After Laos, my next destination was Baan Dada Children's Home in Sangklaburi, Thailand. However, after reading about this Tham Kong Lo cave in southern Laos, I made a planned detour to head down first to see the cave and then cross back into Thailand from Tha Kaek into Nakhon Phanom, and then head straight across Thailand to Sangklaburi (near Burma/ Myanmar). I left Vang Vieng (and the girls) on Wednesday morning. I had hoped to be in Ban Nahin/ Ban Khoun Kham by Wednesday evening. I then would get up early on Thursday morning, see the cave, and then head down to Tha Kaek (about 1 1/2 hours from Nahin), cross the border into Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, and get on a bus to Bangkok. I knew that I would either have to spend the night in Nakhon Phanom or Bangkok. Then I would catch the bus to Sangklaburi from Bangkok on Friday morning, and be at Baan Dada by Friday evening.
But... I didn't get to Baan Dada until Monday night.
First, there was that hang-up in Vieng Kham. So, I didn't even arrive in Ban Nahin until Thursday morning. After I got settled in Mi Thuna Guesthouse in Ban Nahin, I set out at around 10:30 am to find an ATM machine and information about seeing this cave. On my long walk to the guesthouse, I remembered passing this sign:
It was about a 15 minute walk along Route 8, amongst droves of pre-school aged children, to the Tourist Information Center. I took off my shoes, as there was already a heap at the bottom of the wooden stairs, and proceeded into the small, square, wooden office. I was greeted by five men chatting away at a table and drinking Beer Laos (the national beer). I instantly started to apologize for interrupting, as I thought I had clearly mistaken this building to be a tourist office. I wasn't mistaken. The men pulled up a chair, put a glass in front of me, and poured me beer. "Kop jai (thank you), but I need to find an ATM machine.""Yes, yes. No, no. There is no ATM machine here. There is a bank; we will take you." They then continued to explain that this is the tourist office, but it was a special day due to the anniversary of their provincial government. Mr. Noy, the chief/ director/ head of the tourist office apologized for the situation, but welcomed me to sit down, drink some beer, and offered to take me to the bank afterwards. Here I am, still in a bit of shock, with Mr. Noy (on the very left) and Phansamay in the tourist information center:
During the hour or so of conversation ("getting to know you's"), my stomache started to grumble. I hadn't eaten a real, full meal since Wednesday morning, back in Vang Vieng! I had no money left, except for 1,000 kip (1/5 of the price of bottled water). I gently stated that I was hungry, and they promptly brought out a bamboo vat of sticky rice for me to dig in. I dug. They kept asking me to drink more beer. But with little food in my stomache, and it being before noon, I avoided a 'drunken Lia' scenario by taking tiny sips. I didn't want to be rude. One shouldn't refuse a drink when offered by locals in Laos.Then three SUVs pulled up in the driveway, and the men in the office explained to me that these were the provincial government heads (all men) - who worked for the Ministry of Development, the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture, the Ministry of National Protected Areas, the Ministry of ... etc. Whoa! They joined us for a beer, and then after some discussion in Laotian, they invited me to Lunch. Well, of course! And Mr. Noy said he would take me to the bank after lunch. And then we would discuss going to Tham Kong Lo cave. Woohoo!
So, I hopped on the back of Mr. Noy's motorbike, and we went to meet everyone at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in middle-of-nowhere Ban Nahin, Laos. I was now sitting down to an incredible feast, including a lot more beer, with 14 men from the provincial government! Below is a photo of me with the former governor at lunch:
At lunch with the 14 provincial government men:
Afterwards, Mr. Noy drove me to the bank. I took out my credit card and the bank worker swiped three or four or five times. He then explained to me, via my now translator Mr. Noy, that my card wouldn't work at this bank (which looked like a market food stall), and that I would have to go to the Laos Development Bank in Lak Xao. They could process my card there. Devastated, but with options, Mr. Noy and I went back to the tourist office to discuss my trip to Lak Xao and Tham Kong Lo. He gave me a final price of about 400,000 kip, which included a motorbike, a guide/ driver (Jai), Tham Kong Lo fees (including the boat) and gas. Although a bit dismayed by the exorbitant price, I agreed, after a bit of bargaining. For, my new goal was simply to get money! He explained that tomorrow morning (Friday), Jai would motorbike drive me to the Lao Development Bank in Lak Xao (about 3 hours away!) and then take me to the cave. He said the entire cave trip would take about 3-4 hours, so they could then put me on a sawngtao to Tha Kaek, where I would stay the night and cross the border the next morning. However... it didn't happen like that.I had no money (for food and water), but I had new friends. And Mr. Noy assured me that they would take care of me until I could withdraw enough money to get me through the rest of my Laos trip. He invited me to the provincial government anniversary party that evening, where there would be lots of traditional Laos food, dancing, and beer. Then, he drove me back to my guesthouse.
