Laos Part 2: Vang Vieng

After another breakfast of delicious pastries we attempted to take a bus out of Vientiane to Vang Vieng. Unfortunately for us, poor planning on the part of the bus company meant that it took two vans, two buses, and over an hour before we actually went more than a mile away from our guest house. After that it was a relatively smooth and easy ride to Vang Vieng. The flatlands of Vientiane gave way to steep cliffs lush with jungle. Around every turn was a new waterfall tumbling down the side of a mountain. After a three hour ride we found ourselves in the backpacker capital of Laos: Vang Vieng.



Some guidebooks and websites warned against Vang Vieng as being too touristy and not the "real" Laos. Despite that, it really is a great place for a traveler to stop, as it breaks up the 10 hour ride between the capital of Vientiane and Luang Prabang. While in Vang Vieng you can sign up for a multitude of adventure trips and activities. Rafting, biking, kayaking, and rock climbing are all options, You could easily stay in Vang Vieng for a week and do a different activity each day. That said, the main draw of Vang Vieng is the river that runs through it. Every day, scores of backpackers rent innertubes and spend the day floating down the river from bar to bar, stopping to drink a beer, explore a cave, or play volleyball. The town of Vang Vieng is relatively calm and laid-back but other than that it is nothing special. All of the restaurants serve more or less the same mixture of Laotian food and bland western junk food (though I will admit I LOVED the proliferation of baguette sandwiches) as either Family Guy or Friends plays on a TV in the background. Most of the hotels seemed to offer the same quality of hospitality for the same prices. Our hotel had a beautiful view and was fairly clean but we were astounded by how apathetic our hotel management was and how little they cared about our presence.






What really is spectacular about Vang Vieng is the scenery. The town overlooks a swiftly flowing river lined by stunning limestone karsts. Each morning we enjoyed taking long walks around the valley. The further away from town we got the more interesting our walks became. We found ourselves following fisherwomen, inspecting strange communist monuments, and wandering along the edge of rice paddies. I paused often to marvel at the beautiful butterflies. They looked like nothing I've ever seen in Thailand or in the states.





And did you know about the mulberries? They apparently grow a lot of them in Laos. Everywhere you go there is mulberry this and mulberry that. I'm drinking mulberry green tea as I type this. If you ever go to Vang Vieng, I insist you try the Mulberry Set at the Organic Farm Cafe. There is no better way to start your morning than with mulberry pancakes and a mulberry shake.

We left Vang Vieng after two days, slightly worse for wear but happy with our stay and even more enamored with Laos than we had been.

Please note that I switched the my picture embedding such that if you click on one it will link you directly to a higher res version and the rest of my flickr pictures.

Laos Part 1: Vientiane

I've done a considerable about of traveling around South East Asia last year but unlike most backpackers I've done everything in little spurts. A weekend in Indonesia here, a weekend in Malaysia there... almost always flying wherever I went in order to take advantage of cheap airfares and maximize the little time I had to explore. Finally, on our journey to Laos I was able to check off "massive overland journey" on my SE Asian traveler checklist. And what a journey it was!



I had yet to take a train in Thailand, so we opted for the overnight train from Bangkok straight up through Isaan to the friendship bridge with Laos near Vientiane. We bought tickets for the second class sleeper section of the train. We started our journey happily with some Leo beer and sub-par fried rice I purchased on the train. After we had been traveling for an hour or so, our seats were made into beds and we all scurried away into our berths. This is where it became less fun. While lying in bed on your paper thin mattress you close your eyes to the bright lights streaming in through the bright green curtains. And then you start to notice that the swaying of the train becoming more and more vicious with each second. The banging sounds become louder. You begin to wonder how often trains get derailed in Thailand. Is that a good noise? After eleven hours of this, you end up at the Laos-Thailand border, safe and sound and only $20 lighter.



After making it across the boarder we quickly found ourselves a guesthouse to stay in. For $5 a piece the three of us shared a dorm room on the top floor of our guesthouse. The place was pretty minimalist but clean. The best part of the room was the spacious patio with chairs to sit in and read and a nice view overlooking the rooftops of Vientiane. The perfect place to watch the sunset later that night.



I had heard that Vientiane was a lackluster city. Not much to see, not much to do, nothing to write home about. We were very pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoyed Vientiane. True, the scenery and architecture in Vientiane look dull compared to the rest of Laos, but the relaxed pace, good food, and friendly people more than made up for it. We decided to start our Vientiane sightseeing with a bike ride to the most notable religious building in the city, That Luang. That Luang was built on top of an ancient Khmer site. The original stupa was plundered and destroyed by the Chinese in the late 1800s (the gold in it was ripe for the taking after the city had been raided by the Siamese and subsequently deserted in 1828). The current golden spire was rebuilt in the 1930s. Soon after we started our bike ride we realized that Erin did not really take well to bicycles. Thus, we set off on foot. Our sweaty hike brought us out of town and up to the Patouxai. The Patouxai is more or less the Arch de Triomphe of Vientiane. This sign says it all:



I'm impressed by their honesty. I didn't think it was THAT much of an eyesore.



Finally we reached our destination:


Not as well kept up as similar religious monuments in Thailand, but still very beautiful.

We also passed some interesting examples of Soviet architecture.





And realized that street signs in this communist country have private sponsors. Strange.



Our evening in town was very relaxing. For dinner, Dave and I were excited to go to a French brasserie and sink our teeth into steaks. Please get used to my raving about the food in Laos, it will continue. The French colonizers left behind a fantastic food legacy. I was in heaven with the delicious pastries and superb baguette sandwiches. Although I typically try to eat the cuisine native to the country I visit, I really couldn't help myself in Laos. I ate much more Western food than I typically do. I made up for it with a Laotian cooking class on my last day in the country.



After dinner we wandered along the Mekong, eating banana-chocolate roti and drinking Beerlao Dark. Off to a good start and only one day in.

Evening in Vang Vieng

P1000207, a photo by AnnaRae on Flickr.

My vacation in Laos was quite possibly the most relaxing and fun vacation I've ever been on. My friend Erin is still in town, so I'll be rather busy this week. Expect blog posts up some time next week with all of the details. For now, tide yourself over with 250+ pictures of our trip . I know that is a lot of pictures, but Laos is stunning and you'll be glad you looked at them all.

Laos!

At long last the school year is over! Today I held back tears as I said goodbye to my babies. I'll be teaching a summer camp in July, but many of my students will not return. Now it's off for a week of adventure and relaxation in Laos with great friends (including Erin, imported from the States!). More to come!

Ukulele Lesson, Cha-Am Thailand

Am I doing it right?, a photo by AnnaRae on Flickr.