Long distance job interview

After a few days in lovely Luang Prabang it was time to move on. Peach and I took a bus 4 hours north-west to Nom Kheow. We left Tess behind. Things had never really recovered from Peach & Tess’s falling out back in Thailand and from this point we pretty much went out separate ways except for a couple of brief path-crossings.

Nom Kheow is a very small village up in the mountains of northern Laos. It’s set in a valley with a river running through it and is surrounded by mountainous peaks. There’s just a small handful of places to stay – mostly bungalows along the river. The view from our bungalow in the mornings was incredible – a massive mountain with mist around it and the river in the foreground. There were hardly any other tourists around and there wasn’t much to do but kick back and relax. I had no problem with that.

Here’s a shot from the porch of our bungalow.

One thing that was causing me a problem though was a nagging headache that didn’t seem to be going away. By the time I got to Nom Kheow I’d had a headache non-stop for about a day and a half. I had been dosing up on pain killers but they didn’t seem to be having any effect. Peach blamed the Laos whiskey that I’d taken to having shots of at regular points throughout the day in Luang Prabang. I didn’t know what it was. It was a good thing there wasn’t much to do in Nom Kheow because with my throbbing head I didn’t feel like doing much.

The next day the headache was still there. I decided to stop taking pain killers and tough it out. At 4pm that day Peach had a job interview for a position in London. She’d sent her CV off on a whim a few days earlier for an entirely different role and the company had asked her to interview for a much better role that would have been a great step for her career. Having not had to think about work for so long Peach was very nervous. To try and help this we’d spent much of the previous evening going over the job description, anticipating potential questions and formulating appropriate answers.

There were only 2 internet connections in town but unfortunately these were dialup connections so doing the interview via Skype wasn’t an option. We sussed out that there were only 2 phone lines in the town capable of making international phone calls. Early in the morning the power went out. This meant the phone lines were down too. As the day ticked on the power didn’t come back on and the locals we asked had no idea when it would come on either. We had to come up with a contingency.

We thought of buying a mobile phone from the one guy in town that had a few old models for sale. We also thought of catching a bus back to Luang Prabang. Eventually we arranged to borrow a mobile phone from a girl that worked at a restaurant we’d eaten at a couple of times. It was a prepaid phone and we had no idea how much international call rates would be so we played it safe and loaded it up with $US25 worth of credit. After a successful test call to Australia to make sure it could make overseas calls we were set to go. All this time we were also trying to figure out how Peach would actually get to London to start the job, assuming she got it, since they’d indicated they wanted someone asap and we were in a remote location 4 hours from the nearest main town. I’ve managed to sum up this contingency in a few lines but let me assure you it took a good couple of hours or more and all the time my head was still aching.

By the time it came for Peach to make the phone call to the company in London I was in agony so I crawled back to the bungalow to lay down whilst she went to a bungalow attached to the restaurant to go over her notes one last time before making the call. I noticed as the clock hit 4pm that the power came back on – not that it was any use to us now!

I was surprised when Peach came back to the bungalow 20 minutes later. It turns out that despite all out planning we’d converted the time in London incorrectly – we didn’t thing to consider that the UK had adjusted to summer time. Bugger! It turns out the person who was to be interviewing Peach was in another interview. The receptionist told her to call back in an hour and try her luck then.

Finally the interview did take place but Peach didn’t think it went to well and she didn’t end up getting the role. On the positive side though she now had a revamped CV and lots of interview preparation material that could be used next time. Also we had a great adventure figuring out how to make the phone call in the first place. When we gave the phone back to the local girl it still had the best part of $US20 on it – this was a small fortune in Laos. The smile on her face was priceless. So despite I gave the experience a big tick.

Waterfalls and Bowling Alleys

The next day the girls, Dan and myself hired push bikes to ride around town. A few minutes in Dan & I saw a temple we wanted to check out. Tess’s way of saying she didn’t want to see it was to keep quiet, turn her head away and keep pedalling. Peach followed Tess so Dan and I ended up on our own for the day. Probably a good thing since I think the girls had different ideas about what they wanted to do for the day. We spent the day riding around looking at the great buildings and views across the river.

