Laos

Loas almost got ditched from our travel itinerary because of difficulties in travelling to and from the relatively undeveloped country. However, we had heard good things about the natural beauty and the lower key tourism from friends and travel blogs, and were interested to see what it was like – our first ‘still-Communist’ country.

The overnight bus from Bangkok spewed us out in the Thai border town of Nong Khai and we were able to easily organise a bus over the Thai-Laos Friendship Bridge to the capital, Vientiane. After a disturbed night we all needed a good sleep, so we cranked up the aircon at our hotel and crashed for a couple of hours. We decided we all prefer overnight trains to overnight buses!

When we woke up in the late afternoon the temperature was still above 40 degrees, but we headed out for a walk around town anyway.  Travel blogs advised that there was little to see in Vientiane, so we only stayed one night. We took a stroll around town, past the Patuxay War Memorial and a cool old stupa, and on to the night market on the bank of the mighty Mekong River. 

The night market was similar to those in Thailand, if a little more gritty, but it had a good vibe, with lots of families eating around small tables, a Zumba class in full swing on the walkway, and young people hanging out together sharing fruit smoothies or beers. We declined the many different kinds of squid on sticks and all the deep fried creepy crawlies, and instead bought a good number of fruit shakes, some funny T-shirts (“My brain is like fridge magnet poetry” ??), and a couple of ice-cold Beerlaos – apparently the major export from Laos. The thermometer in the taxi on the way home at 8:50 pm read 38 degrees – it was stinking hot! There are times when air conditioning is worth every cent.

Feeling ready for some adventure, we picked up some “anti-normal” coffee at a Chinese coffee shop and headed to Vang Vieng in a minibus - only 2 hours up the drag from Vientiane.  It was well above 40 degrees by the time we arrived and we desperately hoped we wouldn’t have to walk to the hotel. Fortunately we were dropped right outside our lovely little family-owned hotel and dived straight for the pool.   

The natural environment around Vang Vieng is stunning. Tall limestone karsts rise up on either side of the town, topped with dense, dark green jungle and the shallow Nom Song River winds parallel to the main road. There are numerous caves, pools, waterfalls and viewpoints to visit in the area. While the capital, Vientiane, is functional and exists for its own sake, Vang Vieng has more of a backpacker vibe than anywhere we had been before. The combination of it having loads of outdoor adventure activities, a former reputation for parties and drugs, and being super-cheap, makes it ideal for backpackers from all over the world, and affordable family owned hotels and food outlets line the dusty main road. In addition to a night market (where we tried refilled boiled eggs, braaied sticky rice on sticks and delicious little coconut pancakes), the main road must have had at least 100 food outlets of all kinds, from street food to Korean BBQ spots to karaoke joints.  On one night, we sampled the Korean BBQ (which we suspect is not actually done in Korea), which is a sombrero-shaped silver bowl placed over hot coals in the centre of the table. We were then brought a large assortment of meats (some unidentifiable), salad greens, noodles and raw egg. Water is poured into the outer rim and pork fat is placed on top.  When the water is boiling, the egg is dribbled into the water, together with some greens and noodles. The meat can either be fried on the top or boiled in the rim. It was a very different and fun eating experience. 

There were probably 20 companies selling kayaking / tubing / ziplining tours. The hustle for tourist business in this little town was real, but never pushy.  Fortunately, the staff at our hotel were super-helpful and organised us a full-day ‘adventure tour’ so we didn’t have to deal with any touts. We also asked them about booking a bus to Luang Prabang. The lady looked at us a bit strangely and asked “Why would you want a bus? It is uncomfortable, expensive and takes 5 hours. Also the buses crash all the time because the road is so bad. There is a train that is cheaper, more comfortable and takes only 1 hour”. Ok, then, we’ll take the train - we love trains! So she promptly went off to the train station to book the tickets for us. 

