Laos Photo Album

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Viva Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng, also known as the backpacker’s ghetto of Laos, was a vacation from our vacation. As sad as it may be, lounging at a pillow seated table eating a burger with a large Beer Lao (for USD$1) watching old episodes of Friends and Family Guy is a nice touch of home after being on the road for so long. We found a nice lodge (Vang Vieng Resort) on the outskirts of town that was far enough away from the city to be peaceful yet close enough to bike to for substance and slothfulness. We spent four nights here doing absolutely nothing except relaxing and taking in the scenery. Of all places we have been, Vang Vieng is perhaps one of the most picturesque places with sharp green mountain sides and hundreds of colorful butterflies fluttering in the air.

While not completely lackadaisical we did spend an entire day kayaking/tubing the Nam Song River visiting a few caves and river bars. The water cave, appropriately named, was a highlight as you float your inner tube through a small opening into the black water cave exploring the stalactites above from the comfort of your PFD.

Afterwards we kayaked down to the bars situated right on the river where tubers and kayakers alike pull in for a drink. Whereas we had a method of steering into the different bars, tubers relied on the bar staff to fish them out of the river (see picture). Our guides were awesome and hung out with us at the bars till dusk having a couple Beer Laos. Although nobody attempted anything from the “happy” menu we did get a couple laughs at people’s drunken attempts on the rope swings. Perhaps not the ideal combination, so we best left it to the “pros.” However, our kayaking trip didn’t end without incident as we flipped our kayak, while admiring the fish we caught (believe it or not, but this did occur before the bars).

As we already had bikes to get around town we decided to explore some of the local caves in the area. The Poukham cave and Blue Lagoon sounded impressive, with the gorgeous blue-green water and reclining Buddha. Grumbling to ourselves about the non-optional guide while ascending the 200m rugged incline, we quickly changed our tune after just entering the mouth of the cave. As our eyes adjusted to the pitch dark, we turned on our torches and follow our young guide down slippery rocks. Not 30 seconds in he jumps back and freezes as his light illuminates the slithering serpent just a few feet in front of us. Knowing how good the health care is in Laos, we decided the snake could have the cave and opted for a quick return down to the refreshing water of the lagoon. We explored a few other caves without incident before retreating back to our glorious AC room.

Vang Vieng may be spoiled by backpackers and perhaps not a true representation of Laos people, but the scenery more than makes up for it. This has been our favorite part of Laos perhaps because it gave us a touch of home and several days of R&R from traveling.

Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, the second largest city in Laos, is home to 103,000 people. Although it is a small city it has much to offer from scenic views of the Mekong and Nam Sung Rivers to over forty Vats spread throughout the city. After an hour of searching we find the guest house completely booked for the night; however, the owner’s sister’s guest house had a room available for us. Although the hotel was out of our budget (USD$40 per night) they gave it to us for a mere USD$10, which is a steal because the room had air-conditioning, private shower with a curtain, and satellite television, woohoo!

Most people start their morning with a nice cup of java, but not us. On the way to see more temples (Vats) we spot large glass jars filled with fermenting snakes, scorpions, and millipedes. Ummm…nothing like a shot of snake whiskey to wake you up in the am.

So with one more dare down we hic-upped our way down to the Xieng Toung and Phou Si Vats hoping that the alcohol content was high enough to kill any potential bad things. The first temple is the oldest Vat in town and covered with colorful mirror tiles. The latter Vat is situated on the top of Phou Si Hill overlooking the entire town. We made it up just in time to see the rain clouds open up into a brilliant rainbow sprouting from the golden temple below.

With so many temples in this city it has become quite popular to watch the monks collect alms from patrons early in the morning. Unfortunately, this lovely tradition has turned into more of a spectacle with scantily dressed tourists taking up close flash photos of the participants. Several monks have also fallen ill to food poisoning in recent years, from vendors selling impure food to tourist who wish to participate. Locals have complained over these poor standards but the government denies them any changes as it accounts for a large part of the tourism industry. Interested by this tradition we wake up at 5:30am and walk up to the main street to quietly watch from the other side seated.

After our early morning we spend the rest of the day out at Pak Ou Caves (aka Budda caves) and the Kuang Si Falls. The trip to the Pak Ou Caves takes about an hour by boat through the Mekong and is home to several thousand Buddha images. The trip is worth the effort; however, since we came by slow boat from Huay Xia, we had already seen much of the same scenery. It was neat seeing all of the different Buddha images; however, after two weeks of Buddhas they all start to look the same. Kuang Si Falls on the other was amazing. We wish we could have spent all day at the falls exploring the turquoise blue waters and bear park.

After some debate we decided to leave Luang Prabang a day early to spend four nights relaxing along the banks of the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng.

The Sardine Can

With a couple options to get us to Laos we choose the two day slow boat. Laos Airways is not recommended by the US State Department and the fast boats would get us there in a day although neither have a great safety record. It took three days to travel from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang on several buses and boats through some magnificent scenery.

Our first night was spent in the quaint border town of Chiang Khong in Thailand. Crossing into Laos was simple; a quick departure stamp from Thailand, a two minute boat ride, and a few forms for a visa-on-arrival. After a short tuk-tuk ride to the pier we purchased our tickets at the official ticket counter for 200k Kip ($23 per person) and grabbed a bunch of mini bananas before boarding the slow boat.

The boat was simple with bench seats in the front and a bamboo mat in the back. We arrived right before the boat was scheduled to depart so we were stuck in the engine room. Although a bit noisy and grimy, we were able to stretch our legs and peer through the window at the stony karsts and overgrown jungle as we cruised down the Mekong. Our first day of travel ended in the small village of Pakbeng. There wasn’t much to do in Pakbeng except sleep and eat. After climbing the hill in darkness we found a room about the size of our closet that contained a bed and a mosquito net. The entire town is powered by generators, so after dinner it was lights out at 10pm.

We arrived at the pier an hour before our departure to ensure we received a seat with a view for our 10 hour leg to Luang Prabang. From our nice breezy window we watched locals fish and farm along the hillside and children splash around in the river. The group of 150 some odd people from the day before were divided among two separate boats. This gave everyone plenty of room and gave us nice padded bench seat from a mini-van. After our three day journey we’ve finally reached Luang Prabang.