Day 53 - Biking Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is one of those bike-able cities that I love to explore. It's small, but many of the major landmarks are all right there for you to explore. Traveling for a long period of time, sometimes it's better not to be overwhelmed by a huge city, trying to understand it all...

Agoes and I rented bicycles and used our Lonely Planets to guide us through the city. We headed to the top of the mountain at the center of the city to check out That Chomsi, which is a famous temple at the top, providing great views of the entire city. Descending the mountain, there was also a spot that was supposedly Buddha's footprint in stone. 

Afterwards, we cycled the city along the edge of the Mekong River, checking out what the city had to offer. Tuk-Tuk drivers tried to bargain with us to take us to one of the popular waterfalls just outside the city, and boat drivers tried to get us to take a ride across the river to one of the caves. We instead decided to book a tour to the waterfall for tomorrow and opt out of cave, since we'd seen some in Vang Vieng a couple days before...

Pun Mieng

Jaew Bong - Sweet Laotian Chili Paste

Day 52 - Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang

Transportation day heading north on our travels in Lao from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. We booked a "VIP" bus that would take 6 hours..but everything's relative... The bus was horrible, smelly, old, and lacked sufficient air conditioning. I doubt the head of state of the country would be caught in such a "VIP" bus, but these buses are probably a step up compared to local buses. We booked our tickets through a travel agency, and they drove us to the main highway, before stopping a random bus headed north, probably originating from Vientiene. I guess that's how they do it here. They just find any extra space in any bus, and pay the bus driver a cut of what they made off of us.

We arrived in Luang Prabang around 5pm and found a guesthouse with a balcony overlooking the river. Once settled in, we did what I usually do the first night in any city - check out the night markets! It was about a 5 minute walk from our guesthouse, around a mountain with one of the city's famous temples perched on top. We found the food area and bought ourselves a 10,000 Kip buffet dinner ($1.25 USD). The fish was exceptional as well, a whole fish for only $2.50. Fruit shakes were $0.60... Cheap food everywhere!

We ended the night strolling through the night market checking out the new merchandise being offered. Nothing caught my eye, but it's hard for me to find anything since it better be worth it for me to carry throughout my trip, plus I'm not really a fan of tchotchkes...

Laotian Buffet

Breakfast in Vang Vieng

Traveling through the mountains to get to Luang Prabang

Fruit Shakes for 60 cents

Night Market Merchandise

Day 51 - Caves and Kayaking in Vang Vieng

Woke up early to start the kayaking/cave tubing tour around Vang Vieng. It was nice to have a small tour group again, this time with a Canadian, French, and San Diegan(?) with us. We took a truck to the starting point next to the Nam Song River, where we got some training on how to paddle and what to do if the boat capsized.

There were four kayaks, 3 of which were two-seaters and 1 of which was a one-seater. I ended up taking the one-seater to kayak on my own. We started off kayaking for a short distance before reaching the other side of the river to explore some of the caves and karst formations in the area. I believe the first cave we saw was called Tham Nam, and to access it, we had to use tubes to float in the water to the entrance to the cave. There were ropes tied throughout the cave system for us to pull ourselves through the inside of the cave while we were floating in the water. The inside is completely pitch black, so we all used headlights to navigate our way through. It was incredible, but also claustrophobic and scary. It kind of reminded me of my favorite horror movie, Descent.


We reached a part of the cave with ground space to crawl on and shallow waters to wade through. It was like we were at military bootcamp, the way we had to crawl through the small and sandy spaces. I'd never done something like this before, and it was so much fun! Unfortunately, we weren't able to bring cameras so I have no pictures inside the cave, but one of the tourmates had a waterproof camera, so hopefully I'll be able to get some of the pictures once she returns from her long vacation...

After lunch, we took a short trek to Tham Sang, or "Elephant Cave" which is a small cave with a Buddhist shrine and a rock formation in the shape of an elephant.

We headed down to the Nam Song river shortly after, where we would begin our 14 km journey of endless paddling. The river was flowing rather slowly so it took some effort to really paddle downstream. There were a couple spots where there were some rapids we had to go through. The first couple times were a little scary, but after a while, I got used to it. I didn't realize how long 14km, but I had to paddle the whole time since I was in my own kayak...and I was lagging behind everyone the whole time! By the time we reached the tubing drop-off point where all the bars were, my arms were spent... And in the last area of rapids, I ended up capsizing and holding onto my kayak for dear life, while at the same time trying to keep my paddle from floating away, while trying to keep my sandals from escaping the grasp of my toes. To be honest, I think I was focusing more on saving my sandals than anything else... I got some help from another kayak and got back on...how embarrassing!

