Category — Laos

Here is a video I took when I was in Laos. It is of a small market on the side of a road which sold a bit of food and various bush medicines.

It wasn’t my day today. For some reason the hot water wasn’t working, so I had to have a cold shower. I checked out of my room and went to the bus station at 9:30 am to get a ticket for the 10 am bus. Unfortunately the bus was full and the next one didn’t leave until 12:30 pm.

The girl suggested I take a songthaew which was leaving soon. I wanted to get to the Thai embassy in the afternoon, so I wanted to get moving. Songthaew’s are not much more than an old ute with a couple of benches down the side. They are fine for short trips, but I didn’t really like sitting in one for three hours. Some other guy had already gotten the front seat.

There was a mother with a newly born and her young daughter who wasn’t travelling well. People get on and off anywhere along the way, carrying all manner of foodstuffs – live chickens and fish. Together with the windy roads, the smelly fish, people being sick and just bouncing around in the back of a truck I started feeling nauseous myself. My ipod is the only thing that keeps me sane on these trips. We made it into Vientiane in just under four hours.

While I was taking a look at a room in a guesthouse, I left my backpack at reception. Some places are three or four stories high, so I usually leave my bag at the front desk just in case the room is a dive. I come back to reception and my bag is gone. A bus driver had picked it up thinking it was from his group he was taking. Fortunately they hadn’t left, so I got it back off the bus. Close call.

I rushed off to the Thai embassy, only to find that they only accept visa applications in the morning. At least I picked up a form.

I am still in Vang Vieng. I have been here for the past week. Most people only seem to stay a night or two and move on pretty quickly. Aside from about 10 restaurants in the center of town playing episodes of Friends non-stop, I really like the place. There’s almost no traffic, it’s on a beautiful river sandwiched between mountains. There are plenty of caves and treks to explore. The people are very relaxed and there is even a cheap hotel with free wifi.

They are building quite a few new places and even moving the school and some government offices further out of town. Unfortunately the peace is not going to last forever.

I just got back from visiting the small town of Phonsavan famous for the nearby archaeological site referred to as ‘the Plain of Jars’. There are thousands of jars spread across several different sites, but can only be found in Xieng Khouang Province. Three sites are currently open to the public. Archaeologists believe they were used as funeral urns. Local people believe they were used to brew Lao whiskey. I think the whiskey theory is more likely!

The jars range from 1-3 meters in height and weigh up to 13 tonnes. Perhaps what is more interesting (at least it was for me) is that the area was heavily bombed by the US during the Vietnam war. Over 12 million tonne of bombs were dropped over the province and around 30 per cent didn’t explode. The region is being cleared up by NGOs like MAG but even at current clearance rates it will take 100 years to remove all UXO (unexploded ordinance) and mines.

Locals use the bomb casings as decorations for their houses, for storing food and even as posts for their houses. Only a couple of tanks remain as they were mostly pulled apart and sold as scrap metal to Vietnam. I have a feeling that if they had of left them in place, the country would have made more money in the long run from tourism.

There is another tour which you can take which explores more of the military sites around the province, including a cave which was used as a hospital. The area has just opened up to tourism and much of the equipment which was used in the war remains in tact.

Phonsavan is about a 6 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang and a little longer from Vientiane. The roads are in good condition but they are very windy as they go around the mountains. There are plenty of places to stay but the town but there is not much to do at night. Tours range from around $10-$15 for the day, including lunch.

Site 1

UXO and land mine warnings. The areas have been cleared, but it’s probably a good idea to stick with your guide.

This is the only jar where a picture can be made out on the side of the jar.

The only jar which is covered.

One of the many bomb craters.

Site 2

Site 3

Russian tank.

I took a trip out to Kuangsi waterfall today. It was a beautiful way to cool off. It was about a 6 km trip out of town. I even got to see a tiger and some black Asiatic bears.

