Not loving Laos!

Our first impressions of Laos from the two small towns on the Mekong had been very positive. And when we arrived into Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage town famous for its temples, this continued. We arrived around 6pm and once checked in we headed straight back out to the night market. Unfortunately we arrived on a day when there were no food stalls! So we perused the craft stalls before finding food elsewhere.

The next day we set off on a walk round town heading to the Ethno museum, which had some interesting displays on the ethnic tribes of Laos and a chance to have a go at making a Taleo, which we really struggled with – it was hilarious trying to follow what seemed like simple instructions, but we kind of got there in the end!

We climbed a large hill which had an amazing view of the city, lots of Buddhas on the way up and also a Buddha footprint housed in a tiny shrine. In the same manner as the one in Sri Lanka we saw a few years ago, this was huge! I don’t know if Buddha was a giant but he sure had big feet!

Later on we visited Xiang Thong Wat which housed a huge funeral carriage as well as a beautiful reclining Buddha and a stunning glided depiction of village life.

The following day we rose early to witness the alms giving to the monks, this is a very famous activity to do in Luang Prabang and there is an option to join in if you wish, which a lot of Chinese tourists did do. Unfortunately this also meant that they were in the monks faces taking photos instead of quietly observing from a distance. It was a beautiful sight to witness all the saffron robed monks quietly walking the streets and I’m glad we made the effort to get up early to do so.

We then headed to the Royal Palace and we were then about 10 minutes after opening at 8am and just managed to get ahead of a very large tour group! The palace was very understated and almost just like a big house rather than the palace you might expect! There was a large collection of royal cars which was quite fun as they all dated from the 70s as well as a beautiful gold Buddha.

That afternoon we went and played some crazy golf which was in a British guy’s back garden! It was very random but he had built a course in his backyard. The course was pretty rickety with some of the holes almost unplayable due to the tree roots but it was good fun.

The following day we caught the bus to Phonsavan, home to the Plain of Jars. We’d booked the bus tickets through our hostel and the owner had sent us off with a warning about the bus and the condition of the roads and with a warning not to leave her a bad review because of the journey! With the phrase ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you!’ ringing in our ears we were prepared mentally for a terrible journey. The journey itself? Well, it sort of set the scene for the rest of our travel days in Laos.

The bus was a minivan, which is quite standard, but in the aisles were beer crates, with half a cushion on – so people were clearly expected to sit on these for 7 hours and they were determined to cram in as many people as possible.

As soon as we left Luang Prabang the road condition deteriorated – the road became unsealed, meaning it was incredibly bumpy and very, very dusty! For most of the journey the plants along the roadside were grey as they were covered in the dust from the road. Then there were the potholes. You have never seen such large pot holes and so many of them! At times in the journey it felt like the road was still under construction and we had to stop once whilst they lay the road in front of us. Then there was the toilet situation. We stopped a few times for a bathroom break, only the bathroom was the side of the road! All the men lined up along the roadside and the few women on the bus scurried into the bushes to find some sort of privacy. Every journey took about twice as long as he should, partly due to the these conditions but also because every Laos driver seems incapable of driving for more than 30 minutes without stopping! They seem to act as DPD drivers, regularly stopping to pick up and drop off letters and parcels! Then there are the sellers who cram on at every opportunity to sell spatchcock chicken on a stick!

We’d originally planned to get a night bus to Vietiniane from Phonsavan but after about 30 minutes of pot holes I decided that perhaps doing this in the dark wasn’t the wisest decision!

We eventually arrived into Phonsavan a bit bruised and shaken but in one piece and we arranged with our host to do a tour to the Plain of Jars with his wife (the only female guide of the area) the next day.

The Plain of Jars are several sites made up of large stone jars, more or less completely intact. Laos is the world’s most heavily bombed country per capita and therefore the site was only cleared of Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) in very recent times. It was declared a UNESCO site in 2019. No one is 100% certain of the purpose of the jars, but the main idea seems to be that they were used for burial purposes. There are also suggestions and myths that maybe they were used for wine storage- I like this idea and quite fancy a giant stone jar full of wine.

The sites themselves are a wonder, the first one is in the middle of nowhere and contains over 100 jars. Site 1 is the largest and most popular site, but even when we were there it wasn’t overly busy. We also visited sites 2 and 3 which both had beautiful settings. Site 2 was in a woods and to access site 3 you have to walk through rice paddies. It was a very peaceful and pleasant day. I’d wanted to visit the Plain of Jars ever since I read about them a few years ago and I am glad we made the effort despite the journey, it was a Laos highlight for sure.

We also visited the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) office to learn about how the UXO is being cleared. Every day new bombs are found and a visit here certainly made me more wary about where I put my foot when going for those bus bathroom breaks!

The next day we decided to try and make our way back to the Mekong, to Thakek. We had to catch a bus to Paksan and then hope for a connection from there. We caught the 6.30am bus and our host was saying that there was a chance we would miss the connecting bus. The first bus journey was long and arduous again but it wasn’t full so we were able to spread out a little. We waited about 15 minutes for the next bus so I think we’d been spun a line there! As we weren’t sure if we were going to make it that night we hadn’t book any accommodation. I asked a tuk tuk to take us to a hostel I’d read about it but upon arrival there was no room at the inn. Luckily he had a friend with a room and he called him – he was our hero as he even came to pick us up on his motorbike! I went first and when I arrived there was loud music blaring and I immediately thought I’d made a terrible mistake and booked us into a party hostel! I have to say though the owners were great and every night Nico (the guy with the bike) hosts a briefing for people who want to do to the Thakek loop. The loop sounds great with amazing scenery and caves and waterfalls, but honestly? Having done two long bus journeys there was no way we were getting back on those bumpy pot hole ridden roads!

So the next day we caught another bus and continued our town hop down the Mekong to Savannakhet. Again we didn’t book any accommodation but identified a couple of places online and headed there. It’s fun but frustrating when your first choice is full!

We didn’t do a lot in Savannakhet, we meandered the Mekong and watched the sunset and that was about it. The long, hard journeys were starting to take their toll with me and for the first time since we’ve been away, I was feeling burnt out. We were both lacking energy and the terrible roads meant that we weren’t keen to get back on them to go and explore further. Exploring new places is what energises and motivates us so we were stuck in a bit of a rut.

After a couple of nights rest here we headed to Pakse by bus. We got ditched at the side of the road outside of town and I couldn’t help but think that we’d be done over and scammed. I was starting to dislike Laos. Pakse was another place that had loads of interesting things to do outside of town but we just didn’t have the energy to do them.

Our last stop in Laos was 4000 islands, a mass of islands and sandbanks right in the middle of the Mekong. It was a relatively short bus ride followed by a short ride across the river to get to our accommodation. We chose to stay on the smaller island of Don Khon rather than the large party island of Don Det and Joey managed to find a lovely place with a swimming pool! We jumped straight into the pool after arriving and instantly felt revived! The following day we hired some bikes and cycled round the island and it was a beautiful day, possibly the best day we had in Laos! There was beautiful scenery and a great waterfall to visit. The evenings were spent watching the sunset and the local kids swimming in the Mekong. It was a very peaceful place. The next day we spent just chilling by the pool and we felt so much better after.

Overall we didn’t come away feeling like we loved Laos, and a lot of that was down to the travel between places. As I’ve said before though, it’s ok to not love everywhere that we visit. I hope as time goes on Laos is able to invest in its infrastructure and improve the roads. A lot of our journeys were so uncomfortable they were really draining and this took it out of us and hindered our enjoyment. Maybe if the infrastructure improves we’ll return and have a better experience.