Jai, who was to become my best friend over the next two days, picked me up at Mi Thuna Guesthouse at 4:30 pm. The party was outside the provincial government building, just a few hundred meters down the road from the tourist office. There were a couple hundred people there, all provincial government workers and their spouses. (Just a reminder, I still had yet to see another foreigner since leaving Vientiane.)
The party was incredible! That is... who goes to Laos and unexpectedly parties with the local government? The food was amazing, and more than filled me up; the beer was endless; the party goers were extremely friendly and ecstatic to meet me; the dancing was all traditional Laos style; the atmosphere was genuinely Laotian. The whole evening was culturally mind-blowing. And isn't it adventures just like these that worldly travelers seek, but rarely find?! These days, it is difficult to get 'off the beaten track'.
Me with Jai (in yellow) and party-goers
After many tries, they finally convinced me to try dancing traditional Laos. It really isn't that hard - you slowly move around in a group circle with your partner, twisting your wrists to the beat. Below is a photo of me dancing with Mr. Phansamay of the Ministry of Community Development (or something like that).
6:00 am, bright and early the next morning, Jai picked me up from Mi Thuna Guesthouse. I hopped on the back of the motorbike, and we headed south on the winding roads of Route 8 to Lak Xao. Along the way, since it is a 3 hour ride, we stopped at Jai's uncle's and aunt's house in a small village along the road. I took some photos of Jai with his family - aunt, uncle and cousins in front of their house - and Jai took a couple of me with his family. This is the first photo they have ever had taken of them! Below is one the photos (from left to right: cousin, Jai, uncle, aunt and cousin)...
We finally arrived in Lak Xao and went straight to the Laos Development Bank. After multiple times of swiping my credit card, the woman then called their headquarters to find out why it wasn't working. She came back with this message: "I'm sorry, but our systems our down due to the festival." It just so happened that I was in southern Laos for the weekend of the end of the rainy season festival.
Feeling completely lost for what to do next, I then noticed a big yellow sign: Western Union! And they can process international money transfers in 2 hours. So, the next step was to get to a phone to call my parents. However, remind you - I have no money! Jai drove me to the Laos Telecommunications Center building, and offered to lend me the money for the call. I successfully called my parents, beginning the call with, "Mom, I'm in a bit of a pickle..." I explained my situation, and Mom and Dad looked up the nearest Western Union that was open (in New York time, 11 hours behind, so it was around 11:00 pm at night there), we finished up a quick conversation, and then they left to transfer the money.
It turned out that Jai didn't even have enough money on him to cover the international phone call. So, he left he identity card behind as collateral. Then we went back to the bank to wait... and wait... and wait. The whole situation was becoming quite stressful and it was hard for me to keep a 'cool heart'. Jai asked me to "please, smile" because everything would be alright in the end. He was really worried about me, and I'm sure unused to witnessing such scenarios. We were also really hungry at this point, as we hadn't had any breakfast.
During the waiting period, Jai kept suggesting to me that I call my parents again, because he thought I needed a number from them. Not wanting to owe more money or leave behind further collateral, I suggested that we wait until the bank had at least gotten confirmation that the money had come through. Jai nodded, unassured. He suggested a few more times, but in my total frustration, I kept shoving it off. I had never done Western Union before, so didn't know that I did actually need a number! Oops.
