Mind you, it seemed like I was never going to get there. After a sweet and little sad goodbye with my travel buddy of 5 weeks, Cathal, I jumped on a bus all by myself (can you hear Celine Dion singing?!) in Chang Mai early in the morning, in order to cross the boarder in daytime. Generally this is no problem, because the bus journey usually takes around four hours. But it takes a tiny bit longer if you drive around Chang Mai for three hours already, looking for a stupid guy who took the wrong bus. Basically, we arrived around dawn and then had to discuss the overtime fee with the border officials. And there I was with two gay frenchies who seemed to be on their honeymoon (oh la la, mon amour...) looking for some shelter. After a few minutes asking around in random overpriced guesthouses I bumped into Mike, a nice guy from the U.K., in the street and we spontaneously decided to share a room and split the cost. Making spur of the moment decisions is one freedom I adore about traveling!
But Mike and my shared accommodation was only a short lived one, as we were heading opposite directions the next day, but not before exchanging some useful hints and recommendations about where we had been. I always find tips from other travelers much better than a guide book and I never was disappointed by Mike’s advice. Thanks!
Early the next morning, I took a tuk tuk to the bus station to head north to Luangnhamtha. It turned out that in Laos it is always the cheapest to buy your ticket right at the station instead of booking through an agent.
The journey up north I had chosen to make is an unusual one for the average backpacker. People prefer to take a 2-day slow boat trip on the Mekong to Luang Prabang. I can’t blame them as the bus trip wasn’t exactly pleasant (7 hours on 250 km unsealed road, hell it was a bumpy ride!), but our driver was experienced and we managed without any flat tires and arrived in the early evening. On the bus I had met some other backpackers and one of them knew a nice guesthouse to stay. When we arrived there, it turned out that the whole region was without electricity and when the last rays of light vanished behind the mountains we had to go back to basics, like showering or socializing in candle light. I also had a torch for emergencies, so actually quite enjoyed the evening.
The next day I decided to check out Luangnhamtha (which is nothing much has to be said) and the surrounding area by bike. As I used to cycle almost every day in Melbourne I now like to get around on two wheels. So, after a healthy breakfast I got going and first cycled the 15km to Akha village, a famous indigenous hill tribe in the area. Unfortunately my visit was a bit exhausting (not the cycling, I’m fit you know
), but villagers constantly followed me around and tried to sell bracelets or necklaces to me. Eventually I gave in and bought a souvenir of one kid with the result that the other ones were upset I didn’t buy anything of them. It’s tough sometimes.
After this experience I decided to go cross country (what did I rent a mountain bike for?!?) in search of a river and a waterfall. I found the river and crossed it with the bike (Indiana Jones style) and then I lost it. Luckily, not the bike but my orientation. A couple of hours and a few scratches later (sometimes I’m glad my Mum can’t read this…) I managed to bump into a lovely farmer who couldn’t speak any English but realized that I needed some help. He lead me back to the main road through fields and bushes (this time Lara Croft style) and in the end even invited me for ‘refreshments’ on his farm. I have no idea how we managed to communicate but it was really cool and I was very grateful!
At night, back at the hostel I contemplated to go hiking for a day or two in Muong Sing as it is known for its Eco Project (all the money you spend on tours goes to the local people, but given that I had a tight timeframe I decided to move on further east.
Instead of taking a direct more comfortable bus to my next planned destination, Nong Khiaw, I thought it would be much more fun taking a few buses and change a couple of times…ok, I admit planning that morning wasn’t one of my virtues however I ended up having a great journey. When I arrived halfway in Udomxhai (glad I didn’t have to stay there) I missed the first bus, because I thought the lady had pointed to a pick-up with only locals, some pigs and boxes. Hey, basically I thought ‘wow this is cool, I’m the only foreigner and I can ignore that people are staring at me’. It didn’t even cross my mind to get off when the air-conditioned minibus saying Nong Khiaw was leaving right next to. After a brief minute it dawned on me and I returned to the lovely lady at the counter to explain my problem. She just smiled and the next minute I think I’m being robbed when this guy starts taking away my backpack. When he put it on a scooter and waves at me frantically I followed him. It turned out that I got my own shuttle service to catch up with the bus and when we finally reached it (after 20 minutes racing on a scooter with two people and a massive backpack) everybody was cheering when I got on. This is just one example of how lovely Laotians are, compared to the Thais they seem a lot more reserved, but nevertheless they help you whenever they can! I guess there’s a lot people in the Western World can learn from this attitude!
In the late arvo, I arrived in Nong Khiaw and the minute I got off the bus I was struck in awe. Imagine this tiny little village at both sides of a river surrounded by mountains and connected through a bridge. I think I stood on the bridge for at least half an hour just staring and questioning if it was for real. On top of that I found my own little bungalow with a view of the river for 3 Euro. Heaven! But it got even better the next day, when I took a small boat upstream to head to Muong Ngoi. I actually shouldn’t be telling anyone about it to keep it non-touristy and unspoiled, but you’re my friends and I make an exception
.
Basically Muong Ngoi is this even tinier settlement of a few houses by the river and it’s paradise. There’s nothing to do apart from a walk to a cave and some more villages but it allows you to unwind and chill out, reading your book in the hammock. And that’s what I did for a couple of days. Sometimes I went down to the river, following the example of the locals and went swimming or I strolled down the only street checking out the Lao cuisine. Bedtime every night was around 9.30 pm the latest and the first roosters would start around 5 am in the morning. It was brilliant and I could have easily stayed for a few more days.
Though, I wanted to see some more and made my way down to Luang Prabang. Some people don’t think much of it, but I really liked its French colonial buildings, the temples and the night market. Another reason why I stayed there for a day longer than planned was that I had met some really nice people to hang out with. Some of them were Emiliano from Argentina, Mauro from Italy and Einav from Israel who with I went to see the impressive waterfalls close by. With a bit of dodgy hiking involved we even managed to find a beautiful spot to swim completely on our own before climbing up to the top of the falls. Thanks for taking the pictures up there Emiliano! Almost every night we met to have dinner at the delicious 50 cent vegetarian buffet on the street before hitting one of the two bars
for happy hour.
Mauro and I happened to travel into the some direction and we ended up taking the same bus to Vang Vieng. I advise to take travel sickness tablets before you go on this trip as the bus takes the windiest road you can imagine. Additionally, being slightly spaced out allows you to enjoy the views a lot more and they are truly amazing!
Vang Vieng is what they call the Khao San Road (the most popular backpacker district of Bangkok) of Laos and in a way I try to avoid these places, but as it was on the way south I stayed for two days. And I don’t regret it! Mauro and I shared a beautiful bungalow at Riverside bungalows (they even had their logo printed on their linen and towels!) and went tubing on the river. Just picture us and about 250 other backpackers on tubes trying to float down a river that doesn’t flow. Yes, there was a lot of paddling involved but you stopped constantly anyways to either jump of ropes and swings (preferably not hitting someone underneath) drink beer or lao lao (the local spirit which contains 60% alc.) or to eat some happy pizza. And it made you very happy…
A couple of hours later, groggy but still happy we arrived back in town and had the option to watch friends lying down in one of the TV-bars or go for dinner. Speaking of food, you have to try the organic curry on the organic farm just outside town and they are also always looking for willing workers. So, if you have the time to stay and you are looking for something to do, go there.
From Vang Vieng I went south to Vientienne the capital, as my final destination in Laos. I only stayed for one night and a day which I thought was enough, did a bit of half-hearted sightseeing and got on a plane to Vietnam. Guess what is next?
