Beautiful, Green, Mountainous, Relaxing.
Previously a French colony until 1949, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, a single party communist socialist party, has been in power since 1975 following a long civil war between them and the monarch that was handed power from the French. If you didn’t know it was a communist socialist country before you arrived, once there you will as you see the red flags with a hammer and sickle flying from almost every shop and they are available to buy on every corner. Much of the French Colonial architecture still remains as does there French influence on some of the food, especially the awesome baguettes, and the in people, with many of the older generation still fluent in French. The people are relaxed and happy but many are also very poor. Laos was only a stop on the way to China so I only had 11 days there but managed to spend time on the relaxing island of Don Det, I checked out the eerie Kong Lo Cave, visited the capital Vientiane, went tubing in Vang Vieng, met a novice monk in Luang Prabang and cruised the Mekong River to Pak Beng.
From Ban Lung in Cambodia it took the better part of the day to cross the border into Laos and then continue on to Don Det. Boarding the mini-van at 7.30am we did a lap of the town picking up other foreigners and locals before we were on our way. We frequently stopped on the way to Stung Treng picking up more passengers until there were about 20 of us in a mini-van made for 10. Although the bus was packed the trip wasn’t that bad and we got into Stung Treng at about 10. It was then a 3 hour wait before we were on our way again but this time it was just foreigners and the number of seats in this mini-van matched the number of people. The border crossing was fairly straight forward and the onward trip to Don Det was a breeze. The bus drops you at Ban Nakasang where we boarded a Long tail boat for a short but scenic trip to the island.Don Det is one of the larger islands that make up Si Phan Don (4000 Islands) a group of islands, sandbars and rocky islets at the very southern tip of Laos on the border of Cambodia. This archipelago is set within the mighty Mekong River, the world’s largest freshwater fishery, the river has its beginnings in Tibet and then snakes its way through Laos, often defining the border with Thailand, then continuing on through eastern Cambodia with the delta finally breaking out into the South China Sea in Vietnam.
Once at Don Det, Julian, a young German guy and I searched for somewhere to stay finding a place on the eastern side of the island, almost on the water with private rooms and shared bathrooms for only 20,00 kip ($2.50) per night!
Don Det was a really nice spot and a great change from Cambodia, it was green, mountainous and the Mekong was now a turquoise green rather than the mud brown I had experienced at Kampong Cham. The island is dotted with Guesthouses but it definitely isn’t the party island that the Lonely Planet made it out to be. There were a fair amount of tourists but the atmosphere was quiet and cruisy. Over the next couple of days we explored the waterfalls of Don Khon, the neighbouring island by pushbike and the other surrounding islands by Long tail boat.
Don Khon was much quieter than Don Det, fewer guest houses and fewer tourists. The bridge between the two islands was constructed by the French originally for a railway line that ran from the small wharf on the South of Don Khon through to Don Det.
After crossing the bridge the first stop was a Theravada Buddhist Wat. On the way to the temple both Julian and I got a couple of hitch hikers when a couple of the kids jumped on the back of our bikes so that they didn’t have to walk. The pathway wound through dried rice patties bordered by a village all the way to the Wat. It was a small complex consisting of a Wat, an open-air Wat and the monk’s residence. There were a couple of young monks pottering around and a few of the school children making a ruckus.
Leaving the Wat behind we crossed through the middle of the island, passed some small villages before reaching the pathway to some falls on the Eastern side of the island. These falls were only 1-2m high but stretched for 50-100m. The area was littered with bamboo fishing contraptions; I have no idea if they were still in working order or how they worked. The river was wide, rocky and there was small falls spread sporadically across the horizon. We ventured out and explored for the better part of an hour.
We then headed along the edge of the island, south, through forested areas to the old French port. From the top of the port the view looked as though I was looking across an expansive lake dotted with islands and sandbars not the Mekong River, the view was awesome. Following the pathway of the old railway line we cut back through the island to the Tat Somphamit falls which a huge amount of water pumped through. It weird to think that all the water, all around, is all just the Mekong and not a number of rivers and lake systems which is how it seems.
