Posted by Anita
Tue, 31 Jul 2007 10:09:00 GMT
Location: Vientiane, Laos
When we left Vang Vieng for the 3 hour trip to Vientiane we had intended to take the local bus or failing that a VIP bus. However, when we arrived at the bus station an hour before the bus was due to depart we were informed that the bus was full and the next one wasn’t for some time. As we looked about despondently considering taking the more expensive minivans, the man selling tickets said we could take the pickup (tuk-tuk) that was behind us for half the price of a regular bus ticket but we would have to leave right away. Perfect!!
At first glance we thought, well we could but it’s full, but they managed to pack us in and strap the bags to the roof. 10 minutes into the journey we stopped to let more people on. Jack had to give up his seat and hang off the back - a much more comfortable position than the half seats they provide inside. As soon as I got the opportunity I joined him.
Vientiane (when we got there in one piece) was quite neat. On the tuk-tuk ride from the bus station into town we saw the Baha’i centre but didn’t get an opportunity to go out and see if we could meet someone.
For a capital city it’s pretty laid back. There were no traffic jams despite the entire length of one of the main streets being closed off.
We spent the afternoon having a bit of a look around at a few things. We went to a really neat Wat (temple) beside the old palace called Wat Si Saket. It was probably one of the nicest we’ve seen so far. It also had a library attached (It didn’t actually have any books but it was a big cabinet type thing where they used to be kept).
Another thing that was neat to see was the Patuxay, or victory gate of Vientiane. Its modeled on the Arc de Triumph but I think it was supposed to be painted or something, in any case it was never finished but they allow you to go up one of the two working staircases to see the view from the top. The view is quite spectacular as there are very few (if any) buildings taller than the Patuxay so you can see all around.
That evening we had some drinks down by the Meekong at sunset. There is this awesome setup where all these resteraunts have mats and cushions or tables and chairs and you can sit and sip fruit shakes (or Beerlao for Jack and the others) and watch the sun going down and the lights coming on in Thailand across the river. Very relaxing.
After a late start the next day we Organised a tour to the Kong Lo cave the next day and went to the morning markets which are HUGE. Unfortunately though it was mostly clothes and jewelery and as the clothes came in Lao size (similar to Pumpkin Patch sizes back home) and I wouldn’t know if I was getting ripped off or not when it came to jewelry I didn’t actually buy anything.
In the evening most of us (Sylvia, Azhara, Jack and I) went to get a Lao massage which was a bit of a treat. Although, at $4 for an hour I don’t know why we dont do it every day.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos, Vientiane | no comments
Posted by Anita
Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:35:00 GMT
Location: Vang Vieng, Laos
Our bus trip to Vang Vieng was reasonably short, and we were able to find a reasonably good, cheap guesthouse for all 6 of us that came across from Phonsavanh.
That evening we all went out for dinner and had a bit of a night out. Reto managed to meet a very nice lady-boy called Jackie, much to everyones amusement. Later on we went down town for some entertainment.
Vang vieng is quite unlike any other place we’ve been to in Laos, the main strip is just bar after bar, almost all of them have big televisions and couches where you can watch movies, episodes of friends and The Simpsons, or just playing really loud music. Its the Vang Vegus of Laos.
We found a bar that was playing music but not any video to settle down and spend the evening talking and Sylvia and Azara gave a demonstration of some spanish dancing which attracted a whole lot of Thai people who were in Laos on holiday. They were very nice and friendly and we chatted with them until the bar closed.
The next day we hire a motorbike from the cheapest place in town and Sylvia and Reto rented one from the next cheapest place and we went in serch of caves and swimming holes. About 10minutes into our trip the chain on the bike we were riding just disintegrated. It broke in one place and when Jack picked it up it broke in a couple of other places. Luckily Sylvia and Reto had been keeping an eye out for us and they soon came back to find out what had happened to us.
Reto and Jack took the other bike back into town to find the owner and arrange for another bike. After some negotiation they managed to get the owner out to the broken bike with a mechanic and a new bike so we could continue our journey.
After some searching and dodging of snakes and cows on the main road we eventually found the road to the caves. Getting to the caves involved crossing a river for which there was a fee of 10,000 kip (US$1) which we managed to halve we also had to pay a fee to park the bikes to ensure they were not damaged or stolen whilst we were away. Once we crossed the river we found that we also had to pay for a ticket into the caves and then for a guide on top of that which was contrary to what we had read in our guide books. So we declined to have/pay for a guide at all only to have the guide follow us into the cave demanding that we pay for his services. Finally, once we were a little way into the caves he said “OK, guide free” and then proceeded to guide us into the caves.
