Laos
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Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
We just arrived in Hanoi, coming from Laos and crossing the borderpoint at Nameo, east of Vieng Xai (Laos). I must say, it was a real calvary...
From Vieng Xai to Nameo was ok, a ride in a saengthaew for 15,000 kip to the border crossing but there the troubles began. We took a motorbike from Nameo to Quan Son ($10 /54km) but there we got stuck. There was one minibus going to Than Hoa, we knew the price (from other travellers in Laos who fell victim to the same scam - but in the reverse direction), 49,000 dong but we couldn't enter the bus before having paid 300,000 dong/person and there was no discussion possible: it was either get stuck there or pay - and I must say, the atmosphere was really threatening, almost violent - some of them were laughing in our face ("maybe you go by foot then, hehe...") Although we're two really tall men and are travelling allready for more than three months in SE-Asia, we're used to bargaining. We ended up by paying after having tried to arrange other means of transport (mainly trucks) - but the guy from the minibus prevented us to do so by riding by on his bike and talking to everyone in Quan Son before I could to.
I wouldn't recommend anyone trying that border crossing before there's 'regular' bus correspondance to Hanoi or Than Hoa - for us it was the worst travel experience (it lasted the whole day) we had during our travel and I thought I'd let you guys know about it.
Jeroen Decuyper, Belgium (Feb 06)
This is just a small warning about the Laos-Vietnam border crossing. I recently crossed there and an immigration official (doubling as a tout, apparently) tried to sell me a ticket on a 'public bus' to Hanoi for US$20. I was suspicious, and declined. I found a public bus to the main north-south highway for a reasonable price. As I was boarding my bus the immigration official/tout appeared and demanded $5 for his services. I watched him try this little scam with about 10-15 other travelers as well. The important thing to note is that there is no bus from Nameo to Hanoi, and anybody trying to sell a seat on one is fradulent.
Ben Ploeger, USA (Jan 06)
Crossing the border at the Friendship bridge from Thailand to Laos: The safest and definitely the cheapest way obtaining a valid visa to Lao PDR is buying it at the official border, not from the several travel agencies or tuktuk drivers nearby. Foreigners are charged an extra entrance fee of 10 baht after having their visas stamped in the passport control. There are normally many taxis, minibuses and tuktuks at the border that will take you to Vientiane. (20-30 minutes drive). Dont forget to bargain.
Janne Rueness, Norway (Sep 05)
I just want to tell you what happened to me and my girlfriend about our visas for Laos. Maybe this is not unique and helpful for other travellers to know. We applied for 30 days visas at the Lao embassy in Yangon, Myanmar. It was no problem so far, they seemed to have not much work and we didn't spend too much time for that. We had to pay US$35 each. After we received our visas and got out of the embassy, we realized that the visas didn't say anything about the length of the allowed stay in Laos. So we decided to call the embassy and ask about that. The code on the visas was t-b3. The man on the telephone assured that this is the tourist visa for 30 days. The day we crossed the border from Thailand to Laos at Nong Khai, the officer told us, that the visas are valid for only 15 days. We got the same information at the Lao immigration office. As we met two other travellers who had the same problem with a visa from the Lao embassy in Bangkok, this "mistake" seems to be not unique... maybe some kind of strategy? We were told that the code for a 30 days visa should be n-b3 (not t-b3), but we don't know exactly as there seem to be many different codes.
Martin Wundsam, Austria (Jul 05)
The border crossing into Southern Laos from Thailand - Chong Mek to Pakse is now fairly straight forward. You can get your Laos visa at the border for US$30. When you walk around the corner to get it stamped though, the guy demands 20Baht - not a lot, but it's the principle. You can get away without paying this if you're patient enough - say 5 mins.
Crossing from Vaun Kaem into Cambodia is a different story. At the border the Laos immigration demanded US$3 for an exit stamp on weekends and public holidays. Again, you could probably wait this out, but doesn't help when other farangs just pay it straight off the bat! After this you get a boat to the Cambodian side - US$2 for the boat. Again you will be asked for a small bribe US$1. After this one lone speedboat turns up to take you to Stung Treng. The going rate now is about $50 per boat and can fit up to 6 or 7 people. Bargaining gets you nowhere - they know you're trapped! Bumpy ride, but very fast. Think there will be a land crossing in the near future so perhaps let them make their money while they can!
