Laos

Luang Prabung

Already half way through our trip after an unforgettable time in Vietnam, we flew to Laos, the country bordering Vietnam inland. Laos was decades behind Vietnam, a peaceful break from the busy two weeks we just had. Traffic was less horrific, less people, less tourists, less development. Compared to Hanoi, Luang Prabang was a charming historic village. The first day we spend doing a city tour by bike, exploring one temple after another, each more golden than the last (The Royal Palace Museum was the best), the Mekong waterfront and rickety bamboo bridges. We visited bustling morning markets with creepy crawlies (beetles, rats, frogs, grasshoppers, slugs, snails), evening markets with handicrafts, cool chilled bars and weaving through touristic mazes of residential homes, were locals wanted us to stay and chat. A great day ended up with me crashing with another bicycle. I fell completely into the road and was lucky I didn’t hit a car or motorbike. I escaped with a black big toe and a few tears from throbbing pain and it did put our night plans on hold.

For the rest of our stay in Luang Prabang: We ate amazing street food mostly at the never-ending night markets where each stall had a smorgasbord of buffet style pyramids- likely the cause of Graham’s food poisoning. After the tourists would finish their meals there were always a few ladies following behind bagging up leftovers from everyone’s plate likely to feed their families. While it was sad in a way, it was also nice to see nothing was wasted. I read in the travel guide that even though flying into Laos it looks like an untouched wilderness, the first impression is deceiving. Due to lack of education and awareness of global issues, corruption, unfollowed laws and poverty the environment faces several interrelated threats. Hunters have endangered numerous species, due to being too poor to buy meat from markets. Likewise, forests are logged at unsustainable rates because loggers see more profit than not cutting. Graham was not wrong when he made the comment walking past the various bugs at the market that the people were just ‘raping’ the land. Being a fisherman himself, he knows very well that killing fish with explosives and plucking them out of the water is not fishing. For every fish that floats to the top, three sink, never to be eaten.

Luang Prabang had the best fruit shakes and sandwiches of our entire trip. I went to the sandwich street at least daily to indulge in the very inexpensive food. We also visited a couple of well-known caves and waterfalls. The Tat Kuang Si water fall was probably the most beautiful waterfall I have seen in my life to date with its many tiers and cascades and azure blue pools. Unfortunately, we were not the only visitors, tourist flocked to the waterfall like a public pool on a scorching day. Luckily most came to swim, while we hiked the strenuous scrambling climb to the top of the waterfall, all without any weight bearing pressure on my big toe. Harder than it sounds, trust me.

Tak bat-the monks’ call to alms
One of the coolest experiences was watching this small city to wake up at 5:30 am. Daily at dawn saffron clad monks pad barefoot through the street while pious towns folk place tiny balls of sticky rice in their begging bowls. Through this the monks demonstrate their vows of poverty and humility and in return gain spiritual merit by the act of respectful giving. Sadly, what is meant to be a quiet and meditative ceremony, despite constant campaigns begging visitors not to poke cameras in the monks faces, tourists swarmed from all directions. Flash photography was going on everywhere and the ‘across the road rule’ was nowhere to be abided by.

