Laos Summary

Days travelled- 19 days (2 weeks, 5 days)

Distance travelled- Approx. 2,300km (1,430 miles)

Hours on transport- 36 hours (1 day, 12 hours)

Destinations- 8

Top 3

3 - Luang Prabang- This trip started out bad visiting the Pak Ou Caves but the waterfall saved Luang Prabang and even made it to the 3rd spot. The tiered waterfall over limestone formations with turquiose pools at the bottom really loks magical.

2 - The Bolaven plateu - It really was waterfall hunting in the plateu. The best thing was that we didn't have a clue where we staying and made it an adventure through the secluded jungle. hiding in the shelter when the stormed was over us and spotting Katamtok had to be the highlight of the trip.

1 - Si Phan Don (4000 islands) - This was the first place we visitied in Laos and boy did it set the standard. We could have easily stayed here for days doing nothing but chilling-that's how much of a chilled out vibe it had. Couldn't have been possible with the Leeds boys snorting daizipans and drinking the lethal 'black panther' to start the trip!

Final Advice

We started Laos (4000 islands) in the best way ever and that set the standard for the rest of the country and it seemed that Laos was not gonna let us down. The whole country is really green with jungles and waterfalls dotted around the country. We had the best time at the Bolaven Plateau just because we did something off the beaten track, which enabled us to see the locals doing there normal everyday things. If you ever want to explore a country in South East Asia, I definately recommend this one. People here are so friendly and are always willing to help, even though many people do not speak fluent english. Vientiene, the capital city, has been one of the nicest we have visited, mainly because it didn't feel like a capital city in the area we stayed.

The only fault I found from Laos was that travel and sometimes accommodation is expensive, expecially in Vientiene. Many travellers have said that this was the most expensive country they have visited in South East Asia, but don't let that put you off from exploring a beautiful country.

A quick addition to that....The healthcare system here is really quite shocking to be honest and the lonely planet even recommends fleeing to Thailand if you need medical assistance. Luckily Maj only got herpes so it wasn't a big deal, he could wait till Chiang mai. Another point that has to be made is that if you only travel to Vang Vieng in Laos, you have NOT been to Laos, so dont cuss it. Pissheads. Standard ting blad.

Luang Prabang-ing the waterfalls

Getting to Luang Prabang was adventurous with the bus ride taking us through the mountains, with huge drops on either side of the road. I don't think our apprentice Vince enjoyed it too much but he's a bit of a wimp. We got there in the afternoon and luckily found a decent guesthouse to stay in, which was close enough to the action. Nothing much happened on the first day as me and Danny passed out early from hardcore travelling.

The plan for the next morning was to be ready for 10am and hire some motorbikes to go and see Pak Ou caves and the huge waterfall but Vince did his normal disappearing act to the internet cafe, so we had to change our plans and got a tuk tuk, because motorbikes was surprisingly expensive. We had Beth, Kate, Chris (who we met in Vang Vieng), Eddy, Steve, Shakira and Lianne on our little tour of Luang Prabang and when we finally got going, it seemed that we we were really pushing for time and for no particular reason, we visited Pak Ou caves first. We had to get a boat to get across the Mekong river to visit the caves and some of them decided to swim across. With my swimming skills, I decided it would be best for me to look after the bags and get on the boat. Dan, Chris and Vince made it across but were shattered, but Beth on the other hand, thought she could live up to the task, had to be rescued from a rock because the current was too strong - NUMPTY! There were 2 caves, which were Buddhist related so we didn't find them too interesting and ALL of us made our way back across on the boat.

We had to get 2 tuk tuks because there were 10 of us and the tuk tuk that I was in made it to the waterfalls within an hour of it closing but the tuk tuk Danny and his crew were in broke down and they got there a little later. The Kung Si waterfall is a tired fall that flows over limestone formation and has turquiosed water pools to swim in. It's probably the most beautiful waterfall I've seen with it being a "natural waterpark" for kids or us. We climbed to the top of the falls, which wasn't too interesting but the climb backdown was slippy and required me to concentrate - BAD TIMES. We weren't supposed to, but we swam under the huge falls. I tried swimming towards it but the power of the fall wasn't allowing me to get close. Best way to describe this scenario was like swimming on a treadmill, as I wasn't getting any closer! We made our way down the waterfalls, with loads of mini falls on the way until we hit the main area for us, where there was a rope swing. Obviously this meant we stayed there for a while until darkness hit us, and we all wished we got here earlier because we could have eaily spent all day here.

