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Published: March 9th 2010
After a very long bus journey into Laos we stopped for the night at a tiny town in the mountains and went for our first Laos dinner! There was only one place to eat in town and we were the only people there. The food was great though, they have sticky rice in Laos and its amazing! In the middle of dinner there was a power cut and we had to eat in candlelight which was really nice, the doors were open though so a lot of moths and mosquitos but it was ok! The room we were in had a little balcony with a nice view of the mountain at sunset too.
The next day we had another 6 hours in the bus to get to the capital city, Vientianne. We got down to the riverside for sunset and had a few drinks in a makeshift bar of pillows! Met a friendly little cat who kept us company for an hour or two aswell! After tea we went to a bar near the hotel and the boys ordered a beer tower to share which was huge! Not much of a late night as we left the next day for
Vang Vieng. In the morning we walked to a nice bakery called Joma and got sandwiches (real cheese!) before getting back on the bus for a few hours.
We reached Vang Vieng in time for another sunset by the river and watched everyone coming in from their kayaking tours. The next day we all went on a kayaking trip which started with a drive up to a traditional Laos village, our guide showed us a cave there which had a rock formation that looked like an elephant, apparently no-one knows if its natural or a carving made by man. We then went to another cave with a river flowing through it. We had to sit on rubber rings (tubes) and pull our way in with rope, then attach ourselves in a line and paddle along. We only had head torches so it was dark and the water was freezing so it was a little creepy but really good fun at the same time. We then got back into a jeep and went to the main river to get on the kayaks. They were for two or three people each so me and Jason had one together. We went about
4 km down river, it wasn't rainy season so the water was quite low and we'd occasionally scape against a rock, or bang right into them due to our terrible steering! We eventually got to an area that had loads of bars along the waterside and stopped at one for a drink. This is where all the tourists come to party in Laos when they go tubing down the river and even though it was mid afternoon there was a lot of drunk people milling around and really loud dance music coming from each bar. We were at a quieter one but even then the music was really loud! There were rope swings along the river and a few people in our group, including Jason, had a go on them but i chickened out because you pretty much have to jump off a platform and hold on until you're low enough to drop into the water but it looked like good fun if you're brave enough! We stayed at the bar for about an hour then did another 4 km down the river back to our town.
Next stop was Luang Prabang, another 8 hour journey on our little
bus! I fell asleep and woke up locked inside the bus on my own while everyone was having lunch and had to bang on the windows to get out! Got laughed at for the rest of the afternoon! When we got into town Con took us out for a walk but i was feeling sick after the long journey so went to the hotel and had a nap instead. Got woken up a few hours later by a tipsy Jason with a motorbike outside. After the walk he'd gone to a river bar in the garden of Con's friend. They had a few beers and got given good luck bracelets by the bar staff then the manager gave him a lift back to the hotel to get me on the back of his motorbike! He got a tuk tuk organised for me while i got ready then we set off to meet the rest of the group for dinner at a place called Tamarind. One of the best meals we had through-out the whole trip! It was all shared around the table in big platters and the starter was sticky rice, various chili, lime and coriander dips and crispy Lao
river weed (much, much nicer than it sounds!!). For the main we had a massive platter of different vegetables, chicken, fish and peanut sauce. We had a big plate of lettuce leaves to wrap our food in like you would with tortilla wraps and it was soooo tasty!! After dinner me and Jason got taken along to the town nightclub by Con so he could meet his friends and it was the weirdest place we've ever been! There was a live band playing Lao rock music and just a load of sofas looking at the stage with a tiny space for dancing at the front. Some of Con's friends asked us to dance and Jason went up with them and tried to copy their traditional dancing, which was hilarious to watch. They just stand still, wiggle their hips a little and move their hands like they're cleaning a kitchen table, was pretty funny watching everyone do the same little dance and Jason trying to figure out what to do!
The next day we went to a waterfall called the Kuang Si waterfalls. There was a bear sanctuary at the bottom with a couple of moon bears plodding around and
swinging in their hammocks. watched them for a little while then walked up to the waterfall for a swim. The water was really bright blue and freezing cold and there was a rope swing hanging from a tree so we chilled out there for a bit. There was about 3 pools you could swim in, each with a mini waterfall at the top, and further up from them was the main waterfall. Theres a path you can take up to the top of the large waterfall so we started going up that but i stopped about a 3rd into it because it was really steep and slippy, more like a little mudslide than a path. A girl on our group, Eloise, and Jason turned back not long after me and we pottered about and took photos while the others came down. Typically, the other side of the waterfall turned out to have proper steps all the way up which we hadn't noticed!
We started our two day trip down the Mekong river the next day. The boat is a family's house that they use to take tour groups and tourists down the river so it had their rooms in
the back and then a long front with a table and 10 sets of seats from the back of cars for us to sit on. It was quite cold in the morning but soon warmed up in the afternoon to a nice temperature. We each had a seat to ourselves so mostly just read and slept for the day. We arrived at a tiny town in the early evening and had a scary steep climb up the river side to our hotel! Went for an Indian with everyone that night which ended up with a few cases of mild food poisoning! Luckily not for me and Jason! The next morning we got back on our boat and kept cosy with a bottle of the local tipple; Lao Lao rice vodka! Once we warmed up we played Gin Rummy for about 4 hours before lunch. The family made us a big lunch of coconut curry, rice, soup, and lots of green beans after which we napped and then got back to the cards! We finished our boat trip on the Lao side of the river, checked out there, got a speedboat over to Thailand and checked in there. We stayed here
for a night but there wasn't really anything to do so we had dinner at the hotel and played about with a little shitzu.
Next stop was Chiang Mai which was just for the afternoon before our last overnight train. We got some fish and chips for lunch from a moody English man and then went to the train station. We had expected this train to be the worst of them all as you don't get any cabins, it's just one long passage way with chairs that flip into beds at night. It turned out to be the best one though as the beds were big, clean and had a curtain past them so it was quieter than a shared cabin. Although we did wake up with a cockroach above our heads but it wasn't a big one and i guess it cant really be helped!
Arrived in Bangkok early in the morning and went to our hotel which was pretty big and fancy looking! Me and Jason decided to go to a huge shopping centre called MBK to try and find some new things for the islands, got a few bits and pieces then headed back to
the hotel for a nap. That evening was our last one all together so we went for tea near the Khao San Road and the food was ok. After this we all went out for a few drinks in the upstairs of an Irish pub. After a few buckets of drink around the table we got a sheesha for the table with apple tobacco. Me and Jason headed back with a few others at around one but our friends Liam and Alex stayed out and met a girl (or maybe a ladyboy??) and didn't get back until they'd been to burger king at around 3.
So that was it, tour over. We went out to dinner the next night with everyone who was left over in Bangkok and then flew down to Phuket with Alex, Liam and Louise!
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Stephen Fowlie
non-member comment
Loas
Hey guys, hope this finds you well and that you are enjoying your trip. Loas looks absolutly amazing and beutifull, i wont deny for a second that i am red with envy but glad that you two are ok and having an amazing time : ) Everyone back home is missing you like crazy and cant wait to celebrate your safe return ( the parties just arent the same without you guys there) Keep sending the holiday updates as it is amazing to see what you guys are up to and plus it makes us feel a little less depressed knowning that it isn't cold and snowing everywhere. lol. Anyway take care and hope to hear from you both again soon. Steve xxx