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Published: September 13th 2008
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Greetings from Laos- the most bombed country in the world but also one of the most beautiful. More bombs have landed in this country than the total amount (including both sides) of dropped bombs during WW2. The secret war here was kept under wraps as Laos was supposed to be left alone, according to the Geneva convention. However, the Americans bombed the country so heavily in an attempt to be rid of the Viet Cong who had gone to Laos from Vietnam that the number of bombs dropped amounted to 1 bomb every 8 minutes for 9 years. However, this has been my favourite place in SE Asia so far. It is so relaxing and the people are so friendly.
I met up with my friend Claire from uni along with her mate Fle and we all travelled together for a couple of weeks. Vientiane (the capital city) was the first stop after Thailand and we spent a couple of days seeing a few sites and generally relaxing. On the bus into Laos from Thailand we met a monk called Pon and he kindly took us around the city the following day. Appearantly they don't eat after 12pm and you
can see them all in the early hours of the morning (about 5am) collecting alms from the faithful in long lines carrying their baskets. It is so slow paced for a capital city, it's almost horizontal. Then again, Laos only has a population of about 6 million and there are only 200,000 of those living in Vientiane so a combination of low population and the laid-back culture means it's easy to wind down. We even went for a traditional herbal steam bath and Lao massage which was an experience- they like to click you! It was good though and it was in a place that almost resembled a farm as it was built on wooden stilts and was surrounded by various animals- very rustic!
After a couple of days in Vientiane we headed up to Luang Prabang which is a quaint little town full of Wat's and monks, resting on the side of the Mekong river. The journey itself was interesting to say the least. There is no space spared as locals packed themselves in, sitting on plastic seats in the aisles surrounded by boxes including everything AND the kitchen sink. It was a slow journey along muddy tracks
in front of some waterfalls on the south islands
It surrounds the whole area- especially high in the wet season through winding mountains rather than a road and was reminiscent of a couple of journey's we did in India. Luang Prabang is quite touristic but very pretty with a daily night market which lights up the streets with glowing lanterns each evening. One day we went to a school and sat with some Lao teens for a couple of hours who wanted to learn English which was really rewarding and made me think i want to do a similar thing when i get to South America. We also had a brilliant day riding elephants which was just amazing and it was all eco-friendly as they were rescued elephants. It felt strange at first and a bit unsecure with 3 of us up there (Helen and i in the seat and the mahoot on the elephants neck) but after getting used to it it was incredible! We even got to switch places with the mahoot and ride on the elephants neck ourselves- just an awesome experience. We also rented bikes one day and got out of the town to see some stunning scenery and lots of rice paddies.
After staying a few days in Luang Prabang we headed a few
hours down south to Vang Vieng which is THE place to go tubing- it is majorly touristic with people going to the town to enjoy the delights of floating down the river in a rubber ring, visiting various bars along the way. When we went it started pissing down and it really was something else to see people just dancing in the rain and mud, not caring about anything and having a great time. It was really fun but unfortunately it was tainted by the fact that a young boy came up to our rings as we were floating down (stupidly, it was dark by then) and managed to steal 2 wallets and 2 cameras from our dry bag. So we ended up spending an extra day in Vang Vieng in order to obtain a police report from the Laos police who searched through our bags to make sure we wern't lying and committing insurance fraud. The police station was like walking into somebody's living room! We even had to pay a small fee to get the bloody forms, the bastards. Anyway, after that sobering experience we decided to leave the delights of Vang Vieng and head to Thaket which
is in the southern part of the country and is a great base to do treks and stay in a homestay.
The south of Laos is far less traversed than the north as travellers tend to head to Vietnam after seeing Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. The trek was extremely muddy and wet and we ended up basically trekking in bare feet as there was no point in keeping our shoes on. However, it was so much fun and a really lovely experience meeting a Laos family and the various guides (including Mr. Mee who was half Helen's height!) along the way. We couldn't refuse anything of course so ended up eating our body weight in sticky rice (traditional Laos rice eaten with your hands- really tasty!) and having a few Lao-Lao's (traditonal Lao rice-whisky which knocks the air out of your lungs.) They performed a ceremony which involved the chief of the village tying a wristband around our wrists as we held out our hand holding Lao Lao and food. Literally we had a piece of chicken in our hands and a banana along with a very sweet cake as he told us in Lao he wished us
a good trip and to find a good husband!! So here's hoping! haha!
I'm currently on one of the four thousand islands in the very south of Laos on the Mekong river. However, as it is the monsoon season, there are far fewer islands as the Mekong rises so high submerging many islands under water. There are only 3 inhabited islands and we are currently on Don Det staying in a small bungalow for under 1 pound a night! However, we are sharing the bungalow with a few hundred lizards. It may not be quintessentially beautiful like Ko Tao in Thailand with it's clear blue sea and swaying palm trees but it is just as scenic. The Mekong river is just outside our bungalow and the muddy water gushes past our balcony in front of the twinkling lights from the other island. In the dry season the water is blue but during the monsoon it is a light brown. Electricity is a new phenomenan for this island so it's a wonder i'm online really! Today we cycled around and saw some huge waterfalls and a zillion rice paddies. We're off to Cambodia tomorrow on a long bus journey to
Vientiene
Patuxai- Arc de Triomphe replica in Vientiene Siem Reap (where Angor Wat is.) I'll check in again soon!
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