The next day Dan & I went on a morning tour of a nearby cave that supposedly houses 4000 Buddhas. It was crap. Certainly not worth wasting half a day on at any rate. Although I did buy some local whiskey, called lao-lao, made from sticky rice at a village we stopped at on the way. It’s the sort of stuff that warms your innards whilst relieving you of your stomach lining. I knocked back several shots of it a day whilst I had it.

In the afternoon all four of us went to some waterfalls that were easily the best I’ve seen. The water was a beautiful aqua color and there were several waterfalls that you could check out within a few seconds or minutes walk depending on how far you wanted to go.

When we got back late in the arvo I had a nap and didn’t wake up until 9pm. Peach was asleep so I headed out alone to check out the night market and grab a bite to eat. Whilst strolling around I bumped into an Argentinian who I’d met on the slow boat and he invited me down to the river later to drink whiskey with a couple of other guys from the boat. After a delicious bowl of noodle soup with what looked like Bolognese sauce in it I headed down to the river and found them.

There was myself, the Argentinian (Luis), a Frenchman (Kevin) and a Chilean who’s name I can’t recall sitting at a table near the river enjoying a few whiskey & cokes and shooting the breeze. When we finished the bottle the guys asked me if I wanted to “cruise” with them. I assumed this meant hit the town. We decided to head to the one place in town that was open after 11:30pm – the bowling alley. We got a tuk-tuk there since it was a few k’s from the centre of town. When we walked in there was only a few people there. Within a couple of minutes though 30-50 more people ploughed through the doors. The bars must have just closed.

The bowling alley was a surreal experience to say the least. There was loads of pissed tourists plus a few locals pushing dope and opium – which was being smoked in the toilet. Heaps of people from the slow boat were there too. My whiskey buddies and I bowled a game then we mingled about the crowd – people outnumbered bowling capacity so most just stood around drinking. Dan and Tess had shown up too. Dan and I got stuck into each other about our respective cricket teams and placed bets about the next Ashes tour in England.

About 2:30am I was getting tired and a few people were leaving so I decided to join them. We beat a tuk-tuk driver down to a ridiculous price by threatening to walk all the way back to town and convincing him there was no one else left in the bowling alley and amazingly he caved.

Slowboat to Luang Prabang (Part 2)

The next morning it was yet another minor stress regarding transport. When leaving out guesthouse I told our tuk-tuk driver to take us to the “boat” but he thought I said “bus” so he took us in entirely the wrong direction. So now were were running late while we waited for the driver to drop some other people off and turn around and take us to the boat. As expected though the boat was being crammed full of people so it would be a while before it left.

In fact the boat was even more jammed with people than the previous day. This time we had 9 hours to spend on the boat and it looked like I’d have to stand outside the toilet door the entire trip. The other option was cramming in with some others in the engine room – which stank of fumes, was boiling hot and very loud. Every other spot on the boat was taken. There were people standing in the aisles and others crouched under other peoples seats.

It looked like shaping up to be a torturous day when word filtered down that for nearly double the cost of the slow boat ride one could jump ship and get on a speed boat far less people that arrived in Luang Prabang in just 3 hours! I was keen to jump ship. I leapt out a window, scrambled across the boat next to us and on to the shore to check out the situation.

It turns out it wasn’t a speed boat but another slow boat. However, this boat had only 20 or so people on it and it had very nice looking leather seats. Much better than the wooden benches or hard floor on the other boat. Also the price was only slightly higher than the original boat. The catch was that even if the ticket inspector had already collected money for the first boat you still had to pay again. The tickets weren’t transferable and I’d already paid for mine. Those that hadn’t already paid for tickets happily left for the other boat without a second thought. I um’d and ah’d for a while and eventually decided to stay put. The minor exodus of people to the other boat left quite a bit of space free at the front of the boat (well away from the engine room and toilet) so I ended up with a pretty good spot similar to the day before. I sat on a bag of rice for most of the way. It was a better ride than the day before. Several of the people around me I’d met the day previous so there was plenty of conversation, in between reading and ipod action, to while away the day.

