Laos, The Unexplored Country of South East Asia
Once again I found myself arriving in a destination at night. After a small kerfuffle at immigration (never assume that you can pay with card everywhere in Asia), I was on the outside, trying to determine how I would reach my hostel. When I landed in Vientiane and loaded in my sim card, obviously the first thing I did was open up the Grab app (Asia’s Uber equivalent). I had done almost all of my travelling exclusively with this amazing app thus far. Throughout the region, depending on what country you’re in, you can order a car, Tuk Tuk or motorbike. Imagine my horror when I opened up the app and I was met with the message “Grab unavailable in your location”. I don’t know if I touched on this but taxi drivers in Asia can be quite, ahem. Aggressive. For this exact reason I steer clear of them. That and nearly all interactions with them descend into a battle of cost. Even if they have meters. Seriously. Some will even wave you off when you ask them to turn on their meter because they know that they can get much more from unsuspecting tourists. Lucky for me there was an organized taxi system set up at the airport that charged fair prices based on where you were going rather than the usually haggling that I usually encounter at Asian airports.
Less than 20 minutes and I had reached Sailomyen Hostel (approx. €8.50 per night). I noted while driving around that the capital city was mostly silent, most things where shut and the roads were virtually empty. It was around 9pm. Interesting. If the capital city of Laos was more or less closed for business at 9pm, how would I find the rest of the country? Upon entering my hostel, I was greeted with the sweetest smiles and welcomes from the two young men covering the night shift. Later I would note that this would be a trend. The Laotians were some the kindest people the I met in my travels. The knowledge of English sometimes wasn’t there, and those that did speak it were very shy about their skill level but unfailingly, they would always go way out of their way to help me, or even just smile at me in street and say hello. Their kindness was probably only second to the Balinese. By the time I got to my dorm, I was unsurprised to find that I was the only one checked in that night. I got myself set for the night and went to bed.
Vientiane, the Empty Capital
The following morning saw me brushing my teeth, trying to come up with a plan of action of how to spend my day. My musings were interrupted with a pointed “Hello” and awkward conversation with whom I now know as Dary, while I slowly brushed my teeth. I later met her downstairs, and after further conversation we decided to go and explore the city together.
Vientiane is a… quiet city. Even during the peak of the day, there’s not many people about. People smile, and say hello, then go about their daily routine. There’s no rush, no sense of urgency. Just an odd peace and tranquillity that I felt as I was slowly walking down along the Mekong River with Dary. We wandered into a few of the city’s sights, most of them temples, and some others. One in particular, the Cope Visitors Centre was absolutely amazing. The centre was set up to help individuals who were victims of Unexploded Ordinances (UXO’s).
Brief history lesson; Laos gained its independence from France in 1954. Following that (as what tends to happen when colonial powers recede from the lands they conquer) Laos entered into a civil war. The war was between the communist party Pathet Lao (supported by Russia), and the Royal Lao government (supported by the United States). Note the time frame of this war. This civil war became another in one of many proxy wars that Russia and the US ‘fought’ during the Cold War. Over a period of nearly a decade beginning in the early 1960’s and lasting into the 1970’s, the U.S.A periodically bombed the country of Laos. This used to be referred to as America’s ‘Secret War’. This secret war is now known to be the heaviest bombardment of a country in history. The American Air Force unleashed an average of one attack every eight minutes for nearly ten years. By the time the campaign ended in 1973, a tenth of Laos’ population had been killed. Thousands more accidental deaths would follow from unexploded bombs left in the soil. The COPE centre, created in 1996, works with the Lao Ministry of Health to provide rehabilitation services for victims of the bombardment, and all other that are survivors of UXOs. In Laos currently, there is a large population of individuals with missing limbs and other deformities caused by these UXO’s. In many areas of Laos, there are still no go areas as the areas are still contaminated with these unexploded bombs.
After basically walking the whole length of Vientiane, popping into a few sights, seeing some of the city’s temples and of course, the city’s on Arc De Triomphe (actually named Patuxai), Dary and I came to the uncomfortable realisation that we had more or less done and seen all that there was to do and see in Vientiane. My plan for Laos was to visit only Vientiane and Luang Prabang. I knew there were other towns to visit in Laos, most notably, Vang Vieng, however they were popular for reasons that did not appeal to me. Vang Vieng had a reputation for being a hard core party town, with tubing while intoxicated being a popular past time there. Over the past few years there have been a number of deaths associated with the town of Vang Vieng due to this. The government have tried to crack down on the number of riverside bars open (where there were many before, now only 3 are allowed to operate), and results of whether this has worked yet has yet to be seen.
I didn’t expect to be finished with Vientiane so soon, so Dary and I, out of boredom decided, you know what? Let’s go to Vang Vieng for a night out. We weren’t interested in tubing at all. We valued our lives, but we were interested in heading to a nightclub and having some fun.
VIP Bus?
The following morning, we left our bags at Sailomyen (we didn’t check out, rather we were only going to Vang Vieng for one night, and didn’t mind losing out on the money for the night). We had on us only small day backpacks with a change of clothes for the evening and pyjamas. The VIP bus we ordered arrived and was…. Decidedly not very VIP. If you were able to get a seat, you were lucky. Otherwise, you were stuck sitting on a small stool in the middle of the bus (I kid you not). Apart from that, the bus felt like it was flimsy and cobbled together. As we travelled the 4 hours to Vang Vieng, every bump, corner or jerk that that the bus made cause the windows to rattle loudly. I was convinced the windows would just give out and shatter every time the bus ploughed through a pothole.
