Laos and the majestic beauty that lies within

Bus crash, moto bike crash, jumping off a moving tuk-tuk to save a friend, getting jumped by some bartenders, some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, some of the coolest people I've ever met, walking through opium fields and villages that had never seen foreigners, reading books to children who can't understand a word I say, some of the most hospitable locals you'll ever find drinking you and eating you under the table (not really, they just insist you do!).  These are my highlights of my time in Laos, and if you simply want a summary you need read no further!

One month in Laos.  That's what a VOA (visa on arrival) allows, so that's exactly what I did.  I arrived on January 12, healthy and strong, and I left February 10, after several incidents I returned to Thailand, still in one piece.

The scenery was this nice the entire 2 day trip!  And better!

My first week in Laos consisted of a slow, 2 day boat ride across the Mekong towards Luang Prabang.  And let me tell you, I have seen the Mekong, hell I've seen MOST of the Mekong (only slight exaggeration) that lies in Vietnam and Cambodia, having taken several trips up the river in those areas, and Laos, by far, has the most beautiful section of the Mekong that I have yet encountered!  The river seems to be cleaner there (still wouldn't drink from it XD) and the surrounding landscape is awe-inspiring!  If my slow boat hadn't been such a social gathering of backpackers I would have spent most of my 2 days on it just watching the land pass by, and taking pictures.

I was still ( / again) traveling with my buddy Gavin, though his girlfriend Karenth had split ways with us in Chiang Mai, making her way back to Alaska to work in below 0 degree weather (both Celsius and Fahrenheit!) while Gavin and I headed North to a country that we had extremely limited knowledge about, and no real expectations beyond 'tubing in Vang Vieng' which seems to be a SE Asian backpackers rite of passage!

When we arrived to this brand new city that we had never been to, we did what we always do... went walking around Luang Prabang in search of a cheap hotel.  We found one relatively quickly and we also stumbled across one of the best night markets I have encountered in Asia!  If you don't count the fact that you have to slump over like Quasimodo to get through the excessive number of stout tents set up throughout the entire market.  The only things I purchased from the night market were a cloth water bottle holder with a strap (one of the most useful items I have) and a 10,000 Kip (~$1.25) vegetarian buffet on the street, which was delicious and nutritious, or so we thought... We spent a few days checking out the city (you could also call it a town, it's pretty small).  As it was the last stretch of Gavin's adventure in Asia he had a time-line, and we needed to get a move on to Vang Vieng so he could get a few days of tubing in!  Unfortunately, and possibly due to our veggie buffet, Gavin was hit with a heavy bought of stomach flu in the morning, and I (quite abruptly) started feeling ill in the evening, and then no one was happy on either ends, if you catch my drift...  So we extended our stay in Luang Prabang an extra 2 days to let our orifices recover before heading on to SE Asian drunken backpacker central, aka Vang Vieng, Laos.

Giant series of waterfalls on 4000 Islands, Southern Laos

We arrived in Vang Vieng in the wee hours of the morning, after most places had closed, and well before any would open.  Once again we had not planned ahead and failed to book a place to stay before ariving, which usually isn't a problem... but when you arrive at 2 AM, in a town that closes down around mid night (except a handful of bars and sandwich / pancake stalls) it can be.  Luckily two Danish girls were getting off the bus with us, so we (only somewhat) awkwardly followed them to their guest house, where we hoped there might be another available room (or maybe the Danish girls would share a room? =) which it turned out there was.  So Gavin and I shared a large, rather uncomfortable bed on the bottom floor, which OF COURSE had some damn dumb rooster RIGHT outside, who either A. always thought it was dawn, B. liked keeping people awake, or C. was too competetive with the other cocks in the vicinity and always needed to get the last crow.  Either way, it was a PITA (first word is *pain* figure out the rest =) for the remainder of my stay in VV. 

Gavin and I experienced tubing, which coincidentally the tubing aspect of tubing in Vang Vieng is actually quite terrible...  The real attraction there is getting drunk at the bars that line the river and acting like a jackass... which isn't quite my scene (ever / at the time / anymore?) but I managed to keep up with the crowd pretty decently.  VV is like an international spring break, all year round, which is almost unfortunate because there's such a beautiful area surrounding the town!  There were plenty of dangerous activities lining the river to give entertainment for all who dared try them, or those who just enjoyed watching others try them =). Gavin only got one or two days in before parting ways for home, which left me in a drunken city with drunken people and no plan on what to do next... so I drank.

I'll learn one of these days! :p

I stayed in VV for a total of two weeks, and let me tell you, this place is like the twilight zone!!  Nowhere else in the world can there POSSIBLY be as much craziness going on, all around!  So I enjoyed the craziness, and then I lazed around, trying the various 'exotic' foods and shakes that Vang Vieng had to offer along with watching too many episodes of friends, as the restaurant / bars there all either play episodes of friends or family guy all day long.  And then I drank some more.  I made friends with the owner and family that ran my guest house, and would have dinner with them most nights, as they made delicious authentic Laos meals, and the owner practically forced me to eat and drink with him!  (I think he might have been attracted to me... I seem to get that a lot).  I was really enjoying the friends I made there, both the backpackers that were usually there for 3 days before they had to get away from the craziness, and the locals who were very friendly and warm.  I would even take a shower in the managers room occassionally, as my water heater was broken!  I was looking into getting some work as a ar promoter there, also looking into seeing if a rock climbing company needed help (they said I needed qualifications =\ ) but an incident at a bar with 4 or 5 (hard to count when you're concussed) proper British 'gentlemen' left me bloodied and bruised, and more than ready for a new scene.  So I packed my bags and headed to the capital! Vientianne!

Which is not that exciting.  Vientianne is actually pretty dull..  So with no real plan or intention of doing anything in Vientianne I managed to make friends with two Aussies who were headed to Kong Lor Cave, some hours South of Vientianne by bus.  So I figured 'what the hell' and went with em.

The exit of Kong Lor

Kong Lor cave was amazing!  Though it was the only place in Laos that I had a hassle with people trying to rip me off repeatedly, it was well worth getting there!  I was told it was the 3rd biggest cave in the world, though was unable to find info on it online after a (not at all) extensive search.  But it was large, and beautiful!  We had to keep hopping in and out of the boats so the guides could drag the boats up the miniscule, low flow falls, as well as to take hiking breaks through the cooler parts of the cave.  After we left the town with the cave was when we experienced a hell of a night involving a bus crash, a night I'm certain I shall remember vividly for the rest of my life,  and has made a difference in how I define myself, forever. For now I will just say two out of ~16 people died, and I was semi-severely injured.  Story to come...

Scar from crash ~3 months later.. My body is all healed up now. My mind... well that might have been fletched from the beginning eh?

on the boat ride to see the dolphins

After that we got to a town with a hospital to get stitched up, relaxed for a bit, then headed down to 4000 Islands.  The South was my favorite part of Laos that I had seen thus far!  Beautiful, giant waterfalls, dramatic landscape, freshwater dolphins, and an ocean-like beach chill-out spot in the middle of the Mekong River!  It was a cool experience, and I met some great people there.  I really wanted to spend some more time there, but unfortunately my visa was expiring... So back down to Bangkok I went to waste a good 10 days of my life, as Bangkok is another infamous city for drunken backpackers to get into trouble. More on that and my second trip to Laos later.  -The Chaz

Pretty scenery found all over the island of Don Det, 4000 Islands