Monday, August 01, 2005
howdy peeps!! i'm back from my bangkok-laos(luang prabang)-chiang mai trip! :) the main focus of the trip was actually luang prabang.. a little town protected by the UN to preserve its heritage and culture..
my 3/4 day in bangkok was filled with shopping.. stayed at pathumwan princess hotel which was so so so much better than baiyoke hotel.. the place is super beautiful.. :)
then we took bangkok "boutique" airways to luang prabang.. interesting experience to be sitting in a small plane using that kind of dated black propellers.. small planes are quite a bit of torture to sit on, cos they'er subjected to much more G force than the boeing planes we normally sit on.. and there are many uncomfortable moments when you feel your stomach at your feet.. and the engines were really loud and noisy..
luang prabang was an eye opener.. it's nothing you will ever see in singapore, bangkok, malaysia (perhaps except from those ulu villages), europe or such..
one thing i have to comment on.. i think that the people there are very pure and innocent.. they are not so manipulative or calculative.. well, those are what i think, to find out more, i will have to stay with them more.. but well, these people are still untainted by the evils of globalization and commercialization..
life there is slow-paced and laid back, people appear unstressed.. the exchange rate is 1 US to 10000 kip.. and the things there are rather cheap.. you can get decent milk shakes for 3000 kip, and a proper heavy breakfast for 5 people only cost us 9 US.. i really wonder how the people there can survive on such minimal income.. we figured that US 30000 can let you spend a decent 1 year over there..
but well, like i said, commercialism has not penetrated that area yet.. so perhaps the more city people among us will find that area quite unbearable, for computers are rare commodities, except in internet cafes.. the tv there is not so pro.. the radio programmes are.. not too exciting.. cos we can't understand their language, and also cos their songs teeter toward the side of the old villagy kind.. slow country, old folky songs.. cars are really rare.. they mostly travel on bicycles or motorcycles.. and believe me, cycling on those kind of dirt roads (whereby the sky gets dyed a murky brown whenever a minivan or tuk tuk drives past) or gravel roads is no easy matter.. my butt hurts after 2 days of cycling.. well, there are no fast foods there, a few french cafes (cos it was formerly a french colony), many road side stalls.. the place is really undeveloped..
the people there thrive on tourism related activities.. in the old town centre, i think that most people either operate eateries, bike renting services, or handicraft shops (like selling home made pencil cases and bags and their traditional skirts), or they drive tuk-tuks or minivans to transport tourists.. as you move away from the city centre to the outskirts, you find the wet markets.. and when you travel even further, you see the padi fields and vegetable patches.. what a lifestyle.. its totally stress free.. i would like to think that the people earn enough from their activities to sustain them and their familes quite well.. take for example, the tuk tuk driver was immensely delighted and grateful just to earn us$3 to transport us to the airport..
the scenery there is magnificent.. you're surrounded by green misty mountains on all sides.. the skyline is not polluted with high rise buildings.. everything's peaceful and serene.. you can hear the water from mekong river.. its the first time i'm been to a "riverside" settlement.. its really interesting.. dining alfresco with the numerous bugs beside mekong river.. the river is long.. winding through at least 3 countries.. the colour of the river is that murky brown, cos it has already travelled very far through the previous 2 countries, and carries all the silt and mud from the areas it had coursed through.. undercurrents are plenty.. and we had a fun time sitting in the slowboat listening and observing them..
we visited 2 villages on the outskirts of luang prabang.. a whiskey village and hmong village.. and we climbed up a mountain to watch the sunset.. went to a waterfall where we climbed to the topmost part (pant pant!!), pseudo outward bound korea style, and also swam in the refreshing river, where hongking had a "near death" experience.. we cycled through the streets, greeting the pure angelic children "sa bai di" when we passed them along the streets, which they returned with very cute renditions of sabaidi coupled with those mesmerizing innocent smiles.. we went to the caves where sculptures of buddha which are destroyed by wear and tear are being kept.. (the limestone caves are dark, and surprisingly cool..) and there we shocked a korean couple when we said "anyunghasayyo" to them.. and then we kept meeting them along the streets.. you yuan ren! :) and of cos, luang prabang is filled with wats, ie temples.. the architecture is very grand.. intricate carvings and mosaic paintings.. enormous majestic sculptures of buddha.. the temples are grand, and washes you over with serenity when you enter them.. and ya, its quite funny that bena and i encountered "chi ko pek" monks.. haha.. monks in bright orange robes can be seen cruising down the streets leisurely with their umbrellas and slippers.. some have hps and digi cams! in the morning, all the monks will walk down the streets to ask for alms.. we also visited the grand royal palace.. and it is a good thing that the ex king and queen there are quite.. "frugal".. their bedrooms are not so splendidly furnished.. and ya, strangely, they live in different rooms which are as big as my living room plus 2 bedrooms.. haha..
all in all, luang prabang was just.. and eye opener.. puts a new perspective to things.. and i feel so lucky once again.. and perhaps not so lucky in some aspects.. all of us living in the developed world really complain too much, and do not cherish what we have.. you are just awestruck when you see how simply those people lead their lives.. in rundown homes without aircon, without computers, without shopping malls, without nice libraries, in rundown schools, with no nice clothes.. i can't help but wonder what's the meaning of their lives.. what are their ambitions and aspirations.. here we are fretting over no money to buy branded clothes, this place no aircon, wah lao study so much also got no use, wah lao make me walk such a long distance, wah lao this wah lao that.. but those kids don't even have a very bright future to dream of! do they even know how life is like in other countries? do they know how life could be more pampered elsewhere? do they ever dream of sitting in an airplane? do they know disneylands exist? i really want to bring hope into their lives.. and i guess i'll see what i can do about it..
well.. i went to the temple to ask for a lot.. very interesting.. my lot said i'm a person who shi ban gong bei.. i will get married very late (!!!??!!), i will work overseas far away from home, people older than me will help me a lot, and all the bad things will never come to me.. i really hope the good parts come true!!! bean got a bad lot.. her bf will have many gfs.. hmmm..and hongking's v funny.. he will get married to a very very very pretty wife.. haha..
today's first day of school.. supposed to be inauguration ceremony.. but the wrong massage was passed to us.. and we ended up going at the wrong time.. there were no tickets.. so while the rest waited to see if there would be extra tix, some of us went lido to watch sincity!! my first r21 show!! haha!! the way its shot is fresh.. black and white.. with a little hue of colour somewhere to enhance images.. well, its a lot of gore.. and funny effects.. people can still talk when their heads are chopped off.. and when people get mutilated, their blood is white (cos its black and white) and gushes out from the wound like beer!! eewwee.. very weird disturbing images.. like elijah woods smiling when his limbs were being chopped off.. its sick la.. and people still able to get up and walk and kill after they've been shot so many times and being knocked down by the car and flung several hundred metres many times.. it just a sick disturbing but amusing show..
well.. how many of such leisurely days are left? i must really enjoy them..! :)
