Laos(t) in Paradise

30^th January – 1^st February (Vientiane)

I know right… that title pun is pretty Laosy. Anyway…on our last morning in Vietnam Helen did some writing and I went shopping, got a haircut and organised lunch.  Almost like being back in Bath…just with a million motorbikes!! The afternoon was spent travelling, so not much to report apart from an encounter with an awful tourist. We arrived in Vientiane at 7 pm and visited the Patuxai Monument, which (loosely) resembled the Arc de Triomphe. It was built in 1962 but was never completed and an official sign outside read ‘from a closer distance it appears even less impressive, like a monster of concrete’. We thought this was a tad harsh and enjoyed our evening stroll.

• 

• 

• 

Our first stop on day one of Vientiane was That Dam. Although visually unimpressive, legend has it that the black stupa was home to a seven headed Naga (a serpent from Buddhist mythology) which protected Vientiane’s inhabitants when the town was invaded by the Siamese in 1827. We then visited the Presidential Palace before stopping at the morning market to buy a local SIM card. The next stop was Xieng Buddha Park which contained sculpted Buddhas, ranging from enormous statues to smaller carvings in a peaceful garden. Although a trek from town (45-60 min by bus) we enjoyed exploring. After lunch, we visited the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) centre, which was founded in 1997. From 1964-1973 the US dropped ~2 million tons of bombs on Laos, the equivalent of a planeload every 8 mins, 24 hours a day for 9 years, making Laos the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita. The COPE centre provides services for people with disabilities (from the war but also non-war accidents). These include prosthetics and psychological and social support, including training them to adapt to life with their injuries. Work also includes land clearance as 10-30 % (~80 million) of the bombs failed to detonate and now explode when farmers hit them, when children discover and play with them or when they are removed for scrap metal (a source of income). Since the war ~70,000 people have been killed or injured by unexploded bombs, of which 40% are children. The museum was OUTSTANDING and contained photographs, example prosthetics, drawings showing the terrors of war (very moving), videos, real life stories and an abundance of information. We then headed to Wat Sok Pa, which hosts mediation sessions on a Saturday. We enjoyed walking in the city as the traffic is less crazy than Vietnam (and less beeping) and the vibe is closer to Thailand. After buying some incredibly expensive smoked cheese (but YAY for cheese) we stumbled across the City Pillar Shrine, before walking alongside the Mekong river, looking out to Thailand (sounds better than it was…). We then stumbled across Laos food festival and got a free cider, before I got to cook for the first time in months!! What a time to be alive…

On our second morning we walked to Phra That Luang, which is an important Buddhist monument as it is believed to contain a breastbone of Buddha and it is also painted gold. In 1566 the stupa was covered in gold leaf but with the looting of the city by the Siamese, it was damaged and abandoned, before being rebuilt in the 1930s by the French. In the afternoon we travelled to the rebranded ‘adventure town’ of Laos, Vang Vieng. The minivan journey was cramped, bumpy (roads in Laos need a bit of work) and hot, but we made it through with some magic from Harry.

• 

• 

• 

2^nd February – 5^th February (Vang Vieng)

Day one in Vang Vieng started with a lovely breakfast of fruit (including delicious mango), eggs and rice before we set out to explore. The town is very dusty compared to Vientiane and a good few degrees hotter. An hour or so later we were at the top of a small mountain and were both sweating pretty hard. That being said the three viewpoints were spectacular and worth the climb (Phupha Daeng viewpoint for anyone who cares). We then set out for the equally hot Namxay viewpoint, which was even better. At the peak there are also motorbikes which made for an interesting photo!! Not bad for a morning’s work… Then, in a stroke of luck we discovered the Sae Lao restaurant, which is affiliated with the EEFA scheme (Equal Education For All). It’s a non-profit organisation dedicated to education (teaching English in four villages to ~500 students) health and sustainable development in Vang Vieng. A wonderful cause that we were able to support by using their restaurant.

We have mixed feelings about doing tours, but after some successes in Vietnam on day two we signed up for an adventure day with TCK amazing tours (not known for their modesty). Our first stop was the Elephant Xayyalam Cave Temple, a cave that has a piece of rock that looked very loosely like an elephant. Luckily things picked up after that and we arrived at Tham Nam cave, where we jumped into inflatable tubes and floated inside the water cave pulling ourselves along with the aid of a rope. The water level was quite low when we visited but it was still a fun 20 mins! After lunch we took on a zip lining course and we sped over the treetops for an exhilarating hour, finishing with a terrifying plummet to the forest floor. Then to the Kayaks! We meandered down the river for an hour (Helen adopting her normal lady of leisure role), even navigating a few small rapids before finishing the day at Blue Lagoon (number 1) for rope swings and jumps. Another day in paradise.

