Vientiane is the capitol of Laos and it is rumored to be the slowest and most laid back capitol of the entire planet. Some say it is outright boring. I do not agree with the latter. It is nice to recover from the fast forward traveling style I have been performing in the past four weeks. Now I have decided to stay here for a couple of days and check the area.
There are tons of Wats scattered all over the place,(ie. Buddhist Temples) and outside of the town there are caves, waterfalls and the like to marvel about. There is however Luang Prabang in the north, a town that is described as the jewel of Laos´ tourist industry. However, if I am going to attempt to get there and back the same way by enduring a two-times 12-hour bus tour remains doubtful. I have had major back pain yesterday from sitting in far too bad bus seats for far too long…
Hence, for the moment it feels alright to settle down a bit here. Besides, I have come across this really lovely café just around the corner from where I live. A little piece of tranquility and home in a strange and foreign place, where they recognize you at your second visit already and greet you friendly (a bit like at “Cheers”, that magical place on TeVo… ).
The owner must be French or heavily in love with the French café culture. The place is hidden from the view of the main street by palm trees and offers a wide variety of inexpensive local and European foods as well as free wireless Internet access, topped off with the best fruit-smoothy I have ever had the pleasure to try. Surprisingly it is much cleaner than your average French café. Well well, even Laotians can´t copy perfectly…
Since I have been living at a friends place for a couple of days it is hard to say how much higher my budget would have been for Vietnam. However, as a rough guideline, here are the numbers:
Daily total: 21 €
Food: ca. 6.50 € per day
Accommodation: ca. 2.50 € per day (cheapies are between 5 and 10 dollars)
Transportation: 6 € per day
Fees (Museums etc): 6.50 € per day
Ein sehr unterhaltsames Buch, dass ich vor wenigen Tagen gelesen habe, ist “Generation doof”. Es passt sehr gut zu dem, was ich vor kurzem über Richard Dawkins “Unweaving the Rainbow” geschrieben habe. Es betrachtet und beschreibt eine Generation, die sich lieber mit Fernsehen und Playstation beschäftigt, als ein Buch, oder auch nur eine Zeitung zu lesen.
Die Autoren bringen uns die Probleme der Gerneration doof auf heitere und witzige Art näher und erklären, warum diese Generation möglicherweise selber zum Problem werden wird. Dabei geht es nicht darum, dass jemand mal einen grammatikalischen Fehler macht, die Zahl Pi nicht auswendig kennt, oder nicht weiss, wer der Präsident der USA ist. Bei der Generation doof geht es darum, dass sie dies nicht weiss, und es auch nicht wissen möchte, und das nicht-wissen und Ignoranz für sie einen Coolness Faktor haben.
Sehr unterhaltsam fand ich, wie die Autoren Statistiken und Fakten mit Erzählungen aus ihrem eigenen Leben, oder dem von Freunden mischen. Sehr ermutigend ist das Ganze freilich nicht, und erinnert uns daran, dass von Dummheit eine Gefahr für Gesellschaften ausgehen kann. Das Freiheit, eine gesunde Umwelt und sozialer Friede auf dem Spiel stehen könnten…selbst wenn die Dummheit anderer unterhaltsam sein kann.
Ich habe heute Hermann Hesses Buch Narziss und Goldmund zuende gelesen. Es eignet sich hervorragend als Reisebegleitung, denn es handelt von Goldmund, der sich nach einer Kindheit im Kloster auf Reisen begibt. Wie so oft (oder immer?) handelt auch dieses Buch Hesses von Individuen, die einen nicht ganz gewöhnlichen Lebensweg beschreiten, und vor allem, von der Frage was es mit dem Leben überhaupt auf sich hat.