Julie Sanderson, Australia (Apr 05)
When crossing from Chiang Khong to Houeisai (Houiexai, Houey Xay) be aware of the misleading tactics of local travel companies. When the boat lands on the Lao side you will be met by a man who you give visa forms and help you with visa process. This person is an employee of a travel company NOT a border official. He will use this opportunity to engage about your onward travel plans with the hope selling you tickets or accommodation. Be informed that you can arrange your own travel by yourself for significantly less. For example they sell you ticket for the boat to Luang Prabang for 750 baht and a bus ticket to Namtha for 500 baht. The same boat ticket will cost you 600 baht at the boat landing and the bus ticket will be 300 baht at the bus station. . Also be aware that if you arrive in a group of two or more people and try to hire your own transport that the travel companies will insist that you use their services and not that of a private car operator. They will insist that you are a tour group and by law must use a tour operator for all of your arrangements. Be aware that you have full rights to hire any driver that you want as long as his has business plates (black letters with white background) and provided that he stamps out of the local passenger vehicle association (the bus station).
If you get into an argument with the local travel companies and they take you to the tourism office, be aware that it is in the tourism office's interest to protect the company. Ask to talk to someone in the National Tourism Administration about the regulations.
William Holloway, Laos (Mar 05)
It is now possible to get visa on the Laos border at Boten (15 days, $30). At the consulate in Kunming they say it's not possible but don't believe them. Vietnam visa: buy it on the street in Vientiane ($45) and NOT on the embassy ($55).
Martin Dahl, Norway (Feb 05)
Just wanted to let you know that there are at least two new borders open between Laos and Vietnam. I crossed over the recently open one about 4 hours east of phonsovan in the north of Laos. The border is called Nam Cam/Nong Haet. The route from Phonsovan to the border is relatively easy and hassle free. The bus trip should cost around $2.
Once over the border its a different story. the Vietnam border control have a habit of searching all items in your bag - more out of personal interest than for security reasons. From the border there is no way to get anywhere other than the monopoly of motorbike driver charging a fortune (about $10). this should improve with time - although its a communist country so who knows.
I managed to make my way to Ky Son, which is the first town in Vietnam over the Nong Haet border. really a nice place to stay for a night and still very much off the back packer trail. but be careful as there are no services including no place to change money - so bring dollars. From Ky Son to Vinh took about 10 hours and the roads were extremely bad, with lots of rowd works underway. this will naturally improve over the next few years, but it is a long road, and it could take years.
Herman Zolty, South Africa (Jan 05)
Travel Tips
Just to let you know and also to help other travelers going through SEA, especially Laos. They have international ATM machines now in Vientane. Go to the BCEL bank on Pangkham street. You can only take out Laos currency, Kip, but can change it at the exchange for dollars if need to next to the ATM in the bank!!
Dean Wells, UK (Oct 05)
HUEY XAI: The Lao Airlines Office has moved away from the small town and it's 2 km away from the point you show in your guide. Now it's up to the hill, and there are drivers who don't know where exactly is yet. The Lao Airlines Office has special relevance in wet season, because most of the flights suffer from delays or sometimes are cancelled
Jordi Cored, Spain (Sep 05)
You can't get cash advances with visa in the local banks. Having been around all of these we have found this out and they have on their windows no visa transactions. However for about 10 % commision some travel centres will do this. The Lao American Travel Centre pulled us out of a tight spot.
Helen Lomas & Irwin Robinson (Oct 04)
Moving About
All the long distance buses heading south from Vientiane (Pakse, Tha Khaek, Savannakhet) now leave from Southern bus station and not from Northern bus station as mentioned in LP Laos.
Mario Hozic, Slovenia (Dec 05)
Some advice that we have for all travellers is to fly from Vientiane to Luan Prabang and not take the bus. We took the so called VIP bus for US$12 and it was just horrible. It took eight hours and many people including us were travel sick, some even throwing up. So whoever can afford should take the plane. It was the worst part of our whole trip.
