Landlocked, and not as popular with tourists, Laos has a significantly more laid back vibe than the rest of SE Asia. We spent our time in 3 cities - Vientiane (the real capital), Vang Vieng (the tubing capital), and Luang Prabang (the tourist capital).
We travelled between these cities by bus...our first true SE Asian bus experience (the long delay was intentional). Though the distances aren't far, the road conditions make for a long journey. We will spare you the details, but while the scenery is beautiful, the terrain is mountainous and the roads are extremely windy and in poor condition. Let's just say we considered ourselves lucky to be in the fewer than 50% of passengers who made the trip without using vomit bags.
The roads:
Bus #1:
One of us (pretending to be) happy on the bus:
Regardless, the nausea eventually passed, and the ride was worth it to see these 3 very different cities.
Vientiane - The Real Capital
It's hard to believe Vientiane is an Asian capital - there's no traffic, no crowds, and barely any backpackers. There are, however, a few quintessential Asian features to remind you of where in the world you are...
Temples:
Cheap beer (try to disregard the insane quantity of food on our table):
Tuk tuks:
Good food: As we've done in every Asian country, we also took a cooking class in Vientiane. The food in Laos is quite different than the other SE Asian countries - it's (even more) spicy, sticky rice dominates, and most dishes are steamed.
Finally, one of the main attractions in Vientiane is Buddha Park. A very curious attraction, the park is a collection of over 200 Hindu and Buddha statues. Oh yeah, and there's a huge pumpkin you can climb into as well, because that just makes sense, right?
The park:
The pumpkin, which Mike loved because it reminded him of the entrance to a dungeon from the original Zelda:
The biggest Buddha, nearly 400 ft long:
And we cannot mention our trip to the park without acknowledging the ride to get there - located about 25 km outside the city, we took a tuk tuk on the most potholed road we'd ever seen. Pictures don't do it justice, but we definitely took a few years off this tuk tuk's life...and possibly our driver's, who didn't exactly know what he was getting into.
Sorry little guy!
Vang Vieng - The Tubing Capital:
About 150 km (and 4 hours by bus) north is Vang Vieng. Best known for its wild tubing parties, this mountain town is very popular with backpackers. In recent years, they've tamed the tubing experience by getting rid of a few bars and the rope swings along the river, but there was still plenty of excitement for us. We had a great day meeting other tourists from around the world, exchanging travel ideas, sharing Beerlaos, playing basketball, and floating down the river (which to be fair, the actual tubing part consumed all of about 30 minutes of our day). Since we were tubing, we don't have any pictures, but in the end, that might be for the best...let's just say that Mike was in bed about the same time as he was after his second consecutive day at Oktoberfest.
We do, however, have a few pictures of the landscape to get a sense for the scenery as you float down the river, which in and of itself makes this little town worthy of a visit.
Luang Prabang - The Tourist Capital:
Our final stop was another 185 km (and 8 hours by bus) north of Vang Vieng. Luang Prabang is an extremely picturesque little town that is by far the most popular tourist destination in Laos. We were met here by our good friend, Katie Scearce.
And the adventures began.
We took a trip out to the Kuang Si waterfall...
...climbed to the top (these safety standards would never fly in the US)...
...and met a few bears as well.
Back in the city, we climbed to the top of Mount Phousi to see the temple...
...and catch some great 360 degree views of the city.
And then, before we knew it, the 3 of us were off to Thailand!
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