After about an hour and a half of waiting, the bank then informed us that the money had still not come through, and they were closing. They wouldn't open again until the following Tuesday, due to the festival. WHAT?!?!? After some heated discussion, the woman then suggested we drive to Vieng Kham, as the bank there would be open all afternoon - and they could process Western Union international transfers just the same. She assured me that it wouldn't matter that my parents had written down "Lak Xao" as the destination, but that "Laos Development Bank" would suffice. Ughhhh. It's really quite difficult to recapture and put into words what I was feeling at this moment. But, I'm sure you can imagine.
Since we were both extremely hungry, Jai suggested we stop by his grandfather's house, who was only a few minutes drive from the bank here in Lak Xao. OK. We entered his grandfather's (and extended relative's) house/ bamboo hut, where I met more of Jai's family members. Jai and I both sat down on the floor (there are no high tables, chairs or beds in these local, traditional houses), and a round, low bambook tray-like table was set in between. The younger girls then brought out 2 vats of sticky rice, an egg omelette (of sorts) and delicious green vegetables. Besides being so hungry that I would eat anything at this point, this meal was actually simply delicious. The girls watched me from behind a corner post. The grandfather sat just behind me leaning up against the wall, watching t.v. Finally, Jai pushed his cell phone into my hand and told me to call my parents. He didn't mind me dialing internationally, but that he was really pretty sure I needed some sort of number. I dialed, Dad picked up, worried beyond belief, and lo and behold - I got the 10 digit number.
Jai borrowed some money from his grandfather (I know, can you believe all of this generosity?) for the telecommunications center international phone call from before, and we set off. We got to the Laos Telecommunications building, only to find that it had closed due to the festival. We then asked around the locals how to find the manager. We went to his house, but he wasn't home. Jai's identity card (which is pretty important in Laos) was still there. I believe he left some verbal messages with his neighbors, and asked him to do a money/ identity card exchange with his grandfather.
Jai and I set off back to Vieng Kham, which was the other way, past Ban Nahin, about a 4 hour motorbike drive. Along the way, we quickly stopped back at his aunt and uncle's house to pick up a chicken! Yes, that's right, a chicken. There was no carrier cage, so I held the chicken, whose legs and wings were bound, underneath my arm the entire ride back to Ban Nahin. Never felt more like a local Laotian in my life...
We quickly stopped at the Tourist Information Center in Ban Nahin to update Mr. Noy and to drop off the chicken. Off to Vieng Kham. We arrived at the bank, which truly looked like a bank, and... I immediately received my money; no hassles, no waiting, no problems. Unbelievable. Why didn't we come here in the first place? If only the market stall-like bank in Ban Nahin had told us Vieng Kham (1 1/2 hours from Nahin) instead of Lak Xao (3 hours from Nahin)... if only.
Huge, huge sigh of relief. Jai was pretty happy too, happy that I was smiling once again. We then stopped for some water at his friend's house/ salon a few minutes down a dirt road from the bank in Vieng Kham. He need to rest up, as he was driving all day! On the way back to Nahin, we also stopped at Jai's parents' house, another raised, bamboo hut just along the road. His mother wasn't home, but I met his father and his younger sister. His sister was sick, so they were relaxing and watching t.v. Interesting that they don't have beds, only mats and pillows, but many villagers have t.v.
One specific detail I noticed was that they had a map of the world on the wall. Albeit, old, as the Soviet Union existed on this map. It was nonchalantly pinned on the wall, with no other wall hangings or pictures, save for the President on the Calendar. I'm not sure why I'm writing this. But, recalling his parents' house, this small detail sticks out in my mind. I can't imagine too many Laotian villagers have maps of the world on their walls.
I finally got back to Mi Thuna Guesthouse around 5:00 pm. Jai and I were both ready to collapse; it had been a long day. While we had originally planned to do the cave today after I got the money from Lak Xao - things just didn't work out that way. And there's really no point in brooding about it, because in the end - it all worked out. We'll do the cave tomorrow - Saturday.
Thank you Jai and thank you Western Union!
View from Mi Thuna Guesthouse
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