After the haze of the hangover had worn off, it was as though we were seeing the surroundings with a fresh pair of eyes, very, very fresh. Laos was stunning. Countryside, beautiful fields with hills and mountains surrounding the area where the hostels and restaurants were. I liked it here. We hired cycle bikes to take us to an area all backpackers go for a either a swim in the local stream or to sit and have a beer on the green. There was a cave which I decided I wanted to go and explore by myself – probably not the best idea as you needed a head torch to get into the cave and there was no phone signal. I’m here to tell the tale. I didn’t even realise how long I was gone; Nia was worried she said when I came back it was well over an hour. Oops.
Vang Vieng was actually a very relaxing place, very peaceful and not a huge amount of people around during the day. We walked all around the outside of the main town area into rice paddy fields, where we saw monks in their classic red attire walking their kids to school. Is this the same place which we went tubing only a few days before? We rented mopeds, explored the neighbouring waterfalls and found lagoon pools with rope swings. It was really nice. When the sun started to set, it was time to head back, however we felt like we had some really refreshing days out, long days, from morning all the way until the evening. From sunrise to sunset, and we got in exercise, lots of it. I was surprised. It was a quiet place in the daylight.
Well when you get back to the hostel it’s usually the time when car lights have just been turned on and not only the car lights.. but the street bars as well. Oh, ok, I see, backpacker town has come to light. We met up with some other people from the hostel and it was time to head out. We had a really nice shake at a local bar – it seemed to be where all the backpackers went and everyone just loved the shakes there. They came in different flavours but they all had the same vegetable ingredients in. After all the alcohol who doesn’t mind some extra vitamins and minerals in the body?
Vang Vieng is a very, very sociable place in Laos, you will meet a lot of people, try some new experiences (food or smoothies) and other travellers will always let you know about any afterhours activities. Apparently they are very top secret but as soon as one person knows about them the news spreads like wildfire. It’s not only backpackers that attend, but locals as well. For example, after we had finished our delicious smoothies we felt a tingle in our bones as though it was time to see something cool. We ended up at this forest rave type of thing where they had live music, neon lights and fire breathers. It was a bit bizarre for somewhere which is so quite in the daytime. For any normal person this event would have just been an outside club, but for us it was something magical, the lights blurred together in swirls and the trees seemed to all come to life in front of us. You can probably tell how the evening went on from there. Good fun I will say, good fun.
So after we had become alcoholics, added two stone to our body weight from all the carbs, lost our minds in the lights of the forest, it was about time we rolled onto our next bus to take us to our final destination on our Laos list: Luang Prabang.
We stayed here for four nights again, at the Kounsavan Guest House. The main attraction? The pool. We just wanted to have a relaxing time here, get some brain cells back, before Nia and I separate to continue our journey back into Thailand.
We definitely couldn’t leave Luang Prabang without seeing the main sites though right? The Kuang Si Falls ladies and gentlemen. These are very famous waterfalls; you may see them in many travellers photos. You would probably recognise them as soon as you see them; it’s magnificent. Now, we had seen a huge amount of waterfalls by this point, waterfalls were the same as temples in Asia, wherever you go you will be able to find one, or ten. When you arrive to the falls (we hired mopeds here again) you get to the bottom of the entrance and start your walk up towards the main display. You can’t see the huge waterfall until you are about twenty minutes walk up the footpath. However, as you walk the trail you pass different lagoon pools of water which you can get into, they are very clean, bright and aqua blue. These make for some great photos so be sure to take your time here, don’t rush. You can walk the trail right up to the main event and even further up than that if you wanted. We ended up walking all the way to the top of the falls and over it, before returning down the other side. It’s nice to stay active before we would laze around the guest house pool in the afternoon.
One of the other English girls in the group and I became really close. There was a time when the others just wanted to doze around the pool all day. Which, yes, is fun for half a day or even just a few hours, but not for the whole day from start to finish. Instead we went off in search for hilltops, temples and a walking trail. Which we found right in the centre of Luang Prabang, we got ice creams and walked around the markets. A pleasant day which was very relaxing in our eyes. On our last full day we all went to visit a bear sanctuary; total ethical don’t you worry. We wouldn’t do anything that wasn’t. Even got a t-shirt to help the bears, still have it and wear it now four years later.
We had recharged, we were refreshed, we were raring to go. It was time to say goodbye to the group and this time for the last time. We wished them well on the rest of their travels, then Nia and I got on our next bus journey to Chaing Mai. 30 hours this one was, but we were ready, we were prepared, we were excited.
LEAH HANCOX 