Luang Prabang refills me with hope, and shows me the Laos I fell in love with at Vientiane. A beautiful, French inspired town high up in the mountains, it reminds me more of Bavaria than some Asian farming community. The drive up also was absolutely beautiful. Rolling hills and mountains as far as the eye can see. It is however quite a trek, and I got to practice my car sleeping abilities. When we stopped for lunch, we were in the clouds, and it was actually cold... ish! Maybe 10 degrees C. And the guy at the snack counter had the best English I've ever heard from someone in Asia. I swear, he just got off the goat from Chicago. Laos and Cambodia could teach a lot to Thailand, as their English abilities are far and away better.

I arrived in the late afternoon, and found a guesthouse. Off I went to see some of the sights - Wat Xieng Thong, which is fine but hardly deserving of its reputation. There are much prettier, and free Wats I passed like Wat Sene. I wanted to get up to the top of Phou Si Hill for sundown, and I did with maybe 10 minutes to spare. Amazing view of the city, lots of pictures were had. When I got to the bottom, the place had exploded into a night market. One of the most interesting night markets I've been to, everything was a fair price to start and you could haggle for more. I also found a buffet at 10000 kip a plate! I joined these other Germans and assembled a food mountain for $1.20. They're biking to Cambodia, from China. Crazy dudes. But seriously, Laos. I like you a lot.

Back at the guesthouse I had a new Laotian beer (which was better than Beer Lao!) and planned what to do the next day. It was then that I realized, perhaps due to the night, that my room was overrun with insects. After getting bit countless times I noped the heck out and found another, cleaner one. Lesson learned, check more carefully next time.

Next morning, I headed out to catch a tuk tuk to a crafts village, much like the one in Cambodia. They don't produce silk at this particular place, but they do weave it. My project was to make a bamboo placemat. Turns out its pretty gorram difficult! It's easy to lose track of what strand goes over, what goes under, and when. I struggled for a bit but eventually triumphed.

Back in the city, I went by a park to take a look at this big statue for the former leader of Laos. It's big. The other destination was a big temple I saw when I was up on Phou Si. Turns out distances can be deceptive because it was like a 7km walk. But hey, gotta shed that beer weight somehow. The view wasn't bad, but not as good as Phou Si's. I passed another Unexploded Ordinance Museum, but it was closed on weekends. I wasn't too upset, since I just saw one at Vientiane. Apparently UXO is a super big problem here. I'll stick to the main roads, thanks.

After was a visit to the Luang Prabang Museum / King's Palace. Slightly more entertaining than most meseums, I enjoyed the part showcasing the gifts other countries have given Laos over the years. The US gave the king an Edsel and some other giant Ford from the 50s. They also gave them moonrocks and a Laos flag that has been to space. Canada gave them a plate. Jeez, step it up, CANADA!

I stopped at a hostel run by the one I stayed at in Vientiane to pick up my bus ticket. Tree, the owner, let me use their restroom, chill out, and chatted with me for an hour. Amazing folks, all of them. If you're ever in Laos, stay at Sihome Backpackers and their affiliates.

I still had time before my bus, so I decided to walk 3 more kilometers to save the money on a tuk tuk. I passed the Chinese embassy on the way, which I thought was odd... this isn't exactly a big town. Then I turned a corner and ran into a massive supermarket, with all the writing in Chinese. I needed water, so I popped in. It was weird, to randomly stumble across Luang Prabang's Chinatown on the outskirts. While waiting in line, some guy asked a customer, angrily, "现在要不要?"

"I don't understand what you're saying!"

Then I got to play translator.

"He wants to know if you want it now."

"I just want to know the price."

"他要知道多少钱."

After all said and done we figured it out, but what about that translation chain? A Chinese guy living in Laos speaking Chinese to an American to translate to English for a Laotian.

Now at the bus station, I'm ready to begin the long journey back home. Seeya Luang Prabang and Laos! You are amazing people. This is one of the coolest trips I've been on, and I wish I could stay longer. As beautiful as this country is, it really lacks a lot of stuff to do. It'll last you a week or so, less if you hustle like I did. But it'll be an amazing week.

