Laos: The Undocumented backpacker

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Sabaidee everyone,

I'm already nearly a month into this trip! The whole thing is simply flashing past. I know I'm repeating myself at the beginning of each post so you'll probably start to get bored of me saying it. Today's post is going to cover the two and a half weeks I've spent in Laos. I know I said I'd aim for a post a week, but remember I did also say when does anything ever go according to plan 😊 a surprising amount of what I said in the first post has come back to haunt me. I'll give you a brief moment to go back and read the first post and guess what might have happened...

Have you done it?


That's right. I lost my passport. I can imagine you probably worked that out from the title of this post.

Before I go anywhere I just want to say one thing about my stay in Laos: despite what happened I have still loved visiting this country. Having spoken to quite a lot of fellow travellers who explored the country further south than Vientiane, I do wish that I had more time for this place. If any if you do come here on your travels you will most likely visit the following three main destinations just as I did: Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. Originally in my head this comprised all of Laos, north to south. In fact this is all a lot of visitors tend to see; just as I write this someone next to me said to his friend that there is nothing else to see here. Whilst I cannot comment based on my own experiences, considering how many people have loved visiting places in the south like Thakhek, with it's four day bike loop, or Savannakhet with its colonial architecture, or the four thousand islands near the Cambodian border, I can see why many would disagree with that statement. Anyway let's move on from what I didn't see in Laos and onto what I did see 😊

So far Luang Prabang has definitely been the stand out destination of the whole trip so far. It is an ideal city to kick off a visit to Laos with just the right level of bustle and tranquility that very few cities I've visited have. The setting couldn't have been better as I arrived, with the sun sinking behind the mountains next to the Mekong River, as we disembarked from the slow boat and made our way to the hostel. Much like Pai in Thailand, Luang Prabang is a city that is blessed by some incredible scenery: with mountains covered dominating the skyline and the converging of the Mekong river and it's tributary the Nam Khan providing you with very picturesque views at ground level. As a massive history nerd as well, I found it particularly interesting to see vestiges of French colonial rule dotted around not just in Luang Prabang but also in Vientiane. During the colonial era Laos formed part of French Indochina along with Vietnam. Whilst the remnants of French rule are not quite as obvious in Laos as in Vietnam, in its two main cities there is still a large amount of old western-style buildings being used as departments for the regional governments and at times you can see the coming together of two different cultures in one frame when seeing these buildings stood beside traditional Buddhist temples.

Incidentally, as in Chiang Mai, it was one of these temples sat on a hill (this time right in the centre of the city) that was one of the most significant spots for me. The temple on top of Mount Phousi (calling it a mountain is a bit of an exaggeration) may be tiny in comparison to that of Doi Suithep near Chiang Mai, but the views it commands are certainly worth the £2 charge you are laboured with to make the climb! In fact it is an ideal place to go to if you fancy reading a book in a quiet spot away from the noise of traffic, hostels and yelling tuk tuk drivers. In perfect weather mount phousi is ideal to view the surrounding countryside and appreciate two more of Luang Prabang's qualities : the distinct lack of a smog filled haze and the lush greenery of trees that thrive in this very small urban area. I must admit even though I was warned off it, I returned to Mount Phousi again the same day to watch the sunset. I could see why many people are put off given the volume of tourists that try and squeeze onto this small summit but again the views made it all worth it! I know I've rambled on for a long time just about a hill. Well don't worry because i'm finished now!

It is also next to mount phousi, on Sisavangvong Road, that you can find another common feature of southeast Asian cities: a night market. Despite the fact that in most of these markets, the people try and charge the earth whilst attempting to reassure you that what they are offering is reasonably, I always got a lot of enjoyment out of wandering round these 😊 The strong presence of street food just made them all the more enjoyable; in Luang Prabang i did get quite fond of fresh spring rolls! The sorts of souvenirs on offer is also quite interesting, in Luang Prabang in particular some vendors were selling bottle openers and fridge magnets made from recycled bombs dropped on the country in the 1960s and 1970s. A visit later on to the COPE museum in Vientiane will provide you with the shocking reality of this trade: since the trading (or 'farming') of scrap metal can be such a lucrative enterprise many of those living in rural Laos lose their lives or suffer life changing injuries whilst digging up unexploded bombs. Those that are lucky enough then create the souvenirs that you see in places like Luang Prabangs night market. Further souvenirs range from scarves and t-shirts, to rice wine and homemade whiskey, the latter of which often contains snakes, lizards or scorpions. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling adventurous enough to try these!

