Add Laos to Your Southeast Asia Itinerary
December 7, 2022 - Arrival and Night Market
(G) - We finally made it out of Delhi and after a brief stop in Bangkok, were preparing to land in Luang Prabang, Laos. Laos is one of the top Southeast Asian countries I wanted to visit. It is landlocked and often overlooked by beach-seeking backpackers, but it really shouldn’t be. Luang Prabang in particular had come highly recommended to me by my sister, who had traveled to Southeast Asia several years before. Touting it as her favorite place in all of Southeast Asia, I was eager to experience it for myself.
As the plane dipped below the clouds the green and mountainous terrain revealed itself. We touched down and taxied in. As in many countries, we were greeted with a set of stair ramps to descend down to the tarmac. The sun showed brightly and the hot humid air enveloped us immediately. The airport itself was built in a uniquely Southeast Asian style with a high peaked ceiling flanked by large swooping gables.
After receiving our visa on arrival and clearing customs, we were greeted by a driver sent from our guesthouse.
We were warmly welcomed to our guesthouse. We finished checking in and settled into our bungalow. The guesthouse was a way outside of town, but it had free shuttle service to and from the main square. We hadn’t slept well on the flights from India, so it didn’t take long for us to pass out for about 3 hours.
More often than not, when T wakes up from a nap, she’s really hungry. This time was no different, so we took the shuttle to the night market.
This place was happening. A lengthy pedestrian street was lined on both sides with vendors selling their goods from their popup tents. There were paintings, clothes, books, food, and any kind of souvenir you could want. We felt compelled to buy a few items that were made out of the material from deactivated or exploded cluster bombs, left over from the Vietnam War. Lao artists have taken this substance that symbolizes war, violence, and destruction and have turned it into a symbol of resilience, hope, and beauty. While Laos wasn’t directly involved in the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese were using parts of the eastern Laotian jungle as part of a supply trail called the Ho Chi Minh Trail. To cut the supply lines of the North Vietnamese, that area of the jungle was frequently bombed. Some fell into the Vietnamese jungle and some fell into the Laotian jungle. Additionally, American bombers returning to base had to lighten the carrying loads of their aircraft in order to retain enough fuel for the return flight so any remaining bombs were dumped over the jungle. Millions of bombs were dropped on Laos. Even today, despite numerous clean-up efforts and some financial support from the US, it’s still a widespread problem and people die or are seriously injured from these undetonated bombs across the country.
After we walked all the way down the pedestrian street and back, we explored the main square that had so many different kinds of food and drinks. T loves pad Thai, and we were intrigued by pad Lao. It was so incredibly delicious. It’s very similar to pad Thai but the noodles are thinner rice noodles. The flavor was perfection. This ended up being T’s favorite dish in all of Southeast Asia. Then we walked up to another restaurant situated above the square to sip a drink and people watch. We stayed there for a while then decided to head back to our bungalow.
We caught the shuttle back to the guesthouse. Fatigue set in. The 3 hour nap wasn’t enough to keep us awake any later, so we called it an early night.
December 8, 2022 (T) - A Day to Relax & A Return to the Night Market
Thongbay Guesthouse is the first place we stayed in Luang Prabang. We highly recommend it. It has clean, private bungalows, big gardens, a covered seating area with a river view, and a restaurant. We were staying here until the 10th. The India tour wore us out, so we decided to spend the majority of the day relaxing.
First, we ate a full breakfast, consisting of fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs, and French baguettes, and drank juice and Lao coffee. If you’re a coffee connoisseur, you would really enjoy Lao coffee. Then, we relaxed on our porch for a while.
Thy, our host, suggested we sit by the river. He led us through the gardens down to the large covered seating area with a lovely river view where G and I sat for a few hours. The afternoon passed us by, and I really wanted another serving of pad Lao, so we went to the night market again. For dessert, we ate some rolled ice cream. Then, we took a tuk-tuk back.
Our accommodation offered to organize day tours, so we booked a ride out to Kuang Si Falls the following morning. Since we had to get up early, we decided to go to sleep early as well.
December 9, 2022 (T) - If Fairies Exist, They Live Here
Have you ever been somewhere in nature that was so beautiful, you felt like you were in front of a green screen? And the further you walked and looked around, the more you felt like the landscape was actually a backdrop? Then when you accepted it was a real place, you still felt like you must be in a book or a movie? Kuang Si Falls is one of those magical places.
We woke up early to eat breakfast. Satiated and caffeinated, we were ready for our hour long tuk-tuk ride to Kuang Si Falls.
