Lazing in Laos

The last 2 weeks in Laos has been a mixture of lazy and crazy! The lazy days started in Vientiane; the Capital city of Laos. Grand plans of cycling around the city were abolished due to a big monsoon from Vietnam causing large scale flooding in this quiet little city. Paul and Carolyn spent their days with their Who-Will mate Tam, who had joined them on a mini Laos break, shopping and pampering in the Laos herbal saunas to pass the time!

The 'crazy' started when they arrived in the party town of Vang Vieng. This stunningly beautiful part of Laos has been somewhat overruled by the backpackers rite of passage; 'Tubing'. They all decided as tubing has been known to be a little destructive (especially in the rainy seasons which they were obviously experiencing) they would opt for a more cultural and calming day for Carolyn's birthday doing a trek of the local countryside. This was not quite as stress-free as they had imagined. The 'gentle 20 minute trek' to the tribal village took an hour battling along the boggy clay lanes and losing the flip flops they were told to wear by the trip agency every other step. Tam managed to coat her entire back in clay flip flopping along, falling over every 100 meters, which although slightly tiring for her caused massive amounts of entertainment for Carolyn, Paul and John the Laos guide!

They finally made it to a cave where they were meant to trek into the depths to see the wonders within. After slipping, falling and sliding on the steep slippery slopes they called it quits. They did manage to see a golden Buddha statue nestled in the rock and a HUGE spider next to it, making the exit even more appealing!

Next stop was a water cave which could only be entered by tube and involved sliding behind a rock curtain in to the cavernous cave behind. They had to pull themselves in to the darkness (lit only by a feeble head torch) on a rope, taking in the amazing rock formations around them. Exiting the cave was easy; let go of the rope and the strong current pulled you back to the start.

After another grueling hour in the mud bath paths, walking through stunning scenery, most of which they missed as they were studying their feet, they made it to the riverside. Tam had now fallen over a dozen times and was caked in mud. This was a chance to clean herself off. They were to kayak the 15 km back to Vang Vieng on an open kayak. They were taught how to get back on if they capsized and then were on their way. What the guide refrained to tell them was that the water was fierce and fast and was riddled with eddies and rapids. Paul had the most excruciatingly terrifying 2 hours on the back of the raft trying to navigate through the white water rapids. Carolyn received a face full of muddy water every couple of minutes and Tam, being steered by the professional guide sat contently chatting away and sporadically singing happy birthday to Carolyn!

The scenery was breathtaking, with dramatic mountains looming over as they plummeted down the river. If the river hadn't been so fierce it would have been the most awesome and relaxing place in the world. Then came the bars..... out of nowhere banging pop tunes could be heard and bikini clad teenage westerners appeared dancing like loons. What a contrast. From serene to extreme! They stopped for a rest in a bar before moving on as it was getting dark!
Somehow Paul and Carolyn made it back eventually to dry land. Tam, loving a bit of turbulence, had encouraged the guide to plough them through the strong currents and subsequently capsized, losing a flip flop in the process!

What a birthday; one Carolyn will never forget. Fortunately I spent the day safely in the dry bag as P&C forgot to let me out. I did however make it out for birthday dinner and birthday cake later that night.

Next day was tubing day. The motley crew got themselves ready for the ride of their lives. Planning on taking it easy today went out the window at the tubing start point where they got stuck in to their first Laos Bucket! They had been tugged across the river so far by boat so had yet to get in the tube. Charged up on a pink sandcastle bucket of vodka red bull they plunged in to the cold water and floated down to the next bar. This bar was far more chilled out and allowed them to play their own music. The sun also made an appearance making the whole experience fantastic. Next stop was the 'mudslide' bar. This huge slide crashed you from a great height in to the muddy river below. Carolyn, who had only just fallen over on the slippery floor going to the loo opted out on account of her poorly knees. Tam and Paul gave it a go and buzzed from the experience.

Last bar, the reggae bar, chilled them down a bit listening to a bit of Bob Marley before the 4 km tube back to base. The whole day was a crazy experience which they totally embraced feeling 18 again!

Next day Carolyn and Paul said a fond farewell to their holiday buddy Tam and got on board their last long distance bus to the serene city of Luang Prabang. The short distance took 8 hours as the mountain roads were a challenge for the driver but provided the most stunning views of the most beautiful landscape. Laos total population is less than the whole of London and this was apparent as the inhabitable mountains only housed a few brave shacks clinging precariously on to the steep hills.

As a total contrast to the crazy tubing town, Luang Prabang oozed serenity. Wats aplenty and saffron clad monks at every street corner, this was the perfect place to take down the pace. This was made all the easier by the re-introduction of monsoon rain! Each day the rain drowned the town making it very hard to sight-see. In their time there they managed between downpours to visit Wats and waterfalls. Carolyn even managed to witness the 'Dawn Alms Procession' where multitudes of monks walked the streets at 6am in a procession to receive food donations from the locals. It was a very humbling experience, witnessing the daily act, all the more for the pouring rain.

Just as the weather turned for the better and the scorching sun shone through the sky, Paul and Carolyn got ready to embark on the last 2 weeks of their adventure as they boarded a plane to Northern Thailand and the city of Chiang Mai.

Until next time...

Alan (Carolyn & Paul) xx