LAOS: My Story and Travel recommendations

After the long awaited wait to head into Laos, It finally happened and our plane touched down in Vientiane around noon. Before we took off from Kuala Lumpur, I had the opportunity to meet a couple that was traveling for 10 weeks on their way around the world and they too were heading to Laos. To say you have traveled around the world in 10 weeks is something I would consider impossible as you that only allows you to spend 2-3 days in a city and just as you start to get a taste of your surroundings, your on your way back to the airport and waiting in line to catch a flight to the next country. Definitely not something I would ever be interested in doing but hey, different strokes for different folks I guess. It is extremely difficult to have the best of both worlds in life but I guess this is the closet thing to that so.. why not? Their names were Anne and Mos. Annie was born in Hong Kong but lived most her life in Melbourne, Australia. Mos was born in Laos and shared an incredible story with me about how his parents fled Laos when he was created and escaped down the Mekong river holding onto the edge of a small boat as they clung to their life and hid from the armed military guards on the banks watching over the river. This story was a real eye opener and can’t even begin to imagine having to put my life on the line like his parents did not too long ago. After running away from their home country, Moses parents ended up in Australia so that is where he has been raised his whole life. Anne and Mos was a couple and had been together for a while. I cannot remember what Anne did for work but I do remember that Mos graduated from Chef School and worked as a Cook in Melbourne, Australia.

Once our plane touched down in Vientiane, we were told the visa to enter Laos costs $30US and had to be paid in US dollar at the customs counter. I can honestly say I never carried US money so both Mos, Anne, and I had to get special permission to pass through customs and head out of the airport as there was an ATM located at the front entrance beside a convenience shop that allowed you to withdraw US Dollars. I was quite surprised as other travelers told me Laos was one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world and so I did not expect any part of traveling in Laos to be convenient. Once we withdrew the money we headed back through the gates at customs and paid the officers so we would be granted our 30 day visa and would be permitted to entry the country. Once we were through customs Mos was eager to practice his lao speaking to real lao people so he got us set up and we hired a cab that brought us into the main city centre.



Anne and Mos were traveling on a very comfortable budget so they could afford a fairly nice place to stay in. Me on the other hand, I was used to always trying to find the cheapest place in the city where I could stay in a dorm and I pillow and mattress was the only luxury I ever looked for. Anne and Mos stayed in a fairly expensive lodge and I ended up wandering along the streets and found a hostel with 6 beds per room for 20,000 Kip or $3 US a night. The place was quite run down and the lady between the counter seemed like a miserable bitch that had no desire to make you feel welcome but I took a bed as the price was right. When I began traveling; and considered a place to stay, I would look for a nice, clean, new, busy hostel to stay in. After four months of traveling, I have changed my ways and could really care less about the appearance or cleanliness of the hostel. All I care about is if it’s cheap and comes with a mattress and a pillow to rest my head on. I have already noticed changes in myself and have found it much easier to adapt and be grateful for anything instead of being so damn picky like I was in the beginning. Once I threw my valuables in the locker in my dorm room, I met Mos and Anne and we walked around the streets and found a street side market where you could order local food and we feasted on Lao sausage, salad and sticky rice. The sausage was amazing and has a popular reputation in Laos and we quickly found out why.

In the afternoon we bargained with a Tuk Tuk driver for what we considered was a reasonable price for him to take us to Xieng Khuan and then back as well. This is a park that is mostly called Buddha Park and it is a remote located about 25 kilometers south of the Lao capital Vientiane. The park contains an amazing variety of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures constructed in 1958 by a holy man known as Laung Pu. It is a truly fascinating place full of ambience and tranquility. After walking around in the park and taking many photos we all agreed that the park was beyond what any of us expected. At the front of the park, there is a massive round bowl and the entrance appeared to a very tribal looking face and had a small opening for a mouth that had its tongue hanging out of it. This structure was large enough that you could climb inside of the dark space inside and once we crawled in, we could make out that there was a staircase made of cement that took you up three levels. On the third level was a narrow set of stairs that led to a very small opening which was onto the top of the bowl. Once we crawled through the opening, we found ourselves on a roof like balcony and it gave way to an amazing bird’s eye view of the park and all of the strategically placed cement statues below. Very impressive and what made it even more amazing was that Mos could speak Lao and we met 2 monks walking around in the park that told us about the area and some stories behind some of the statues. They even agreed to take a picture with me on the arch of a 80 foot Buddha statue. The statue portrayed a man leaned over on the side of his body with his arm supporting his head and the monks explained to us that this is the famous position of the Buddha when he died. The monks also explained to us that the giant statue we climbed in and walked around the different levels in almost complete darkness was meant to represent hell on earth. This was a very spiritual statue but made complete sense of how the structure was designed. Inside the statue was a little room in the middle that had religious statues inside a closed off area and the expressions on their face seemed as if they were stuck in an eternal hell with no way out. After looking at all the different statues, we tracked down our driver and jumped back in the Tuk Tuk and headed into the city. Once back, we ate at a nice restaurant along the Mekong River and drank some BeerLao until we became tired and then headed off to bed.




March 30th, 2008: En route to Thakek, Central LAOS
The excitement of finally being in Laos wore off a bit over night and this day did not bring too much excitement for me. I met up with Anne and Mos in the morning and we got breakfast at a café. We found out from a worker there that all the banks and ATM machines were not working and all the banks in Laos closed for the weekends. Once I ate the breakfast bagel I ordered I told Anne and Mos to wait for me while I went up the street to see if I could get anymore money out. I managed to come across an exchange booth that allowed me to take money out on my master card. I knew this would eventually create a service charge to my card but I was grateful to find such a place that allowed me to do this transaction. I was not at all experiencing any sort of difficulties in Laos like I had been warned by fellow travelers. I am not sure if I was just lucky to get all my troubles sorted out but I am sure there will be other difficulties to come during my travels in Laos. I would almost even go as far as expecting things to go wrong realizing it is a considered as a third to fourth world country. Yesterday, Mos invited me to travel with him and Anne for a few days to visit his relatives in a small town called Thakek in Central Laos. I heard that most people who travel in Laos stay in the south or the north part of the country and that the central is mostly unheard of to travelers headed to Laos. Not sure if it because there is nothing there to see or people are just afraid of getting off the beaten track but his invitation sounded like a worthwhile adventure to me so I told him I would be honored to join them for the trip. Later that day we caught a bus for 5 hours and got picked up at the bus stop in Thakek by his brother and we rode in the back of a truck and met his sister and cousins and some of his other relatives. It was a short visit and his uncle gave us a ride to a guest house close by so we got settled in and then had a feast at a local restaurant which served Lao food only. My excitement was growing as Mos told us that we would meet his uncle in the morning and would drive to meet his Grandpa who lived in a small and very remote village about 20 minutes outside of Thakek. He also told us that his family is planning to spend the day showing us around the countryside and a few cool places around where they live. Should be a unique experience for all of us as Mos has not seen or even met most of these people since he was a baby just before his parents fled Laos.



