Laos. Vientiane: Spring Festival 2020

The bus from Vang Vieng to Vientiane was another 4 hour monster but actually fairly comfortable. As luck would have it, I was dropped off at the end of the road by my hotel, another easy walk from bus stations.

I found my hotel and then immediately went in search of food, my empty stomach bus prep was a killer plan.

I sat in a small restaurant for about half an hour and in that time had 4 people approach me trying to sell me drugs, including one who confessed to being an undercover police officer after I turned him down. I had only been in the city for about an hour and was already feeling on my guard.

My hotel was in the middle of the city and so very close to the river and the night market. I wandered about tasting the local street food and watching the night life. Next to the night market was a small park that was full of aerobics classes run by a Laos Mr Motivator style couple. They were great fun to watch, especially as most people couldn't keep up with the instructors.
The next morning I picked a direction and just walked for the day. The city is most large and busy with not loads of character.

I followed a very rough trail that my hotel had said was a highlights of the city tour. It took about 4 hours and circled the historic markers.


I wasn't hugely taken by the city and decided to leave back to Luang Prabang. My hotel was very unpleasant and expensive so I booked a flight back for a whopping £10. My flights out of VT had all been cancelled because of the virus and the travel restrictions on getting in and out of China. I was now running out of places to kill some time.

I went back to LP for a few more days before finally getting a flight to Bangkok.

All in all, I was in Laos for about 17 days and was very taken by the place. the people are amazing, the food very good and the scenery just out of this world. I am very glad that i finally made it through the country and managed to cross it ( or at least parts of it) off my travel list.

Laos: Vang Vieng: Spring Festival 2020

I left LP after having fallen in love with the sleepy little town, but keen to keep exploring the country. The bus journey from LP to Vang Vieng was described by many on the internet as a truly horrific journey. Long, uncomfortable and very bad for anyone who gets motion sick (like me) so I was dreading it. It's 4 hours but goes over the mountains. What I hadn't realized was that there was recently a new road that had opened that was supposed to be much better to travel. I was prepared! I had travel sickness tablets, some herbal sticker thing that goes behind your ear and an empty stomach. On top of this, my hotel lady called the bus people and got them to pick me up first so that i could sit in the front. A fantastic decision! It did mean that I was sitting in the van as we drove about town collecting people but my bag was first in the van and I was comfortable. I felt very sorry for the people getting picked up at the end as they were crammed into small spaces that were being over run by backpacks and for some reason, boxes of fruit.

The view from my hotel room.

The journey was nowhere near as bad as i was expecting. It wasn't fun by any means but it was OK. most of the road had been completed but there were odd spots of interesting hair raising corners.

I arrived into VV for about lunch time and walked to my hotel. This was my splurge place. I decided to get the nicer hotel with the pool and I am very glad that I did. It was lovely and very pleasant after the long journey. I was upgraded to one of the 'mountain view' rooms which was on the top floor and much posher than my previous place.

Vang Vieng had a reputation a few years back for being a party and drug place. After a serious of nasty accidents and I suspect a few tourist deaths, the government stepped in and cleaned up the town.

There were still traces and hints of its previous life but they weren't in plain sight. The goal now seems to be to fit as many different types of holiday sports into a very small area. Hot air ballooning, ATV hire, canoeing, speed boats, motor bikes, rock climbing and many more. If LP was the sleepy town, VV is its hyperactive younger brother. Everyone was charging to some activity or another, most people were soaking wet from just jumping in the river to cool off or from swimming across the river (bridges are so boring). No-one cared of you were dripping or carrying large inflatables, it's just a relaxed but active holiday place. I really liked it but being on my own, many of the activities would have been  a little dull. I spent my time walking up and down the river to various restaurants that had been recommended or sitting with my feet in the water reading my book. After my time with Mam and Dad I was enjoying not having to organize too much. The scenery in this part of the world is just stunning and doesn't get boring. My three days in Vang Vieng was fantastic but I felt a little out of place at times. Everyone was very friendly so I had loads of people to chat to at just about every place I stopped.

I spent 3 days in VV in the end before moving onto the capital city Vientiane. Another 4 hour bus journey but this one didn't involve any mountains so I wasn't too worried about it. I booked a ticket on the big bus and went to the next stage of my trip.

