Life in Laos

Sabadai! In keeping with the usual theme that's Laos(-ian?/ish?/adian? Ah, who knows..) for howdy.

I've spent the last week in this funny little country that I had no intention of visiting well, until a week ago. Claire and Rob were heading to the islands on the West and I kind of fancied some time on my own, as I've been in constant (albeit pleasant) company for 2 months now, and a guy needs a bit of alone time!

I got an overnight bus from Bangkok which dumped me unceremoniosly at the Laos border at 6am. Much to my shame, it was only now, on seeing the huge red flags with their hammer and sickle embossing that I realised I was entering a communist state. Cheers for telling me that one, Lonely Planet. Still, for a student doing some kind of reputable degree at some kind of reputable university, I'm sure I should have known that.

Anyhoo, after some commie style bureaucracy and passing of US dollars (yes they take US dollars round here!) I was herded onto a bus and taken to the heart of the Laos capital, Vientiene. I can honestly say that this is the strangest capital "city" I've ever been to. Stranger even than Ouagadougo (strange for the name!). Basically, it's tiny. Really tiny. Warwick friends, think Stoneleigh. Family members think Minster Lovell. Everyone else, think of somewhere small.

You can walk the entirity of the city in about 2 hours, and the traffic is so light you almost forget to check both ways before crossing the road.

It's a nice little place for chilling out though, and I spent a relaxing few days wandering around the dusty roads, watching the sunset over the Mekong River and eating delicious and disgustingly cheap French cuisine (I'll always love ex–French colonies for this reason alone!). I've also been sampling heavily what is possibly the finest thing to come out of Laos: Beer Lao: hands down the best beer in Asia.

After a few days of this, I got on a bus for an even stranger place known as Vang Vieng about 150km north of Vientiene. To get there, I was finally given the chance to not be a tacky tourist and get the bus that everyone else gets. It was packed full of normal Laos(–ians?), and blared out Thai kareoke VCDs at full volume. And it didn't leave until the driver decided it was full enough (people were nearly falling out of the windows). Still a great experience, and best of all, not another backpacker in sight!

We passed dozens of tiny villages and paddy fields along the way, and suddenly the bus stopped by one of them. The driver motioned that it was my stop although it didnt look anything like a popular tourist spot. The bus pulled away showering me in dust in the midday heat. Once again I'd landed myself in the middle of nowhere. Nice one Adam.

I wandered over what seemed to be a disused runway, and still nothing resembling a town could be seen. I followed a few paths and the odd sign for guesthouses, and suddenly as if from nowhere a bustling street appeared in front of me. Walking down this street was bizarre to say the least – it is lined with bars and restaurants all playing Friends on a loop, very loud. From being into the middle of nowhere, to sitting down and watching "the one where no–one proposes" was just too funny. OK, you had to be there.

Vang Vieng lives in the shadow of a huge limestone escarpment just across the river, that rises hundreds of feet into the air, and is covered in greenery. Waking up and seeing this in front of you in the morning was awesome. Besides chilling, watching more Friends and drinking Beer Lao, the thing to do in Vang Vieng is go tubing down the Nam Xong river. Basically you're thrown into the inner tube of a big tyre and sent down the river. Nice. It was fun in 2 respects: first the views were simply stunning as you floated right beneath the huge rocks rising out of the ground. Second the river is lined with bars. Selling Beer Lao. Yay!

You shout "Beer Lao very loud and someone pulls you into the river bank where you're offered a seat and a cold beer.

Now I don't know how they did it, but the people of Vang Vieng somehow looked up what backpackers like most: adventure sport, beer and US TV comedies and somehow combined them all into this bizarre town next to a deserted airstrip. Will I ever go anywhere stranger? Who knows?

Well, I'm back in Vientiene now, still as sleepy as ever. Tomorrow I leave once again for the craziness of Bangkok, and after that Cambodia beckons! Despite my short stay here, I think Laos has left its mark on me.

Or at least its beer has.

: 29 Aug 2005 11:31 |  Tags: Travel |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem