Along a bike ride, I think he wants some Money and Yes that’s a 6 year old carrying a baby

Imagine that you and I meet for lunch on a random Thursday and while eating we decide to head to the airport and hop a flight to…hmmm some cool southern city like Baton Rogue or how about Austin, Texas.  Yeah we will go see Jacob Karlin for the weekend. While at the airport we book a hotel and buy a guide book.  Why not?  Being spontaneous is fun in itself, and what’s the worst that can happen? I don’t think it is possible to not enjoy yourself in a new city you have never visited.  Try it, shall I dare say it is liberating.  This is how we ended up in Laos.  After hearing from a few fellow travelers how chilled out the country is we decided to see for ourselves.

Laos is considered the forgotten country, but its growing population of 7M has a great vibe.  Laos took the brunt of the US bombing during the Vietnam war for two reasons; the US would not send ground troops into Laos but the Viet Cong would retreat to Laos so we bombed, secondly the Ho Chi Min trail that was the main supply route for the VC went through Laos.  Today approximately one person and three cows are killed each day from unexploded landmines, a sad reminder of a war over 35 years ago where Laos claimed neutrality. So “stay on worn roads and paths” is the only safety warning today.

Pondering and chlling

The entire country is sooo chill so don’t even think about rushing around because the locals will actually laugh if you try to rush them.   We walked the capital of Vientiane and everyone was out and about moving at a snail’s pace…cars are driving slowly and even the scooters don’t race around.  The south end of the city flows into the Mekong River with a sunset over the river that makes the trip worthwhile.  A few Wats and the equivalent of the Arc de Triomphe from Paris and the city sites are complete since you are here for people and culture not “must see” tourist spots.

Yummy Street food, chocolate and banana crepes and a beer for lunch

Four hours by car and we make it to the hillside town of Vang Vieng, lost in the 70’s, and that’s the way the backpackers that huddle here like it.  It is as hippie and chill as a town can be.  About 90 percent of the people here are young backpackers, and until a few years ago this is where travelers would come to smoke opium.  Too many people died by jumping off rock cliffs or falling off rope swings so the government cracked down on restaurants selling what was called “happy” meals, yep just like McDonalds.   This little town is now a haven for tubing, trekking, kayaking, cycling and any other outdoor activity…not for having “happy” meals.  Since it’s high in the mountains the peaks bring cool sunny days and chilly breezy nights.  The town is about 4 blocks long with no real buildings; all the stores and restaurants are basically huts.  You know they are closed when a long piece of burlap is hanging and covering the open walkways to each establishment.  Most restaurants don’t have normal tables and chairs; they have low coffee table style tables and raised benches covered with pillows that you lay on.  Getting service is an accomplishment in itself, one of the disadvantages of being in a hippie town.  Well, now that I think of it, we were never in a rush so I guess it really didn’t matter that I would take a nap and wake up when being asked for my order.  A day of mountain biking, stopping by a blue lagoon and going caving gave us an appreciation for the raw beauty of Laos. The biking did leave us with sore rear ends.  The terrain wasn’t really biking material seeing that it was all rocks.  So much so that our poor bodies had to act like a shock absorbers.  I even stood half of the time, and Greg would see me and say, “get after it baby!” as if I was standing up on the bike in order to get leverage to tear up the road.  In reality I was standing just to give my poor bum a rest.

Buddhas are everywhere, even in caves

A morning breakfast that led to two hours of conversation with a couple from Philadelphia, so we set a double date for later that night.  Sal and Frederica are traveling for 12 months and are probably the closest in kind to us that we have met on this trip.  Whopper Burger got great reviews on TripAdvisor and Sal & Frederica already tested it out and gave it the thumbs up, so we went all in on the western theme for the night.  Next up an Irish pub with real Irish people and an acoustic singer was bringing down the house down.  Lots of good conversation and story telling about life on the road led to a last stop at Viva, the late night spot in town.  We and the thirty other backpackers leave the pub and walk down the street together, I got the sense it wasn’t these kids first rodeos at this point.  After hanging out with Jack, Daniels that is, Sal and I had enough and we ended up going home with a few less items than we started with.   I lost my scarf and favorite hat and Linda lost her wallet…but not her purse?? Go figure. Only one credit card and a little cash were up in smoke. Canceling a credit card is not the problem, getting a new one sent to Laos is a big problem, oh well one CC down and two to go.  We are going to try and cross paths with our new Philly friends soon, On the road maybe or back in the US of A.

Sunset over the mekong

A six-hour car ride deeper into the jungle and mountains takes us to Luang Prabang.  A road has been cut through the dense jungles and winds up/down and around mountain ranges with S turns every few hundred feet.  Small village huts line the streets where kids are running around, old ladies are weaving tall grasses into baskets while men chop wood and make repairs to the huts, one after another for the entire ride.   It’s the dry season so lots of work needs to be complete before the monsoons come again.

Monestary

One of the bigger pleasant surprises of our travels, the town of Luang Prabang makes it worth going to Laos.  I never would have imagined a quaint, clean, charming French colonial style town in the middle of the hills of Laos.  Unique boutique clothing stores, antiques, cooking schools, restaurants and coffee shops line the streets overlooking the Mekong River.   Monks roam the streets from sunrise to sunset, lots of monasteries here since it’s so beautiful and tranquil. This brings a more calming feeling to the streets than already exists.  It reminds me of Bethesda, I’m serious, and I still can’t believe it.  Not on the same scale but beggars can’t be choosers.  So we have cancelled our flight to Vietnam and we are going to stay a little longer.   Only problem is we have a 30 day Vietnam visa that started a few days ago so we can’t hang here too long otherwise we won’t have enough time in Vietnam which is supposed to be amazing.

The only downside to Laos was Linda had to brave some food poisoning for a few days.  I guess it goes with the territory since I had it a few weeks ago.  We are both officially over stir-fry anything and noodle soup, on the hunt for some good pizza or burger. The last night we found a great Indian restaurant so this is our new favorite cuisine.

no rain in the forecast, just sunshine

Another toilet situation came up in Laos, some bathrooms in Laos are what a westerner would expect but some are standup which means you just stand and squat down without an actual toilet.  Nothing shocking as we’ve seen these types of toilets along our travels over the years.  But it got me thinking (disclaimer…this is Greg) I have come up with a hybrid method.  Why not stand on the toilet? After all we don’t sit on the seat anyway, instead we take the time and energy to cover it, like some world ending terminal disease will be caught by sitting on a seat.  I find myself taking more time and care lining the seat then I do wipping my butt, ok TMI.

More Photos: LAOS – Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang

In Lao:
Khop chai lai lai = thank you very much (cope chai lie lie)
Sa bai di = hello

Good Night!