Auch diesmal freilich gibt Hesse keine Antwort auf diese Frage, die die Weisen seit Jahrtausenden umtreibt. Aber wie immer stellt er die wichtigen Fragen und führt den Leser unweigerlich auf einen bereichernden Denkprozess. Er begleitet diesen Prozess mit der unterhaltsamen Geschichte des Narziss und Goldmund, der zwei Hauptpersonen der Erzählung.
Ich finde Hesses Werke eignen sich immer als Lektüre, wenn man die Zeit zum Nachsinnen hat. Narziss und Goldmund merkt man an, dass Hesse es später in seinem Leben geschrieben hat, denn es behandelt immer wieder das Thema Alter und das Altern anhand der Verschiedenen Personen, die Hesse auftauchen lässt, um dieses Thema von den unterschiedlichsten Perspektiven zu beleuchten.
Wie alles von Hesse ist auch dieses Buch sehr empfehlenswert, sicher sogar ist es eines seiner besten Werke.
Meine Lieblingszitate:
“Ein Vagabund kann zart oder roh sein, kunstfertig oder tölpisch, tapfer oder ängstlich, immer aber ist er im Herzen ein Kind, immer lebt er am ersten Tage, vor dem Anfang aller Weltgeschichte, immer wird sein Leben von wenigen einfachen Trieben und Nöten geleitet. [...] immer ist er der Todfeind des Besitzenden und Sesshaften, der ihn hasst, verachtet und fürchtet, denn er will nicht an all das erinnert werden: nicht an die Flüchtigkeit alles Seins, an das beständige Hinwelken alles Lebens. An den unerbittlichen eisigen Tod, der rund um uns das Weltall erfüllt.”
“Es war ja schmälich, wie man vom Leben genarrt wurde, es war zum Lachen und zum Weinen! Entweder lebte man, liess seine Sinne spielen, sog sich voll an der Brust der alten Eva-Mutter – dann gab es zwar manche hohe Lust, aber keinen Schutz gegen die Vergänglichkeit; man war dann wie ein Pilz im Walde, der heut in schönen Farben strotzt und morgen verfault ist. Oder man setzte sich zur Wehr, man sperrte sich in eine Werkstatt ein und suchte dem flüchtigen Leben ein Denkmal zu bauen – dann musste man auf das Leben verzichten, dann war man bloss noch Werkzeug, dann stand man zwar im Dienst des Unvergänglichen, aber man dorrte dabei ein und verlor die Freiheit, Fülle und Lust des Lebens.”
Things went rather smoothly on my way to Laos and I had a travel companion- Cody- from New Zealand. Talking about the pros and cons of hitchhiking (check this album by Roger Waters! ) the many hours on the bus went by faster.
Laos is definitely more laid-back than Vietnam. People hazzle (hello, where are you from? Can I practise my English with you…do you want to buy my tour/useless stuff/wife? Etc.) you almost never and they seem friendly. Even though Savanaket, the place where we arrived first seems like a place where you would not even “hang dead over a fence” (old German idiom ).
However, Tha Kaek is a nice small place with somewhat more atmosphere and some stuff to do in the vicinity. The country side around is beautiful especially in the morning. I went around with a motorbike today and was intoxicated by the lush and green rice fields, which are cut through by rivers here and there and are framed by bizarre and overgrown steep mountains. There are a number of caves which are places of worship for Buddhists. In most one can find religious figures and symbols. One of the has only recently (2004) been discovered complete with hundreds of Buddha figures which face the entrance. They are neatly put between the stalagmites and stalactites and give the place a ghostly atmosphere.
While it is just pouring down right now as if the second “biblical great flood” had begun I got myself another sunburn this afternoon. Just an hour of sun around lunch is so powerful here- it explains why people walk around with umbrellas when it is sunny.
My last day in Vietnam I spend in Hué. There sure would be much more to do and see than can be done in one day. However, there are some 20 tombs and after the arguably two nicest, ie. Tu Duc and Minh Mang tombs, it felt enough for the day. I also went to see the beach, some pagodas and else just drove around.
