On the Road with Brent & Erika

Sorry for the lapse in posts - we've been away from the real world for awhile. You'll understand more as you read. We sadly left Chiang Mai and Thailand on Sunday after church services at the Payap Christian Zone. Our time there with the new Thai Christians and the Reagan family was really uplifting! Please keep this ministry in your prayers.


Us with some of the group at the Payap Christian Zone

Our transport from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang, Laos was via Lao Airlines on a very shady propeller plane. It saved us a couple days of buses + boats though, so we thought it was worth it. I failed to mention to Erika and Ricky (and our parents!) until after we had safely landed that this particular airline doesn't release their safety records and "cannot be recommended" according to certain state agencies. We're alive though.


Erika feeling a little nervous!

Luang Prabang is a very cute town right on the Mekong River in the hills of central Laos. We spent two days there shopping, watching World Cup and a little Mavs and sightseeing. The major attraction for us was a gorgeous waterfall about an hour out of town. It was a large one that continued to cascade down into multiple levels of refreshingly cool turquoise pools that we swam and floated around in. Luckily, we were there early before the hoardes of daytrippers arrived, so the place was ours for several hours.


Monks early in the Luang Prabang morning carrying bowls for alms


Sunset on the Mekong River in Luang Prabang


Erika and I at a dinner spot on the Mekong


Erika picking out the wares from a local woman


Kuang Si Waterfall


Me jumping from a tree into the waterfall pool

We next needed to get to the border town of Huay Xia back towards Thailand. We chose the most economical and quickest method- a white-knuckle speedboat trip down the Mekong River. Although this may sound appealing at first, it soon turned out to be the worst transportation experience yet. I'm not sure if the photos do it justice, but just imagine sitting on your bum hugging your knees with your feet against your rear bumping along a river at speeds fast enough that a crash helmet is required for 7 hours!! Every part of our body fell asleep and there was no adjusting or relief. It really - to put it bluntly - sucked. Plus, Erika and Ricky suffered some pretty severe sunburn on their legs which would soon affect the next part of our adventure...


Ricky folded up in his speedboat full of locals

...the Gibbon Experience. This 3 day/2 night excursion took us to some of the most amazing scenery and places we've ever been and, at the same time, to the limits of
what our bodies could take. Basically, a group of treehuggers have built 4 treehouses in the middle of the rainforest in Laos to try to establish a sustainable way that the locals can live off of the forest - ecotourism - other than logging and poaching. The endangered gibbon monkey lives within the forest, hence the name. The coolest part was that, other than trekking up relentless amounts of uphill trails, the other form of transportation was ziplines over and through the tree canopy. We went on about 25 or so! It really was a spiritual experience to observe this amazing landscape while flying across the top. The tree houses were 120+ feet up and gave you a bird's eye view of the forest below and beyond. It was incredible! A few words about the trekking though: sweat dripping off our noses, continually picking off leaches, bees and wasps, mosquito bites, and for Erika, a blistering, crippling sunburn on her knees (that darn speedboat!) that quite hindered her enjoyment of the hikes. Luckily for her, she has a husband who is willing to carry all of her stuff the whole time and walk slowly with her. Lovebank, anyone? Overall, living out our Swiss Family Robinson childhood treehouse dreams and listening to the beautiful calls of the gibbon monkey in the mornings amounted to priceless memories!


Our home for two nights


Erika and Ricky stop mid-hike for a pose. Notice the zipping gear and sweat/dirt.


Erika leaving treehouse #4


This was poor Erika's sun-blistered knee. It actually got much bigger than this before we did a little treehouse surgery.


This was one of many little suckers who took a liking to my leg.

This brings us to our bus last night. The plan was to leave the Gibbon Experience and take a "6 hour" bus ride to Luang Nam Tha in the north of Laos towards China. Well, 15 minutes in we got stuck in the mud multiple times for a total of 4 hours! Various methods of getting out were experimented with by the crew of young bus-helpers: chains on the tires (they broke eventually), wooden blocks, shovels, poles, hitching a ride with a bulldozer, and, lastly, raw manpower pulling and pushing on all possible sides of the bus. We had to evacuate into the muddy road (can you call it a road?) many times to lighten the load. But we got here and have quite a respect for the hardworking and determined folks of the Lao bus system.


Two ladies waiting it out in their seats


Unfortunately this dozer only helped us up one hill. There were many more to come!


When all else fails...pull (Ricky in orange)!


A couple local guys peering out the bus window still wondering how we're going to get out of this.

Now we do one of two things: trek into the hilltribes of northern Laos or, if that proves to be too complicated or time-consuming, head into China. Thanks again for your comments and prayers! We miss everyone back home so much, as well as Tex-Mex and Mavs fever! -- Zack, we'll take you up on the eating out offer for sure! Until next time...


We're millionaires in Laos! This is 1.5 million kip (roughly 150 bucks).

--Brent