Laos LDR / Laos PDR

Po snidani jsme nalozeni na korbu jeepu a odvezeni k privozu. Veletok Mekong je v teto casti sveta jen o malo vetsi nez Labe. Cinane svou prehradou zadrzuji vetsinu vody a na Laos tak moc nezbyva. Byrokracie je na hranicich slusna, ale imigracni urednik se vic nez o platne vizum zajima o 1 dolar za 'prescas' protoze je nedele. Misto lodi se nas pruvodce snazi za extra penize premluvit na cestu minibusem misto lodi, je to pry dlouhe, nepohodlne, nebezpecne, atd. Kecy jako obvykle, minibus je nejspis jeho. Je mi trochu lito anglicanek co evidentne cestuji jen chvilku a skoci mu na to, vzdyt hlavne kvuli plavbe po Mekongu jsme prave tady. Reka je krasna a vlni se mezi strmymi nepravidelnymi kopci, vysoke brehy tvori hladky ostry cerny kamen (nejspise grafit, bridlice). Po 6h plavby dorazime do Pakbeng. Jedna spinava ulice plna ubytovani. Zariskovali jsme a pokoj zaplatili drive nez jsme ho videli. Ale je celkem ok, nemenene povleceni, zasuvku se spatnym kontaktem, netekouci vodu a obsluhu co se snazi pri placeni vratit min nez ma (1Kc je skoro 500 Laoskych kipu, ke vsemu ma pro nas zname cislice jen v jedinem rohu na jedne strane a malym pismem) je ani neresime. Proste typicke misto pro turisty kde neni jina alternativa. Toto je jedina vetsi vesnice na ceste do Luang Prabang, kompletne obklopena dzungli a pravdepodobne jedina se silnici do vnitrozemi. Dalsi den plavba trva 9h a probiha vicemene podobne, krajina je jeste divocejsi a opustenejsi, sem tam vidime vesnici na brehu a u ni na bidlech z bambusu site rybaru. V jednu chvili na lod pristoupi skupina mistnich se 3mi motorkami a lod je evidentne pretizena a naklani se na jednu stranu. Ale asi vi co delaji, navecer dorazime do byvaleho hlavniho mesta a horskeho kralovstvi Luang Prabang. Krasne historicke mesto s pohodovou atmosferou. A meli jsme pravdu kdyz jsme cekali uplne jiny pristup lidi, usmevavi a pratelsti i kdyz zrovna nemavate penezi. Nocni trh je maly zazrak, zadny hluk, davy a nuceni do koupe. Hromady zbozi a smlouvani je zde velmi jednoduche - malokdy zaplatime vice nez 50% puvodni ceny. Hodne se nam libi sachy vytesane vcetne krabice z kamene, ale ta vaha... Pri koupi obrazu je nam autorky diky nasi neoblomnosti docela lito. Neni moc dobry obchodnik a tak misto smlouvani sympaticka holcina zadoni tenkym hlasem: "Prosim sire, dejte mi trochu vic. Prosim." Po kazdem uspesnem obchode prodavajici vezmou trzbu a poklepou s ni vystavene zbozi - lucky, lucky (stesti, stesti).
Mirime dale na jih do cestovateli opevovaneho a nechvalne znameho Vang Viang. Auto sice nema slibenou klimatizaci, ale da se to vydrzet. Projizdime strme serpentyny nahoru a dolu, po strane je sem tam na svahu roztahla vesnicka. Bambusove chatrce na kulech - tady je videt, ze Laos je opravdu chudy. Ze by v tom castecne mely prsty sovetske vlajky vyvesene u kazde statni budovy?
Krajina je uzasna a laka k turam na kole nebo pesky. Vedro bohuzel neni jedina prekazka. Kdyz vidime jak jsou kopce strme a vse je nedostupne vubec se nedivime, ze jak francouzi tak americane tu proti Vietcongu nemeli sanci. Sem se bez silnice nedostane ani tank a tak po pechote zbyva jedina moznost - kobercove nalety. Behem valky USA shodili na Laos vice bomb (260mil) nez bylo pouzito v cele II svetove valce. 80mil nevybuchlo a zanechaly tak Laosu neprijemne dedictvi. Mimo hlavni tahy se na toaletu nedoporucuje chodit za krajnici silnice...
