Banana pancakes and endless episodes of "Friends"

I know I shouldn't grumble. Trust me, I set aside at least 5 minutes a day to think how lucky I am to be here and not in cold, miserable London. But occasionally I get to a place when I have to question the sanity of my fellow human beings. Vang Vieng for example, where I am now.

It's a beautiful area, the river gently winding itself through huge jungle covered hills, which are punctured by caves that are great for exploring. The scenery reminds me a lot of Yangshuo in China which is no bad thing, as anyone who's been there would know. Unfortunately, the town itself has become what is known as a 'Traveller's Haven'. Every country on the backpacker circuit has at least one and they are all identical and they are starting to drive me bonkers. A TH will generally be one or two streets lined with identical cafes/restaurants all selling exactly the same drinks and food at the same prices. It doesn't matter which country you are in, but the menu will always contain banana pancakes, muesli with banana and yoghurt, omlettes, fried rice, fried noodles, etc etc. Local dishes rarely appear because apparently we, travellers/backpacker/whatever you want to call us, don't want to eat them, preferring instead to fill up on recognisable western dishes. What makes VV even worse though is that practically every restaurant (there must be about 20 of them) is playing episodes of 'Friends' non-stop at full-volume. As I sit here I can hear 4, possibly 5 different episodes simultaneously - the canned laughter from one merges into another until it feels like the whole place is laughing at some joke that I don't get. And what amazes me more is people are actually watching these programmes. Not just one or 2 but lots. It's about midday and the town is full of people eating banana pancakes and watching 'Friends'.

Maybe I'm being a snob. I understand the laws of supply and demand so I realise that as long as people keep watching and eating there's no need for the restaurant owners to be a bit more imaginative. I also understand the need for people to occasionally take a day or two or seven off from sightseeing or travelling long distances but 'Friends'. 'Friends'???? I can't remember the last time that programme was funny (I admit, it was funny at the beginning, what, hmmm, 10 years ago).

Right, sorry. End of rant. Apart from the above this place is fantastic. Spent yesterday afternoon drifting down the river in an inner tube, stopping every now and again to cool off with a beer. In fact stopped so many times that for the last hour or so it was dark which just added to the fun, until my tube got a puncture. Luckily there were 5 of us together so we created a makeshift raft by holding onto each other and plonking the lightest person in the middle - it worked and all returned safely... and inebriated.

Few more pictures attached. None of Vang Vieng yet but am going exploring this afternoon so will put more on later.

Northern Cambodia to Southern Laos

First of all, sorry if the lack of posting has led to worrying back home. I suppose I shot myself in the foot by being too keen to report everything at the beginning! Although internet cafes are pretty much everywhere, there are still a few places that don't have the means to communicate with the outside world. If I'm heading to one of the places again I'll try and give advance warning.

So, it's been pretty eventful over here. After Siem Reap I headed back to Phnom Penh for a couple of days then headed north to Kratie, famous for it's freshwater dolphins. They were pretty cool and felt very odd to be surrounded by dolphins while on a boat in the middle of a river. Was intending to head straight north to Laos but somehow got roped into going on a water buffalo trek instead. As far as I know, this had never been attempted before and I think I now know why. No saddle, nothing to hold onto, searing heat and very bony buffalo added up to not the most comfortable journey I've ever had. What made up for it though was staying in a little village on the banks of the Mekong, completely untouched by the western world. The language barrier was buried under much tea, coffee and cigarette smoking and we were treated like royalty, taken from house to house to meet the village. The children, apprehensive at first, were soon won round with smiles and digital photos to the point I though I might be buried alive under them clambering over me to get a better look at the camera. Sounds corny I know, but to get off the beaten track was amazing, particularly after following it so prescriptively in the rest of Cambodia.

Then on to Laos. A slightly scary border crossing (it was dark and I wasn't even sure I was allowed across at this particular place) finally got me to Don Det, an island in the middle of the Mekong that's become a bit of a travellers' haven. A tiny bungalow, right on the river bank facing due west was the perfect spot to chill out for a week or so. Days consisted of not much more than reading, playing cards, savouring the odd Beer Lao or two and swimming in the river, occasionally slowly drifting down it in a tractor inner tube. A rare trip out, to see some waterfalls, nearly ended in disaster and sent me scurrying back to the safety of my hammock. We were swimming in a pool near the top of the falls when suddenly one the swimmers disappeared down the exit schute. Luckily he managed to grap onto a rock in the next pool down, depsite being pretty badly battered around on the way, so we were able to haul him out. If he'd gone down the next drop it would have been game over. A very big lesson in why not to take stupid risks in a country where no will ever tell you not to do anything.

Just as I was wondering how I'd ever summon up the energy to leave this paradise island, emergency number 2 came along. I'd been hanging around with a couple from England, Jo and Nick, who were staying in the same place. We'd had a great 10 days, but Jo had been feeling unwell for the last 5 of them. Medical facilities on Don Det just didn't exist, but when another traveller, who was a doctor, checked her over he was really worried and suggested she should try and get to Bangkok asap, where facilities are much better. Bangkok's not the easiest place to get to when you're on an island in Laos but unbelievably our bungalow owner managed to arrange an ambulance from the mainland to Pakse, where the nearest airport is. As I was heading that way anyway I went along to give moral support, carry bags etc. So my first proper journey in Laos was in the back of an old minibus with some seats taken out to make room for a stretcher. No doctor or nurse but we did have 2 flashing red lights. On the way we picked up a few more (fully-able) passengers and a couple of live chickens but that all seemed perfectly normal, being in Asia and all. Jo's temperature seemed to have dropped by the time we got to Pakse, and a blood test in the hospital there revealed she was suffering from Dengue Fever. What could have been really scary was luckily ok, and as I write she's dosed up with drugs waiting for the fever to abate. I know it's wrong to make light of other peoples' misfortunes but I still laugh inside when I think of travelling through Laos in an ambulance trying to reassure Jo that it's going to be ok while scrawny chickens tried their best to escape.

So now Pakse it is. Not a massively interesting place, but it breaks the jouney up to Vientienne, the capital. Feels strange to be moving again after lounging lazily for so long but there's loads to see and do in Laos so the next few weeks should be great.

I've managed to sort some photos out (thanks again Julius, works perfectly) so click on the link to the right if you want to see them.

Laos time...

really quick one to stay I'm still alive. Have been on an island for the last 10 days - no email, electricity for only a few hours in the evening, paradise. When I've got time I might tell you about the guy who nearly died in a waterfall, the girl who I came in an ambulance with to Pakse (where I am now (Mum, atlas out)) or even the trek I did on the back of a water buffalo. Luckily, survived all these, am well and still loving it!