March 31st, 2008: Thakek, Central LAOS
The next morning we got up around 7am and were ready to meet his uncle for 8pm. We waited around our guest house for close to an hour speaking with some locals that were eating, drinking coffee, talking and smoking at a table near by. By the time his Uncle arrived it was around 9am and an hour later than when he told us he would meet up. I guess this would explain the term called “Lao Time” that I was told about before coming to this country. Mos told us that being late for an appointment in common place in this country and the term “Lao time” is a simple phrase that is an explanation for the lack of urgency the people of Laos have. I found out that if you ask a person here how long it will be, if they tell you 5 minutes; in actuality or “Lao time” this would be closer to 20 or 30 minutes. And 10 minutes can mean up to 1 hour. I’ve also found that there distances are very far off. 1 kilometer to them is about 5 kilometers and a 20 minutes drive is more like an hour taking into account the time you wait for your transport driver to arrive. We left our guesthouse with his uncle and we took a really nice scenic drive along a dirt road to a remote village where his Grandpa and other relatives lived. The village was so remote that I was the first white man that they had ever seen for most of them. I will never forget the expression on excitement on their faces as I walked by their huts and said hello to them and waved as they stepped out of their dark corners of their huts into the light and waved back. We stayed in this village for a while and a young boy walked up to me and followed me like shadow for the rest of the time there. I believe he was not scared at all of me and his curiosity of something brand new over took him and he did not want me to leave. I did not see one white person the whole time I was in Thakek and this is probably a good explanation as to why this little boy and the rest of the village was so intrigued by my presence. After we met his old and frail Grandfather he walked down the dirt road to a house where his brother lived. We drank some BeerLao with his family and feasted on sticky rice, salad, meat, and I actually tried a piece of smoked squirrel for my very first time that they grilled up for the special occasion of our visit. I never imagined I would end up eating squirrel along my travels but I did and it surprisingly tasted very delicious. After eating and drinking beers, we took a long drive to see a sacred Buddha cave that had only been discovered four years ago. It was so sacred that you had to remove your hat before entering and no cameras or photos were allowed to be taken in the cave. Everyone who entered the cave was asked to say a prayer to the Buddha so I took part in this as tried to fit in with the family as much as I could without looking too out of place. Once I said a prayer and made a wish, I took in the pure essence of the surroundings inside this majestic and magical cave and the temptation to take a picture began to overwhelm my body but I resisted the temptation as I couldn’t bare to think of what would happen if the flash of my camera accidentally went off. We picked a message off a tree that was meant to for tail your future and tell you how long of a life you will live. The problem was it was written in Lao so I really had no idea what it said. Mos’ sister translated it for us and it did not say anything positive about my life but I decided to keep it anyway and slid it away into my pocket. Surprisingly, most of the messages were very negative and did not say many good or positives things about ones future. I’m starting to think that maybe Buddhism is such a positive belief as I originally though and this proved to me how extremely complex and confusing a lot of religions can be. Once we left the cave, we walked down the steep staircase to the entrance and Mos, Anne and I made a donation and had a local guy take us into the lower half of the cave which seemed to disappear into an eternal darkness. The boat was extremely sketchy and I was surprised it could stay afloat. We loaded onto the boat somehow without it flipping over and the boat man paddled his hand made paddle slowly along the water and we entered into the darkness of the cave. Luckily he had a headlamp that he turned on once we got inside as it was pitch black and couldn’t see a thing without the light. This cave amazed me and I was in awe as we slowly coasted inside it and the walls seemed to close shut around us. The inside was so narrow that we had to duck our heads in some parts as the roof of the cave was only about 2 feet high. We shone the light in the water and watched as there were hundreds of big sucker fish swimming beneath the surface and just seemed to be following us deeper into the cave. It was Anne suggestion that we had gone for enough inside for her liking so we stopped going any further and slowly coasted back out to the entrance to where the family was waiting for our return. We managed to unload out of the boat without falling in and we loaded into the back of his Uncles pickup truck and headed back to Thaket. We were not happy with the guesthouse we stayed at the night before so we found a different one that we all liked and the 3 of us got a room for $4 US each a night. We did not do much that evening as we planned to get up early the next morning to meet his family and drive 4 hours to a sacred place called Phun Lo cave.

From the moment I descended from the staircase of our plane at the airport in the Capital city Vientiane, in Laos; and took the first breath of the warm air, I instantly fell in love with this country. If you picture what it would be like to jump into a time machine and go back in time 100-200 years ago. One of the best places in the world to get a real perspective of what this would be like is in Laos. It is one of the most under developed countries on planet Earth and it was devastated and ran over by the American, Cambodian, and Vietnamese military during the years of war. For thousands of years, Laos has been a neutral country that has been occupied by foreign military and used as an escape route or a surprise attack entry into a country. The people are very timid and just want to make peace with the world after such a long history of killing and destruction in their country. Tourism is a very big growing industry in a lot of countries and it can be very difficult to get off the beaten track in a lot of countries, for example: like the eastern coast of Australia. In Laos, it is particularly easy to get away from the tourists things as there is not much in this country. Once you get away from the tourist tours or trips or sights, you get to see a lot of the real country and get opportunities to visit remote villages like I had the opportunity to do.

