Sabaai-dii!
After crossing the Mekong River from Chaing Kong, we officially entered into Laos, which holds the unsettling title of “the most bombed nation on earth”. Between the years 1964 and 1973 (During the Vietnam War), the US Military are reported to have dropped over 2 million tons of bombs on Laos. While the war has ended the carnage still continues. Approximately 30% of the bombs dropped did not explode on impact as intended, but instead have been buried inches underground and are still as deadly as they were 30 years ago. Sadly, only a small percentage of these UXO's (Un-exploded Ordnances) have actually been cleared. The country is still working to remove all of these bombs, but it is a slow, dangerous and tedious procedure which at its current rate of clearance is calculated to take over 100 years.
We began our trip through Laos with a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong River (sounds romantic doesn't it!). Our boat, which was packed to the hilt with at least 150 other passengers, was indeed slow (and the romance of it wore off after about an hour). However, we were able to see the countryside and the villages that were scattered along the river, as well as several animals cooling off at the water's edge. We were also able to meet many fellow travelers, share a few laughs and swap travel stories (not to mention complain about how slow the dang boat was!). We stopped for the evening after about 7 hours of travel in a small village called Pak Beng. After we ate our dinner, we headed to our room to pack it in for the evening. As we settled in, we read the rules of the guesthouse and had ourselves a much needed chuckle or two. We thought they were so funny that we took a picture of them to share with you. Click
here to check them out. In the morning we hopped back on the slow boat and continued down the river. Overerall, the slow boat trip was pleasant, although at times a bit uncomfortable, but if we were to do it again, we would definitely look into taking a faster boat.
Upon arriving in Luang Prabang, our first official destination in Laos, we were thrilled to climb out of the boat and be on dry land. We were greeted by friendly touts, trying to get us into their guesthouses. We decided on one, and within minutes we were settled into a comfy room. We strolled along the streets of Luang Prabang, and we were in awe of the quaint town which was the former capital of the nation. It was an interesting mixture of Asian and French architecture which was eye candy through and through.
The next morning we woke up bright and early, ready to start our day. We had decided to rent bicycles and take a tour of the city. We rode them for about two hours, when we stumbled upon a beautiful old stupa in the middle of the town. We locked our bikes up and took a look around. We had been less than 10 minutes when we were all too pleased to find out that someone had stolen Amanda's bike. As she wept over her loss, Jono went to investigate the situation. After talking to a few locals and tourists, it was concluded that no-one admitted to seeing the culprit, and that the bike was indeed gone for good. We rode back to the rental shop on the one remaining bike and explained the situation. They politely opened a book, and pointed to a page that said we had to pay $60 if such a situation were to arise. We explored the alternatives (with much frustration and displeasure) and after doing so, Jono went out to try to purchase a bike to replace the one that had gone missing. Twenty minutes later, he brought one back, but despite the fact that it was nearly identical to the stolen one, it wasn't considered “up to snuff”. In the end, they ended up taking $35, but we're pretty sure that we had fallen into a scam (apparently this happens on a regular basis). The lesson learned here is twofold: #1 - Don't rent bikes in Luang Prabang; #2 – If you are silly enough to rent bikes in Luang Prabang, don't let them out of your sight! However, our day was revived when we ran into Kat and Tom, two friends we had met during our cooking course in Chaing Mai. We spent the rest of the day together at the Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls, playing in the water and enjoying the afternoon.
We spent another day in Luang Prabang just exploring the city's hilltop temple and more or less killing time while waiting for the bus. The next day we were on a bus and on our way to Phonsavan (which runs once each day). After a good seven hours on the public bus fitted with “Lao-sized seating options” we arrived in the small town of Phonsavan (which was slightly over 100 kilometers away). We checked into a guest house and dropped our bags once again. We were getting ready to go for a stroll around town, when our guesthouse owner invited us to go to a barbeque with him. Not being the type to turn down food (ever!!) we went along. Dinner consisted of BBQ Dog-meat or Steamed Dog-meat and a spot of “lao-lao” moonshine. Together we ate our fill and we also engaged in some very interesting conversation. One conversation in particular was with a local man, who worked for the Mines Advisory Group, which is the organization responsible for removing UXO's and land mines. He told us about his dangerous job and gave us a ton of information on the post-war situation in Laos.
The next day we were up and ready to go to the main (and only) attraction in Phonsavan. We crammed in a van with 7 other travelers and headed to the Plain of Jars. Their were three sites in total, each home to various sized jars, made out of solid limestone. No one really knows how or why these enormous jars came to be, but they are estimated to have been there for anywhere between 2500-3000 years. They are really quite unique and would be best compared to a type of “Stonehenge of the Orient”. We also stopped off at a local village where they explained how “lao-lao” was made, and we met some very kind people there.
Our time in Laos was short, but we feel as though we got a good taste of the country where there are plenty of friendly faces to be found. Just don't rent a bicycle!