The adventure tour started off with a visit to the Elephant Cave, so named because one of the limestone formations on the cave wall looks amazingly like a carved elephant. There is a Buddhist temple inside and it was interesting to see the similarities and differences between Laos and Thai temples. Next stop was the Water Cave, where we were all given head torches and tubes and we dived into the beautiful teal water – grateful to be able to cool off. A rope guided our group deeper and deeper into the cave. The cave was pitch dark, an average of about 5m wide, 1.5m high and a total of 400m long. It was a novel experience to venture into the cool, dark silence of the cave, and pull ourselves along under small stalactite formations. 

Our next activity was kayaking down the Nom Song River for a few kilometers. We were expecting a tranquil cruise through the unspoiled Laotian jungle, listening to birdsongs, and soaking in the natural beauty. This was not the vibe. When the mercury reaches the low 40s, the whole of Vang Vieng (and probably further afield) head to the Nom Song River, to picnic, party and cool off – a very sensible plan. Numerous spots along the river were lined with gazebos and half submerged tables and chairs and the locals were living it up – music blaring, kids splashing, adults drinking and everyone having a good time. We paddled along, dodging the rocks and kids and trying not to get splashed by the uncles in the water. Fortunately we also stopped in a couple of places so we could also jump in and cool off. 

While the rest of the crew was dropped off at various places along the way, towards the end of the day it was just Hee-Jun and us left to visit the Blue Lagoon swimming hole and zipline. We first got harnessed up and sent 120m up a steep flight of stairs. After a safety briefing consisting of “Sit down, feet up”, we were launched off the platform one by one and zipped off over the forest canopy. By the third platform, the initial zipline jitters had settled and we were all thoroughly enjoying it. We got to the second last platform and the guide said: “Down!”. Daniel dutifully stepped up and jumped off, not knowing that the final thrill was a 20m free fall before a guy at the bottom tensioned the rope and lowered him the final metres to the end. Carys followed suit but there was no way at all that the parents were going to do that! We declined the offer and ziplined the final stretch, much to the disappointment of the guides and the children. Sometimes - just no.  The water in the blue lagoon was an amazing colour and surprisingly chilly – just what we needed after a sweltering day of adventuring. 

On our last day in Vang Vieng I took a hot and sweaty run up to a local view point. Even in the relative cool of the 35 degree morning it was hard work, but worth it for the stunning views of the landscape from the top of a limestone karst. The rest of the day was spent chilling in the pool, doing some school work and a bit of shopping around the town. 

Our departure on the ‘slow train’ to Luang Prabang was quite interesting. A tuk tuk took (that’s funny) us to the train station, which is about 10km out of town. As soon as we arrived it was clear that this was a Chinese venture – something about the scale, the severity and the uncompromising efficiency of the place. Evidently, the Chinese had negotiated a train line from China, through Laos to Vientiane to carry their people and goods. We’re not sure if they paid for it, but they may well have.  The place was spotless and with all the first world amenities, including automatic toilets. Passengers were fed onto the platform (to the correctly labelled pillars) precisely 4 minutes before the train arrived. People then stood at least 5m back from the edge, in deference to the fierce-looking station guards patrolling the edge with whistles. The train arrived (on time), everyone took their allotted seats in the comfortable air-conditioned cabins, and we were off. Oh, we forgot to mention that the Chinese like to go from A to B as directly as possible, so this train line bored straight through any inconvenient mountains the whole way to Luang Prabang – tunnel after tunnel was interspersed with cuttings of various sizes. Now we knew why even the “slow train” was so much quicker than the bus! We were grateful for the efficiency and the short trip, with the added bonus of a whole bag of sweet tamarind fruits from ‘MJ’, a sweet Korean girl who gifted them to us.   