The caves were not particularly impressive and once we got a certain way it became apparent we would basically have to swim the remaining distance so we turned back and headed off to the other caves. The one that most interested us we found we had to pay auite a lot for aswell and even to swim in the river we had to pay… So we gave up on the whole idea and headed back to our bikes.
Once we got underway on the main road again we discovered that Reto’s bike had developed a flat tyre. Luckily the village nearby had a workshop that could repair this. Unfortunately the repairment didn’t seem to understand that you could only inflate the tyre to a certain pressure. Three new inner tubes later we were underway again and managed to get back to town without further breakdowns or being rained on.
When returning and parking his bike, Reto mistakenly put the bike in 1st gear rather than nuetral and reved then engine. His bike promptly took off towards the shop, straight at and rack of clothes and a small child. The child was luckily grabbed by it’s mother and Reto gained control of the bicycle without damaging it but sustained a graze to his leg. A dramatic end to an eventful day.
The next day we planned to go tubing. This is a popular activity in Vang Vieng. The tubing itself is not so eventful or dangerous but there are a number of bars situated along the river which have swings and flying foxes set up. This combined with the booze sold at the bars apparently results in quite a few injuries.
Just after lunch we headed off up the river in a tuk-tuk with 11 other people. After being deposited near the river we jumped on the tubes and floated on down. We soon saw the first bars and hopped off to try out a flying fox which ended with you being dumped in the river and floating back to the bar. The next stop was a swing which did much the same but was a bit higher off the river which made it more interesting. We all had several goes at this one. It was difficult to hold on at the bottom of the swing so some of us had more success than others. There was also a platform here about 5 meters above the river that you could jump off. Next stop was at a bar to have some (late) lunch. This was followed by a slow float down the river back to Vang Vieng.
This all consumed a lot of energy so we had a big dinner together that night and prepared for our journey to Vientiane the next day.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos | no comments
Posted by Anita
Fri, 27 Jul 2007 02:36:00 GMT
Location: Phonsavan, Laos
We caught a public bus to Phonsavan and ran into Reto the swiss guy again. The road between Phonsavan and Luang Prabang is really really windy (I think 1/2 the country is steep hills) but in better condition than other roads we’ve seen so far.
After the 8 hour ride we arrived and were greeted by a whole bunch of reps for different guest houses all trying to get us to come with them, something you get a lot in Thailand but not so much in Laos. Reto recognized one of the guest houses as one he had heard good things about so we went with him and a few other people from our bus to see the place.
The owner of the guest house was a really cool guy who knew a lot about local (fairly recent) history including quite a lot of detail about the secret war that went on in Laos during the Vietnam war.
Laos was a neutral country in the Vietnam war and so the Geneva convention made it illegal for the US to have any military presence in Laos at this time - and they were definitely not allowed to attack Laos because of its neutrality. However Laos is currently the most heavily bombed country in Asia. I think the statistics were something like 2 tonnes of ordinance was dropped for every person living in Laos.
The American government initially denied ever having bombed Laos, but later admitted that they had. Their reasoning was; first they bombed and defoliated the Ho Chi Minh trail that the North Vietnamese were using to get into south Vietnam. Secondly, sometimes the planes would get low on fuel and as it was too dangerous to land with the bombs they had to drop them somewhere.
The upshot is now the landscape around the province that Phonsavan is the capital of is littered with huge craters from the bombs, and there is a huge amount of unexploded cluster bombs littering the farmland and all through the jungle. Apparently they are no longer just on the ground as they may have landed on the branches of a small bamboo plant that has grown up and they can still be in the branches.
The bombies (cluster bombs) need to spin a certain number of times to arm and some of them haven’t done that which is why they don’t explode but they are about the size of a tennis ball so you can imagine what happens when children find them and start throwing them around. It really is quite horrific.
Anyway the guest house owner told us all about it and showed us a documentary about the war and the UXO organisation that are helping to clear the unexploded ordinances from local villages and farmland.
The next day Jack Reto and I and a bunch of other people met at the guest house went on one of the tours that the guest house organises.
The first stop was the local markets to buy some food for lunch.
The next stop was at a farm not far out of town where there are huge craters and they had left some of the UXO for tourists to see. It was a bit freaky because they were just lying on the ground with no markings or safety barriers or anything. However the guide had told us that the area hadn’t been properly cleared so we were all being extremely vigilant and watching our feet all the time (luckily there was no 30 year old bamboo around or we would have been totally paranoid).
