Likable Laos

On Christmas Eve I crossed the border into Laos. I found a place to stay in the capital city of Vientiane and then went to a restaurant that overlooked the river as I watched the sunset. I thought it would be fun to try some typical Laotian food for my Christmas Eve dinner so I pointed to something unrecognizable on the menu. This is what I got:

It looked alright except for the little sticks and leaves here and there but when I took a bite my mouth exploded and then I noticed all the chili peppers. I politely asked for a box and paid and then handed the box to a beggar man and his daughter and gave him a hearty "Merry Christmas!" He didn't understand me but gave me a big smile and they gobbled the meal down together (I guess they didn't mind the spicyness). Santa must have known what I wanted for Christmas because the next morning under my Christmas TV I found a Christmas miracle of familiar food!

Ok, so I found the gourmet import store. It was wonderful. Then I got to talk to a lot of the family as they celebrated Christmas eve and it was so much fun to see and hear everybody. I was also happy I finally figured out how to use Skype. That day I rented a bicycle and went to pick up my passport with my new 60-day visa for Thailand and saw some sights. This is the presidential palace. When I walked in to take a picture one guard came wandering over and just smiled when he saw I only wanted to take a picture. Apparently they don't need as much security here as our president.

The next day I was off to a beautiful town further up north called Vang Vieng. A lot of travelers come here to see the caves and go tubing down the river. I crossed the bamboo foot bridge and found a cheap bungalow on the other side. I spent the first day just wandering around looking at the mountains. It's been a while since I've seen mountains and they were incredible!

I liked crossing all the bamboo footbridges.

I decided not to go in the caves because I didn't want to pay an entrance fee just to feel clausterphobic so I found an abandoned shack in the rice paddy and enjoyed the view.

The next day I decided to go tubing down the river. For a small fee they gave me a tube and drove me to an entry spot upriver. All along the river are makeshift bars with rope swings and slides and locals shouting at you to come drink their cheap beer. I didn't stop but just enjoyed the view.

Floating back to town took about two hours and I made it just before the sun went down.

The next day I took a minibus further up north to Luang Prabang. The road just got more and more mountainous and I had no idea Laos was like this. I kept trying to get good pictures but I had to stop when I started to get car sick. Even in this picture you can kind of see my reflection. The views were stunning, though.

After about 7 hours we made it to Luang Prabang which was the ancient capital. It sits on the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers and it was fun to think that this was the same river we saw exiting into the ocean in Vietnam.

Luang Prabang has the highest concentration of Buddhist monks in Laos and you can see them wandering all over the city (there were even a few in this internet cafe a few minutes ago).

It also has an awesome night market where the villagers come to sell their goods. It was hard not to want to buy some of everything.

The king kept his palace here even when the French were running the show. He finally left when the communists took over and the palace was turned into a national museum. (You can see half of it on the left.)

In the middle of the town there is a big hill with a temple on top so I climbed up the the stairs to see it.

Another temple had a brilliant mosaic of the tree of life.

I loved just wandering around the town looking at the various temples and french architecture. In fact, if it weren't for the people and temples I could easily think I was wandering around a town in Europe.

Later that afternoon I had booked a tour to go see some waterfalls. They gave us a couple hours to swim so I made sure I packed my swimsuit. The water was cold but very refreshing and the falls were pretty.

For New Year's eve I was invited to go out to the bars with some fellow travelers but I decided to just watch the fireworks and lanterns going up near my hotel.

Tomorrow I take the slow boat to Thailand. It's a two day journey on a boat like this and then another day in a bus.

Then I'll have a few days in Chiang Mai before my certificate course begins. It's been a fun trip but I think I'm definitely getting ready to sit still and stop traveling for a while.

Happy New Year to everyone!