Lazy Laosy travels

Laos

We were picked up at 6am by a very grumpy bus driver to take us to the Laos border as we were getting the boat down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang in Laos. Actually the driver turned up at 5.45, barged into our room and told us he wouldn’t take us unless we hurried up.

We had decided to save a bit of cash and travel from Chiang Khong on the Thai side to Xuay Hai on the Laos side where we would pick up the slow boat. We were to travel by boat for 2 days, stopping at a small town called Pakbeng for the night. We paid 1650 baht each, which is about £40, and this included the trip to Chiang Kong, bus to Xuay Hai, tuk tuk to the harbour and the 2 day boat trip.

Straightaway the journey was interesting as the driver was seriously stressed out, having yelled at us already. When he put his glasses on upside down, he had the minivan in stitches and he cheered up. We waited until 4 busloads had left immigration on the Thai side and finally we were on our way to Laos. We were told we had to pay 35 USD for our visa for Laos, (although we were actually charged $36) and we needed to have a passport sized photo to go with our application. 

We were then met by an agent who piled us into a tuk tuk and we stopped for a while to grab some food before going down to the harbour to get in the boat. We had heard horror stories about the boat – being overcrowded and uncomfortable, and being stuck with other travellers that in normal circumstances you wouldn’t speak to. We definitely had some characters on the boat but by the end of the second day everyone had formed their own group, including us. The boat journey was fabulous; the scenery was incredible and the company was great. The village of Pakbeng where the boat stopped after 6 hours felt purpose-built for tourists, with hostels, free whiskey and rip-off artists peppered everywhere. Laos is just full of butterflies. I have never seen so many in one place.

When we stopped for a sandwich before boarding the boat, we were told that there would be no food or drinks for sale on board and we were strongly advised by our agent to book a hostel in Pakbeng through them. This was all rubbish, there were lots of shops on the way to the way to the boat, although the driver didn’t stop and probably wouldn’t if asked, so we couldn’t have got food or drink, but there was beer, water, some fruit and noodles for sale on board. We didn’t book the guesthouse we were offered by the agent as it seemed overpriced, but once we got on the boat we booked one up with another guy for less. We didn’t really need to bother as there were loads of people selling cheap rooms when we arrived, and all were within a 10 minute walk of the harbour. Ours was actually pretty good so we were happy, and the one offered by the agent before we got on the boat turned out to be a dump.

Slow boat

Back on board the boat for day 2. There were a lot of sore heads after all the free whiskey and other things I won’t mention happening in the ‘Happy Bar’ in Pakbeng, so the mood was a bit more chilled out. New friendships were made, beer was drunk, something fragrant was being smoked at the bow of the boat, and a good time was had by all. Both days we were on the boat for about 6 hours. There were plenty of seats and people were moving around the boat, swapping seats to talk to new friends or sitting outside enjoying the view.

Once we arrived in Luang Prabang, we each had to buy a ticket for the tuk tuk service, which was 20,000 kip per person. We had heard that some travellers refuse to pay this and some even refused to get off the boat until the price dropped but that’s the price and it worked out as £2 each, so it wasn’t exactly going to break the bank.

We were dropped off in the centre of town next to the night market and we were greeted by one or two people selling rooms, which came with free whiskey, free dinners and other perks. We had already booked somewhere, so we headed there to dump our bags. Later on, we met up with the rest of our gang – there were 8 of us and we were staying in the same place as another couple who were spending time in Asia before heading down to Australia to work. On one of our first nights in Laos we obviously wanted to get involved with the local customs, traditions and cuisine so we went to Amigos, the local Mexican restaurant and spent the evening drinking margaritas and eating tacos. Feeling the real Laos vibe there. We returned to the guesthouse around 1am having arranged to visit the Kuang Si waterfall just outside the town the following day.

Bear sanctuary in Luang Prabang

Everyone was slightly the worse for wear the next morning but we got up and found a minivan to take us up to the waterfall. A bear sanctuary forms part of this complex which was an interesting way to start the day. We were soon at the waterfall; a magical place of natural beauty and hangovers were soon diminished. There are three levels of azure pools at the bottom, but the main cascade was the most impressive. We decided to trek up to the top of the waterfall on a trail about 500m long where we swam in the shaded water. Half of the group trekked 3km to the cave, while the rest of us made our way back to the base to relax.

Kuang Si waterfall

That evening we ate at the big night market in town and the next day explored the temples and climbed the 328 steps up to Mount Phou Si to watch the sunset.

