Last Friday, we caught the bus from Luang Prabang to Vientiene. It was a long, though thankfully paved, 9.5 hour ride through windy mountain roads with ridiculously steep drop-offs that just beg to become headlines. I'm glad we decided to do it during the day and not at night, both for safety and sightseeing reasons. It was quite nice to drive through the small mountain villages and get a peek into rural Lao life. The bus was surprisingly nice, with reclining seats, free water and wet hand towels after lunch. Lee and I kept joking that's it's because we're VIPs (they call it the VIP bus), this is how VIPs roll!
We're staying at Mali Namphu Guest House (A+, clean, centrally located and arguably the best shower we've had so far). At $18.00 a night, this place is a gem! The price includes breakfast, daily room cleanings, fresh towels and a free daily water bottle. Oh, and the water pressure in the shower is strong and hot! Thank you tripadvisor and other ratings sites! We were especially thankful for reserving ahead, since we found out that most of the city has been booked solid for the last 2 months. But one can only wonder where all the foreigners go at night, ‘cause there isn't much happening. Just about everything closes at 11:00pm, same in Luang Prabang, but even still there aren't many people on the streets. Nonetheless, Lee and I had some fun times here. A couple nights we went to a little place and talked with other travelers and the owner, an American Expat. It's nice to get some good restaurant recommendations and hear the honest trials and tribulations of being a foreign business owner. Lee and I still haven't decided what to do with ourselves when we return, so we're always eager to hear about what others do, especially expats.
Vientiane is a small walkable city on a curve of the Mekong river. It fact, it reminds me of Epcot Paris with a wide street like the Champs-Elysees that starts from the Presidential Palace and ends at the Vientiane version of the Arc de Triomphe called Patuxay. On the other side of the Arch are fountains and a park surrounding it. It becomes a real local hangout at night with Laos people running or walking around the circular park (all counter-clockwise) as the fountains dance colorfully to Lao pop music. I was taken a bit back by the crowd of exercisers. Until now, I have naively always assumed this was a western only obsession. That night, a new father wanted me to hold his son for a picture, but we settled for a group pose instead.
Vientiane feels less touristy than Luang Prabang, which Lee really appreciates. I suppose it's because it's an actual working city and is therefore able to absorb the tourism without letting it dominate. And oddly enough, most of the tourists we do see seem to be from an older generation and of course, French.
We've spent the last 4 days, walking around, taking in the city sites: Pha That Luang, Buddha Park, Talat Sao Market, That Dam, Wat Si Saket and Patuxay. One afternoon, I convinced Lee to go with me to a Forest Wat where the nuns run a local herbal sauna and message center. Let me say, it was quite the experience! The Herbal Sauna was housed in a traditional raised bamboo house, with the fire blowing actively up from underneath. Lee, bless his dim cold heart, went in and out of the sauna multiple times with me, and sipped tea during the breaks. And he waited afterwards, while I got my first 1hr full body message. It was great! I'm not a big massage person, but I can definitely get into it for $4 USD. Plus, there's no chance of shenanigans in an open environment like that.
I can't say we've had any notably good Lao food since Luang Prabang. We did go to one good restaurant, Duang Duane, here where we enjoyed traditional laab (minced meat salad) and papaya salad, but we've mainly been eating baguette sandwiches. Baguette sandwiches are common in Laos, with stands that fix them fresh with your choice of meat, greens and sauces. Although they all only have soft cheese....not complaining. Something I have noticed is the lack of diary products here. Cheese only exists in a foil-wrapped triangle and milk doesn't really work with a bowl of noodles.
Surprisingly, Laos is not cheap. Vientiane, in particular, is not as much of a budget cushion as we were hoping for. The tuk-tuk prices are all now 3 times as much as the Lonely Planet from 2 years ago lists and food prices vary greatly! Still, this town has revived our good will towards the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Lee can see us coming back some time in the future. Though, he thinks it would have to be with much more time and probably accomplished on a motorcycle trek. There's just so much more of the country that exists between the two big cities.
It has to be said though that Laos is a sort of internet black hole. Our ill-informed previous impression of Southeast Asia was of a web autobahn. It makes Lee happy that the French have to speak English when they come here.
Look for us on a future episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations." Lee was trying to set up a photo of us in front of a big fountain earlier today when I yelled and pointed at what Lee said must've been a big snake, given my hysteria. It turned out to be Tony walking down the street, interviewing a local, with a film crew walking backwards in front of them. Lee stalked them for a few blocks before giving up. What you will see, below, is a picture of the scene from the back. Its funny, the heroes we choose. Lee said he had planned on saying something nasty if given the opportunity. We always ask each other, what would Ian do? I wonder if he would've followed Tony even further.
Tomorrow, we fly to Phnom Penh with Lao Airlines. Cross your fingers for us!
