slow boat to pak lai

on the first morning in luang prabang i saw a small printout taped to the window of a travelling agency advertising a tour to the lao elephant festival in pak lai. i spoke to a young man inside. the "tour" was basically a drive there and back. he suggested i find my own way there.
the option to travel by road looked tedious and down right dangerous. everyone said the public bus would take at least two days. but one look at the map and i noticed that pak lai was right on the east bank of the mekong. so i walked down to the peir and spoke to a few boat drivers about hiring a boat. that night ben and i spoke bravely of buying a boat and floating all the way to saigon, but in the end we hired a boat and left the following morning with great expectations.

the weather was rather cool, and did not exactly fit with my idea of a tropical cruise. and our driver, who had been so friendly the day before when we checked out his boat, had become quite unfriendly. he steered the boat from the front, and all day long he would glance over his shoulder at us, or possibly his stern and pregnant wife, with a look of fear in his eyes, as if he expected to encounter some ongoing disaster behind him. i too began to peer towards the back of the boat as that same fear began to grip me.
as the sun dropped behind the low hills to the north east we rounded a five hundred foot limestone cliff and pulled into a small village on the opposite shore. the engine cut and we could hear the screech of some owl way up on the cliff, looking down on us.
our boat driver, who told us his name was mr. c., grapped me and led me up the hill into the village. we had to get dinner, he said. chicken. as we walked through the town the sun had completely surrender to the horizon, and we began to stumble around the dusty houses. we encountered a few fires in yards, and a few lao looked into the darkness at what must have seemed, even in the darkness, a little foriegn. a drunk accosted us.
then mr. c. pointed to a house and said, chicken. i could he the quiet throaty clucks of the chickens in the pen under the house. several locals gathered. as mr. c. and a few locals entered the pen through a door on the opposite side, a kid, just in front of me, reached in and grapped a chicken by its leg. there was a brief struggle. then mr.c. emerged with the beautiful bird in his arms. dinner, he said. i looked over at ben and cath. ben looked a little stunned, but poor cath was rather upset. they stayed behind as mr c and i took the bird back to the boat.
leter we had a spicey chicken soup, tom gai, some sticky rise, khao niaw, and a spice fish sauce for dipping called nam phi. we drank our red wine quickly. mr. c. brought out some lao moonshine made from rice. we got quite drunk eating our chicken on a boat floating in the mekong under the wall of limestone. we stumbled back up the hill into the town and slept on the floor of a wooden house.

Vientiane

i stumbled across a chinese run coffee shop on a quiet street in the early, cool morning in the old quarter of vientiane. in the northern tradition the thick, rich and sweet coffee is served with a glass of green tea. there was deep fried bread on a plate on the thick concrete table. the cieling was high. it felt like a cross between a french colonial building and a soviet, industrial garage - two spaces you see a lot here.
the coffee was wonderfully delicious.
having dropped off some laundry, i went for a little walk in search of a local newspaper (the government-run vientiane times) and found it at a store which sells prosciutto, jameson's irish whiskey and pasteries.
we spent the last three days in a dusty town searching out dusty packets of oreo's of dubious provinance. the whole town sold about a dozen products, i think. luckily baguettes, marmalade and happy cow cheese were among them.

ben and cath and i have this running toast going. at the end of a particularly challenging day we raise a glass of well-earned cold beerlao. the list last night, over an equally well-earned dinner of indian curries was as follows: to slow boats, elephants, red wine and chickens, guest houses and moonlight.

Laos joy

i'm in a bit of a pinch here so no time to craft much of a narrative.
know that i am ecstatic.
loving lao from the minute i crossed the border. and things just keep getting better and better.
the slow boat was lovely, and i was dreaming of hiring my own boat and floating the rest of the way. well, i managed to instill my dream in a lovely english couple, and we think we have hired a boat to take us three down river a couple days to an elephant festival in a small town, that seemingly few westerners visit. elephant races and processions abound, for three days! and then we heard about a homestay program there, and think we might have that worked out. and have found a store that can sell us a bottle of wine for the journey, some baquettes, some brie and even some chocholate cake! we started celebrating with afternoon tea, and then some beer, and then a fabulous dinner at a night market, spring rolls (with local watercress and mint), some pork rinds (with anise i think), and bbq chicken and a lovely fish (stuffed with lemongrass). all of it disgustingly affordable (except the afternoon tea, but hey).
i couldn't be happier with how the future is looking. really.
i'll try and get back to a computer tomorrow to confirm things. but i might again be out of touch, for longer this time, maybe a week.
know that i am in very happy place.
i wish you could join me.
there will be room on our boat.
might try a little fishing off the bow, catch us one of those three meter carp.
ben seems keen on trying a little waterskiing.
i'm up for it.
the boat driver says "it's your boat. you can stop where ever you like. you can go wherever you want. you can do it in one day, or you can take two days. you can do whatever you want."
pinch me.

strange waters.

