Luang Nam Tha - Laos

I was expecting a standard Tuk Tuk ride to a ratty bus and an eight hour bumpy ride to Luang Nam Tha. That’s the impression I got as Deb and I booked two tickets through a girlish looking young man while I inspected the deactivated land mine sitting on his desk. The young man was very friendly and spoke decent English. I had a good feeling about booking our transportation through his agency and after comparing with a couple of other places the 350 baht ($10 USD) price was the best we could find. He instructed us to show up at 8:30 for a 9km ride to the bus station and that the bus would leave at 9am.

When we returned at 8:30 the following morning and the Tuk Tuk was nowhere to be found but someone at the travel agency took off to find it. While he was gone the girly young man showed up and said not to worry. Around 10 minutes or so passed and the other person returned and instructed us to go with the man in the white t-shirt down the street with a van. We thought it would be a short trip to a ratty bus but as it turns out it was a nice newish cushy full sized passenger van with limo characteristics. The driver told me he would be taking us all the way with 6 others. Sometimes things go wrong in a better way. When we arrived at 8:30 am I gather nothing was actually set up and the guy from the agency probably just ran out on the street and arranged something for us. The van turned an assumed 8 hour trip into 4 hour ride with air conditioned comfort on a road that ranged from good to pretty bad.
I woke up feeling good this morning and ever since stepping into Laos I’ve sensed a cool and easy going vibe. The L in Laos stands for Laid Back and I feel quite comfortable here. I really found the van ride to be particularly relaxing as I sunk back into the seat and watched the landscape go by. We stopped for a short break in a village and I walked around a bit enjoying the cool dry air of the post monsoon season. No city noise or pollution just lots of green with clear blue skies. I commented to Deb how much I liked the Laos vibe. She agreed she could sense it as well. I was feeling quite good.

As a biofeedback therapist once told me, “A migraine headache is sometimes called the vacation headache”. I’ll be darned as good as I was feeling I began to get another migraine like I had in India. It always makes me a bit nervous at first but I know what’s going on when it happens. It starts with a gradual loss of vision as my sight gets filled with squiggly flashing images and/or patches of nothing. About the only thing I can do is try to relax as I ride it out. I told Deb what was happening and it really came on when we arrived In Luang Nam Tha. She quickly found a reasonably dark table in a restaurant and got me a bottle of water. She then instructed me to relax and keep my eyes closed. After about 30 minutes or so I began to come around and my vision gradually returned to normal. Migraines are caused by a constriction of blood flow through the brain. Many things can cause them such as food allergies, excessive fatigue, stress and oddly enough, relaxation, as the body releases tension. Above all there is generally a genetic predisposition for those who have the problem. Knock on wood my migraines are usually not followed by much of a headache and I can go for months without getting one. Thank God.

By mid afternoon I was feeling up for a walk and walking is generally considered good for a migraine. It helps with blood flow and oxygenation. The afternoon walk around Luang Nam Tha proved to be the ticket as I began to feel like myself again. Deb and I discussed what we wanted to do and were able to put together a plan. Tomorrow we will rent mountain bikes and tour the local area. On Saturday we will set off on a 3 day forest trek with a local guide. So far we are a group of 3 three but will likely pick up a couple of others between now and the time we leave. Our guide will not only keep us on the right track but will fill us in on local info, introduce us to villagers along the way, and prepare food. We’ll be staying in forest huts both nights and should have a really good authentic experience. We set it up through a local guide service which has a really good reputation.
The next 4 days should be full of activity and hopefully I’ll get some good photos to supplement the blog. So far I’m really liking Laos…..