We're staying at Mali Namphu Guest House (A+, clean, centrally located and arguably the best shower we've had so far). At $18.00 a night, this place is a gem! The price includes breakfast, daily room cleanings, fresh towels and a free daily water bottle. Oh, and the water pressure in the shower is strong and hot! Thank you tripadvisor and other ratings sites! We were especially thankful for reserving ahead, since we found out that most of the city has been booked solid for the last 2 months. But one can only wonder where all the foreigners go at night, ‘cause there isn't much happening. Just about everything closes at 11:00pm, same in Luang Prabang, but even still there aren't many people on the streets. Nonetheless, Lee and I had some fun times here. A couple nights we went to a little place and talked with other travelers and the owner, an American Expat. It's nice to get some good restaurant recommendations and hear the honest trials and tribulations of being a foreign business owner. Lee and I still haven't decided what to do with ourselves when we return, so we're always eager to hear about what others do, especially expats.
Vientiane is a small walkable city on a curve of the Mekong river. It fact, it reminds me of Epcot Paris with a wide street like the Champs-Elysees that starts from the Presidential Palace and ends at the Vientiane version of the Arc de Triomphe called Patuxay. On the other side of the Arch are fountains and a park surrounding it. It becomes a real local hangout at night with Laos people running or walking around the circular park (all counter-clockwise) as the fountains dance colorfully to Lao pop music. I was taken a bit back by the crowd of exercisers. Until now, I have naively always assumed this was a western only obsession. That night, a new father wanted me to hold his son for a picture, but we settled for a group pose instead.
Vientiane feels less touristy than Luang Prabang, which Lee really appreciates. I suppose it's because it's an actual working city and is therefore able to absorb the tourism without letting it dominate. And oddly enough, most of the tourists we do see seem to be from an older generation and of course, French.
We've spent the last 4 days, walking around, taking in the city sites: Pha That Luang, Buddha Park, Talat Sao Market, That Dam, Wat Si Saket and Patuxay. One afternoon, I convinced Lee to go with me to a Forest Wat where the nuns run a local herbal sauna and message center. Let me say, it was quite the experience! The Herbal Sauna was housed in a traditional raised bamboo house, with the fire blowing actively up from underneath. Lee, bless his dim cold heart, went in and out of the sauna multiple times with me, and sipped tea during the breaks. And he waited afterwards, while I got my first 1hr full body message. It was great! I'm not a big massage person, but I can definitely get into it for $4 USD. Plus, there's no chance of shenanigans in an open environment like that.
I can't say we've had any notably good Lao food since Luang Prabang. We did go to one good restaurant, Duang Duane, here where we enjoyed traditional laab (minced meat salad) and papaya salad, but we've mainly been eating baguette sandwiches. Baguette sandwiches are common in Laos, with stands that fix them fresh with your choice of meat, greens and sauces. Although they all only have soft cheese....not complaining. Something I have noticed is the lack of diary products here. Cheese only exists in a foil-wrapped triangle and milk doesn't really work with a bowl of noodles.
Surprisingly, Laos is not cheap. Vientiane, in particular, is not as much of a budget cushion as we were hoping for. The tuk-tuk prices are all now 3 times as much as the Lonely Planet from 2 years ago lists and food prices vary greatly! Still, this town has revived our good will towards the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Lee can see us coming back some time in the future. Though, he thinks it would have to be with much more time and probably accomplished on a motorcycle trek. There's just so much more of the country that exists between the two big cities.
It has to be said though that Laos is a sort of internet black hole. Our ill-informed previous impression of Southeast Asia was of a web autobahn. It makes Lee happy that the French have to speak English when they come here.
Look for us on a future episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations." Lee was trying to set up a photo of us in front of a big fountain earlier today when I yelled and pointed at what Lee said must've been a big snake, given my hysteria. It turned out to be Tony walking down the street, interviewing a local, with a film crew walking backwards in front of them. Lee stalked them for a few blocks before giving up. What you will see, below, is a picture of the scene from the back. Its funny, the heroes we choose. Lee said he had planned on saying something nasty if given the opportunity. We always ask each other, what would Ian do? I wonder if he would've followed Tony even further.
Tomorrow, we fly to Phnom Penh with Lao Airlines. Cross your fingers for us!
3 comments:
Hey guys, I was reading your blog AGAIN. Ya'll write very well and capture a lot of the details that I like to sink when I am in a foreign country. It sounds from all the descriptions so far that I would like Lao the best.
I would like you guys to try and describe more local foods. If the plumbing disagrees with this suggestion, I understand. Anyways, I hope the flight went well.
Talk to ya'll later.
Hey Lael,
Nice to hear from you AGAIN! Funny you should mention our writing, cause Mom recently mentioned it alongside of how good she thinks that YOU write!
Good point on the foods, we'll try to incorporate it into the next post. It should be easier since our culinary experiences here in Cambodia have all been very good.
Love you,
-Kiima
OMG!!!!!!
totally great you guys! Kristen and I are TOTALLY addicted to that show and we think bourdain is hilarious!
you guys are officially famous now instead of unofficially.
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