Laos

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Slow boat 

From Thailand you have three options regarding transport. The one would be a extremely boring and long bus ride or a very quick flight or the one I chose, a slow boat. I took a bus to the border of Laos and hoped on a slow boat with a bunch of interesting people, a mix of locals and foreign travellers. It wasn't long before I started socialising with those sitting around me, taking out cards and playing the hours over. It was quite a nice experience and who thought that I would travel a whole 2 weeks with those on the boat.

Rachel, Digory, Adrian and I stopped next to the river and got flooded with hostel owners and had to make a very quick decision about where we will be sleeping the night. Being four together makes decision making quite hard as everybody has their own budget restrictions. But we found a hostel, put our bags down and headed out for dinner. We were so hungry after being on a boat for about 7 hours straight. The evening was pretty young and there was a pub close by called Happy hour bar which got run by the hostel owners. I guess the name of the bar says it all. I realised soon in Asia that most businesses are family businesses. The party was wild and the music loud. And for some reason the owner of the bar thought we were super awesome and gave us a few free Lao whiskey shots. I'm no whiskey drinker but this whiskey was nothing near as good as the whiskey back at home. I had a sort of Sokkie (South African Dance) for the first time in a year and a half.

The next day we prepared better with a lot of snacks and beer and a cool box to keep it cold. There was another 7 hours ahead before arriving in Luang Prabang, the city in the north. Even though 7 hours becomes extremely long after a while having around 80 passengers on board of which half can speak English makes thing a very interesting. From bullshitting each other in cards to ducking and diving away from the rain to enjoying the most beautiful Mekong river there was no dull moment.

Luang Prabang

This place brings back a lot of great memories. We have done so many things together that it is hard to mention them all in order over the 4 days I have spent there. I discovered the beauty of Laos in an extraordinary way. The slow boat already promised a wild variety exquisite sites. We stayed in a hostel right next to the Mekong river, had dinner in the sunset right next to the river and spent our nights on the decks of Utopia. It was Utopia.

The one day we went around the city to the museums, royal palaces, temples and street markets. With it being extremely hot in Laos and humid it was quite a challenge to hike up the little hill to the the Phu Si temple at the top. The buddhist footprint and the laying buddha was very impressive. By the time we got down to the bottom we were so exhausted but there is nothing like a bunch of kid who grabs your hands immediately when they see you with smiles on their faces. They divided us into football teams. Even though I have never really played football I surprised myself a little but damn these kids were good. With so much passion for the game we played with them for more than 30 min before leaving because of thirst. We needed water and food but most of all water. We ended the night with a few rounds of pool at The Reggae bar to determine who is the best at the game. But the nights normally ended in Utopia. Utopia had a volley ball net and after having some fun in the very soggy sand it all got ended with a random stranger kicking the ball over the fencing into oblivion. As deposits were involved we rushed out trespassing on another guys property searching for the ball and ended up in trouble with the manager of the pub. Every night was exciting. And that wasn't even the end of most days. After the pubs closed at 12pm everyone in town jumped on a tuk-tuk and headed over to the bowling alley. The competition was high and the fun even more.  

There were some caves in the area and the 4 of us set off on bikes to go explore the caves. Most of the caves in Asia has a lot of buddhas and a very strong buddhistic meaning which in a sense always make them look the same but yet different. We had to get onto a little long boat to get to the caves on the other side of the mountain. The boat going to the cave was still pretty stable but the boat that took us back was every sketchy. Super unstable and overloaded according to me. I'm still alive so we didn't tip. On our way back Adrian and I had some misfortunes. Firstly our bike almost landed in a ditch on the side of the road after the front wheel slipped into ditched on the road whilst heading up hill. That was pretty scary and I was driving and managed to keep us on top of the bike and not next to it. I was diving the bike with Adrian sitting behind me. All of a sudden something just did not feel right. As karma has it we had a flat tire in the middle of no where on the country side of Laos. With no english speaking people around we had to make a plan. We pushed the bike to a nearby gas station. I took the lead explaining that we need a new tire and I can't push the scooter using my body as a language. It was pretty funny to watch as I explained a flat tire in the best way possible whilst sitting on my knees begging for a lift with a truck I suppose and I also laughed at myself as I felt like I'm playing charades not knowing if they understood. Nobody spoke a word of english.  Eventually we got to organise these guys to take us to a mechanic and got our tire fixed. It took the whole day but it was definitely an experience and a half. We had to pay for the tire ourselves according to the release form we had to sign. After a few failed attempts and Adrian also using his engineering skills to help the mechanic the tire got fixed and we were on our way home. It was a long hot day without swimming. I needed to cool down and swim. 

We rented bikes to head out to the very famous and absolutely gorgeous waterfall of Kuang Si. At the natural park they also created a sanctuary and rescue centre for the black bears of Asia who normally are caught and caged in order to drain them from their gal. It's a sickening occurrence that still happens today.

Free the Bear today.