• 

• 

On Vang Vieng day three, Helen took some time out to do writing, so I set out to conquer Pha Ngern viewpoint after another delicious breakfast, this time with scrambled eggs!! The climb was tough in the heat and I hiked through humid forest, scrambling over boulders and tree trunks. The view from the top was pretty awesome and as the highest viewpoint in the valley, I could soak up the scenery (and wring out my T-shirt), without another tourist in sight. I returned to the Sae Lao restaurant for lunch, feasting on tasty stir fry. In Vang Vieng I got the impression that each viewpoint was owned by a separate community (same with the caves) so I decided to visit then all in order to share the love, especially as each point only costs 10,000 KIP (~90 p). This had nothing to do with me being a hiking maniac of course… So with my T-shirt only just beginning to feel dry (yes that’s gross) I ascended the silver cliff viewpoint in the company of a couple from Switzerland. It was also glorious. Starting to think I should have done a PhD titled ‘Views of Vang Vieng’.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Overall, Vang Vieng hasn’t been as ‘party, party’ as we thought it might have been, with the exception of the river kayaking when we saw lots of boozy bars catering for tubing tourists. The town itself was geared more towards adventure days and restaurants and a reasonable number of the tourists were families or older travellers. After three days it’s a big tick for Vang Vieng.

6^th February – 8^th February (Luang Prabang)

On our last morning in Vang Vieng we visited Kaeng Yui Waterfall. As it is the dry season the falls were far from their best, but the walk took us through rural villages and towards the end, a jungle. We then returned to Laboring Vang Vieng restaurant (for the third time) for a well-earned Pad Thai with tofu. Yummy!! Then came another minivan journey, this time to Luang Prabang. The roads were windy, very mountainous and at times extremely foggy but we made it with the aid of magic, this time with Merlin helping Harry. A big bag of banana crisps helped… We arrived in Luang Prabang and briefly explored the extremely colourful and bustling night market before having a dinner of coconut pancakes and sticky rice mixed with coconut. Both gloriously gluten free. Although tempted by Buffet Street (where you pay for a bowl and help yourself to a variety of different dishes) we didn’t want to risk it with gluten (lots of soy sauce). We loved exploring the small town which is a charming mix of Lao and French culture, with the French influence clear in the colonial architecture, the baguettes and croissants and many French restaurants. It was a great start to our time in the town.

Even for South East Asia, there are A LOT of temples in Luang Prabang. On an early morning walk I first passed the ornate Wat May Souvannapoumaram and then the beautiful national museum. After breakfast we again walked through the town without a real aim, stumbling upon more temples as we went. The Mekong river flows alongside the town and also made for pleasant walking, although some sections were quite littered. After lunch we climbed to the top of Mount Phousi, a popular spot for the sunset. We decided to avoid the crowds and ascend during the day, meaning that we could enjoy the panoramic view (and yet another temple) at the top in relative peace. Then in the evening we took part in a cooking course attached to Tamarind Restaurant. We had wanted to do at least one cooking course during our trip and a few blogs had rated this as one of the best across all of South East Asia. It did not disappoint. We cooked a variety of traditional Lao dishes in a scenic jungle location (website: https://www.tamarindlaos.com/cookingschool).

Our master chef Sit first taught us how to make sticky rice. To start with you wash it, massaging it softly and refreshing the water two or three times, before leaving it on a bamboo steamer for 30-40 mins. Next up was a spicy dipping sauce called Jeow, which was made with either eggplant or tomato and onion, garlic and chilli cooked over an open flame. We tasted our Jeow with small sticky rice balls. Even with one chilli we were struggling! Next up? Mok Pa, which is fish steamed in a banana leaf. We first made a paste from lemongrass, spring onion, basil, dill, a pinch of salt and a chilli, all mixed with a pestle and mortar. With Sit prowling and inspecting our attempts it was like potions class at Hogwarts!! We then wrapped our fish in a banana leaf and dropped it onto a steamer. Dish number 3 was stuffed chicken in lemongrass. We ground garlic, spring onions, coriander, kaffir lime leaves and salt before mixing with minced chicken. We then split the stems of some lemongrass, before packing the chicken into the newly made baskets (brushed with egg and fried later). Finally, we made the dessert. An Asian classic… purple sticky rice with coconut milk. We mixed decimated coconut with hot water and squeezed (to make coconut milk), slowly simmered and then added pre-boiled sticky rice. Topped with seeds, fruit and a dash of Tamarind jam. Yummy. We then feasted and it was glorious. We left with a recipe book and full tummies.

• 

• 

This morning we headed out to the Kuang Si waterfalls which are about 30 km from town. With pools to swim in and tiers of cascading falls they strongly reminded us of Erawan waterfalls in Thailand. They were stunning. We hiked up to the top of the falls, marvelling at their beauty. Whilst in the park we also visited the Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre (opened in 2003) which rescues Laos Moon bears from illegal wildlife trade and bear bile farms. There are currently 43 bears at the centre and they are now expanding. It was fantastic to hear about the work they are doing as part of the free the bears charity (which was founded in 1995 by an Australian, Mary Hutton). This afternoon? In all likelihood more temples beckon.

Our time in Laos has flown by and it has been awesome. We think the tourism slogan has it spot on when it states ‘Laos. Simply Beautiful’. Next up? Thailand. ‘Thailand? I thought you’d already been there?’ I understand your confusion as I know you’ve read an excellent Thailand blog post… We simply liked it so much we’re going back.

• 

•