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Published: March 29th 2008
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I am writing to you from Vientiane, capital of Laos, where we are currently staying in a typical socialist hotel reminicent of the Soviet era.
But back to the blog. As I have said we entered Laos by simply crossing the Mekong river from Northern Thailand in a tiny boat. Once there we had to go to the immigration hut to get our visa. Prices of visas depended on nationality, with Canadians paying the most! We also had to pay a one dollar charge for it being sunday overtime I guess.
After the form filling we were taken off to the dock and on to the slow boat. This was a 30m long and 5 m wide wooden boat with rows of two hardwood benches on either side. There followed a 7 hr journey through the most beautiful countryside, stopping at tiny villages along the bank to load or unload cargo and locals.
We arrived at Pat Beng, the night stop after dark and had to disembark by carrying our luggage across several other boats and up some very steep hills to reach our guesthouseAfter a few beers, a chat with fellow passengers and a good nights sleep it
Arrival in laos
Looking back across the Mekong to Thailand was back to the boat and onward to Luang Prebang a further 8.5 hrs. Luang Prebang makes all the travel worthwhile. Its a beautiful laidback town sitting on the Mekong river full of French colonial architecture and Lao wats and palaces. We had a lovely room with a balcony overlooking the river. We spent our time walking around with big smiles on our faces enjoying the excellent french/Laos cuisine and friendly hassle free Loa people. We also hired bikes and explored the surrounding area visiting the villages of the Hmong hill tribes.
After 4 days of enjoying Luang Prebang and recovering from the slow boat we boarded the public bus to Xieng Khuang, the bus journey was memeorable for the bus hitting a cow early on, narrowly missing a truck by swerving into a ditch and having to stop to repair a puncture. A journey of 200km took 9 hrs due to the tiny winding mountain roads! Xiang Khuang is famous for two things, one the Plain of Jars, areas dotted with hundreds of huge stone jars dating back to before stone henge. As yet it remains unclear who created these jars or for what purpose. The other reason
this area became infamous was that during the Vietnam war the USA dropped about 2 million tonnes of explosives on Loas and this area in particular in an attempt to stop the flow of supplies to the Viet Kong along the Ho Chi Mihn trail that ran through this area. To this day the countryside remains covered in unexploded ordanance and many locals, particularly children are killed and mained each year by these devices.
Our visit to the Plain of Jars was thus limited to areas where mine clearance groups had created safe routes. Rumours that I led Claire through mine fields in order to examine unexploded bombs are grossly exagerated, our guide insisted on showing us them, and I felt it would be impolite to refuse! Xhiang Khuang was also a very cold place due to the alltitude, the temperature falling as low as 21 degrees, so after seeing what we came for we boarded a bus for Viang Vieng. This is a najor travellers centre, surrounded by limestone peaks and dotted with caves. The 2 main pursuits of young travellers here are tubing down the Dong river in truck tire inner tubes and lying back on couches
watching endless repeats of Friends whilst drinking "happy shakes".
As we didnt fancy either of these pursuits we took in the fabulous scenery by bike and then took the bus to Vientiane, the capital city. Vientiane reminds you that Loas is still a Socialist country with lots of red flags, museums dedicated to socialist propoganda and the usual red tape. It is also the centre for aid agencies, charities Non governmental agencies and foreign companies, as a result the streets are full of ex pats of all nationalities who outnumber the travellers. Just when things couldnt get any stranger, we were walking down the main street when I saw my sister and her husband sitting in a bar, complete suprise, for although we knew they were in South East Asia we had no idea they were in Laos, let alone Vientiane! It is indeed a small world.
We will be heading further south soon on to the mekong delta cambodia and even more intense heat, but more of those things later. Best regards to you all, and if you are at a loss with what to do for your next holiday go to Loas!
All the best
Shane & Claire.
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