Flying Dutchman Pat

Laos is laid back, extremely laid back! It’s one of those places where you will completely forget the sense of time. It feels like the Caribbean of Asia, but then without the beautiful beaches, because Laos is completely enclosed by land. It maybe lacks the beach-vibe of Thailand or The Philippines, but it makes up for it with stunning waterfalls, French colonial architecture, mountainous countryside, numerous caves, but above all their laid back friendliness. In order to attract more backpackers towards Laos they invented the glorious world of tubing in Vang Vieng. Continue reading to find out how I got from getting dangerously sick in Si Phan Don till almost breaking my legs in Vang Vieng.

Facts

• Capital: Vientiane
• Language: Lao (French can be used in some parts as well)
• Currency: Kip (1 €  ≅ 9000 Kip)
• Population: 6.9 million
• Size: 236.800 km² (6 times Holland)
• Daylight saving time: No
• Visas: Available on the spot for most nationalities
• Best time to visit: Oct – April (dry season)
• Visited: 2011 (part of SE Asia trip)

Si Phan Don

Just a few kilometers from the border with Cambodia lies an archipelago of islets and palm-studded sandbars; the Four Thousand Islands (Si Phan Don). The islands of Don Khong, Don Det and Don Khon see most of the backpackers. I chose to stay on Don Det. It’s a beautiful laid back island where you just want to spend time floating down the river with your tube and have your Lao beer in a hammock watching the sun goes down. I thought I will just stay here a few days and then continue heading north, but my plan turned out differently….. On the first night I had dinner with a group of newly made friends and we enjoyed everything the Laotian cuisine had to offer. On the way back to my bungalow I felt that something wasn’t right. I tried to sleep under my mosquito net, but it was one of the worst nights I ever had. All of my energy had slipped out of my body. I felt weak, extremely weak, I didn’t even had the strength to walk to the toilet anymore, I literally was crawling towards the bowl of bad spirits to release my demons, which I had to do like every 30 mins. I was hallucinating, sweating and it felt like that my head was going to explode. Long story short; the next 5 days were probably the worst days of my life; I felt very sick, lonely and scared…..I was on a small island with no doctors, no ATM’s and no such thing as civilization. After 5 days I had enough strength to take a longtail boat back to the main land in order to visit a doctor and get some medicines. I had a mix of dengue and food poisoning. Not the best combination I can assure you. Getting sick is part of long-term traveling, but I’m extremely lucky that I haven’t got any major illnesses or accidents in all my years of traveling…..touch digital wood.

Always peaceful Si Phan Don.

The sunset starts to kick in.

After getting my strength back it was time to head north; my next stop was Pakse.

Pakse

The road towards Pakse is pretty well maintained, something you will not find in the northern part of Laos. I found my hotel in Pakse with the help of a friendly tuk tuk driver. He had transformed his tuk tuk into a temple-disco-ish motorized high speed cannonball. We were roaming the streets of Pakse like a boomerang and we found a decent hotel pretty fast.

Small village near Pakse.

The children were already waiting for us!

Pakse itself isn’t very flattering, but the beauty lies in the surrounding region. I visited several villages which are the home of multiple Mon-Khomer ethnic groups. Even though Laos is one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia, the Laotians here are so friendly, relax and are always smiling.

One big happy cow family!

Lunch, anyone?

My lunch consisted of fresh frogs from the BBQ and snails. I’m always in to try something new! The centerpiece of this area is the Bolaven Plateau which is a coffee-growing region high up in the mountains.

Local snacks near Pakse.

Left: Well that’s a big cigar!

The region consists of dense jungle and a handful of refreshing waterfalls. I’m sure these waterfalls look more spectacular during Laos’ wet season!

The coffee-growing Bolaven Plateau.

The region of the Bolaven Plateau consists of dense jungle and waterfalls.

That evening I took a VIP overnight bus towards the capital city; Vientiane. I was expecting all kinds of luxury as the bus was listed as VIP….but ‘VIP’ in Laos is not what VIP means in other parts of the world. Basically I was spooning the night away besides an over sized American tourist as they were only offering 1.5-person mattresses (Asian style) in the bus. There were no seats, only bunk beds. But nevertheless it brought me to my destination.

I’m a big coffee lover!

Vientiane

After 11 hours I arrived in Vientiane and I was able to breath again. The first thing I saw when I got off the bus was a big sign saying “Elke vrijdag en zaterdag mosselen”. Which means in Dutch “Every Friday and Saturday Mussels”, which is a typical Dutch dish. I thought; Home sweet home! Vientiane is as laid back as you can imagine. A good example are the tuk tuk drivers. In many other SE Asian countries the tuk tuk drivers are roaming the streets looking for customers. And when they think they’ve found a customer they will ask you if you need a ride and will do that just as long until you say ‘Yes’. But not in Laos. In Laos they will chill or sleep in their tuk tuk and wait for customers. You have to approach them for a ride. That’s one of the reasons why I love Laos. It’s one of the most pleasant and friendliness capitals of SE Asia. The best way to explore the city is by bike and not only because I’m Dutch 😉

Left: Praying Laotians – Right: One of the many golden temples in Laos

The main square of Vientiane.