At one of the pagodas I found a somewhat awkward exhibition piece. Most of you probably know the Rage Against The Machine (RATM) cover with the monk who burns himself to death. The Buddhist monk is Thích Quảng Đức [1] who took this gruesome step in order to protest against the political regime who, in 1963, suppressed the Buddhist monks´ practice of their religion.
The picture of the RATM album cover only shows a part of the Pulitzer Prize winning picture. On the original picture you will see a car in the background which is said to be the car Thích Quảng Đức used to get to the spot where he committed suicide. Now, long explanation, the car was exhibited there. Kinda cool…and weird…
After just one day I think all in all Hué sure is a nice place but I am ready for Laos now…
Taking the bus overnight from Nha Trang to Hoi An [1] was a total nightmare. Sure the bus was a bit cheaper than the train (200000 Dong, ca. 13$ versus 20$ for the almost 600 km) and it was nice to meet some other backpackers for a change but the road was terribly bumpy. Additionally our driver´s kamikaze style of beating down the road was completely incompatible with sleep. In the end I must have dropped simply unconscious from exhaustion. When Mc Cain talks about being torture by the Vietcong I believe I have gotten a glimpse of it last night.
A funny experience was that some people had reserved seats while others did not have seat numbers. Sure enough, I had none and I was with a bunch of others who had no numbers. We were told to take any seat we wanted. Of the 30 or so seats most were occupied when a girl came to me and demanded my seat. She could have taken one of five or six remaining seats but she wanted mine because that was what it said on the paper. I went to the driver to resolve the issue and suddenly it hit me: “ you are German right?”, I asked her. And sure enough she was. That explained why of 30 people no one but her had any problem being flexible.
Hoi An is a lovely place by the way. It looks really cute and charming and has some more tranquility than most place I have been to so far. The nicely painted and decorated houses and little allays give it a “turn of the century” touch. And once more it has been proven true that in order to get something working out (in this case architecture) it takes a European, even if it only is a Frenchman.
But seriously, when it comes to architecture the Vietnamese have not the hint of an idea what is going on. They built in a practical manor to the point where it becomes actually painful for the eyes. Their pragmatism goes so far that even the ridiculously clichéd Chinese lanterns, twinkling lights and other China-restaurant-like decorations stick out pleasantly for the eyes. Not so in Hoi An; here, especially around the river, you feel like in South-East-Asia, just even a bit better than usually.
So far I have managed to forget one SD card on a table in a Restaurant (of course it was gone 20 minutes later), leave my new sunglasses behind on a bus and almost left my lonely planet somewhere numerous times, and only did not because no one seemed to want it and hence I was reminded by others. But yesterday I topped it all by leaving my hygiene bag, complete with electronic tooth brush (who brings that on a RTW trip? I know) behind. Good on me… I hope that the hotel staff where I left it keeps their word and put it on the bus tonight so I have it in the morning tomorrow. Reminds me of that song of Basement Jaxxx: “Where`s your head at…” [2]
Today I have been diving in Nha Trang, Vietnam. I was warned that the coral here is not in its best condition everywhere, and that certainly held true. However, it was rather lovely anyway. I remember my last almost disastrous dive in Indonesia, where the currents were just insane at times. Here the waters were calmer than I might have experience anywhere except during my first dive, which took place in an Australian swimming pool.
Loads of small fishes were around many of them so tame and trusting that you got really close. Some of them seemed to want to play. Or maybe they were maybe trying to fight or alternatively mate. Well, who could tell the difference? Not me anyway, not with fishes at least.
One of them followed me around for at least 10 minutes. I was wondering who was the observer and who the observed. The fish´s advantage was, he or she (I got close alright, but telling a fish´s sex is beyond me) did not have to pay for the pleasure. Saying that: 60 Dollars for two dives, including an initial refresher instruction, hiring a camera and all food and drinks (breakfast and lunch) on board is not a bad deal at all!
