Laos
Posted by Kirsty on August 18th 2007
Written on the 2007 London to Sydney expedition
Leaving Dali in China saw us winding south on some very tiny and sometimes very muddy roads. The vegetation became more and more lush as we headed south with some stunning bamboo forests (Useless but amazing fact: Giant Bamboo grows about three feet in one day).
Our departure from China took a few days longer than expected as there had been a recent change in regulations and since weekends and bureaucratic paperwork don’t mix we were stuck in the little border town of Meng La – where nothing exceptional happens. But to be honest most people were pleased of this break – burgers were available, cheap Chinese beer available in beer garden and a strange nightclub. It was good to be somewhere and relax (do nothing) without feeling guilty that you weren’t taking in the sights.
Crossing into Laos marked the start of the next leg of our journey – South East Asia. The biggest difference between southern China and northern Laos we noticed was the houses. Chinese houses were quite elaborate with intricately carved wooden windows whereas the Lao homes were quite basic, raised wooden or grass huts with thatched roofs.
The Lao are by far one of the most happy, friendly and smiling people we have encountered on this trip (and we have come across quite a few). It is a pleasure to travel in Laos.
Most of the group swapped the truck for a slow boat on the Mekong River as a means of getting to our first stop in Luang Prabang. This town is World Heritage Listed and has been voted by Wanderlust readers as the city they would most like to visit. It is a quaint town with nightly markets and ‘Vats’ (temples) to boot.
We then stopped off at the intriguing Plain of Jars. As the name suggests, it is a few fields (not ‘plains’ by any stretch of the imagination) of massive stone jars thought to be 1500 - 2000 years old – no one knows for sure who put them there, why they are there or indeed what they were used for. But the most common theories centre around the Mon-Khmer race (about whom nothing is known) who apparently used them as funeral urns or perhaps food storage. To top off the day we found a sublime bushcamp only to be moved on by the police. They ‘kindly’ let us camp at a disused military base - but it was undercover so at least our tents stayed dry during the nightly monsoonal rain.
Vang Vieng was our next port of call as we continued heading south. This town is on the banks of the Nan Song River at the foot of impressive limestone karst mountains. Very picturesque. Kayaking and tubing down the river is the main attraction here along with sitting in the many bar/restaurants watching dvd’s with hilarious subtitles.
A short stop in the capital city, Vientiane was a definite must (if only to pick up Vietnam visas). A very chilled out city, it is situated on the banks of the Mekong River (which forms the border with Thailand) and has a plethora of ‘Vats’ to visit by bicycle and many open air restaurants along the river serving fresh barbequed seafood, fruit shakes and of course, Beer Lao.
One of the most striking things of Laos is the women (whether it be working in fields, villages or riding motorbikes in cities) wear their traditional wrap around style silk skirts with beautifully woven designs. They look so elegant.
Due to bureacratic requirements of the Vietmanese government, we decided not to take the truck into Vietnam and instead give everyone the choice of travelling through the country on public transport either independently or with Kirsty organising all transport and accommodation. Roughly half the group deciced to take the plunge and travel independently - to whom we said goodbye to from Vientiane as they either caught buses or planes to Hanoi (Vietnam’s capital). The other half and myself are now in Hue in central Vietnam where there are at least two scooters for every person (sounds impossible but sure seems like it).
We are heading south along the coast and are looking forward to putting our toes in the ocean (we haven’t seen the ocean since the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey)…
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