Random Musings of a Third Year Expat

It is safe to say I have been a terrible blogger this year, but I am still loving my life in Saigon and filled with wonder most days. Currently I am starting this post while stuck in a traffic jam. I am in no rush – just returning home from a day of errands downtown. And, of course the traffic and scenes around me are fascinating. I don’t often type blog posts from the cab because I still spend most rides looking to see how many families fit 5 on a motorbike and trying to figure out how this city fits together. But, today, though not really a day out of the ordinary was filled with so many small moments that remind me I am at home here and so many more that remind me that this land is and always will be foreign and exotic to me. It is a nice mix – conflicting feelings of peace and wonder and surprise and comfort.

I started the day with a bike ride with three friends, a favorite weekend past time. We rode a familiar route, chosen because we hoped that it wouldn’t be too flooded and washed out from all the rain. Of my 3 years, this is by far the worst rainy season I have experienced. I have had to wade home from school through shin deep water, wear a poncho over me and my bike to ride to work (it never used to rain in the morning), and hole up in shelter too many times to count. Even so, we still have lots of hours of hot sunshine each day, and all the rain has made the plants on my balcony so happy.

On today’s bike ride, I got to catch up with a friend who just returned after leaving Vietnam for a couple of months to take her son to university and help him get settled into his “home” country where he had never really lived. I marvel at the resilience of my students and co-workers’ children because they grapple every day with questions of identity and blend seamlessly (it usually seems) into foreign cultures. It was interesting to hear stories of her son’s adjustment because I know that, while my experience is quite different than his, I too will some day face reverse culture shock as I try to fit back into America. (See, I don’t plan to stay here forever – just until I learn what I can from this wonderful life). During the ride, my poor friend began to feel fatigued and lightheaded. It had been awhile since she was on a bike and her abrupt shift back from Australia’s winter was too much for her. Luckily, because we live her and know how to handle some of the things that happen, we were able to call her an Uber SUV to our remote location and the kind driver took her and her bike home.

Today also marked a random first for me. I finally utilized the help of a xe om – a motorbike taxi. Usually I hail a car taxi, but today when I was on a walk doing some errands, I was starting to look for a taxi to take me downtown to do more errands. A xe om pulled up, and I figured why not. I have gotten quite good at riding (not driving as evidenced by my attempts to try on vacation) motorbikes. I negotiated what I think was a fair price using my numbers which was the lesson of the week in my Vietnamese class. It was a lovely ride and much faster than my current ride in a car. However, it was taken during a brief lull in storming. At the end of the motorbike ride, I did some shopping. I am still trying to settle into my new apartment, so I was on the prowl for ways to maximize my space and storage. Purchases included everything from seating for my balcony to almond milk for Kate and 4 pounds of Craisins. Why 4 pounds, you ask? Well, it costs about $3 for a tiny little bag of 100 grams at the store near my house, but at the import store, the best value was a giant bag for about $20. So, essentially, I scored 1,100 free grams of craisins over time. Is the reason that I have to maximize storage space making sense? I am a hoarder – primarily of food.

Hope all is well with you and that you struggle less with the hunt for Craisins and good peanut butter than I do. I will try to post again soon about my delightful vacation to Myanmar – even if I am not stuck in traffic.

Biking Bliss

Last winter when I was home in America for Christmas, I went to visit my friend Melissa who I teach with in Vietnam. As we played games, ate delicious homemade fish tacos, and walked round her farm, I whined that I didn’t want to return to Vietnam. I was feeling the looming sadness of continuing a long distance relationship and nostalgia for life in the States. But, Melissa assured me it would be the best semester ever because we would take up weekly biking. It took us until March to organize a bike outing with our friend Elaine, but since then, it has been an almost weekly occurrence. If you are my Facebook friend, you have seen far too many photos of my crew on bikes, but it is one of my highlights every week. Unfortunately, we only know a few loops, but we love them dearly and never tire of the wonders of Vietnam city and country life. Despite doing the same 40k loop the last two weekends, I was struck this Saturday by how vividly green everything became in just one week. It was thrilling to see that the rice had grown and the water levels had risen.