i was recently convinced that my colon might explode. i was convinced by the profound discomfort i was experiencing at the time. i was sure that this flew in the face of all science, but stood strong, if a little bent over, in my personal conviction. and then, the following morning, like a heavyweight boxer emerging from sleep the night after a fight (i did spend all night under the hood of my sweatshirt, and didn't sleep, as boxers are said not too, either, all that adrenalin), i stumbled across a small pocket guide on travel and health. in the chapter on "traveller's diarrhea" i was a little upset to read that yes, the colon can explode.
but having apparently overcome the little bastards that invaded my guts, with a little help from the good people at Bayer, i truly feel that i have overcome. i am, perhaps, in a faint glow from my involuntary fast through most of last week. but things do seem a little clearer. i have a little pace, now. i am less reckless.
sadly less adventures among the street stalls for now, as well, which is very difficult for me. in fact, i cower as i walk the streets these days, fausty, stinky food at every turn. i also feel just a little more aware of what i care about. i spent much of the past few days, and one long night, eyes closed, in a dark room, trying to find my happy place. all of you visited me at one point and i thank you for that. i have begun to miss home, family and friends. a little sooner that i would have thought, but illness does this to you. this is a good things for me. i do not want to turn my back on my life back in canada. it is a great life. i know this. i knew this before i left too. i have felt especially appreciative this last year. but know i feel it in my gut, you might say.
i do feel as though i have become a little pensive. my travels had until recently been interesting, and fun, and rewarding, but in no way philisophical. the art of travel has begun for me. all i needed was a little suffering.
and so it is that i leave thailand and enter the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The "land of a million elephants," as it was once known, where 80 percent of the population are subsistence farmers. The communist government came to power after the Vietnamese and Americans brought instabilty, and lots and lots of bombs. I will first cross then make my way down the Mekong, flush with the melted snows of the tibetan plateau, home to the rare Irriwaddy dolphin, and the giant siamese carp.

balls of light are oft reported by the locals emerging from the river, considered to be fire from the Phaya Naga, the river dragons.
strange waters.

lincoln city

there is a scene in sam peckinpah's Pat Garret and Billy the Kid, where Billy mounts his horse, leaning back, casually, swaying in a manner that seems to take in all the vast landscape of the American south west, both literally and figuratively, with one turn.
billy has reluctantly decided to leave texas for mexico, to run from the law. it is an existential battle against his free riding ways. before he leaves he has a conversation with his new sidekick, alias (played famously and wonderfully by bob dylan). alias suggests a certain kind of man could be happy in mexico for a few months. later kid repeats the line to him. it is, therefore, a question of what kind of man kid is. on his way to mexico he encounters an old friend who, also on his way to mexico, has been unlawfully captured and tortured by men riding for Chisum, a powerful ranch owner in texas, and ultimately pat garret's employer. kid is deeply upset by this. he is, i think, willing to except law, order, fences, and a general civilization, if it leads to a decent life (for others, if not for him), but when he sees this corruption, sees the law for its corruption, he says to himself that he cannot leave. he knows he must return to fort sumner, to his posse, to the law, to garret and his gun. he knows his fate. he knows he is one of the last free men riding to his death. in one movement, one gesture, he grabs his horse's reigns, puts one foot in the stirrup, swings the other leg over the horse and turns it sharply around, from south, and mexico and a temporary reprieve, a slow death of half freedom, and faces north, texas, garret and the law.
in my mind i am still swaying. the hills, the mesquite bush in the distance like low clouds, the red earth, the unfathomably deep blue sky, turning in all its panovision glory. leaning back into the horse, leading its head around. its body follows with a small cloud of red dust caught in the low light, kicked up as the horse's legs scramble underneath it. my shoulders, leaning back, are the last to follow.
i watched this movie, for a hundred fifty baht at a local joint named pairadiso. it looks like a really small crappy video store, with a few rooms of to the side with some couches and tv's. seemed like a bit of a peep show, somehow. but i'm nursing a recurring gastrointestinal condition, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. throughout the movie the sounds of thailand's inexorable economic development creeped in, mostly through the sounds of motorcycles and cars blazing through the alley.
i been everywhere and there ain't no town as low down as Lincoln city.

Ciprofloxacin

Ciprofloxacin. Manufactured by Bayer. Sold under the names Cipro, Ciproxin and Ciprobay. Ciprofloxacin belongs to a group called fluoroquinolones. It is a bacteriocide. A broad-spectrum antibiotic, it is active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It functions by inhibiting DNA gyrase, a type II topoisomerase, which is an enzyme necessary to separate replicated DNA, thereby inhibiting cell division. According to Wikipedia, "its mode of action depends upon blocking bacterial DNA replication by binding itself to an enzyme called DNA gyrase, thereby causing double-stranded breaks in the bacterial choromosome." In effect, the DNA can no longer uncoil, and can cannot, therefore, reproduce.
It was initially reserved as a final line of defense against resistant bacteria, but is increasingly a common prescription. It is now fed to livestock which in turn show increased weight gain, though it is not know why. It was once thought to be effective against chlamydia, though it has been shown recently to be ineffective in treating this disease.
Ciprofloxacin was stockpiled internationally during the anthrax scare in 2001 (though the Soviets have reported created a strain of anthrax that is resistant to cipro). Since this scare and subsequent stockpilling, cipro has been widely prescribed.
It was discovered in the 1960s as scientists at Bayer sought a cure for malaria. 19 years ago the drug was made available to the public in an oral form. According to www.cipro.com, it has been prescribed to over 340 million patients.
Ciprofloxacin can cause photosensitivity and can elevate plasma theophylline levels to toxic values. It can also cause constipation and sensitivity to caffeine, and general gastrointestinal irritation. It is also known to cause swelling of joints and cartilage, and cause tendon rupture and chronic pain. It should not be taken with antacids or dairy, and heavy exercise should be avoided.
Ciprofloxacin is my friend.

