Vietnam, 13 Jan 2007 --
…I think these were the only words the consular officer at the Chinese embassy in Hanoi spoke to me yesterday as he accepted my carefully completed application for a multiple entry, 90 day visa. This, on top of the fact there’s a standard $25 “cause you’re American” fee, makes me think that my government and the Chinese government don’t exactly see eye to eye. Oh well, people tell me visa extensions are easy to come by in China…I hope this is as true for citizens of the ever popular US of A.
In other news, it’s been a while since I posted anything. This is largely due to the lack of internet access as Cara and I worked our way from Luang Prabang to the remote Lao/Vietnam border crossing at Na Meo over the course of 8 days. Highlights included:
- Vieng Xai: a tiny, beautiful, unspoiled town in the northeast of Lao. The Pathet Lao (Free Lao) led the war against the Americans from caves there from about 1964 to 1975. 3 USD gets you a private tour (there appear to be about 4 tourists in town at any given time, so anything other than a private tour is pretty much impossible) from a well informed member of the local historical preservation society. Vieng Xai has the same giant limestone karsts (geology nerds…care to comment? What is a karst?) we saw in Vang Vieng…but without tourists, without touts, and most notably completely without bars playing endless Friends reruns on DVD.
- The Plain of Jars at Ponsavanh: It’s pretty much what it sounds like: hundreds of mysterious stone jars (some as heavy as 1 ton) spread over several plains. Weird. 12 USD gets you a not so private tour by a not so informed guide. No one has any proof of what the jars were for, but the leading speculation is that they were burial urns. Lao legend says they were used by giants to drink Lao whiskey…I prefer the latter. I didn’t learn much from our guide, but I did pick up the Lao proverb: The old water buffalo likes to eat the young rice. Which poetically states the fact that older gentlemen prefer the company of much, much younger women. Classic.
- Bus rides on windy mountain roads: We took a lot of these. Lao women don’t handle motion sickness well for some reason, and are often seen vomiting out the windows or into the provided (but undersized) plastic baggies. You’d think the ample air circulation when riding in the back of a pickup truck would at least reduce this problem…but sadly, you’d be incorrect.
When we reached Na Meo, we were lucky enough to find 7 other westerners going to Hanoi, so we pooled resources and chartered a minibus for a really good price. It’s strange to be in Hanoi after so many tiny towns and villages, and it’s definitely refreshing to have unlimited options (or any options for that matter) when choosing where to eat our meals.
As Cara mentioned, the food here is definitely diverse. Last night, for example, we ordered ‘Stewed Bird with Mushrooms’ (this is specifically not chicken mind you, but equally un-specifically anything else) and which turned out to be a brown stew containing mushrooms and such familiar bird parts as legs, ribs, claws, and one tiny head. Not bad, not bad at all.
Categories Vietnam