Oliver Gressieker, Germany (Dec 05)
Jumbos are always called (to tourists) tuk-tuks. Drivers will sometime show you a prined list of fares, sometimes headed Vientiane Taxi Drivers Association. These fares have no connection with reality. Ignore them. $1 will get you anywhere in the city centre (and that is much more than the locals will pay). $2 will get you out to Wat Tha Luang and may even pay for the driver to wait and bring you back again.
Frank Sharman, UK (Nov 05)
Laos/Thai border crossing Chiang Kong (Mekong): Chartering speedboats from Houy Xai (Laos) to Luang Prabang is quite dangerous, if not madness, especially in the monsoon season when debris, logs and whole trees are carried along the surface of the river at breathtaking speeds. MY advice is to take the normal riverboats (2 day trip) or the more powerful "Naga" traditional riverboat (operated very professionally, but less well-known) which does the trip in a leisurely 9 hours.
Jon Moslet, Italy (Sep 05)
I thought that I ought to let you know about the Vientiane(Laos) to Hue(Vietnam) bus route. The bus in fact drops you a good 22km away from Hue at about 8-9pm at night. There are taxis and moto-taxis to take you into Hue, but of course they charge some very high prices - we paid $15 for a taxi. Also when we were waiting for the bus at the bus station some guy in a tuk tuk came and grabbed all our stuff to take us to a different bus station saying because of traffic it couldn't get into the main bus station. No idea if this was actually true but the tickets we bought were accepted on this other bus, so we didn't mind too much. It was just that we felt very nervous that we were being robbed or something or that we'd fallen into some big scam.
Sarah Collinson, UK (Aug 05)
On arriving at the border in Huay Xai we were greeted by a guy telling us there was only one slow boat and that we must book the ticket straight away to be sure of a seat. It all looked very official but we declined and found that in town there were lots of operators selling tickets, cheaper than his. Also, anybody planning to take the slow boat to Luang Prabang should be aware there is no allocated seating and they squashed us in like sardines - an interesting experience though!
Yvonne Butler, UK (Jul 05)
From Vang Vieng we chose the option of taking a kayak tour to Vientiane. It's $15 and includes lunch and transport for the day as well as shared use of a wet bag and water (provided it doesn't float down the river). You ride 1.5 hrs in a sangthew to the put in where you share a 2 man open kayak. There are 3 sets of rapids that are supposedly grade 3. They are quite big and a little daunting if you've never faced anything like it before, but even if you go over you'll be ok. You are in the river for 2-3 hours then stop where guides BBQ lunch (meat, rice, vegies). Then you are in calm water for around 20 mins where you get out and are driven 1.5 hours to Vientiane.
Chelise Simmons, USA (Jul 05)
I would just like to suggest that travellers choose the air conditioned buses or minibuses in Laos. I and my fellow travel companions paid on more than one occasion for an air conditioned minibus only to find the driver would not turn on the air conditioning and then wanted to charge us an extra 40 dollars for it, after we had already paid the travel agency. We made him drive us back to the agency which gave us a different mini bus with a different driver who once again refused to turn it on. The VIP bus seems to be hit and miss as well. My friends got lucky and got an air-conditioned bus while I did not.
If I was back again I would take the public bus which has larger windows to open and costs between 50% and 25% of the other options.
Rory O'Brien, Ireland (Jul 05)
I have just returned to Bangkok from another enjoyable trip to Laos and Cambodia including a speed-boat trip from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. While in Huay xai I attempted to glean some info regarding the safety aspects of the speed-boats. I can't say that I was able to come to a definitive conclusion. It seems as if there is competition between speed-boat drivers/operators and the slow-boat owners. The speed-boat people imply that the slow-boats were the original people movers and their trade fell somewhat when the speed-boats appeared on the river carrying both river-side dwellers and tourists. There have been speed-boat accidents and there have been slow boat sinkings. I haven't found out either the incidence or the numbers as yet.
The noise factor is real, both to residents and travelers. Ear plugs protect the traveler and exhaust mufflers are used by the speed-boat drivers at some points (but not all) along the route. This is a current regulation.
