Arrested...

Well, I've had my first REAL adventure! I've been taken to the police station and questioned!! We are staying in Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos. A small town where two rivers meet - the Mekong and the Nam Khan. Our bungalows (very comfortable, by the way, raised off the ground, with huge bathrooms and almost hot water!) are a little way out of town. This being a free day I decided to strike out on my own on a bike (yes, I know, I never ride one, but you have to try these things...). Picture hopefully attached - note the bike matches my T-shirt. Anyway, I'm merrily cycling along when two men in uniform on a motorbike gesture to me to stop. They then instruct me to follow them to the 'tourist police' station, (picture me, a non-cyclist, wobbling along behind them, trying to keep up with a motorbike, weaving through local traffic) where they tell me it's now, since 3 weeks ago, illegal for foreigners to ride bikes in Luang Prabang. This is all in very pidgin English, with me wondering what the 'heck' I've done wrong. They then confiscate my bike and tell me to get a tuc-tuc back to the hotel and give the owner a docket and tell him to visit the police station. I protest (I'm so assertive these days!) and ask them to take me back, and after a discussion amongst themselves, one of them volunteers to take me. So I arrive back on the back of a police bike. Hoo-ey, this is living!
The rest of my blog pales into insignificance! First let me thank you all for your comments- sorry I'm not replying individually, the time on the internet seems to fly by, but I'm really enjoying them, and don't forget to tell me what YOU'RE doing too!
We had a lovely couple of days cruising down the Mekong, calling in at a couple of villages on the way where the hill tribes have come down to live by the river. The adults go off to work in the fields, and the children look after each other. There is no tv or birth-control, so there are loads of children, all very happy to see us, calling out 'sabaahdi' - 'hello'. I'm going to try and add pictures of the river boat, and me grinding grain. As you can see, it is hot, but not unbearable, and we have had some rain. It feels strange, though, trooping through someone's village, taking photos - I wonder how I'd feel if someone took pictures of me going about my everyday life?
Yesterday we went on a 2.5 hour trek through a forest to some waterfalls. The journey to the start of the trek was interesting, to say the least, in a tuc-tuc (like a jeep, but less posh, with 6 of us on sideways benches). We went down dirt tracks with what seemed like massive craters we sometimes avoided, sometimes not - kept bumping my head on the metal roll-bar! It reminded me of the Rhodes off-track adventure with Steve... The trek was great, very tropical but no scary wildlife. We stopped at a school where the girls were playing a game which we used to play too - I'm attaching a photo - so I asked to have a go, and they were amused at my efforts not to get entangled in their elastic skipping rope. At the end of the trek, which was enlivened by a stop where our guide, Mr Jan, sang us a local song - the Lao people all sing apparently, karaoke is BIG here!, we swam at the bottom of the waterfall - so refreshing. Then to a bear preservation area... Last night we had a typical Lao meal - riverweed with sticky rice and dips (you roll the rice into a ball in your hand and dip it) then a huge fish (absolutely delicious) steamed in banana leaves with various veggies. Then for dessert we had raw rice (it's all round grain in this area) which is dark purple and looks like Christmas pudding, with a tamarind dip and local fruits - can't remember their names except papaya and the tamarind, which looks like a broad bean, but is like a row of figs inside... This meal I have to say was not exactly to my taste, but hey, I tried it. I did have wonderful pineapple crush drink, though, with a foamy head, and ice cold - mmmmmmm! This morning, following my adventure with the men in uniform, I hopped a lift on the back of the hotel-owner's motorbike and came into the town, climbing up to the temple on top of a hill - I always have to get to the highest point! Many steps in great heat, but wow, definitely worth it for the view over both rivers and the nearby hills. It is quite beautiful in Laos - so green. The scenery on the river trip was similar all the way - vast forests with small beach areas where peanuts grow in the sand. Everyone waves as you go by...
That's it for now, off to Ventiane, the current capital, tomorrow. On a 'smallish' plane, we're told.. more adventure, hoorah! Your intrepid reporter signing off for now...

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