Pakse and Champassak, Laos

     After a lovely two days in 4,000 Islands we bussed up to Pakse, a big city in Laos, but nothing like Phnom Penh.  For one thing it wasn't crowded at all.  The traffic drove sanely, weirdly obeying traffic laws on the right side of the road.  There wasn't trash everywhere, and people weren't yelling "tuktuk lady?" at me everywhere I went!  So it was a nice change!  

     We stayed in a great hotel and left Thursday morning for a ziplining adventure. The brochure for ziplining said it was suitable for people aged 9-99 and that you didn't need to be particularly in shape but just have a "lust for adventure".  So not true!!  Our adventure started with a 2 hour drive on the bumpiest, muddiest roads of all times.  Then an hour and a half of hiking downhill through the jungle on slippery rocks and muddy paths which was hazardous due to my clumsiness.  I sliced my finger open by grabbing on to some bamboo which was about typical for me!  But it's okay, because there was a nurse there who just glued my thumb back together!  After our hiking we harnessed up and started the real adventure.  

Kelsey and me all harnessed up! 

Laotian Jungle 

Our native jungle lunch

     We tightroped across the top of an enormous waterfall.  Then hiked to our ziplines.  There were 8 huge 450+ meter ziplines we took back and forth across the canopy over waterfalls and rivers and through the tops of enormous trees.  We ziplined then were let down on ropes to various platforms.  We also had sky bridges to cross which were probably the most dangerous.  Plus it was very misty from all the rain in the forest, so you would start down a zipline and not be able to see where you were going since the mist was so heavy.  It was exciting not knowing where you were going and coming out of it only to see new beautiful waterfalls and spectacular views!

Welcome to Laos!

Sometimes we zipline over enormous waterfalls

Our slippery sky bridges

     After those 8 ziplines, we made it out to our lodge for the night.  It was small and right under the biggest waterfall which we heard roaring away all night.  We had a cookout over a fire, Laotian style which sadly meant no s'mores, but it was still amazing!  Then we ziplined out to our treehouses where we would be spending the night.  The treehouses actually had a bathroom and running water so you know they were good!  The lights went out ten minutes later and it was pitch black.  All you could hear were birds and bugs and rats up in the trees with us but we fell asleep pretty quickly since we were super sore and exhausted.

     The next morning (Happy July 4th!!) we got up and did another 10 ziplines through the forest in a big circle around the lodge.  We got to be quite good, knowing when to break, how to pull ourselves along the wire when we got stuck and braked to early, and got over any fear we had.  We then had a long trek back after lunch, but a slightly different one than the one the day before.  This one involved climbing up a 40 meter high vertical rock wall using our harness to clip onto ropes and using metal rods on the walls as our grips.  It was terrifying but gorgeous even if my legs and arms had just turned into jelly by the time we reached the top.   

     We then hiked back through "Leech Fields" where I discovered my new least favorite animal of all!  Leeches are disgusting slimy little creatures.  They both anesthetize you so they can bite you without you noticing and they put anticoagulants into you so you bleed more and they get to feast.  Tricky little animals and so so gross!!  So I may have gotten about five of them attached to me, but at least I didn't scream like one of the guys did!  

     After that hike we drove all the way back to Pakse and spent one last beautiful day in Laos before starting the long voyage back to Phnom Penh!

View from the treehouses

My treehouse: accessible only by zipline

Clarissa, Kelsey, Zoya, me, and Dustin- ziplining champs! 

Somehow I wasn't too upset about missing the 4th of July fireworks...

That one time I met Aragog...or Shelob... it was hard to tell

From the title you may assume I am exaggerating...but here's the story.  