Muay Thai - a draft

Legend has it that at the time of the fall of Siam and the city of Ayyuthaya, in 1767, the Burmese army, under orders of King Mangra, captured a platoon of thai soldiers. They were brought back to the King in Rangoon. One among them, Nai Khanom Tom, quickly gained a reputation for resisting his captors. In 1774, seven years later, during a week long Buddhist celebration, the King suggested a fight, for entertainment, and Nai Khanom Tom was selected to battle a burmese fighter. Before the match began the Thai fighter performed the traditional Wai Kru, a ceremonial dance that pays respect to his elders. The match began immediately after and the Burmese fighter fell quickly. A referee argued that the Burmese fighter had been distracted by the dance and disqualified the knockdown. Nai Khanom Tom boasted that he could best ten Burmese. The king immediately brought in nine more Burmese fighters. Nai Khanom Tom fought them each, and one by one they fell at his feet.
King Mangra is claimed to have said that every part of the thai was blessed with venom.
For his successes in the ring Nai Khanom Tom was offered a choice between riches and two lovely wives. Riches, he said, were easy to come by.
He left with his two Burmese wives and crossed the border back into his homeland a hero.
On March 17th, the day of Nai Khanom Tom's fight in Burma, the Thai celebrate what is commonly referred to as "boxer's day."
Near the end of January, on a cool breezy night, a local muay thai club in Chiang Mai holds an exhibition match with several other clubs from the city. there are probably dozens of these exhibition matches being held across the country on the night. here there are eight fights. two fights match kids, maybe fourteen. three fights feature "lady boxers," young woman eighteen to twenty-five. two fights feature taught young men in their twenties. half way through the evening four fighters enter the ring, are blindfolded, and then fight for one three minute round, swinging wildly. Later they pass through the crowd, asking for donations for the club.
the audience is made of equal parts foreign tourists like myself, and Thai. it has the feel of local amateur sport. which it is, of course. but i am glad it is not merely a show for us foreigners. old men, and old women yell at the young fighters and cheer a particularly heavy blow in unison, as if counting and keeping score, and trying, no doubt, to encourage the judges to count the blows, as well. kids run around, looking up to the adults and the fighters in amazement. as the fighters pass through the crowd, on their way into the ring, and on their way out, there is a palpable tension in the crowd. indeed, the whole event, with music and dance and lights is quite a spectacle.
Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, is the national sport of Thailand. It is called "the art of eight limbs." Fists, elbows, knees and shins. The head was once used (which would make nine, i guess), but no longer. The Thai army trains in a slightly modified form, called Lerdrit, which uses open hands and grappling, and is i presume mercilessly effective.
In ancient times it was known as Muay Boran. The tradition was practiced, taught, and handed down through generations by Buddhist monks.
Sometime between the 14th and 18th centuries, in the ancient city of Ayutthaya, the king is said to have trained and kept a royal regiment of muay thai fighters, known as Grom Nak Muay.
In 1868 King Rama V ushered in what is known as the golden age of Muay Thai. His successor Rama VII created the sport of Muay Thai, introducing rules and structure to the fights. Gloves became mandatory.
There are said to be four styles of Muay Thai today.
Every match begins with Wai Kru, the same ceremonial dance that Nai Khanom Tom performed. It is an adaptation of a traditional sabre dance known as Krabi Krabong. Fighters each perform a series of bows and moves in each of the four directions of the ring. The fighters always seems to begin at slightly different times, and perform the dance in slightly different sequences. They move around the ring, threatening to meet, their glistening bodies twitching with anticipation and adrenaline and aggression, momentarily calmed and focused on these graceful and peaceful movements.
To the side of the ring, behind the raucous crowd of Thai who all stand during the matches, is a corner where two black and red heavy bags hang and sway with the occasional blow, as they have swayed on countless nights. A mirror hangs from the wall next to them. The two walls forming the corner are painted an intense azure blue. against the far wall the clubs insignia depicts to fighters clashing.
in the azure corner a young boxer is vigorously rubbed down with Vaseline. the vaseline will help deflect any attacks that make it through his vigilant defense, but the vigorous rub also gets the blood flowing to his limbs. he shakes out his limbs and begins to move through a few jabs. a lightning quick right, a powerful left. his knees lift and rise to the imagined opponents ribs with crushing force. he is wide eyed. aware. not scared, but not mean. his opponent has better reach and looks to throw a little more weight. but the opponent is less disciplined, and he will loose the fight by decision.