We spent the day at the waterfalls, jumping off rocks and logs into the milky blue waters, wiping our hair back and forth and face planting in the process to hiking up the mountain and catching a ride on the roof of a mini bus taxi down to the base where the scooters were parked. That wasn't enough for us yet. As we got to the bottom we ran back into the park and went swimming in the bottom pools with a bunch of other people. I just wanted to stay there. It was majestically beautiful and reconnected me to my inner child. The one I lost so many years ago thinking it's cool to be an adult. It's not that cool to be an adult. On our way back from the waterfall we stopped at a restaurant where we paid a decent amount for a full on buffet. It was a barbecue place so i decided to teach Rachel, Digory and Adrian something I learned in Korea regarding food. We had so much food that we literally rolled out of the restaurant. One scary thing though was that none of our lights on our bikes worked and it was pitch black dark and we still had a few miles to go. 

Vang Vieng

Our second stop in Laos was at the very famous party hole called Vang Vieng. I spent 3 days here. This is where the party is at and we all knew it. Everyone knows it. Everyone goes. Everyone gets the t-shirt. It's just how it works. The first day we didn't have to much time left and the weather was unpleasant but we headed out on bikes anyway to go see the famous blue lagoon. We had to stop halfway to hide from the rain. There was a little bamboo lapa on the side of the road. we pulled over until the rain subsided. It was about 7km to the lagoon which doesn't sound to far but when you are rushed for time it is pretty far on bike with no suspension or breaks. The Blue lagoon had a swing, a rope and a tree to jump from and have fun with and we were all in at once. Even though we only had about 4 hours to ride 14km and have a splendid time at the Lagoon I would say it was one of the highlights and should be done. We headed back the evening in the dark and went for dinner in town. Laos food is pretty awesome. Some of the better food I have eaten in Asia was in Laos.

The main activity in Vang Vieng is a lazy river tube ride down a flowing river. We organised tubes and got taken to the river by a little truck. Tubes on the roof and waterproof bags around our waists - we are ready for some fun. Next to the river there is 2 pubs. You swim out of the river and if by chance you miss it or get caught in the steam you might be lucky to get fished by one of the locals throwing ropes with a bottle on the end towing you in. First stop we played beer pong against Americans and won which was a pretty cool thing. Second stop was all about catching a tan and chilling with Koreans. It was so cool meeting these guys as I should admit I do miss Korea. Around 5pm the evening we got back on the tubes and drifted down the river. We lost a few things in the river that day. There is nothing more fun than attacking each other on the tubes try tipping and splashing each other.

You get the t-shirt at a bar called Sakura bar in town. It's the only bar where literally all the foreigners in all the hostels in town end up at. The night begins with free whiskey and ends with a mouth full of stories and a t-shirt. They had a stage to dance on and beer pong tables, a really awesome DJ and 2 bars. We ran into people we last saw on the slow boat, people from Luang Prabang and even people you met in other places in Asia. It's like the hang out place and something not to miss.

With our hired scooters we set off to explore a bunch of caves in the country side the next day and went bamboo bashing. Ok, maybe not quite but there was a few very slippery muddy parts that was a little dodgy. We did a hike up a hill to a fairly large cave and higher up was a lookout point. I had to take a nap at the lookout point. I was exhausted after not sleeping much the previous night and hiking up a mountain where you basically Tarzan swing your way up and down due to the slippery slope of a trail.  There was a light breeze and a lot of gorgeous butterflies flying around. It was the perfect spot to just chill a little. Adrian and I took the bikes even further to another cave and met a old Laos man who was in change of the caves. He had such a beautiful soul and took us through the caves with a lot of passion. He emphasised how many people came to visit the caves before and broke the stalagmites and stalactites. These structures takes million of years to form and connect. There were numerous magnificent pillars which formed during the ages. It was stupendous.

We had to leave for our next city and i had a little of a South African experience when it comes to bus drivers and capitalising on the amount of passengers they transport. One of the drivers wanted Adrian and I to sit on each others laps for a full 5 hour mini bus ride because they had a problem with not having enough space. I immediately refused as I paid for a seat and besides for that it is a safety risk not only for me but everyone else in the bus. Eventually they gave up on us and tried to persuade two other guys who also refused and turned back towards us. It was one big fight before they just gave up. But this whole thing made our bus late and just showed how they try take chances and advantage of the language barrier. It was a struggle but fun bus ride eventually nonetheless.

Vientiane 

I didn't spend to much time in Vientaine. There isn't to much to do and the things I initially wanted to do didn't appeal anymore. I guess i burned myself out a little with everything else I did that it wasn't important to me anymore. I did however spend some time in a pool swimming and walking the streets. I also went to a really nice coffee shop and had a delicious cake with 1 candle on it. It was a dear angels birthday back at home and I had to celebrate. Adrian and I took some time for ourselves as I was about to head over to the islands and he continued on his journey through Asia. Laos was absolutely beautiful. During the last bus ride I looked back whilst crossing friendship bridge at exquisite sunset. It was the best way to finish a chapter in the form of a picture.