     To set the stage, Clarissa, Kelsey, and I were in our hotel room the morning we were leaving Don Khone packing and getting ready to leave.  Clarissa had grabbed her towel out of the bathroom and was bringing it over when I noticed a HUGE spider on the back of it (and by huge I mean MASSIVE!!!) so of course I was gaping at it and Kelsey looked to see what had me aghast. Her reaction, naturally, was to scream!  So then Clarissa threw it on the bed and the spider ran off it so everyone else screamed!  So everybody in the vicinity came running by; maids, other guests, all of the other students here with us.  And the monkey in the courtyard started shrieking, only adding to the chaos.  So the maids came rushing through our door as we booked it out!  And of course they started laughing at us (along with everybody else).  But the really horrifying part of this story is what came next.  One of the maids killed the spider in the sheets and as she was taking the sheets out of the room she popped it into her mouth.  That's right, SHE ATE IT!!  It was so gross!  She only ate the body though, and then buried the enormous legs.  She then told us we could go back and it was safe, but all I could see was the huge black-brown stain on her lips, the remnants of that DISGUSTING spider.

Luckily before she ate the spider I was able to capture a picture of it:

Thank goodness she was distracted fighting a hobbit when we found her or she would have killed us for sure!

4,000 Islands, LAOS

The next part of our trip involved taking an 11 seater bus (with up to 26 people on/in it) to a roadside stop where we transferred to a bus that would take us across the border into Laos!  We then got massively conned by a guy who said he was in charge of taking our passports to get them stamped (he probably made over $100 off our group alone- all in a good hour of corrupt work!) but actually wasn't....ahhh the experience of being conned in Cambodia, nothing like it.  But we did eventually make it to the other side where we then took a bus and a boat out through the Mekong River to Don Kohne Island!

Boat tour through the Mekong

    We then spent two very lovely days hanging out on the island.  We got mountain bikes and trekked through the mud to do some exploring.  All around the island there were nice beaches, gorgeous and expansive waterfalls, and wats to explore!  

Boat to Dophin- my favorite option

Some of the local houses and fields

The town wat 

My tiny little mountain bike (clearly meant for small children but I made it work!)

     The weather was gorgeous, cooler than Cambodia and sunny, the entire time we were there.  We relaxed and biked around and made some friends with our fellow travelers.  It was a beautiful rural community mixed with a touristy main street.  There were rice fields with water buffalo right down the road from hotels and guest houses.  And of course, beautiful views across the Mekong River!

Sunset from our restaurant on Don Khone 

Kratie

     Our second stop on our trip to Laos was Kratie (still in Cambodia pronounced Gra-chay).  It's a smaller town where we spent an afternoon.  We stayed in a bed and breakfast called the Tonle which is really cool because it's also a training center for young adults.  It trains them in different aspects of the hospitality business and also helps them learn English so that they can get better jobs in the future.
    We spent the afternoon on a river dolphin boat tour.  We took tuktuks in a horrendous storm for almost an hour to get to the boat tour driving through a lot of really cool villages.

(photo credit to Kelsey Rock for taking great pictures on a speeding tuktuk)

     By the time we got out to the boats the storm had stopped and we got right out into the river.  It was gorgeous, wide and fast moving.  We motored upstream until we found the dolphins.  They weren't the most exuberant dolphins I'd ever seen, they didn't show off too much, but they jumped a bit and were really cool to follow.  Our boat driver followed them around to get us the best views (although my pictures won't show that).  And they were unique dolphins; they actually looked more like manatees than bottle nose dolphins, but they were really fun to watch!  All in all a pretty good way to spend an afternoon in Kratie!

Sunset over the Mekong after the storm

Boat 26!  

I promise this IS a dolphin!

Mondulkiri

Two weekends ago we started an epic, 9 day trip up Cambodia and into southern Laos.  Since the trip was so long I've divided it into a few different blog postings.  So here's the first:

Mondulkiri

     Our trip started with an early morning bus ride that got us up into the gorgeous, mountainous province of Mondulkiri by early afternoon.  We stayed at the peaceful Nature Lodge in bungalows surrounded by random cows and horses in our front yards.  We spent the first afternoon we were there relaxing and exploring the area.  The second day was the big attraction in Mondulkiri: elephant riding!