Many of the tuk-tuks here are actually small trucks converted into tuk-tuks. A wooden bench was installed on both sides of the truck bed and a cover was placed above it to shelter passengers from rain. A hammock was fastened to the cover and tucked up in it. Clever. The weather was pleasant. It was still earlier in the morning so it wasn’t too hot. G and I enjoyed the ride, taking in the countryside and villages on the way.
Eventually, we parked in a large parking lot, and our driver showed us where to purchase tickets and where a golf cart-esque train would haul us to the entrance. Easy enough! We could have walked up the hill, but definitely did not mind the ride. There was a beautiful temple we passed and a lot of vendors selling food and souvenirs. We thought it would be fun to stop by on the way back.
We stopped at the edge of the forest where we exited the golf cart train and started on the path into the massive trees. Omaha, Nebraska is our home town which is known for its zoo. Ever since G and I were little kids, the jungle has always been our favorite exhibit at the zoo. Now that we’ve been to a few different real jungles and forests, we’re even more impressed with it. The trees in Laos reminded us of the trees in the jungle at the zoo. That was the first thing I noticed.
The second was… bears?
Kuang Si Falls has a bear rescue. The bears were saved from poachers or from the bear bile trade. Bizzare items, often related to animals, are used in Chinese medicines. Bear bile is one of those things, so wild bears are captured and kept in small cages and are hurt for their bile. The bears here, though, were saved and have plenty of space to roam and they look very happy. We continued on the trail toward the falls, just after G pointed out another very happy “rescue” animal. A cat was curled up, taking a nap and sunning itself just outside of the bear enclosure.
We walked for about 5 minutes and then saw the bluest water we’ve ever seen in a forest or jungle. We were at the foot of the falls and were surrounded by so many large pools of milky turquoise water, cascading into other pools. Some of the pools are closed off to tourists, but there are quite a few people are allowed to swim in. Our host told us the best time to go was before noon, before more tourists arrived, and he was so right. There were maybe a couple of dozen tourists sprinkled throughout the entire falls area, but no one else was swimming. We wanted to find the best swimming spot and see the rest of the falls, so we followed the small cascades up the mountain until we found the large falls.
We decided to go about halfway between the head and foot of the falls to swim. Still, no one else was swimming. We waded our way into the water, careful not to slip on the slick rocks. The water was cool, but not too cold. It was a comfortable temperature. Immersed in vibrant blue water that led to more pools and small waterfalls, surrounded by lush jungle plants and trees, and having the water all to ourselves, we felt like we were in a movie. *Important note: the water is blue December-April and sometimes in November and May. Don’t go during monsoon season.
We spent at least an hour swimming around various pools, finding small falls, and even spotting wild orchids before we inspired a few other brave tourists to get in the water too. We pointed out some of the cool things we found, then we got out. We dried off and followed the path out of the jungle that led to the road down to the parking lot.
Fortunately, we had enough time to check out the temple and sample some of the street food, before returning to the parking lot. We, ok, I, was still hungry, so I purchased some sticky rice with mango. That is an absolute must-try in Laos.
It was time to go, so we hopped back in the tuk-tuk and relaxed on the way back to our bungalow. When we returned, we raved all about our excursion to Thy, and then we took a nap. When we woke up, we decided rather than go to the night market for dinner, we’d give the guesthouse’s restaurant a try. The food was on par with the property’s grounds and service. We tried curries, soups, and fried spring rolls. The remainder of the evening was spent unwinding at the guesthouse.
December 10, 2022 (T) - Splurging a Little, Exploring Temples, & Stepping into Western Culture
After we ate breakfast and packed our backpacks, Thy organized a ride for us to our next accommodation, Mekong Riverview Hotel. We were staying here for a couple of nights. It’s a nice place, in the middle of town and overlooking the river. While we were checking in, we also arranged train tickets to Vang Vieng on the 12th.
The train is really nice in Laos, but booking tickets is a bit complicated. The best way to go about it is to go through your hotel because you can’t buy tickets online and you can only buy the tickets a couple of days in advance from the station or select vendors, but you have to wait in long lines. Hotels have connections to buy tickets for them. We got it all situated to take the afternoon train in a couple of days.
Luang Prabang itself, the entire town, is a UNESCO site thanks to the beautiful temples scattered throughout. Since our hotel was in the heart of town, after we settled into the room, we ventured out. We spent a few hours, visiting multiple temples, admiring the intricate details all over the structures. While we were gawking at the temples, a lady took the time to tell me I was beautiful. I sheepishly thanked her. That was so nice of her! It really made my day.