Then we went to a neat little waterfall for lunch and swimming. It was about a 20 minute walk into the bush and we came out a slightly different way that had us crossing the river and back again several times, so it took a little longer, but was much more scenic.
The next stop was a village where the people had been collecting metal from all the bombs that were no longer live and used them in the construction of their grain storage huts and as planters for their little herb gardens that they have to keep off the ground so the chickens and pigs don’t get into them. Apparently quite a lot of the metal gets used for making knives and farm equipment as well. One place had 20 odd 2 meter long shell casings lined up, being kept for the next use.
The last stop was the Pain of Jars, which was something I particularly wanted to see. There are several sites around Phonsavan that have these huge stone jars that quite enigmatic. Like the stone henge they don’t know who built them or why, although they have some theories. At the site that we went to there is a big man-made cave with chimneys that archaeologists have found ashes and human remains in so there is a theory that they were used as burial jars after cremation. Our guide told us that there was a local legend about a huge warrior who killed an evil king and the stone jars were made to hold the local whiskey at a celebration.
Even in this incredibly important historical site there were huge craters in the ground and there were markings on the paths and around the perimeter of the jars warning that the area outside the markings hadn’t been properly cleared of UXO.
That night the owner put on a big barbecue for everyone who went on the tour which was really cool and we all sat around talking until quite late. Some of us were coming to Vang Vieng the next day (Reto, Sylvia and Azhara - 2 spanish girls and Azhara’s Irish boyfriend) So we all decided to catch the bus together the next day.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos, phonsavan, travel | no comments
Posted by Anita
Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:32:00 GMT
Location: Luang Prabang, Laos
The first thing we did in Luang Prabang was change to a cheaper guest house. We were going to try to go to back to the one that was mentioned in the lonely planet but when we had our bags with us and stopped at the cafe across the road from where we were staying the lady who runs the place told us she had a room for $6 a night right next door to the more expensive place. The room was upstairs right next to a balcony that overlooks the Mekong. Perfect!
We then hired some bikes and tried to do the walking tour described in the Lonely Planet but found it difficult to follow the roads and many of the Wats (temples) that were on it charged a fee to walk around them. The ones that we did get to look around were very cool especially the one on the top of the hill in the middle of town that was kind of built around all these cool natural rock formations.
So we went on a mission to find an adapter for the camera charger. We found one in the china markets where it appeared you could get just about anything that is made in China.
The rest of the evening was spent in quite a relaxing manner, we booked tickets to go to the Pak Ou caves and a waterfall the following day and had a reasonably early night.
The morning of the next day I wasn’t feeling too great. I must have eaten something dodgy the day before (possibly the fried dried beef). But we went anyway. Apart from the crippling stomach pain it was a good trip.
The caves were pretty amazing, especially the top cave that has these huge carved wooden doors out front and thousands of little buddah images inside on raised platforms. The cave went into the hill quite a ways too and we had to hire a torch to see things. Even then it wasn’t until I looked at the pictures we to that I realized that the Stupa was red.
Coming home was a bit of a drag because of my tummy ache and the fact that we had to stop at a village that makes the local rice wine and distills whiskey - the smell of which made me feel worse.
We had an hour and a half between that tour and the one we had booked for the waterfall and I came very close to just postponing it but I used some of the drugs in our mini pharmacy and started to feel better.
I’m glad we did end up going because it was a thoroughly fun thing to do. at the same site as the waterfall there is a bear sanctuary and a tiger that was rescued from poachers when it was a cub. Both enclosures were quite interesting, more so when we were on our way back because they were more awake, even the tiger was pacing up and down.
We then walked up to the waterfall which was quite beautiful. The water is this really amazing turquoise colour and there was a decent amount of water coming down quite a big drop.
We climbed to the top of the lowest water fall and Jack noticed that there was a path that went right to the very top which I reluctantly followed him up. It was quite a steep path and our sandles can be quite slippery so I was a bit worried about our decent.
When we got to the very top we looked down and saw people swimming in a pool just below the first drop. the pool they were swimming in was hard at the edge of the next big drop so you could look over the edge and see all the way to the bottom. So we climbed down and jumped in there. I’ve got to admit that sitting close to the edge looking over made me quite dizzy.
Coming down was very easy as it turned out that there was a flight of stairs right to the very top on the other side.
When we got the the bottom there were a whole bunch of pools that were in an area that was marked for swimming that were empty so you could swim in quite private pools that no one could see you in.
