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Published: March 14th 2006
Bamboo Riverside GH
Our bamboo hut in Chiang Khong (minus the cockroach & giant ants!!!)Hi again, it seems like ages since we last blogged!!! We did say next time we will be in Laos. However, we’ve been to Laos for 12 days and now we’re back in Thailand (it is loads cheaper to use the internet here than in Laos) we wanted to tell you all about it in one foul swoop!
Sabaidee!!!
So, we left Bangkok on Monday 27th of February on the overnight train to Chiang Mai (again!) at 21:30hrs. We just sat in the seated fan cooled carriage this time instead of having an air-con sleeper cabin. It wasn’t a bad journey as we were asleep pretty quickly. We arrived on the 28th at 12:30hrs caught a Taxi straight to the Bus Station and boarded the 13:00hrs Bus to Chiang Khong. The bus was quite an experience to savour - it looked as though the original coach type seats had been ripped out and replaced with bog standard bus seating (and more of them than there should be). Not even our ‘slender’ frames could sit comfortably in the cramped seats. Me & Karen just about filled our designated seats when we realized that someone else was supposed to sit on
Karen & Jamie on the Slow Boat
Us perched on our bench seat!!! the end of our row! The woman sat down and didn’t last 30 minutes into the journey before she moved to the seat behind (she also made the 3rd person on that row but Thai people are so small - she obviously wasn’t used to sharing with slightly ‘larger’ people!!!) We weren’t complaining though - more room for us!!! Although - maybe it was our aroma after not washing for over 24hrs!!!
The scenery of Northern Thailand was marvelous though which made for a more interesting 7 and a ½ hour journey. We arrived in Chiang Khong at 20:30 - more or less dumped in the middle of the deserted main drag and left for the vulture-like Tuk-Tuks all ready and waiting to take us to a guest house. We get talking to two German girls and an American girl and we start walking up the road as it doesn’t look too far on the map to get to the guest house we had read about (and we are fed up with Tuk-Tuks!). We manage to get a room at the Bamboo Riverside G.H. - on the Mekong River. Opposite you can see Huay Xai in Laos (where our
The Crammed Slow Boat & 'Boat People'
The guy in the shiny cream shirt - Peter - is crazy!!! Laos journey would begin the next day). The guesthouse specializes in Mexican so we had some great food (Fajita’s and Enchiladas) and then a much-needed shower and sleep after such a long journey. We were wiped out! Our room was great the entire place was nearly all made from bamboo - but this meant for lots of bugs in our room (and Karen particularly didn’t like the cockroach and his giant ant friends in the bathroom!!!)
The next day we were up early to cross the Mekong to get to Laos. V. excited we walk from the guesthouse to the ferry crossing. Go through Thai customs and then get a long boat across the river (took about 5 mins). On the other side we get our Laos visa stamp and get transport to the slow boat port. The slow boat to our first stop in Laos - Luang Prabang - takes 2 days with a n overnight stop in Pak Beng. The guide tried to coerce people into buying accommodation for Pak Beng before the boat left but we ‘chanced’ it which worked out for the best (see later). So, we finally set off for Luang Prabang. The slow
Sunset at Pakbeng
The view from the boat as we arrived at Pakbeng. boat was nothing like we had pictured previously. We thought nice spacious boat, lazily going down the river, with about 20-30 people on it. WRONG! The boat was crammed full of travellers (some didn’t even get seats!) You could barely move around the boat when necessary, let alone for pleasure! We managed to get a small bench seat which we shared with Lisa - the American girl from our guesthouse - cue the next 7 hours with a numb bum!!! Two men almost came to blows over a seat that was being saved for someone!
There was Beer Lao for sale on the boat and I think this helped ease many people’s fears of being on the boat for so long. Unfortunately due to lack of organization we hardly had any money so we went without beer all day. There was quite a party atmosphere though and some funny characters who entertained people! The scenery all the way was amazing.