River damage is debatable as the wash aspect of the bigger vessels certainly generates larger bow-waves than the speed-boats. The removal of rock along the course and the amount of fishing has had a much more dramatic effect than all boats. The intrusion on the wildlife along the banks is possibly a factor but probably has a much lower effect than the hunting that occurs along the course of the Mekong.
The charter of a speed-boat costs approximately 6500 baht. This comfortably accommodates 5 people. Buying a seat on a public speed boat costs between 1000 and 1250 Baht, and may hold as many as 8 passengers (or up to 12 Laos!). This is definitely most uncomfortable.
Peter Cochrane, Thailand (Jun 05)
Laos to Cambodia overland- It can be done in a full day's drive and for US$35 all-inclusive if you're lucky and if there's a few of you. Since a main bridge collapsed recently the bus can't be relied on. Warning- several companies offer a taxi service from Stung Treng to Phnom Penh, but they try to fit as many people in one car as possible, usually up to 6 but sometimes up to 9. This means the driver is sharing his seat and has little control of the wheel. Refuse to get in if there are more than 4 passengers.
Sarah Riches, UK (June 05)
VIP bus from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. There is a daily 08.30am super VIP bus, painted in rainbow colours, with aircon and a toilet. Heavily marketed by the agents and popular with the backpack crowd. I strongly discourage people to take it, especially for a short haul to Vang Vieng. It seems very mechanically fragile and broke down every half hour during my trip to Vientiane. The engine seems undersized relative to the weight carried. It turned a promised 8 hour trip to a 12 hour ordeal, with no aircon and a gasping slog up the mountains. People going to Vang Vieng are much better off taking minibuses which are very fast and comfortable. As for Vientiane, there appears to some sort of collusion these days where minibus operators do not directly run to Vientiane forcing one to buy two legs at 8 USD each or 16 USD total. Pretty silly since it forces everyone to take buses.
Paul Khoo, Singapore (Jun 05)
Scams & Warnings
A warning for travellers catching the slow boat from Huay Xai to Luang Prabang. When arriving at the Laos town of Huay Xai the officials advise you that it is essential to book accomdation in Pak Beng (stop over town) as if you dont prebook the accomdation you will be left out on the street. We were told that there were other slow boats arriving at Pak Beng before us and that they would receive all of the accomdation. We we charged 300 baht. When we arrived there was ample accomodation at much lower prices and no other slow boats.
We were warned that night by the owner of the Indian restaurant to make sure we got back to our rooms before the electricity generators went out. He told us that it was common for theives to rob people after curfew. Additionally, he advised us that some of the owners of guesthouses have been known to rob from their guests. In fact this had only happened the night before we arrived.
We later found out when meeting up with a friend in Luang Prabang that it was her that was robbed over £100. She located a young girl going through her bag in her room. The girl ran away and locked herself in another room. Our friend then noticed over £100 had been taken. The owner suggested that the girl was merely 'cleaning' the room and failed to take any responsibility. Our friend argued for about an hour but had leave to catch the boat. When leaving the owner laughed at her from the balcony of her guest house.
She tried to claim the theft with travel insurance but they refused to accept the claim. She as unable to report the theft in Pak Beng. When she attempted to do so in Luang Prabang, the police advised her that they would not make a report and that she would have to do it in Pak Beng. It is about 7 hours by slow boat.Just be extra cautious.
D B, Australia (Nov 05)
We are in Luang Prbang Laos and want to let you and your customers know about a strange and disappointing experience we had recently. We are in Laos for 10 days now and observed the people always as kind, polite and a little reluctant. Today we rented bycicles, cycled around and visitied some places a bit outside town. Returning from the graveyard of Henri Mouhot to our bikes (which took probably 15 minutes) the bicycles were stolen. The broken looks were still laying on the ground. We went straigt back, notified the tourist police and the place where we rented the bikes. Taking into account the time it takes to steal 2 bikes (we didn't notice anybody around) the theft really looks organized to me. What we learnt: This is seems to be a quite common occurance in Luang Prabang, but nobody in town tells you! Furthermore at the rental place we got the impression the Lao people do not care too much about it. We "lost" the bikes and we have to pay for them. So the risk is with the customer and not with the dealer. Even better they get new bikes "for free". Finally we paid for the bikes ($45 each) which took a great deal of bargaining. I guess it might be well worth informing your customers and future travellers to Laos about this annoyance.
