Luang Prabang
Geographically it made sense for Laos to be our next country. It is on the way to Vietnam, and a popular backpacker destination. Before going we heard mixed reviews about Laos, dirty vs. clean, boring vs. fun, friendly people vs. angry people - We couldn't wait to go and figure it out for ourselves.
Getting to Laos is a bit of an adventure. We left Chiang Mai and took a mini van to a small border town called Chiang Khong, 6 hours away. The small mini van was pretty nice and spacious. When we noticed that the van had a video screen and a flash drive reader, Joey took out our flash drive with downloaded movies and asked if we can watch. What a great idea to pass the time! The first hour of the ride was spent trying to figure out how to open the movie file and play the movies. It was a little embarrassing and funny when he opened the picture file which happened to be a baby picture of me. There it was, me and my Safta on the bus's big screen! Finally we were able to play a movie and enjoyed the relaxing drive to Chiang Khong. On the way, the driver made a stop that was not only a rest stop, but a temple, of course. Although it was another temple- this one was actually pretty cool and unique. A famous Thai artist was commissioned to build this temple. He is famous for his graphic details and scary animations.
This temple brought all his talents to life. The temple was solid white- shimmering in the sun with shocking details set all throughout the grounds. We didn't really hang around to explore it that thoroughly, but we got enough pictures to get the idea across. We rang the prayer bell and got out of there as fast as we could- it was one of the scarier places we have ever seen! Back to the bus- and back on our way to Chiang Khong.
Once we got there was when the real chaos began. As the sun was setting we arrived at a small hostel in a very quiet, almost too quiet town. We met other backpackers staying at the hostel who were planning to cross the border with us the next morning. One of the best parts about traveling is not only the things we see, but also the people we meet. We sat around talking to travelers from Argentina, Sweden, Switzerland, England, and even Boston. It is really fun to learn about other traveler's stories- and to share ours with them. Exchanging stories and experiences creates instant bonds.
The next morning we woke up early and headed to the Mekong River and crossed into Laos- this was a short 5 minute boat ride. Our plan was to then take a two-day “slow-boat” to Luang Prabang Laos, with an overnight stop in Pak Beng. That was the route recommended by our guide book- and seems to be the most popular route among travelers, so that was our plan.... until it wasn't. Plans change. Once we got to Laos we were greeted by a tour guide. At this point we were still with our group of new friends from the hostel. So the 13 of us listened to the overly friendly tour guide's speech. He told us not to take the slow boats and tried to scare us by telling us how horribly slow, overcrowded and unsafe they are. He said the overnight stop was a scary town. He offered an alternative 10 hour overnight bus directly to Luang Prabang with no stopovers. Most of the group laughed off the “How can I rip you off” speech … but I actually got scared. Even though everyone was still planning to take the boat, I told Joey that I would like to consider the bus. We looked around and saw that Lucy, Claire and Marcos seemed to be contemplating the same thing. So we said good bye to the rest of the group and the brave 5 of us hoped we made the right choice!
The bus was TERRIBLE! It was super cramped, they played loud local music the entire ride and because of the mountainous terrain, and no lights on the road at all, the driver had to go very slow and tapped his brakes constantly. The 2:00 am bathroom break was the least fun. Although SE Asia is pretty advanced in many ways, their toilets are not. How can they even call it a toilet when it is just a whole in the ground? The most frustrating part is that these “squatters” are mostly brand new porcelain fixtures a few inches off the ground?! Why not just raise it a little and add a seat? I can go on and on about this but I will just stop. So again, the bus was terrible.
The truth is we will never know how it actually compared to the slow boats. Either way we are happy with our decision because we got to Luang Prabang a day earlier- and we made incredible friends- Lucy and Claire. After this bus ride we agreed never to take an overnight bus again!
We arrived in Luang Prabang very early in the morning. The town was quiet and still asleep. We shared a tuk-tuk with a few people from our bus and got dropped off on the main street. We had not booked a hostel in advance since we arrived a day earlier than expected, so we went door to door asking for availability. We split up from everyone and planned to meet Lucy and Claire later on in the day. We kept searching and finally found a nice guesthouse set a little farther away from the main street, but still a quick walk. After the long trip we were exhausted and spent most of the day catching up on sleep. We woke up in the evening and walked back to the main road to meet Lucy and Claire where we had planned- the only problem is that in the evening the town looked completely different! Luang Prabang seemed to have woken up in full force, with a lively night-life. There were people everywhere, and a night market set up all along the main road! We were totally lost and did not recognize anything from the morning! Finally in the midst of scarves and bags we found our friends!
We spent the next few days exploring Luang Prabang. We took a trip to the Pak Ou caves. Although it was not a temple - there were still plenty of Buddhas there! Actually it kind of looked like a Buddha graveyard, a cave where people bring their old Buddha statutes. I have seen many Buddha statues on this trip but never this many all at once. The boat ride to get there was beautiful and peaceful. We also stopped at a whiskey village and learned how they make their local moonshine. One of the wilder things we saw, was the bottles and jars of whiskey with snakes, scorpions and lizards in the bottle – that will make you gag even more than whiskey itself. We got to sample a shot of local booze (not the ones with the “flavor enhancers” in it) – gross!
Luang Prabang is one of those places where time seems to stand still. The city sits on a peninsula (as Joey pointed out happens to be a World Heritage Site) surrounded by the Mekong River on one side and the Nam Khan River on the other. The streets are lined with nice restaurants, bars and art galleries. We just wandered around town spending our days strolling, bike riding and just taking in the beautiful scenery and chill environment. We parked our bikes at the end of the peninsula and went over a homemade bamboo bridge to explore more hidden villages. Over the bridge there was a little shack on a little point over looking the Mekong which was just perfect. Places and moments like this makes us both very thankful for being able to experience the world together.
Going into Laos I did not know what to expect, but Luang Prabang proved to be a diamond in the rough.
