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Published: July 22nd 2006
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After a lovely train ride overnight night, we arrived at the Laos border in the morning and Vientiane (the capital city of Laos) shortly thereafter. Interesting information: Laos (pronounced Lao) was and is referred to by their people as Lao. At some point during France's colonization, the French understood the country to be Laos, which was incorrect but nontheless, officially recorded and, as a result, most of the world now recognizes the state as Laos.
Lao is a slow moving place and sparsely populated. Upon our arrival in Vientiane, a big subject of conversation was where are the Laotians (I like this word - Laotians). We were also pleased to find that the Laotians were very kind and reserved people; very uncommon in Southeast Asia where most locals are more aggressive and "in your face".
Since I am months behind schedule with the blogs, I will attempt to condense the three weeks in Lao into two blogs. To do this, I'll first make clear our travel path and I will then summarize our experiences in each location.
Since we arrived via Nong Khai from Bangkok, we crossed the border into Lao at Vientiane. We spent one night in
Inside the Arc
I especially like the usage of "monster of concrete" - at least they're honest Vientiane and proceeded north to Vang Vieng for two nights and one day. We continued north to Luang Prabang. After three nights in LP, Jon and Miles headed back to Taiwan (via Bangkok) and we stayed for three additional night (total of six nights). Further, Jill and I planned to head down to the south of Lao to spend some time there before Cambodia. The bus leaving for southern Lao leaves from Vientiane thus we had to backtrack to Vang Vieng (two nights) and Vientianne (one night) before boarding the bus to Pakse in the south. All in all, we probably spent too much time traveling the same path and we could have condensed our trip here, but, on the other hand, we have the time. So why not?
Vientienne: Our first stop in the capital city was fairly low key: we toured the city on foot and did some minor sightseeing. During the return, we rode a local city bus to Buddha Park (about one hour ride). It is a compilation of statues (Buddhas, Hindu Gods, goblins, etc) surrounding a massive reclining Buddha. The interesting aspect of the park are the more abstract statues and, though, we didn't
Enjoying Beer Lao
Best beer in SE Asia have a guide to explain meanings, it was still really interesting. I think the reason is that the statues were moreso artistic than religious. On the return trip from Buddha Park, we jumped off the bus at the Beer Lao brewery which we spotted on the way out. It was closed! Closed on weekends - this was extremely disappointing.
Vang Vieng: This is a small, small town; basically one dirt road street. The main activity here is to drink, eat happy pizzas (or anything happy) and chill-out in the local cafes which provide libraries containing hundreds of movies on DVD. There are three restaurants - two are next door to each other and the third across the street - that play all the seasons of Friends continuously. All day and all night - Friends. And those spots were always packed. Not being a Friends fan, I had a hard time relating to the excitement. Though I did have to steer Jill away from those televisions at least once per day. Regarding the more active options, there is the required tubing ridedown the Mekong. For a few dollars, you rent a tube and a ride to get up the river.
Mekong Boat Ride
We stopped for some tourist prepared shops. Senor Jon is in the foreground and Jill is on the mobile in the back. Once on the river, there are makeshift bars lining the river, at least at 100 meter intervals. At those points, one may pull over on the tube to sit and drink a Beer Lao. Also, at these stops, there are either ziplines and/or massive tarazan swings into the river. If you're thinking, that doesn't sound safe, you're right, it doesn't. But it still is alot of fun. There is not much concerned regarding liability.
On the return through Vang Vieng, we planned to stay only overnight as we had signed-up for a overnight rafting trip to leave the following day. Unfortunately, we were the only two to sign-up which wasn't enought to fill the raft. It was cancelled. In general, Lao has alot to offer in terms of watersports - rafting, kayaking - and outdoor activity but you have to hit it during the appropriate season. Our stint in Lao was at the start of the rainy season thus, it wasn't prime watersport season (since river levels were still low) and too wet already for any rock climbing. We made effective use of our second day with another day of tubing. Yes, it was that much fun.
Luang
Prabang: The most romantic city we have visited and one of the most enjoyable (results in alot of foreigners on vacation here, in addition to backpackers). Enough so that we spent six nights here. Really slow moving place and on most days thought that the city had more foreigners than Laotians. Although, activities are limited here, the city had a magical feeling which kept us content. During one of the first days, we spent a full day sightseeing. The morning was a boat ride up the Pak Ou river to the Pak Ou caves; the caves contain many little Buddha statues. The Buddhas are small and not impressive, not at all like the pictures they showed us at the tour agency. In the afternoon, we negotiated with a tuk-tuk to drive us to the local waterfalls (Kuang Si). This activity was worth the time and money. The waterfalls were pretty and very refreshing for a swim. It was a perfect afternoon activity. Another day, Jill and I spent on a kayak tour; as I mentioned earlier water levels are too low (little current and no rapids) so it created too much paddling on our part (we were in a tandem
Kuang Si Falls
Near Luang Prabang kayak) and consequently, the standard arguments between Jill and I about who's doing more paddling. The remainder of our time in Luang Prabang was spent exploring the city, strolling through the market and finding good places for meals.
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