Phnom Penh, 6 - 9 May

Arriving into bustling Phnom Penh was a shock to the system after chilled out Kratie and Si Phan Don. We adjusted to the new pace and noise however, and enjoyed exploring the city.

The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda were great to see. The bits we were allowed to see in the palace weren’t as lavish as you might have expected. The Silver Pagoda however and its multitude of heavily adorned Buddha images were quite extravagant.

We also visited the Killing Fields and S-21; the former was one of many places where ‘enemies’ to the Khmer Rouge were taken to be executed; while the latter was used as a prison during the same time. Both of these museums were harrowing – especially as you remind yourself that all of these horrible events took place a mere few decades ago.

We were surprised at the amount of NGOs in Phnom Penh (actually, in the rest of Cambodia as well). From restaurants or cafes offering employment and training to women previously in the sex industry, or former street kids, to retail shops selling products made by people with disabilities, or illnesses. The amount of organisations out there to help people disadvantaged in some way and who don’t receive the support they need from the government is amazing. Being able to patronise these businesses also makes you feel like you’re helping in some way, while sipping on your coffee or buying a t-shirt. Interestingly however, talking to an NGO worker a few weeks later he told us that around 10% of the NGOs working in Cambodia left last year, as they were sick of dealing with the corruption prevalent at all levels of organisations and government departments.

It was nice wandering around the waterfront, and easy to navigate central Phnom Penh on foot.

As we were in Phnom Penh, the rainy season was just beginning, and it was our first introduction to the impressive downpours and pandemonium this creates in the city. A few times we were caught out and had to shelter inside wherever was close.

Walking on water in the Royal Palace grounds

Cambodia: Kratie, 4-6 May

After crossing the border into Cambodia, our first stop was Kratie, further down the Mekong from Si Phan Don. We took a tuktuk tour around some key sights in and around Kratie with a friendly local driver. This included some impressive temples, one of which was the 100 pillar temple.                                                                                                 

We also stopped to look at a floating village nearby. The village is populated by poor Vietnamese people who, owning no land back in Vietnam, erected their homes in the river and made a living from here. When the wet season comes, they take down their homes and rebuild further around the corner as the level of the river rises.

On our way to see the floating village, we stopped in a local village, much to the delight of the children, who swarmed into the tuktuk with us and came along for a bit of a ride. Some of them took turns taking running jumps on and off the tuktuk as it made its way through the village. Every village we passed through on our trip we encountered gorgeous smiling kids waving and shouting out ‘hello’ at us, which was quite endearing.

Other stops including watching and talking to some women planting the rice paddy fields, and trying local palm sugar juice (not such a fan of this). Then we went to cool off at the local swimming hole. Turns out this was actually a set of quite strong rapids. Bamboo platforms are erected over the rapids for hanging out, picnicking, hammocking, and also to
cling onto so you don’t get swept off down the river.

In the late afternoon, we headed out on a boat to spot Irrawaddy Dolphins. These dolphins are quite rare and pods can be found in the Mekong around Kratie, as well as near Si Phan Don. Previously, they had been hunted. Although protected now, their numbers are still quite small. We did manage to spot quite a few as they briefly came up for air before slipping under the surface again. It was also a beautiful sight with the sun setting across the river.

Although our tour had officially finished, our tuktuk driver wanted to take us to his friend’s school to help the kids with their English. We went along and were stood up in front of the class, telling them about where we came from, etc. The kids were far too shy to interact with us, but it was a funny experience with thirty or so enthralled faces staring up at us and occasionally giggling about the way we looked, talked, or did something or another.

Goodbye Laos - a few reflections

In the end we spent a total of five weeks in Laos, and really enjoyed our time here. To follow; a few reflections on Laos.

Laos was more expensive than we expected – more so than Thailand for instance – particularly in terms of food (although of course still cheap by western standards).

Laos is really on a timeframe all of its own, and is commonly referred to as ‘Laos PDR – please don’t rush.’ This is something that takes a bit of getting used to, but after a while, you do adjust to Lao time.

Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world, and a lot of people live in real poverty, yet despite this we only encountered one or two beggars during our entire time there.  Also, even the most basic of bamboo huts have massive satellite dishes attached.

We spent a lot of time in hammocks, which was fantastic.

Laos has some truly stunning scenery.

The food wasn’t particularly exciting, however beerlao was great.

Pi mai Lao, or Lao New Year, is a fantastic celebration, and a brilliant excuse for the whole country to let their hair down for a few days.

Bumpy, windy roads; and many a long bus journey. Oddly, for some reason, all the bus stations in Laos seem to be very far of town, often 5 or more kms out. Often the smallest towns have more than one bus station as well. Perhaps this is so that tuk tuk drivers can then ferry people to and fro and gain an income this way.

Lao pop music was ubiquitous; many a long bus ride was spent with this blaring loudly from the speakers. The music seems to have only the one tune. This could have something to do with the fact that it hasn’t been around long; apparently prior to 2003, it was illegal to make pop music in Laos.