     We got up pretty early and were driven out to a small town where we met up with the Mahoots (elephant riders) who took us on our tour.  We started hiking through bamboo fields and forests to get to some waterfalls where we met up with four elephants!  

     The elephants were so tame and docile (although the male got a bit out of control sometimes) and we had a lot of fun.  We trekked through the woods for two hours, two of us on each elephant.  And let me tell you, as much as I romanticized it in my mind, elephant riding is not comfortable AT ALL!  We were basically riding bareback, sitting on these tiny, thin mats on their backs which is not as fun as it sounds.  I got super scraped up on my legs.  Plus since you have to cling to the elephants pretty tightly your leg muscles get pretty sore.  On top of that, my elephant was particularly spiny and that is NOT comfortable to sit on!  Overall, by the time I got to the second waterfall where we  had lunch, I was in a great deal of pain.  But I was DETERMINED to enjoy myself!! 

Only a lucky few get this intimate with an elephant!

Clearly we were all enjoying ourselves

     At the waterfall we had a lot of fun waterfall jumping.  We also got to bathe the elephants which was all good fun until one of them decided that the river worked as a toilet.  Then it got a little gross.

Elephant bathing: SUCCESS!

     After the bath we got back on our elephants (actually I had to switch to save myself even more pain!) and trekked the two hours back.  Of course it started to rain and the elephants got slippery and the ground got progressively more uneven.  But all that meant was it just became more of an adventure!  And by the time we got to the end I was just in love with my elephant.  

My new BFF and me!

Breaking News!

This past week and a half there has been a significant change in my life!  Om has FINALLY learned my name!  It's only taken a month and a half but she has learned how to say it.  Admittedly it's more of a "Rrro-bay-caw" than Rebecca, but hey, I'm not complaining.  Up til now she has just called me "the other one" since I don't live at her house (she just feeds me twice a day).  She calls my roommate, Clarissa, "the pretty one" so that's pretty cool but I was just "the other one".  Or sometimes, if she were talking to Clarissa and I wasn't there, she would just ask, "there are two?" And that was her way of asking about me.  So, yeah, it's been a big week!

Routine

     It's amazing how fast you get into a routine in a new place.  The same thing happened when I went on my study abroad to Jerusalem.  Everything is so new and crazy at first, all the cultural differences seem totally bizarre, then one day you wake up and it's just your life.  Everyday, while still exciting, feels very natural.       And what you used to find difficult or be surprised by becomes easy.  I've only been here a month and a half and life here is already completely normal.  Before I came on this trip I remember hearing about the food thinking it was super bizarre. I mean who wants rice for EVERY meal?  And who wants grilled pork or squid for breakfast?  But now, all I want every morning is some baay sae cherouk ( sweet pork with pickled vegetables and an egg all over rice- literally the best breakfast ever!).  Initially I was a little freaked out by the amount of wildlife on the floor in my bedroom or in the bathroom.  But now it's an odd day that I don't step on at least a thousand ants.  Just six weeks ago I was terrified and furious with the Phnom Penh ridiculousness that is traffic, but now we weave in between cars, motos, tuktuks, and random pedestrians like a seasoned pro.
     I'm really enjoying life in Cambodia now...it's still an adventure, but it's an adventure I'm very comfortable with.  I may not know the language very well, but I'm white (a 'barang') so nobody really expects me to anyways!  If anything they just yell 'Ooh, America" at me and are surprised when I can say anything back!  And I can say the few things I need to to get by!  I can Suasdei or Chumriepsua people all day long!  And if I really want to impress them I through in a Lea-sen-hi here and there. And most importantly I can ask people how much things cost in the market, and if I'm lucky I can understand their response!
     The other day I was doping in heavy traffic and rain (not what you think at all- it's where you sit side-saddle on the back of someone's bike while they pedal you somewhere) and I got the comment that I'm a real Cambodian now.  And you know, I kind of am! (in spirit if not race, culture, language, or anything else that technically matters!)