(15 hours on a bus to) Vientiane

Yes, seriously, 15 hours. It should have been 10, but as we soon came to learn timetables are a flexible thing when travelling in Laos! The bus journey was a mixture of eye-opening, educational and a total nightmare – particularly when 11 hours in your husband is moaning more than the kids are!

Along the way we would suddenly stop in the middle of the road  for an hour or more with no explanation (although I’m sure we could have got one if our Lao had been a bit more fluent than zero!). The second time we stopped, and as we were nearer the front of the queue, we discovered that it was simply due to roadworks, but not roadworks as we know them. The standstill was caused by  piles of earth several meters high literally blocking the entire road and there was no option but to  wait patiently until the workers had finished moving it with the bulldozer so that we could pass. No-one seemed stressed out about it, it was all taken with a pinch of salt, so we just rolled with it.

 

We eventually arrived at the Vientiane bus station, five hours later than planned, to be slightly overwhelmed by a rush of tuk-tuk drivers vying to take the diverse array of people on the bus to their various destinations. We weighed up our options, waited for the throng to die down a bit, negotiated our price (we’re getting pretty good at that now) and got on one of the truck-tuks to take us through the streets of Vientiane in the dark. At this point, if I’m honest, we were not 100% certain we would end up where we wanted to go, but in all the random tuk-tuk journeys we had taken thus far we hadn’t been let down yet, so statistics were on our side. Lo and behold, 20 minutes later we were dropped right at the door of our hostel. Oh ye of little faith…

So, here we were in Vientiane. The capital of Laos. I had been the one to insist on coming to Vientiane, having read about the history, the French influence, the bakeries, the coffee shop culture and laid back approach to life. My imagination had painted me a very vivid picture of the town and I didn’t want to miss out on the country’s capital. If I’m honest, for me, this was the first place on our trip where I can say that the initial reality did not live up to expectation. I think Mark and Mim of the Common Wanderer summed it up with the opening line of their Vientiane blog post “Vientiane is one of the most beautiful cities in the world” – said pretty much no one ever”…if only I’d read that before we went I might have been less underwhelmed!

Watching a film in the hostel!

But, don’t let first impressions deceive you – that didn’t mean we didn’t enjoy our time in Vientiane. It’s a small city for a capital and so pretty easy to get around. We had a cool little hostel almost bang in the centre of the historic old quarter and still just a few hundred metres from the Mekong river. There was a great little coffee shop with just as good cakes opposite our hostel, that in our week there became a regular stop for Ice coffees and pastries.

We hired two tandems for a day and did a cycle tour of the town (route published in the lonely planet if I remember rightly). The tandems were excellent fun and in just a few hours, combined with my superb navigational skills (eh hem), we had visited all the main monuments / attractions of Vientiane, including the Presidential palace, the Australian embassy building, the Chao Anouvong Park and an array of temples.

The Presidential Palace

During our stay we both cycled and walked up the main boulevard from the Presidential palace, reminiscent of the Paris’ Champs Elysee, to the Patuxai Victory Monument that sits at its end. The impressive monument is modelled on the French capital’s Arc de Triomphe, but with a Lao twist, slightly ironic when you consider it was built to commemorate the Lao people who fought and died in the battle for independence against the French. The detailed, very oriental arch ceilings are beautiful.

The Patuxai park was just beyond it, with neat lawns and impressive fountains. It was here as we were sitting in the shade taking everything in on one of the days that we had a really interesting chance meeting with two young buddhist monk novices. They were so friendly and full of enthusiasm. Wanting to practice their English, we all sat and chatted for about half an hour before they asked us for photos, and vice versa, and then they went off back to their temple, leaving us with big smiles on our faces.

We visited the night market several times, which, unlike the tourist market of Luang Prabang, really is a local market, giving you a far more authentic experience of day to day Lao living. It was absolute bedlam, full of clothes, electronics and mobile phone covers as well as food stalls, where we tried lots of new foods, including our first introduction to pure sugar cane juice (sugar rush alert!) and parathas, a kind of Indian influence pancake that take some skill to make and then can be filled with a variety of savoury or sweet fillings.

We strolled the promenade in the evening and watched the sunset over the Mekong. The promenade was buzzing with activity and we were particularly entertained by the 70+ year old man with no co-ordination joining in the late night river front aerobics class. We were astonished by the parking…we had never seen so many scooters in one place in our lives (we hadn’t yet been to Vietnam!)

We could have done even more in Vientiane if we’d had the time and the inclination. This at first underwhelming, compact city has more to offer than you think if you’re prepared to scratch the surface…

Kuang Si Waterfalls

A trip to Luang Prabang is not complete (it seems…and I would have to agree) without taking the opportunity to visit Kuang Si Waterfalls. 29 km south of Luang Prabang sits the beautiful tiered falls and, great for the kids, home to the Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre.

