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Published: April 22nd 2005
Sunset on the Mekong
Luang Prabangs waterfrontArriving in Vientiane, after 24 hours on the bus from Hanoi, was like stepping into a war-zone. Every one of the dusty side streets showed evidence of a recent skirmish. They roamed in gangs, some as young as 3 or 4, armed to the teeth with pistols, pump-actions, and buckets. Just when I thought I'd found a safe street to walk down, a sniper from a second floor balcony got me in the back... "Sabaidee Pii Mai" he screamed as his friends laughed.
I certainly left Vietnam and made it to Lao (don't use the 's' if you're cool) at the right time - smack bang in the middle of Pii Mai Lao (the Lao New Year, similar to Thailand's Songkran), a three day, country-wide festival of water splashing (to wash away the sins of the past year, and purify the Buddha) and, well, drinking, and water splashing again. Vientiane was supposed to be a boring jump-off point for the better sights in Lao, but who could be bored when everyone's drunk, and to beat the heat, all you have to do is go outside and be drenched in a few seconds, be it by the kid next door, the
Water Rats
These guys were leaving us alone as we waited in the mini-bus to leave... but not long enough unfortunately old lady up the street, or in my case, the owner of my guesthouse, and that was as I was going in!
Vientiane is small city of wide dusty streets set on the mighty Mekong. There are a string of bars set up along the river bank (which looks like a cow paddock) and I had a great night drinking with some Lao medical students, who adopted me for the night, introduced me to some novice monks and of course took me to the disco. It was strange staring across the river at Thailand, and discovering these guys had never been. I tried to get them drunk enough on BeerLao to try to swim for it, but the little buggers could hold their piss better than me!
The next stop was Vang Vieng, a small village 3 hours to the north set on the Nam Xong river amongst amazing limestone karst mountains, and backpacker heaven. All the restaurants in town have 'lie-down' seating and DVDs playing, and its the only place apart from Amsterdam I've seen Happy Shakes, Special Pizzas and Garlic Bread, and Mr O's Hot Tea prominently listed on the menu under "Happy and Funny for
Tubing 1
Ahhhh... You". I met up with a couple of long-term travellers (a seppo and a pom) to explore the local area, which essentially meant taking an inner tube out on the river each day to float between the makeshift bars (most with jumps, flying foxes and swings) set up along the riverbank. The only thing on the menu was BeerLao, thats it. Not even water. My accomodations amounted to a thatched hut on the river, to really complete this arduous 4-day adventure.
I'm now in Luang Prabang, the ancient capital (I think) right in the heart of northern Lao. It is surprisingly mountainous (the bus ride from Vang Vieng was spectacular, although a little to fast around the corners and blind overtaking for my tastes), and the town has a great setting at the confluence (I got that word from Lonely Planet and couldn't think of a better one) of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers, with hillside temples, pretty colonial streets and of course heaps of outdoor bars and restaurants overlooking the rivers. South of town is the most spectacular waterfall (the Koungsi) I've ever seen, and even had novice monks jumping from the trees into the water to
Tubing 2
Thats a chinese guy scared of the jump in the distance... boot.
Tomorrow I'm heading up the river by slow boat to Nong Khiaw on what is supposed to be the best trip in South-East Asia, so I guess there'll be more of this schmaltzy beautiful landscape talk in the next entry too.
To the bottomfeeders (you know who you are), I'm sorry but there's still not much to report in the debauchery stakes, although apparently my 'lie-down' in the main street of Vang Vieng after one too many BeerLao and "Happy Milo-Banana Shakes" was entertaining to all who could remember it...
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maddison kilbee
non-member comment
cool
nice piccys