There are a number of variations of Same Same out there. There's "Same Same.. but different," which is probably the most popular of the lot - and it means that two things are similar, but not quite identical.. so there is a difference there. Another common variation is "Same Same.. but better!" This might be my personal favorite because one thing is clearly better than the other, and that's how we're going to convey our feelings about it - by comparing it to something similar but not quite as good to draw the distinction.
After some quick googling, I've learned that there was actually a movie!!! made in 2009 called Same Same but Different, about a bargirl in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the German student who falls for her.. and there's also a book with the same name! In this case... that's Same Same, but SAME, as we would so circuitously say throughout our trip. Since that one doesn't make as much logical sense as the others, we use it exclusively, as it tends to confuse the locals. They seem to need some differing point of comparison in there to make it work.
In case you're wondering, and I'm sure you are.. by the end of this trip, I became the proud owner of two Same Same t-shirts.. Same Same but different, and Same Same but better.. though the former was used at a marker party and is no longer wearable in public.. but more on that in a future post.
Our local Laotian tour guide, Nuth, was a huge fan of using Same Same whenever she talked with us - and that's probably where we picked it up.. that, and also from the street vendors, who are everywhere throughout the realm, where bargaining skills are at a premium.. as we learned in Phuket.
For our final dinner in Luang Prabang, it's a group meal at a place called Hive, which claims to have the best bacon in town.. because it's double smoked. They even have a large sign outside that states this claim for everyone to see. Being there for dinner, we didn't get to try the bacon, unfortunately.
The food for dinner is alright, but on this night, dinner would simply be our appetizer, as we have our sights set on much more ambitious goals.. most notably, to get outside the province lines prior to the 11:30 curfew so that we're able to stay out through the night.
It's fairly well-known secret in Luang Prabang, by backpackers and normal humans alike, that one can take a tuk tuk about ten minutes outside of town to a bowling alley.. that's right - a bowling alley.. and there's a party, filled to the brim with westerners, ready to rage all night long. Curfew? .. not here! They sell the standard Laos whiskey that I absolutely adore, as well as beer and something else that I was unfortunate enough to try - something they referred to as Chinese whiskey (in the attached photo on the left of the Beerlao).
The reason I got this Chinese whiskey is that it was the only option for a bottle smaller than a litre.. it was maybe a fifth.. and since we were just getting started at the bowling alley, I didn't want to go big right away - but I should have, and I ended up going that route anyhow. This Chinese whiskey was honestly the worst tasting whiskey I've ever tried. Forget about whiskey, it might've been the worst thing I've ever tasted.. period. It started out tasting vaguely like a whiskey, right up until this absolutely awful flavor bursts into your mouth.. and makes you want to spit it out immediately. Just awful. To be tough though, I finished the cup I poured over the rocks, and then finally broke down and got the good stuff for five or six bucks - Lion whiskey. So I went crawling back to the Laos-produced goodness.. and thankfully, she took me back.
Anyhow.. enough of that terrible drink.. and onto the bowling situation. I really couldn't believe what I was seeing. We're on the outskirts of a province in Laos.. in Communist LAOS.. and we're at a bowling alley at 1am with tons of westerners.. mostly backpackers.. dirty, grimy, hippie backpackers. It's like we're at party somewhere in the rural US with tons of random weirdos.. except instead of being in the rural US, we're in LAOS. I still can't get over this. Why are all these people here? How did they get here? Why are they in Laos, of all places? I may not be the most worldly of men, but the country of Laos never really crossed my mind before this trip.. yet here we are, and there are easily a hundred westerners, mostly in their 20s-30s, partying it up like there's nothing strange about it. That said, I think I can answer my own question as to why they're here...
Laos is awesome. It's beautiful, mostly under-developed.. it's more charming and less skeevy than Thailand.. and one can probably live and eat considerably well there for about $5-10 per day. Also.. Thailand is so commercial! Laos is the new hotness.
The bowling alley itself isn't half bad either. At one point I actually threw four or five strikes in a row.. but then later in the night, I couldn't even buy a strike. At first though, people thought I was a pro.. and then I came back down to earth. We hung out and bowled for a few hours, the night raged on, and I Irish-exited via tuk tuk back to the hotel around 2 or 3. We had a long drive set for the next day, so I wanted to get some shut-eye.
The following morning, we would depart for Vang Vieng, Laos, a province predominantly known for it's outdoor activities like kayaking, tubing, and the like. On our tour sheet, it warned us of long and winding roads to Vang Vieng.. and it advised anyone with motion sickness to get some pills or a band to prevent any issues.
We were to be on the road from 8-5, with a stop for lunch plus two stops in between.. so a very long day of driving. Given my phobia of vomit dating back to my childhood, I'd always take pills for motion sickness on boats and long bus rides like this to prevent any issues from coming up (pun intended) - except, I suppose I never knew whether or not I actually got motion sickness.. so this time, why not go drug-free and give that a shot?
Well.. the good news is that I do not suffer from motion sickness.. and I was also really tired from the night before, so I was able to sleep much of the way. That said, the road was verrrry long and winding - everything in the region is mountainous, and while the scenery is beautiful, navigating these mountains by bus is simply not ideal smooth sailing perspective.. I think flying might have been a less bumpy idea.. but we already had two flights planned for Cambodia.. so bus ride, it is.
For the most part, everyone made it through this ride unscathed.. people felt ill, but everyone kept it down for the most part.. and the prize at the end was Vang Vieng, one of the most fun stops on the trip.
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