After 3 days of packaged tours in Vietnam, it was really nice to sit back and just relax in Laos. We had originally planned to do some kayaking, rafting, maybe some trekking and an overnight stay in a hilltribe village, but when we got to Laos we were just so tired from running around on tours that we didn't sign up for anything. Luang Prabang is a quiet town on the Mekong river surrounded by lush, green mountains. For a place that everyone raves about, I was surprised by how quiet it was. I thought it would be the Chiang Mai of Laos, packed to the brim with foreigners, little sois popping out everywhere. But no. In fact it wasn't crowded at all. There weren't foreigners walking around with their shirts off (in fact, there are signs everywhere in LP that forbid you to do this), there didn't seem to be many foreigners at all. The most I saw at one time was at the night bazaar, and even at the night market there weren't hoards of tourists that usually make it impossible to walk down the aisles and shop. Perhaps it's because we went in the off season? Whatever the reason, it was lovely. For four days, we woke up without alarms, enjoyed slow mornings at Joma (a cafe around the corner from our guesthouse), ate Lao sandwiches on fluffy French bread, and in the afternoons, explored LP while sweating profusely. It was really hot! We rented bicycles, went to a waterfall and hiked up to the top tier which had breathtaking views of the mountains, and went to a local swimming pool (the ONLY public swimming pool in LP) which provided an interesting glimpse of the backpacker scene in LP.
After LP it was off to Van Vieng for the infamous tubing. Well, Jamie and I wanted to go tubing, Mall did not. Unfortunately, she didn't get to do anything in VV as she got really sick from food poisoning. Why is the tubing in VV so infamous? Its because it's drunk tubing. You rent a tube and go down the river, but all along the river are makeshift bars with beer, whiskey buckets, BBQs, and a DJ. They even have water slides! Did I mention that each bar gives you a complimentary,I mean, obligatory whiskey shot?! Yes, you're pretty much forced to take the shot. The best part is the way they reel you into the bars. The bars are along the river, but there's a pretty strong current (at least at the beginning) pulling you down the river. So, to get you out of the water, they throw you an empty water battle attached to a long rope and pull you in. I had bruises just from this. While tubing was really fun, it is also pretty dangerous. One person a year drowns at this place and I'm surprised the number isn't higher. People get really drunk here and the current is pretty strong! Luckily, Jamie and I walked away with just a couple of battle scars (mostly from brushing up against the rocks trying to get out of the water). If you haven't guessed by now, VV is the Spring Break of Laos and the town completely runs on tourism. Yet, the only time VV seemed trashy was at night, after 6pm, when we'd be eating dinner and people were walking down the streets still soaking wet, still in their bathing suits, and drunk off their asses. It was really nice being there in the low season; I can't imgaine what it's like in the high season. I would imagine something similar to Cancun or Girls Gone Wild.
Laos is a beautiful country with only 4 million people. This is probably because the country is so mountainous. I was constantly blown away by the view. The bus ride from LP to VV was a trek: 6 hours on a winding road through the mountains. Although it was a beautiful view, it was nothing close to relaxing or even comfortable due to the millions of potholes in the road and praying that we wouldnt fall off the side of the mountain. And thankfully, in VV we stayed at a wonderful guesthouse off the main drag away from all the crazy backpackers. The backyard of our guesthouse looked out towards bright green rice fields and karsts jutting out from nowhere. Magnificent.
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| Backyard at the guesthouse in VV |
After saying goodbye to the beauty of Laos, it was off to Bali. But first we had to get to Bangkok, which was (and still is) flooded. Praying that we'd be able to make it to the airport and that our flight wouldn't be delayed,we had a journey to make. From our guesthouse in VV, we took a minibus to the bus station, took a 4 hour bus ride to Vientienne, got off the bus, then back on the same bus, got dropped off at some random guesthouse where a songtaew picked us up and took us to the train station, got on a mini train (10min ride) across the Laos-Thai border and then finally, FINALLY, got on our sleeper train to BKK. I didn't get a goodnight's sleep on the train because they kept the lights on and the air con was blasting. At 9:30am the next morning, we had arrived in Bangkok.Whew.
Oh yeah, and then we spent the night in the airport so we could catch our 6am flight to Bali. I'm not really complaining though. This was the first time our lives resembled anything close to the typical backpacker experience.
Bali. We arrived and it was hot and humid. Ugh. First we were off to Ubud (land of Elizabeth Gilbert and Eat, Pray, Love) to meet up with our friends Gina and Lana. Ubud is really pretty. It has a hippie vibe but in a modern, clean, and upscale way. Tons of boutique shops with clothes in beautiful patterns and prints (lots of paisley) and really nice jewelry stores. I wanted to buy everything! Lots of cute cafes, yoga shops, etc. with a holistic health vibe. I liked it. Like Gilbert said in EPL, Indonesians live on family compounds with most of their family living together. The guesthouses of Bali, which are called homestays, are inside these family compounds. After 4 days at Ubud we moved to Sanur a beach town (Ubud is 30 mins from the beach) to go snorkeling, and, to go the beach! We went snorkeling with an interesting man by the name of Monte, whih was awesome. After some difficulties in the beginning with my snorkeling gear, I had a great time. We went to see some manta rays, but none could be found. In the afternoon, after a delicious lunch on board our boat,we got to see lots of fishies swimmin around, ones in bright neon colors I have never seen before! I felt like I was in my very own Planet Earth series!
On Thursday, we were blessed to have a beautiful (and much-needed) sunny day. Jamie and I went off to the beach while Mal and Caitlin went to yoga. We were crying with happiness. Up until now, we hadn't had the best of luck with the weather. It had been humid, cloudy and/or rainy for the past 7 days! We didn't realize it would still be rainy season in Bali. Until Thursday we were disappointed in Bali. Yet maybe it was mother nature answering our prayers, but since then, it has been sunny every day! We are now in Candidasa (pronounced Chandi Dasa) and our resort has a pool and is right on the water. I could not be happier. This is what we had all been waiting for! For the past three days we've been living in eternal bliss. I never want to leave!
Although, it will be nice to be back in America in 3 days. :-D
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| Taybro and his harem! Enjoying our last few days in Bali |
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