Laos-The Pearl of the Mekong

Day 92

Sabaidii from Laos 🇱🇦

We have now arrived in the south of Laos, coming all the way from the north. We really like Laos. The landscape is amazing, everything feels very authentic. There are not many roads, except for the main ones, which are partially asphalted. Most of the time, we find ourselves on adventurous bumpy roads. The people in Laos are very nice, but sometimes English doesn't get us very far. However, we can usually communicate with hands and feet. Many people here are very poor, which often makes us sad, especially when we see small children begging. It reminds us of how fortunate we are and we learn to appreciate it more. The Laotians are a very relaxed people, everything takes much longer here than at home. Stress and hustle and bustle are nowhere to be found. Slowly, we have gotten used to this attitude and enjoy this serenity.

What have we been up to in the past few weeks?

In Thailand, we spent the last days in Chiang Mai with Pom and his girlfriend. Since the weather was pretty bad, we relaxed in the city. On the last evening, we went out for drinks and then had a nice dinner. After that, it was time to say goodbye to our friends and beautiful Thailand.

We booked a bus in advance to Laos, Luang Prabang. We were told that the journey would take about 18 hours. So, we started with a minivan to the border, which was very difficult as the bus was packed with people and luggage. After about 7 hours, we finally reached the border. We were let out without receiving any information. They only said that someone would pick us up at the border to Laos. After about 2 hours, we finally received our visa and were transported further. Then, we continued with a big sleeper bus and chaos ensued. Somehow, the bus was overbooked, which meant that even in the narrow aisle between the beds, people had to sleep. The Laotians have the attitude of not leaving until everything is packed to the last millimeter. Luckily but completely exhausted, we finally arrived in Luang Prabang the next morning, after a 24-hour journey.

Laos, especially Luang Prabang, is heavily influenced by French culture, as it used to be a colony of France. There are French cafes, baguettes, and croissants everywhere in the city. You feel a bit like in Paris. It's incredibly beautiful to stroll through the city, sit by the Mekong River, and admire the stunning scenery. The next day was New Year's Eve and we went to the Kuang Si Waterfall. The journey there was already very beautiful, driving through numerous villages and observing the authentic life. Upon arriving at the waterfall, we saw various levels of cascades. Each cascade was more beautiful than the other, with a beautiful turquoise water color due to the high calcium content in the sandstone. The highlight at the end was the large waterfall, a sight you don't see every day. After a short hike and a quick dip in the ice-cold water, we headed back. In the evening, we wanted to party and make up for missing Christmas. After a short pre-drink at the hotel, we went to a slightly nicer restaurant and then to Utopia. We heard that the biggest New Year's Eve party was happening there. It was quite cool, about a dozen young backpackers dancing around a bonfire. However, the music wasn't really our style, but the drinks were good. At the bar, we met a young French woman whom we had met on the bus a few days earlier. With her and other backpackers, we rang in the New Year. After a day of recovery (I'm not used to anything anymore), we explored the surrounding area by bike and enjoyed the great atmosphere in this beautiful city.

Next, we headed to Vang Vieng. A small village 150km from Luang Prabang. The journey was very nice, mostly through the mountains, passing beautiful villages and nature. The journey was again quite uncomfortable due to overcrowding. In the end, it was completely chaotic again, with two women in the bus who wanted to go in a completely different direction. The driver also seemed to have no idea about the right way. In the end, it took us 7 hours to travel 150km!
When we arrived at the hotel we had booked online, they sent us to another one. Sometimes things are really chaotic here in Laos! When we finally arrived at the right hotel, we were quite exhausted. Vang Vieng itself is a very ugly town, which is why we rented a motorbike to explore the surrounding countryside. The countryside is a dream: rivers, mountains, caves, and incredibly beautiful nature. We also visited a lagoon where we could swim. On the last day, we did a guided tour to a water cave, which turned out to be more like a Korean spa. Vang Vieng is like the Ballermann for Koreans. Well, our guide took us a bit into nature and to another cave. Then, we went kayaking with two other Koreans. We went downstream for 20km. The current was sometimes very weak, so we had to row vigorously. But at times, it was also really challenging, with huge rocks that we had to avoid. In the end, the current became stronger and then it happened: we got too close to the riverbank and the kayak tipped over. We were lucky, apart from a few bruises, we were fine. Oh yes, Lars lost his shoes, but at least our backpack was still there and dry. Completely exhausted, we arrived in Vieng Vang. We exchanged numbers with the two Koreans because they want to show us around when we visit Korea later. We fell into bed completely worn out that day.

The next day was once again time to pack our backpacks. We took a bus to Vientiane, the capital of Laos, which was about 4 hours away. In advance, we heard that the city is not nice at all, but I absolutely can't understand that. Our hotel was amazing and only cost 20€, right in the center. We went for a walk to get an impression of the city. In Vientiane, there is a kind of Arc de Triomphe, similar to Paris. It is very beautiful there, and there is also a small park. Additionally, there is a very nice night market right by the Mekong River. The next day, we went to the Buddha Park, which was built by an artist. We found the impressive statues, often huge figures, very nice. We wanted to take a night bus to Pakse, which is located in the south of Laos. Since the bus was leaving in the evening, we had the day available. We decided to go to the Cope Museum. This is an organization that helps people injured during the Vietnam War. Laos was heavily bombed by the Americans back then, even though the Laotians were not involved in the war. To this day, there are millions of unexploded bombs buried somewhere underground. Every day, field workers and even children, who think they are toys, are injured by the bombs. Often, their arms or legs are shattered by the explosions. Cope goes to remote areas and helps these affected people, as they usually don't even receive medical care. They also make prostheses to make their lives easier. Additionally, this organization searches the areas for what they call "blind bombs". I found it very sad but also educational to visit this organization. So, if you ever want to do something good, donate to this amazing organization. In the evening, we took the night bus to Pakse. The journey was very pleasant, and now it's time to go to the hotel room.

Anita❤️

#laos #luangprabang #vientiane #vangvieng #pakse #mekong #mountains #landscape #wanderlust