A visit to Luang Prabang would not be complete without a trip to the Kuang Si waterfalls also. Teaming up with some friends from Pai and the slow boat we were able to pay for a return trip in a private mini van for about £5 each. The waterfalls are the main attraction of Luang Prabang so if any of you are planning on going I would recommend arriving no later than 11.30am before the early afternoon onslaught of tourists arrives. Once more it was the weather that made the visit all the more special; the day had started off grey and overcast but after being at the waterfalls for half an hour the clear blue sky and familiar heat of the sun returned and turned the water into a shimmering blue masterpiece. According to local legend the waterfall was said to have been created when an old man dug into the earth, thus summoning the water. A golden deer was then said to have made its home under a large protruding from the cliff face (this rock was unfortunately dislodged by an earthquake in 2001). Whilst that story is after all a legend, there is certainly something mystical and magical about this gem of southeast Asia, with its numerous tiers which you can trace upwards before being confronted with an immense cascade which is about 60 feet high. Once more I could go on and on about the stunning scenery but this time I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking for me 😊

Luang Prabang is also starting to build up a decent nightlife. As with Chiang Mai the bars all close roughly around 11.30/12 so it feels like the night is over just as it was starting to pick up. In Luang Prabang though they have a rather unique way of ensuring that your night can continue with a cheap tuk tuk ride to a bowling alley located about half an hour away from the city's main bar: Utopia. I know it sounds likes weird night out but from my point of view I don't think I've ever bowled as well as that drunken night in Luang Prabang! It was such a great way to meet some new people, all of whom we would run into again further down Laos (like I said, everyone does the same basic route) That night brought an end to my stay in what has been one of the best destinations of the trip so far.

Vang Vieng was our next stop, a destination that drew strong comparisons to Pai in Thailand. It is a town that has grown up and thrives on tourists, most of whom are backpackers in search once more of not just beautiful scenery and a place to chill out but also to experience the areas most famous (or in some cases infamous) activity: tubing. The towns problems with tubing are quite well documented and whilst it has had to be scaled down and regulated thoroughly in recent years it is still considered to be one of the stand out social activities for backpackers in all of Laos. For those of you who are scratching your heads wondering what tubing is I can give you a brief summary: you sit in a rubber tube and float down the Nam Song river, during that time you stop off at bars located on the riverside and...well you can guess the rest 😊 its a pretty straightforward activity! If any of you do end up going to Vang Vieng, be prepared to be bombarded with free drinks. In fact this is a characteristic shared by both Laos and Vietnam to differing degrees. Vang Vieng takes this to the next level however with two of its largest bars offering free whiskey for happy hour. That's right an entire hour of free (incredibly rough) whiskey. Furthermore its most popular hostel, Chillao Hostel, also offers a free whiskey hour (helpfully this is before the bars offer the same deal). So the result is you can potentially have a full night out in Vang Vieng and not spend a penny on drinks (obviously that does require you to be slightly organised, a trait that tends to fly out the window after a few drinks in one place!)

Unfortunately it was on the journey to this partying paradise that I first discovered that my passport was missing. I'll go into what I did to get hold of an emergency passport once we get to the Vientiane stage of this post but I'll be honest with you; during the first hour after I found out it was lost I panicked! All sorts of ideas were going through my head: what if there is no British embassy in Laos? What if the hostels won't let me check-in? Will this mean I'll have to go home after only 15 days of my trip? Thankfully there is an embassy in Vientiane and I had planned to go there anyway so that calmed me down significantly and considering it was a Friday there was no point in going until Sunday at the earliest which left me with a day and a half to kill in Vang Vieng; not a bad situation to be in at all! Despite not doing tubing at all I still had a fantastic time there. Ever since the increase in regulation on tubing, Vang Vieng has sought to banish its tag of essentially being the Magaluf of southeast Asia and instead become a hub for adventure activities like kayaking and rock climbing. Once more it was thanks to my awesome Irish friends (I should really name them: Darragh, Kate, Nathan, and Sarah) that I was able to kayak down the Nam Song (past a load of hilarious drunk tubers!), explore a nearby cave, and visit a lagoon. It was without a doubt one of the best days of the trip so far 😊. It made me so glad I hadn't gone straight to Vientiane in a panic and has made me determined to go back to Vang Vieng at some point in the future 😊

The next day would have been ideal for tubing and that is certainly one of my regrets as everyone I spoke to had already done it or was planning on it. As it was we felt it was important to be in Vientiane to be ready to go to the embassy early on Monday morning to explain the situation and get it resolved as soon as possible. Now I'm not going to bore you with a day to day commentary of how I resolved the issue, received an emergency passport and was able to leave Laos. Instead I'll just give a list of the steps required for me to continue on my travels (thankfully I am able to continue with virtually my entire trip) and include some advice should you ever find yourselves in this position; the first being don't panic for too long (it is natural to initially feel panic), but also understand that there are ways to resolve your situation and it actually happens more often than you'd think!

