Five Nights in Luang Prabang

I was really looking forward to Luang Probang because we met so many people who loved it.  Of all the cities we visited in Laos it has the most French colonial influence and caters to tourists other than backpackers.  It has a mix of European/ Asian influences  with charming buildings, cafes and cobblestone side roads but also with many Buddhist temples and monks chanting throughout the day.

We arrived in Luang Prabang in the evening and went straight to the night food market.  We tried spring rolls and dumplings but the highlight was a vegetarian buffet that only cost dollar.  You could fill up a huge bowl or plate with a variety of rices, pastas, veggies etc.  I think I ate this almost every night. 

After dinner we met up with our friends and went to the popular backpacker bar called Utopia which has a nice chill vibe and has a great view of the lake.  The bar closed around 11:30 and there were tons of Tuk Tuks waiting outside to take everyone to the only nightlife in Luang Prabang still open that late: the bowling alley.  We played two games and drank several beers and it was an exceptionally fun night.  It was filled mostly with backpackers but there were also some Loasian people who were very talented bowlers.

Our first full day we rented bicycles to explore the city (I am slowly getting much more confident on bikes and have no problem biking next to moving vehicles anymore). We had soup for breakfast at a lake side restaurant and visited a few temples but it was so unbearably hot that we ended up spending a large portion of the day in our air conditioned room and coffee shop.  After another vegetarian buffet we explored the night market which is definitely one of my favorite tourist markets so far. The things they were selling were unique compared to the other countries we'd been to and the salespeople were not pushy at all which makes shopping so much more pleasant.  Our big purchases were bamboo speakers, elephant slippers and Andrew bought a pair of balloon pants (he finally caved in to the "backpacker uniform".)

 

The next morning I woke up early and enjoyed a Sunrise Yoga class that was offered on the lake at Utopia bar.  We then decided to spend the day at a waterfall about an hour and a half away from the city center.  It is the main excursion in Luang Prabang with Tuk Tuk drivers ask "Waterfall?" every 2 minutes so we decided we'd have to check it out.  At the beginning of the park there is a Bear Rescue Centre which rescues Asiatic Black Bears that from the illegal wildlife trade. It was around lunchtime and the bears were very active and seemed very happy and we could have watched them for hours longer. 

The park had several lagoons and pools of bright blue water and a huge waterfall with many tiers.  This was the most magnificent waterfall we'd seen yet but which also meant there were ALOT of tourists there. Luckily, some friends we met told us about a secret spot halfway up the hike to the top of the waterfall where there is a sign that says "Danger Do Not Pass."  If you do pass, then you arrive at a beautiful private pool of water that is middle of the waterfall.  It was truly a magical experience to get away from the crowds and have such a beautiful spot to swim to ourselves.

The main waterfall is beautiful but very crowded

The next day we made the spontaneous decision to do a two day one night experience with elephants at Elephant Village about 45 minutes away from Luang Probang.  We were originally planning on trekking with elephants in Northern Thailand but our friends suggested this company.  It also seemed like a better bang for your buck than in Thailand and got very good reviews.  When we arrived we were immediately impressed with he vicinities.  It was right on the river and doubled as a hotel with a beautiful pool and buildings.

There was a very nice young British couple who also signed up for the two day experience and we were the only 4 people staying the night at he resort. Within the hour we were feeding the elephants, learning the commands and climbing onto their backs. Andrew and I both road elephants in Africa but Asian elephants are relatively smaller than African elephants and unlike in Africa we were able to ride without a saddle, right on their necks!  It was much rockier than we expected but such an unbelievable sensation to have direct contact with this magnificent animals.  We then took an hour long trek with the elephants through the river and surrounding areas with one of us riding on the neck and the other riding a seat with the mahout (elephant trainer).  I loved every second of it.

Afterwards we played with and fed the elephants and then after lunch rode them into jungle where they would spend the night. It was nice to know that they are able to stop working and just relax and eat (which is really all they like to do) from 4pm onwards.  We then took a boat to a waterfall (which didn't really compare to the one the day before) and spent an our or two swimming. That night the four of us had a great dinner in the gazebo and enjoyed the luxury resort to ourselves.

 
We woke up early to pick up the elephants from the jungle and bathe them in the river. The mahouts told us to try standing on them and Andrew fell off of his. My elephant love splashing around and another just wanted to stay under the whole time just to cool off. We then decided to spend a few extra hours at the resort and just relax by the pool. Overall it was a really great experience and I am happy we chose Elephant Village. I am even more in love with elephants than before.

We ended the day with another quick stop to the night market and going to a restaurant called Hive which is known for its ethnic fashion show and hip hop performance by local Laos students. Unfortunately the fashion show wasn't performing since it was the low season but the hip hop show was pretty amusing.