April 1st, 2008: Thakek, Central LAOS
We awoke very early and got ready in a rush as we slept past our alarms and ordered breakfast at our guesthouse to ensure we got a good feed for the long drive. To our surprise, his Uncle and brother were only 15 minutes late and once we finished eating we packed into their truck and set out on the long 4 hour journey on a memorable road trip through the countryside while passing numerous villages along the way. It was about 5 hours by the time we arrived at Phun Lo cave and weren’t at all disappointed with the drive as there was gorgeous scenery and beautiful villages to see and take photos of along the drive. The area was very scenic and made for some great pictures. The entrance of the cave was quite large, fairly impressive and full of water. We had lunch at the cave entrance and then jumped into the water and watched as many others around us were doing it too. There were some massive rocks at the edge of the entrance that little kids had climbed up on and were leaping of them into the water like school children playing at a park on a jungle gym. The cave was an impressive 7 kilometers long and you could hire a boat and a driver to take you in all the way. Unfortunately for us, it was getting mid afternoon and it took about 2 hours for these drivers to go all the way to the back of the cave and then return. We tried to barter with them and ask to pay for them to go in part of the way but they would not budge and told us it was either all or none. We had a long drive back home and Mos’ family preferred to do the majority of it in daylight as the roads were not secure and anything could be lying on the roads, and became quite dangerous especially at night. We had a blast riding in the back of the pickup the way back and watched the mountains pass by as the sun began to set behind them. The nightfall brought us an amazingly clear sky and the stairs light up the dark sky like nothing I have ever seen before in my life. The drive to Phun Lo caves was an unforgettable experience for me and the night sky was an absolute beautiful sight that I will always remember for as long as I live.

April 2nd, 2008: En route back to Vientiane, N. LAOS
The next morning came early as the three of us had to get to the bus station and catch the so called ‘VIP’ bus back to Vientiane. If it was my choice, I would have liked to spend a week at this village with Mos’ family and see how remote this part of the world really is. Unfortunately, this was not an option as Mos and Anne had to get back to Vientiane to the airport later that day to catch their flight and head to a new country. It’s hard to imagine they only gave themselves four days to experience Laos and meet most of his family for the first time. I have met a few other people along my travels that are also doing this ten week race around the world thing and the race part of it is a perfect word for what it must be really like. There is no way you could arrive in a country you have never been to, take in the surroundings, get grounded with the unique culture, people, rules, and traditions, see incredible sights, relax, and immerse yourself fully in the country and take in all there is to offer in four days. It is impossible to do and this is why I would never consider such a race in such a short amount of time.

Mos’ family offered to give us a lift back to the bus station. We caught the bus at the bus terminal that looked more like a big open dirt field with an ample amount of Tuk Tuk drivers just lurking around the area waiting to snatch the next tourist that rolled in, there were few small shops selling snacks and a few large buses parked in front of a small concrete building. The building had no signs just a concrete structure with a ticket window just inside where you bought your ticket and that was about it. We had a bit of time to kill before our bus left so we decided it would be fitting to have a Beerlao in celebration of an amazing journey and experience in Thakek. The beer went down like water as it was really hot and humid out and the temptation to drink more set in but we figured would not be the best idea for a long bus ride back to Vientiane. The bus ride was uneventful besides the drivers decision to play karaoke and he made sure to play it loud enough that everyone was able to hear it as well as the vehicles we passed by and the small villages along the way. We arrived back in Vientiane around 1 pm. Since it was the afternoon and we had nothing planned. I checked back into the same hostel I stayed at before, and then I set out to find a airplane ticket shop so I could book a ticket from Laurang Prabang to Siem reap in Cambodia where I planned to meet my parents there in 10 days time. Having my parents come all the way over to the other side of the world to meet me and travel a bit together was definitely one of the most flattering things that have ever happened to me. It was a godsend that they could both get the time of work and were eager to take the opportunity to leave home and travel with me for 3 weeks and experience my life. This sort of life I have chosen to live is something that so few people in this world get the opportunity or would even take the opportunity to do. It seems everyone back home is entirely envious of my travels but in actuality, a very small percentage of people I know or even in the world would actually leave the comfort of their home country and set out on a mission to experience the world on their own like I have. I am so grateful that I will get to share some experiences together with 2 people so close to me as my Mom and Bob. Its such a pleasing thought to know that we will be able to talk about our times together and cherish the memories for the rest of our lives. It should be a life changing experience for my mother as she has never been to a 2nd, let alone 3rd world country before. In the afternoon we just walked around the city and didn’t get much accomplished. We had a late lunch at the local market down by the river and just hung out under the sun and watched as the locals were preparing for an upcoming carnival. There were street kids all over the area with their hands clenched around a good 100 or so strings that were tied to balloons and they were trying to sell these balloons to anyone and everyone in the area. We had a young girl about 10 years old approach our table and begin speaking to us in English. We were thrown back at the fact that her English was so good and she seemed completely fluent in it. In Laos, it is very rare to meet any locals that speak really good English, so to come across this young girl who could carry on a conversation in English with us was a pretty rare thing. We talked with her for a little while and she made many desperate attempts to convince us to buy a balloon from her. Neither Mos nor I even entertained the idea so Anne took it upon herself and bought a balloon from our little friend. After she left, another little girl approached our table and Anne then tied the string from the balloon she bought onto the wrist of this little girl and told her it was a gift for her. It was a heartfelt gesture and made me smile knowing Anne had just done such a beautiful thing for these poor street kids.

Anne and Mos had to catch their plane that evening so we went out for a nice dinner at a restaurant by a riverside to celebrate our last meal together. We ordered a tower of BeerLao with our meals. This is quite a common thing for tourists to order in Laos as well as in Thailand. It is basically a mini keg of about 3-4 L of beer that is in a glass casing and mounted on a stand so it can easily be stored at your table and easily consumed at your own pace. It would be a very messy night if you were to attempt to drink all this beer by yourself, so it’s usually bought when you are drinking with a group of people. During the dinner, we reminisced about our past days together and exchanged feelings of gratitude that we were able to meet each other and spend these memorable days together. To go to this village was an experience that you could not buy at a store or pay to go on our tour. The mere shock of how surprised Mos’ family were to have a white man visit there village made me realize how precious the opportunity I had experienced really was. Later that evening, we said our goodbyes at the restaurant and displayed our sorrow to each other as we had no choice but to face the reality that our time was up and had to head on separate paths and might never meet again.

