Sawat Dii.
Our first night in Laos was spent in the sleepy border town of Houayxai, situated on the mighty Mekong. Looking over the river into Thailand, we realized we'll be on the banks of the Mekong more or less for the next month. We'll follow it down Laos into Cambodia until it finally empties out into the South China Sea through the river delta in Vietnam.
Houayxai was a necessary stop to catch the two day slow boat down the river to Louang Prabang. More on this fantastic city in a minute. It turned out that our last day in Thailand was the beginning of a freak 7 day cold and rainy spell. It drizzled consistently all day with a heavy cloud cover, hovering around 60 degrees. This meant our slow boat experience was not as enjoyable as it is for many. For a lot of people this is one of the highlights of their trip to Laos, but by the end of our 14 hours in the boat (split in half by a night in tiny Pakbeng), we just wanted out. Between the cold rain and strong wind, it was a long haul. It was still beautiful, as the pictures will show. Gorgeous lush hills on both sides with unique rock formations and silt beaches. The strength of the current surprised us, and we can only imagine how dangerous it is during the wet season. Maybe the most enjoyable part of the trip was watching the local people and their way of life. It's totally dependent on the river, as it has been for centuries. Besides being the biggest transport artery in the country, the Mekong is also a major source of food and leisure. The whole way bamboo fishing poles are casting lines out into the water while children are splashing each other and having fun.
By 5pm on our second day we reached the small but beautiful Louang Prabang. It was raining heavily still so we got a tuk-tuk for the 3 minute ride to our hotel. Thank goodness Shauna was shelling out for the nice room for Pat's birthday, as it couldn't have come at a better time. La Calao Inn consisted of six spacious and modern rooms all contained in a century old French mansion overlooking the Mekong (Yellow with white trim on the corner). Ours had a huge balcony looking onto the river as well, so we couldn't ask for more. As the weather worsened before finally breaking two days later, we made the most of the relative luxury. Our first night we took long, long hot showers and found l'elephant to eat dinner. One of our top five meals so far. Louang Prabang was at one time the capital of the Lao Kingdom and a favorite spot for the French during their 100 year occupation of the region. It almost feels like they're still there. It's feels like a French village, but set in a lush jungle. Pat couldn't get over all the beautiful architecture, while Shauna focused more on the food (and wine, of course). This brings us back to l'elephant. We ordered a bottle of 2007 French Pinot Noir and ate steak frites. Both were fantastic, but the wine was out of this world. Keep in mind that besides that vinegar we tried in Udaipur, this was our first taste of vino in almost two months! It was so good.
The next day was Pat's birthday but the weather was miserable. We woke up, ate breakfast and promptly returned to bed for another 2 hours to catch up on the news and the latest bad movie. Japan is awful, we hope everything works out there. Not much else to say about that. Secondly, we do not recommend You Got Served. Anyway, we finally made our way into the rain and tried to take in the city. We managed to walk an hour or so, which was enough to make it to the other side of the city and back. We tried to find an Irish pub, but we're sad to report there isn't one. Maybe Pat has found his true calling. We found a Belgian pub instead. It's close enough to Ireland. We had beef stew and frites there (again really good), and sipped some beer while the rain continued to pour. We had some down time at the hotel Skyping our parents (who had to talk to Pat on his day) before a low key dinner at a wine bar.
The next day it finally stopped raining (despite still being overcast) and we were able to take in the main sites. The city really is beautiful, and is another where we could see ourselves living without much trouble. A decent amount of expats live here as well, but it's much quieter than Chiang Mai. One of the cooler sites is Phu Si mountain. Check out the cool stairways and the American made bombs now being used as flower pots. Apparently these were duds. Remember that many more bombs were dropped in Laos and Cambodia than Vietnam. More on that in our Cambodia blog (Sorry, Pat is a history geek). We were meeting a couple our age for dinner (we met them in Houayxai and again on the slow boat) so we went back to the hotel for yet another snooze (the weather, coupled with a nice room, will do that to a person). We met John and Sarah at this picturesque jungle bar for a few drinks followed by dinner in a picturesque jungle restaurant. We both split the BBQ for two, which consisted of us cooking our own meat over a tiny fire they put in the middle of our table. John and Sarah are a lovely couple from London and we had a great time. Shauna's father says we can't make any friends over here as the wedding list is already getting too big. Watch out, Yonto!