Sabaai-dii!
After crossing the Mekong River from Chaing Kong, we officially entered into Laos, which holds the unsettling title of “the most bombed nation on earth”. Between the years 1964 and 1973 (During the Vietnam War), the US Military are reported to have dropped over 2 million tons of bombs on Laos. While the war has ended the carnage still continues. Approximately 30% of the bombs dropped did not explode on impact as intended, but instead have been buried inches underground and are still as deadly as they were 30 years ago. Sadly, only a small percentage of these UXO's (Un-exploded Ordnances) have actually been cleared. The country is still working to remove all of these bombs, but it is a slow, dangerous and tedious procedure which at its current rate of clearance is calculated to take over 100 years.
We began our trip through Laos with a two day slow boat ride down the Mekong River (sounds romantic doesn't it!). Our boat, which was packed to the hilt with at least 150 other passengers, was indeed slow (and the romance of it wore off after about an hour). However, we were able to see the countryside and the villages that were scattered along the river, as well as several animals cooling off at the water's edge. We were also able to meet many fellow travelers, share a few laughs and swap travel stories (not to mention complain about how slow the dang boat was!). We stopped for the evening after about 7 hours of travel in a small village called Pak Beng. After we ate our dinner, we headed to our room to pack it in for the evening. As we settled in, we read the rules of the guesthouse and had ourselves a much needed chuckle or two. We thought they were so funny that we took a picture of them to share with you. Click here to check them out. In the morning we hopped back on the slow boat and continued down the river. Overerall, the slow boat trip was pleasant, although at times a bit uncomfortable, but if we were to do it again, we would definitely look into taking a faster boat.
Upon arriving in Luang Prabang, our first official destination in Laos, we were thrilled to climb out of the boat and be on dry land. We were greeted by friendly touts, trying to get us into their guesthouses. We decided on one, and within minutes we were settled into a comfy room. We strolled along the streets of Luang Prabang, and we were in awe of the quaint town which was the former capital of the nation. It was an interesting mixture of Asian and French architecture which was eye candy through and through.
The next morning we woke up bright and early, ready to start our day. We had decided to rent bicycles and take a tour of the city. We rode them for about two hours, when we stumbled upon a beautiful old stupa in the middle of the town. We locked our bikes up and took a look around. We had been less than 10 minutes when we were all too pleased to find out that someone had stolen Amanda's bike. As she wept over her loss, Jono went to investigate the situation. After talking to a few locals and tourists, it was concluded that no-one admitted to seeing the culprit, and that the bike was indeed gone for good. We rode back to the rental shop on the one remaining bike and explained the situation. They politely opened a book, and pointed to a page that said we had to pay $60 if such a situation were to arise. We explored the alternatives (with much frustration and displeasure) and after doing so, Jono went out to try to purchase a bike to replace the one that had gone missing. Twenty minutes later, he brought one back, but despite the fact that it was nearly identical to the stolen one, it wasn't considered “up to snuff”. In the end, they ended up taking $35, but we're pretty sure that we had fallen into a scam (apparently this happens on a regular basis). The lesson learned here is twofold: #1 - Don't rent bikes in Luang Prabang; #2 – If you are silly enough to rent bikes in Luang Prabang, don't let them out of your sight! However, our day was revived when we ran into Kat and Tom, two friends we had met during our cooking course in Chaing Mai. We spent the rest of the day together at the Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls, playing in the water and enjoying the afternoon.
We spent another day in Luang Prabang just exploring the city's hilltop temple and more or less killing time while waiting for the bus. The next day we were on a bus and on our way to Phonsavan (which runs once each day). After a good seven hours on the public bus fitted with “Lao-sized seating options” we arrived in the small town of Phonsavan (which was slightly over 100 kilometers away). We checked into a guest house and dropped our bags once again. We were getting ready to go for a stroll around town, when our guesthouse owner invited us to go to a barbeque with him. Not being the type to turn down food (ever!!) we went along. Dinner consisted of BBQ Dog-meat or Steamed Dog-meat and a spot of “lao-lao” moonshine. Together we ate our fill and we also engaged in some very interesting conversation. One conversation in particular was with a local man, who worked for the Mines Advisory Group, which is the organization responsible for removing UXO's and land mines. He told us about his dangerous job and gave us a ton of information on the post-war situation in Laos.
The next day we were up and ready to go to the main (and only) attraction in Phonsavan. We crammed in a van with 7 other travelers and headed to the Plain of Jars. Their were three sites in total, each home to various sized jars, made out of solid limestone. No one really knows how or why these enormous jars came to be, but they are estimated to have been there for anywhere between 2500-3000 years. They are really quite unique and would be best compared to a type of “Stonehenge of the Orient”. We also stopped off at a local village where they explained how “lao-lao” was made, and we met some very kind people there.
Our time in Laos was short, but we feel as though we got a good taste of the country where there are plenty of friendly faces to be found. Just don't rent a bicycle!
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