Our day started with a 45 minute tuk-tuk ride to the falls, passing through the Lao countryside and seeing some amazing scenes along the way. It was a bumpy ride and Josh and I were both anxiously trying not to get travel sick, but we made it, whilst passing the time with mental arithmetic problems – that was maths class done for the day!

We arrived at the falls, which cost 20,000 Laotian kip per person to enter. It might sound a lot, but with the current UK sterling exchange rate it’s only £1.80, a ridiculously small amount for what you get.

Let me tell you now, Kuang Si falls are absolutely stunning. They really do not disappoint!

As you arrive at the park the indications are good and you are led through the bear sanctuary. The boys were so excited about seeing the rescued bears and learning all about them, that we had to remind them after a while that we were also there to see the waterfalls. You can read more about the bears here…

After the bear sanctuary, there are well-marked trails that lead up the side of the waterfalls. The falls form tiered pools, the lower ones are all swimmable and we were really excited about being able to swim in the natural pools, which offer the added bonus of being able to cool off from the intense Lao heat.

We got to the lower pool and no-one was swimming. We thought maybe we’d misunderstood and you couldn’t swim there…panic! We carried on up to the next tier where we thankfully saw a few people taking a paddle, and it wasn’t crowded by any stretch of the imagination.

At this point we decided we would head up the falls to the higher end and then work our way back, taking a dip in each pool as we passed by. What can I say, it was simply spectacular.

When we got to the area directly at the front of the foot of the falls, where we thought that we couldn’t go any further, we saw that there seemed to be a path on the other side of the viewing bridge. There weren’t  many people (and by that I mean any!) taking it, but we thought what the hell and off we went.

We were so glad that we did. After a very hot, sweaty, jungly walk up the path to we knew not where, the ground flattened and opened up to the most beautiful river and natural pool that formed the top of the waterfall…and apart from 2 park staff who were there to take you on a short boat trip up the river should you want to, we had the pool all to ourselves! For a short while at least.

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It was AMAZING. We sat at the side just looking at each other and randomly saying wow every few seconds. We couldn’t believe we were sitting in the middle of the jungle swimming in a turquoise coloured, natural river pool. What an experience. What an experience for our kids! It was just out of this world. Add to this the fact that the fish would come along and nibble at your feet, giving you a free personal foot spa, and the whole experience was somewhat surreal.

After swimming and taking photos for forty-five minutes, we reluctantly started to head back down to the lower section. We wanted to make sure we had time to swim at all the other tiers as we went and, aware that our tuk-tuk driver was patiently waiting for us just outside the park, we didn’t want to outstay our welcome.

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So, that’s exactly what we did. We ambled down and we swam in the beautiful turquoise waters, ticking off the tiers one by one, until it was time for us to leave. Back through the bear sanctuary we went, reluctantly leaving the extraordinary Kuang Si waterfalls behind us and on to more adventures…

 

Luang Prabang

Our two-day slow boat down the Mekong finished in the beautiful town of Luang Prabang. Our first ‘real’ stop in Laos and widely referred to as the jewel in Laos’ crown. It has deservedly gained its name, with its easygoing, back water charm, delightful low rise wooden buildings shouting of its colonial heritage, alongside its plethora of Buddhist temples, the French influenced bakeries offering fresh bread and croissants, the coffee shops dotted along the banks of the Mekong, the plush wine bars dotted along the central street, the daily night market with its vibrant colours and rich smells, its small artisan boutiques offering artwork, jewellery, clothing and more. The former Lao capital, has a rich and diverse history spanning several centuries and we loved Luang Prabang from the moment we arrived and started exploring its labyrinth of little streets.

These are some of our favourite things about Luang Prabang, or our favourite moments:

The traditional morning alms ceremony. A fascinating insight into Buddhist life and a real sight to behold. As the sun rises in the early morning mists, after chanting and prayers, the monks make their way out of their temples and walk barefoot through the streets, receiving offerings of small donations, sticky rice, sweets and more from local people already lining the streets waiting for them – much like the ceremony we experienced in Pakbeng – but on a much bigger scale. Having been told of recent tourist interference in this sacred ritual, disturbing both monks and locals alike, we respectfully kept our distance and watched  from afar as we would recommend anyone else to do.

A House Blessing. 

We were also treated to and watched, again keeping a respectful distance, a gathering in the house across the road from our hotel. Led by a handful of monks and the house packed with what we can only assume were friends and family, this was an intriguing ceremony. I tried to get the background from the reception lady at the hotel, but it was difficult to get the details…my Lao is pathetic!! The chanting was comfortingly beautiful and we took a recording of it that you can listen to here if you want to.