The next day we were off to Vang Vieng, further south. We had a four hour minivan journey on winding roads through beautiful fields and mountains and we arrived in Vang Vieng where we booked straight into an 8 person dorm. This was the first time Baby D and I had stayed in dorms on our trip but we knew everyone there so it was no problem for us, although the shared bathrooms were disgusting. I think there were 3 showers and 3 toilets on each floor, between about 20 people.

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng is a small town in stunning natural surroundings, full of tourists, mainly out to party and enjoy the river’s water activities. It is well known for tubing down the river, which is where you float down the river in a truck’s inner tube. There used to be several bars along the river, but most of them were closed due to the number of alcohol related deaths in the water. In fact, the government put a stop to tubing altogether for a while. We had booked a tailor-made package with kayaking, lunch, tubing and a visit to the town’s blue lagoon; all for 150,000 kip each (about £15).

Kayaking

We kayaked for around 2 hours, then went tubing for around 3 hours. Our day out was enhanced by our guide who soaked us but also pulled us along in his kayak when we were too lazy to propel ourselves in the rings. Baby D got a puncture – of course it had to be him. 

Tubing

We did stop a couple of times to grab a beer but we were struggling to understand how people could have died. Then we hit the rocks, rapids and deeper parts of the river and it became more apparent. If the river was full of pissed tourists, then someone in trouble would probably not even be noticed. At one point I had the guide rope and my bag wrapped around my neck, and there wasn’t much I could do because of the current. After tubing we had about an hour at the lagoon. This was a beautiful deep pool with a tree hanging over, with people jumping in and swimming. Fantastic day all in all.

Plain of Jars

The next day, we said goodbye to most of our group and three of us took a bus up to Phonsavan to see the Plain of Jars. I had the front seat alongside a Laos lady who stared at me, laughed at me and chatted to me most of the way (in Laos). At one point I spotted 2 women at the side of the road holding up an animal although on display for passers-by to purchase. It was the size of a large cat but I think it was a rodent, with a head the shape of a guinea pig. Google tells me it may have been a rock rat which would be about the right size, with the same shaped head and which are commonly eaten in Laos. Later on, 7 or 8 chickens ran out into the road, and we ran one over much to my dismay – the driver and my fellow passenger didn’t bat an eyelid. Travellers 1, chicken nil.

The next day we hired a couple of scooters to drive ourselves round the different sites that formed the Plain of Jars. These megalithic structures are around 2500 years old and were most probably used for burial rituals, but no one really knows. We visited the three sites closest to town which included the spoon-making village Ban Napia where we bought 2 aluminium spoons and a bangle made from bombshells from the Vietnam war. Everywhere in Laos are chickens roaming free which is normally quite a nice sight until they run into the road and get squished…or cause an accident. Baby D and I were driving along on our scooter quite happily after buying our spoons, so why did the chicken cross the road?? To try and kill us obviously. It came from nowhere, hesitated in the middle of the road, then carried on, causing us to swerve to miss it and stack it off the bike. We were okay apart from a few scrapes and bruises, a swollen knee and a torn pair of trousers that got binned. Travellers 1, chicken 1. Best of 3. The decider will be interesting.

Bomb craters

The Plain of Jars sites are littered with bomb craters from the Vietnam war and Laos is the most bombed country per capita in history, with 260 million ‘bombies’ or 2 million tons having been dropped between 1964 and 1973 by the Americans. 80 million of them however, didn’t explode. The locals forage for metal from the bombs with cheap metal detectors and sell it or melt it down to make spoons or trinkets. They often find unexploded bombies and are often injured or killed by them. In fact, even cooking close the ground can cause the bombies to explode, and they affect 1 Laos person a day on average.

View from toy plane

We were heading down to Vientiane, Laos’ capital and largest city the day after, but we didn’t fancy the 10 hour bus ride so we booked a 30 minute flight. We didn’t really think about what to expect but when we got to the tiny Xieng Kouhang Airport at Phonsavan we found that we were in a miniscule twin propeller plane, which had about 8 seats. We had a fantastic, clear view of Laos as we flew across although when we hit cloud we were a bit nervous, but it was another great experience to add to our collection. 

 








That afternoon once we’d arrived in Vientiane, we headed over to COPE, or the Cooperative Orthotic Prosthetic Enterprise. This is a medical rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities, many of whom were injured as a result of the Vietnam war. It trains its staff to manufacture prosthetics and develop rehab activities. It also offers financial assistance to those that are unable to pay. There was a replica of a local Laos home which demonstrated how people use the bomb shells to construct their houses and to make everyday items such as fishing nets from parachute casings and so on. We’d actually seen the bomb casings in use in Phonsavan. 