Despite the fact that it is the rainy season, Vietnam is having the worst drought conditions in a long time. Due to the rains coming late,China building some new dams upriver, and the low elevation of the Mekong Delta region (just south of HCMC), the salt water from the sea has permeated the soil of much of the arable land and polluted the well water. Farmers and families here are facing extreme economic hardship. My sister Megan came to visit, and we went on a tour of the region with a speedboat tour company called Les Rives (highly recommend). Our knowledgable guide explained the current situation, and now, I am advising one of my seniors on her Extended Essay about the effects of the drought on locals. My heart aches for the farmers down south, and we are planning to take a bike ride weekend down to the delta soon. Hopefully, we will be able to find someway to contribute to some families during this rough time. On normal weekends though, we don’t make it to the delta, so we pass farms much closer to the city.

Three weeks ago, we resumed our weekly trips and started with a little loop that we call the bridge loop because we get to bike over about 30 bridges along the way. Bridges are the only sort of elevation change happening in southern Vietnam, so it gives us a little challenge. Along this route, we have a lot of traffic through a developing neighborhood called Nha Be, but eventually we reach some rural land. The past 2 weeks we have done what we call the double ferry route. It starts by biking up the biggest bridge in the city (feel the burn), and then takes us through some of the outskirts of the city to a ferry. We take a big ferry over to some rural land and bike to another ferry that returns us to District 7 about 25 minutes from our neighborhood. I love being part of this biking community which grew from about 5 to a record 16. What a great way to start one morning of each weekend!

 

First bike ride of the year!

Chilling on the bridge

Everyone is so friendly

Our favorite spot for coffee

Despite being afraid of heights, I climbed up the bridge for a good shot, but I wasn’t going to do it twice just because Heidi was doing a selfie in a selfie. 

Sometimes we stop at temples and pagodas we pass. This is a Cao Dai temple which is a combination of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. This is the smallest Cao Dai I have been too, but not the most colorful. 

Drinking coconuts on the ferry. 

hardworking rice farmers

Boats in Vietnam have eyes to ward off evil spirits. The ones down south have rounder eyes than the ones up north. 

There is a many paddling a circle boat in the top left corner. I love watching river life from my bike. 

Melissa waves as she approaches the second ferry. 

Sharing the ferry with some motor bikes. 

I loved the explosion of colors on this bridge thanks to a pinwheel seller. 

Until next time…

My New Home!

Ignoring that I have been a terrible blogger, I will just provide a shaky and awkwardly filmed video tour of my new apartment! Available here.

Hopefully, more news of my life to follow soon.

Spring Break!

In 3 hours, I leave for the airport to fly to Taiwan to meet Eli and some friends from home. I am pretty much jumping-out-of-my-skin excited. This might be one of my most needed vacations ever. Despite my mostly perfect life of spending February in Australia with my beloved cousin, living in paradise, and being surrounded by loving friends, the past 8 weeks have beat me up a bit. Before you feel too bad, look at a few of the highlights of my trip with Christyn. I will have to write about the magic in more detail soon.

Christyn overlooking Melbourne while we wait for the sunset and the arrival of the penguins.

Some of the adorable fairy penguins we saw.

The Opera House and Harbor Bridge stunned us.

Getting close to the Apostles (rock formations).

Such a great cousin-cation!

Unfortunately, I returned home from my lovely week with Christyn to learn that a student had passed away over break. After a weeks of mourning, life was starting to return to normal, and then I got the plague. Not the real plague. Just a virus that spent 3 weeks ripping through my body and making me a shell of a human being.

Now that my body is mostly mended, I am ready to tackle 10 days of fun with my boyfriend and some dear Baltimore friends. Life couldn’t be better…unless my errands and packing were complete.

A land of English!

Last weekend, Shelley and I went to a posh new cafe across from school to grade papers. We sat in a sunlit corner sort of near an older Australian couple. We were hungry and excited to order, but despite the English menu, we encountered some difficulties. They didn’t have my first choice entree, and they told Shelley they were out of hot tea. Out of hot tea? In Asia? Not a thing. Shelley pushed the issue, and after about 4 staff tried to explain, it became clear that the Australian woman was using the cafe’s only teapot. They couldn’t make Shelley a pot of tea because they had nothing in which to serve it. The Australian lady, obviously overhearing all of this, kindly offers Shelley her teapot because they are leaving soon. The staff isn’t down with this plan. We all shrug our expat shoulders in bemusement and go on with our days. Shared understanding and lots of essays to grade.

