Laos

Laos is not a comfortable country to travel around, but it's probably the most scenic. It's the least developed country in South East Asia, so there are plenty of untouched, gorgeous, green mountians. They don't have a good infrastructure yet, but I'm sure this will change within a few years (given the rapid pace of progress here). We crossed over the border from Chiang Khong, Thailand into Huay Xia (northern Laos). We then took a 2 day slow-boat (which very much resembled a refugee boat) to Luang Prabang. The slow boat stopped overnight in the small village of Pakbeng. There are speed boats available, but we didn't like the idea of a 6 hour , ass-slamming ride (complete with helmets). Also, there have been several fatal accidents involving these speed boats ...and we have time, anyway.

Our slow-boat "cruise ship" turned out to be a rickety, old, wooden long boat hauling cargo. We thought Thailand's safety standards were bad ...but Laos doesn't even have any standards! The cargo appears to have been cans of paint. They just threw woven mats on the top of the paint cans and all of us backpackers (about 60) sat on top. At least it had a bathroom! As uncomfortable as this voyage was, it was a great opportunity to meet other travellers, enjoy the scenery, and take photos of the beautiful surroundings. When the weather was good, a lot people crammed outside on the front of the boat ...this freed up some space inside.

Each day, the boat would stop along the river at a small village so that the boat crew could buy their lunch for the day. They would prepare their meal in the back of the boat. The first day, they bought an ugly river catfish ...that didn't seem too unusual. But, the second day, they bought a mouse-deer. At least, I think it's a mouse-deer?? I'm sure it was really cute when it was alive.

We finally arrived in Luang Prabang (on my birthday!). This small city (population around 16,000) was so quaint! There were plenty of colonial French buildings (Laos used to be a French colony) among the many buddhist temples (or wats). The architecture gave you the feeling that this town was frozen in time @ 1934. There were few new buildings, but there was a lot of construction going on around town.

This was our first communist country and it was very different from what Lon and I expected. In the early 1990's, the Laos government significantly loosened restrictions on businesses and travel. Earlier in the year, Luang Prabang didn't even have Internet. Today, there are several Internet shops (although the government is trying to restrict it's use). There are also TV's in several restaurants showing CNN news. There was plenty of free trade going on around here ...tourist were buying beautiful handicrafts in the street markets (I restricted myself to just taking photos). Also, Buddhism is widely practiced (you wouldn't think communism and religion could exist together??).

However, there were signs of communism ...the government owned/operated agriculture stores, and the random check-points traveling throughout the country. During our stay, they arrested 5 Europeans in Vientiane (the capital) for distributing pro-democracy leaflets.

We really enjoyed our time in Luang Prabang. We rented bikes one day and tooled all around the city (it's not that big). We walked up Phou si mountain to the wat at the top. The views of the town below were really pretty. There was also a buddhist monastary ...these monks were very young! We spoke to a monk and found out that many of them speak English. It's part of their curriculum.

We stayed 2.5 days in Luang Prabang (next time we'll stay longer). One day, we got together with some other people from the boat and went to the Kwang Xi Waterfalls. There was a beautiful tiger (named Phet) at the falls. Apparently, the mother tiger was poached and the surviving baby tiger was nursed by the locals ...until it got to be too big to just let run around. Donations from tourists and locals eventually provided the tiger with a large fenced area near the falls. We all loved the tiger! Several people from our group got close enough to the tiger to pet it (through the cage, of course). Karen, in particular, bonded with Phet.

The waterfalls were really impressive. Of all the waterfalls that we've seen during our 7 months of travel (so far), this was one my favorite because of all the tiers. We took a very wet path up to the top of the falls, but we eventually had to turn around ...too much water, mud, and leeches (again!).

We took an 11 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vientiane (the capital of Laos).  It was an experience!  We got there early and it was a good thing ...because they crammed so many people into this bus that they were sitting in the aisle and stairwell.  There was a family of 4 sitting in the two seats in front of us.  The seats were very small and narrow ...even I didn't have leg room (so you can imagine what Lon looked like in the seat)!  There was no toilet on the bus ...the bus driver would stop on the side of the road when enough people would yell at him.  It was during these stops that I found out why the local women wear long skirts ...they just squat down next to the bus and relieve themselves.  Of course, I had pants on, so I had to go into the thorny bushes to try and find a spot that wasn't too exposed.

Everyone tells you (and it's true), spend more time in Luang Prabang - and less in Vientiane. We rented bicycles and toured around the city ...lots of temples and good French restuarants, but we much preferred Luang Prabang.

region	lodging	$US / night	rating	notes
Chiang Khong	Hua Wiang Country House	$3.41		Old, basic, but clean
Pakbeng	Villa Salika	$10.64		Overpriced, but only decent accomodation in Pakbeng
Luang Prabang	Jaliya GH	$4.26		Nice courtyard,friendly staff, basic room, hard bed
	Mano GH	$4.26		Brand new, excellent!
Vientiane	Sihom GH	$9.57		Overpriced, basic