I went back to the hostel and met up with my friends who were traveling from Sweden. There were 3 of them. Two of them were quite friendly while the other one was very reserved. I noticed they all had matching coy fish tattoos on their foot so I commented on the authenticity of the design and knew they had to have been very close friends for many years to actually go out together and get the same tattoo. I had a chat with the one guy who seemed to be the most outgoing and more of the leader of their crew and he invited me to join them that evening as they planned to head to a nightclub called Lunar 36 which was a club that is in basically the only high rise building in Vientiane and this hotel is where most tourists stay that visit this city. We had a short chat and he went on to tell me that he really enjoyed traveling in Asia because the girls were so easy. He would go out almost every night to a club or a bar and would either pick up a local girl or allow the local girls to pick him up and would go back to their home with them and sleep with them. By the sounds of it, he had already done this several times and the idea that there would be another this evening brought a huge grin to his face. I was not sure how to take his work as this sort of behavior can often lead to trouble in poor countries like Laos and all over the rest of SE Asia. The people of these countries are extremely poor and they will often approach foreigners asking them for money or the girls will ask the guys if they would enjoy sexual favors from the girl in exchange for some money. Like my Swedish friend, there are many guys that will take advantage of opportunities like this but as for me, I have not allowed myself to sleep with any Asian girl at his point let alone pay money to spend the night with her. After he was finished his story, I questioned his motives and began to share with him some stories I had heard from other travelers along my trip about these so called ‘easy girls’ and what can often happen to you once you fall asleep. I don’t think you even need to be a backpacker to know what drives the girls into doing these sorts of things and what the consequences for males that hook up with them might be. Most women do not work so they don’t have money and if they can perform sexual favors or just simply give a guy 100% percent of their undivided attention in exchange for money, you might ask yourself, why wouldn’t they? I continued on to tell my friend how I had heard a few stories from fellow travelers how these girls steal from you, once you fall asleep, they may easily take your passport, money, credit cards, cell phone or whatever else you might have in your pockets and then leave unnoticed. To your surprise, they are not beside you when you wake up in the morning and you realize what they did when you lean over the bed and proceed to slip your pants on and find all your pockets are empty and no wallet. I cautioned him that he too would probably fall prey to one of these girls and that it was just a matter of time. He assured me that this had not happened to him yet and that he didn’t think something like this ever would. It is unfortunate I don’t remember his name or that we didn’t exchange email because I would love to get in contact with him now and ask about his encounters with the girls of SE Asia and see if he eventually fell prey to their work.

The nightclub we went to that evening was a very westernized style bar. There was a $10 dollar US cover charge to get inside the doors which we were surprised about and is very rare because most drinking establishments in SE Asia don’t charge a cover and are just happy to have you in their bar drinking beer with the locals. Once we got inside, we noticed there was very little lighting and the bar was filled with local girls and many white foreigners drinking and dancing the night away. Everywhere I looked in this bar was a white male dancing or talking with a local girl. It wasn’t long before I realized there was a good reason why my Swedish friend was so excited to come to this bar. We mostly just stood around a table by the dance floor and watched in awe as the girls would do their thing on the dance floor while most of the guys joined in with them or just watched them move their hips up and down, back and forth in an effortlessly fashion. Later on that night it had become obvious that the bar would be closing soon and right around this time, I realized my Swedish friend had accomplished his mission and was making out with a fairly attractive local girl on the dance floor. It very obvious that this was the girl he planned to spend the night with and just after my realization that he had this girl on lock down, a local girl walked up towards me, turned her back to me and began rubbing her back up against my chest. She began dancing in an erotic fashion and quickly become very flirtatious with me. It was more or less an awkward way to be picked up by a women and I just did my best to play it cool as she literally forced her self on me. Come to think of it, I don’t think she even bothered to say hello to me or even ask my name, I didn’t really even get an option to be with her at the bar, it just kind of happened without any hesitation on her part and before I knew it she whispered in my ear that she wanted to come home with me. As we were leaving the bar, I tried to let her down as softly as possible by explaining to her that I did not have a house, I did not have a hotel room, I did not even have a place that entertained the idea of bringing girls back with you. I explained to her that I was staying in a hostel in a dormitory room where 8 other people would also be sleeping on this night. She went on to show a little bit more desperation and started to get a bit more forceful of the idea that she could return back to my place with me. I told her I had to go and there was no possible way she could come back there with me. She did not take this idea lightly and it took only a matter of seconds to see her frustration and disappoint in me shine through. She let out a big sigh and told me her friend would come to pick her up on his motorcycle and that she did not need me to accompany her any longer. Just then my Swedish friend approached me, said goodbye, slipped on a motorcycle helmet and jumped onto the back of his girls motorcycle and told me that he would see me in the morning. One thing that is worth knowing about when traveling in Laos is that you can get in some serious trouble if you are seen with a local girl. I’m not sure if it is the police who patrol this sort of thing or the local men who don’t like the idea of these white foreigners taking away all their girls. So hooking up with a Lao girl might be done quite easily but is one of the most risky things you can do while traveling in this country.