After they have left, Shelley has had some tea, and I enjoyed my second choice entree, a pair of 20something Australian kids come in and sit at the table next to ours. It is a big place, but our corner is clearly the best. They are also hungry and eager to order, and it is hard not to hear that the young man has picked my first choice entree off the list. I want to tell him it is a no go, but it is rude to eavesdrop, so I keep grading. The waiter comes over, and they have a very similar, linguistically frustrating conversation. Shelley and I are definitely listening. They are unsuccessful in ordering food.

The waiter goes to make their drinks, while they plot how to get what they want. Apparently, they know the executive chef of this chain of cafes. He is downtown and no good to him, but they call Joe and confirm that they should be able to order this tofu sandwich even though it is on the breakfast side of the menu because they serve breakfast all day. So, when the poor waiter gets back to the table, they are finally able to convince him that Mr. Joe is ordering him to give them what they want or there will be hell to pay on Monday. It was heavy handed, but that sandwich did look delicious. Shelley and I sort of laughed at how involved we were in the drama and how actively we had eavesdropped as had the older Australians there before them. Then, we went back to grading.

Today, as I am packing to head to the airport to meet Christyn in Australia. I got an email from her about how a convention of old Australian ladies working for some sort of Mary Kayish company have checked into our first hotel. Christyn was amused because one proper old lady told another she was “going to spend a penny,” as she headed into the restroom. Suddenly, Christyn’s email clarified things for me. I love hearing English around me, so I do actively eavesdrop on every English conversation I can. Also, I have done this my whole life, not just now that I am English deprived. This made me nostalgic for all those crazy interactions you have with people you don’t know because you will understand each other’s language, even if you don’t understand each others ideas or life choices. I think my journal the next few days will be full of conversations I listen to surreptitiously. Get me to the land of English speakers, so I too can learn to “spend a penny,” find things that have “gone walkabout,” and avoid appearing as if I’ve got “kangaroos loose in the top paddock.”

Vacation!!!!

A Fitting Tribute

2016 has been cruel to my friends already. Two of my closest friends here have lost a grandparent since we returned from the holidays. One friend is home in Canada with family, but the other opted to mourn here. Ricki was also generous enough to let us celebrate the life of her grandfather with her, in a way that would earn his approval.

Her grandfather was an Irish Catholic family man who had worked as a pharmacist in Wisconsin until he was able to retire to a sailboat in the Caribbean. To honor him, she decided to rent a boat, make his favorite drink, and live her life to the fullest. She opened the boat ride with lots of hugs and a toast to her grandfather that made me cry. Ricki is one of the most open, honest, and loving people I know. I admire her ability to recognize her feelings and share them with others. She talked about the life-changing magic of meeting her grandfather after her mom married into the family, and it made me adore a man I never met because he offered the child version of my friend the acceptance and stability that she deserves.

about a moment before Graeme’s drink showered Jeremy

wonderful granddaughter and stunning scenery

It is amazing how fast you can leave the city behind on the water.

Once we toasted Grandpa Phil and her wonderful memories, we were off on a trip down the Saigon River to reach a floating temple. The day was sunny and hot (winter doesn’t understand how much we want a hint of it), but the “Get Friendlys,” the special drink, were iced and free flowing. The boat was full of people who love Ricki, a couple of whom had just lost parents of their own and needed a reminder that our community is awesome and that life is for the living. Grandpa Phil had named his boat Vivimus, from the Latin phrase Dum vivimus, vivamus, which means while we live, let us live. And, without ever meeting him, I know he was proud of Ricki for choosing to live while she lives, even though it meant experiencing the whole range of human feeling. She laughed and cried, and those of us lucky enough to be on the boat with her got to witness a real triumph of loving expression. Ricki is good at life and love.