Vang Vieng je umele turisticke mestecko o 3 ulicich plnych jen hotelu a restauraci. Turistu je tu vic nez mistnich, ceny vysoke a ani nema cenu smlouvat, kdyz ne my nekdo jiny si to stejne koupi. Hlavni atrakci ktera zivi pres 1500lidi je reka v uzkem korytu pod vertikalnimi stenami. Nic zvlastniho, to maji i jinde. Ale co nemaji je atraktivita krajiny spojena s party a adrenalinem. Brehy po obou stranach lemuji bary a diskoteky. Kazdy dostane dusi od traktoru a plavi se dolu, kdyz ma chut na pivo, zamava a z baru mu hodi lano. Vsude ke kazdemu zakoupenemu napoji je zdarma panak...Vetsina baru ma pak jeste v nabidce zdarma nejaky ten adrenalin. Na prvni zastavce jsem sel na houpacku - 6-7m vysoka vez stlucena z prken, docela se houpe a kdyby me lide z baru nevytleskali tak se nahore nejspis otocim a misto zhoupnuti a skoku slezu. Nakonec se ukaze, ze nejtezsi cast je stat nahore na tresouci se plosince (ale salto pozadu jako mistni kluci opravdu nevystrihnu). Pak jeste jdeme na obri betonovou vykachlikovanou klouzacku. Usti nad rekou ve vysce 5m a kdyz to clovek necha poradne rozjet da se letet i 20m do dalky (hlavne nehodit placaka). Mozna by nekoho jeste mohlo zajimat, ze vetsina baru ma krome piva v nabidce opium, hasis, marihuanu a houbicky. Cele to zni jako silenost, ale kdyz se clovek nerozstrili a neriskuje pak zivot je to sranda kde potkate spoustu novych lidi a netradicne se pokochate horami kolem.
Hlavni mesto Vientiane je takova velka vesnice ve ktere neni nic moc co by stalo za zminku. Jak se jiz mnohokrat osvedcilo, obejdeme vice ubytovani a hned vedle sebe jsou dira s plisni na zdech a designovy hotel s klimatizaci a evropskou TV za stejnou cenu. Jinak doporucujeme pujcit skutr a jet 27km za mesto do Wat Xiang Khouan - mapa netreba, domorodci poradi klidne i za jizdy. Mistni umelec venoval zivot dilu kdy vytvoril park plny soch zobrazujici asijskou mytologii. Lezici budha ma urcite pres 50m na delku.
Presun na jih do Pakxe je nocnim busem, ale ne ledajakym. Ohromny dvouposchodovy bus je vevnitr uplne vybourany a zaplneny podomacku svarenymi palandami. V evrope by bezpecnostnimi testy asi neprosel, ale zde - co to je bezpecnost? Sice moc nespim, protoze palanda nema zabrany a v zatacce bych se mohl proletet 2m dolu, ale i tak je 10h jizda pohodlna.
V Pakxe se neplanujeme zdrzet a je cas po mestech take vyzkouset venkov. Chceme po ridici tuk tuku aby nas odvezl na autobusak odkud pojedeme do Champasaku. Ale o nicem nevi, tak nas vyhodi na centralnim trhu odkud muzeme jet ve vetsim tuktuku sdilenym s mistnimi. Pri cekani mame moznost pozorovat ranni srumec kolem - motorku nalozenou 3mi obrovskymi kosi durianu, holku na motorce se spoustou kachen uvazanych na riditkach, pani co se vysmrka zevnitr do trika co ma na sobe (pozdeji jeste do sukne), chlapka co jede na motorce a za sebou tahne kolecko nalozene cihlami, ...
Nase jizda je vlastne takova okruzni jizda. Ridic ruzne po meste naklada objednavky pro jednotlive vesnice, takze nakonec spolecne s nami sedi pytle ryze, mouky, fosny a ruzne tasky. A tak jak vse postupne vyklada mame moznost videt pravy venkov. Sice nam tech 40km zabralo pul dne, ale zazitek vyborny.
Z Champasaku jedeme do Nakasang. Prasna ulice na brehu 4000 ostrovu Mekongu (zde je reka uz velka) je plna obchudku a cele je to vlastne jedna velka skladka. Nejblizsi bus do Kambodzi jede az zitra rano, zustavat se nam tu nechce a tak se rozhodneme prekrocit hranice opet ve stylu. Domluvime 2 motorky (tuktuk zde neni), krosna vepredu, pak ridic a za nim my s malym batohem. Behem 5ti min jizdy na jilove ceste jsme od hlavy k pate pokryti prachem. Zastavime na fotku u nejvetsich vodopadu Mekongu a po 10ti km z motorek slezeme u zavory mezi Laosem a Kambodzou. (kdo uz videl foto na facebooku, tak link byl updatovan)

Fotky:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=62492&id=1344786025&l=1d49f90ff6



One of the worlds biggest rivers Mekong is just a normal medium sized river. Chinese are holding most of the water with their dams and so Laos is left with water equal to couple Liffey rivers. Bureaucracy on the border is highly developed but more than our visas it's 1USD (for Sunday 'overtime') that interests the immigration officers.
The guide tries to persuade us to take a minibus for extra money instead of the boat. It's long, uncomfortable, dangerous, ... Blabbing as usual, minibus is probably his private business, boating down the Mekong that's why we are here! I feel a bit sorry for couple of English girls that fall for it. It's obvious they only started their travels recently and are not familiar with the tricks. River is beautiful, it undulates below irregular sheer hills, banks are made of sharp graphite rock. In 6hrs we arrive to Pakbeng. One dirty street full of accommodation. We took a risk and paid for a room before seeing it. But it's quite ok, unchanged sheets, plug out of order and no water are minor problems we learned to ignore in places like this. Just another typical tourist place where no other alternative is available. This is the only bigger village on the way to Luang Prabang, completely surrounded by jungle and probably the only one with a road connection to inland. Staff in the restaurants are trying to return less than they are supposed to - 1EUR equals to nearly 15000 Laos Kip and the only Arabic numerals are in a small print and just in one corner.
