1 day in Laos

(Sunday 9.7.08 11pm Bus from Chiang Rai to Bangkok)
Thursday morning when I woke up Pa-pa took the motorbike to get the registration renewed. Upon his return I met Paw in the city for lunch. I pretty much wasted the morning away with the exception of getting my teeth cleaned and going to the travel agent to book my bus ride to Chiang Khong for Saturday. I also had them get my visa for Vietnam. In the afternoon I met Andy at A Taste from Heaven, we rode the motorbike to the Tiger Kingdom. It was about 15-20 ride out of Chiang Mai. I found an ad for Tiger Kingdom in the tourist magazine I’ve been using a map out of. We arrived at about 7pm to be informed that the ad, which stated they were open til 9pm, was outdated and that now the tiger visits close at 6pm but the restaurant remains open til 9pm. I didn’t let it go and was able to work my way into seeing the tigers! They have three different groups: Big Tigers, Small Tigers and Newborns. At first I was told I could only see the small tigers since the others were eating. The price was 300 b for 15 min and you actually go right in their cage and can pet them and play with them. Right before we went in, they informed me that now the only tigers available were the newborns (500b), which I was actually hoping to see anyways. They don’t allow flash photography, which made challenging photos in the low light room, and, is why they stopped tours after sunset (6pm). However I did manage to get a few good shots of one cub that had fallen asleep. I got several good video clips! www.youtube.com/timlara It was really neat there was a 20 by 20 room with a small cage inside. I was the only person in there with the exception of the worker. She opened the cage door and three lil cubs came tumbling out. Two remained asleep inside. I sat on the floor and they began to climb all over me. They did bite, sometimes hard, and the trainer would give them a light slap. It was definitely a cool experience! When we returned to the city we met the two CA girls who were meeting two English girls to go to the markets. We persuaded them to join us at a Mui Thai fight first then hit the market. The fight was 400b “ringside”, all the seats are “ringside” and there were 8 fights, followed by a Cabaret (Lady Boy) show. The fights started with a two kids that looked about 8 years old and they got older as the night went on. There was even a girl fight and a four way blindfolded fight. The girls left at 10:30pm for the market and I pulled 4 other girls to our table to replace them. Two from England and two from Germany. I had met them earlier in the night while walking around the gym. Around 11:30 the first 4 girls returned which left Andy and I sitting with 8 girls. To be fair only 6 of them were good looking. After the fight we stayed for about 3 minutes of the Lady Boy show, enough time for me to get a couple of pics, then Andy forced me to go barhopping in the “red light” district. He said it’s something I had to do while in Thailand. Girl hollered and pleaded with us to come inside as we walked along a stretch of bars. My theory is, that the guys who enough these bars are the guys that don’t normally get much attention from ladies. Andy bought me a water while he drank a beer and 4 ladies kept us company. I was dead tired and decided to go home while Andy tried to convince me to check out one more stretch of bars. It was 2:30 and I insisted on going home. The next morning (Friday) I woke up at 11am and met Paw for lunch, I had a really hard time finding her and got really irritated with her directions over the phone. I finally met her and apologized for being rude, I NEED my coffee and food before I can operate in the morning. After lunch we went to a temple and I sat in the courtyard speaking to Keo, a student monk. I wasted the rest of day at A Taste of Heaven on the internet. I did manage to meet a girl there from Oregon and pick her brain on travel. OH, and I went to the local market to buy a pair of traditional northern Thai pants, like the ones I wore when I got my massage in Phrao. Friday night was “Family Dinner” and Paw said I should attend. Ake suggested I buy a bottle of wine or some flowers for her parents. So I bought three “ring flowers” (flower lei’s). We went to a upscale modern Thai restaurant and the food was amazing. They also had tradition northern Thai music and dance at the restaurant while we ate. After dinner I drug Paw out to meet Ploy, from Phrao, and her friends out for drinks. We started at Bombay, trendy bar by the university and then headed to Warm Up night club, another university hot spot. Andy joined us but Ake said it wasn’t his scene. The night club was huge, with one room for hip-hop, one for live music, one for electronic and one for just cruising. We started in the hip hop room and it was packed FULL. Alicia, a New Yorker volunteering with Ploy at Warm Hearts, noticed that we were the only ones dancing and suggested that since that were the case we should dance “hard”. I instantly fell in love with Alicia, I was drawn to her in Phrao after seeing her dance I knew she would have to be my wife. I convinced the girls to jump on the stage with me and quickly became the life of the party until we were made to get down by the bouncers. I hadn’t danced that hard since my ATL trip! (Now it’s 1pm 9.8.08; Bangkok, Mimi’s house)Next morning, Saturday, I awoke at 9am and ate breakfast at Paw’s parents’ house before she gave me a ride to the city to catch my 10am bus for the border of Laos. A five hour, 11 passenger, van ride took us to the border and I took a water taxi to the Laos side of the boarder: Hoi Xiao (spelling?). It was a small one road town and not many westerners, I did notice two girls down the street, so I made my way to stalk them. When I walked in the internet café I was surprised by the fact that there were actually 6 girls there!! They were part of a tour group consisting of 8 girls; 24-27 yrs old. They invited me to dinner and suggested I could get a room where they were staying. I followed three of the girls to their guest house and checked prices of other guest houses on the way. They were all about 70,000 kip, Laos’s currency, or about 260 b. When we arrived I asked the manager how much for a room and he said 80.000 kip, “too much” I responded. “My bungalows 150,000 kip! 80,000 kip very cheap!!!” he snapped back as I made my way out the door. I told the girls I didn’t like the manager and I would stay at Saybadee guest house across from the internet café. The girls went to Riverside Restaurant while I checked into my room. On my way to meet the girls I noticed a lone backpacker girl looking for room, I offered her to split my room and she agreed. I continued on to the restaurant to meet the girls and she joined after dropping her bags at our room. Our table got some looks, as there were 9 girls and two guys: Blaire their guide and myself. After dinner we went for drinks and stayed past our welcome, the owners began shutting down the bar and giving us stink eye. Next morning I went to check the price of a speed boat to Luang Prapang (1,440 b), ate breakfast, checked out of room and went back to catch my boat. When I arrived a boat was on it way out with 6 passengers and I was told to wait for the next boat. There were two Laos women waiting and they said they needed 6 for a trip. An hour and half later they tried to charge me 1400 b to get to Pek Peng, which is not even half way to Luang Prapang! I told him it was too much and he said I could pay 4,700 to Luang Prapang today or 1400 to Pek Peng, or wait til tomorrow for a full boat. About this time i realized i should have taken the package deal for 1300b all the way from Chiang Mai to Luang Prapang! I was frustrated and sick of dealing with the Laos people and language barrier, so I decided to head back to Thailand where the people are nice. I crossed back over the river and caught a bus local bus, with no A/C, to Chiang Rai 70b 2 ½ hours. It stopped nearly 100 times to pick up more people. At Chiang Rai I caught a 1st class A/c bus back to Bangkok 668b 12hours. When I got in at 6am I took a cab to Mimi’s house, couch surf host, and took a nap for a few hours. Now it’s about 1pm and I am going to Khoa San rd to pick up my battery charger I left at the travel agents and do some shopping. I think I will go to Cambodia from here and then make my way to South Vietnam and make my way north?