Laos

Sawadii everyone.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and New Year. Mine was certainly different, and isn’t one I‘ll forget anytime soon. I’ve been in Laos for about 2 or 3 weeks – I’m really having trouble keeping track of the time. I only know what day it is when I get onto the internet!

So from Chang Mai, I moved north to Chang Kong for the border crossing into Lao. It took a little while to get the formalities sorted out and a couple of extra ‘processing fees’ and ‘overtime charges’ for the immigration officials, but they eventually let me in. That same day I joined a slow boat traveling down the Mekong.

It was certainly an experience, but the novelty began to wear off an hour into the first 9 hour day. On day one I got lucky with a wooden bench to sit on, whereas on day two I made do with a kid’s plastic garden chair.
All the boats going south stop in a tiny town called Pak Beng, built into the hillside overlooking the river. We spent the night there and set off early on the second day. I learnt my lesson from day one, so I was better prepared with plenty of food, beer money and a pack of playing cards. Understandably, the route is popular with backpackers. I made some good friends early on – Gabe and Charlotte from Bristol, Chen from Israel and David and Philippe from Paris.

We passed by some spectacular scenery as well as dozens of tiny villages dotted on the river banks. Day two turned out to be a lot more fun than the first. We arrived in Luang Prabang in the early evening of Christmas Eve.

Luang Prabang was a great place to spend Christmas. It’s not too big and not too small, plenty of nice shops, bars and restaurants and because it’s Unesco listed, there aren’t any trucks or buses allowed into the historic town centre.
Christmas day wasn’t traditional in the least (apart from the booze!). Our meal was a DIY barbeque/soup thing set in the middle of the table and at night time we all went ten pin bowling – strange I know, but the Laotians are very keen. The locals did make an effort – they had the odd tree and even a Santa Claus. It was a good day.

On Boxing Day we all went to the local waterfalls for a dip. The cold water was a great hangover cure and the setting was beautiful.

After a couple more days exploring Luang Prabang, I said my goodbyes to the guys and got the local bus to Phonsavan. The drive there goes right over the mountain range which was spectacular and more than a little nerve racking. I thought my days were numbered with the way the driver was taking those corners. All I could think of was the closing scene of The Italian Job.

The only reason to travel to Phonsavan is to visit the Plain of Jars. There are hundreds of giant stone jugs dotted around the countryside. Archaeologists don’t really know what they were used for, where they came from (the stone isn’t local) or how old they are. There are plenty of theories, but no one can prove anything. All very mysterious.

When you’re out exploring the sites you have to walk between coloured markers to avoid being blown to smithereens by old American bombs. Did you know that Lao had more bombs dropped on it during 1962 to 1970 than Germany and Japan combined during WW2? I didn’t. It cost the Yanks $2 million dollars a day. 30% failed to detonate and now litter the countryside, waiting for someone to set them off. Sad but true.

One day in Phonsavan was more than enough so I moved further south to a town called Van Vieng – a true backpacker favorite. I’d heard mixed reviews about this place since becoming so touristy, but I was ready for some home comforts. One of the town’s main attractions is tubing down the river. This involves hiring an inner tube and getting a lift 5km up stream and then floating back, stopping at different bars that have been set up on the river banks.

This is definitely not an adrenaline sport. In fact, it’s hard to image a more relaxing way to spend a few days. Guys on the river bank hold out lengths of bamboo for you to hold onto whilst they pull you in. Most of the bars have big rope swings or zip lines into the river. It was incredible, and that was how I spent my New Years Eve.

New Years Eve night was a bit of an anti-climax after the tubing, I saw the New Year in with a few beers around the bonfire with guys I met tubing.
I spent about 5 or 6 days in Van Vieng, which was probably too long, but I got comfortable. There are a handful of bars in town that are full of day beds. You can kick back and have dirt cheap food and drink served to you all day. They have big screens showing Friends, Simpson’s and Futurama back to back. It couldn’t have been less authentic, and I loved it.
I didn’t just watch TV (although it was good to get my fix). There were even more bars overlooking the river full of hammocks, ideal for having a few beers and just reading all afternoon. The back drop to all this is a magnificent mountain range that looms right over the town. It was an amazing place – I’m going to retire there.

I reluctantly left Van Vieng for Lao's capital, Vientiane. I only spent a couple of days here checking out the major sights. I wasn’t all that impressed, but it was nice enough.

The best thing I did was to get talking to these two young Lao guys. One was a trainee monk and both were leaning English and eager to practice. We chatted for ages and they ended up giving me a guided tour and then inviting me back to the temple to meet their friends and see where they live. I’ve been in dozens of temples before, but it was great to be shown round by the monks and sit in their dorms and get to know them rather than just snapping pictures.

From Vientiane I moved on to Tha Kaek which was a total dump with nothing going on (not everywhere is incredible!). First thing in the morning I moved to Savannakhet, which is where I am now. There isn’t a great deal happening here either, but at least it’s a nice town to walk around. There’s loads of old colonial architecture and are really laid back atmosphere – even by Lao standards!

Hope you’re all okay. Sorry for everyone that’s had to start back at work! Love ya, Rob.