Laos' only real city
Trip Start
Sep 19, 2002
1
83
129
Trip End
Sep 22, 2003
Vientiane,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Friday, May 2, 2003
29th April - As I'm having another bout of homesickness and we are both feeling a little jaded by sightseeing, we decided to look for something exciting to do in our last few days in Laos as we don't have enough time to go to another town. While contemplating our choices over croissants, Pip found a leaflet for an experimental white water rafting trip down the Nam Ngung river with overnight camping. His face lit up with the adventure of it all and before I knew it we had paid our US$80 each and were set to go in 3 days time! (This is part of Pip's birthday prezzie, the other part was the cooking course in Chiang Mai - thanks mums!) We also had to extend our visa for one day as the Vietnam one starts a day after the Laos one finishes (oops). We wandered around the town and along the river for a bit and couldn't believe where the high water mark was. As it is coming to the end of the hot season, the river is at it's lowest level and we could just see it in the distance although we were standing on the river bank! In the evening we had a beerlao by the river watching the sun go down and then tried another French restaurant. Many of the people here still speak French and I'm sure they drive in the same way too - mad!
30th April - Got up early to beat the heat which is like a furnace in central Vientiane during April and May. Although it was a struggle it was worth it as we were able to walk further than later in the day and also the Laos people get up early so we see much more of the real Vientiane. We strolled around the market and then up to the victory arch which looks a bit like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris but less attractive as it has never been finished. It was built out of concrete donated to the Laos people to build a runway so many people call it the verticle runway and there are great views from the top and you can see how even the layout of the town is French influenced as it projects out from the arch in a star shape. Next we jumped in a jumbo (brakes optional) to head out to Pha That Luang which is a huge gold stupa that was only rediscovered at the start of the 20th century after laying empty for hundreds of years. The French then restored it so badly that it had to be done again a few years later!
We popped in to the rafting place to collect our passports (they had done the visa for us) and they told us that the trip had been brought forward to the next day as there was a party of 8 who wanted to go but could only go that day. It only gave me a shorter time to get nervous about the rafting, but it meant changing our plans and we were a little apprehensive about joining a large party. Hey ho, Pip was still as excited as a little boy at Christmas though!
So how do we like Laos so far? Well, we've never been offered drugs as many times as we have in Vientiane in the past few days. Every tuk tuk driver (and there are a few on each street corner) will offer you "something?" rather than "tuk tuk?" meaning that they can get you whatever you want. Also when you walk in the road (often unavoidable as the pavements are in a shocking state and you risk breaking your ankle in the drains) they seem to delight in skimming you with their vehicles. We met a girl who was travelling alone and she was often ignored in shops an when trying to get transport etc as they are a little unsure of women travelling on their own. There is always going to be some communication difficulty and in our experience the Thai and Malay people will laugh at both sides not understanding each other but a couple of times here they have seemed frustrated. So in our personal opinion, Laos people are not as friendly as Thai and the local food is not as good but the scenery and the rural villages are fantastic.
Will our opinions change after our little white water rafting adventure? You'll have to read the next log to find out!