the temple in the water

a lot going on

Elaine and Brooke admire the dragon made of old dishes

Shelley looking adorably nautical

loved this dragon

Greg really loves modeling

When we reached the temple, Ricki wanted to light a candle for her grandfather. While the temple didn’t have Catholic candles, there was some incense and some sand pots that you could place the burning incense in to honor the dead. The boat captain and our friend Lucinda, the only Buddhists on the boat, helped Ricki say some prayers and light the incense. Then, she bought some bracelets for her brothers and released some fish in a Buddhist ceremony about releasing the lives of others. Another Catholic teacher who just lost her mother participated in the ceremonies too, and she and Ricki got to share how important faith was to their family members and how much they would have liked the ceremonies of the temple, even if it wasn’t exactly Catholic. It was really great that Ricki got this chance to meld the familiar and her new world.

helping to light the incense

Ricki taking over

getting some directions from our captain

saying the prayers

telling some stories about a life well led

placing the incense

lots of supporters

praying with Angie

placing the last incense

a great place to remember Grandpa Phil

even a chicken came to pay his respects 

buying some fish to release

small fish

biggest fish

letting go

swimming away

beautiful smile

Then, it was back to the boat. We finished up the pitchers of Get Friendlys that Ricki had lovingly mixed and we all had time to enjoy the company, the sunset, and the city skyline. When we returned to the dock, a few of us ventured out in the Tet decorated streets of downtown to find an Irish pub and raise a pint. Then, we returned home, exhausted but glad we had lots more days to practice dum vivimus, vivamus.

thankful for these ladies

Emma snuggled with Ricki

the kids and Ricki play fruit charades

front of the boat

Vietnam

stunning sunset

the scenery 

the city appears

it is a fast growing town

into the heart of downtown

walking toward a final beverage

Rest in peace, Grandpa Phil. Thanks for teaching us how to live. Because she knows how to ask for what she needs, Ricki is in good enough hands.

Still Dreaming of October Break

Somehow, I still haven’t finished recording the wonders of my amazing fall break in Laos. If you can believe it, there was even more fun and beauty after our trip to the northern mountains. We were lucky enough to enjoy a few more days in Luang Prabang, a must see city!

Despite my very recent recovery from being horribly ill, I made it through the bus ride with as little discomfort as I could have hoped for give our situation. Luckily, I ended up sitting by Robert who was positively entertained by to Laotian woman talking loudly to each other. The humor derived from the fact that both stared straight ahead the entire time and talked over each other about half the time. I was amused by how easily entertained he was.

When we got to Luang Prabang, we took a tuk tuk to our respective hotels. The 5 of us (Ricki, Jason, Pierre Luc, Robert, and I) shared this tuk tuk with a random Laotian man. Partway through the ride, I said that I heard a dog. Soon others stopped thinking I was crazy and heard it too. Finally the man picked up a small burlap bag and tore a small hole in it to show us his puppy. It was surreal that he fit in such a small space and was so well behaved. The man thought we were crazy for wanting to hold him.

Ricki holding the puppy in a bag.

Ricki and I had splurged and booked the only hotel in town with a pool. It was luxurious. Even better, we were upgraded to a suite. So, two dirty, road weary travelers landed at Kiridara; it might as well have been heaven.

our room at the Kiridara

half of our bathroom. the couch was necessary due to the weakness induced by food poisoning

Ricki expressing a fraction of our abiding love for the beds at the Kiridara

view of our pool from the balcony 

While Ricki headed into town to meet up with the boys (Pierre Luc and Robert decided to spend a few more days with us), I napped and enjoyed the pool to recover. Eventually I made it downtown for dinner with the crew.

 

The boys and Ricki enjoyed delightful bbq, but I stuck to some broth

The next morning, I had another slow start to enjoy the pool, but made it to town by lunchtime to enjoy my first and only plate of laap, a famous Laotian dish. Then we had a day of museums and a night of marketing. Tummy feeling so much better.

This might help you understand why I wasn’t super eager to leave the pool.

Tofu laap…and a coconut! I am obsessed with coconuts.

temple at the museum 

Museum – home of the former King

After the less than amazing exhibit at the palace museum, we found the museum about ethnic minorities. Fascinating. A must stop on your visit to Luang Prabang.

The Hmong are also an ethnic minority here in Vietnam, and I am obsessed with the embroidery. 

if textiles are your thing, Laos is your country

baby carriers

After the museums, everyone else started marketing a little earlier than me. I, of course, NEEDED to check out the spa scene of Luang Prabang. A week without a massage is unacceptable. Especially when that week is a vacation. Then, our plan was to meet at a bar that Robert wanted to go to all week.