Phonsavan 

Our next stop was Phonsovan, another huge step back in time. Our hotel, which cost a total of 15 dollars per night was so simple that the sink was not actually connected to a pipe and your toothpaste spit would just fall on your feet below after spitting in the sink. While development was so slow it was a very important and heartening stop. Their lack of advancement had a reason behind it. In knew nothing of Laos’ involvement in the Vietnam war, hence why it is known as the secret war. Laos had more bombs dropped on it than Germany and Japan combined in World War 2, – two million tons of bombs. It was often just the dumping ground for the USA and Korea, as their planes were too risky and heavy to land with loaded bombs. Laos was also a part of the Hoi Chi Trial, a connection route between North and South Vietnam. To make it worse some of the bombs had up to 700 cluster bombs also known as bombies inside them that would scatter through the land and lay unexploded. Today 100,000 are still found each year and destroyed. Unfortunately, many still harm civilians and children who pick up the ball looking things thinking they are fruit or toys, sending ball bearings for 22 ft. through flesh and anything else in its path. The delay in building and agriculture is that many of these bombs are still hidden in fields. As tourists when visiting attractions, we still had to walk within the white lines as anything outside was not yet cleared of unexploded ordinances. It was amazing to learn about all this but also sad as many children have missing eyes or limbs if they had even survived. It was strange watching Graham throughout the history lessons here. While in Vietnam he seemed ok, it clearly made him uncomfortable and defensive this time. It is still very sad for the people here and a complete reality. Instead of singing the national anthem here, the children in schools sing the bombie song, for awareness not make sure they don’t play or collect the metal balls. Today the bombs casings are still visible everywhere we looked around Phonsovan. They were being used as BBQ grills, cooking stands, school bells, garden beds, pillars for houses, gas lanterns and silver wear. You have to wonder why children aren’t afraid of bombs when they are used so familiarly in their lives.

In Phonsavan we also visited the Plain of Jars, the sole remaining presence of a mysterious civilization. There were hundreds of sandstone jars sticking out of the ground like test tubes with lids, all in various shapes and sizes. It was strange walking through numerous jar sites, and it was almost more exciting that we know nothing about them. How many things on this planet can we truly say we know nothing about. Graham’s theory was of course aliens, others say tombs, storage or rice whiskey barrels. Who knows?! All I can say they were some big people or heavy drinkers if this was the case.

Vang Vieng
After another long windy and vomit smelling bus ride, we arrived in Vang Vieng. In town, the ratio of tourist to Lao people was the complete opposite to Phonsovan. This was the Asian party city for the young and crazy tourists. Graham called it ‘never never land.’ Hostels were everywhere, each with shoes piled to the roof at the entrance, as in most Asian places you take your shoes off before entering a house. It looked like a lot of fun, but I was quiet content in my $30 per night resort just a two-minute walk further down. If we wanted to party like we were 21 again, it was obvious that this was the place. The next few days were buzzed with excitement, meeting new people, exploring the sites and very cheap and yummy cocktails. Vang Vieng is known for its partying in the past. Tourists flocked from all over to play with illicit drugs, until finally too many people were dying and the industry was shut down by the government. Expecting nothing after reading up on the now shut down industry, our eyes almost dropped out of our head as we starred at the bar menu in disbelief. The menu consisted of three headings: mushrooms, opium, marijuana. Rest assured we stuck to alcohol, and even managed to kept up will with our tripping friends.

We gave zip lining and hot air ballooning a miss due to its known casualty rates and headed to float the river, which once was also crammed with bars along its shore. As in Texas, you drink all day and subsequently become best friends with people from all over the world. It really was a chilled day in the sun and a lot of fun. On our last day, a small group of us got together again from the day before and we rented motorbikes and spent the day cave hunting, trekking and swimming in lagoons. It was an exciting adventure filled day with good company a few scratches and very dusty faces. What surprised us most was amongst all the scenic limestone mountains surrounding Vang Vieng there must have been hundreds of caves. We picked a few random spots and literally bush bashed to find these hidden gems, some were long small and narrow, some with swimming holes at the end, others huge and magnificent with never ending drip offs. Scarier still, many did not have single sign for directions or safety, not a single person or light. Without our well thought of head torches, we would have been in complete darkness in most of the caves. Luckily we all survived the day, each of us knowing that if something were to have happened to us on the bikes or in the caves we would have had to be air lifted to the closest major hospital in Thailand or Singapore- what peace of mind!

My 30th birthday fell on a transit day on our way to Cambodia. We did fit in some celebrations for my big day. It consisted of a four dollar pedicure a very uncomfortable full body scrub and a hot pot Korean BBQ self-cooking buffet on the Mekong river. It was complete chaos. The plates could not be washed fast enough, that’s how popular this place was. It was a lot of fun. We cooked over hot coals with random meats and vegetables, most of which I had no idea what they were called. Surrounding the grill was a broth soup bath collecting all our fallen treasures to drink at the end. Even graham had a blast flipping the meat with his chopsticks.