YA LEUM.9 — A new start in Laos
Volunt2Thai was our last stop in Thailand. We still overnighted in UdonThani at Phibzia’s house.
Phibzia was one of the teachers from the UdonThani International school organizing the Art&Crafts day. We connected very well, so we decided to meet before leaving Thailand.
She kindly invited us to stay at her place, cook dinner together and talk! She opened the doors of her house for us and hosted us with warmth, good food and laughs.
Phibzia is the sun in your rainy day. She shines wherever she is, as she carries passion and strength in her heart. She will grab your attention in two seconds and will drive you in a fun and lively journey with her.
Phibzia was born in Pakistan but left at 7 years old due to the political issues. She has been living in different countries, but now she works as a teacher in Thailand, while doing her PHD in leadership education. She lives with her husband Osman and their 2 year old baby.
We got the chance to talk for hours about our lives and she took me through the different harsh moments of life she had to go through. Every time, she stood up for justice and freedom of spirit. I was fascinated by her stories and her ability to care so genuinely about the pain of others.
Years ago, she worked in Myanmar with NGOs supporting the people in need.
Her dream is to develop the education system in rural areas in Africa. Hence she finishes the PHD, she will apply to UNICEF to pursue her mission.
She has joy, a strong spirit and altruism all in herself. Our world needs her, because she is a driver of change.
Also, she has a stunning beauty! I love her nose piercing and the shape of her eyes.
Today, we are friends and sometimes we still dream of working together in the same social project.
One day, who knows…
Meeting her touched me deeply. Also her, helped me to pave my way.
Phibs cooked an amazing curry. Very spicy, but delicious! Madalena remembers better how spicy it was.
We all slept in the living room and I woke up with Portugal winning EuroVision! That is still a nice moment to remember. Also the last one in Thai land.
Time to say goodbye to Thailand. Madalena and I had an incredible 6 weeks of traveling. We managed to have a bunch of diverse experiences, however on top of my list are all the incredible people I met. I could not imagine two years later Thailand would still be so present in my life.
Now, a new country is waiting!
The excitement of traveling in a new country is like the preparation work for your birthday party. You know something great is about to happen, you imagine as much as possible how it will be, and when the first guests arrive you are a mix of nervousness and agitation.
The next country to go to was Laos. I had some big expectations for Laos since I am a forest lover! I imagined green everywhere and dense bushes everywhere. It was like this, but of course not everywhere. Lao people are known by their shyness, generous souls and the trait of roaming through life in an unrushed and unworried way.
We took the bus thinking we would go directly to Vientiane (capital of Laos). The 3 hours bus was a very pleasant ride, the view over the Mekong river while crossing the bridge was beautiful.
Just when we were about to arrive, we realized the bus was just taking us until the border (Nong Khai) and then we would need to sort out a different transportation to arrive in the capital. Starters!
Crossing the borders can be uncomplicated, but sometimes happen to be an incredible nightmare.
So that was the case. This border is not the most difficult one, but we could have prepared better…
To start, the bus left us far from the border so we had to walk quite a lot to get there not knowing whether we were doing the right thing! The moment we got off the bus, a flood of people surrounded us convincing us to take a taxi with them until Vientiane, with a stop at the border to get the visa.
We knew this by heart, it is barely a good idea to take this unofficial taxis, because most of times they are way more expensive.
We decided to walk.
First we had to stamp ourselves out from Thailand. Just that took us 2 hours — they were not giving us good instructions of what we needed to do. Then we had to arrange pictures which we did not have, then we needed to wait 1 hour for the counter to open and lastly the payment was also not smooth.
Once this was done, we had to find out how to get to Laos immigration 2 kms away. Either walk or take a bus. We took the bus, but again was also not easy to find it.
Get the visa in Laos was easy, although we had to wait quite some time too. What was next? Find out how to get to Vientiane.
Outside of Laos border it was already a new world. It is always somehow shocking to me how a country changes so much just because of group of offices.
Less neat and clean than Thailand, buses were arriving from everywhere with non-related numbers and names. We asked some people and eventually we found out what was the bus and particularly important, the stop to get us to Vientiane. As always, we were never sure whether we were taking the right transport or if we understood the right stop. This gave me an unrest feeling, which later I learnt how to cope with.
I also learnt about trusting strangers and their ability to understand us.
I got on the bus, I believed people told me the right number, and I trusted myself I understood correctly where to stop.
Now, time to enjoy the ride because there is nothing else I could do. So I did.
I was excited to get to a new country! I was genuinely happy. Smiling inside, listening to good music, and seeing the roads and sceneries of Laos for the first time in my life.
Sabaidee Laos!
Sabaidee, it is more than a word to say hello or welcome, but more a way of living that reflects the relaxed and content mood of Lao people.
France was present in Laos between 1893 and 1953, so it is possible to find many traces of French culture specially in Vientiane.
Streets with French names, bakeries, French words, and banners are commonly seen in Vientiane.
Vientiane reminded me Thailand in a way: roads are busy, sidewalks are lively with small businesses and temples are found easily while you walk around the city. The city has a fresh feeling! I liked it a lot
We cycled around the city and visited the temples part of the touristic itinerary and the night market. We had fun together, specially we were happy to be in the city life again.
Nevertheless, my attention was pointed to find the green Laos mentioned on every website or lonely planet.
Indeed, it is was quite easy to find. As soon as we left the capital it was truly green everywhere.
I saw the dense green from tropical forests, coating hills and mountains that outlined the entire land of Laos.
Every ride, a new breath of nature.
The forest hypnotized me, and I felt every time like I had been already there.
I was overwhelmed by the serenity of the place that gave me a sense of safety.
The forest in the German Bavaria, the rainforest in the Peruvian Amazonia and the mountains jungles in Laos.
It is like I know it, before I see it.
June, 2017
Patricia Assis