We stopped by one of the bars for a couple of hours and laid in hammocks, watching some people float down the river in their tubes. It wasn't crowded at all, and we'd see a couple people float by every 10 minutes or so. There were also mud volleyball and tug-o-war pits for people to play and compete in. I could definitely see how people could accidentally get too drunk at these bars and end up hurting themselves while trying to get back to town by floating down the river.

The tour was well worth the money and I got to see a little bit of everything the city had to offer...plus some upper body work out that I'm sure I've been neglecting through these past two months...

Relaxing after Kayaking for 10km

Working the Rice Fields

Tubes used to go through the Caves

I was pretty sure we'd get electrocuted if we dropped the battery in the water...

Elephant Cave

Our Kayaks

Day 50 - Biking around Vang Vieng, Laos

We decided to rent some bicycles to acclimate ourselves to the city, and rode down the main road for about a couple hours. There were a couple caves that were said to be worth seeing, and we set out looking for them. The Lonely Planet guide says that Vang Vieng is known for more adventurous activities like exploring caves, rock climbing, kayaking (along with tubing drunk down the river).

It was extremely hot today and biking was tough because I was sweating profusely the whole time!

We weren't able to find any caves today, but explored some of the local villages by wandering through some of the minor streets. It's always good to get away from the main tourist draws in the city and just see the villages and the people who live here.

On our way back, we stumbled upon an organic farm that make its own goat cheese and grew its own mulberries. I ordered a mulberry shake and goat cheese with a baguette. Too bad the goat cheese smelled like fertilizer, or I probably would have enjoyed it much more.

Across the river from the organic farm was the starting point for people who wanted to tube down the river. “Tubing” refers to using a lifesaver to float down the river, stopping at various bars along the way to grab drinks, listen to music, dance, play mud volleyball, and party. It's like a non-stop Spring Break vacation for college students every day. There are also slides and ziplines that people can use to lauch themselves into the river. There have been many accidents and deaths from dumb people who drank too much, but people also injure themselves floating down the river because it can be shallow and rocky at the bottom.

Agus and I decided that we probably wouldn't partake in the “tubing” since we both didn't know how to swim very well. We decided instead to book a tour tomorrow that included exploring the caves and kayaking down the river, joining the barhopping with our kayaks instead.

Local Kids Playing in the River

My mode of transportation for the day

Local Village Kids

Gravemarkers

Local Kids at a Youth Center

Tubing Drop-Off Point

Day 49 - Bus Ride to Vang Vieng, Laos

Agus and I decided that we had seen all that we wanted to see in Vientiene and booked a bus ride to the next stop, Vang Vieng. The bus ride was a decent 4 hours in an airconditioned bus, which I can't complain about given some of the other transportation horror stories.

We arrived in the evening and walked around the city looking for dinner. The city itself is very small, and full of backpackers. I think this could be considered the backpacker Mecca of Laos, as it is sometimes seen as a backpacker “rite of passage” to go tubing (drunk) down the Nam Song river in this city.

The entire city catered to foreigners in the food it offered and the selection of entertainment at restaurants. There were numerous restaurants that had comfortable bed-like seating arrangements in front of two flat screen TVs either showing episodes of “Friends” or “Family Guy.” We didn't get to explore much since it was already late at night and would save it for tomorrow.

Chicken Pad Thai

Starchy Coconut Dessert

Watching Episodes of Friends at a Restaurant

Day 48 - Cycling Tour Around Vientiene

We would tour the capital city of Laos on our own time by renting bikes and following our Lonely Planet guides. The guide offered a 7km bicycle tour around the city's landmarks and we would get a chance to share the roads with the Laotians.

The traffic in the capital was not bad at all. Not at anytime in the day was there any serious traffic and it was relatively easy to make our way through the streets without feeling in danger. We searched the streets for some authentic Laotian food and found a small food stall that offered sticky rice and a melon dish to accompany the rice. I think it was authentic...