When we got to Luang Prabang I was immediately struck by its beauty. Loads of lovely French colonial buildings. Rather than follow a tout we set off on foot to find a place to stay. The night before we’d lacked all the creature comforts so the girls were looking for a ‘nice’ (read: plush) place to stay. Tess was going to share a room with a young English guy called Dan who we’d met along the way.

After trudging around for ages Dan & I waited outside one guesthouse while the girls went off to check out more rooms. After a while they returned and had found a place. So we set off again with our bags. A few metres up the road Dan & I were stopped by some travellers who were asking about the boat ride – since they were thinking of doing it the opposite direction to Thailand. The girls didn’t noticed we’d stopped and kept going. Dan & I had no idea where they went or where we were supposed to be staying. We assumed it would be along the river somewhere so we just kept walking and walking and….walking. After a kilometre or more we turned back reasoning that there’s no way it would be this far. Our bags felt like a tonne by this time so we left them with a guesthouse owner while we set off to find the girls.

Eventually Peach rode past on a push bike. Apparently the place we were staying was just around the corner from where the other travellers stopped us. Bugger! So with aching backs we collected our bags and walked back to our ‘nice’ rooms. Immediately I jumped in the shower to cool off. Then I got Peach to rub some tiger balm on my back – too much was applied though and it felt like my skin was melting – ouch!! After a few minutes the pain subsided and my back felt much better.

Slowboat to Luang Prabang (Part 1)

To get to Laos we booked a 3 day journey that entailed a day in a minivan from Chiang Mai to the Thai border town. Then two days on a slow boat before arriving in Luang Prabang in Laos.

The bus ride was pretty uneventful. Peach and Tess had spent our last night in Chiang Mai getting wasted at the reggae bar while I had an early one. They were in a world of pain for the entire bus ride. Ha Ha!

The Thai border town, Chiang Khong was just what you’d expect from a town that people only stop at because they have to – boring. So it was a fairly early night.

The next morning we caught a pick up a few hundred metres to the Thai Immigration point. After passing through we go a small boat across the river to Laos. At the Laos immigration point we filled out some forms and paid the officers a compulsory “overtime” charge for working on a Saturday. Next we hauled our gear up the street and and around the corner to a cafe where we were given some local currency to buy our boat tickets for the next two days. Next it was on to a pick-up truck and off to the pier where we signed in and bought our tickets before we finally got on the boat. The whole process took about an hour.

At the guesthouse in Chiang Khong they were selling cushions for use on the boat. We’d heard the seats weren’t that comfortable and this didn’t bode well. We got a cushion each – without a doubt once of the best investments of the trip. We should have got two.

The boat was jam packed full of people. There was probably 150-200 people on the boat – very much over capacity. There was no food on board but they sold beer. Everyone shared a single toilet. Hmmm lots of beer for sale, one toilet. I did the maths on that and resolved to stay sober. By the time we got on any chance of getting a seat was long gone. Luckily there was a flat wooden floored section up the front. I managed to get a spot there up against the side of the boat so I had a back rest too. By the time we were on our way there was hardly any room to move – but there was enough to make the odd adjustment and throughout the 8 hour journey it go roomier as people moved around the boat (although I’m not sure how it worked out this way).

Here’s a pic of the people on the boat.

Some people were bitching and moaning about the conditions on the boat but others were making the most of it. Plenty of people got stuck into the beers and a few others had guitars so there was plenty of merriment and singing. After a little while a party atmosphere developed and I ended up meeting loads of people that I’d see over and over during my time in Laos.

The first night in Laos we stopped at a town called Pak Beng. This was another town that didn’t really have anything going for it except that people passed through. There were plenty of locals ready to supply fresh tourists with dope and opium as well – not quiet the same fake designer gear I’d been used to in Thailand. I declined all offers. I noticed that some of those locals selling opium looked very pasty and clammy.