One of G’s friend’s sisters had lived in Laos for a while. She recommended a coffeehouse, called Joma, to us if we were missing a western vibe. Admittedly, we did miss western culture some, so we checked it out. It was like in one step we were transported from Asia back to the US, but we were still in Luang Prabang. The coffee shop served a variety of coffee, pastries, sandwiches, and salads. It was decorated and furnished the same way many coffeehouses are in the US as well, and light music was playing in the background. We ordered our coffees and walked upstairs where we sat by the window and felt like we were back home for a couple of hours.
Revived, we stepped back into the real Laos, visited another temple, then found a local restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious but the highlight of this visit was meeting little hedgehogs! The young daughter of the restaurant owner was distracted, always looking down. G and I were curious and stood up to try to see what she was looking at, when the proprietor picked up a laundry basket with hedgehogs in it, explaining that she and her daughter had adopted them. They were super cute.
It was getting dark now, so we walked back to our hotel, where we organized a river cruise for the following evening.
December 11, 2022 (T) - The Sometimes Bridge, the Goodist Buddhist, and the River Cruise
The morning started with an unexpected adventure. We slept in and ate a late breakfast on the large outdoor porch, overlooking the river. While we were eating breakfast, we couldn’t help but notice a thin bamboo foot bridge crossing the river. Some people had crossed it, so we decided that after breakfast we would walk down the hill to check it out.
The bridge was not completed. It was 3ft (1 meter) wide woven with bamboo, with no railings, sitting on stilts about 10 feet (2.25 meters) above the water, stretching all the way across the river. The other side was about 100 meters (yards) away. When we arrived at the start of the “bridge”, a couple of locals informed us that every rainy season this bridge is wiped out and they have to rebuild it every year. For a small fee, we could cross. Why not?
That’s when we met a friendly street dog. If we were returning home after Laos, we would have adopted him. As soon as G started walking across the bridge, the dog followed him. We made a friend. G didn’t have any issues quickly walking across this unsteady bridge, but I had to practically waddle my way across it, which was a sight to be seen, I’m sure. When all 3 of us had crossed, we walked up a hill and found a small temple. We could see where the Mekong River met up with the Nam Khan River. There was a village somewhat close, but we decided not to try to find it and to start to make our way back across the bridge. I used a walking stick on the return to help balance myself. The dog had decided we were a pack now and accompanied us back to the other bank, up the hill, and kept following us. Our hearts ached as we knew we couldn’t keep him. He was very clearly well taken care of. His fur was full and clean and he was in good shape. Fortunately, another dog distracted him and we were able to slip away, though we still felt quite badly about leaving him behind. The locals by the bridge told us the monks took care of him, so we nicknamed him the goodist buddhist.
We decided to return to Joma for the afternoon until it was time to walk to the boat for the sunset river cruise. On the boat, we had a great time lying on hammocks, sipping wine, eating snacks, and watching the sunset I had been waiting for. As the sun disappeared, the sky and water turned a warm, overwhelming hue of deep orange.
Luang Prabang quickly became one of our favorite travel destinations and we understood why it was G’s sister’s favorite in all of Southeast Asia. We weren’t ready to leave but we were glad we dedicated almost a week’s worth of time there. While we were packing our things to leave the following day, we saw the bridge we had crossed on a map. It was labeled “sometimes bridge”.
December 12, 2022 (T) - Train Ride and Sketchy Accommodation
We ate another late breakfast, checked out around noon, and were driven to the train station. The station is very modern, clean, and well-run. The train and tracks have also recently been updated. It was a very smooth and pleasant experience with scenic views. We arrived in Vang Vieng in mid-afternoon, where we picked up a shared van to our hotel. In a futile attempt to save money, we booked a cheap place to stay. The place was clean enough, but it was the security we were worried about. Our room was on the second floor with a flat tin roof below the window that stretched out to other buildings in the neighborhood. The window wouldn’t lock all the way. While Laos is a safe country to visit, we wouldn’t have slept well knowing how easy it would be for someone to break in. We asked the concierge if they had another room higher up. Unfortunately, they didn’t until the following night. So, we decided to find another place to stay. It was still on the affordable side, but it cost more and we couldn’t get a refund. The peace of mind is worth it. We are very cautious travelers.
We found a place that was only a 15-minute walk away so we booked it. We picked up our backpacks, returned our keys to reception and apologized, then walked to our new accommodation, which happened to be steps away from the night market. This place was really nice and secure. They also offered day tours. We felt like we made the right move.
December 13, 2022 (T) - Another Chill Day
There isn’t much to write about today. We spent a lot of time trying to get caught up on social media and the blog. Other than that, we ate breakfast at the hotel, booked a day trip for the next day, and ate some food at the night market. Overall, we decided Luang Prabang is much more quaint than Vang Vieng.