Luang Prabang Photo Link:

http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4646400011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Tubing in the Vang Vieng

The amount of people you see in South-east Asia with a 'Tubing in the Vang Vieng' vest is ridiculous. We were determined to vist the place and NOT buy one of those scumbag things. All though I did get a 'same same but different' vest, but there way cooler. Yeah.

Vang Vieng like Yangshuo and Halong Bay has the incredible karst teeth potruding from the earth, making the landscape look incredible. The Nam Song River runs through the town and with it holds the world famous tubing spot of Vang Vieng.

What happens here is everyone goes North up the river to an area where there are lakeside bars and gets completely hammered, basically. Im sure you can guess that the place is completely flooded with British backpackers since we are the binge nation. What a horrible label to hold. The bars have lots of different activities for the pissheads to entertain themselves with like beer pong, bucket pong or some shit? and the numerous number of trapeze swings, zip wires, death slides and straight freefall jumping spots into the river. At this time of year as well the water is considerably low for the stunts that some people perform on the apparatus. Legend has it that a few deaths have occured here, mainly from knocks to the head on the rocks that jurt out of the water. We wernt taking any chances.

We had to have a go on the trapeze swings of course, but the water was deep enough there (I checked). I did manage to get a nasty rope burn from some little kid running the trapeze who threw the excess rope of the swing around me by an accident. I managed to remove it from around my neck but still came off with a burn to the arm. No biggie. We also covered one another in black marker pen, with the mark of the day being 'the punch spot' on Vince's arm drawn by yours truly. The following day, he had the biggest bruise, but we just kept telling him he needed to wash the pen off properly.

After the big river piss up, everyone heads back to the main town and continues the drinking there. Theres a lot of drug usage in these parts, primarily shrooms and opium. Im sure I could list a hand full of people who would be in their element here but thats another blog I think. During the night a thunderstorm struck the area and all the power went out, causing the parties to come to an early end. But it was a great day to say the least. We have heard about peopel staying here for 2 even 3 weeks, doing the same thing day in, day out. Once was definately enough for us. There was even talk of a girl who had been working there a year, getting paid 2 quid a day but also recieving free drinks and accomodation........what a loser.

The day after the madness, is usually spent in one of the million and one bars/cafes showing either continuous repeats of 'friends' or 'family guy'. Since Maj was training me up to watch more friends it was a great way to realx the day away. But once again the shitty food of Laos made an appearance. Apart from that, it would have been spot on.

We met a few more people here including 2 sets of 2 Mancs (Beth and Kate, Claire and Kim) a guy called Chris from Tumbridge Wells, who was travelling with Beth and Kate, and a lad from Wakefield who was travelling with the other two, we just knew him as Wakey for the time being.

Since it was unwise to take the camera tubing, we only have a couple of pics here, one of Vince's sore arse. I think him and Maj are getting too close.

Vang Vieng Photo Link: Sorry! Lack of pics here. Couldnt afford to risk losing the camera when drinking. But Check Luang Prabang for the two pictures we did take of the misty mountains!

Squeeling piggies to get to the Capital

We made our way to Tha Khaek, where there are meant to be some caves that are worth seeing but this meant that we had to get a local bus. We thought we would be ok to say we have travelled India, which has the worst buses ever. The travel wasn't too bad as we got seats but the bus kept stopping, either to pick up passengers or pigs- Yes Pigs!. They would take them from the van and put them in bags squeeling,fastened to the roofs along with motorbikes and luggage. We got there really late in the evening and stayed in a motel at the bus station. It looked really dodgy with loads of prostitutes hanging around trying to get some work. We stayed in prob the most ghetto room on our trip but we were only there for one night and it were cheap so it did for us. The next morning, we made our way to a guesthouse that spoke English and foundut that we need 2 days to get there and back and we wanted to do it in one day so we can get our visa for Thailand. Me and Danny walked down the street to rent a motorbike whilst Vince was licking his wounds from his motorbike. We decided againts it in the end because it was too much hard work so we got another local bus to Vientienne.