The Frangipani Spa

When I arrived at the bar, there was a surprise fashion show happening.

Both Jason and Pierre Luc were late, but when Jason arrived first, Ricki played a brilliant prank. She convinced Jason that Pierre had been invited backstage to participate in the show. Every new set of models, Jason searched for Pierre’s face. Amazing.

My travel companions

Throughout our time in Luang Prabang, we had befriended the staff of a local cafe. They decided that they must take us out on Friday night. So we danced at their cafe until it closed, and then we went to some clubs where we were surrounded by locals. It was fun, but I was extremely paranoid that we were breaking the tourist curfew. Also, my stomach was not ready for all the shots of Lao Lao, homemade whiskey, that everyone wanted me to drink.

Our new friend

Out at the club

 

Ricki convinced the staff of the club to give her a waiter’s shirt.

another club – this one was darker

new friends are great!

After an extremely late night, we had a lazy last day in the city before heading home to our real lives.

the Kiridara has its own tuktuk! Heaven.

Ricki and I reading on the gorgeous deck of Utopia

Just lounging

Laos = Utopia (but also, check out this cafe when you are in town)

See you later Kiridara and Luang Prabang

Essentially, fall break was amazing! I returned and had to make a decision about returning for a 3rd year or not, and Laos pretty much made it impossible to say no. So magical.

Real Vietnam

I live in a delightful little nook of the city known for its wide streets, walkable sidewalks, and green spaces. This is where I feel comfortable on my bicycle. However, last weekend, I had guests arriving (lucky me!), so I struck out on my bike to a key maker’s cart that a co-worker  told me about. Though only a 10-15 minute bike ride from my house, this street is much more authentic than my manicured park out front and spacious home. 

As I waited for my keys, I decided to shoot a clip of how well people stopped at the red light. They only do that if there are police around or it is an intersection that makes them fear for their lives. I didn’t see any police.

I also love the phone wires, and dislike the number of people biking on the wrong side of the road. But moments later, I joined the fray to run the rest of my errands. Life is good!
 

Home for the Holidays

Though when I initially moved abroad I thought I would only ever return home for summer, there was no way that I could miss Christmas in the States this year. Over summer vacation, I was lucky enough to reunite with a friend that I had a crush on for years, and somehow, I convinced him to date me from the longest possible distance. So, in addition to all the excitement of seeing my family and friends and eating loads of sugary treats, I was motivated to endure the long flight home to see my super cute boyfriend.

My first stop was Philadelphia where my beloved college besties, Rachel and Bess, were waiting to pick me up and take me to Rachel’s house for the annual Holiday Gala. We got in some good girl talk time, I went grocery shopping with Matt, and I took a nap before Eli and the other party guests arrived.

I love these ladies – missing you, Kate. 

After the Gala, Rachel drove me to Christyn and Jason’s to spend a couple of days with the newlyweds, and Christyn took off on Monday to do her holiday shopping and hang out with me. Though jet lag prevented me from being the most entertaining of guests, I was thankful to be reunited with my beloved cousin.

Outdoor Christmas market in Philly

After a couple of days, I caught a train home to Lewistown and got to spend 4 days of Christmas with the family. Though Julia was disappointed not to get a real unicorn, I think we all had a really nice holiday complete with lots of games and food. The house seemed quiet without Derek’s crew adding to the chaos. It is true though that there is no place like home.

Christmas morning with the artist, Grant.

Then, I left home to spend a weekend in Baltimore trying close distance dating. I discovered I liked it. Eli introduced me to Star Wars, took lots of long walks around Baltimore with me, and took me to eat all of my favorite foods around the city. After my sleepover with friends from Vietnam, he came to dinner with the girls and participated in a torturous cracker eating contest. While he worked, I lunched with former colleagues, read, and took lots of naps. We spent New Year’s Eve with friends watching fireworks from a rooftop deck.

Reunited with my crazy friend Rita. 

The following weekend, we returned to central PA for Eli to meet my family and for me to see some aunts, uncles and cousins that I missed on my first 4 day tour. This was also Eli’s chance to meet Penn State. While I am not sure he is quite as charmed as I am, he was supportive of my deep and abiding love for Alma. He even agreed to do a Collegian crossword puzzle with me and pose atop the Lion Shrine.

