Jananas

I wrote a Caturday post yesterday based on a photo taken while we were in Sapa, Vietnam. In that post I mentioned some awesome things.

Like most of our time in Sapa, it was chilly and so the mountains were misty. It made it difficult to get good photos, so instead we mostly just enjoyed the view and then bought post cards to remember it by (heh).

I did grab a photo of the H’mong apple wine I tried at the little food stand. For a locally and small scale produced alcohol, it was quite good. It did have that little bit of bite, but the sweetness and taste made it delectable. I can’t remember exactly what I was charged, but this drink was roughly the equivalent of $1USD.

Next up, the spectacular waterfall in the village. The climb down is long and just stairs, stairs, stairs (s0 many that my legs hurt the next day, and just from climbing down!). The view of the waterfall made it all worthwhile. I think I was even able to grab a decent photograph of it, which makes me even happier.

Last picture for this post is something we saw on the walk down to Cat Cat Village proper. Everywhere we went in villages there were drainage and irrigation channels. One of the major ones on the way down was right next to the stairs. It was dry and two young boys were sledding down the irrigation channel. They had overturned stools that they were using like toboggans and were obviously well versed at this particular game. It made the Canadian in me happy to see kids and sleds, even if there was no snow.

Its amazing how universal some things are.

Its Saturday and while our own cats have been pretty cute, I wanted something a little bit different. Plus I’ve been looking through our travel photos recently and so this photo was top of mind.

We loved Sapa in northern Vietnam. It had breath taking views and a lovely, calm vibe (even if it was way cooler than we’d expected at night!). We stayed at the Cat Cat View Hotel (not to be confused with one of about three other Cat Cat insert word here Hotels on the same strip). Rooms were just over $20 USD a night, which is a steal when you have unobstructed views of the tallest mountains in Vietnam. From your own personal balcony (or from their restaurant). Seriously, amazing.

One day we wandered down the road to Cat Cat Village (a local Black H’mong village), where we bought gifts from local artisans and saw lots of animals (pigs, cats, dogs, buffalo, and giant giant spiders). At the bottom there’s a gorgeous waterfall and we enjoyed some roasted chestnuts and I tried some local apple wine (which was delicious!).

On the way down we saw this cat. It was the perfect and stereotypical cat pose, staring down on us from upon high. It doesn’t look that high, but the first row of windows on this building were easily 30 feet in the air.

I could very happily be reincarnated as this cat. Lounging in the sun and clean air with a phenomenal view. Yes please.

How many people get to write blog posts with titles like the above? We crossed the border from northern Thailand into Laos via some very sketchy boats. It might have been the best border crossing ever, as the officials were laid back and the views were great.

Once in Laos its a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong to get to Luang Prabang (which incidentally was one of our favorite places on the trip). There are two options for the boat ride: the normal slow boats or the fancy version. I ended up choosing (for us) to take the fancy version. It meant comfy seats, a nice hotel, and good food. It also meant stodgey lawyers/investment bankers/etc. and their wives. We were definitely the odd couple out! The normal slow boat is less comfy, but is packed with younger backpackers so you’ll meet lots of people!

Regardless of which you choose, the scenery is the same and the views are, well, unbelievable. Quite literally, as we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were on the Mekong River.

Most the of time we were on the river it was misty enough that it was difficult to get really good photos. Instead I concentrated on enjoying the view on my own, without seeing it through the lens of a camera. We did see lots of kinds of wildlife – cows and pigs and chickens and water buffalo. We saw peanuts being planted on small beaches. We saw fishermen and their various types of nets/contraptions (which might have been one of my favorite things). We saw kids from the hill tribes frolicking. Mostly though, we saw miles and miles and miles of nature. No wires, no bridges, no roads, no vehicles – nature and forest and life.

This is the cabin we stayed in. The resort was pretty swank overall, but this might have been the nicest place we stayed in the entire trip. I was a little bummed that we didn’t get a double/queen, as it was quite chilly at night and I could have used some of Jason’s body heat.

Before bed we curled up together (yes we can fit and sleep comfortably in a single bed). This might be one of my favorite photos of us from the trip. It also reminds me that, yes I did indeed get tanned (the visible parts at least) while traveling.

Both days on the boat, we stopped off to see the sights – hill tribe villages and the Pak Ou Caves. There are more blog posts waiting to be written about those experiences. They’ll come when the words do.

Here’s one last photo to give you a better idea of just how fantastic the views could be – the blue, blue skies and the green, vibrant jungles, and the muddy river.

The boat trip down the Mekong River was one of the best parts of the trip. We didn’t have anything to do other than relax. Laos has been one of the few places in the world where that rushed impatience of Western culture could melt away. Where I could breathe and exist. And where that was good enough to consider it a day well spent. I can’t recommend this any more than by saying that if you do get the chance, please take it.

This photo breaks my heart just a little bit. Its even harder when you realize that this dog is probably better looked after than most we would have encountered in asia.

I’ve been going through Asia photos every day to see what I feel like writing about. I have a list of things that I want to write about, but the order I get to them in doesn’t really matter so I’m letting this series just flow.

Today I have three pictures for you.

This one I’ll title ‘dogs in a basket on a motorcycle’. Its pretty self explanatory and a rather common sight. Seeing this made me remember that feeling of utter glee you get as a child. Even better? There are two dogs, TWO!

When crossing the river and moat, there were bridges – often with sculpture. We were on some back alley street and came across a bridge with fantastic sculptures. Of the king rat with the littler rats all being curious/paying homage. Strange, but awesome enough to require stopping to take photos to prove it later on.

Lastly I bring you the Rasta Cafe. Rasta culture is quite big in Thailand, for reasons I don’t understand (and haven’t really researched). This Cafe was 110% awesome because it opens at 4:20. I don’t even think that I need to go into that joke in any more depth.