The bus journey to Vientienne was a lot quicker then we thought but we had to endure the ride sitting on plastic stools in the aisle of the bus. Vientienne is probably the best capital that we have visitied in terms of how clean it was and how quiet it was for a capital in the are we were staying. Our main objective was to get our visa for Thailand, which we did on Friday morning. They told us to pick up the passports on Monday, which meant we had to stay extra days in the capital, which was slighly expensive but we didn't have much choice. This gave us a good chance to catch up on the blog so you folks can share our adventure.

We did some sightseeing on the Sunday by hiring some uncomfortable bikes and cycling to Putoxia, which looke like Char minar in India but uglier. There was no real purpose of it being there so it didn't interest us much, so we moved onto Pha That Lung, which is Laos national monument. It was gold and that's probably the most interesting thing about it but I suppose if your into Laos, then it would be cool. Danny carried on cycling to see the Buddha caves, as I was in pain from the run the night before. It had a huge buddha laying on it's side. If you've ever played street fighter on Sagat's stage, you will knwo the resemblance between the buddha that Danny saw and the one in the game.

On Monday afternoon, we picked up our passports pretty swiftly, as we came a little earlier to que up, got a tuk tuk , and then got a bus to Vang Vieng-our nest destination.

Vientiene Photo Link:

http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4645840011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Pakse and The Bolaven Plateau

We reached Pakse and the idea was to rent some motors and go explore the Bolaven Plateau, which is the most bombed area of the most bombed country in the world.....ever. I think we would be safe enough. This was Abbies final stop with us, and she was flying over to Thailand to meet Screech, Monkey Boy and The Arab. So she didnt come on the bikes with us. Vince however sneaked his way in there with Maj and was brought along for the ride.

Our first day of riding took us past some coffee plantations where we had a try of some fine quality fair trade, it was really strong stuff, and I would have loved to have sent some home, but I dont reckon the drug squads would have been to pleased with that transaction, so I decided against the idea. A little later on the road we stopped at a random village just to make sure we were on the right track and we were dragged into a new years party (bare in mind new years was like a week ago, these guys really make the most of these celebrations) so we had water poured over us (they say its good luck????) given some colourfull wristbands to bring us luck again and were forced to have some beer lao (not much, since we were driving, and Maj had water the big poon). Then our faces were covered in talkum powder and we had a dance with the locals. It was great fun, and we recorded this one short dude (dance moves comparable to those of MJ) who was so funny and completely pissed. His face was masked in talkum powder, and were pretty sure he was semi blinded by the stuff. It was great to watch. After getting confirmation of the correct route we continued onwards to find our first waterfall.

It took a lot longer than we thought to reach the falls and after a few trial and error attempts at finding them we asked directions once more. This time and even more rural village was again partying the year away till 2011. We were once again pulled into the fun and games, this time to try the home brewed lao-lao whiskey, which is probably even more potent than the rice wine of China. We had to sit around a keg/basket on the floor and suck through these long straws to drink the stuff, and it was horrendous. Paint stripper would have been a treat. We quickly made an escape and within the next hour managed to find Katamthok. It was worth the hunt, this waterfall was gigantic. The biggest any of us had ever seen, standing about 120 meters tall, we had a perfect view of it from the other side of the valley.

The day was drawing to a close and we stayed at a little road side gusethouse (lucky to be found actually) and had a delicious dinner of sweet sausage, mixed chicken kebab (including liver, balls, and other parts that were unidentifiable) and sticky rice (which is rock hard stale rice basically). The next morning we skipped breakfast, and made our way to the next set of falls. This time they were really wide but only a max of 10m tall. We had our morning wash in the river and I joined some youngers for some jumps off the top of the falls. Great fun. They had some slingshots that they used to go around killing lizards with, and they had already sniped two that day. They were an amazing shot. Me and Vince tried hitting Maj while he was taking some pics.