So many of my favorite things!

After our weekend away, the few days left before my flight seemed to fly by as I tried to finish some life and school chores and see friends and family. On Tuesday night, we got to meet my newest niece, Abigail.

Showing off her weird alien hands. Babies are scary, but this one is cute, too. 

Now, I am halfway back to Vietnam. My heart is full of happy Christmas memories, and I will be excited to return to America in June. But before then, I have lots of exciting living to do! Hopefully, I will find a little time to blog about all my adventures.

Happy 2016!

Nong Khiaw & Muang Ngoi

On Tuesday morning, after the monk procession, a van came to our hotel to pick us up and transport us to the bus station. We crawled into another, slightly larger van. Ricki gets car sick, so we claimed the two seats in the front with the driver, and we were so lucky that we did because the ride was breathtaking, and we got to see it all! There were mountains on either side of us and the road passed through small villages. It was a little twisty and wild, but each view seemed more majestic than the first. There is no way that I could pick a favorite tree of the day, because I loved each one more than the last.

The bus station in Nong Khiaw. There is no place like it.

When we arrived in Nong Khiaw, there were tuk tuk drivers offering to take everyone from the van to their hotels. We showed them the name of our hotel, paid a couple of bucks, and were the last people dropped off. The route was circuitous, and we were new to town and had done no research so we had no idea that actually our resort was across the street from the bus station. Oops. We were taken in. We wasted a few dollars. That, paired with the fact that there were no rooms left at the resort Jason was staying, the only one with a pool, made us wish we had done a little more advance planning. But, since the owner of Jason’s hotel had recommended the resort next door, once we dropped off our bags, we headed over for lunch and pool time at his place. It was stunning.

Ricki at lunch. Look at this view!

Pool selfie – our lives are good.

After a couple of hours of lounging, we noticed the time and Jason and I decided that if we hurried, we could bike to the base of the mountain in town and climb to the top. We hurried. We did, on the recommendation of the owner of Mandala Ou resort, stop at the Chinese market on the way to buy some cheap flashlights. Good thing because as we arrived at the base of the mountain, a French Canadian was being turned away by the gatekeeper because he lacked the proper safety light. Jason ascertained that Pierre Luc was not a killer and then invited him to join us. We had a great ascent, chatting away with our new pal who was taking a year off to travel the world. We are most jealous that in December, he will meet a few high school friends in India to participate in a tuk tuk race from Chennai to Jaipur. Clearly, for Jason, who aspires to be on the Amazing Race, this would be a dream come true.

 

If a place specializes in bras, hangers, drain, astroturf, and flashlights, everything is of the best quality.

This is the magic we discovered at the end of our hike

and another angle without the sun setting

the pavilion at the top

our new friend, Pierre Luc

born to model

scariest jump shot ever. I  was nervous just standing on the edge of the world

The next time someone asks me to imagine my happy place, I am returning to here.

The summit rewarded us with spectacular 360 degree views of the rivers and mountains. We posed for some photos and had some water while we continued to chat. Shortly after we reached the top, another man submitted. He had been on my bus in the morning, and Jason later realized that he was also the guy who took some photos of all of us at the Waterfall on Sunday. So, Jason asked Robert if he was a killer. He said no, so we invited him to be our friend as well. After posing with our walking sticks and soaking in the fantastic views, we headed downhill. We were moving swiftly to avoid the encroaching dark, and only the ever prepared Robert used his flashlight the last 50 yards. While Jason and Pierre Luc dashed ahead, Robert and I chatted it up. I learned that he is from Catalonia, on vacation alone after a friend backed out, a scientist, and a former farm kid. Pretty much, he is fantastic, and meeting him was one of our luckiest adventures.

a glimpse of sunset on our descent

At the bottom, we were reluctant to leave our new besties, but we had to make it home to reunite with Ricki. So, we chatted about our plans, and decided that we would all do dinner after some showers. However, since Robert was interested in joining us the following day on our private boat ride to Muang Ngoi, he decided to walk home with us. This was great because we loved talking to him, but our bikes didn’t come with a handy backseat like my bike in Vietnam, so we all had to walk. This took some time. Once Robert figured out where we were staying, he borrowed Jason’s bike to return to his place to shower while we did the same. Then, we all met at our arranged spot, and found some dinner. Ricki’s initial worry that we had been gone forever was quickly replaced by joy that we made fun friends.