Hauke Rohwer, Germany (Nov 05)
I would like to comment on Pakbeng, in Laos. For anyone travelling to Luang Prabang by boat from Chiang Kong, Thailand, the most popular route, Pakbeng is the first stop and the first experience of Laos.The overnight stay here is not a pleasant one and conversations with everybody who has stayed here overnight seem to agree.After an overcrowded boatride, all day, we all panic that there will not be enough rooms to go round and there are many dubious characters awaiting you, offering overpriced rooms.Offers of cheap drugs are followed by threats to inform the police of possession, unless you are willing to part with money, cameras, MP3 players, clothing. Any of these items are offered cheaply (from the last unsuspecting travellers). I met one chap, travelling alone, who was forced to part with a $100 leather jacket, purchased in Bangkok, under threat from one of the touts. The same tout tried to lift my camera. The food here is very basic and limited also, but, the whole overnight visit is of a threatening nature.
Alan Dainton, UK (Oct 05)
I would like to update your warning on Vientiane. The first night I arrived I was walking down the street with two girl friends. We were across the street from the mekong, near a seated police officer, in a well-lit, well-traveled area. These conditions, along with the consensus suggesting how safe Laos is, lulled us into believing all was well. However, a man came running up behind us, grabbed my camera case, and struggled with me for it until the strap broke and he ran off with his prize. I screamed, but absolutely no one came to help, not even the seated police officer. My arm was hurt, scraped, bruised and swollen from the struggle, and so we went into a restaurant to recover. There we were informed that the number of attacks against women is growing tremendously along with the use of amphetamines. Every day since I have met one farang woman who has exeperienced a purse snatching on the same road near the river.
On the same note, one of my traveling companions, the same night I was mugged, had a man break into his hotel room at 3 am while he was sleeping. Fortunately it happened to a man big enough to shove the intruder out and barricade himself against further attack. I'm afraid too many tourists go about here with a false sense of security. I think a more serious warning about the disintegrating situation in the capital would do some good.
Kathleen Ellen, USA (Sep 05)
Recently I wanted to travel from Don Det in Laos to Strung Treng in Cambodia over land. I purchased a bus/boat ticket to do exactly that for 10USD. At the Laos border we were charged 2USD for a stamp in our passport and the officials were really aggressive with us. Also at this point we have to change transport to a minibus, run by a Cambodian man. We drove to the Cambodian border crossing and was charged another 2USD for the stamp in our passport before we could continue. The driver took us as far as the river crossing to Strung Treng and demanded more money to get on the boat. We obviously disputed it because our ticket said that was included but it was futile and he turned really aggressive with us and threw all our bags out of the minibus still shouting.
I don't know how many other unsuspecting souls have purchased this ticket and had the same experience but it wasn't a pleasant introduction to Cambodia and we ended up having to pay extra, although only a couple of dollars.
Kelly Hardwick, UK (Aug 05)
I would like to let young people travelling know of the dangers of swimming in rivers and waterfalls. My daughter Mia-Lucy Rose died whilst swimming in the Li-Phi water fall on Don Det, 4000 islands, in Laos. A strong current took her legs from under her and swept over the water fall, it was three days before we found her body. There were several people swimming in the same pool as Mia There are no danger or warning signs about the water and this island is very popular with travellers from all around the world. Mia is the fourth person to die in this way at the same spot. Apparently there was a message written in German (a paper note covered in plastic pinned to a tree) giving warning as a young man had died there recently.