December 14, 2022 (T) - Day Trip and Fellow Travelers
After an early breakfast, we got ready and waited for our tuk-tuk to pick us up for the day’s adventure. This was not a private tour. We were the first to hop in the tuk-tuk truck and then zigzagged through town, picking up other adventurers. That’s when we met K and P. They are a young couple who also quit their jobs so they could travel. K is American and P is French. They were living in San Fransisco and decided they wanted to travel for 6 months around Southeast Asia, and their journey had just begun! We had a great time chatting about all of our travels and travel plans.
River kayaking with karst mountainous backgrounds was first on the agenda. The views were gorgeous and we got a good workout in.
K and P had booked a different day trip so we parted ways after kayaking. G and I continued on with one other traveler from South Korea to a Blue Lagoon. The water was similar to the water up at Kuang Si Falls and there were many restaurants to choose from. We ate a light lunch and swam in the crystal blue water. When it was time to go, we spotted large, live grubs at one of the vendor’s stands. I snapped a photo and we climbed in the tuk-tuk-truck to return to our hotel.
We organized a shared van to drive to Vientiane the next day then walked a couple of blocks to a local restaurant. All of the food we ate in Laos was really good. A little visitor stopped to say hello to us while we ate dinner.
Later that night, we explored the night market and then packed our bags.
December 15, 2022 (T) - Last Stop in Laos
We ate a late breakfast and struggled to check out. The electricity went out right as we were going to pay with credit card, and we did not have enough cash. Our van was going to arrive soon, so we started on the wild goose chase to look for an ATM. The first few we found were out of order because they had also lost power. Eventually, we found one and pulled out some money. When we returned, we were confused that we didn’t have enough money, but figured out it was because we had not prepaid like we thought we had. Our van arrived but they would wait for us. I hopped in the van with our bags to secure our seats while G disappeared to get more money. It was taking longer than I had anticipated, so as I was texting G I heard a scooter approaching. G had hopped on the back of one of the hotel staff’s scooters to go to an ATM to save time. He quickly paid the remaining balance and then piled into the van.
It took a few hours to get to Vientiane. When we arrived, we took a small tuk-tuk to our hotel. The driver wasn’t sure where he was going and G had to redirect him a few times, but we made it there. We checked in, dropped off our backs, then walked around the area to find a place to eat. After we ate, we saw a Dairy Queen on the way back. Obviously had to stop for some blizzards before returning to the hotel.
We only had one full day in Vientiane and we decided we wouldn’t try to see everything there is to see. Instead, we would stay around our hotel area.
December 16, 2022 (T) - Why Build an Airport when You Could Build an Arc de Triomphe?
The only thing on our agenda today was to walk to the Patuxay Monument which was only a few blocks away. Back in the 1950s, the US gave Laos money to build an airport. Instead, they decided to build a memorial dedicated to those who fought for independence from France. It was completed in the 1960s and is modeled after the Arc de Triomphe, but with a Lao flare. It’s a pretty cool monument, and G and I got a laugh out of its origin story.
Other than that, we updated social media, worked on the blog, and went to a restaurant next door to the hotel.
December 17, 2022 (T) - Visa Fiasco
We thought today was going to be an easy day. Alas, it was not.
We ate breakfast at a cafe nearby then left for the airport a few hours early. To save money, sometimes we piece our own tickets together, meaning we’ll buy an airline ticket to a layover destination and then buy a different airline ticket to the final destination. We’ve sound thousands of dollars doing this.
Our plan was to fly to Hanoi for our layover and then continue on to Tokyo. Both are international destinations and the gates were in the same terminal. Even if we had to go through another layer of security, we had another ticket to show. We were never in Vietnam, so we shouldn’t need a visa, and even if for whatever reason we did, Vietnam’s government’s website stated we could get one on arrival. Lao Airlines denied us boarding, stating that we either need to have a pre-approved visa or have a ticket with one airline. They even allegedly called their coworkers in Vietnam who confirmed this. We tried showing them the government’s website stating that we can get one on arrival and showing them our other ticket to prove that we weren’t going to stay in Vietnam to no avail.
Ultimately, we had to buy a new ticket. Fortunately, there was a ticket for the same day and we used some of our travel points to cover a small part of the cost, but it was still a little pricy. The route was the same. We had to wait about 5 hours for our flight.
When we arrived in Hanoi, we did have to go through security, but I don’t think it would have been an issue if we showed our other ticket. (Plus, after Japan, when we did travel to Vietnam, there was a counter for visas on arrival…we had secured our visa prior to arrival just in case).
Fortunately, the airport lounge was really nice. We relaxed there for a couple of hours until around midnight, when we went to our gate to board our plane for Japan.