Our traveling family!

We all returned home for some much needed sleep, and the next day our group (minus Pierre Luc who had some caving plans), boarded an early morning boat to Muang Ngoi. Despite some fog (or maybe because of it), our views were magical throughout the more than hour of boating. First, we stopped at Sop Jam, a weaving village further upstream, and then returned to Muang Ngoi for lunch and a hike to a remote village.

taking off upstream

lots of livestock likes to swim

view from SopJam

trusty boat and captain

 

the general store in SopJam. I loved it!

Main St.

Weaving is fascinating. I bought a lovely tapestry from this industrious lady.

Just past the school in SopJam, I found a resting water buffalo

There were butterflies everywhere!

On our adventure, we witnessed a lady carrying all the fuel for her fire. So strong.

Ricki shops for beautiful textiles

the children of SopJam

so complicated

Sometime around lunch, my stomach started not feeling so good, but we were about to hike through beauty. There was no way, I was going to miss that. About halfway up some mountains, Ricki finally acknowledged that my stomach had swollen to twice its normal size. However, Robert was a man with a plan that we all wanted to follow, so we trudged on trough some water crossings. Eventually, we reached Hauy Xen village, and I am so glad we did. For me, this was pretty much the highlight of the whole trip. Unlike SopJam, this village wasn’t trying to sell a thing. It was just a place where people lived and farmed. I loved every second of our time there.

A cave on the hike from Muang Ngoi to HuayXen

great scenery along the hike

We did some river crossings. Never so glad to have Keens.

Just some pigs on the road

farming equipment everywhere

my hiking companions

all the drying laundry made the village bright and cheerful

What beauty!

Children were playing everywhere. I think Huay Xen still allows free-range parenting.

Children here may even climb the stairs without supervision

take off your shoes before entering

3 generations

a chicken coop and some drying peppers

Everyone is so friendly

These children had clay to sculpt

when we went to the store for a coke, we had some followers

Despite the lengthy menu, essentially you could have Coke, water, or beer.

Loved Huay Xen, but not sure I am brave enough to stay in the guest house. It was a little rustic.

The views on the way there and back were breathtaking.

Though we had a full and lovely day, we may have waited a bit too long to begin hiking back to Muang Ngoi to catch our boat back to Nong Khiaw. Good thing we hired a private boat or we really would have missed the last public boat. As we hiked, it was starting to get dark, and luckily as we passed the cave, a truck came along and we hopped in. Though it was wet and smelled like fish, we were thankful to save ourselves another half hour of walking. By the time we returned to the boat, I was pretty full on sick. My fever was spiking, so even though SE Asia is hot, I was freezing. Luckily the always prepared Robert lent me a jacket and I held on until we returned to actually get ill. The boat ride in the dark through scary currents was a bit terrifying for all of us, and I was never so glad to return to a hotel in my life.

chilling with her cow friend

the truck that saved us

Robert 

I wasn’t too sick to recognize beauty

so lovely

Though I thought I could rally and make it out to dinner, that was not going to happen. Upon returning to our hotel, I admitted to myself and Ricki that I was pretty much the sickest ever. I believe it was probably food poisoning because I wanted to die for the next 12 hours, and then I was ok. Weak, but ok. Luckily, Ricki is the most compassionate and loyal friend. She went for dinner and returned with a whole care package of goods to get me through the next day and she rubbed my back. If you ever want to get food poisoning while traveling, take Ricki with you. She will convince you living is better than dying and stir your Coke so it is flat and make you tea with fresh mint.

Luckily, by lunchtime the next day, I was recovered enough to catch the van back to Luang Prabang. Of course, departure time was subject to the outcome of a bocce game and it took awhile to load all the chickens on the roof, but eventually we were underway.

Our tuk tuk from the train station outside Luang Prabang to our last hotel

Essentially, if you didn’t notice from the photos and my gushing, northern Laos is amazing. I want to go there again, and it should make your travel list. Just take stomach meds with you, or meet a Boy Scout like Robert who will give you some.