1) As soon as you find your passport is lost/stolen and you cannot get it back report it to the local police - I didn't do this step and it made the entire process longer - make sure you keep a copy of this report.
2) Go to the embassy as soon as you can and they will let you know the application process for a new passport or emergency passport.
3) Obtain a certificate of loss - this will either be from an Immigration/Foreign affairs office of the country you are in.
4) Once you have an emergency passport take this and your certificate of loss to another immigration office to be stamped - this applies to countries that required you to have a visa, with the case of Laos my visa had been obtained at the border and was in my passport and thus I needed an exit stamp to leave the country.
5) Go to the embassies of all other countries that you are travelling 'through' to reorganise any visa's that are required - this could also include connecting flights!
6) Ensure that you only ' pass through' a maximum of 5 countries before returning home if it is with an emergency passport - this again includes connecting flights.

This entire process meant I spent 12 full days in Laos' capital: Vientiane. Unlike Luang Prabang with its charm, incredible sights and general good vibe, Vientiane fits very much into the mould of a capital city with a much more metropolitan feel but unfortunately for me (and most other backpackers) did not carry nearly the same level of appeal that the countries second city in the north did. It is sat right on the border with Thailand, a natural border as the Mekong river is once more split between the two countries. With regards to backpackers it is a destination that tends to be used by those doing 'visa-runs' before returning immediately to Thailand or used as a transport hub to other parts of southeast Asia; there are numerous flights to Hanoi, Bangkok and Siem Reap. As well as that it is also the start point for many long haul sleeper bus journeys that all backpackers dread, in particular the 'sleeper bus from hell': the name fondly given to the bus journey between Vientiane and Hanoi. As you can probably guess it is not a destination that many stay for longer than 2-3 nights in. Despite this becoming clear to me after a very short time in the city, as well as dealing with the stress of running between embassies, it was nevertheless an interesting experience to be in the same place for such a long time, and despite its lack of immediate appeal I still found many parts of my stay very interesting.

This once more leads me to talk about the French colonial influence that resurfaces in this part of Laos; I did warn you about my history obsession. Even a short stay in Vientiane will lead you to the most obvious piece of French-like architecture: that of the Patuxai 'Victory' monument. Whilst it is in fact dedicated to the memory of Laos soldiers who fell during World War II and in the war of independence with France it nevertheless bares a very clear resemblance to the Arch de Triomphe. Furthermore it was also used as a symbol of triumph over capitalism by the communists at the conclusion of the civil war in 1975; Laos to this day remains a communist country. From a tourists perspective it is an ideal spot to get a good view of the city of Vientiane, and considering the fee to climb to the top is only 50p it certainly is good value for money. Whilst the views from the top aren't on the same level as Luang Prabang, it is nevertheless a good spot to view the bustling metropolis that is Vientiane, in particular the Avenue Lang Xang which leads up to the presidential palace. During my stay in the capital, I began to get used to the sight of this monument, either from a bike or a tuk tuk, it being so close to Laos immigration offices and the British embassy. Incidentally it was also in Vientiane that I first experienced travelling in a tuk tuk; Asia's most famous method of public transport. I had received numerous warnings of how tuk tuk drivers try to rip you off and all my experiences so far only confirmed this! But to me they were still a lot of fun to ride in 😊 although they did also show that my bartering skills clearly need some desperate improvements!

During my extended stay in Vientiane I certainly got into a form of comfort zone; only because I didn't get lost nearly as much as I have in other cities! Backpackers arriving in the hostel, upon discovering how long I had spent in the city, would often ask advice on what to see. Thus I found myself visiting different sites or wandering around the large night market on the river side with different groups. From a couple of rounds of bowling in a deserted nearby centre that remains frozen in the 1970s, to a visit to a 'Buddha park' located about 15km outside of the city, I still had a different activity every day to go with my daily errands to the various embassies. As with many of my destinations Vientiane also has its fair share of buddhist temples, one being the holiest site in all of Laos: Pha That Luang. Just like church's in Europe, a lot of buddhist Wats look quite similar, although as you know I've named several that are particularly unique. Pha That Luang is one of those unique places simply because of it's sheer size and condition, as well as the fact that there is a massive golden Buddha lying down. Many people have said to me that by the end of their travels in southeast Asia they are, and I quote, 'templed out'. I must admit I've felt the same numerous times but a visit to Pha That Luang only showed that there were still so many to temples that could surprise you.

I'm going to round off this post now because it's already gone on for too long! I know it's been posted pretty late but you'd expected a prompt and organised blogger then you came to the wrong place 😊 Vietnam's next!

Ed

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