The following day Julian, a Belgium couple Koen & Ingeborg and a British couple Ben & Sally all actually from border crossing bus ride, and another couple from Europe and I all took a Long tail boat ride through the islands stopping at a beach (sandbar) for a swim and then to another beach for the sunset. The ride through the islands took us past a number of fisherman, some villages and parts of the Cambodian border. It was a stunning sunset over the water with a Long tail boat fisherman in its shadow. From Don Det I travelled with Julian, Koen and Ingeborg to Parkse. Parkse is the base for a popular motorbike loop around the Bolaven Plateau which I considered but didn’t have enough time to do. The others did the trip and I later learned that they really enjoyed it and that it was an amazing circuit. From here I travelled to Tha Khaek were I considered another Motorbike loop up to Kong Lo Cave. Although all the feedback from the other travellers at the guesthouse I was staying at was all positive, time was still going to be an issue and there were no bikes available for the following day so I decide I would just bus it.
I hit the road early on the public bus which took about 2 hrs to get to Vang Kham where I was dropped on the side of the road. From here it was still another 60km west. As I was walking down the road I ran into a Dutch couple with two small girls who were heading the same way so I waited with them. 30 mins later a Jumbo (small open style bus, large Tuk-tuk) rocked up that was heading in our direction. We all piled in with the locals and it was pretty packed, just before we were about to head off another group of foreigners got off a bus who were also looking to head to the cave. We squeezed them in and we were on our way. I ended up spending almost the rest of my time in Laos with the crew who had just gotten off the bus. Jon, Sam, Todd and Matt were Australian, Yann was French and Sandra was Swiss. The boys ended up negotiating a good price for the ride all the way out to the cave and after some lunch we headed down to where the tours ran from. Between us we had two boats of 2 and a boat of 3. We walked down towards the small lake which was dominated by the limestone mountains above. The river flowed from within the mountain and that is where we heading.
We walked in through the side of the cave into a cavern next to where the river flowed. After about 50m we couldn’t see a thing. We bordered the boats and headed off into the dark depths of the cave.
The cave was absolutely massive. The roof of the cave at times reaches 100m from the water, it seems like the mountain must almost be hollow. After about 10 mins we pulled up and from here we went on foot for about 20mins. Through this part of the cave there were plenty of stalactites and stalagmites and other cave formations. They had blue, orange and green lights projecting up onto the walls and features. At one point there were stairs that went down for a few flights and then into the water – This section reminded me of the dwarf mines of Moria from the Lord of the Rings and I was waiting for my Elvish sword to turn blue when the Orks were approaching or to catch a glimpse of Gollum scaling the side of the walls. 
We then boarded the boats again to go deeper into the cave. The cave was rarely less than 10m’s wide and always extremely high. Given it is the dry season at times we ran aground and we would have to get out and push the boat along. After about 20 mins there was some light in the distance, the cave then opened up and we had come through to the other side of the mountain. It was then a 40min boat ride back through the cave.Now we had to get back… After talking to a few people that we could find around the small restaurant and some heavy negotiating by the boys we managed to get a minivan ride back to the main road from where we could then hail a bus on its way to Vientiane. About 15mins after getting to the highway a bus turned the corner, we hailed it, jumped on and we got into Vientiane at about midnight.
This wasn’t necessarily the best thing as all the guesthouses seemed to be full and it wasn’t until about 2.30am that we finally found somewhere and got to bed.
Vientiane, the capital of Lao was a busy town with a few sites but nothing that really encouraged us to stay for more than a day.
The initial place we found to stay in the early hours of the morning was a bit expensive so after breakfast Matt, Jon, Yann, Sandra and I moved to another guesthouse while Sam and Todd decided to head straight for Vang Vieng. We would only stay for the night which in hindsight was the right decision as it to be much nicer in Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.The five of us hired bikes for the afternoon to explore the capital but the bikes weren’t without minor problems. First my pedal fell off before we had even left and then after another 500m Yann’s pedal fell off as well. After swapping bikes we were on our way heading down the main street to huge statue that pointed out over the Mekong and onto Thailand. The statue was of King Anouvong who is remembered for uniting the country in the 1800’s, although at the time we had no idea who it was and why he was pointing out over the Mekong. The river was extremely wide here and although there was a massive sand beach between us and the water in the wet season it would all be under water and it must be a good few hundred meters wide. The river marked the border here and on the other side of the river was Thailand.
