COUNTRY: Laos
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Edith Cowan
The international volunteers arrived in Luang Prabang, after a somewhat questionable flight over the beautiful terrains of Thailand and rural Laos. The volunteers were escorted by our lovely tour guides to what was to be our main mode of transport for the following weeks to come... a truck with a cage on the back equipped with two horizontal wooden benches. Can’t wait for the three hour car trip into the Seuang Valley. Everyone else brought a pillow, I must have missed that memo. Our guides loaded our combined 175kg’s of donations onto the top of the truck in 2.5 seconds. They make their men real strong in Laos.
On the first day, the volunteers were given a tour of the temples and introduced to the Laos culture and cuisine. We were wined and dined at a delicious restaurant, again for about 4 bucks. We went to the night markets, bought some cool stuff. A special mention to Jen for spending stupid amounts, didn’t realise that was possible when you’re paying with kip. Ate a crepe covered in chocolate - Amazing. In Perth, consecutive white lines painted on the street generally mean pedestrians have right of way. In Laos it means drive faster and turn harder. We found this out the hard way.
We woke up fresh on Sunday morning. Today we were visiting the waterfalls. Well that’s what I thought anyway. We arrived at our destination and apparently we were actually in heaven. Quite possibly the most beautiful scenery I have witnessed in my humble 20 years. The volunteers spent the morning swinging off ropes into unknown water and scaling rocks to stand below breathtaking waterfalls. Luckily no one got injured because apparently insurance doesn’t cover this. I hold Lesley (Mumma bear) responsible, she was definitely the instigator. Gotta watch those mature aged students! Saw the bears, was the cutest thing and if customs would allow it, I’d bring one home. He looked at me with his big brown eyes. We shared a moment. Then I realised he just wanted one of my potato chips. I obliged him and moved on.
We ordered some fried potatoes. The group was rather underwhelmed when they tasted just like fried potatoes! Got home and a small group decided to take a bike ride around Laos. Saw some cool stuff. Felt like a local negotiating the insane, unpredictable traffic. Kept forgetting they drive on the right hand side here. I wasn’t fooling anyone. Found a cool bar. Happy hour was 12am – 8pm. Made a mental note to return there later. Successfully returned bikes to hire shop and unsuccessfully searched for the other seven members of our volunteer group. The only thing we were sure of was they were somewhere in Laos...
Returned to earlier mentioned bar. Two for one cocktails. That never happens in Perth.
Let’s just say we made the most of it. Made friends with tourists from other corners of the world. Didn’t realise Laos was considered a party nation until now. After only a short time here I have come to the conclusion it may just be the happiest place in the world. First day of prac starts tomorrow and can’t wait to see what lies ahead.
Until next time, lagorn.
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