Pakbeng - 1st March
About 7pm we arrived in Pakbeng. It was already dark and because the place is so small it runs off a generator and only has a few hours of power a night -
Luang Prabang Bakery
One of the many lovely bakeries in LP - uummm - cheese baguettes!!! this is why they were trying to get you book accommodation in advance (and charge you twice as much for the priviledge!) We were approached by a boy as we got off the boat so we followed him and looked at his families rooms. They were great bamboo huts, built up so they had a view right across the Mekong. We had 1 room and Lisa had another. The rooms were 100Baht each - bargain (about 1pound30p). When we were paying for our room we got offered weed & opium by a really young girl - it was weird and we were a little gobsmacked & couldn’t help but laugh!!! When we refused she said “its good stuff”!!! It was just wrong! We met a guy also staying at the same guesthouse - Travis from Texas so the 4 of us went to the Indian restaurant down the road - which made a nice change and served fantastic food. After we sat on the balcony of the guesthouse while Travis played his guitar. All the power went out at 10pm so sat in pitch black until the Landlady supplied us with some candles.
Wake up the next day with
Night Market
The night market setting up. a cold shower and head down to the boat. There was a funny moment when it came to leave the guesthouse: we both had our backpacks on but couldn’t find the room lock (padlock & key) to the door. We searched high and low - or as much as you can with huge bags on your back but, with no luck, decided to just leave as we were worried about missing the boat. We traipse down to the boat (worried about the consequences of not leaving the room lock!) It was about a 10 minute walk and there was a steep slope to the waterside that was tricky to deal with especially with the bags. We’re just about to board and I saw something hanging on the front of Karen’s daypack - it’s the bloody room lock - dangling there clearly!!! (I hung it there the night before to keep it safe!) I have to run all the way back to the guesthouse and replace it. Karen was on the boat with our bags, all of a sudden she panicked that the boat was leaving - because the Captain (if they have such a person!!!) had removed the plank that
Night Market 2
The night market in full flow. (Luang Prabang). we board the boat with - and she lept off the boat!!! Turns out he was just adjusting the plank and we weren’t leaving for another 30 minutes!!! That’s true love for you!!! (Aww Bless!!!) I’d rather she’d have stayed with the bags!!!
The second day on the boat was better in the fact we had a proper seat but the journey was a lot rougher and it was really really cold. We also heard from most people who had booked accomodation in advance that it was terrible - they had rats and some had slugs - yuk!!! (Knew it was a con - we couldn't help but feel slightly smug!) There was still the same beautiful scenery but it was slightly hindered by the bad weather and the fact that all you wanted to do was huddle up and be warm! There were a few moments when we all convinced the boat was going to tip - it was dramatically leaning to the right the whole journey but would suddenly tip more if people got up!!! At one point a load of water splashed in and soaked a few rows opposite us. Each person who got soaked were
View from Phu Si Hill
View of Luang Prabang from the top of Phu Si Hill. eating aswell so it made it funnier - especially Naomi - who was mid-bite through her baguette (so that got slightly soggy too!)
Luang Prabang - 2nd March - 7th March
Finally arrive in Luang Prabang 7ish hours later (about 4.30pm). We haven't walked far up from the boat when we find an absolutely lovely guesthouse and very reasonable (320Baht). It was run by a really sweet couple and it was so clean and felt like a luxury. We wandered around and went for pizza with Lisa & Travis and already we had fallen in love with the place. It had a great feeling to it - relaxed & stylish and the buildings were lovely. As Laos had been colonised by the French there are loads of french influences including buildings, cafes, restaurants and bakeries, almost all of which have French windows and doors. Later on in the evening we met up with some more 'boat people' and we all went for drinks.
Altogether we spent 5 days in Luang Prabang (and could have spent many more). We spent most of our time wandering around and taking it all in. The many baguettes on offer were such
Jamie & Lisa
Jamie & Lisa on the Slowboat to the Caves. a welcome change from curry, also - cheese - never thought we'd crave cheese so much! So, needless to say, we had a lot of cheese baguettes (or baguettes involving cheese!) The cakes in the bakeries were gorgeous aswell!
