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Published: March 30th 2007
Laos is located North of Thailand between Myanmar and Vietnam. The most outrageous thing about Laos, is that a visa for a Canadian citizen to get into the counrty is 42 USD!! There, at the top of the list of the visa office, sits Canada. It puzzled me why this was since the chart on the wall told me that my German friends only had to pay 40 USD. The odd explanation that the visa officer could come up with was, that this was the price that it cost Laos ppl to enter Canada! Bizarre!!
We left the sleepy capital of merely 200,000 thousand, Vientian, for the small village of Vang Vieng. Our bungalow was close to the river with a clean bathroom and hot water for 4 dollars. We found a way to crack the lock on the a/c in our bungalow…Score Hot nights turned into blissful sleep.
Next stop was the largest cave I had ever seen, onto the smallest cave where we had to crawl on our hands and knees. It was nice to arrive at these caves and be the only ppl to visit them. Corey and Golo lead us around the first
tunnel, being the only two wiht torches; past the falling rock, around the hole that could swallow a car and finally to a large dark cavern. THE rock formations in these caves were amazing!
Tubing was on the agenda for lazyday, since we figured all we could manage for today was floating down a river, swinging off a massive rope swing and drinking beer in the sun all day. We were floating down the Nam Ngum, which was strung with rope swings of all sizes, zip chords, and ppl trying to fish you out of the water to take a drink at their fine establishment.
At any fine rope swing there was music, a place you could buy beer (and possibly food, never asked) bamboo platforms in vies of a swing. The place I made the boys stay for a good part of the afternoon was the most massive swing. This place had a swing that began up in a tree, around thirty feet, spanning a distance of easily 50-60feet from release. Only Corey’s video does this swing justice. All are welcome to watch this video, or maybe check the internet!! LOL the feeling of dropping out of
the tree and swinging towards the water, only to continue past the water and back into the air….Whhhaaaaa Hoooooo!!! I managed to back flip off every swing on the first go, only because that is the best way to scare your self stupid. This swing was the best plaything. Cracked a few back 180’s, as well as a rodeo 3 and 5 forty! Ben, I thought of you as I enjoyed such a pleasant water playground. That was what it was, a water playground fro grown kids. Swimming, zip line and drinking…no wonder ppl stay here for 10 days. The rest of the river was pretty slow. We found on more swing that Chris, my Canadian friend, challenged each other on. Two gainers off platforms with some local kids and a final beer to cheer the boys!
At any given time in the Nam Ngum river you will find women and children bathing, playing and even brushing their teeth. This happens only a few hundred meters away from a group of bathing cows. Up stream a Backo digs the river bottom, leaking diesel into the already dirty water. But everyone carries a smile on their face as if it
BeerLao, BeerLao!!
The beer was so cheap, it would be wrong not to have two!is the only one they have ever known. Bliss…for me and them. Now this is a different culture! I just can’t believe it. There is just too much to tell of Laos!
On a different note: The countryside of Laos is dry and desolate. Small fires burn throughout the hillsides hazing out the sun from complete view. Stumps and burn patches fill fields and mountains, which at one point might have been green. I am not saying that Laos doesn’t have beautiful mountain ranges; they are just clouded over by smoke. My drive up to Luang Prabang from Vang Vieng was filled with nice viewpoints but for some reason the locals cut down the bamboo to build houses and set the place ablaze!
All in a relaxing experience! I am off to ride the elephants through the jungle tomorrow and then down to 4000 Islands. Cambodia and Vietnam are next on the list. Hope you all enjoy the pics and are safe!
Your Guide Jordan
ps... for all of you that are working hard on papers and finals, I wish you well. Good luck Kelasey and my Nicole!
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TinNiE
" Half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness "
lovely place!
something i want to try, tubing! ~ nice photos