Chapter 9: Laos, lousy weather

Crossed into Laos by longtail boat across the MaeKhong to Huay Xai and after much confusion and paperwork and money by bus into the mountains near the Chinese border at Luang Nam Tha.

The idea was to base there and do some trekking which is just taking off here in conjunction with various country's agencies all designed to aid the hill-tribes and to preserve the forests from extensive logging (mainly by the Chinese). However the weather deteriorated and we got rain and cold winds, all from the Chinese weather system which dumped tons of snow on them! So I left, without even a picture.

You can't go much further north from there, so I shall be heading pretty much south-east following the MaeKhong river right down Laos and then down Cambodia for the next 2 months or so. The weather has been either dull, cold but dry with others sunny once the cloud is burnt off. I need to get south!

Anyway, Laos:

• the French colonial influence remains not only in old colonial-style buildings but also oddities like baguettes, petanque (French bowls), bakeries and cafes. This is mixed with old Lao architecture and buddhist temples, and now with tourist hotels and demands. The people are really friendly and laid-back, and everything is written up in western (French or English) as well as Lao script.
• Lao food is good, a little less spicy than Thai but pretty similar, and having French bread sandwiches is a treat. Beer Lao is really good (they even do a dark beer of 6.5%!) and lao-lao the local rice spirit is eye-watering.
• Everything is even cheaper than Thailand outside of the tourist hotspots. Beer 0.55GBP for 640ml bottle, a double room with own bathroom is about 3GBP (but up to 11GBP in Luang Prabang and Vientiane for same - see below), a meal costs me about 2GBP. Spending 11GBP per day for everything including buses on average!
• Geography is 75% mountain and river gorges with only real towns along MaeKhong river. Lots of exploring to be done, I hope.
• Apart from subsistence farming for the majority, there is a lot of weaving in silk and cotton, and then there is tourism.
• Transport is funny, buses are old Chinese things and they operate a "we are never full" policy for people or produce. I sat on sacks of potatoes for 6 hours the other day, the entire floor of the bus was covered in them before anyone could get on! The main roads are ok, but if it not a trade route along the MaeKhong or across to China or Vietnam then it is unpaved and bone-shaking, and slow (4 hours to do 70 miles).
• Currency: 17,000+ KIP to 1GBP, so maths is required here. But nothing costs less than 1,000 to a foreigner so forget all the zeroes, but you do end up with wads of notes, and i'm now a millionaire!

Tourism has hit here big time, two types: the tour groups in minibuses or planes on "SE Asia in 3 weeks" tours or something; and the independent travellers, of which loads are ex-University having a party before starting work (or ex-school before going to Uni or ex-Israeli conscript soldiers getting over their time).

The government is trying to keep it under control with all pubs closing by 11.00, licensed clubs at 12.30 or so but the party town of Vang Vieng has an island in the middle of the river where the party carries on without alcohol (supposedly; although "Happy" Fruit Shakes and Pizzas are on the menu which contain both alcohol and your choice of drug - opium, marijuana, mushrooms, etc)! A couple of interesting evening of people watching.

So the mix is one group doing the architecture, temples and art / handicrafts, the others wanting bars, music and clubs - weird in what is still a communist country with hammer and sickle flags flying everywhere. But money talks. Laos is apparently like Thailand 15 years ago, still relatively small hotspots of tourism but those are developing very fast. The volume and rampant capitalism has taken me by surprise, I have to admit, and prices in the hotspots are at least double of elsewhere but the number of hotspots will always be limited by geography and there are no beaches so the party people are starting to move on to Cambodia and Vietnam as the weight of mass tourism takes over apparently.

Luang Prabang, the original royal capital of the kingdom - a world heritage site and quite beautiful, on a headland by the MaeKhong. The historic part is quiet and beautifully laid out with temples, palace, and colonial houses (many now boutique hotels and restaurants (auberges even), the south end is the cheap end for the travellers with bars, markets, guesthouses and food stalls galore - good fun.

Vang Vieng, the party town, was just a crossing point over the Nam Soi river, but set in amongst limestone cliffs, cave systems and forests - really pretty, when the sun shone. A ghost town during the day as people sleep it off / laze in the bars watching loops of reruns of "Friends" (true! trust me) or are caving, kayaking or tubing on the river (with a stop at every bar on the way!), comes alive at night. Went kayaking, but tubing on your own didn't sound the same somehow.

Now in Vientiane, capital city and another mix of French and Lao plus new communist monuments. Big number of Europeans working in aid agencies, charities and teaching. Quite a good mix of bars and restaurants down by the river. Yet to explore more but I only have 3 more weeks here and still in the north, something will have to be dropped off the wish list.

Enough! Photolink is http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/laurentmik/Laos_2008_Chapter_9

Cheers! Mike