April 3rd, 2008: Vientiane, N. LAOS
This day will go down as one of the more memorable days during my stay in this country. Once morning arrived, I hired a bicycle for the day from one of the many rental shops in the city area and took a ride to the famous Patu xay archway which is a monument in the center of Vientiane, and was built in the early 1960’s. In English it can be referred to as the “Victory Gate or Gate of Triumph”. It is dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France and actually has a close resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Patu xay was built using American funds. The US had given Laos money to build a new airport, but instead the Laotian government used the money to build the monument instead. Because of this, the archway can also be referred to as the “vertical runway”. Inside the structure was a staircase which allowed you entrance onto the roof. There was a small fee which I paid at the counter and quickly made my way to the roof about 4 stories high up. On this floor there were separate towers built in each corner of the archway that held their own unique appeal of impressiveness. The roof unleashed a terrific view of the surrounding area and before I thought of taking my camera out to capture the moment, I took a few minutes to take in everything there was to offer and then soak it all in. I noticed that you could see the Wat Pha That Luang temple in the distance with its pointed roof glimmering a yellowish glow that just seemed to beam out into the sky like a rocket taking off into space. I spent about an hour or so at Patu xay and there was a large area inside the structure that was like an open market area where dozens of small shops were set up with tourist type souvenirs and I ended up speaking to a pleasant lady about Canada and purchased a few flags from her shop of other countries where I had already been or was planning to go on my trip. I left Patu Xay feeling refreshed and biked along the main road till I stumbled upon the area which is known as Wat Pha That Luang. I read that this area is a national symbol in Laos. It was somewhat of a memorial area with many golden stupas lined up in rows which seemed to go on forever all around the gates of the area. Each stupa had a golden color top which made a beautiful contrast against the clear blue sky above. In the compound, I met two monks that allowed me into one of the temples and felt honored as it was an area of the Wat where most tourists would never be allowed to venture into. I was quite surprised to find out from them that most monks speak a bit of English. They are such gentle people and their generosity seemed to give me the impression that they would roll out the carpet for you to walk on if you asked them to. The temple was loaded with many Buddha statues inside and other statues that look very sacred and untouchable. I asked them if they minded me taking a few photos and they generously granted me my wish. Some temples you go into don’t allow you to take photos so if you ever travel in SE Asia its always a good idea to be aware of these things because you were never know what could happen to you if you are caught taking a photo in an area that didn’t allow you to. I thanked them for inviting me in and was quickly on my way as I still had a few things on my agenda I wanted to finish. I left the area and bicycled down the main road away from Patu xay until I came upon a busy market. I parked my bike beside a vendor and asked him if he would please look after it and make sure no one took off with it using little English and mostly hang signals and gestures. I walked around all the little shops and marveled as I passed hundreds of kiosks that seemed to display an endless amount of cell phones for sale. I was hoping to find a pair of sunglasses as I had now gone through about 3 or 4 pairs of glasses already since I began my trip. I either broke the ones I had or the lenses seemed to get scratched as they slid back and forth in my bag to the point I could not wear them anymore. I found a nice pair of Ray ban aviator knock offs for $25 US. This was quite a bit of money to spend on a pair of sun glasses but I was sick of always buying ones that just broke so I hopeful that maybe these ones would last the trip.

I made it back to where I had left my bike and thankfully it was still there. I went on my way back on track and made my next stop at the Wat si Saket Temple which was the only Wat in Laos to survive the invasion from Thailand in 1827. Its beauty was stunning and I spoke with some more monks walking around inside the temple and asked them about the history behind Wat si Saket and asked them about the best place to be for the Lao new years. They told me there were going to be big celebrations held in Laung Prabang and this would definitely be the best place to be for the new year. Inside the Wat was a small shrine that housed an ancient cabinet and was once a holding place for some of the most sacred Buddha texts ever found. The scripture was so ancient that most of the writing was written on palm leaves. It was a remarkable sight and I began to realize the authenticity of such a religion as Buddha. In the center of the Wat was a large fortress like area and the doors to the entrance were closed. On it, read a sign that said the temple was closed at 4:00 and when I glanced down at my watch, it read 4:10 and realized I was too late. I decided to knock on the doors in hopes there would still be someone inside. A voice spoke and said the area was now closed for the day. I pleaded with the voice and asked if I could look inside just for a brief moment. A few seconds later, the door slightly opened and a man who looked well dressed and in his 50’s stood in the opening. After a few minutes of bartering, the lady allowed me to enter in with the agreement to look quickly and leave right away. I was relieved I made the attempt because once I walked through the doors, the area opened up into a courtyard. Along the walls were hundreds of Buddha statues that stood about 2 feet tall and just seemed to be placed there like a guardian over the area. Behind these large statues were thousands of little Buddha statues that were placed in the openings all along the walls of the entire courtyard. I found out later that there are over 10,100 Buddha statues and small figurines inside this building and I quickly realized how truly lucky I was to see such a unique sight and was so grateful that the little voice in my head ordered me to knock on the doors and gain entrance into such an impressive area. After I left feeling totally satisfied with my experience in Wat si Saket, I headed out and rode 2 km to a place just beyond the city centre to a less visited temple grounds. It was here where I read in the travel guide I had that there was an amazing building where you could soak in a herbal sauna and get an exhilarating massage that was sure to leave your spine tingling. I found the place and a nice lady who was overly friendly and flirtatious welcomed me with a big smile and told me to take off everything I had and put on a sarong and head into the sauna for a deep cleanse with steam and herbs. The sauna was incredibly hot to the point where I didn’t think I could stand the heat for another second without collapsing on the floor. I waited in the waiting area and the lady of the place served me a chi tea and it was delicious. After downing the tea I headed back into the sauna for another cleanse as they were not quite ready to give me a massage. After 2 times in the sauna and a nice massage I paid them the fee of $5 US and was certain it was money well spent. Once I finished there, it was already dark outside so I biked the 2 or 3 km back to the hostel and ended up meeting a French Canadian guy who had been a tree planter for many years and we went out for supper together. During our meal, 2 other travelers that I had already met along my trip ended up walking by so I welcomed them to join us for something to eat. Afterwards, we set out to find a bar that was recommended to us. We eventually found the place on the main street along the Mekong River which was a very clean and funky roof top lounge with everything made of either wood or bamboo. We drank some BeerLao and I had a good chat with a fellow Canadian lady who had been working as an English teacher in Korea for the several years and had also worked some years as a volunteer for Victim services in Ontario.



