LAOS- kamikaze trips and natural beauty

Oh LAOS, you horny pig!

What can I say about Laos except that it has a good chance of replacing Thailand as my absolute favorite country.

Yes, the paradisiacal beaches and really nice Thai food are missing.

But from second second I was in.

Felt the vibe and the country.

I already had Laos on my radar in 2016 when I was creating the route for my 2-month Southeast Asia trip.

However, in the end it had to give way to other countries due to the lack of a coast.

Wrongfully so, as I now know.

Unfortunately we only had about a week here and now we are sitting in a well-occupied bus that is taking us to Vientiane.

From there our flight goes back to the north of Vietnam this afternoon.

And the next 4 nights will be the last stage together with Tatti.

A few days ago I spontaneously decided to continue this journey alone.

I want to do something very specific.

Actually THE reason why I gave Vietnam another chance.

For reasons I initially rejected this idea.

We traveled to other places, did other things.

And I don't regret any of it.

Really.

It was exactly right the way it was.

However, I couldn't get this other plan out of my head.

And honestly, why not seize the opportunity when you have the chance?!

Who knows when I'll be back here in these parts.

I JUST HAD TO DO IT.

It was force majeure.

My favorite travel buddy will be flying back on December 13th, while I won't be back until Christmas.

I'll be honest with you, I'm a bit scared.

I at least respect my own decision, but I also know that it will be incredibly exciting.

Last year I was alone in Thailand for a few days, I was traveling solo in Macedonia and I've been to the Baltic Sea a few times without anyone else, but that's where it ends.

But what I'm going to do now is a different level somehow.

But yes, either way, it will definitely be unforgettable and unique!

INTRO END

When we landed in Laos 6 days ago, I never imagined how incredibly beautiful I would find it here.

Yes, the pictures and videos I saw were promising. It wasn't for nothing that I was drawn here, but live it's obviously different.

We were picked up at the airport and we didn't see much because this time it was a dark night again.

We moved into our bungalow, had a quick bite to eat, drank the first Laotian beer of our lives and went to sleep.

I was awake early.

As always.

I guess it was around 6.

I quietly opened the door and sneaked out.

And then I was just overwhelmed.

In an exclusively positive sense.

I was so amazed.

The landscape that presented itself to me was absolutely impressive.

In front of our front door, actually just a step away, is a huge reservoir.

I think it's the biggest Laos has to offer.

Mountain ranges.

And massively green.

The sun could already be seen.

It would soon color the sky.

Wow!

I couldn't wait for Tatti to wake up.

At some point the little bum stood up and was just as excited.

Pictures speak louder than words, so here are a few impressions.

I have to say, nature is really magical, but there was nothing else there.

Luckily, I changed my mind shortly before Peng and split up the days in Laos in terms of accommodation. Otherwise I would definitely have been very bored.

I enjoy views like this. A lot.

And the fact that there was a pool rounded things off.

And you could also rent kayaks for free.

Ah, but that's it.

I honestly don't know when I forgot how to properly chill.

When it started that I can't stand it anywhere for long.

I'm getting restless.

Start fidgeting.

Definitely have to experience something.

That's why it didn't take long on that day and I needed a change of scenery.

We strolled into the village.

About 20 minutes on foot.

The sun was beating down, there were hills everywhere and kids all seeming pretty excited to see us.

I can tell you, we saw absolutely no other tourists in the 3 days.

Zero.

Even in the resort, we were basically the only guests.

At least we always had the pool to ourselves.

And that probably explained why we were looked at like a rare insect in the Village.

Every kid we saw waved.

We did the same.

With all the waving you sometimes felt like the queen.

The kids tried out the few bits of English they probably picked up at some point.

We heard from every corner

'what's your name'

'Where do you come from?'

'how old are you'.

And when we answered, they asked the same thing again.

But they looked so happy doing it and so we were too.

I thought the Laotians were so, so nice anyway.

I guess Tatti would agree with me, but she's asleep again and I can't ask her.

I think she was supposed to be a dog at birth and something went wrong.

There's no other way I can explain why she sleeps 20 hours a day. ;)

Oh and anyway - speaking of dogs:

As in Vietnam, they obviously have a similarly strong need to reproduce in Laos.

Everywhere you look you see dogs.

Slim dogs.

Fat dogs.

Very malnourished dogs.

Well-groomed dogs.

Shaggy dogs.

Pretty dogs.

Ugly dogs.

Baby dogs.

They all had one thing in common:

They mostly ignored us.

Except for this one sweet puppy.

Well, maybe it could have been because we bribed him with fries.

Really just maybe. :)

On the second day we wanted to go back to the village, but honestly didn't feel like walking.

In our defense, however, I would like to say that we had already exhausted ourselves quite a bit while kayaking and sunbathing. ;)

One of the employees offered us to take her scooter and cruise around.

I'm telling you, these Laotians are just nice.

The only problem was that the scooter in question had neither mirrors nor fully functional brakes. We weren't given helmets and to make matters worse, it had gears.

I usually only drive an automatic, but since I'm quite cheerfully typing the words into my cell phone at a height of 12 million meters (cough), everything seems to have gone well. ;)

After 3 days in this 'Somewhere in Nowhere' we had booked a few more days directly in Vangvieng.

The place itself is neither particularly beautiful nor worth mentioning.

You just have tons of souvenir shops, bars, massage parlors, stands where you can book tours and small supermarkets.

But it's what's around it.

The karst mountains, the lush greenery, you can visit many caves and also lagoons.

