I don't know any country that embraces Asian time more than Laos. They were so chill about everything and will offer you beer as you wait. Not much to see but no stress :)
Alright, successful crossing back into Thailand. Now what? The Argentinian and I got to Tak and split up to our desired destinations. I took a bus to Chiang Rai, the closest town to the Golden Triangle, where I would cross over to Laos. You may wonder why I didn't just cross from here when I was in Myanmar. Well, it would have ended up like the time I tried to cross to Myanmar from India. It would have failed. The only way to cross this land border was to fly from Taunggyi to Tachileik. This would have defeated the purpose of trying to cross by land, plus the one way ticket would have cost more than the land travel. I found this out when I was in Myanmar, where the country's policy shot down my travel plans once again.
When I arrived in Chiang Rai, a slight dilemma arose. It was near New Years and all of the hostels and hotels were booked. The only one I found ended up being in the middle of nowhere and far over my budget. So I slept in the bus station, luckily with two other travelers. Sleeping bag unrolled, valuables tucked inside and all of our bags under the bench we were sleeping on or in front of. One of the hostels that was full even let me take a shower. Glorious! Early next morning we each caught our intended bus and off I went again. I explored the Golden Triangle for a few hours, filled myself up with more delicious Thai food, not knowing what to expect from Laos, and crossed over to Laos' special economic zone via a short boat ride along the Mekong. What's this special economic zone? Basically a town full of casinos and no public transport for me. Oops, maybe I should have gone down to the Chiang Khong/Huay Xai border. No time to lament now, so I started hitchhiking there. My first ride was a Chinese man on a motorbike. Yay, I could communicate what I needed to him. Anyway, another motorbike ride, and two truck rides later, I arrived. From Chiang Khong, I caught a night bus to Luang Prabang, while meeting some Koreans to travel with.
Luang Prabang: Tak Bhat city of the world and a great place to spend the New Year. Hello 2014! Now I just need to remember to put 14 on all those forms.
Phonsavan: I went here looking for the Ho Chi Minh Trail and ended up finding jars and the true gem of the town, the UXO Information Center (part of MAG).
Vang Vieng: a town for tourists with lots of water activities
Vientiane: the final stop before heading over to Vietnam.
Alright, successful crossing back into Thailand. Now what? The Argentinian and I got to Tak and split up to our desired destinations. I took a bus to Chiang Rai, the closest town to the Golden Triangle, where I would cross over to Laos. You may wonder why I didn't just cross from here when I was in Myanmar. Well, it would have ended up like the time I tried to cross to Myanmar from India. It would have failed. The only way to cross this land border was to fly from Taunggyi to Tachileik. This would have defeated the purpose of trying to cross by land, plus the one way ticket would have cost more than the land travel. I found this out when I was in Myanmar, where the country's policy shot down my travel plans once again.
When I arrived in Chiang Rai, a slight dilemma arose. It was near New Years and all of the hostels and hotels were booked. The only one I found ended up being in the middle of nowhere and far over my budget. So I slept in the bus station, luckily with two other travelers. Sleeping bag unrolled, valuables tucked inside and all of our bags under the bench we were sleeping on or in front of. One of the hostels that was full even let me take a shower. Glorious! Early next morning we each caught our intended bus and off I went again. I explored the Golden Triangle for a few hours, filled myself up with more delicious Thai food, not knowing what to expect from Laos, and crossed over to Laos' special economic zone via a short boat ride along the Mekong. What's this special economic zone? Basically a town full of casinos and no public transport for me. Oops, maybe I should have gone down to the Chiang Khong/Huay Xai border. No time to lament now, so I started hitchhiking there. My first ride was a Chinese man on a motorbike. Yay, I could communicate what I needed to him. Anyway, another motorbike ride, and two truck rides later, I arrived. From Chiang Khong, I caught a night bus to Luang Prabang, while meeting some Koreans to travel with.
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| Laos! |
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| A beautiful house I saw while waiting for a ride. |
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| Riding on the back of trucks are so liberating! |
Luang Prabang: Tak Bhat city of the world and a great place to spend the New Year. Hello 2014! Now I just need to remember to put 14 on all those forms.
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| Giving alms to the monks. It's common to give sticky rice like so. |
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| The early morning procession through the streets. |
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| Remnant of a banana flower. |
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| Cats being fed meat hidden in sticky rice. |
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| Laos style Buddhist temple. |
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| The monks doing construction. I must say they did a bloody good job. |
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| A typical Laos meal: lots of meat and beer. |
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| Happy 2014 everyone! |
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| On the way to the waterfall, we stopped at a Hmong village. The kids were very cute and shy. |
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| At the Kuang Si Waterfall, literally meaning "deer"and "dig". You can read up on the interesting story of this name when you go visit :). The lower tiered section. |
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| The waterfall. |
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| Did I mention they have a moon bear sanctuary? Here the bears are searching for their food. The staff hides it as a way to mimic foraging. |
Phonsavan: I went here looking for the Ho Chi Minh Trail and ended up finding jars and the true gem of the town, the UXO Information Center (part of MAG).
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| Plain of Jars 1. |
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| A bomb crater. It was like a big war site with these and trenches marked. |
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| My ride. It was a great bike but I didn't quite make it to the others sites in the heat and restricted time frame. |
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| At another information center that showed how people would take the bomb shells and make jewelry out of them. The Bombs2Bracelets is also MAG supported but invented by local artisans. |
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| I motioned for the children to keep smiling and then they copied my motion. Cute! |
Vang Vieng: a town for tourists with lots of water activities
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| A wonderful meal of sea salted and grilled tilapia stuffed with lemongrass with a side of the essential sticky rice. |
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| I found this lady collecting seaweed from the Mekong. The seaweed is a local favorite, especially in Luang Prabang. You can find it flavored with sesame seeds, chili and/or garlic. |
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| This local was weaving a fishing net. It took him six months to get it to that length. Incredible patience! |
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| Someone hot air ballooning but you can also kayak and tube down this river. |
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| At the Blue Lagoon, where you can jump from the top branch, lower branch, or rope swing into the lagoon. The rope I could do all day. The top one made my legs turn to jelly. Be sure to check out the cave when you are there. (Photo courtesy of Ji Won Guk) |
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| Inside the Tham Phu Kham located near the blue lagoon. They have a sign saying that you have to pay for a flashlight, which is not true. It's slightly useful but bring your own or use your phone light. It's not a very deep cave. (Photo courtesy of Ji Won Guk) |
Vientiane: the final stop before heading over to Vietnam.
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| Resourceful way of playing checkers. |
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| Visiting the Pha That Luang with some more Koreans. |
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| The museum to the side of the stupa. |
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| The Korean families on vacation who took me under their wing. |
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| Do you see the French influence? |
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| This oddly reminded me of South Korea where you would find random gym equipment at rest stops on hikes up mountains. |
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| Frangipani, the national flower of Laos. |
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| The beautiful Buddhas at Wat Si Saket. |
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| The Victory Gate, the last monument I visited in Laos. From one gateway to another, goodbye Laos! |
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