Oasis within a whirlwind? Laos of course!

---

$12 bus ride! I think i could put up with anything for $12.

We were ready at our hotel by 5pm, got picked up a lil late, and taken out of the town to the Hanoi, or one of the Hanoi bus depots. well, kind of. We were dropped off on the side of the road, next to a bar. and a tree. Rude NOT to have a beer while we waited, so, we had a beer. It was while drinking the beer, that we spotted the bus depot was actually about 200m down the road. "why don't we go down there?". "no, not yet, we must wait here" we were told. O-K....
Eventually, we were allowed to walk down to the bus depot. Processed our tickets, and got on the SMALLEST bus there. Not what you want when you have been told the bus journey takes approx 20 hours. So we sit in the bus, getting lots of space. "Rambo" (the Vietnamese driver), then literally pushes us around on the bus into the smallest seats at the back. All of the Vietnamese on the bus are lounging in the forward seats at this point, and foreigners are in the back! We sit on the bus and wait. We try to get off to stretch our legs, and are ordered back on. Its now 8pm, and half of our group are talking about getting off and flying to Laos instead. We agree to give it until 8:30pm. 8:20pm, we leave the depot! The drive is the worst transit experience of my life! we arrive at the Laos border at approx 4-5am ish, i think. i was slightly out of it i think. we then have to wait until the border opens at 7 before we can go through! We were ripped off through the border for a few more $$, then after making it through successfully, went STRAIGHT to the shop, and bought some LAOS BEERS!!!!! What a great idea we had! fill up on loads of beers, right before we get back on a cramped bus for another 6 hours!!!! (we didn't know it would be another 6 hours).

Vientiene

Such a breath of fresh air after Vietnam. I was expecting something undeveloped and primitive in Laos, but the French have had a good impact there! The roads were developed, the traffic stopped at junctions, and there were plenty of nice coffee shops to bask in the air con. The Bus journey def made me ill, and i physically felt awful while here. We didn't do too much, next stop that we had was the tubing place in Van Vieng, so we decided to charge batteries for this anticipated event. Some more nice temples etc around Vientiene, but im ashamed to say we say none of it! Just templed out!! The Loney Lanet's highlight for Vientiene, was sitting in a restaurant, and looking at the river, so don't think we missed much!!!

Van Vieng

Home of TUBING!!!! One of the most infamous activities on the Backpacker's calendar. decent enough bus ride, we got off, learnt our lesson about not going to the first place you see, and walked around to find a good deal on accommodation! and we DID!!! we Triumphed!!!! Brad new hotel, still being built, brand new rooms HUGE, balcony, air con, cable etc for about a fiver a night! We walked into town, and its just a couple of streets, built on the tourism created by the tubing. We were armed with a dry bag between the 3 of us, the money was in there, camera, and clothing was just boardies, T-shirt and flip flops. A Tuk Tuk took us a few Km's out of the town, up the river and dropped us off at a bar. it was mid afternoon, but we felt a bit late!!! People are on the whole covered in writing and paint. The music is loud, the beer was cold, and the giant swing out into the middle of the river was in full, um, swing... So the deal is, you have a few drinks, have a go on the swing, then jump into a tractor inner tube, and float down the river to the next bar. There are heaps of horror stories about recent fatalities and accidents on the numerous swings and slides into the (faster than actually expected until you drop off a 20ft high swing into a muddy, torrent of a) river. So we had some beers, and myself and shawn nervously had a go on the first swing, before chucking everything into the dry bag, and jumping into the river en route for the next bar. we were far too tight on the money front to buy inner tubes, so we took our chances in the very jaggedly rocky river. floated to the next bar, where ropes with floats are thrown out for you to catch and haul yourself in with. by now it had started to rain, so its a surreal thing, being warm, but in the rain, in your board shorts, on the edge of a river, having a party, on a monday afternoon!!! Needless to say, there are plenty of things to keep you entertained here, mud pits and holes with tug of war, HUGE slide, Zip Lines etc etc. After a few hours of non-tubing antics, we piled into another tuk tuk and back to hotel for a shower. The other thing Van Vieng is famous for is the bars that play Friends, The Simpsons and Family Guy pretty much 24 hours a day, or all the time they are open at least.
The following day we took some motorbikes up river beds that were currently dry, but extremely inhospitable, and onto some caves. Shown around by a guy who couldn't speak any English, in caves with no lights and some big holes in them was an interesting experience. It was a full moon that day, and a lot of the people who usually party in Vanvieng had gone down to the islands of Thailand, so it was a relatively quiet nights partying.

Luang Prabang

Probably the nicest scenery i has seen after Sapa, the drive to Luang Prabang was a very windy tedious one, but the pretty all the same. We passed what looked like a lot of limestone pinacles, similar to those in Halong Bay, before making our way into the mountains. It is an adrenalin experience in itself, a bus ride in SE Asia, and doing it in the mountains, with very little room for error makes it even more so. I caught myself having a few "what if..." moments. We passed through a couple of towns, with a plentiful amoun of shops considering their location, but when we finally stopped for a break, it was on the corner of a road, with a small stand selling cucumbers and some green leaves of some description. Mmmmmm, DEFINATELY didn't want a drink!
The town itself is pretty small, but very pretty with a good vibe. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the seat of the Royal Family, and it is now a UNESCO world heritage site. We walked about for a good while trying to find somewhere to stay, seemed to be the most expensive place also. Eventually we did find somewhere, and got probably the best room i have had on my trip! There are heaps of Monks (Monklingtons) in the town, and they can be seen every morning at approx 5:30-6am, walking through the town. A great photo opp, if you get up early enough. Well, i kinda missed it. A great pizza, and a few beers later, we bumped into the Dutchies, and had another beer. They had come from the north of Laos, crossing near Sapa in Vietnam. a MUCH better option it seemed, although did involve some overnight stays in some random places.
The next day, after a bit of shopping about, we got a tuk tuk with a few others upto some waterfalls. about 30 min drive out of the town, we went up in the mountains a little. at the base of the waterfall area, there is a bear sanctuary, a home for Asiatic Black bears rescued from illegal trade. Cute little chaps, funny faces though! The waterfalls were as you would imagine form this area of the world. The water was terquoise, with some very beautiful waterfalls cascading into the pools. A paradisiacal site if you will! there is a rope swing, and basically you just jump in, and have a lounge around. Prety quiet when we were there, can only imagine how packed it would be in high season. If you don't like small fish nibbling at you, prob best to sit this one out though. Luang Prabang is also famous for its night market. As it seems are most towns in SE Asia. It was a nice one, some very fine products, and probably slightly classier (if thats possible) than most markets. Still didn't buy anything though!
Bit of a lay in the following day, before heading to Luang Prabang International Airport! Seeing the plane arrive doesn't instill you with confidence, its a classic prop plane, with a little door at the back, it pretty drives up to the window of the terminal. Flying, although expensive when its to do with Laos (about 50% more than most other flights around SE Asia, is by far the best option. Afer the nightmare bus ride of 24 hours, the only other way to get to Chiang Mai in norther Thailand, was a slow boat for 2 days, followed by another BUS! No thanks! Pretty gratifying FLYING over the windy roads that we could of been on.

Short time in Laos, but great time. From the most hectic of activities on the river in Vang Vieng, to the pretty town of Luang Prabang, we only touched on a small part of laos, def worth a re visit.

---

Comments

[Gigz]

Vang Vieng Hotel
Hey... Your blog sounds great! I was wondering what the name of the hotel in Vang Vieng was ?