Laos is changing at an amazing rate. Development is often being prompted by investments from countries such as China, which in turn has an influence on the country, with some of Laos’ natural resources being provided to China.

Much of this development is bemoaned by tourists and others for the detrimental effects on Laos’ environment. However it’s important to remember that much of this development is welcomed by the Lao people, as it often increases access to medical services, education, and more. How to continue development while still preserving the environment is perhaps Laos’ million dollar question.  

Si Phan Don, 28 April - 4 May

Our next and final stop in Laos was Si Phan Don, or 4000 islands. This is right at the southern tip of Laos, where the Mekong is quite wide (up to 12km in the wet season), and scattered with many islands, both small rocks and quite substantial islands.

Our first night we spent in a bungalow on Don Det, one of the three main islands people stay on. The following day we went for a bicycle ride around Don Det and across the bridge to neighbouring Don Khon island.

On Don Khon we found a bit more of an idyllic atmosphere and some great accommodation, so we moved and spent the rest of our time here. Aside from quite a bit of time spent chilling out in our hammocks, we also went for a bike ride around the island, visiting a village on the opposite side for lunch and seeing other sights such as the old locomotive. Particularly impressive was the Khone waterfall; here the Mekong rushes through giant rapids, in turn forming many miniature waterfalls.

 The bike ride was a bit more adventurous than intended as we ended up sheltering from heavy rain under a tree for quite a while. We also rented some inner tubes and went floating down the Mekong, launching ourselves from one point off Don Khon, and getting back off near our accommodation. This was much in amusement to the locals, as we were the only people doing this on that stretch of the river.

French era bridge connecting Don Dhet and Don Khon

The old school in Don Khon

Unfortunately, I was once again attacked by some sort of stomach bug and spent a good few days doing not much in our room. As I couldn’t face the boat and bus ride through to Cambodia in that state, we stayed a few days longer than intended, and were quite ready to leave at the end of it.

Pakse 25th-27th April

Pakse is the capital of the Champasak region and starting point for visits to the Bolavan Plateau.
Another Mekong river side town which, as with a lot of southern Laos, is very close to Thailand and Vietnam, and because of this Vietnamese style noodle soups and Thai food are abundant. In fact our guesthouse had the most popular noodle shop in town on its ground floor and after a beef noodle soup for breakfast amongst dozens of locals it was obvious to see why people gathered here.
Giant pots on charcoal burners with boiling soups, piles of noodles, containers on each table full of green beans and the line of people getting noodle soups to take away.

After breakfast we joined a 1 day tour of the Plateau, maybe an hour’s drive from Pakse. The small villages were teeming with small children, tea and coffee plantations and of course waterfalls. We stopped off for an espresso at a fair trade coffee farm which was actually very good. We took in the sights of three different waterfalls, including a giant one 120 metres high from memory.
We stopped and had lunch and took a dip with the local teenagers who offered us some of their beer lao drunk from cups made of cut in half soda bottles.

We took a small walk around a village that had been created to show of the different types of housing that different tribes used, and before we knew it we were back in the van. I think more time and maybe an independent approach would suit the plateau area but the tour showed us the main points with the knowledge of a guide.

We found a flancy (flash and fancy) hotel that had a roof top bar and enjoyed a beer lao or 3 while watching the sunset.

Tha khaek & Savannahket 22nd-24th

After extending our visas in Vientiane we decided to take a few stops on the way to Si Phan Don and take a look at what southern Laos had to offer.
We had a quick overnight stop in Tha Kheak which is a very popular launching spot for a 3 day motorbike called “the loop”.

We skipped this and caught the bus to Savannahket, a busy town located on the Mekong.
Like all towns in Laos the bus station is inconveniently located around 5km out of town. Maybe the Lao city planners get bribes from the tuk tuk drivers.
Savannaket is split into two areas; the old town, which is located on the Mekong and oozes French colonial charm. A few blocks back the new town is bustling although boring from an architectural point.

We spent a day biking around the old part of the town checking out the old French buildings which are in serious disrepair, this part of town is like a ghost town compared to the new town a few blocks away.
The next day we found some information about a 1 day motorbike trip out to the monkey forest, turtle lake and some local wats. The map seemed good enough except we left town from the wrong side and got completely lost.  We ended up finding a different turtle lake which was empty, later we read the lonely planet which states “although there are no longer turtles here”.

We did come across the impressive “That Ing Hang” Buddha is believed to have stopped here when he was sick during his wandering. He rested by leaning (ing) on a hang tree (thus Ing Hang). A relic of the Buddha’s spine is reputed to be kept inside the thâat.
 After our 140km ride we arrived back in Savannaket a bit disappointed, a little sunburnt and stiff from a long scooter ride with the one scooter between the two of us.

We found a place with a live band surrounded by locals sharing hot pot, so took a table and had a few beer Lao and all was right again.