After brunch, we headed to the Presidential Palace, originally built for the French colonial governor before it was taken over by the Laotians. It was gated, so we went on to the next stop, which was the French Embassy and a Catholic Church...I swear, some of these stops recommended by the guidebook seem like filler recommendations...

The weather was unbearably hot (again in SE Asia), so we took a break and visited the Talat Khua Din - which was an open air market, hoping to cool off in the shade, but it was even hotter walking through the shaded stalls! Heading back out, we set out to see Patuxai, which is a gate/landmark/arc, also known as the Asian "Arc de Triomphe." It is dedicated to those who fought the battle to gain independence from France, and provides great aerial views of the entire city.

Continuing on the tour, we stopped by the U.S. embassy and That Dam, which is a giant stupa in the middle of a turnabout. Since we were already at the U.S. embassy, I decided to get additional visa pages here, hoping that it wouldn't take forever to get processed. Since no one was there, I got it done in 20 minutes! Since I was an American, we were led to an A/C'd room with comfortable seats to get all the processing done. In the room were pictures of Obama, Biden, and Clinton. Outside of the A/C'd room were the lines for foreigners, with fans and benches for them to sit on. We couldn't have provided the same amenities to non-Americans?

Afterwards, we headed to the Lao National Museum to learn a little more about the history of the country, much of which I don't really remember unfortunately...and I couldn't take pictures to remind myself... Before Dinner, we went to one of the temples, Wat In Paeng, which had really intricate and color pictures and doors to the temple.  At the end of the day, we went to a famous Herbal Sauna. It was the hottest sauna I had ever been in, and it was tough just trying to breathe inside, but my skin felt a lot cleaner after I sweated all the toxins and dirt off.

Taking in the nightlife, we met with our new CS friend, who took us to a couple of the popping clubs in Laos. We met some of his French friends who were in Laos for internships and schooling. The Laotians party hard with their BeerLao and Johnny Walker Black Label Whiskey until 4am in the morning...

Patuxai

Brunch - Some sort of Melon dish

Presidential Palace

What Lonely Planet calls the "towering Catholic Church"

City Views on the Top of the Patuxai

That Dam

Wat In Paeng

Inside Wat In Paeng

The Laotian Beer of Choice

Marina Club

After Hours Hotel Club

Day 47 - Arrival in Vientiene, Laos

I got to sleep in a little in Malaysia since my flight wasn't in the early hours of the day like most of my flights. The hotel included a buffet breakfast, so I was able to try a little more Malaysian food before heading to the airport. I had a Big Mac at the airport...My McDonalds cravings start again. Hopefully I don't choose McDonalds over something more authentic when the choice arises...but this time I had to grab something quick before boarding my flight.

I didn't have a strong intention of visiting Laos because I didn't really know much about the country, but decided to visit because I found a travel buddy, Agoes, who was also heading to Laos for about 10 days. I figured it would be easier to explore this new country with someone, and split the costs of the hotels and guesthouses we would stay at. Plus, through conversations with other people travelling, many recommended visiting this country.

When I arrived, we took a taxi to our guesthouse to settle in, before heading out in search of some authentic Laotian food. It was difficult trying to find it in Vientiene (the capital of Laos) because I think a lot of the restaurants catered to tourists. We saw everything from Korean to Japanese to Chinese food. We settled on a noodle shop, but I think it was more Chinese, than Laotian food.

Afterwards, we walked the night market in search of things to see and buy. We stumbled upon a carnival area that had makeshift bumper cars, some bounce houses, pop-the-balloon booths, and a bingo area. It was more for the locals than tourists, and it was fun to see the kids play around.

We met up with a CS local to grab some beers at the end of the night. Since the city is situated near the Mekong River (which I also visited in Vietnam), many bars and shops and hotels were built along the river. We met with him and his other friends at a bar that catered to locals as well as expats, and drank about 7 Liters of the local beer, Beerlao, which is super cheap here. You can get a 640ml bottle easily for about $1.25 USD. Probably the cheapest manufactured beer so far on my travels! So far so good in Laos...

Malaysian Breakfast - Wrapped in Banana Leaves and filled with Rice, Eggs, Sardines, and some type of spicy sauce.

Red Pork Noodle Soup in Laos

Night Market Food

Carnival

Various Dried Meats at the Night Market