Chapter VII
'Deep into the Jungle'
Here we are, the next instalment of my first Asian adventure, we’ve gone from Thailand to Cambodia and now the short journey north to Laos, in particular Vientiane, once again why here you ask, because it was another to tick off the list and i’ve heard so many good things. Another disgustingly cheap flight that took about 3 hours straight into the capital. Laos did require an e-visa for entry but its not much hassle at all, just sort it before you fly, much easier and cost about £30 or the equivalent. Flying north over Cambodia into Laos you notice the vast jungle and greenery, it’s incredibly beautiful but made me think, if we go down here I am never returning. Anyway that didn’t happen and landed safely into Wattay International, there was no trouble with visas and didn’t take more than 15mins to clear. Through booking my hotel with booking.com they offered me a complimentary pick up service, after doing some research it was only 15mins but still, an air conditioned taxi straight to the hotel, yes please! I stayed in a place called ‘Mali Namphu Hotel‘ and once again the location lived up to expectation, don’t get me wrong, I do a lot of research for this reason, I don’t just get lucky with the places but its always nice to see a trip advisor comment or feedback that doesn’t let you down. Similar layout to the hotel I had in Cambodia small entrance that opened up into a courtyard, I had a ground floor room which was a stone throw away from the breakfast and lunch area and the rooftop pool was located no more than a minutes walk. I liked this hotel and paid a whopping £9 a night to stay there, its honestly disgusting the more you think about paying for hotels in other places. I was on a similar timeline to Cambodia so wanted to make every day count!
Vientiane is probably one of the most laid back capitals i’ve ever been to, I think its mostly because the centre is pedestrian populated, theres roads and dirt tracks but after exploring it seems the cars stick to the main roads around the city not so much through it, which again was ideal! I had a walk around in the baking heat and just sat in random bars, the people were incredibly friendly wondering where i’ve come from, who I am with, why I am here, once again, another asian country with very nice people! it’s becoming a trend. I took a wander down towards yep you guessed it, ‘The Maeklong River’ seems to be everywhere at this point doesn’t it, its where the government buildings were located, the shrines and the statues, I always like to try and take as much
information in as I possibly can from the places I travel to, I use my phone and just research as I go along, who is this, what did he/she do, what happened, anything really and I heavily suggest doing the same where ever you go. When you’re limited for time and days, the whole tourist traps can be good, but if you’re able to come home and tell your friends and family about what actually makes the place special its far more knowledgable and sometimes a better story. I took a walk along the banks of the river where there was plenty of food stalls and merch being sold, I was told late at nights this was the place to be for the night market and plenty of pop up bars and music. After sitting down on the river bank and eating some local cuisine I found my way to a place called ‘Wat Si Muang’ another Buddhist temple of course and this one seemed to be a village not just an individual structure.
It didn’t cost anything to enter this mini like village, there was no people chasing you for money or begging for hand me outs, well I was pestered by some kids with a ball to play football, pretty sure their parents overlooking the situation had a right laugh wondering what the hell was going on, but anyway after showing off my skills… there was a little shop selling some ice creams and just thought 6 ice creams for the children who just humiliated me in football was fitting, set me back a massive £2 but they all went away with a smile on their face, as Zombieland goes ‘Rule 32, Enjoy the little things’. As you can tell by the pictures the temples are all incredible, such colour and architecture, and I just found myself taking pictures and poking my head inside to see what was going on, mostly monks praying but trust me thats interesting enough. ‘REMEMBER’ shoes off people. For the rest of the day I just visited other sites google maps recommended, the giant golden buddha, a few more temples, crossed a few more markets, pretty similar to Siem Reap tbh, I worked my way back to the hotel and stopped in a bar around the corner called, ‘Moonlight Lounge’ it was quiet at first, some live music, choice of cigars, and some great drinks on offer, of course, all very cheap. I stayed there pretty much until midnight, pretty drunk but not drunk enough to have a bad nights sleep. After all tomorrow I was on the move up north.
I heard about a place more central to the country called ‘Vang Vieng’ its apparently a bit of a party location, lots of back packers etc, this wasn’t the reason I was going but nevertheless I was very excited by this one. I took a high speed train from Vientiane to Vang Vieng, the station and train was very modern and comfortable and took about an hour, they do ask to see your passport so definitely bring that with you. The picture you see to the right is the exact picture I took as I walked out of the station, you can see why I made the journey now cant you. I was here to rent an ATV Buggy and go exploring around the jungles of Laos, so before I got here I did some research into rental companies, theres loads, but I wanted the one where I could be left alone
to do my own thing, I rented from a company called ‘Motobikes & buggy band rental services’ they sent somebody in a minibus to pick me up from the station and take me straight to the rental shop, it was incredibly easy and quick, gave me a crash course, literally how to start, go and brake, thats it, chucked me the keys and off I went.