April 4th, 2008: En route to Vien Vieng, N. LAOS
The morning brought yet another hot, humid and sunny day to this lovely country of Laos. Once I awoke, I packed up all my things and checked out of the hostel and was excited that today was the day that my times in Vientiane would become memories as I was headed on to the next destination called Vien Vieng. I had heard dozens of stories about this place from fellow travelers as it is known as the party spot of Laos and is located right along the almighty Mekong River. Vien Vieng is a small town that is located in the Northern part of the country and it takes about 5-6 hours on a bus to get there from Vientiane. It is quite a famous place because it is here, where you can enjoy river tubing during the day while stopping off at numerous bars alongside the river and grab a tall BeerLao and slam it back and then go on to launch your body into mid air and slam back into the river on the many swing bars that are located all along the river. I got some breakfast at a bakery close by to where I had stayed. After that, I headed off and stopped in at one of the many internet cafes in the city and did my best to catch up on emails that had now began to pile up since internet was nothing of a necessity and often hard to come by in this part of the world. After about an hour or so, I threw my pack on my back and headed out the doors and made my way along the hot and sticky streets of Vientiane towards the local bus station. I had heard it was possible to catch an air-conditioned, luxury style coach bus to Vien vieng from a few different locations throughout the city but I quickly crossed this off as an option when I realized the price was about 3-4 times what you would pay to take a local bus there. I can remember the walk seemed to take ages as the humidity hit you like a tsunami wave rolling onto a beach. The intense heat and humidity made my backpack feel like it was 100 pounds and was dragging me down to the point to where I felt like getting on my hands and knees and crawling the rest of the way. I had made it about half the way to the bus station when my body felt as though it was about to melt. I used all the energy I had left and dashed onto the street and jumped into the back of a Tuk Tuk and begged for the driver to drop me off at the station on his way. It was a short ride there and only would have been about another 10-15 minutes walk but the heat was unbearable and the little money I spent for the ride was worth every penny spent in my mind. The driver dropped me off at the side of the road next to the station and wished me luck on my travels ahead. The station did not really look like a station at all and was just a few rows of buses and a little tiny square building which was the counter to buy your tickets from. The buses look so old and fragile that they looked as if they would fall apart in a million pieces the moment it began moving. I shouted: “Vien Vieng” out loud as I walked by the different buses that were jam packed full of locals waiting to leave the area. It didn’t take long before I guy waved me down and told me to jump on this bus because it was about to leave right away. There were far too many people already on the bus and the guy who flagged me down told me the luggage compartment was already full and that I would have to bring my backpack on the bus with me. I agreed to do so as I didn’t want to leave my bag alone with so many people just lurking around the area. When I stepped in, the bus was covered in dust and it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a good century or two. I had heard that these buses did not have air-conditioning and could get quite warm on the ride so I had already prepared myself for a sweaty time. I was pleased to see that there were about 6 fans on the roof but quickly took notice that only 2 of them seemed to be working. I managed to find a small area of bench at the very back of the bus that I was able to rest my body on and I remember that I really hoped that the bus would make it the whole way without breaking down or my life ending. Just before we were about to take off, a grubby looking white guy jumped on the bus with a young looking Laos guy who looked to be in his late teens. My curiosity created an instant desire for me to spark up a conversation and so I did. I was pleased to realize that there were other travelers who weren’t afraid to get down and dirty for a long bus trip just to save a few bucks and enjoy the experience. I quickly introduced myself and found out he had been living in Laos for a few months and came from the glorious state of California. He explained to me that he was working at a bar on the river in Vien Vieng and had come to Laos but didn’t have any real way of leaving because he had no money or flight ticket back home. He worked at this bar doing promotions and helping trying to get fellow travelers to party at his particular bar. He introduced me to his friend he was with named Phon from Laung Prabang and explained to me that he knew very little English but they were in the business together. I had no real plans for the next 10 days in Laos so he suggested I stick with them and could work at the bar for free food and beer and stay in a hut close by for a fairly cheap rate if I wanted to. I jumped on the idea and told him I would love to get in on the experience.

The bus ride was a lot better than my expectations had led me to believe. The two fans that were working seemed to just cycle the warm air around the bus but managed to still cool the air a little bit that we didn’t all feel like suffocating. Along the way, we passed numerous small little villages where women were outside washing their clothes in small buckets of water and the kids were running around chasing each other or playing games to pass the time and most were half dressed or fully nude. As we passed through each new village, the women and children would stop what they were doing and wave at us as we passed. This sort of thing can be seen all over this country and is a huge reason why almost every traveler I met would agree that one of the friendliest and welcoming countries in our world is Laos. The road way was very poor and often barely wide enough for our vehicle and another passing vehicle to fit on. The roads winded along the edges of the mountain sides and gave the driver no choice but to drive very slowly to avoid the possibility of veering off the edge and having us plunge hundreds of meters to our death or smashing into an oncoming vehicle. Once we finally arrived in the small town area of Vien vieng, I followed Justin and Phon to where they were staying and we passed by some rather attractive girls that looked to be about our age and approached them to talk with them. They told us they just got into the area earlier that day and were planning to stick around for a few days so Justin and Phon gave them a few flyers which explained where the bar was located and told them it would be in their best interest to come out to the bar later on that evening. Justin and Phon led me thru the town area and then showed me the bar where they worked and where I could stay in the grass huts just beside the bar area. Upon our arrival, Justin spoke to the owner of the area and got me my very own hut which even came with a mosquito net which would hopefully help to prevent catching Malaria, which was fairly prevalent around the area where I was in. After I dropped off my belongs, he showed me the bar where he worked called Bucket Bar, and this would be my home base for the next week during my stay in the popular well known area. That first night, we got lucky and the American girls that we spoke to earlier on showed up at the bar and we tried not to hound all over them or look too eager like most guys would at the opportunity to speak with 2 very attractive girls at a drinking establishment. 1 of the girls had the most amazing blue eyes and helped create my attraction to her with her shimmering blond hair. We had a very good conversation and ended up speaking a little bit of Spanish to each other to practice our ability to speak in a foreign language. It turns out she was born in Russia and had a very rough life there and so she moved away with her mother in her teenage years to America. We found out that we shared something very unique in common. We had both been door to door salesman for American companies and worked in the states. Because of that, we had a lot to talk about and had many stories to share with each other. We also seemed to click on an intellectual level and talked about life in general and making dreams become reality. We shared many of the same beliefs in life and I was so grateful to meet such an attractive girl that had so many similar qualities and characteristics as I did. We spent the entire night talking and Justin became the perfect wingman and chatted with her other friend all night. The four of us ended up laying in hammocks together under a hut in the bar and I started to fantasize how amazing it would be to hook up with a girl as hot as she was. She didn’t make any sort of advances but was probably so used to guys hitting on her all the time that she figured she never had to. I was getting a vibe that she had to be somewhat interested considering she spent the whole evening in a conversation with me and probably did more talking than I did which is a pretty rare thing when you’re as outgoing and as big of a blabber mouth as I have become. Later that evening, my night came to a very disappointing close because Justin and the girls decided it would be a great idea to smoke a joint and about an hour later, the girls could barely keep their eyes open and ending up telling us their night was finished and needed to head back to their place and get some rest. After they left, we didn’t let our sorrows get too down on us and partied till around 2:30 meeting other fellow travelers and sharing stories around the massive campfire that was located in the middle of the bar area.