On the way to Luang Prabang, I decided to stop off in Vang Vieng. A sleepy town about halfway, it's now apparently filled with westerners who come to go tubing and other water nonsense. Since I have 0 interest in that, I came to see one of the caves they have. Before I got some lunch, fried veggie noodles. Amazing as always! Except, the guy tried to short change me, which was annoying. All the Laotian money looks the same, I didn't realize at first. Also, all the restaurants in Vang Vieng run DVDs of shows like Friends and Family Guy. This is so stereotypical of SE Asia, I'm surprised it's not more popular. For example, the taxis in Bangkok all have a "Metered" sign on them, which means jack shit. Apparently some company started doing it, and all the foreigners jumped all over it. So then, the other companies, likely with no idea of what or why, started copying that. I'd imagine that was the case in Vang Vieng. Someone said "Hey, those foreigners love those shows 'Friends' and 'Family Guy'."

"Then clearly we need to play it 24/7, without wondering the reason why, or if they like other things."

Anyway, off to the cave.

A short jaunt, the path winds through a rice field and the entrance was 10000 kip. I know that sounds insane, but 8000 kip is $1. So, np. On the way I met someone who volunteered to be my guide for 50000. The cave looked a bit treacherous, and I was the only person there, so I thought it was worth it to pay $6 than to potentially die. That proved to be a mistake.

Anyway it was a cool, albeit short experience. Khao Sok's was much better, but still, alright. My guide was very friendly, and I asked him what he thought of Laos. He said it was perfect. He was poor, but his life is easy. "I wouldn't live anywhere else!"

Upon exit, he now says since we used his light it's an extra 50000. I can buy a godamn light for 10000 in town, so I knew this was a ripoff. Unfortunately, he had 2 friends nearby, so I was a bit stuck. I asked him not to do this, and said fine fine, 30000. Gee. What a guy. Fuck him. On the walk out I told some other tourists to turn around, and I edited the Wikitravel page warning others to stay away. It's only a couple of dollars, so I'm not too angry, but I'm sure I cost them a heck of a lot more than if they just treated me fairly in the first place. So the revenge makes me feel a little better. Laos, you're doing it backwards - people in the city are supposed to be dicks, and the rural folk are supposed to be nice.

On the way back I craved a burger and fries, and that's easy to find with all the tourists. The first burger I've had in years to not come from McDonald's, it was pretty solid though not amazing. The price was though. After I stumbled across a Laotian concert, and bought their CD. Their music was fine, I guess, I just like the idea of Laotian merch. It will join the Cambodian pop CD in infamy.

Back at the hostel I met Cameron, a Canadian who's been here for 3 months. I asked him what he's been doing. He said nothing. This method of travelling continues to baffle me. You can sit around and not do shit anywhere. If you spent all the time and money to get out here, then you're just wasting your time.

Regardless we went out and hit up the small amount of nightlife to be had. Vang Vieng is exactly like Pai in Thailand, but with less to do. A bunch of young people with questionable hygiene, in the middle of nowhere, drinking until their money runs out. Which is nice for a night or two, but unlike everyone else I'm ready to get out and put my visa to use.

(So for the past few weeks, 7 amazing friends came from the US to visit me in Thailand, which included a trip to Cambodia. I'm still waiting for the others to upload their photos so I can... borrow them for this blog. So until then, my solo trip to Laos!)

Lao! Silent S.

I don't know how it got that S stuck on the end in the west, but they don't spell it like that here and it's not pronounced. So show off to your friends by pronouncing it correctly, "Lao" (rhymes with 'Ow!')

My whirlwind trip began with a flight to Udon Thani, a city near the border. On the way, I realized this is the first domestic flight I've taken outside the US. Udon Thani is... fine, I guess. There's really nothing to do there. I saw pics on the internet a few years back of an Orchid Farm there that was beautiful, so I went straight from the airport to check it out. On arrival, it certainly was not beautiful, and pretty much just a bunch of wilted flowers near a shack. The guy said they were not in season, and only smell in the morning. I said "Oh, no problem! I'll come back in the morning then... Byeeee!" to make my exit from this not terribly exciting place. After that I saw the only other attraction of note, a Chinese Temple by a lake. It's fine. Meh, temples.

It was evening by then so off to the night market. Walking around Udon, I noticed 1) The few foreigners here were all men in their 50s with wives 20 years younger. 2) The girls are really pretty. I wish UT had something of interest, at all, or it'd be a hip place to live for a young single guy. I got lots of smiles from people in the night market, which was nice after the bustle of Bangkok and the hustling of Siem Reap.