There was a video of the mother and father of a young boy that had been killed when he found a bombie. He and his 2 friends had followed some adults who were searching for scrap metal. They had put a bombie aside and 2 of the boys started playing with it. Often kids are simply not aware of the dangers of the bombies. The lad that wasn’t playing was the one that took the full force. His family took him to 3 different hospitals, but all were unable to supply oxygen or blood so the boy died at home. It was heartbreaking to watch.

Buddha Park, Vientiane

In the morning we took some scooters about 30km out of Vientiane to Buddha Park. This is a sculpture park with about 200 Buddhist and Hindu images. The park was built in 1958 by Bunleua Sulilat, although a lot of the concrete statues look like they are made of sandstone, so look a lot older than they actually are. There were some pretty strange sculptures and we had a great view from the giant concrete pumpkin. This represents hell, earth and heaven and we were able to climb inside through the different levels to see the creepy images reflecting the three places.

Dinner that night was with the Travelling Hobbits who we’d met in Pushkar in India. It was great to catch up with them and find out about where they’d been and what they had been up to.

Onwards the next day to Konglor Cave. This was an 8 hour trip on a local bus to the middle of Laos. It was stop start all the way, picking people up and dropping them off but it was a nice way to see more of Laos and it wasn’t too crowded so we could all spread out. Bargain at 105,000 kip (about a tenner GBP). We hadn’t booked anywhere to stay but we soon found a great place with double rooms and private bathrooms for 50,000 kip per night, or £5.

Konglor cave

We set off for the cave the next morning after trying and failing to hire push bikes. In the event, it was only a 15 minute walk to the cave so we didn’t need them anyway.  Konglor-Natane Cave is in Phoulinpoun National Park and entry to the park is 2000 kip (20p). The cave goes right through a huge limestone mountainous formation for 7km. We paid 130,000 kip for three of us to take a boat which was the cheapest way to do it. (It was 100k for one person, 120k for 2). We were supplied with a head torch each and we were offered a life jacket each which we declined. We needed the torches because the cave was pitch black.

Konglor cave

The trip through the cave and back was around 3 hours, stopping halfway to walk through and look at the impressive stalactites and stalagmites and then we carried on to the other side where the boat docked for lunch, and we took a stroll to Ban Phon Kham village. We hit some really shallow water a couple of times and at one point we had to get out and wait while the boatman pushed the boat through the shallows. We had been advised that we might need to push, because the water is low at this time of year but he managed without our help. We stopped to swim in the river at the mouth of the cave when we got back, and we hired a couple of tubes to float around while drinking a beer. Sheer bliss.

Inside Konglor cave

Next day, we were on a 2 hour bus ride, 2 hour songthaew ride and 8 hour bus ride down to Pakse. That was fun…the guys went out on the scooters to visit the waterfalls all over the Bolaven Plateau while I stayed at the hotel and worked all day.

I found a tour office that sold cheap bus tickets as part of a deal. I booked tickets from Pakse to Don Dhet/Det, part of 4000 islands in the south of Laos where the Mekong river splits into small islands. We paid 50,000 kip (instead of 65,000) for this part of the trip on the proviso that we also book onward travel to Vietnam or Cambodia. We booked an open ticket to Siem Reap in Cambodia for 220,000 kip (should have been 280,000). The open ticket meant we could just turn up at the bus station an hour before departure on any day, so it suited us perfectly.

Sunset at Don Dhet

Don Dhet is a small island famous for its beautiful sunrises and sunsets. It is also a backpackers paradise with happy bars selling happy pizza and shakes all over the place. We hired bikes one day and visited the huge waterfall Tat Somphamit, on neighbouring island, Don Khone, which is the largest by volume in SE Asia. It was very impressive and I can’t imagine how big and powerful it gets during rainy season. The island was very relaxing and we whiled away a few hours in the Banana Bar, which we renamed ‘Central Perk’ because it showed episodes of Friends on a loop. Although the island was chilled, we didn’t feel it was the friendliest place. The locals seemed to reluctantly accept the presence of tourists because tourism is their livelihood. But it felt as though the tourists had taken over and monopolised their home. 

Tat Somphamit waterfall

We spent a couple of days on Don Dhet, before turning up at the bus station to travel down to Siem Reap. We got a mini bus down to the border between Laos and Cambodia, where we had heard about the officials charging to stamp your passport out of Laos. They demand $2 to do this, when it should be free. Our group refused to pay and they waved us through to the Cambodian immigration, some 300 metres away. Once we got there, the officials refused to let us into the country without the exit stamp. They even slammed the shutters down and drove off on their scooters when we questioned it. We had no choice but to trudge back to the Laos border and pay up.

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