April 5th, 2008: Vien Vieng, N. LAOS
As I was feeling on top of the world and fully aware of my growing love for such an interesting country my world was rocked as I sat in an internet café and logged onto my email. Something terrible had happened back home in Lethbridge, AB where I went to University for 2 and a half years. I had opened my account only to find an email from my ex girlfriend Deejay back home. As I began to read her message, I realized she had taken it upon herself to make sure she passed on the news that one of my good friends had gone out partying the night before and never awoke up in the morning. The news slammed into me like the Titanic hitting an iceberg. As soon as I realized it was my good friend Elliot Wheeler who I had spent many nights partying with and had gone tree planting in Northern BC. The tears started to fill up in my eyes like a flowing river. He was 25 years old and had just graduated from University, had a $30,000 car, had his own condo in Lethbridge and was planning to someday become a helicopter pilot and start his own company on some med terrain or tropical island someday. I had never felt so far away from home as I did on this day. It was such a reality check and the feeling of helplessness started to linger in my mind. There was nothing I could really do but try to make a few phone calls to my good friends back home reassure them that such a tragedy has happened but we must hang out heads high and know he lived a damn good life. It was tough for me to think that all his good friends and family would be left grieving for the loss back home and I could not offer any support to them as I was stuck in a third world country on the other side of the world. He will be remembered as a guy who lived a short life but lived everyday to the fullest and enjoyed partying till all hours of the night. Rest in Peace sir Elliot Wheeler, you will be dearly missed by all who were so thankful you were part of their life. There is a saying that my good traveling friend Tom from Belgium told me about that is a perfect motto for Elliot’s life. It went something like: “I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of not living!”

April 6th, 2008: Vien Vieng, N. LAOS
I got a phone call early the next morning and was absolutely ecstatic when my sister told me over the phone the news that she had become pregnant and will deliver a truly lucky child to this world come the time in December. “What perfect news!” I can remember thinking to myself after such a terrible tragedy the day before. As a dear friend is lost, a new blessed soul is created and brought into this world. God Bless such a beautiful and amazing world to which we all live in.

By the time I escaped vien Vieng I was suffereing from a four day bender that took all day and a 6 hours bus ride to Lauang Prabang before I felt better. Justin invited me to work with him at one at one of the bars called Bucket bar for my stay in Vien vieng. I glady took him up on the offer to work not for money but for free beer and food. Although the food and drinks are very cheap in Laos, I had to take advantage of the free drinks every night. Our job was to hang out on the river and pass out flyers to everyone in hopes they would come to our bar for a few drinks. Doing this was a unique experience that I will never forget about in my life. I met so many fellow travelers during my stay here and I would jump all over the opportunity to work at another bar if it came across my path in the future. In Laos, they are so poor that all you need is 1 million kip ($96 US) to open up a bar.

On or about the second or third day in Laos, I met a really cool Swedish guy named Philip who was also helping out at the bucket bar and we became really close over the next 7 or 8 days that we traveled together. He told me stories about his homeland and how he lived in a remote part in northern Sweden. He explained to me that if you live in the Northern part of Scandinavia; or anywhere else in the world close to the North Pole, there are certain times in the year when the sun is not at all consistent. The earth is on a 23.5 degree slope and the sun rotates around our planet on the same plane which creates different amount of sunlight in different areas of the world. During the winter, the earth is tilted away from the sun and there is about a month to a month and a half where the sun does not rise over the horizon in the north part of Sweden, Norway, Finland, or other areas around this latitude. This means these countries get no daylight or sunlight. My jaw dropped as he explained that the consequence of no sunlight for this length of time will often drive people to commit suicide because they just can cope with a month or more of no daylight. It literally drives them crazy and they end their life. He went on to tell me that in the summer, the earth is tilted towards the sun and the sun will begin to fall down towards the horizon and simply move back up towards the sky which causes a month or so of continual daylight. His story fascinated me and created an instant desire for me to travel to Sweden to experience such a phenomenon such as this.

The reason you look forward to coming to Vien Vieng is for the wild river tubing enjoyment. This river is one big shit show of a party and seems to be known as the hub of Laos. Vien vieng is arguably one of the most happening party spots during the day this world has ever seen. Before you can begin floating down and experiencing the party on the river, you must head to the rental shop which is in the town of Vien vieng and rent a bright yellow tube there. Once you wait in the line up of a few dozens other travelers rearing to go and pay for your rental, there is almost always tuk tuks near by waiting and ready for you to load your tube on the roof of the vehicle and then they drive you and your friends about 20 minutes up some back roads to where they eventually drop you off at the beginning of the track. Once you arrive at the start, you make sure all your belonging are in a dry sack and securely attached to your tube. Sunglasses, sunscreen, or camera are usually the items that most people decide to carry in these bags. Once you jump in your tube, you’re officially on your way to one wild and entertaining afternoon of fun in the sun and BeerLao if that is your preferred choice of beverage. The beer itself is quite tasty and you can buy a tall 1L bottle of it for about $1 US dollar. Its prices like this that make Laos such an incredible and irresistible country to travel to. How could you not love a country that sells a good tasting for $1 a liter. Once you start floating down the river, it doesn’t take long to notice that the river itself is quite shallow in most parts but also really depends on what season you plan to travel here. As you float further down the river, you realize there were some parts of the river that were deep enough that you could not touch the floor and these areas were where all the swing bars were located along the river. During the day, there is plenty of opportunity to meet many other foreigners and travelers as you cruise along whom also are floating along at their own steady pace. After a short conversation with them, you quickly realize that you all have one very special thing in common. Almost every single person I spoke to was backpacking through the country and living the beautiful dream of traveling the world just I was. It was an amazing experience to meet so many beautiful people and get to experience something so unique and something so special that tops the charts of every travelers must do list.