Vientiane April 19th - 21st

Most people we talked to were a little disparaging about Vientiane, but we enjoyed our time here. This could be in part due to the fantastic croissants, pastries and breads at French bakeries, and in part due to the convenience of being in a capital city. While perhaps not as charismatic as Luang Prabang, we did find that Vientiane has its charms and was a nice city to hang out in, with a range of different options for places to eat. One night was chanced upon a family-style French restaurant serving food from l’Alsace and offering just the one dish – that day it was sauerkraut (choucroute) – and it was fantastic. Partly it was good to have something so different, although it was much heavier than we needed in the heat of Vientiane.  

For a few days, we rented bicycles to visit some of the city’s sights; Pha That Luang – national monument, impressive symbol of Lao sovereignty and Buddhism; and Patuxai – Vientiane’s version of the Arc de Triomphe, although with a distinctly Lao flavour. Funnily enough, Patuxai was built with cement given by the Americans intended for the construction of an airstrip, so it is affectionately known as the ‘vertical runway.’ Cycling along the Mekong riverfront and looking over at Thailand was also a lovely way to spend an evening.

We spent a bit of time at the COPE Visitor Centre (Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise). COPE provides support and assistance to people with disabilities, but also in particular to victims of UXO; unexploded ordinance (primarily cluster bombs) left over from America’s ‘Secret War’ on Laos – during which time Laos became the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world. The Visitor Centre also has a great deal of information about the war, and the everlasting effects on the country – with people still dying or being injured by cluster bombs each year. The National Museum was also quite informative, although at some points a little propaganda-like.

Vang Vieng April 17th-18th

From Luang Prabang, we took a hair-raising minivan ride to Vang Vieng. I think our driver thought he was playing Gran Turismo or something, managing to shave an hour or so off the very windy and hilly journey but leaving us all a little queasy and glad to reach our destination. Along the way, we did stop to admire the scenery from a beautiful viewpoint amongst the mountains – stunning scenery, although not very clear due to the haze from rice paddy burning.

Vang Vieng is a huge tourism spot in Laos, with many coming here and venturing little elsewhere in Laos. Most go floating down the Nam Song river in giant tractor inner tubes, and while this sounds idyllic enough, there is also quite the party, booze and drug scene to go along with it. Restaurants play endless episodes of Friends or The Family Guy as people recover from their hangovers and almost all seem to offer some form of ‘happy’ pizza, shake, or whatever you want. In this sense, it seems a completely different world from the rest of conservative Laos.

Since these inebriated antics aren’t really our scene, we had just a short stay here, hoping to explore the beautiful scenery around the town. We rented a scooter and headed off to the Blue Lagoon, a short distance out of town. It’s a popular destination and many restaurants have displayed signs with the name to direct tourists their way – making it quite confusing to find the actual blue lagoon. We did make it there though, first climbing up a steep cliff face to see the extensive cave and its reclining Buddha image, before cooling off in the beautiful aquamarine waters of the lagoon at the base of the cliff. This was a great trip from the town, highly recommended.  

Luang Prabang - April 11th-16th

After an authentic Lao bus ride we arrived in Luang Prabang just before new years. Our small truck the kind you might see delivering wood had around 25 people in it with 5 in the cabin, luckily it was only a 3 hour drive.

We met up with Ben and Annalise who we had been hanging out with since Mung Ngoi Nuea and went to the Kuang Si Falls but Hannah had to stay behind due to her body not agreeing with the frog she ate the night before. The falls were the first attraction where there were more locals than tourists. The month of April is the hottest time of the year in Laos with temperatures falling between 35-40 degrees. Countless numbers of Lao families gathered for not picnics but feasts in the shade, we are talking about a normal picnic with a few salads and sandwiches, but whole grilled fish and dish after dish laid out all accompanied but what else but sticky rice and crates of beer Lao.

After some tree swings and hurling ourselves into the water our tuk tuk driver took us to the local market and became our translator as we bargained for water pistols knowing that the next few days Luang Prabang would become a giant water fight. We had already been drenched in our tuk tuk ride that day.

The next day Hannah felt mostly better and we went to the New Year’s parade where monks were washed by the public and dozens of young “Miss Laos” girls took to the streets. After the parade armed with our water pistols we headed into town, before we got to the end of our street we were drenched kids with giant buckets had seen the armed “falangs” from a distance and armed themselves screaming “saibadee pii mai” (Happy Laos new year) we took up a spot with some locals that had a water supply and joined in on the madness.

One of the main streets became a make shift waterfight parade with trucks, utes, and all sorts of cars that looked like they shouldn’t work drove down the streets with large groups of people drinking beer and dancing to the Lao pop music. Every truck had its own barrels so they could dump water on people as the slowly drove by, as the people on the street launched counter attacks or ran up to the driver and poured beer lao into their mouths before dancing away. This madness continued for a few days and it was a daily ritual to ensure that all valuables were sealed in waterproof bags.

Luang Prabang also offered a great range of food which was nice after being in small towns where the menus were identical. We found a bakery that did great croissants in fact maybe the best ones we’ve had. Along with Belgium beer bars with double fired frites, and an Auzzy bar that did an average job at a meat pie.

The charm of Luang prabang with its nightly craft market and food stalls are definitely worth a few days there isn’t a huge amount to do but with endless temples and great food it’s easy to sit back and relax.