Vangvieng is basically THE city for backpackers in Laos.

At the beginning of the 2010s, Vangvieng had its heyday and unfortunately also gained notoriety because many, many people, several dozen a year, died.

There is this river called Nam Xong and one day some people came up with the idea of floating down the river with inflatable tires.

Still other people came up with the idea of setting up bars along the route.

Word spread quickly and at some point Vangvieng had three times as many tourists as residents. It was a big party hotspot.

At some point the so-called tubing got out of hand.

People stopped every few meters, filled themselves with alcohol and often drugs, which were available everywhere, and this combo wasn't that cool.

There were many accidents, injuries and a lot of deaths.

At some point the government had enough. They intervened.

Most of the bars along the water had to close.

Everything is now in state hands, tubing is regulated and everything is more civilized.

In any case, the new accommodation was one of the toughest I've ever lived in and I've probably said that many times, but you can see that there's always room for improvement. :)

From the days in Vangvieng, exactly 2 things remained in my head, which I will now write about.

Both actually happened in one day, if I remember correctly.

While I was still in Berlin, I quickly realized that I really wanted to fly a hot air balloon when we were in Laos.

Tatti agreed immediately and basically as soon as we arrived we booked the Sunrise tour for the next day.

I have never flown a hot air balloon.

I had no idea what to expect.

What I have an idea about (actually), but have simply pushed this fact aside, is my fear of heights!

It's not so severe that it gives me screaming fits or sitting cathatonic in the corner, but it's there. She is very unpleasant. She cannot be ignored.

Nevertheless, I got in.

It was scorching hot in the balloon.

The fire right above our heads.

The pilot can tell a thing or two about it, because he had such hair on his head that Tatti and I always giggled like little girls when we saw it.

What can I say about the rest?

The view was amazing.

You could practically touch the clouds.

It's something unique.

And in the truest sense of the word, because I will never do that again.

We were maybe 3 meters high and I said:

'Enough now. I want to go down!'

Unfortunately, no one listened to me.

And I, poor soul, had to endure half an hour of fear of death. ;)

Really, it was amazing, and I will never forget the feeling of seeing this landscape from a bird's eye view.

A few hours later we were on the scooter and went in search of a specific view point.

The journey itself didn't take long.

Parked the scooter and then we went up.

And that, dear people, was probably the most dangerous thing during our trip.

It had rained all night.

Hours before, the sodden ground here had been a wild river of mud and water.

The 'path' that was supposed to take us to the destination, i.e. a kamikaze path.

You had to walk a very long way up in the middle of green nature.

Over branches, over stones, over rocks.

Sometimes there was something to hold on to.

But mostly not.

Or it was loose and straight, so when you tried to pull yourself up it would break away.

Even under normal circumstances, climbing this viewpoint wouldn't have been a walk in the park, but on this day it was a suicide mission.

It was steep, rocky, and above all slippery.

No idea how high exactly.

Just really high.

It was exhausting.

It was so goddamn humid.

My hair was dripping like I had taken a shower.

My face soaking wet.

So often you slipped and couldn't get a proper grip. Tatti hurt his elbow quite a bit and it's a miracle that it was just that and no one ended up on a stretcher with a broken neck.

Although: no medic would probably be able to get to this part of the world.

And sometime after 40 minutes we did it.

Because it's hard for me to describe what it was like up there, I'll make it easy for myself and let the pictures do the talking again.

We stayed until our sweat had dried a little and my cell phone memory was full again.

We were afraid to go back and already suspected that it would get worse.

And so it was!

Slippery. So so slippery.

Bending over, getting down this wild trail was so hard.

I saw my own sweat dripping past me.

The air was still.

You had to be so careful where you step.

And everything smelled of sweat.

(I swear it wasn't me, Tatti will confirm it when he wakes up.)

Infront of us.

Behind us.

Next to us.

People everywhere with the same crappy idea of marveling at the landscape from above on this day of all days.

And many people smelled so badly, you have no idea.

If I hadn't urgently needed both hands, I would have constantly held my nose.

It took us 1 hour and from that point on we were real survivors.

A successful, crazy, unique day came to an end.

Oh man

Just take a look!

Like in a picture book.

Picturesque, mystical and unreal this Laos.

But.

Yes, there is also a but:

Along with Cambodia, Laos is probably the least developed country in Southeast Asia.

At least from the countries that I have traveled to myself.

A developing country.

The infrastructure...well...that's almost impossible to talk about.

There are hardly any real roads.

Everything is just sand and gravel.

The people have nothing and some of them really live from hand to mouth.

Still, not for a single second did I feel like someone was just being nice because they wanted money.

And everyone was so so so grateful when you gave them a generous tip.

I would have loved to buy every child a toy.

Every person was given a note.

Tatti felt the same way. She would probably nod her head now, but since she's asleep again, she can't confirm it. ;)

Laos borders China, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Because it simply lacks its own access to the sea, Laos is completely inferior to the other countries.

And therefore it is still undeveloped for tourism.

This state is really dirt poor.

Just across the border it felt as if time had stood still.

The 1960s must have been something like that.

When we arrived back in Vietnam, because we are now, it felt like we had landed in the first world, so Western and civilized it felt.

Landing back in Hanoi after our stay in Vangvieng was almost a culture shock.

And if you (like us) think Hanoi is the most advanced place in the world, then you've probably been to Laos before. ;)

I will definitely come again.

(Maybe Tatti too. But feel free to ask her yourself when she finally wakes up. ;) )

STAY TUNED!