Eventually we arrived in Vang Vieng. It looked very…. Rustic. Not how I imagined a major party hub in a country to look. Buildings were low, and the majority of things were concentrated on just the one main road. Underwhelmed, we made our way to our bungalow at Magic Monkey Garden for the night (approx. €7 each per night). The accommodations were basic subsisting of a mattress on the floor for the two of us to share, air conditioning, a clothes rack and a clean toilet. It wasn’t much, but for one night it was ok.
Partying Korean Style in Vang Vieng
I won’t lie. It was odd. The main haunt, Sakura Bar, was where all the bloggers, trip advisor reviewers and travellers had told us was the place to be. Between certain hours, alcohol was free (though I do need to specify that it was only really whiskey, and whatever choice of mixers they had on hand). The music was an odd mix of current chart music, KPop and techno. Though, the clientele in the establishment was just as mixed. The greater majority of people in the bar (later turned nightclub) were Korean. Later, I would be told that Vang Vieng was a popular party destination due to some local TV show, but at that moment in time I was baffled. As much as alcohol was flowing, balloons filled with nitrous oxide were making their way around the club also. Dary and I shared many odd looks with each other that night, but we were determined to party and enjoy ourselves, because of course that is what we came for. A few drinks later, saw us dancing on tables to PSY’s Gangnam style. It was thus far the best night I had had on my travels thus far. Walking home we had the most delicious baguettes (French influence) filled with I don’t even remember what by street vendors. We walked home in the near pouring rain, eating, giggling and happy with our decision to come to Vang Vieng.
Goodbye, Goodbye, Good Friend Goodbye
The following day saw us packing up to head back to the countries capital. From the “VIP” bus situation, I had already decided that there was no way that I would board that bus all the way up to Luang Prabang. I flat out refused. Instead, I would catch a flight there from Vientiane. Back on the bus we got, and we made it back in one piece to Vientiane.
Saying goodbye to Dary was hard. Much harder than I thought it would be. I came to the realisation that, it wouldn’t be the last time I would feel like this on my trip, and that crushed me even more. When travelling, I don’t know if it’s because you essentially make that decision to socialise with people, or that you end up spending so much time with people where at home you would only see people for a couple hours at a time, but it’s always so hard to say goodbye. Because you never know when you’ll see these people again. If ever. After her time in Laos, she was headed to Thailand and then home. I just wasn’t looking to travel in that direction. Unlike meeting Theresa, Sacha or Kim – I knew that at other points in my travels, my path would cross with them again. With Dary, that just wasn’t going to happen. I said my goodbye, and off I went on a Tuk Tuk to the airport.
To Luang Prabang and Beyond
The flight to Luang Prabang was horrific. No jokes. No exaggeration. It was a propeller plane, of Chinese origin and you could feel those propellers doing their level best to keep that aircraft high above the ground. I almost kissed the ground when I landed. The airport was easy to navigate and soon enough I was en route to my private room at Chaluenxay Villa (€16 per night). I was feeling a little melancholy and wasn’t really up to sharing space with other people, so decided to go for a private room in Luang Prabang instead. Also, from being in Vientiane, and Vang Vieng, I had gaged that possibly, I’d end up by myself in a dorm room again anyways.
Luang Prabang is a beautiful town. It’s the ancient capital of Luang Prabang Province. The whole town itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cultural heritage of the town, its architecture and religious buildings are remarkably well preserved. French colonial influences can be seen in many of the buildings here. Walking around the town of Luang Prabang brought a sense of peace. It was quiet. Very little amount of sellers (or touts) about and a lot of monks going about their daily business can be observed. I stayed in Luang Prabang for 4/5 days before moving on.
The weather was absolutely awful in Laos. Coming from someone who has grown up in Ireland, that is saying a lot. It rained probably 23 hours out of 24 hours of the day. Every. Day. The rain was so heavy that often it deterred me from going out to even find food to eat! There were times that in the break in the rain, I’d run out for food, then get trapped in whatever establishment because the rain was pouring down too hard for me to go out (I didn’t have any clothing that could really deal with the rain). After careful contemplation and going through weather forecasts for the following week, I decided to just book my flight to Hanoi. It was raining far too much for anything to be enjoyable. I had tried to book tours with different operators in Luang Prabang and none of them had things scheduled because of the weather.
Ticket to Hanoi booked, I relaxed for the remainder of my time in Luang Prabang, watching TV from the comfort of my private room and chewing on unhealthy snacks. It was amazing. This time in Luang Prabang also coincided with me just having general travellers fatigue. I felt like I was uninspired by anything and everything around me. Nothing was going my way, and all I really wanted to do was sit, watch TV and escape it all. Watching snapchats and seeing posts from people at home irritated and upset me, however seeing the different things I could do in Laos or Vietnam, just overwhelmed me. I needed time to just sit, decompress and then move on. I did just that and thank God was able to shake off the funk I was in.
D-Day arrived. I packed my bags and off to Vietnam I went.
Until next time..
Barbara
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