After a photo shoot with about another 10 or so kids (one who was smoking too the little shit) we headed out for Tad Lo. After getting lunch we were shocked to see the thickest blackest clouds making there way towards us on the road. Just by chance, and again, sheer luck, there was an abandoned shack on the roadside. Just as we were climbing over the barb wire, the rain started to reach us. We made it inside the cabin and decided to wait out the storm. It was pretty intense at times, with the rain being so loud on the roof that we couldnt hear each other speak. Once the thunder and lightning kicked in, and made its way closer it got scary, I wont lie. Maj and Vince were hugging one another for moral support. Afterwards, I think Vince was a little too shook by the strom and nearly shat himself, haha. He made it to the back of the cabin in time, but a complete mess of the back steps. Im definately adding that photo so take a look over his right shoulder for the abuse he committed in Laos.

After the storm moved on, we found our way to Tad Lo and had a fool around in the falls here. It was a nice little spot to relax for the evening and the digs were pretty high standard for the price, so everyone was happy. We headed out early again the next morning on our way back to Pakse. About 30km away from Pakse, with me and Maj sharing a bike in the lead, we noticed through the wing mirror that Vince had unexpectedly tumbled off his bike. We did a quick U-wy and went to help him out. Turns out that his back tyre had suddenly just blown and sent him flying off the bike. He did well to avoid any serious injuries. A Canadian couple were driving past at the time and helped us to fix up his really sore looking foot (all the skin had been torn off) but like I said, he was extremely lucky to come away with these minor injuries. I pushed his bike back tot he previous village where a mechanic (theres always one about out here) fixed his tyre for us, and we were able to complete the journey back to Pakse without any further problems. Big thanks to the two Canadians, who were also kind enough to give us a spare inner tube. Raised their countries rank in my eyes. Them and Terrance and Philip of course buddy.

We travelled about a total of 320km on our motorbike adventure through the Bolaven Plateau and saw some beautiful scenery. Too bad the food sucks here and Vince wiped out.

Pakse and Bolaven Plateau Photo Link:
http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4644780011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

4000 islands (Si Phon Don)

With the Leeds boys all pissed up and drugged up, the 4000 islands sounded promising. Once the border was successfully crossed, we got a bus for a short while and then hopped on a small boat to Don Det, which is one of the 3 islands that is open to tourists. The Leeds boys were truly hammered by the time we arrived and the big lad of the group nearly tipped the boat over when he got off!

There is a sunrise and sunset side of the island and for no particualr reason, we chose the Sunset side. All the guesthouses had bungaolws with hammocks outside on the porch, which promoted the art of 'chilling'. We stayed here for 3 days in total and could have easily stayed here longer but we do have to carry on with our journey at some point. The island has such a chilled out vibe that you would always want to relax and that;s what pretty much happened for the 1st and 2nd day. Me and Vince just chilled on tubes in the river for most of the 2nd day and then Danny and Abbie had their chance on the 2nd part of the afternoon. We decided to do some activity on the 3rd day and walked to the other side of the island, where Don Khon joins to Don Det via a bridge. On the way there, Danny and his love for animals took over him and he decided to annoy and pester a monkey that was tied up to a tree. The monkey had enough when Danny took his crisp packet and went for his head-served hime right lol. (This is caught on video, and its hilarious). It costs to visit that island, so we decided against it. We chilled in the river for a while and then me and Abbie went back to chill on the hammocks.

Danny went and ventured off by himself and got confronted by three dogs, which led him to steal a fisherman boat for his escape. The boat journey was smooth, going up the river until the current was too strong and he had to park the boat but when he did get off, there was a buffalo eyeing him up for his afternoon meal. In his head, he had a fight with the buffalo, got him in a head lock and elbow dropped him, but really, he went up the river a little bit more, ditched the boat and walked through the jungle to find the path back to ours-Attenborough at his best!

The great thing about the island is that they've left it untouched as much as they can. Yes there are loads of bungalows and restaurants but the locals are very much still locals and hardly speak English. We were there over the Laos new year, and although it's meant to last 3 days, the locals on this island decided they weren't done with partying and carried on while we were there.

They didn't have an ATM or a western union so we were fucked but our friend Abbie National, had to get us out of trouble by lending us the money until we could withdraw in Pakse. It's not the first time she's saved our arse (motherly care-bless her!)

4000 Islands photo link:
http://www3.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4545832011/a=2264773011_2264773011/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/