Laos
- Angus
- Dec 21, 2017
- 3 min read
Unfortunately for the indigenous people of Laos, the country holds the undesirable record of being the most bombed country on the planet. Between 1964 and 1973, the US dropped a colossal two million tons of ordnance on Laos. That boils down to a planeload of bombs being dropped every 8 minutes for 7 days a week over the course of 9 years (Legaciesofwar.org). Many of these bombs still lie unexploded and cause problems even to this day for local farmers and the more adventurous tourists that wander off the beaten path a bit. Nevertheless, the country is known for its hot climate, gorgeous mountains, beautiful rivers, exquisite food and rich culture. Despite being landlocked, the nation is home to some 4,000 islands along the famous Mekong River. Rich wildlife and great outdoor activities also make this a popular destination for adventure seekers.
Vientiane
Getting to Vientiane from Bangkok was a much simpler feat than our stressful endeavour to Siem Reap (you can read all about that nightmare bus journey here). We payed $28 for our tickets at Bangkok's International Bus terminal and the journey took 10 hours. For the most part this was a comfortable trip with a smooth enough border crossing. Arriving in Vientiane is a stark contrast to arriving/departing Bangkok's cityscape. There is a distinct lack of high rises and a vividly French feel to the small capital city where narrower roads and complicated one-way systems have been constructed to intentionally confuse you (along with the French street names). This was even the first place on our trip where we managed to find some bread that was not as hard as stone! We spent a couple of days cycling around the city soaking in the warm weather, slower pace and tranquillity of a smaller city as well as organising our visas for Vietnam at the embassy. Though the representatives at this establishment managed not only to overcharge us but to also prove completely incompetent as demonstrated by also giving us the wrong ones. We suggest going to any hostel and asking them to get one for you as most places will be able to do it for a third of the price.
Vang Vieng
A short 4 hour bus ride to the north and we arrived at Vang Vieng, a small town once made famous by its riverside bars that would reel you in with an actual fishing line with beer attached as bait. However, after numerous young backpackers of Australian origin managed to prove Darwin's theory of evolution, the local government were pressured into re-branding Vang Vieng as an adventure town. This was an ambitious strategy that clearly had little effect on the hostel we stayed in where we were handed an empty cup at 7pm and told that we could have as much local whiskey as we wanted until 9pm. These were dangerous times. We did get around to doing some cool stuff though. We did a little bit of hungover rock climbing inside a 30m limestone ravine, a zip lining adventure over a river valley and even some tubing down the remnants of the beer river where we managed to find a handful of bars that were not deterred by the government's decree.
All that being said, Vang Vieng still has a long way to go if it wants to secure the attention of the likes of RedBull Sports as an adventure escape though, as most of the activities can best be described as mild. But why have a korma when you can get a vindaloo around the corner, head further up north to Luang Prabang for some gnarlier stuff! We also spent Christmas here and shared a delightful meal and a glass of wine at a French restaurant in town.
Bus to Hanoi
After collecting our passports with the newly stamped incorrect visas for Vietnam we headed to the bus station where the overnight bus we had booked awaited us. This sleeper bus took 26 hours to get to Hanoi, with a long layover at the border the reason for which we could not fathom. We were also severely under dressed (wifebeaters, boardies and flip flops) for this crossing as we went from a sizzling 35 °C in Laos to a shivering 8 °C in Hanoi.
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