Laos. Luang Prabang: Spring Festival 2020

Getting to Laos was a long and complicated story involving a few weeks in Vietnam with Mam and Dad, a deadly virus outbreak, 4 cancelled flights through Thailand, some important paperwork that needed collecting and a lot of changed plans. And that's the short version! 

I left Mam and Dad in Hanoi and flew into Luang Prabang to meet up with someone official and get my paperwork sorted. It was a very very short flight on a tiny plane. At this point the virus had its claws into China but wasn't really a problem anywhere else in South East Asia yet, travel was pretty easy and very civilised. 

I landed, got my VISA and jumped on a bus into town. As it turns out, the airport is only a few miles outside of the town, walking distance, but with a big bag and lunch time heat, I decided against it. 

My hostel was a very small and nearly deserted guest house down a small alley that lead towards the river. It was a little tired looking, especially after the luxury of Vietnam, but clean and comfortable. The owner was very chatty and helpful, she didn't like that I was on my own so she would sit and have breakfast with me every morning. 

Paperwork sorted, it was time to explore and chill. The town itself is small, can walk from end to end in about half an hour and across in ten minutes. It's surrounded by water and full of bars, restaurants or cafes with river views. One odd little side effect of the virus was that a place which is usually crammed with Chinese tourists and buses, was completely deserted. The high street had a ghost town like feel at times and the locals were desperate for business. I spent my time wandering from bar to cafe to restaurant to bar with a book and watching the world go by.
Laos had long been on my travel list but I wanted to do the place justice and not just race through like I had been forced to do in other countries. I know lots of people who had been to various parts of the country and had loved it. I instantly loved the laid back, chilled pace of the town, the locals are some of the nicest I have encountered and the food was fantastic. A little hit or miss at times but mostly very very good. (see above for proof)

LP is a small place but is surrounded by some very interesting and beautiful scenic spots. My favourite was the waterfalls about an hour outside of town. I joined a group bus that was heading out which turned out to be plenty of time and fairly convenient, if uncomfortable. The falls are actually a trail of five or six that all lead into each other. With the bright blue water, it was stunning! 
 We had about 2 hours at the falls to explore before heading back into town. I had a lot of fun watching 2 people trying to take the perfect picture of themselves in the water and fall over many times. By the time they had taken the picture, their audience had grown considerably and they received a round of applause.

I ended up spending 4 days in LP before beginning my journey towards the capital and eventually a flight back to Kunming. I wasn't yet aware of how many times my plans would have to change.

 

Wulong Part 2 December 2019

I survived the night, alone,  in the creepiest hotel in China.

The next morning,  I was dropped off at the second of the two main scenic areas by my hotel guy who then promised to take me to a "secret lookout place" only locals knew about.

The second area was still a short bus ride away but most people don't seem to bother with it, which is a shame. It wasn't as impressive as yesterday's area but that was just because there was so much there. This one was a huge cave system with a narrow walkway along the bottom of a very narrow gorge next to a river/stream.

First, I had to walk through a very long staircase through the inside of the mountain to get to a very dirty glass elevator and from there is was a paved and impossible to get lost on trail.

The weather was still cold and damp so the going was slow and slippery. Amazingly I did not fall over or down any stairs, which is unusual for me. Same as yesterday, I nearly had the place to myself. I wandered about the giant cave on my own, then along the path behind several waterfalls and through canyons.  The trail took just over an hour to walk so I was heading back for the hotel just after lunch time. Quick stop for some lunch and I was being picked up again. The guy from the hotel spent the whole weekend driving me about and seemed so happy with it. Very good customer service.

We then went to his "secret local knowledge look out." First we walked through someone's farm and battle chickens, then we walked along a weird looking river bed to a pitch black tunnel. He hands me a lamp and we head in. Apparently it was an old train line for a small quarrey but I'm not really sure. The tunnel was about 300m long and horribly creepy, but we came out the other side and the view was completely worth it. We followed the old train line alone the top of the valley for a few miles before turning around and heading back. It was very very pretty and at no point felt safe and secure.

I had another night in the scary hotel before heading back to ChongQing. All in all a vert pleasant but weird trip. Another one off the bucket list.