Pauline Rose, UK (Aug 05)
Laos, Pakse: about 3 weeks ago we took a bus from Vientiane to Pakse. From there we asked to go to the south bus station in order to catch a bus to the Si Phon Don islands (4 thousand islands). Our tuk-tuk driver took us straight to the bus (and not the bus station). The guys at the bus asked for 50,000 kip from each of us. We asked other tourists and they were asked for 40,000 kip. When we asked a local he told us he paid 25,000 kip. we got off the bus and in the end they agreed to give us the local price, while other tourists still paid the "tourist" bus which means what ever the conductor wanted (50,000 or 40,000 kip)
Amit Dankwerth, Israel (May 05)
For the benefit of future travellers we want to bring to your attention our bad experience with crossing the Laos-Cambodia border. There are 2 options for crossing the border and heading to Stung-Treng: pick-up truck/ bus or speed boat (the option we chose). After talking to the driver we agreed to pay 15 $ for the trip. After stamping the passports at the Cambodia immigration post and 5 minuets crossing ... the boat engine conveniently broke down in front of the driver's village.(not the usual route we learned after). 10 minutes after we got stuck, a friend of the driver came and offered to take us for 60$. We asked him to take us back to the border (we were stuck in the village with no other transport) in the hope of finding another boat for a regular price. Eventually two of our company took a small motor-boat with one of the fisherman back to the boarder. When the boat drivers found out about our plan him immediately phoned someone. When the two arrived at the border the prices were all 50-100$. The drivers also told them that they know about our "situation". In the end we were forced to pay the money. Please warn future travellers in your next edition. Even if the all scam hadn't occurred, we would have preferred to take the bus over the dangerous boat.
Ariel, Yuval, Moshe and Mayan, Israel (May 05)
I have just recently done the 1 day kayak trip from Vang Vieng to Vientiane in Laos. Here's the heads up; this is potentially dangerous, I noticed you had a tubing warning but the same should be said for kayaking. There is one set of rapids on this trip that is rated as class 3 by the tour companies. I'll confirm it, it definitely is class 3. Inexperienced paddlers should not be on this kind of water in these conditions. The rescue gear carried by the guides is non-existent, life jackets are ill-fitting and sub-standard in quality. Most guides are not trained in river rescue and could not help you if they had to. We scouted this rapid and I saw the reaction of my fellow paddlers when they saw what this rapid looked like. I have paddled water bigger than this at home and I took a step back when I saw this water, and this is the dry season.
I have extensive experience guiding school trips for my school. I have a Swiftwater Rescue course, I'm a Canadian Recreational Canoe Association certified instructor and I have a couple of White-water Canoeing certificates. I would not take a school group on this river, it must be crazy when it is the wet and the river is in flood.
Of course no one backed out of running the rapid because they may not have known the danger, and of course there is the "macho factor" as well. It was a great day I thoroughly enjoyed myself and no one got hurt. Travellers need to think big picture with these trips. If something happens on this river there is no Emergency Response team that will airlift you out of there. At home when we do these trips we expect a certain standard of care, in fact we probably don't even think about it, we just assume it's there. We assume the guides are trained and qualified, and the gear is top notch. This same standard of care just doesn't exist for this trip so travellers need to be advised of what they are potentially getting into.
Trevor Hale, Canada (Mar 05)
Yarns, Fables & Anecdotes
I got a kick out of the English woman posting that she recieved a Bad haircut while in Vietnam. I would have to think that a Vietnamese person cutting a Western woman's hair could be quite a challenge, as most the hair in Asia is completely different, and the growth patterns on a westerner, and hair type, very odd compared to Asians...so live and learn..Personally, it makes a funny story I think...your friends would see you back home be like, "What is that?"...hahaha.
But, in order to restore a tourist's faith in the professional standards on the Vietnamese culture and Hair Cutting profession I would hate to see thousands of westerners running around the globe complaining about the bad hairdo they got in SE ASIA...
So, I was in the south of Laos in mid-January, and on a rented moto, exploring the regions of the southeast part of the country. Next to my guesthouse in Attapue, was a really nifty barber shop, with really cute girls cutting hair and giving shaves. I was on my way somewhere at the time and figured I would stop in the next day for a shave.
But the next day I pulled up in the barber shop on my moto, and a old man was there cutting hair...darn...where are those cute girls?
