We arrived from Hanoi by plane at 9am, as we’d had enough of buses, it took 1 hour, and several people had told us the journey was 20hours of hell… I think we made the right choice! For reference, most of the countries in this area, with the exception of Vietnam, do Visas on arrival. However, the Laos one is only for 15days, and 30 if arranged at an embassy.
Driving from the airport in a beaten up 1970’s Ford Escort, it instantly hit us how much slower paced and laid back this country was than Vietnam. Added to that, most people drove cars instead of scooters, and obeyed the laws of the road – actually, they seemed to not want to become a statistic.
For a capital, it’s incredibly chilled out and compact, and we managed to see most of the city’s sites in one afternoon. Useful, as we’d planned to move onto Vang Viang the next day. There’s also some fantastic cafes and restaurants, and you can really see (and feel) the influence that the French had on the country.
Around the city, there’s a great national museum where once again we found out how tough the country has had it with wars over the last century, made even more astonishing by their friendliness and upbeat attitude.
Heading North, there’s the Patu Xay which in reminiscent of the Arc De Triomphe in Paris. Sadly, due to wars, they never finished it and now sits as a place that tourists and locals visit solely to see the city spread beneath them. Carrying on North, you come to the That Luang Stupa, a huge golden shrine that seems to float in front of the beautiful blue skies.
In the evening, we had a fantastic curry – sorry, but need the odd taste of home – and then got taken partying with some of the locals till 3 in the morning. And Beer Laos is one of the nicest, most refreshing beers we’ve ever had, and only cost $1 for a jug of it…
The next morning, we had a slow start and took the bus to Vang Viang for a bit of outdoor activities in the mountain setting…