Arriving at a carbon copy Chinese railway station in Luang Prabang was disconcerting. Contrary to every experience we’ve had to date disembarking at an airport, train station or bus rank, when we walked out of the station in Luang Prabang there was…nothing. Not a taxi tout in sight. Which was weird, pleasant, but also a problem, as we didn’t have a lift into town, 10km away. I was busy negotiating with a local to drive us (for a hefty fee) when Nix discovered that there was an official shuttle service on the lower level. We lined up, at the table, were sorted into appropriate minivans according to where we were staying, paid the standardized fee – with a receipt – and off we went! How very organised.

The old town in Luang Prabang is really special. The street layout and many of the buildings are obviously French colonial and charming, but it has retained many of the old Buddhist stupas and the Royal Palace (now the National Museum under the Communist government that ousted the king). Overlain on the historical feel is the modern informal, but organised and respectful, trade on the sidewalks. The Mekong River forms the northern border of the old town and is the focus of much of the tourist infrastructure. In the old town, tourists, locals and Buddhist monks share the space at a laid-back pace, seeking the shade of the flamboyant tree-lined streets to get out of the blistering heat. 

Luang Prabang also has a pumping night market where tourists browse souvenirs and tourists and locals alike come and pick up a meal for ridiculously affordable prices. We ate there every night, and had a variety of excellent meals from different stands, including exotic mushroom kebabs, coconut dumplings and mango sticky rice.

The TEAC is an in-depth, and also very well done look at the cultural practices of the four main ethnic groups and the many sub-groups in Laos. It covered customs, dress, arts, crafts and music. The kids got to do a quiz, listen to traditional music, dress up, and weave bamboo and wool. Such an educational and fun day out. 

That evening we headed up the Phuosi Hill in the centre of the Old Town to visit the Buddhist Stupa and watch the sunset. Supposedly a lovely serene experience, about 80% of the tourists in Luang Prabang had the same idea, making it a rather bizarre, noisy, but beautiful outing. As we were sitting at our favourite spot at the night market we noticed the sky turn from grey to purple to black. Suddenly all the street vendors were running for cover and we realised something big was going to happen. And then the heavens opened. We shrieked and giggled the whole way back to the hostel, hopping in and out of awnings and splashing in puddles the whole way home, while toads eagerly made their way out onto the road. 

A highlight of our time in Luang Prabang was a trip to the Kung Si waterfalls. The site is a slightly vomit-inducing 40 minute drive out of town, but when we got there it was totally worth it. The water is the same teal-blue colour as the Blue Lagoon and the falls are actually a series of separate waterfalls and rapids, with large swimming holes beneath each one. Despite the numerous tourists at some of the pools, other pools we had to ourselves, and we had delicious swims in the cool water. Apart from the falls, the jungle setting is magical, with huge exotic trees towering over the path and the river. In addition, there is a bear sanctuary at the entrance and we got our first experience of endangered Asian sun bears and moon bears – slightly smaller than other bear species and very cute.

We come across different types of travelers depending on the accommodation we opt for. Hostels, like the one we chose in Luang Prabang, probably have the most varied and interesting sorts. One morning Nix and Carys were in hysterics, regaled by two Hungarian and Swiss couples on their horror bus experience from Hanoi to Luang Prabang. On another we were engaged by a Chinese guy who had ridden his scooter all the way from Beijing, and was enjoying his standard breakfast of coffee, mixed with coke (?!), and cigarettes. We also met an ethnic Mongolian from Irkutsk in Russia, who showed us pictures of his home on Lake Baikal where the transparent ice gets to 2m thick and you can drive a bus over it! 

Laos was an absolute delight of a country – we were so glad that we didn’t scratch it from our travel plans. We were also glad to have experienced it in the order we did – Luang Prabang felt like a gem of a spot to end on, and we could have hung out there for longer. We were starting to get a feel for the different countries of this region, realizing why it is such a popular destination for people from all over the world to visit. Sad to leave Laos, we were looking forward to (finally – hopefully!) experiencing Vietnam, and getting a sense of its personality in the Southeast Asian family.