Our last day in Louang Prabang; SUN! We hadn't seen it in a week and were surprised by its warmth. It jumped 35 degrees in a day. Crazy. We debated going to this famous waterfall 35km away but decided to lounge in the room again (surprise!). We got out around noon and walked across this bamboo bridge to the other side of the Nam Khan River (LP sits at the meeting point of this and the Mekong river, making the city a narrow peninsula). Maybe it was the rain but when we saw it that last day it looked as if it was about to collapse. We did the stupid thing and decided to walk over it anyway. You could feel the current in your body. It was scary but cool. We were rewarded with lunch at yet another perfect jungle restaurant on the other side. We then meandered the streets making our way back to the hotel to catch a tuk-tuk to the airport. Our first SE Asia flight was a breeze, and we landed in the Lao capital of Vientiane.
We weren't going to stop here but we couldn't get a direct flight to the southern hub of Pakse, so we laid over for a night. This is the smallest capital we've ever seen. It had its charm, however, with its share of French boulevards, night markets, and nightlife. We had a pleasant dinner and walked along the Mekong before passing out at 9pm.
We're off to Pakse and southern Laos for the next week. We're going to some of the best Khmer ruins outside Cambodia and relaxing in Si Phon Don (4,000 islands on the Mekong), where we're hoping to spot some rare fresh water dolphins. Note that it's pretty rustic down there so we may not have access to the internet. If we don't respond for a week or so, we'll get back to you in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Until next time.
S&P
Our first night in Laos was spent in the sleepy border town of Houayxai, situated on the mighty Mekong. Looking over the river into Thailand, we realized we'll be on the banks of the Mekong more or less for the next month. We'll follow it down Laos into Cambodia until it finally empties out into the South China Sea through the river delta in Vietnam.
Houayxai was a necessary stop to catch the two day slow boat down the river to Louang Prabang. More on this fantastic city in a minute. It turned out that our last day in Thailand was the beginning of a freak 7 day cold and rainy spell. It drizzled consistently all day with a heavy cloud cover, hovering around 60 degrees. This meant our slow boat experience was not as enjoyable as it is for many. For a lot of people this is one of the highlights of their trip to Laos, but by the end of our 14 hours in the boat (split in half by a night in tiny Pakbeng), we just wanted out. Between the cold rain and strong wind, it was a long haul. It was still beautiful, as the pictures will show. Gorgeous lush hills on both sides with unique rock formations and silt beaches. The strength of the current surprised us, and we can only imagine how dangerous it is during the wet season. Maybe the most enjoyable part of the trip was watching the local people and their way of life. It's totally dependent on the river, as it has been for centuries. Besides being the biggest transport artery in the country, the Mekong is also a major source of food and leisure. The whole way bamboo fishing poles are casting lines out into the water while children are splashing each other and having fun.
By 5pm on our second day we reached the small but beautiful Louang Prabang. It was raining heavily still so we got a tuk-tuk for the 3 minute ride to our hotel. Thank goodness Shauna was shelling out for the nice room for Pat's birthday, as it couldn't have come at a better time. La Calao Inn consisted of six spacious and modern rooms all contained in a century old French mansion overlooking the Mekong (Yellow with white trim on the corner). Ours had a huge balcony looking onto the river as well, so we couldn't ask for more. As the weather worsened before finally breaking two days later, we made the most of the relative luxury. Our first night we took long, long hot showers and found l'elephant to eat dinner. One of our top five meals so far. Louang Prabang was at one time the capital of the Lao Kingdom and a favorite spot for the French during their 100 year occupation of the region. It almost feels like they're still there. It's feels like a French village, but set in a lush jungle. Pat couldn't get over all the beautiful architecture, while Shauna focused more on the food (and wine, of course). This brings us back to l'elephant. We ordered a bottle of 2007 French Pinot Noir and ate steak frites. Both were fantastic, but the wine was out of this world. Keep in mind that besides that vinegar we tried in Udaipur, this was our first taste of vino in almost two months! It was so good.
