VangVien Laos

We are currently in VangVien Laos. We had an amazing day of driving today. Since I have been car sick on the crazy roads I got to sit in the super cramped small seat near the front. Even though my ass was killing me and my knees were up in my arm pits, it turns out I got the good seat. Everyone else had no view or air and were feeling sick too. I was OK and had a great view. Spectacular mountains (or hills not sure if they are big enough to qualify as mountains but they are big). We wound through the mountains and had breathtaking views of valleys and valleys of untouched jungle. It was truly prestine and untouched, like nothing I've ever seen before. Last night turned out to be quite a great night. Addi took me to a fancy restaurant on the main strip of Luang Prabang. We drank a bottle of wine and had great burmese curry. Not hot like Thai and more like a peppercorn stew. It was fantastic. We ended up meeting the owner of the XL elephant sanctuary near Luang Prabang. It was interesting to hear how he is helping elephants and taking on old ones. After the bottle of wine we were feeling good and decided to head up town for more drinks. We ended up at the wine bar in town for more fabulous drinks. The wine bar had excellent red wine in amazing huge glasses. We met the Lao owner of the bar and chatted with him about owning a business in Laos and how much Luang Prabang is changing (and how fast too). He mentioned that many local Lao people can not afford it there anymore which in turn means many of the monks are not getting enough alms (food) to eat. Tourism is such a bitter pill for these people. This has been my first trip where I have been so conscious of how much tourism impacts these areas. Just seeing the difference between Thailand and Myanmar and Laos is amazing. In Thailand everything is for tourists. I have read how many religious and significant cultural ceremonies have lost their touch due to them being done for tourists every night instead of on the dates they were intended for. I have made a policy this trip to always ask the locals for pictures before taking them. It is not fair for these people to be freak shows for our photo albums. This also opens the door for conversation and they usually do not mind. It really bothered me the other night on Phusey hill when a monk I had met earlier in the day (OT) was sitting on the hill enjoying a peaceful moment with 2 younger monks and tons of people were just taking photos of them without asking. Crowding them, it just did not feel right. I went over and he remembered me for my tattoos (which is also why we talked earlier). We introduced ourselves by name (since we didn't before). I asked if we could take a picuture and he said no problem and thanked us. Then he told Addi to come over by him and get some pics of the younger monks in the woods. They turned out spectacular. The bright saffron robes with the green trees. Nice treat those other tourists did not get. It was great. It really became apparent again the next morning. We went to watch the monks get their alms. Just watching the other tourists made us sick. They were in all the locals faces and when the monks came out they were jumping in front of them with their cameras and chasing them down the road. We decided not to be those people and sat and watched the moment. I only took one photo when they were down the road and infront (the line was great to see). I asked our tour guide (who was a monk for 6 years in Luang Prabang) how the monks feel. He says they do not mind at all he just wishes people would not jump infront of them. I guess the rule is not to interfere and no flashe. But that certainly was not the demonstration we saw. I guess I can see Laos' hesitations to opening its boarders to tourists. They are trying to keep their religion sacred and place rules and restrictions. It is very difficult when the people here are so poor and will do anything for a dollar (and who can blame them). Money corrupts so fast. Anyway gotta run. We are kayaking the song river in the morning and then off to Vientianne tomorrow night for a couple days. Take care, Sonya:)