I had trouble finding my hostel, so I called their number. The guy who answered asked if I could see the beach. I said I must certainly have the wrong number. Turns out they also run a hostel in Phuket. Whew. Anyway his new directions were spot on, and I turned in early so I could get the first bus to Vientiane, Laos at 6am.

I need to update Wikitravel because its directions for going to Laos this way are terrible. It's pretty straightforward, but I guess not done cause no Thai was sure I could go that way. Turns out you can walk to the border from the Thai side, and then they shuttle you over the river. On the way I met fellow Americans Luke and Rachel from Asheville, NC. We talked about beer. I instantly decided they're awesome people. We shared a Tuk tuk, first dropping them at the Thai Embassy. As the tuk tuk was pulling away I noticed Luke left his passport and shouted for the guy to stop. Dude dodged a giant bullet on that one.

My first stop was Pha That Luang, but before I stopped at a noodle joint for breakfast. Man, what amazing food! It was a delicious pork soup that was better than pretty much any soup in Thailand. Spot on. Now, back to Pha That Luang. It's basically a giant monument thing, and the symbol of the country. I thought for as important as this thing is, it's awfully dirty. You need to get some people to scrub that thing, Laos. Next to it was a giant palace, much more impressive. I met some girls from the UK who just came from Patuxai. It looked cool so I got a tuk tuk to drive me out. I guess he didn't see the picture that well cause he took me to the wrong part of town. He looked again, and finally doubled back to the right area. I thought "Oh here we go, he's going to ask for more." Nope. Totally cool about it, and apologized for wasting my time.

Wtf country is this?

It's certainly not Thailand or Cambodia, those money grubbing tuk tuks wouldn't stand for that. In general, I've found people are super cool here. People smile, and I even had a car yield to me. That's pretty damn weird for SE Asia, so Laos is pretty kickass IMO.

Right so Patuxai is certainly not the Arc de Triumph even though it is. It was built with concrete the US donated to build an airport. They decided they wanted a monument, though the locals jokingly call it "The Vertical Airport". I love how frank their sign for it is though - the concrete monster. It's pretty much the tallest building in the city, which at 7 floors should give you an idea of how small towny Vientiane is.

After that was to COPA, a government charity to help victims of unexploded ordinance. It's a pretty sad story, and the US were kind of dicks during the Vietnam war. Really nice people there doing some great work. After COPA were two other famous temples, Ho Phra Keo and Wat Sisaket.They're pretty. Got pics. Moving on.

I stopped at a restaurant for lunch, and pointed at some picture on the menu. The lady later said she didn't have it, and instead gave me some other sort of soup. I think it was chicken? But wow, also super delicious. Then she apologized for not having what I wanted, and gave me a free spring roll, also amazing amazingly delicious. WTF is this kindness?! Am I in Japan suddenly? Later I passed That Dam, which I saw just for the name. And then off to the Laos National Museum. Man, that place is a ripoff even for the $1 entrance fee. Super old and run down, with 99% of their stuff just bring a picture and a caption. Seeing "US Imperialists" being written out reminded me of my days in glorious North Korea.

I checked into my hostel, and the owner, some kid in his early 20s, came outside to meet me. He asked if I booked a room, and I said yes, on hostelworld. "OH! YOU MUST BE MIKE!"

This guy was the biggest bundle of positive energy I have ever seen in my life. He moved from Vietnam in his early 20s to run a hostel because... well I don't really know? He told me he just opened two weeks ago. Then he got me a beer, took me around, introduced me to the staff and others hanging around, and then showed me the bar he was building in his spare time.

This guy. This hostel. I like this place. If you're ever in Laos, you need to check out the Getaway Backpacker's Hostel.

After, I went out for some great streetside food and looked around town. There were a few beggars that came around, and I was shocked that pretty much every table gave them money. I know Laotians are poor, but overall the money seems much more balanced here than it does in other countries. So, I leave Vientiane with good things to say, and all my transport and lodging planned out by the bubbly, amazing owner of my hostel. Really, Laos has given me the best first impression I've ever gotten of any country, anywhere. Nice, generous people with amazing food. I just wish there was more to do so I could stay.