The waterfalls were quite fantastic. I’d say apart from the boat trip easily the best thing we’ve done so far. Except I could spend the entire day there and we only had 2 hours.
Today we’ve been taking it pretty easy. Jack’s succumbed to whatever it is that I had yesterday and I’m not quite at 100% yet - although I’m pretty close. We go some bikes again and went to get some bus tickets to Phonsavanh for tomorrow and with Kate’s help our website is back on line (yay!!! thanks Kate) and we’ve spent pretty much the entire afternoon filling it in.
Luang Prabang is really very beautiful. Its about the size of Dargaville and is very tourist orientated but you can still see why it is a world heritage site. Just about everywhere you turn there is another cobbled lane or quaint house. I don’t know anything about the French architecture that it is supposed to resemble so it all looks foreign to me but really beautiful too.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos, travel | 1 comment
Posted by Anita
Sat, 21 Jul 2007 10:01:00 GMT
Location: Luang Prabang, Laos
At about 7:45 we left our guest house and made for the bus station as we had heard that we needed to get tickets for the bus to Luang Prabang at 8:30am but we figured we could have breakfast between then and when the bus actually left.
When we got there though we saw that there were not that many seats left and unless we wanted to be sitting in the aisles we had better grab them. We ended up waiting on the bus till about 9:30 for it to leave. I guess it was on Lao time.
The road was quite good on the whole. Every now and then there was a pothole you could lose a convoy of Big Rigs in and there were patches that showed signs that they had been sealed at some stage but were no longer. On the whole the roads were genuinely quite alright. If of course you take into account that the fastest moving thing on these roads are probably scooters (or a bus on the downhill).
The use of horns is always something I quite enjoy in south east asia. this bus driver was very courteous, warning people in the villages that he was coming and the people around blind corners that he may not be on the correct side of the road. I think that horns should be reserved for just those purposes and never used in impatience.
Somewhere around the middle of our journey the bus had a flat tyre. We didn’t get the impression that this was a particularly rare occurence. So we all stood around and watched the guys change the tyre, a task which they seemed to be pretty good at.
It Started raining quite hard at one point and we were flagged down by a guy who had been trying to bike from Luang Nam Tha to Luang Prabang He’d done pretty well but it is an incredibly windy hilly 12 hour bus journey and would take days to cycle. That and the rain probably dicoraged him from continuing when he saw the warm dry bus.
When we arrived in Luang Prabang at around 6:30 it was raining again. We stopped at a guest house mentioned in the Lonely Planet and it was full. So we walked down the street in the rain until we found another one that looked in our price range and tried there but it was also full. We carried on stopping at each guest house we passed (and there were quite a few) and they all seemed to be full. Eventually we found one that was a little more than we would normally pay but took it because it was dry. I suppose it was only $15 and it did have a TV and airconditioning.
Posted in Travel | Tags laos, Luang, Prabang, travel | 2 comments
When we left Vang Vieng for the 3 hour trip to Vientiane we had intended to take the local bus or failing that a VIP bus. However, when we arrived at the bus station an hour before the bus was due to depart we were informed that the bus was full and the next one wasn’t for some time. As we looked about despondently considering taking the more expensive minivans, the man selling tickets said we could take the pickup (tuk-tuk) that was behind us for half the price of a regular bus ticket but we would have to leave right away. Perfect!!
At first glance we thought, well we could but it’s full, but they managed to pack us in and strap the bags to the roof. 10 minutes into the journey we stopped to let more people on. Jack had to give up his seat and hang off the back - a much more comfortable position than the half seats they provide inside. As soon as I got the opportunity I joined him.
We spent the afternoon having a bit of a look around at a few things. We went to a really neat Wat (temple) beside the old palace called Wat Si Saket. It was probably one of the nicest we’ve seen so far. It also had a library attached (It didn’t actually have any books but it was a big cabinet type thing where they used to be kept).
Another thing that was neat to see was the Patuxay, or victory gate of Vientiane. Its modeled on the Arc de Triumph but I think it was supposed to be painted or something, in any case it was never finished but they allow you to go up one of the two working staircases to see the view from the top. The view is quite spectacular as there are very few (if any) buildings taller than the Patuxay so you can see all around. 
That evening we had some drinks down by the Meekong at sunset. There is this awesome setup where all these resteraunts have mats and cushions or tables and chairs and you can sit and sip fruit shakes (or Beerlao for Jack and the others) and watch the sun going down and the lights coming on in Thailand across the river. Very relaxing. 
