Welcome to Laos

(by Chad Smith)

Here I am on the final journey “home” to Bangkok after a very fun yet challenging LTC (Laos/Thai/Cambodia trip) planning mission.  I’m writing this on my laptop as we careen down this Thai freeway passing every other vehicle that dares to try and go faster than us (…just like how I like to drive!) Now it’s time to to blog and go back over what we’ve accomplished (my partner in this planning mission was veteran group leader, Colin Ward). 

We met after not having seen each other for quite a few months so naturally we got straight to consuming Laos whiskey.  I had heard that another tour company takes their new guides to the middle of some city where they’ll be guiding…then they get them pissed drunk and leave them there with very little money.  I guess it is sort of a test and an initiation and the theory is if you can handle yourself in some strange city with a language barrier after a bottle of whiskey then you’re on your way to being a good guide!  So naturally Colin and I put ourselves to the test.  The night started out slow with us hanging out on the balcony of our guesthouse.  We drank with two Swiss girls who were giving 4 American guys a hard time for well…being American.  I could see how annoying it was to the guys and I was in there defending them…because well the chicks were being prejudice and rude….but as the beers continued on the situation became pretty funny.  “Why doesn’t anyone like us??? What did we do?  I never voted for Bush!”  Colin told them that it was because Americans smelled funny to the rest of the world and we left it at that.  You do have to feel sorry for the liberal, traveler type of Americans who have to constantly encounter unwarranted rudeness.

Anyways, the yanks had to get up early so they could go on some tour the next day but Colin and I weren’t ready.  We had heard that Luang Prabang had a pretty early last call but the bowling alley stayed open really late…..The bowling alley is the ‘after hours’? Alright…. It turned out to be a good time because all the people who don’t want to sleep yet congregate there and well…bowl.  It’s one of those things that would be pretty lame back home but because you’re doing it in the middle of Asia, it takes on a certain surreality.  We decided then and there that the bowling alley needs to be shared with our group experience.

After we had gotten rid of that nagging task we got to work on planning.  Luang Prabang is a UNESCO world heritage site.  Laos used to be a French colony so there are examples of French influenced architecture here.  It’s like being in a fusion town - rural SE Asia meets small European town.  So it was a pleasure to walk up and down its little streets checking out every guesthouse that looked like it fell into the “backpacker” category.  Since there is an airport here LP attracts way more upscale tourists.  So there are more and more renovations happening to the old buildings…which means price hikes which means LP was a little bit expensive…but expensive in Laos terms.  Backpackers can still find rooms for 6$/night.  Funnily, after all that walking, we finally settled on the place where we were staying anyways.  It’s a small, family run guesthouse that is ultra clean and has a nice big balcony for hang outs - absolutely free and easy.
We spent a total of 6 days here.  We could have had our planning done in 2 or 3 but Colin was fed a piece of fermented fish by one of our new local friends.  This resulted in Colin needing to be not far from the toilet for about 24 hours.  Poor guy…the Laos have no idea how weak our wimpy Canadian stomachs can be!

So after wrapping up our LP planning we hopped on the bus for Vang Vieng (VV).  The road between LP and VV winds through the hills for 6 hours.  Up and down and back and forth - it might make you vomit….but if you can keep your stomach down you’ll be treated to some beautiful views and thoroughly fascinating glimpses of tiny roadside villages and a very basic way of living.  I was loving just keeping the window rolled down and looking out the window….but I had to stay alert to avoid the buckets of water children were tossing into the open windows of every vehicle that went past.  You see, it was the beginning of the new years festivities (which in SE Asia means a 3-day waterfight!).  I knew what to expect but some other people in the bus were more than shocked and annoyed when their serene daydreams of Asians in pointy hats were disrupted by the shrill squeal of a gang of 8 year olds splashing you in the face with a bucket of icy water.

Vang Vieng….oh Vang Vieng….this is a backpackers town indeed.  It’s a little bit off the beaten track so you don’t find many expensive hotels here.  It’s mostly budget conscious young people who end up here.  Which as you can well imagine - it’s a party place.  This town is stunningly gorgeous…and has plenty to offer in its back country - steep limestone karst, huge caves, lagoons and rural culture.  But the thing that keeps the tourists coming is the tubing.  Take a slow moving cool river, some tubes, a bunch of people from around the world, some zip lines, huge swings and a waterslide ….then throw an array of bamboo bars to swim up to and that right there is what I call the most fun that can possibly be had.

Colin and I were on a planning mission so we avoided the tubing for this time.  We have been before and know that we don’t really need too much more research on that particular event.  We rented some motorbikes and explored the countryside.  We wanted to find out what there was to do if perhaps anyone on our tours had interests that lay outside of getting hammered in a tube.  We found quite a few caves (including one you can tube through (sorry no booze)).  As well we already knew about some hidden lagoons and rock climbing spots.  For me the greatest pleasure in Laos is just riding around the countryside.  I love the simple rural culture with all the kids running around.  Their villages are tiny and they really don’t have much in the way of material possessions but you’ll see more smiles in a village of 100 people than you will in a day of driving around the million plus population of Calgary….way more.  I’ll avoid making the obvious comment on that fact…but it does make ya think.  And its a nice place to be.

While we did avoid most of the daytime partying it was hard to avoid the nighttime.  After diligently working away all day on your computer, and then at night knowing that there’s a huge party happening a 5 minute walk from your room….a guy can feel like he deserves to unwind a little.  So we found ourselves on a couple of occasions meandering down to the island….what is the island?  I guess it is the Laos’ way of getting around the fact that they’re supposed to be strict on late night carousing.  The curfew is 11 pm. So the restaurants in town all close at 11.  But then everyone just walks  down to the river and crosses a little bamboo bridge to an island that is made up of about 8 different outdoor bars.  The music shuts off at midnight….but there’s still a bunch of them that serve until late in a pretty spectacular surrounding.  So Vang Vieng is a place that is supposed to be strict but somehow is allowing people to party their asses off for about 18 hours out of a day.

After completing our time in Vang Vieng we were heading to Vientienne to find out how we were going to get our group across the border and back into Thailand.  Then across Thailand and into Cambodia.  I’ll have to continue more on that later…