Next day the cruise takes 9hrs, landscape is more wild and desolate. From time to time we see a village with bamboo poles for fishing nets. At one point of the journey we take on board more local passengers bringing with them 3 motorbikes. The boat is evidently overloaded and inclines to the left side. But captain probably knows what he's doing, later in the afternoon we safely arrive to former capital and mountain kingdom Luang Prabang. Beautiful historical town with friendly and laid back atmosphere. And we were right when we expected better attitude from the locals - smiling and friendly even when you're not waving with money. Night market is a little wonder, no noise, crowds or forcing to buy. Good range of hand made goods and haggling is very easy even for beginners - we rarely pay more than 50% of starting price. We like a lot big chess set carved out of stone including the box, however the weight... Due to our unyieldingness we feel sorry for an artist selling her pictures. She is not a very good tradesman and instead of haggling begs with tiny voice: "Please sir give me more, please". After every successful deal the pitchers take the money and pat with it all the wares - lucky, lucky.
We head further south to (in)famous Vang Viang. Car doesn't have the promised AC but it's bearable. We go through steep windy roads up and down. Sometimes we pass a village - bamboo huts on poles. Here we can see that Laos is really very poor. Maybe something to do with Soviet Union flags hanging everywhere on official buildings?
Landscape is breathtaking and lures to be hiked or biked. Big heat is unfortunately not the only obstruction. Hills are very steep and everything is inaccessible - no wonder both French and US stood no chances against Vietcong. Without a road not even a tank can reach these villages and so the only other option after infantry is carpet bombing. During to war USA dropped on Laos more bombs (260mil) than was used in whole WWII. 80mil never exploded and left to Laos deadly legacy. In rural areas it is strongly not recommended to go for a toilet away from the road...
Vang Vieng is artificial tourist town made of 3 streets full of hotels and restaurants. There is more white people than locals. Main attraction that supports more than 1500people is a river in narrow bed below the hills. Nothing special you can see this elsewhere. But what you won't see elsewhere is the nature attractiveness joined with parties and bit of adrenalin. Banks on both sides are flanked with bars. Everybody gets a tractor inner tube and floats down the river, when you feel like having a beer just lift your hand and somebody from the bar will throw you a rope. With every purchased drink is a free shot...Most of the bars also have an adrenalin attraction attached to it. I tried a big swing - 6-7m high tower made of scrap pallets - it's shaking and I don't feel very secure, if the people down in the bar didn't cheer me up I'd probably never jumped. In the end it's really cool I just don't finish it off with a back flip like local kids. Then we try huge concrete slide with tiled surface. It vents 5m above the surface and when you let go and gain good speed it's no problem to fly 20m far (just don't land on your back). Someone might be interested in a special menu of every bar - opium, weed and psychedelic mushrooms.
The whole thing looks and is crazy but if one is a bit conscious and doesn't risk own life it's great fun where you can meet lot of new people and admire mountains around.
Capital Vientiane is just a big village where is not much to see. It pays off to walk around when looking for a room. Very often you'll find a dump next to a new hotel with AC and cable TV for the same price. In the town we recommend to rent a motorbike and go to Wat Xiang Khouan, 27km out of town. No map is required, locals will point you in the right direction (sometimes while driving). Local artist devoted his life to creation of this park. It's full of statues from Asian mythology. Sleeping Buddha is at least 50m long.
Transfer to Pakxe is via night bus, but it's not an ordinary bus. Big doubledecker is inside completely pulled down and filled with homemade bunks. It couldn't pass any safety tests, but over here - safety is not very common word. Aware of the gap next to me and possible flight in one of the bends, I don't get much sleep but it's much more comfortable 10hrs than sitting in a seat.
We don't plan to stay in Pakxe as it's time to try some countryside. We ask tuktuk driver for a bus station that services village Champasak. He doesn't have a clue so drops us at the central market where we can get a shared tuktuk. During our waiting we get an opportunity to watch morning buzzing - motorbike carrying 3 huge baskets full of durians, girl with 2 flocks of duck hanging from handles of her motorbike, lady that blows her nose inside the tshirt she is wearing (later on it's skirt), and lots more. Our ride is actually a sight-seeing trip. Driver has to pick up various stuff from around the town so we end up siting surrounded by various bags, sacks of rice and flour and wooden planks. And as everything gets dropped at the villages we get to see real rural Laos. The 40km took us half a day but priceless experience.
From Champasak we head to Nakasang. Dusty road on the bank of 4000 islands of Mekong (the river is really big over here) is full of stalls and all of it looks like a big dump. Next bus to Cambodia leaves tomorrow morning, we don't want to stay so decide to cross the border again in style. We hire 2 motorbikes (no tuktuks here), big backpack in the front, then driver, then us with with small backpacks. In 5mins we are completely covered in dust. We even manage to stop to take a picture of biggest Mekong's waterfalls and just another 10km and we are at the gate between Laos and Cambodia. (for those who saw pictures on Facebook already - some new were added)

Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=62492&id=1344786025&l=1d49f90ff6