Sabaidee Laos!!!

Our next destination was the People's Democratic Republic of Laos, the destination on our itinerary that I knew nothing about except that it is the least well known country in South-East Asia and you can go tubing on a river. To get to Luang Prabang we had to cross the Thailand-Laos border at Chang Kong, about 8 hours minibus drive from Chang Mai. The Mekong River serves as the border between Chang Kong and Huay Xai. We had expected to take a two day slowboat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang, as is the customary backpacker method, however due to dams being built in China upriver, the river was too dry and shallow to be able to take the slowboat so we had to take a minivan. A minivan for eleven hours on windy mountainous unpaved roads. Though the drive was less than comfortable it gave us a great way to see the undeveloped lush and sprawling mountainous landscape of Laos.

I fell instantly in love with Luang Prabang, a tiny French village on a peninsula of the Mekong River. Shops and cafes are built in colonial France style, orange-clad monks wander from temple to temple and cafes serve up sumptuous Laos coffee and croissants. We explored the temples and shops around the main road, getting suckered into buying too many silk scarves at the night market.

Our most memorable day here was our visit to the Tat Kuang Si waterfalls. Ashley and I decided to be adventurous and bicycle to the waterfalls... 35 km from Luang Prabang. Did I mention that Laos was mountainous? And that we don't cycle? The 10 km mark was the hardest. Sitting on the side of the road dizzy and regretful, ready to give up and hail a tuk tuk to take us the remaining 25 km, the passing tuk tuks with laughing passengers, Jessie included, encouraged us to put our pride first and finish the ride. The ride to the waterfall was a test of the body and spirit. We enjoyed the beautiful countryside at a more leisurely pace than one out in a tuk tuk. We arrived at the waterfalls 3 hours after setting out and about one hour before it shut. The waterfalls were a true Eden. Lush foliage lined the blue waters of the waterfalls and swimming lagoons. One of the swimming lagoons had a ropeswing attached to an overhanging tree and after a 35km bike ride we didn't hesitate to swing into the freezing cold lagoon in a manner that would make Tarzan proud.



The following day we set off for Vang Vieng. We were told by many that the tubing on the river is the thing to do. We had no idea what exactly this entailed. Much like Koh Phi Phi, Vang Vieng turned out to be like a European spring break with less of the westernization... We found cozy bungalows on the other side of the river away from the town. Stunning limestone cliff faced mountains surround the area encapsulating this hidden gem destination. The nightlife was a line of bars set on an island in the river. Bucket Bar (yes, they serve drinks in buckets) started the party off, which would move to the neighboring bars throughout the night and into the early morning.

After a good night's sleep in our bungalows we decided to check out the tubing experience. Beers in hand we set off on our tubes for the first populated bar on the river. Every bar had a trapeze pendulum swing - so dangerous... for those unskilled non-Bermudians anyway, yet so much fun! We spent the day jumping off of high dives, and shocking the crowds by diving off the swings. A lot of our day was spent cringing at the people who would realize their fears of heights, barely making it off the platform before they ditched the swing... way to close to the rocks that jutted out at the foot of the platform. The best bars are at the top of the river and quickly regretted renting tubes.



We got in touch with our adventurous sides and dallied scooters through the countryside and over some rickety bridges to discover stunning limestone caves and lagoons that rivalled Bermuda's. Our much needed tour guide equipped us with headlamps and took us through a cave crawling with big cave spiders. Fears of the dark and spiders (and particularly spiders in the dark) were challenged.



Our final stop in Laos was the capital city of Vientienne. Wanting a break from spending several hours travelling on the bumpy unkempt roads around the windy mountains in a minibus, we decided to kayak down the river from Vang Vieng to Vientienne (well technically we drove an hour and a half, kayaked for a couple of hours and then drove another hour). Vientenne was much more developed and western than everywhere else we saw in Laos but it was still incredibly charming. Unfortunately we did not have the time to do the city justice. We ate some wonderful food and hit up the local bowling alley which was strangely and wonderfully playing recent hiphop - definitely forgot that we weren't at Warwick Lanes!

Laos was the biggest and best surprise of the trip so far and I had the time of my life. Laos, thank you for the wonderful memories!