During dinner I had my first Beer Lao in Laos. I’d been looking forward to it since trying it in Cambodia a couple of years earlier. It’s a great beer but I actually have to rate Myanmar Draught higher. Plus Myanmar Draught was on tap whereas most other South-East Asian beers tend to be sold in bottles the vast majority of the time. Still I’m a huge fan of Beer Lao.

To be continued….

We’ve got Pai

Whilst Songkran was still on Peach & I decided to escape to the hills for a few days of rancho relaxo. We got to the bus station nice and early before the water onslaught started for the day. However just as our bus was leaving some kids through a couple of buckets of water through the open doors and it landed right on us. Point to them for stealth I’ve gotta say.

The doors on most public buses are always open in Thailand. This allows people to get on and off quickly and also provides natural air conditioning. Every now and again throughout the 3 or 4 hour bus ride water would come splashing though the door. Eventually the doors were closed but still some would get in.

Originally Peach was going to go to Pai by herself but I ended up tagging along. We have a deal when travelling that one person can go off and do their own thing when ever they like. That way no one has to compromise much on places we go. Early in the trip I was off by myself while the girls were on the Thai Gold Coast. Then at one point later on we were all in different places at once. This time I thought I’d give Peach some space so we stayed at different places. It didn’t really work out as planned though since we ended up spending most of the time together anyway.

In Pai I found a lovely place to stay – a set of very basic bamboo bungalows on the river bank. Just a matress, a mozzie net and a light are supplied. I had a hammock on my porch too which is always a winner. After a quick trip to a local store to buy some supplies I spent the rest of the day chilling out in my hammock or down by the river bank.

First impressions of Pai were very positive. It’s kind of a groovy little town with just a couple of main roads. There’s a very relaxed vibe. It’s the kind of place I can imagine Westerners would drop out and come to live.

On the first evening in Pai I bumped into Peach at an Indian restaurant. She’d scored a great place to stay, similar to mine but much more uber. She even had a computer in her bungalow with free internet access.

The next day we hired a motorbike and headed towards some natural springs nearby. Unfortunately the admission price was a rip off so we found a resort up the road that charged 90% less and had pumped the same spring water into several pools in their grounds. The pools were bloody hot though so after a few minutes we had to sit with most of our bodies out of the water.

After a nice lunch at the resort we headed back into town to the tourist office and got directions to some waterfalls we’d heard about. Songkran was still on although not with as much force as it was in Chiang Mai. Still every few hundred metres we’d get water thrown at us and we progressively got wetter and wetter. It wasn’t a particularly warm day so with the wind from riding the motorbike and our wet clothes we were pretty cold as we zoomed along the road.

Peach was trying her hardest to put on a brave face eventually it got too much, she was freezing cold. We turned around and headed back to the bungalow to a hot shower – coping several more doses of cold water on the way. By this stage I was getting a bit over all the water throwing too but still gave a laugh whenever we got hit – after all it’s an important national festival and who am I to poo-poo the fun.

The next day was supposed to be the last day of Songkran and although most people went back to their normal routine there were still a few people getting into it. In response we slipped into a relaxing routine for the next couple of days. We’d potter around in the mornings doing our own thing then in the afternoon we’d head up to a local pool/gym/bar which had seen better days but was a fun place to hang out. It was run by an stunning English girl and her Thai husband. Peach loved the girl’s accent and declared her intentions to develop the same one once we got to the UK.

I decided to do a work out at the gym. It reminded me of the kind of place someone would train at in the movies – you know the kind: where some guy’s family gets killed so he goes off, finds a master to train him, lives in some remote place and buffs up before coming back at the end and taking revenge. Or did I just watch too many crap movies as a kid? Hmmm…

After 4 nights in Pai it was time to head back to Chiang Mai. The original plan was to head back to Chiang Mai, stay the night then head off on a 3 day bus/boat trip to Laos. When I called our travel agent mate, Tom, he couldn’t get us on to the boat until the day after meaning we’d have to spend another day in Chiang Mai. Not the best scenario since we’d already spent so much time there but it did give us a chance to knock a few things off the to-do list.