Epic Journey through Laos

We have officially arrived in Vietnam and are already missing Laos!

It is hard to sum up what itis about the country that makes it so magical. To start with, the pace of life in Laos is slower than Thailand, and every person will smile at Westerners and happily say "sabadee", which is a simple hello. It felt great to be in a country where I felt like people weren't out to scam you. They genuinely enjoyed meeting us and appreciated the fact that we were visiting their country.

We began our Laos journey in its capital, Vientianne, mainly to get our Vietnam visa, but we also had a great time lounging around, enjoying the cafes and the laid back atmosphere. There is a heavy French influence in Laos, so the streets were lined with fresh baked goods and patisseries. We found one cafe/bakery that we were slightly obsessed with, considering that we went there five times in less than two days! Since Vientianne is quite a small capital, we managed to see all of the sites we wanted within a few hours, exploring the city mainly by bicycle. As with all big southeast Asian cities, we had to see a wat or two, along with a few other historical sites during our biking adventure.

After successfully getting our visa and a heavy fixing of baguettes and croissants, we made our way to Vang Vieng, which is known as the biggest backpacker destination in Laos.

We stayed at a new hostel in the area called Spicy Laos, and it was definitely the most incredible place I have ever been!  The entire hostel is made of bamboo, and the 14 bed dorm room felt like a massive tree house! I guess the hammocks, movie room, sauna, and free breakfast added to its glory as well! After getting situated in Vang Vieng, we explored a little, and then had a wonderful opportunity to learn the basics of Buddhism and teach novices (teenage buddhists) some English skills. I loved interacting with the kids, and they definitely enjoyed our company.

The following day we did some rock climbing, which made me realize how little physical activity we have been doing in Southeast asia! It felt good though to know that my muscles still function! Afterwards, we got sucked into the typical Vang Vieng routine of being lazy! We enjoyed some drinks at a local bar and then literally hung out on these hammocks overlooking the river with our new friends for about five hours! It was heaven!

New Years Eve was absolutely incredible. It was such an unforgettable experience. We rounded up our group of friends in the early afternoon and headed to the river known for "tubing". Now, some people rent tubes and float down the river, stopping from bar to bar along the way. Others (like us), opted to just jump in the river and float from one bar to the next. You could do a zipline into the river, then as soon as you began approaching a bar, an employee would lasso you in with a lifesaver tube! It was so unreal!

  

And then to top it all off, we arrived at one bar that had mud pits and mud volleyball, which was definitely something I have never done before!  We finished our epic day at a bar that had this massive slide into the river. Basically, it felt like we were at a natural adult amusement park all day!

After a nice ciesta, we had a family dinner with our crew from the hostel at a local restaurant called Mama Lao. It was buffet style and we had some wonderful local cuisine. We went to a few bars throughout the town but counted down the new year down by the river, which was great! It was the perfect way to kick off 2010!

                                              

Given that most of us felt "under the weather" on New Years Day, we opted to go to the "Friends Bar", which plays episodes of Friends 24/7! It was quite amazing! We lazed around all day and just hung out, enjoying the beautiful, mountainous surroundings in Vang Vieng.

The following day we caught a bus further up north to Luang Probang, the second largest city in Laos. The next morning, we explored around a bit and then decided to go to a waterfall that was meant to be a "must see" in the area. The waterfall and its surroundings were so beautiful.It was about a 15 minute walk to the actual waterfall, but every bit of the trek was breathtaking!

Otherwise, we took it easy in Luang Probang, mainly recovering from the madness of Vang Vieng. I did manage to wake up at sunrise one morning and witness the feeding of the monks, which was quite interesting.

The following day was when our true rugged, epic adventure began. We caught a slow boat to a small fisherman's town called Nong Kiaow. We arrived later than expected, so we were forced to stay in this beautiful, isolated mountain town along the river for the night. I know what you are thinking, what a shame! Poor me, being stranded in a breathtaking village!

The following morning we woke up and were anticipating catching a boat to a town near the Laos-Vietnam border. Now, here is where the confusion began. We paid for a boat to Muang Ngoi, which we thought was the right place. An hour later, we arrive in this isolated river town with no road access, completely cut off from the rest of the world! Apparently, we needed to get to Muang Khua! Luckily, we found an American (coincidentally named Kevin, so we treated him like our little brother), that was up for chartering a boat to this place for only $15 each! It was so unbelievable. There were us three Americans, just cruising along the river, with an entire boat to ourselves!

After sleeping in Muang Khua for the night, we woke up at 6 a.m. to drive nearly 9 hours to the border crossing that was only about 100 km away! Along that bus ride, one of the employees managed to steal my ipod when I fell asleep and played dumb the whole time! While it was frustrating, I calmed myself down, using the Buddhist mentality of realizing that it was just a material possession (and insurance would pay for it!). Finally we had to catch an overnight bus to Hanoi, which ended being wonderful, equipped with a delicious buffet for dinner. So, in the end, the journey we thought would take only a day and half ended up taking us three days, but we definitely had a blast along the way! And to sum up Laos is impossible...it possesses so many incredible qualities that one can only understand through experiencing it!

Now, we are in Vietnam, and will probably face unfriendlier people, and will may be "Canadians" for our time here!