From here were decided to head for Pha That Luang although not before I had some further issues with my bike. Between sections of the paved area where we were riding were drains about a 50cm wide by 50cm deep running the length of the pathways, they had small crossings every now and again. At the last minute I realised I was about to go down one, I managed to bunny hop it but the back will hit the edge and popped the tyre – There ended up being 3 punctures! It took about 45mins to fix.
Pha That Luang is a national monument and appears on the national seal. The most recognisable part is a large golden Stupa that begins its history in the 3rd Century BC and supposedly contains a breast bone of Shakymuni Buddha. It then saw further construction in the 1500’s but was destroyed by the Siamese in 1828. It was rebuilt in 1900 by the French and rebuilt again in 1930 as no one liked the first rebuild.
As we rode towards it we could see it in the distance with a waxing moon already risen above the Stupa. When we first arrived we thought it was closed but when we saw some other tourist open the gate and head through so we ran in after them. As it was about to close there were only half a dozen people in there which allowed us to explore without a crowd. There were also a few surrounding Wat’s, one of them quite large and impressive.
From here we had a fun ride back to the river with Matt and Jon racing a local who was on a Motto. We made it back for the sunset which although hazy wasn’t too bad.
That evening we checked out a bit of the nightlife with one of the drink staff being the guy that Matt and Jon had been racing.
Set majestically on the Nam Song River surrounded by breath taking jagged limestone mountains, farming land and virgin forests is Vang Vieng. If you arrived in the early morning you would be forgiven for thinking you were in for a quiet and relaxing stay in what appears to be a tranquil town. Come 10am the backpackers start waking up and after some breakfast it is beer o’clock and then at about lunch time the first jumbo’s start ferrying everyone up river to where the fun, tubing and serious partying begin.
Tubing is what draws the majority of young backpackers to this town but what once may have been a peaceful experience floating down the river in a tractor tube, sipping a few beers, gazing up at the limestone cliffs above is no longer, if you make it past bar 4 you’re doing pretty well.
Tube, no longer required, just your swimmers, your water proof pouch for cash and your drinking boots. The jumbo from town will drop you off near bar 1 where on the way over the bridge you are offered free shots and then decked out in headbands and body paint by the crew from Q-Bar, the place to be after dark. From here the party begins with the beer, buckets and free shots on tap all day long. The bars are set all along the river and it is only a short swim or walk to the next one and they have some huge rope swings, zip lines, jumping platforms and slides attached. The music pumps, everyone is in and out of the water all day and generally everyone has a pretty wicked time to say the least. People do this day in and day for days and literally weeks on end. Those that stay for an extended period of time generally end up working for one of the bars and spend the day doing the same as everyone else but for free, just promoting their respective clubs at the same time. Vang Vieng is a beautiful place but if the tubing doesn’t appeal to you it is also a great place to go trekking, kayaking or to simply relax (just outside of the main tourist area of course). It is also a much cheaper place to do any of the above than Luang Prabang which has a lot of older tourist who are willing to pay a lot more money to see similar countryside.
Sandra, Yann and I also did a Kayak trip in Vang Vieng while the boys hit up their 2nd or 3rd day of tubing. There were only 5 of us in the group, two Israelis named Shani and Kobi joined us for the day, we had a great guide and it was a great day. The first half of the day was spent exploring a river cave by tube, checking out a village and visiting a Buddhist Shrine called Elephant Cave, named after the rock formations.
After lunch it was then a few hours of Kayaking. The view of the mountains above and forest were really nice and we were always passing local fisherman and then further down the river women gathering seaweed and mussels. We started well up from the party action on Nam Song but to paddle back to town we had to go through the tubing precinct. Well before we reached the first bar we could hear the music echoing across the water and then finally we turned a bend and we were there. We stopped for a couple of beers, caught up with the boys and then were on our way. Before we made it back to town though we called in to chat to some local fisherman who proceeded to capsize us, then feed us a rice wine that tasted like methyo and the others also tasted some bbq fish that were about the size of guppies. We rocked back into town before sunset with plenty of time to have some dinner and get organised before the night bus to Luang Prabang. More Photos (some of these are courtesy of Sandra)
Luang Prabang is a beautiful, clean town set on the Mekong and surrounded by mountains. There are plenty of French Colonial style buildings still standing and it has a different feel to other parts of South East Asia. There are a number of monastery’s all around town and it takes a while to get use to all the monks walking the street in their orange robes just going about their business. Many of the monks in town are novices, studying at one of the monk schools. There are also a couple of schools for higher Buddhist studies as well.