The next day was Pat's birthday but the weather was miserable. We woke up, ate breakfast and promptly returned to bed for another 2 hours to catch up on the news and the latest bad movie. Japan is awful, we hope everything works out there. Not much else to say about that. Secondly, we do not recommend You Got Served. Anyway, we finally made our way into the rain and tried to take in the city. We managed to walk an hour or so, which was enough to make it to the other side of the city and back. We tried to find an Irish pub, but we're sad to report there isn't one. Maybe Pat has found his true calling. We found a Belgian pub instead. It's close enough to Ireland. We had beef stew and frites there (again really good), and sipped some beer while the rain continued to pour. We had some down time at the hotel Skyping our parents (who had to talk to Pat on his day) before a low key dinner at a wine bar.
The next day it finally stopped raining (despite still being overcast) and we were able to take in the main sites. The city really is beautiful, and is another where we could see ourselves living without much trouble. A decent amount of expats live here as well, but it's much quieter than Chiang Mai. One of the cooler sites is Phu Si mountain. Check out the cool stairways and the American made bombs now being used as flower pots. Apparently these were duds. Remember that many more bombs were dropped in Laos and Cambodia than Vietnam. More on that in our Cambodia blog (Sorry, Pat is a history geek). We were meeting a couple our age for dinner (we met them in Houayxai and again on the slow boat) so we went back to the hotel for yet another snooze (the weather, coupled with a nice room, will do that to a person). We met John and Sarah at this picturesque jungle bar for a few drinks followed by dinner in a picturesque jungle restaurant. We both split the BBQ for two, which consisted of us cooking our own meat over a tiny fire they put in the middle of our table. John and Sarah are a lovely couple from London and we had a great time. Shauna's father says we can't make any friends over here as the wedding list is already getting too big. Watch out, Yonto!
Our last day in Louang Prabang; SUN! We hadn't seen it in a week and were surprised by its warmth. It jumped 35 degrees in a day. Crazy. We debated going to this famous waterfall 35km away but decided to lounge in the room again (surprise!). We got out around noon and walked across this bamboo bridge to the other side of the Nam Khan River (LP sits at the meeting point of this and the Mekong river, making the city a narrow peninsula). Maybe it was the rain but when we saw it that last day it looked as if it was about to collapse. We did the stupid thing and decided to walk over it anyway. You could feel the current in your body. It was scary but cool. We were rewarded with lunch at yet another perfect jungle restaurant on the other side. We then meandered the streets making our way back to the hotel to catch a tuk-tuk to the airport. Our first SE Asia flight was a breeze, and we landed in the Lao capital of Vientiane.
We weren't going to stop here but we couldn't get a direct flight to the southern hub of Pakse, so we laid over for a night. This is the smallest capital we've ever seen. It had its charm, however, with its share of French boulevards, night markets, and nightlife. We had a pleasant dinner and walked along the Mekong before passing out at 9pm.
We're off to Pakse and southern Laos for the next week. We're going to some of the best Khmer ruins outside Cambodia and relaxing in Si Phon Don (4,000 islands on the Mekong), where we're hoping to spot some rare fresh water dolphins. Note that it's pretty rustic down there so we may not have access to the internet. If we don't respond for a week or so, we'll get back to you in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Until next time.
S&P
Yay for Burgundy wine! I know the feeling...
ReplyDeletePat, happy to hear you had a nice birthday. Laos looks beautiful!
There is actually quite a substantial Lao population in Portland; they always have the most clever vegetable gardens:)
I hope you get to see these intriguing freshwater dolphins! Safe travels!
Love to you both!!
C & C