A big tourist attraction in Luang Prabang is the procession of monks at dawn? I had read that this tradition has turned more into a show for tourists and was advised that if I was to participate in the offering of rice to the Monks, I should do my research and do it correctly.  I therefore opted to watch from a distance and be as discreet as possible.  It was very nice to watch but also pretty frustrating to see tourists walk up inches to the Monks and stick cameras in their faces.  Also, many local people capitalize on this tourist attraction and sell inedible quality sticky rice to tourists who are dressed inappropriately and make the offerings incorrectly.  I'm glad I woke up to watch the young monks (Andrew couldn't wake up that early) but have realized later in my travels that this tradition happens in most Buddhist cities and is much much less touristy. 

I loved Luang Prabang, especially the elephants and the vegetarian buffet, but I was ready to move onto an area of Laos less touristy.

Four Nights in Vang Vieng with a Pit Stop in Vientiane

We spent one last night in the Thakhek lodge and then took a morning "VIP" bus to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. We decided to stay only one night since it is on the way North and we heard it is probably the least exciting/interesting capital city in Southeast Asia.  We also had two friends from the Thakhek loop making this journey with us.

Very colorful bus

The city was very underwhelming and didn't even feel like much of a city.  Besides a few banks, a shopping mall and a river there really wasn't much to see. The one thing that we did want to visit  was a museum/non profit organization called the COPE Foundation which provides rehabilitation services for Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) survivors and other people with disabilities across Laos.  The craziest part was learning that during the Vietnam war, Laos became the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita in history (by American troops).  The fact that myself and most Americans don't know this is terribly disturbing. 

 While walking around the museum a young man named Peterkim walked into the room and started saying "hello"-- at first we couldn't tell who he was talking to.  We soon realized that he had no arms from the elbows down and was blind and we started having a conversation with him.  We spent the next hour learning his story, helping him read his Facebook and email messages and watching videos of him breakdancing and meeting Hillary Clinton. His story is very upsetting but also quite remarkable--he seems to be one of the faces of the COPE foundation.  We learned that 5 years ago when he was just a teenager he was leaving school after taking an exam and he and a friend  saw a peice of metal which he picked up out of curiosity.  This metal ended up being a cluster bomb and he doesn't remember much after that (and we don't know what happened to the friend).  Since then, with the help of the COPE foundation, he has become a break dancer, a voice for the victims of UXO survivors and is learning to "cope" with his disabilities.  Even though his accident is due American bombs, he  has aspirations to move to America. Meeting him was way more impactful than any museum or documentary could be.

Later that night after dinner we went to take money out and the ATM never gave our card back (note that this is the same card that I lost my first day in the Bangkok airport and jumped through hoops to get back).  The bank was already closed that night but luckily the bank's main headquarters was right in the center of Vientiane. The next morning we were the first ones at the bank and miraculously, contrary to Laos' typical lackadaisical pace, we got the card back within the hour.  

We made the 10am bus to Vang Vieng, a city that was once the party Mecca of Southeast Asia but has recently chilled out due to the Laos government clamping down at the beginning of the year.   Apparently stupid tourists were getting too drunk and trying dangerous activities involving zip lines which led to some injuries and deaths. The city itself is pretty touristy and run down looking.  Most guesthouses have restaurants  in front selling western food.  Many of the  restaurants also have lounge chairs facing flat screen tvs either playing episodes of friends, family guy or how I met your mother (I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it for a few days).  The best part about Vang Vieng, however, is the river and limestone mountains surrounding the entire city making the dusty town more appealing. We also were able to meet up with our friends Kate, Alex an Ryan who we spent a lot of time with in Cambodia.  We were really lucky to meet such great people and be on the same general route as them.

Our first day was spent walking around the town and ending the night with some of the fun bars that haven't been closed down. The best bar gives you a free tshirt when you buy either two mixed drinks or a bucket.  Andrew drank the bucket but i was lucky enough to get the shirt since that night's color was hot pink :). The bars were definitely not as crazy as they used to be but still a good time. Our guesthouse was also nice because it had an area in the back with hammocks (Andrew obviously loved) so we could relax on those with some of the other guests at the end of the night.

The next day we took advantage the natural surroundings and went rock climbing for half of the day. The views were spectacular and they had climbs that ranged from easy to difficult. I of course found the easy climbs very challenging but Andrew and the guides pushed me and I completed three. Andrew was an all star completing some of the more challenging routes and he was also excellent atbelaying the  guide who had to lead the ropes.  I find the actual climbing very difficult but the feeling of accomplishment afterwards is a wonderful.

The next day was the Fourth of July so we decided to do the main attraction of Vang Vieng: tubing down the River.  Luckily, our three friends are also American so we had a crew of 6 to show our American pride.  I found cheap "USA" boxer briefs which Andrew pulled off quite nicely. The tubing itself is pretty relaxing but the excitement comes from the three bars that you stop at while tubing down the river.  The first bar you could tell used to be crazy spring break type before the crack down but now it was very empty and unexciting. The second bar was the best one with the most people, a few ping pong tables and good music. We spent an hour or two there and decided to skip the third bar which we heard was a bust.  Overall the day was very fun BUT did not really feel like the 4th of July since we only met one other American the whole day.  The day drinking was the only similarity to the holiday at home.