We went to the Royal Palace Museum - the original residence for the Laos Royal Family before they were exiled. We also climbed Mount Phu Si (Karen is getting braver & braver with heights!) - which is in the centre of Luang Prabang and has some interesting temples and a shrine and some great views across LP.
One day we spent going on (another) slow boat (we didn't think we'd get on one of those that soon after the last experience!) to Pak Ou caves just off the Mekong river. The cave itself was full of standing Buddhas. The boat stopped at 2 local villages on the way back which was very interesting. One was the Whiskey village where they produce the lethal Lao Lao Whiskey. We were offered a free sample but refused as we had been given the 'pleasure' of a free shot at the bar a few nights before - funny that each time we have
Slowboat on the Mekong
Slowboat on the Mekong. been offered it for free - does no-one want to buy it!!! It is strong and tastes a bit like paint-stripper! The other village was the handicraft village where they make paper lightshades & journals and many more things.
The afternoon was spent going to Kuang Si Waterfalls which were simply amazing. They were about 40 minutes drive from Luang Prabang and comprised of a huge, multi-tiered waterfall. There was also an area where animals had been rescued - with some funny looking bears and a humongous tiger (which was beautiful up close). The waterfalls really were like something out of paradise, although they were very busy. We climbed to one of the highest tiers (although not the very top one). The water was bright turquoise. We found a pool that nobody else was in (as it was tucked away) so we had it all to ourselves and swam nice and peacefully (how romantic!!!) It was a great place though but unfortunately we had to get back for our minibus.
The weird thing about LP was that the main streets were so small that everywhere you went for the first few days you would see 'boat people'. So
Pak Ou Caves
View of Pak Ou caves from the Mekong. we were in a strange place but kept seeing familiar faces and stopping to chat to people. We spent a lot of time with Lisa and 2 girls from England - Naomi & Natalie - who were lovely. There were also 4 Irish girls from the boat too so for the first few nights we would meet up with everyone and we had a great laugh (Jamie - all these women and just poor old me!!!). As our 5 days went on, the group dwindled. One night was spent in the 'Hive' bar taking advantage of their 2 for 1 cocktail happy hour. It was a really funky cool bar with great music. Many of the bars would play a different movie each night so one evening we went to watch Memoirs of a Geisha with everyone (which was a pleasant surprise).
We also spent a lot of our time wandering around the night market. It would start about 6.30pm along the main streets and they would all sit on the floor with a little light - altogether it looked really effective. There was also a lot of good stuff on sale! The food at the end of the
night market was great too - - it would be a stall with an all-you-can-eat buffet. You paid 5000 kip (50 cents) and you could fill your bowl with these amazing tasty dishes. That was our best bargain in LP - and we went there a couple of times!!!
We also watched an amazing sunset on the beach by the Mekong.
Sadly, we thought we should move on because of time so after 5 days/nights we headed further south. We got a minivan to Vang Vieng. It took 5 hours - up and down cliffs and windy roads! It was not a journey for the faint-hearted and many people had bad stomachs from it!!! The scenery was sensational again though. We also kept passing tiny little villages at the side of the main road which was fascinating. There is only one main road in Laos - going down from LP to Vientiane (Route 13). We had been warned before we left that bandits use this road to stop tourists and rob them - which was a nice thought as we're driving in the middle of nowhere! (Karen wanted to buy a Knife from the night market the night
Kuang Si Waterfall
Magnificent Kuang Si Waterfall. before we set off). Luckily we arrived in Vang Vieng about 5 hrs later, in one piece (although a little sick!)