The water was so warm, that you could have stayed down there for far beyond the usual 50-60 minutes. I remember that in Egypt in spring I was glad to be allowed to get out of the water after 40 minutes since due to severely freezing my bladder had been extruded. And also, thanks to the calm waters here I was not limited by my oxygen supply at least but only by my dive masters work schedule.
Divers log:
Place: Nha Trang
1st Dive: Madonna Rock. In: 9:05h, out: 20:05h – 60 min. Depth: 19 m. Visibility: 10-15 m. Comment: Cave dive.
2nd Dive: Moray Beach. In: 11:00h, out: 11:50h – 50 min. Depth: 16 m. Visibility: 5 m
I took the night train from Saigon to Nha Trang last night. After 6 hours on the bus from Cantho to Saigon and 6 hours on a boat on the Mekong I really have enough of being shaken around now. But now I can put up my feet on the beautiful Nha Trang beach and read another book.
Björn unfortunately fell ill with a food poisoning! Fortunately now he feels better again but he was not fit of course to tack along with me. Too bad, but it is alright to keep moving alone now. It would have been more fun of course, but I really need to get moving because my time is short to see Laos. And that is where I want to head already next Thursday.
I have finished an interesting book by Richard Dawkins called “unweaving the rainbow” [1]. It is an easy to read book on the wonders of our world and why science should play a much larger part in our lives than superstition and religion for example. Dawkins argues very convincingly that superstition is not at all a positive force and is unsettled by a common tendency to resort to superstition rather than to knowledge. I could not agree more with him. In fact, people very often harm themselves with their ignorance. And while I do not mind that too much (in the end Darwins natural selection will take of them) they too often harm their fellow beings too. That I mind a lot.
I met some nice Chinese the other day. Over the typical shit-chat about what each one of us does I ended up explaining my professional vocation. I explained that “chemicals” might be found (in a way of course they already have been more indirectly in the shape of all types of drugs we take against health issues) to prolong life. “Chemical!”, a female exclaimed, “but that would be so unnatural! Is that even healthy?”. I must admit that such situations require all my self-comtrol.
I explained to her that chemical are also what composites our food (I should simply have pointed out that she consists entirely of chemicals!), and that I was talking about such substances who might be derived from such sources. Her lack of science went further than just a lack of understanding the terminology.
In another discussion someone thought that you get fat from diet coke. I explained that there are no calories in diet coke, not much more than in pure water. Hence it is hard to imagine how that would work (except you are eating at the same time and the diet coke would exhibit insulin secreting properties for example. A bit far fetched thinking though). However, even to state something like that uncovers a deep lack of scientific knowledge.
In yet another situation someone was very confident that we will continue to drive cars, even if we run out of cheap oil (see my blog for “peak oil”), because we would simply switch to electric cars. His optimism is admirable and I hope (in some way) that he is right. However, his suggested nuclear energy will not do the trick (limited resources of Uranium, Plutonium etc. and not suitable for “peak demands” of electricity in the mornings e.g.). I cannot even begin to explain the problems of all other possible alternatives, and it does not matter. My point is that his statement was poorly reflected and not backed up with any deeper understanding of the science behind it.
Read Dawkins´ book for more. In any case science gives us so much “wonder” and “mystery” that we need not look for more in superstition. But if we do not show any interest in science (and science has no good rep with a lot of the kids) we risk not foreseeing and tackling the major issues that human kind is about to be confronted with, be it peak oil, global warming, overpopulation, food scarceness, water deprivation……
There are tons of Wats scattered all over the place,(ie. Buddhist Temples) and outside of the town there are caves, waterfalls and the like to marvel about. There is however Luang Prabang in the north, a town that is described as the jewel of Laos´ tourist industry. However, if I am going to attempt to get there and back the same way by enduring a two-times 12-hour bus tour remains doubtful. I have had major back pain yesterday from sitting in far too bad bus seats for far too long…
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