While I didn't spend a great deal of time in Laos (only a total of 5 days!) it was definitely worth getting a taste for this beautiful country. Laos has only become a tourist hot-spot in recent years but it was still nowhere near as mobbed with backpackers as it was in Thailand.
Things move much more slowly in Laos. Case in point is the amount of time it takes to get into and out of Laos. Your options from the Northern Thailand side are the 2 day slow boat down the Mekong River (which I was signed up to take and ended up chickening out of at the last minute) or a 12 hour bus journey through the winding mountainous roads of Laos. I opted for the bus just for the fact that I didn't want to spend 2 whole days traveling. It ended up working out for me because I was able to sleep most of the way and arrived in Luang Prabang just in time for the 5:30am Alms' Giving Ceremony in which throngs of monks walk through the town of Luang Prabang collecting their day's worth of food. It was an amazing site to see and what a way to be welcomed into Laos!
Luang Prabang itself is such a quaint and lovely town. French influences are all over the town, from the baguettes and bakeries that line the streets to the signs even written in French! The town sits right along the river and is surrounded by the most gorgeous mountains that make you feel like you're in an entirely different world.
My first day in Laos we headed out to Kuang Si Waterfall. We chartered a tuk tuk to take us 45 minutes outside of town to the famous falls- known for the multi-layered pools and distinctive blue color of the water. Our driver was booking it and we bumped our way along until we finally arrived at the falls. Our tuk tuk driver would wait about 2 or 3 hours while we enjoyed the waterfalls and then would take us back into Luang Prabang.
After paying the entrance fee we made our way to the waterfalls and oh...my...goodness. Words can't even describe how magical this place is. So I'll let the thousands of pictures I took speak for themselves:
Absolutely stunning! We swam in the second layer of pools and jumped off a tree into the cool and refreshing water below. I was kind of dumb in that I forgot how tall I was (happens all the time!) and actually hit my feet on the bottom of the pool- causing a giant bruise on the bottoms of my feet from the rocks. Ouch. But we were treated to a free fish spa as the tiny fish nibbled away at the dead skin on our feet and legs- a service that you pay thousands of Kip for in the local shops!
We spent a fair amount of time at the waterfalls, exploring each of the layers, chatting with other travelers, and taking loads and loads of pictures. I was fortunate enough to meet some great people on the bus over from Thailand that I spent the day with and we had such a lovely time.
Upon returning to Luang Prabang I visited the night market, strolled around the town a little bit, and ended up at a small bookstore called "L'Etranger". The bookstore is owned by a French expat that has lived in Luang Prabang for the past 10 years and also functions as a restaurant. She also screens movies every night at 7:00pm for free! So I made my way upstairs to enjoy "The Thousand Foot Journey" for awhile until I grew so tired I could barely keep my eyes open!
My second day in Luang Prabang was spent wandering my way around town, visiting the countless numbers of temples. I climbed the 300 or so steps of Mount Phousi that offered the most spectacular panoramic views of this gorgeous place:
I walked around, talked with other foreigners, enjoyed some hummus and vegetables at a local cafe, and played cards with some folks at my hostel, biding my time until my 8:00pm overnight sleeper bus to Vientiane.
I was FREAKING OUT about the overnight sleeper bus- some guys in my hostel were oh so kind and decided to freak me out by saying how unsafe the buses were, how I was going to crash, etc. etc. etc. I was so so incredibly anxious the entire day, consideriing taking a flight or anything to spare me this supposedly dodgy journey. But as with everything on this trip so far, it worked out so much better than I could ever imagine.
I met an incredibly lovely Irish girl at the bus station and we knew that we would have to share the sleeper bed with someone and so made an alliance of sorts to share no matter what- no way in Hell was I sharing with some rando. But as luck would have it we were actually ASSIGNED to be together! So it was fate!
The bed was really tiny but actually pretty comfortable, with a pillow and blanket and an area to place our bags. We settled in, ready to go as the bus filled with more and more people. And more. And more. And more. Until there were people sleeping in the aisle right next to us. It was definitely an experience but I conked out and slept the majority of the way. So I wasn't too bothered!
The city of Vientiane was a big shock after coming from the adorable and quaint town of Luang Prabang. It's much dirtier with not a lot to do. But thankfully I met some AMAZING girls at my hostel that I was able to spend a good amount of time with. Without them I would have been bored out of my skull, as I was able to walk around most of the town in half a day, if that.
Vientiane was a great place to relax though for the fact that there wasn't all that much to do. My first day I walked all over the town, and took the public bus out to to Buddha Park. The Park was quite a ways out of town and after all the incredible historical temples and statues I have seen so far in Asia it was a little disappointing. To be honest, I was more enthralled by the monks taking selfies than I was by the trippy statues.
It was a nice thing to do while I waited to check in for my hostel though. I met a nice guy from Mexico on the bus back to Vientiane and we walked around more of the monuments before stopping for lunch at a really awesome cafe chain called Joma. I had been to the Luang Prabang branch and was so so happy to see that they had one in Vientiane! When you've been eating so much Asian food it's really nice to have a fresh salad or Western food once in awhile.
It POURED rain the entire night, essentially shutting down the entire town. So we had a forced quiet night in and I went to bed ridiculously early. I was wiped!
My second day in Vientiane I tried to make my way to the COPE Visitor Center. This non-profit museum promotes awareness about the sheer amount of undetonated bombs and explosives that remain in Laos and how many issues they have caused in terms of death, health problems, loss of limbs. It is the number one recommended attraction in Vientiane on Trip Advisor and I really wanted to make a trip out there.
However, the museum is ridiculously difficult to find. I walked around for close to two hours desperately trying to find the place and no one seemed to know what in the world I was talking about. I eventually found two British people in search of the same Narnia and we finally managed to figure our way there.
The museum is rather small but overwhelmingly powerful. It is very interactive with videos, photos, replications of a Lao house and piles of artificial limbs to demonstrate how they are fabricated. I was pretty naive when it comes to this topic- I knew that the war had left major scars in this area of the world but I had absolutely no idea how bad it really was.
Lao is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita in history. Over 270 million bombs were dropped onto Laos and of those up to 30% failed to detonate. The statistics are startling and heartbreaking and the exhibit itself was really really powerful. The museum is attached to an organization designed to assist those that have been disabled as a result of these undetonated bombs and provides job opportunities such as making t-shirts or ice cream for the cafe in the museum. Overall it was really moving and I'm so glad we found it.
I also stopped by the mini homage to L'Arc de Triomphe that is in the center of the city. Patuxai is nowhere near as spectacular as the French version but it is a nice touch to a city tinged with remnants of France's influences.
The rest of my time in Vientiane was fairly uneventful. I hung out with my new travel buddies, visited the hostel's pool, walked around the town, went out to eat. It was a nice way to unwind after traveling at such a rapid pace for so long.
My next stop is Vietnam and while my time in Laos was super brief I enjoyed getting to see a country that not many people think of or have frequented. The landscapes in Laos are so so beautiful and I hope to someday come back and explore this country some more. For the time I did have though I really enjoyed it and each time I thought something would go wrong or I would get lonely I was blessed with smooth travels and some of the best people I have met so far on my trip.
Stay tuned for my adventures throughout Vietnam- I'm so so excited!
Until next time,
Happy Travels!
Freckles