There are a lot of French colonial buildings and interesting temples to explore. I had some great French baguette for lunch, so good that I almost forgot that I was in SE Asia. The boulevard along the Mekong is the best place to go at night for some great restaurants and bars. I met an awesome Japanese man who did the same as me, an around the world trip, but then 35+ years ago. He shared some amazing stories from the road back in the days. Stories which are difficult to identify with nowadays. He was talking about civil wars, Khmer Rouge period, no internet, no guidebooks, no Google maps. A fabulous man with a great travel experience, something which is nowadays not possible anymore. When we plan a trip nowadays we already saw the pictures on Google, read the hotel reviews on Agoda, know how to go from A to B with Google maps and found a suitable tour operator via Tripadvisor. No surprises anymore, well there are, but in a different way 😉

Vang Vieng

Throughout SE Asia and beyond you see backpackers wearing T-shirts stating ‘I survived Tubing in Vang Vieng’. I heard ridiculous stories of fellow backpackers who had been to Vang Vieng. This ‘sleepy’ town sounded like absolute madness. So I thought let’s give it a try and check this little spot along the Nam Song river out. You will find in Vang Vieng numerous restaurants (video bars) where they are looping episodes of Friends or Family Guy. And so you will hear Ross or Peter Griffin shouting from every corner. And it’s like that from early morning till late in the evening. I’m sure you will get brainwashed if you stay here for too long. But off course the big drawn here is tubing. Every evening the streets of Vang Vieng are filled with wasted backpackers who have just been ‘rescued’ from the river. It’s like Season 7 of The Walking Dead.

Tubing in Vang Vieng, Laos!

I believe I can fly!

Basically tubing means renting a tire inner-tube for the day and float down the Nam Song river past the various bars, rope swings and dive boards. When you show your interest in one of the wooden shacks with loud music, a Laotian guy throws you a rope and pulls you in for some shots, buckets, happy shakes or magic mushrooms. Anything is possible. And when the booze flows everybody gets crazy and think they are Superman. They jump of a dive board like a cannonball or use the rope swings to show that they are the twin brother of Tarzan. It’s like the SE Asian version of Spring Break. When you had enough booze you carry on to the next bar and repeat the above.

And so I went tubing for the day with an international group of fellow backpackers….. It was dry season, so the river was a bit shallow. Jumping of rope swings wasn’t a very good idea so I passed on to that one. Tourists honestly die here every year; by drowning or breaking their neck while jumping of dive boards into shallow water. Alcohol, drugs, the heat and swimming while being crazy drunk is definitely not the best mix. It’s fun, but one day is more than enough.

The region of Vang Vieng is just stunning!

Inside one of the caves.

Just getting drunk with a load of other white people wasn’t the reason why I came to Asia, so it was time to check out the surrounding area which has so much more to offer than just the fuss of tubing. Although most of the tourist won’t know about it. There are plenty of mountains, caves and waterfalls to explore.

The town of Vang Vieng is quite like no other, although it’s not the real Laos, not at all. Don’t stay here more than 2 days otherwise you will get insane! One day for tubing and one day to explore the surrounding mountains or caves. After that get out as soon as possible and continue exploring the real Asia.

Note: I visited Vang Vieng in 2011 when tubing was still ‘legal’. Tubing was banned in 2012 due to too many deaths. Nowadays you can still tube although most of the bars are closed and the ones which have been reopened are controlled and have very strict rules. It’s like going to a party which already ended. Where’s the music, DJ? Let’s list tubing under “The good old days”. Although tubing is near death, the Laotian tourism board moves the focus now towards the beautiful surrounding area, which is definitely a good play. Because the Nam Song river is so much more than just getting ridiculously drunk.

Luang Prabang

I was waiting for a Super-VIP-bus alongside the road in Vang Vieng, but the bus was so Super fast that it didn’t stop, so I continued my journey with a local bus towards Luang Prabang. A long ride of horror: 8 hours of bad bumpy dirt roads zigzagging through the mountains while I was sitting on a small plastic chair in the alley of the bus with my big backpack on my lap. The life of a backpacker 🙂

A stunning temple just across the night market.

You will find elephants everywhere.

Luang Prabang is an absolute must for its Buddhist architecture. Countless temples and shrines with great details are waiting to be explored. Luang Prabang attracts a lot of tourists so don’t expect to be alone 😉 But besides the sights it’s just super relaxed. Just walking around the city and admiring the everyday life of the monks is just fascinating. Climb up the Phu Si temple to enjoy one of the best views in town. The food is great and the night market is one of the highlights in the evening. Another great thing to do here is to bring your bike across the Mekong river by a ferry and explore the villages and temples on the other side. It’s a great way to escape the crowd.

Luang Prabang has some great Buddhist architecture.

The view from the Phu Si temple.

Visiting the spectacular waterfalls of Tat Kuang Si forms a great day trip out of Luang Prabang. Close to the falls is a bear sanctuary which is worth a visit as well.

The nature near Luang Prabang is so beautiful.

Waterfalls of Tat Kuang Si.

A great trip out of Luang Prabang!

If you have time and money you should check out the Gibbon Experience in northern Laos. It’s a series of ziplines criss-crossing the canopy of Laos’ most pristine forest which is the home of countless animals. I found it a bit too expensive at that time so I skipped this activity and the effort of getting there. But I’m sure I will check it out next time.

So basically that’s Laos in a nutshell. With the above you can make a perfect 10 day itinerary to immerse yourself with the beauty of Laos. It’s very easy to adjust yourself to the laid-back-vibe of this diverse country. After Laos I continued my trip into Thailand!

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