I caught a bus to Luang Prabang today and got in about 5 pm. A trip that is suppose to take 5 hours took about 7 hours. I was a pretty amazing bus trip, up and down windy roads passing some beautiful mountain scenery. There was virtually no one else on the road – just a few trucks and a bus or two. It’s completely different from Vietnam, where every road big and small is a traffic nightmare.

Luang Prabang is a World Heritage Town and it feels more like a regular city compared with what I have seen so far in Laos, with a pretty good wifi cafe. The place I am staying is 5 bucks for the night and even included free dinner tonight.

Vangvieng is a very nice place just to chill out, which I have been doing the last couple of days. I ended up having dinner with the tour operator of the tour I went on. After a couple of beers I agreed to do a website for him which I have been working on for the last couple of days. It was great to try traditional Laos food.

Here are some more pictures of Vang Vieng:

Main street.

Suspension bridge.

Nam Song River.

This is the bungalow I am staying at – it’s the furthest on the right.

It has rained almost non-stop the last couple of days, but I decided to go ahead and book a kayaking trip. There was also a hiking trip available, but I thought the kayaking trip sounded more fun, especially after my last hiking experience.

Since it has been raining most of the past two days and through the night, the water was moving pretty fast. The kayaks were pretty buoyant so there wasn’t much chance of coming off.

The first stop was to see the water and elephant cave. To get to the water cave we had to go through a rice paddy. My sandles have no grip left on them (Thailand cheapies), so I took them off and instead of falling into the rice paddy I walked straight through it in the mud.

We got to the water cave and saw some people coming out. It was actually a little difficult to even see the entrance of the cave. One girl who had just come out, said how relieved she was to get out as she started to feel claustrophobic and felt like she couldn’t breath.

Shit, I thought, but when you are in a group with other people you don’t want to be the one backing out and you always know you will regret it later. So I get my tube to sit in and flashlight which you strap to your head – grab the rope and pull myself into the cave. The roof of the entrance is pretty low and is probably not more than a foot high.

We were supposed to go around 200 meters into the cave. Rather than feeling anxious I ended up feeling relaxed and just enjoyed myself pulling myself upstream through the cave. At one place we left the tubes behind and started crawling along and then wading through the river.

We were then free to explore on our own but I didn’t feel like going to far. We then made our way back and since we had done a loop, coming back was pretty easy. We then had a BBQ lunch on the river, feeding the chickens our left over rice.

The sun had come out a bit by this stage so the ground was a little drier and I didn’t have to walk in the rice paddy, although I still found it easier to walk bare foot. I was pretty much caked in mud by now, but it was fun.

Back in the kayaks again we paddled through magnificent surroundings – limestone cliffs and forests surrounding us. The people living in these areas are basically subsistence farmers, growing just enough for their family/village.

We stopped off at an organic farm which grew mulberries. Our next stop was what they call “jumping bar”. There were a few bamboo huts, with a full on bar and music. It was pouring with rain again but groups of people played volleyball outside in the mud. They had flying foxes going across the river, which I suppose was a Laos version of the bungey jump. I was happy to just enjoy a beer.

On we went past more bars along the river, but I think everyone was now keen to back and have a hot shower. I am bit sore in the shoulders and sun burnt a little, but it was another great day in paradise.

I got a bus up to Vang Vien today. It is about 3 hours from Vientiane, which is about as much I can usual handle on a bus at once. Vang Vien is a beautiful little town on the Nam Sot River and surrounded by limestone mountains. It is famous as a place to go tubing and that a lot of the cafes in town play old episodes of Friends non-stop. Why people want to come to Laos and watch re-runs of Friends baffles me. Fortunately I am staying at a very quiet bungalow on the river looking onto the mountains. The view is magical.

Here is what I had for lunch today. It was very spicy!

I am still in Vientiane. It has been pretty hot the past few days – around 38 degrees. I think Vientiane must get a vote for being the quietest capital cities in the world.