April 10th, 2008: En route to Laung Prabang, N. LAOS
My five days in Vien Vieng was filled with excitement and gave me the opportunity to meet so many incredible people and allowed me to make some amazing relationships that I had to let go of when I finally decide to head to my next Destination: Laung Prabang. Saying goodbye to good friends is something that starts not to even phase you after you have traveled on your own for several months. I don’t think there are many people in this world that actually enjoy saying goodbye to good friends and not knowing when or if you will ever get the opportunity in your life to see them again. I would often say to people I met along my journey that it is not “Goodbye”, it’s simply: “See you later”. Just a simple statement like that was perfect as it didn’t really seem like you were saying goodbye for good and it helped ease the pain knowing you were departing on a positive note and leaving the possibility to meet again open as I really had no idea what the future would bring my way.

Laos is a country that you can go to and be assured that you will have an absolute magical experience there. My times in Laos have included some of my most favorite memories and highlights along my travels. I have had so many unique experiences in such a short span of time in this country that writing in a journal and recording the path I’ve taken has taken me quite some time to record.

I managed to convince my friend Philip and the other three Norwegian girls that we had met that it would be in our best interest to head out of Vien Vieng and go to Laung Prabang since It was the first day of the Laos New years and I had heard that the streets erupted with water fights all over the city and there was sure to be big celebrations and festivals going on for 3 days straight during this very unique time of the year for the people of Laos.

UPCOMING LAOS NEW YEAR:

It wasn’t hard for me to convince Philip, the 3 Norwegian girls that Laung Prabang was the place to be so we all decide to head there together and made a plan to leave the next morning at around 9 am. It’s pretty tough not to party or have a late night when you are traveling is such a happening area of the world. The temptation to go out late night after night quickly takes over your frame of thinking and even if you are feeling terrible and have little to no energy left in your body from all the previous nights of partying, somehow, someway you still muster up enough courage and find yourself back out doing the same thing that you swore to yourself you would not be able to do it again. To make a long story short, we ended up partying that night at the smile bar, which is the hotspot bar where every traveler in Laos seems to end up for the simple reason because it is the most recommended bar from the travel guide book in the Lonely Planet. There are several bars in this small area so having your bar published in the guide book that every traveler seems to think they cant live without is a very big accomplishment and great for business. Our original plan to leave at 9am was delayed but about 3 hours as we ended up sleeping in till around 11 o’clock. After we got a quick lunch and iced coffee at a café close by, we grabbed our gear and rushed it to the bus station as I didn’t want to miss a day of the partying for the New Year in Laung Prabang. We ended up waiting at the bus station for 2 hours in the early afternoon heat and watched as the humidity caused the sweat to bead on our skin and made it seem like there was an ever ending flow seeping to the surface from inside our bones. The guy at the bus station spoke hardly any English and tried to explain to us in everyway possible that we would have to wait these 2 hours for a bus to arrive to take us to Laung Prabang. I proceed to barter with him and found it very hard to believe that we had to wait so long for a bus when we were in such a popular area with so many other travelers coming and going everyday. He went on to suggest we could take a transport van with all our gear but it would cost us about 4 times the price to do so. We all agreed that the wait was better than paying such a high price for transport so we kicked back like champions and just sweat it out for the next few hours. The bus finally arrived and the ride seemed to go on forever. I was pretty tired so I tried to sleep but can remember that it seemed like an impossible task as the bus veered around each corner we passed like a racecar speeding up to be the first to pass the finish line. Once we got to Laung Prabang, we walked around for a bit and then ended up jumping in the back of a tuk tuk and the driver dropped us off at a guest house called Kuda Suvan where we planned to stay there for the next few nights. We were surprised to find out that they did have accommodation as we had heard most guest houses were fully booked during this time of the year.

Getting opportunities such as the one I’ve shared is not easy especially when you visit countries that are big into tourism. For me, this experience was magical and one of my favorite memories during my 5 months of travel through SE Asia. Laos has been a highlight of my travels and I never imagined taking so many photos in such a short amount of time. Everything is very different and very few similarities to what life is like for most of us in the sugar coated 1st world countries.

For me, Laos is a country that glimmers with beauty. From the towering slopes in Vein Vieng, to the Jaw dropping endless markets and remote villages and towns scattered all over the countryside, There is so much culture and beauty in Laos. Being one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world, it teems with remarkable sights and the people here are so beautiful. One very disappointing part about this country is that slash and burn agriculture and smoke that looms over some of the area and makes breathing fresh air virtually impossible.


“Being free, having no obligations and living your own life is what lots of people wish for - but, finally having that kind of life, it appears that it is not that satisfying. Your mind wanders into strange, deep places and you can get confused. It is difficult trying to control your straying thoughts.

"

"I have had a lot of alone time, I traveled alone but never really felt alone, I had friends to travel with or people to meet up with in every country I went to so I never really experienced any feelings of loneliness or isolation."

MY CLOSING THOUGHTS:
You need to realize that Traveling is something so precious that you cannot share it with many people back home, that’s what makes it so special to meet other travelers in different countries cause you all are on the same page in life and can talk about your travels and feelings about life. You’ll have lots of people tell you your pictures are amazing and they wish they could join you but really, they just talk, and have no real intentions in life to do what I did or what you may set out to do. I think its amazing when i find out that people I know from back home have finally decided to get away and find out what else this world has to offer. After the travels, its really easy to fall back on the rollercoaster of life, get sucked in and forget how amazing travel is, ive seen it happen to many of my good friends. Your family may not agree with you and tell you your nuts but if you didn’t leave to travel and would have listened to them, think of the opportunity you would have missed out on!!