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Published: July 21st 2008
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May 20, 2008 - May 31, 2008
After the Gibbon Experience, we planned to head south to Luang Prabang (LP), then Vang Viang (VV) and finally Vientiane before moving on to Vietnam. In first leg of the journey, we had three choices about how we were going to get to LP and none of them sounded all that good: 1) The slow boat - a two day journey down river in a very basic and uncomfortable boat; 2) A 15 hour bus trip through the mountains and this is if all goes well ... it often doesn't; and 3) The Fast Boat - a six hour speed boat ride, which is described by Lonely Planet with words like "frequent fatalities". We decided on option 3 ... sure we might have died but at least it would have been a quick death. We donned our home-made "life jackets" and our crash helmets with wind screens and crammed ourselves into a rocket-fueled long tail boat. Apart from one breakdown and many many leg cramps, the journey was uneventful and we arrived safe and sound in LP.
We spent four nights in LP enjoying the delicious food and the charming little towns.
A French Patisserie
Nice breakfasts of quiche, croissants, and great Laos coffee! Colonialism certainly has its upsides in northern Laos. After our first experience in southern Laos in January... which was great don't get me wrong, we weren't exactly looking forward to eating Laos food again (If you don't remember please refer back to the eagle claws that turned up in my soup in Pakse). The north, however, is a very different story. In Luang Prabang and Vientiane there are beautiful baguettes on every street corner and the likes of brie and blue cheese grace the menus. Even the Laos food itself, was a cut above what we remembered. This great little surprise ... flavoured our return trip to Laos ... sorry for the pun. French colonial buildings also fill the streets of these towns, adding a distinctly European feel to the area, and it was not uncommon to hear locals speaking french in the cafes. I know its supposed to be bad, but we were loving the little colonial touches northern Laos had to offer.
We made a trip to a gorgeous waterfall outside of LP, which is near to a Moon Bear and Tiger Rehabilitation Centre (both of these animals are poached and mutilated for Chinese medicine production). Unfortunately,
Coming Back From Bowling with the Irish
We've met Gavin and Simon (the middle two) many times along way ... in Nepal, Thailand, and Laos. You may see them in upcoming photos because we also ran into them in Vietnam and Southern Thailand. the tiger was "not out" the day we were there and it was rumoured that it had died the day before. We were lucky to meet back up with the Irish Crew from our white-water rafting trip in Nepal. We had a great night out with Gavin, Simon and a few others, which ended up at the local bowling lanes at 4 a.m. Bowling appears to be the party sport in Laos; this place continued to serve booze after all the bars close and as a consequence was absolutely packed.
We left LP heading for the traveler famous town of Vang Viang! We've been hearing about this place since the first week of our trip because of the tubing that everyone does here. We weren't sure what to expect, but we rented tubes and hopped in a packed tuk-tuk heading to the starting point on the river. We quickly discovered that "tubing" involves relatively little in the way of tubing and is mostly just an excuse to drink buckets (of whiskey, Red Bull and Coke) and swing on massive rope swings (some of which start over 8 meters above the river). The first riverside bar is less than 50
meters from the starting point ... it also has the highest swing on the river. Two and a half hours after starting our tubing adventure, Bex and I were still 50 meters from the starting point. Although Bex was a little too timid to try the first swing, by the time we reached the last bar (aptly named "Last Bar") she was a seasoned swinging veteran. We made it out of the river all in one piece just before dark (accidents are very common ... in fact I had to swim out and rescue one panicking girl).
We spent the rest of the time in VV exploring by motorbike (our standard approach) checking out the caves in the surrounding limestone mountains (carst mountains for you geology nerds). We even swam/tubed up an underground river deep into a mountainside. It was a little freaky, especially if you have ever seen any monster movies.
One strange thing about VV was the number of bars and restaurants that showed "Friends" episodes back to back all day. It was a little lame walking down the street, listening to the laugh track from four different episodes. Vang Viang was a nice place ...
Our New Buddhist Friends
Oddly enough their names were Tim and Simon? I still don't believe that! but a little too much of the backpacker party lifestyle for us. Let's just say there weren't too many other 30 year olds around.
Our last stop in Laos was Vientiane, the most laid back capital city on earth. Although I'm sure we hit a few tourist sites in Laos, none of them were terribly memorable. What I remember most was the food we ate and the people we met. We were lucky enough to spend an afternoon chatting with two young monks who not only spoke great English, but who were also interested in learning more about our lives and teaching us a little about what they believe. The best thing about it was how these two were just normal guys after you got past the mystique of their bright orange robes.
After hearing a few horror stories about the bus trip to Hanoi, we decided to splurge a little and fly to Vietnam. Yup that's us, Flash Packers all the way.
One last note for anyone who is heading to Vientiane anytime soon, we would highly recommend trying the pizza at the Swedish Pizza and Bakehouse in Chinatown. I know it sounds odd - Swedish
Swedish Pizza!
Rice, Rice, Rice, Rice, more Rice, and then PIZZA. Note the big smile! pizza in the Chinatown in the capital of Laos, but it was some of the best pizza I've ever had.
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Jordan
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AWESOME Swedish Pizza in Laos. that's amazing.;D i would want some myself afer a bunch of banginiy Rice!LOL...............