So the next day I was in Salavan, and there was even a better place, with a bike/moto wash connected to the barber shop, boy, these Laos folks are sure enterprising, a bike wash while you get a shave...PERFECT!
3 cute girls were there, and I was ready...So, I lay back in the chair, and close my eyes, and feel the lovely soft caress of the girls hands on my 3 day stubble. She starts to giggle, and I open my eyes, and all 3 girls are looking at me like, they had a look on their face like-"Where do we start on this face"
They were not used to the heavy and thick hair a westerner has, and so they deffered to the older, wiser, more mature, know all, mother...now mother enters the picture...(Lucky me).
Well, no hot towel, just cream lathered on my face, and she starts on my beard, with a open blade, the old fasioned kind....I almost felt like I was at the dentist, hands clenching the arms of the chair, while I feel each stoke over my rough face....ouch!
Two razor blades later, and 30 minutes, I was done, I open my eyes, and half the village was watching the Falang get a shave, even the bike wash guys, some people from next door, and who knows who else, everyone was going OOOO, AAAA, UUUUU, EEEEE..and I looked at my face in the mirror, and it was nick FREE...Nice job..painful, but nice.
The bike was all washed and dried, and we had cookies and tea, and joked, and I paid the 8000 Kip for the shave, (50 cents), and 10,000 kip for the bike wash, (80 cents), and tipped the mother 5000 kip for the time, and off I went...
Do you hear me complaining...I could have been sliced up like a diced tomato...
ticotim, from the Thorn Tree (Feb 06)
(We) are in Luang Prabang now but we were supposed to be here last night.From Chiang Khong on the border of Thailand we caught a boat across to Laos. It seemed so strange going to another country like that. From Huay Xia across the border in Laos we caught a speedboat to Luang Prabang. The speedboat is a cramped longtail boat notorious for accidents, but it was only going to take six hours instead of the usual two days by slowboat, and we had a short time schedule. So despite the warnings from other travellers taking the slowboat option, we ended up on a speedboat with a gay German-British couple and a born-again Christian, Indian woman in her fifties who was also a doctor, partially deaf and kept repeating 'Come again'.
When he did arrive, he said that it was getting too dark to carry on so we would have to stay the night in the village. This village was the Real McCoy- houses on stilts, pigs, chickens and dogs running around, villagers wearing half traditional dress and half ripped western clothes and no toilet, not even a hole. I think we must have been the first foreigners they had ever met because it seemed like the whole village piled into this one hut to meet us. We were generously given bamboo, sticky rice and dipping sauce for dinner, followed by an inspection of our digital cameras and my head torch (I didn't think I was going to get that back). My Lonely Planet came in handy with its Lao-English guide. After dinner, they got us royally drunk on rice sherry, which we sipped out of a huge communal jar through giant bamboo straws. Occasionally, one of the tiny Lao men would get up and vomit out the window.
After the revelry an excellent night's sleep was had on futons. In the morning we woke at 6am to find all the village kids staring at us, and our cowboy was gone. We were told he'd be back at noon with the new part. So we played lots of games with the kids, observed village life and waited. When the cowboy got back the part didn't work and he said we'd have to wait until 6pm. He commenced to bash the new part with another piece of metal. This freaked us all out (particularly the British guy) because we knew that if it didn't get fixed we'd have to stay another night, imposing on these poor people and smelling really bad. So we decided to wait on the riverbank and try to flag down a slowboat to pick us up. We managed to flag down the second slowboat that passed (according to our Indian friend it was because she prayed for it -it had nothing to do with me jumping up and down, screaming and waving a life jacket about). The cowboy got a bit mad at me I think- he didn't want to hand our fee over to the slowboat captain. That's what I gathered from the angry sounding comments at my jumping about. The relief we felt at boarding the slowboat was matched by the amusement of its passengers- the very same group of people who had warned us not to take the speedboat! I thoroughly enjoyed the next few hours on the slowboat to Luang Prabang and I even saw a wild elephant on the riverbank. Well, now we don't have enough time to do the tourist trek and stay with a village package!! I feel like we had a much more authentic experience anyway. Think we'll just relax tomorrow....
Simonette Mallard, NZ (Feb 05)
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