Just over the Nam Khan River is a small town that specialises in crafts and textiles. Here Sandra, Yann and I were able to see how they make the paper that is used for the many paintings on sale throughout the town. Made from a bark of a tree that grows just outside of town it is soaked for a number of days until it becomes like a paper mache, it is then spread out through water over a framed piece of mesh and then dried in the sun. Leaves and flowers can even be added to add for a bit of extra style and often price.There are a number of sites to see in and around town, mostly Wats, but there are some good treks, caves, waterfalls and kayaking but they all come at a price which is often much higher than the other parts of the country. Luang Prabang however really is just a great place to chill out and take it easy. On the other side of the river which you can get to by long tail boat after negotiating with the driver to get as close to the local price as possible, there are some great hiking trails that can lead you over the mountain and onto villages that don’t see many tourists.
Seng Phete
Phete became a monk when he finished primary school as it was the only way to guarantee that he would get a high school education. Coming from a small rural village his parents could not afford to send him to school and even now are not in a position to provide any support once he leaves the monastery, not even to provide him with normal clothes that he will require to get a job, study and to simply wear on the street. Once novice monks leave the monastery they receive no further support and are on their own. There are a few opportunities for scholarships from the government but the competition is very tight as Seng Phete’s position is unfortunately not one of a kind. Laos is a very poor country, especially in the rural areas and many of the young boys become monks to guarantee an education and a better life.
I was in a position to help a little and provided some money for Phete and some Lao and bilingual books as gifts for his younger sisters who haven’t been as lucky as him and have not received an education. The books were from a great charity organisation called Big Brother Mouse whose mission is to increase the Lao and English literacy rates in the children. They print and distribute Lao and bilingual books, offer free classes where foreigners and other volunteers read to local children and do much much more. Check out their website here to find out more or how you can support the charity or a book party.
More Photos (some of these are courtesy of Sandra)
One of the things I really wanted to do while in Cambodia and Laos was spend at least a full day on the Mekong River and from Luang Prabang to Pak Beng I was able to do this. I caught the slow boat to Pak Beng which over two days goes all the way to Huay Xai on the Thai border. After leaving the early morning fog behind in Luang Prabang it was a warm and sunny day where we passed a number of villages, a few temples, a couple of worker elephants, fisherman in their long tail boats, fisherman fishing from the rocks with their bamboo rods and more fisherman casting nets from the shore.
Mountains dominated the view covered in lush forest bordering the river which turned out to be much rockier than I expected, it was quite peaceful apart from the occasional speed boat that went past at rocket speeds with all the passengers wearing motorbike helmets. It was a full 9 hr trip but I could have defiantly done 9 hrs more. We rocked into Pak Beng just after sunset which is a mandatory stop for those on the way to Thailand and for me the point where I would make my way to China.The following day the young guy from the guesthouse gave me a lift to the local bus, before we left though I noticed that his younger brother was wearing a Daft Punk cap, awesome!! The bus took me to Oudomxay, a 4 or 5 hr drive from Pak Beng through mountain ranges and then rice patty fields. There were no more buses to the border for the day when we arrived at lunch time so I decided I would try to hitch.
I walked to the edge of town and tried my luck, which didn’t turn out to be very good. No one stopped but after an hour a bus came by on its way to Luang Nam Tha which would be heading pretty close to the border so I jumped on. I jumped off the bus at Na Toei which was only about 20km from the border town of Boten. I managed to get small jumbo from here without any problems with a number of locals.
By the time we rocked into Boten it was after 5 and the border was closed. After passing the initial Lao township we came to an area, still within Lao, that was distinctively different. Multi-storey buildings dominated the skyline, there were neon lights displaying Chinese characters and after exploring the area I discovered that everyone only spoke Chinese and I had to pay in Yuan. It was all a bit strange but I managed to find a cheap basic hostel to stay the night from where I would walk across the border to China the next day, although it kind of seemed like I had already arrived…