A few days ago we left Laos. Well, that was interesting.
It was the first time for both of us and we had some great experiences but also some in your face moments.
What happened?
We crossed the border from Thailand far north in Houayxay. The first in your face moment was right at the beginning.
We got visa on arrival which is required to be paid in USD, because in any other currency the costs are higher. Our immigration officer did not accept some of our dollars because they were not “new” enough.
But honestly we believe he just wanted to fuck with us.
It is actually a little thing but we got pretty mad about this guys behaviour. We paid in the local currency. What else were we supposed to do?!
Than it turned awesome again.
Right after the border crossing we took a boat down the Mekong towards Luang Prabang. The boat trip took two days with an overnight stop. The cruise was already quite a highlight. We had bought some beers and met other travellers to chat while slowly passing by green mountains, rainforests and little villages.
It is sometimes unusual to see such basic things as a wild – which means not altered in anyway by humans – river. It really meandered, had some rapids and dangerously sharp rocks pointing out of the water. Think about it, most large rivers are not natural any more in Europe. The experienced 15 year old captain maneuvered the long boat safely to our overnight sleeping destination.
The overnight stop was also special. The place had something sketchy about it. It was a rather small village by the banks of the Mekong where the boats stopped overnight. So there were some guesthouses, few food options and one bar. Before we even checked into the guesthouse, the tout that led us to the accommodation asked if we would like to buy opium or weed. “- a room please“. In the evening everybody met down in the one and only bar, which was actually a pretty good venue. Everyone partied, as our only activity the following day would be sitting on that boat again.
The next day, after a seven-hour boat ride, we reached Luang Prabang. Our impressions of Laos changed again drastically from being a remote/ sketchy party place to this french chic Luang Prabang kind of thing. Luang Prabang was full of french colonial architecture, nice cafes and restaurants and buddhist temples. The prices were here higher than in Thailand. Which was a surprise. This place was really touristy. Still nice to visit for a day. We did not spend longer than that neither and moved on to Vang Vieng where we spent most of our time.
Vang Vieng was again a different story. It was unlike Luang Prabang or the first village we had a stopover at. Vang Vieng was set in between some of the nicest scenery we ever encountered. The town itself is full of activities to do. The tourism infrastructure was set up for Chinese and Korean tourist groups. The backpacker scene was not small but felt smaller in comparison to the tour groups. We stayed four nights in total and did all sorts of activities. Britt fell in love with tubing. You rent a tube, get a tuk-tuk to drop you upstream, where you float down the river. Feel free to bring your beer with you and/ or stop at bars along the shore. It’s up to you. Really nice! If you get the chance to do it, don’t judge before trying 🙂
We did it three times!!!
What else? There were caves to explore, lagoons with turquoise water, bars with hammocks. One could also go on jungle walks or rent 4×4 buggies for some off road adventures. We did not.
It was also in Vang Vieng where we encountered the drug menu. We have heard that it exists but never encountered it before: In some bars you have a food menu, a drinks menu and a drug menu. The last mostly featuring weed, mushrooms and opium. Everything in different variations or dishes/drinks. That was something new. Vang Vieng was the highlight of our little Laos holiday.
The last stop in Laos was the capital, Vientiane. In the centre were some nice restaurants and cafes. We did not take the time to explore this place properly. And then we left…
What is there to be said about Laos?!
We enjoyed our short stay here. If we had taken more time we would have left the backpackers ant path. Also, we decided to skip the south which is supposed to be really nice too. Despite rainy season it was not bad weatherwise and we could enhance our tan even more. Very glad we came here.
Dear Laos, stay as you are, as you were, as we want you to be!
Lessons Learned:
Mosquitos are a pest! Repel!
Often better deals in dollars than in local KIP.
Bring NEW dollars without folds or rips.
Change money back before going to the airport and departing Laos. We were told we could exchange our money after passing immigration and the security check. NOT TRUE. There was just a duty free shop that didn’t function as a proper currency exchange.
I thought tubing is for drunk teenies. This is true. But we both still totally enjoyed it.