Vang Vieng - 7th March - 10th March
Vang Vieng is completely different to Luang Prabang. On first instincts its a bit of a 'ramshackle' place and it was also how we had imagined Laos to be - it had no proper roads - just dirt tracks. It is surrounded by 'Karst' rock formations It had a cool feeling about it though and was also very chilled and laid back - probably more so than Luang Prabang. We didn't do a great deal - just wandered around. They had these cool restaurants/cafes where you lay on raised bamboo beds/tables, rather than sitting at tables. They had loads of cushions on and you just lay there - being waited on with food and drink. They played friends episodes all day and night as well so it was just cool to chill out with a Beer Lao. Our first day at our accomodation was very noisy - there was a National holiday and the place nextdoor had a party with bizarre singing and very groovy Laos music - a
Karen Swimming
Karen swimming in the pool that we discovered - 'Our Pool' cross between Bollywood and Phoenix nights!!!! (Very organ-based)
Natalie & Naomi (and another gril from England who they met on their trek - Zara) all moved to Vang Vieng at the same time as us - so, again, we were meeting up for dinner each night.
On the Thursday we did tubing on the Nam Song River with Natalie & Naomi. It was great fun. You hire a huge oversized inner tube and get driven about 15 minutes out of town. You then get in the tube, on the river and float downstream! In total it takes about 3 hours to get back (without stops). But there are loads of bars on the riverside with rope swings and parties going on and, of course, selling Beer Lao. Jamie sat on the valve of his tube as he got in the water at the start so it started going down. We stopped at the first bar and the kind barman fixed it for him with a piece of string. We felt like we had to buy a beer from him so floated off again with a beer Lao each and a fixed tube!
The next bar was huge
'Sarong' from Laos
The Beautiful Karen at the beautiful waterfall! (Yuk!) and had a party. It also had a huge bungee swing which Jamie went on and he looked hilarious. He couldn't get his grip so fell straight off it into the water. He actually really hurt his chest though so I had to soon stop laughing!!! We haven't got a picture because it was all over too quick (we just have one of him at the top - ready to jump!!!) So nil points from all of the judges too!!! This stop also gave us a chance to slighly swap the 'faulty' tube for another good one (as it was still going down!) Ha ha.
After these 2 stops we didn't stop anymore and a good job too because 3 hours later we were still floating down the river and it was getting dark!!! The end was in sight just before the beautiful sunset so we had nice views to top it off.
We had a nice meal by the river on our last night and Karen got bitten loads by the blasted mosquitoes!!!
Vientiane - 10th March - 12th March
Friday morning we get another minivan even further south to the Capital - Vientiane. We
get the minivan with Natalie, Naomi & Zara too. This journey was the shortest out of all of them - just 3 hours! Thankfully it was also a flat, straight road!!!
It took us longer to find accomodation here and we got showed a few 'holes' before we decided to pay a bit more and have a nice room. The guesthouse was good. Vientiane was good, nothing amazing though and there wasn't a great deal to do. It was nice to have the company because we met the 3 girls each evening. We had some nice food.
Jamie got his haircut at a proper French hair salon. They massaged him beforehand!!!
We went for a long walk and visited Pha That Luang - the Great Sacred Stupa - its the most important national monument in Laos - a symbol of both the Buddhist religion & Lao sovereignty. We just got hassled a lot there by little boys wanting to sell us their popadom/sweet crisp things!!!
So, we found a couple of days in the Capital long enough. We had said goodbye to Natalie, Naomi & Zara the night before and we were sad to see them
Jamie & the Mekong
Jamie 'having a moment' at the Mekong!!! go. Therefore, on Sunday 12th we caught the bus from Vientiane to Nong Khai, Thailand. It took us over the Thai - Laos Friendship Bridge (and we stopped either side of the border for passport stamps) and then 1 hour later we were back in Thailand. We were sad to leave Laos - the people were so friendly to us and we saw some amazing scenery. The chilled out feel was great too.
Cop Chai Leh Leh (its how you say it - not sure how you spell it!!!). Means 'Thankyou very much'.
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Naomi Butler
non-member comment
Hey guys, Was really good to spend time in Laos together and meet u guys. This update was fab and your photos are fantastic! Glad u got back to thailand safely and hope u r now enjoying the Islands! Really good to remember Laos, as it seems like ages ago now! Keep me posted on your travels, hope you r having a fantastic time. Love naomi