted us TWO days of rain! The first time since we took off on the 5th of May. We were absolutely ecstatic, dancing and singing on the road, acting so silly that we almost got run over. But the new terrain also means that walking has become more arduous. A total of about 1000 metres of altitude added some juice to the past daily 28 - 30 km.

Outlook from a pass and overhanging cliffs (we didn't attempt to climb them). Bottom: dry river beds everywhere confirm that last month has been far too hot and dry

So where are we now? We have arrived in Nan and walked a total of 630 km. To give you an idea this is roughly the distance from Zürich to Paris, Glasgow to London or San Francisco to LA. Are we tired of walking yet? By no means, we are just starting to enjoy ourselves. 150 km of mostly jungle are between us and the border to Laos where a new culture, new people and new experiences await us. The landscape will become more challenging and we will have to tread very carefully. After all this is the most heavily bombed country in the world (per capita) and more explosives have been dropped over it than by all sides during the second world war. Millions of unexploded bombs are still lingering all over. But helping to clear this mess is what drives us. 

*******

We are walking 5000 km through southeast Asia to raise money for MAG (Mines Advisory Group) to help clear mines in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. If you like this project please share the blog with your friends and colleagues and make a donation via JustGiving. Your help is greatly appreciated! 

Klick here to read this blog in German