Another Day, Another Stamp

Well, it's back to the road tonight after 10 days in Laos!  Laos, with a french influence, was in some ways quite different to Thailand, but in other ways similar.

Mountains in Vang Vieng

First off, it rains here every day.  And I don't mean rain as in a little shower, but it pours like I've never seen before.  Luckily it usually doesn't last long and is on and off throughout the day, but I was aware that it's monsoon season and it hasn't stopped me from doing anything I wanted!

After my miserable bus trip from Thailand to Laos, in which I didn't sleep, I finally made it to Vientiane, Laos's capital.  For a capital city, it is surprisingly small with very little to do.  The first day, I just rested then went for a walk down by the Mekong River, which separates Laos from Thailand and relaxed by the pool before going to the night market.  In Pai I met an Irish guy, Joel, who told me he was coming to join me in Vientiane, so when he got in the next day, we went to Buddha Park.  It was interesting as it looks really old, but in fact was built only 60 years ago.  Essentially it is just giant stone Buddha statues that each symbolize something different, but there are heaps of them!

Buddha Park, Vientiane

The next day we made the trip to Vang Vieng where we were meeting up with 2 more people from Pai.  Vang Vieng is a very unique place.  It's a bit like Vegas for travelers.  The town itself is only a few blocks and oddly every restaurant had almost identical menus.  Anyway, the main attraction in town is tubing, but there are 5 bars along the river.  Basically it is a pub crawl, but rather than walking you float between bars and there are people with water bottles on ropes who will toss one out and pull you in.  It was great fun to be honest.  Outside of town there are unbelievable mountains, which in some ways were a bit like NZ.  We went the second day to a place called Blue Lagoon, which was less than impressive, but refreshing for a swim.  Next to the lagoon was a cave that was far more interesting!  After 3 nights there, it was on the the last stop in Laos--Luang Prabang.

Part of Kuang Si Falls

Luang Prabang is recognized as a World Heritage town and is quite pretty.  There are two rivers flowing on either side of the town, but are both brown due to rainy season now.  Beyond the rivers are lush jungle and mountains.  The first day we walked around for a bit and just explored the town itself.  At 5:30am we decided to watch the Alm Giving Ceremony, which is a Buddhist ritual where every morning monks walk down the street and collect food that is given to them by Buddhists.  While it wasn't particularly exhilirating, it was a very unique cultural thing to see.  The second day we decided to visit the Kuang Si Falls.  Most people take a tuk-tuk to the falls as it is 33 miles round-trip through the hills.  Joel and I decided to bike, however.  It was hard work and we had quite sore legs, but it was totally worth it!  On bicycle you got to ride slowly through the villages and take in the scenery all around you.  Plus, the falls felt amazing to swim in and were the most stunning waterfalls I'd ever seen!  Yesterday, I got my first Asian massage and it was well needed!

Main falls in Kuang Si!

Laos is definitely a bit slower paced than Thailand, less inhabited, equally (if not more) beautiful and the people were a bit more friendly. In Vientiane, two locals just came up to me and started small talk, which no one in Thailand did.  While passing the little villages on bike people would often say "Sabaidee" or hello and little kids were often waving or giving you a thumbs up as you pedaled by.  As far as things to do, Laos may not have had a ton, but it is unarguably a gorgeous country!

Next up is the country I'm most looking forward to--Vietnam!  However, to get there is the trip I'm least looking forward to--24 hours on a bus...  Luckily, there are 6 of us going together so at least we will be miserable in good company!