The tourist night market. Where lots of sellers tout traditional Lao handicrafts, from snakes in bottles of alcohol, to unique acrylic paintings to clothes, to handmade soaps and organic coffee, the range of goods on offer was immense and most definitely had something to offer for all tastes and budgets. We became proud owners of rings, cakes, sarongs, bracelets and if we’d had more room and didn’t need to carry it around for a year I easily could have bought much more!

The buildings. There is an old world charm in Luang Prabang and thanks to the town’s UNESCO status and UNESCO’s insistence that development of buildings surrounding are in-keeping with the traditional style it retains its lost world charm.

Climb Mount Phusi. 

Possibly the smallest mountain you will ever climb – in reality more of a hill – a trip to Luang Prabang is not complete without a trip up Mount Phusi. A 150m climb and 355 steps, right in the centre of Luang Prabang town, take you to the temple at the top where you can take in 360 degree views over the town, the Mekong and the surrounding Jungle.

 

Coffee and cake.

Leftover from French colonial influence, fresh baguettes, croissants and pain au chocolats as well as a range of other mouth watering cakes emanate from the cafes dotted along the streets, the smell of which was enticing us in (me in particular!). Combined with Lao grown organic coffee, served in iced form or hot, in any which way you might want it, a cafe stop is a must. We particularly loved the ‘Saffron Coffee’ social enterprise.

Saffron Coffee’s coffee beans are grown and produced entirely in northern Laos by 780 Lao smallholders/farming families, from whom it is sustainably sourced and directly traded. Saffron guarantees to buy the coffee ‘cherries’ from their farmers at above industry prices and all profit made is then reinvested for the benefit of Lao people making a direct difference to the lives of the farmers and their villages.

So, if you’re in Luang Prabang be sure to stop in for some seriously good quality coffee.

 

Big Brother Mouse. 

Finally, and probably the most precious experience of our time in Luang Prabang, and to be fair probably deserving of a post on its own, was volunteering at Big Brother Mouse. English speaking tourists are invited along to spend up to 2 hours each evening at the Big Brother Mouse classroom, exchanging English speaking with young Lao students – the students improve their English and you get to learn all about the Lao way of life. It is run as a charity and is free of charge to everybody that comes along.

I spent time chatting to a 16 year old Buddhist Novice Monk and a young 14 year old Lao student who had just moved from the country to Luang Prabang to study, leaving his family behind in their home village. Education plays a fundamental role in the escape from cycles of poverty and it is moving to see at what a young age Laotians understand this, and to hear about the sacrifices that the young people themselves and their families make to be able to provide themselves and their children with an education and the prospect of a better life.

So, would I go back to Luang Prabang? Most definitely. In a heartbeat.

 

Postscript: The three things that I would love to show you photos of  – the buildings, the market and the morning Alms ceremony – will have to remain a mystery for your imagination to resolve. Guttingly, due to an as yet unknown technical hitch I seem to have lost a series of photos! Sorry 😦

Crossing borders – Thailand to Laos

Our time in Northern Thailand had come to an end. It was now time to negotiate crossing the friendship bridge into Laos – our first border crossing. It was both complicated and straightforward at the same time. I know it sounds a bit contradictory, but it’s the only way I can describe it.

Bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Kong

Being a bit anal as I can be, before leaving Italy I had handwritten – yes, handwritten, it still happens around the world sometimes – all the instructions I’d found online for crossing the border. I did it so that we had a reference guide a) because it seemed quite a long winded procedure and I couldn’t remember it all without some notes, and b) so that we didn’t end up getting ripped off by some opportunist border control officer taking advantage of us naive western wannabe travellers. The process went a little something like this:

• Bus from Chiang Rai to Chiang Kong border town
• Get dropped off at random junction in Chiang Kong where tuk-tuks are waiting
• Pay Tuk-tuk to take you from said random junction to the Thai border
• Complete Thailand departure card
• Go through passport control and pay for official bus across the friendship bridge over the Mekong – there is no other option as you are officially in no man’s land (incidentally it cost us more as we were crossing on a Saturday…out of hours fee apparently, LOL!)
• Get bused across the bridge to Lao side
• Withdraw Lao kip from cashpoint in no man’s land (and have slight panic when the first and only cashpoint you can see will not give you cash from any of the four bank cards or credit cards you have with you. We then found another cashpoint that worked fine…phewwww!)
• Complete visa on arrival application and pay for visa.
• Once visa is granted go through border and pay another tuk-tuk (again only option) to take you to your accommodation in Huay Xai.

So, having read about the border crossing prior to departure, I thought this complicated procedure was going to be somewhat of a challenge. But it is exactly that…a procedure, and it worked like a dream.

Over the Friendship Bridge

We said goodbye to Thailand and hello to Laos. It felt rather surreal eating dinner in Laos that evening looking across the river knowing it was another country, a country that we had just come from and a country we had come to love very much.

Across the Mekong: looking from Laos to Thailand