The following day we went tubing again but this time trough a cave. The caves were more like tunnels with water in it and you needed a headlamp to get through.  Afterwards, Kate, Alex Ryan and myself went to one of the luxury hotels and spent 3 dollars to spend the afternoon at the pool.  The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and we enjoyed a nice sunset. 

We spent the rest of our free time in Vang Vieng taking advantage of the wifi, reading,watching friends and enjoying what was left of the bar scene. 

Four Days Motorbiking the Thakhek Loop

We weren't planning on making this pit stop in Laos but too many people that we had met in Don Det insisted that we do--and I am extremely glad we did.  Thakhek is city in Southern Laos in between Don Det and and the capital, Vientian.  The  main reason tourists stop here is for the starting point of the "Thakek Loop", a three to four day motorbike trip.

We arrived in Thakhek around 8:30pm and decided to stay at a popular travel lodge  for tourists preparing to do  the loop.  We met a few people that night and had heard from some travelers who attempted the loop that morning that the roads were almost too muddy to ride due to the rain.  We therefore decided to do the loop the clockwise rather than the more common clockwise route so that we would ride on he paved roads our first day and hope that the muddy roads would dry up by days 2 and 3.  This turned out to be the correct move because it barley rained during our four day trip.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and congregated with the random group of travelers we met at the lodge.  We were the only two Americans-- there were 3 British guys, 1 British girl, 1 Dutch girl and a Czech guy.  We rented 6 semi-manual bikes from the lodge (I rode on the back on Andrew's bike and the British girl rode on the back of her boy friend's).  Most of them had never ridden a motorbike before but were very quick to learn and we were on the road by about 10am.

The first 3 hours we rode on perfectly paved roads with mediocre scenery.  After a quick stop for lunch and gas we turned off the main highway and the scenery immediately changed to lush green rice fields and magnificent limestone mountains. We spent the next 3-4 hours riding through windy mountain roads and couldn't resist stopping to take pictures of the amazing views. There were very few vehicles on the road and we barely saw any other westerners.  We drove through many villages where there were always villagers with smiles and waves.

Our final road for for day was the road that led to the main attraction: Konglor Cave.  This road was so enjoyable to ride down because the sun was slowly starting to set and we were surrounded by towering mountains and rice farms on all sides.  This one drive in itself made the trip worthwhile.  To make things even better, we found the most charming guesthouse with unbelievable views and amenities.  The 8 of us celebrated a successful first day on the road with some beerlao and delicious food from the guesthouse restaurant.  One of the craziest parts of the guesthouse was that it appeared to be  run by two kids in their teens-- we never saw where their parents were.  Tipping is not custom in Laos but this was the first case that we thought it was deserved and necessary. 

The second day we woke up early to get to Konglor Cave which was a quick ride from our guesthouse. It is the largest cave in Laos measuring up to 80 meters with 7.5 kilometers of river running through it. The size seemed similar to paradise cave in Vietnam but we were able to go completely through it from one side to the other in a small boat.  It was pretty magnificent but probably was not the highlight of our biking Adventure.

After the cave we had stopped at a place for lunch where a group of Vietnamese tourists were having a lunch break.  These tourists seemed to find us more amusing than anything they'd seen in Laos-- they took tons of picture of us and even gave us all of their leftover food!  

After our free lunch we continued on the bike for about 45 minutes searched for cool springs that were labelled on our map. The cool springs were nothing too special but what made this activity worthwhile was the spectacular view of farmland and mountains (sounds repetitive but the views truly just seemed to get better and better).  We then drove for about 2 more hours and spent the night in a somewhat dingy town called Laksao.

The next day we knew was going to be the "difficult" muddy part of the loop and we were prepare to turn around if necessary. Travelers are even known to call this stretch "the road to hell." At this point of the trip two people in our group had already turned around back to Thakhek because of a time constraint. Although the roads had dried up a bit it still was not an easy ride. For about 1 hour we charged through thick muddy roads and I occasionally had to get off the bike and walk while Andrew fanagled the bike through.  

At about 2pm we reached a guesthouse that was highly recommended and decided that since we weren't in a rush and already had a difficult drive we'd just spend he rest of the day and night relaxing there. This guesthouse was probably one of the best I've stayed at so far mainly because the owner was one of the most cheerful guys I've ever met. They had delicious food, the owner gave us a free bottle of whiskey and made a bonfire, and at night local Laos teens came  for drinks and kareoke  (they were extremely amused by Andrew's hair and skin). The icing on the cake was when the owner offered to take us fishing with him and his kids for free the next day.  We of course took up the offer but caught no fish (his 10 year old son caught 5).

After fishing, we had about a 3 hour ride back to the lodge. We made a stop at another cave which had bright colorful lights lighting up the interior.

We drove back to the Thakek lodge with new friends, amazing memories and beautiful pictures. Laos was quickly  becoming a highlight of our trip.