EC-Rider Travels

A power-cut struck first thing this morning which made packing our bags a little tricky, but hopefully we have everything, at least we know we have not left anything under the concrete beds! Not so sad to leave Mandala Ou Resort and didn’t feel the maitre d’ was too heartbroken either! We have since discovered that he was not German (although the owner is) but from the East end of London and had worked for many years in hospitality!!

It was a bumpy drive back to Luang Prabang, travelling through the mountains and along the River Ou. We passed through many villages where a surprising number of children were not at school, which did not please Miss Bailey. Pang explained that there is no cover for teachers, who often take jobs elsewhere to supplement their low salary. On the other hand we saw children of about six trudging along the road to school on their own. Pang continued to tell us about Laotian life and the fear of the ever increasing encroachment of the Chinese. Although Pang was fiercely loyal about the government, we heard from others how there is now only one political party and pretty disturbing reports of its corruption and communist regime. There is some wealth in the city, but a frightening number of these charming people live in extreme poverty and horrendous conditions with no free healthcare, schooling or provision for the elderly.

One strange thing that had struck me and I had been meaning to ask Pang was the noticeable absence of birds in Laos. Pang told us that in addition to birds being caught and eaten, they had never really returned after the American bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War. I have to confess, I was unaware that Laos had suffered so greatly during this time and is in fact the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in the world. An estimated 90 million cluster bombs were dropped on Laos between 1965-1973 and 30% of these remain undetonated. Despite attempts to remove them, they still lie in rice fields, forests even school playgrounds and continue to kill and mutilate villagers and their children, today.

As we came into Luang Prabang we saw two monks, who could not have been more that ten years old, in their orange robes heading for the temple – adorable. We were a little early, so had a delicious cup of coffee in one of the bakeries and Serena bought some beautiful Laotian fabrics. As we were approaching the airport, Pang made the most touching speech, with tears in his eyes, thanking us, on behalf of his Government, agency and himself for coming to his country.

We really were sad to leave Laos and particularly so, as we do not feel we saw it in its full glory. I have no doubt, in the sunshine it is a truly stunning country and the people are enchanting. Needless to say it was a bit of an emotional farewell to Pang, he had been an exceptional guide and gone way above and beyond to look after us. We both gave him a huge hug, which took him a bit by surprise and almost brought him to tears again.

Very strict scanners found Serena’s second telephone in her bag which caused a bit of an excitement and was not easy to locate! We then quite nearly missed our flight as we were happily chatting at the wrong gate and suddenly heard Serena’s name over the tannoy! We flew on a brand new, Vietnam Airways plane arriving in Siem Reap just over an hour later.

Having obtained our visa in advance and filled out several forms on the plane, we went through not the friendliest of Immigration ….. without a word …. and were met the other side by Rit and just the smiliest Mr Seng our driver. To our surprise, we were driven through a very sophisticated city to our very sophisticated hotel – the Shinta Mani – not quite like the one we had been staying in for the last couple of nights.

On the way, Rit told us about his life and how as a child, his family had fled to Vietnam to escape Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot wanted a Communist society with no Western influences. Basing his ideology on Marxist-Leninist, he wished to create a agrarian socialist society, by removing the educated and forcibly relocating the urban population to the countryside to work on collective farms. He even wished to restart the calendar, at year zero!

Almost 2 million, which was a third of the population at the time, were murdered at the hands of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge including Rit’s grandfather. His father only escaped by pretending to be uneducated. They lived in Vietnam for three years, until the Vietnamese successfully overthrew Pol Pot’s massacring regime.

Rit’s family returned in 1979 to Phnom Penh which after the evacuation of its people, was like a ghost town. Returning Cambodians were allowed to live in any house they wanted, however there was no infrastructure, barely any cars and they literally had to start from scratch. Rit’s father was made a teacher which he did for eleven years and then got a job with the airport, eventually being transferred to Siem Reap. Cambodia remained communist until 1991, during which time western languages were not allowed to be taught or spoken. Rit learnt English, in secret, from his uncle who was an airline pilot. In 1991 the first newspaper was printed in English which was how Rit continued to teach himself.

As Cambodia opened up to the west and tourism started, English speakers were in demand. Rit was immediately recruited as one of the first 50 guides, there are now about 5,000. The population of Cambodia has also increased significantly and is now 17m with over 12m under 45 years.

On a more cheery note ….. we are in the most beautiful hotel, with air conditioning and all! In fact, very much more, so feeling rather spoilt. Rit recommended a restaurant about ten minutes away which we walked to along the river. This was laced with lights and decorations in preparation for their New Year celebrations in a couple of weeks time and many young people. They are such an attractive nation – beautiful girls and small, but handsome boys. We had a very delicious dinner, with outstanding service and all the staff speaking immaculate English – it is quite a contrast to Laos. We returned for an earlyish night in delicious looking sheets and soft beds!