They give you a guide of sort where the miles and miles of dirt track just lead into the jungle where you can stop off for mountain climbing, cliff diving, cave exploring and lagoons with swimming spots, I’ve got to be honest since my time started in Asia this was by far the biggest smile I’ve ever had on my face, it was so cool just driving this off road buggy through the jungle, the incredible scenery around, still to this day the best (in land) I’ve ever seen and dare I say probably ever will.
I just kept going and going I was just mesmerised by my surroundings, virtually nobody on the roads/dirt tracks, just myself and my buggy. I thought I would pull over for my first stop, I think it was called silver hill view point, I think… I pulled up next to a little stall where a local was selling bottles of water and then took off up the mountain pass, now I wouldn’t say I’m the fittest or unfittest person, but in this heat and humidity, the steep steps that turned into just climbing up rock fall, there is no help on standby, theres no barriers, no people half way up, you’re on your own, you fall, twist your ankle, get bitten by something or faint, thats it, you’re waiting for the next person to come by, but thats what I loved about it, you were on your own doing what ever you felt like, this wasn’t some tourist attraction where people are queuing up etc,
I think it took me around an hour maybe longer to get to the peak of the mountain, but god was it worth it. You could split into two different peaks when you hit the top, one had a hut like shelter you could lay down, the other, a plane! obviously I went for that, I set up my phone and made the climb up the steep rocks to get the perfect picture, as you can see theres no stairs or health and safety here, what an experience! I think I stayed at the top and just gazed across Laos for a good 30mins before making the journey back down the mountain to my doom buggy, which took about 20 odd minutes. On seeing the red rocket I grabbed a beer and chugged.
Back on the road again and all fueled up ‘Thats me not the car’ passing loads of locals and their houses (huts), stopped off a few times to buy more drinks etc, then headed to the next stop which was a lagoon, I cant quite remember which one it was, theres about 5 there and they all offer something unique. The one I did stop in though was also like a mini village, you pay to park but it also includes your entry ticket, which worked out at about a couple of pound I think, there loads of shops selling swimwear, food and drinks, theres canyons with water holes and then an absolutely stunning lagoon, as seen in the picture below, and yes it really was that colour. This is the quiet side, the other had swing ropes, homemade diving boards, there were loads of people having a great time and I could see why. I actually could’ve stayed there all day but for whatever reason I just wanted to jump back into the ATV and drive to another location, I ended up at lagoon2 this one was kind of the end of the line in terms of main roads, its still on a dirt track mind. It was a different lagoon which had another lake much quieter and a spa which overlooked a running river with a mini waterfalls, it was safe to say Laos was my place of zen of all countries I have been to.
I settled down and had some lunch, Laos cuisine is similar to Cambodian, everything is fresh and presentation is key! There was locals farming and cutting branches off the trees, just a lot of agriculture going on really, as I said they’re not only there to serve you it’s their home and workplace, so be respectful. I made my way to the hut overlooking the river and asked for a massage, its very private and you have your own room and masseuse. Told you I like a massage… After being incredibly relaxed… I went for a swim in the lagoon, this one wasn’t quite as clear but still fresh and incredibly peaceful, I forgot to mention there is a lot of fish in these lagoons but nothing can bother or hurt you. I was there till sun down pretty much and my plan was not to stick around in Vang Vieng ‘unfortunately’ so I headed back to the rental company. On returning they did mention I was over my agreement by an hour so there would be extra charge, without arguing I just agreed and all they wanted was an extra fiver ‘equivalent’, if you are happy to pay these prices then why argue. I walked back into the town and then you could really see why it was back packers central, theres hostels and bars everywhere, people from all around the world up and down on scooters and ATV’s, tbh I wish I stayed there for the night but I know exactly how I would’ve felt the next morning and making that journey back to Vientiane. I ended up walking back to the train station with plenty of time to spare, trains are on time here, theres no need to worry about it turning up late etc, Im pretty sure it was funded and built by the Chinese as it runs all the way through South East Asia, so thats obviously good to know.
Made it back with no trouble at all on a very quiet and speedy train, grabbed a taxi to the hotel and was safe to say I was out like a light! A very productive day ticked off the list. I had another full day to go in Laos, so the next morning thought I would go and see more of the capital, more so the outskirts and busy side this time. I set off early in the morning and made my way to the first monument it had to offer, ‘The Arc de Triomphe’ or to the locals ‘Patuxai’ it was built to commemorate the soldiers that died in WWII and The French Independence war, makes sense now doesn’t it, of course its been decorated in a traditional Laos style but still was very cool to see, I then made the long walk up towards their independence square, which was home to ‘Pha That Luang’ an incredible golden temple that stood in the centre of the capital. There was also a couple of other impressive temples situated to the east and west of the building but that was the most impressive by quite some margin, as you can imagine being the hub, theres a lot of things going on, people playing football, markets, people just generally socialising, I just tried to take it all in and relax. Its safe to say Laos was the most peaceful but active country I encountered and I loved every minute of it. Theres so much more to see of Laos, I barely scraped the surface and I can guarantee I will be back to continue the adventure around this wonderfully impressive country!
