Photo Trip Report: Laos by Boat, Bike, Buggy and Balloon

[buksida]

This is being posted from the road so updates will be patchy as photo editing is time consuming so bear with me!

It had been around twenty years since I had ventured into Laos. Road trip season was upon us again and now seemed a good time as any to revisit the country and explore some new spots. Getting there was relatively easy with an early flight from Chumphon to Don Meuang, Bangkok and a midday one on to Vientiane. Fortunately there was a good three hours between the flights which was needed in this airport due to the epic queues for Air Asia check in and immigration, it could have been Shenzhen.

The visa on arrival process was painless, each country is charged a different rate and it appears that UK passport holders top the list at $35 for a month tourist visa in Laos. Wattay International airport is a tiny affair; ours was the only plane there! The initial wall of heat leaving the airport was unexpected, even coming from Thailand, it was hot - 36 degrees plus in downtown Vientiane. The capital city is more like a big town and the pace is a lot slower than Thailand, where everyone needs to be at their destination ten minutes before they left.

The Mali Namphou Hotel suited our purposes for a few days in Vientiane; it was centrally located and well-priced, hence popular with travellers of all ages and nationalities. There isn’t really a great deal to do in the city aside from taking in temples and the odd market selling every kind of Buddhist statue, amulet and painting imaginable.

We took a walk up to the Patuxay Monument which is that replica Arc de Triomphe I visited 20 years ago. Today it is swarming with Chinese bus tourists following the selfie god with vigor. We went up to the top to get a good view of the city which was still relatively quiet for mid-morning. It is the only capital I have been in where you can walk across six lanes of empty road during rush hour!

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I compared a photo taken back then with one today - the major difference between now and 1999 is the prevalence of flashy cars that nobody had back then. Affluence has crept in to Southeast Asian cities and it is clearly evident in the new cars everywhere, parked over every square inch of pavement.

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More to follow ...

[dtaai-maai]

Not bad at all, Buksi, you should consider doing some more of these road reports...

I'm looking forward to the buggy and balloon bits!

[lindosfan1]

Lovely shots, I am amazed at the lack of traffic.

[migrant]

As always, great report and pics, thanks!!

[Bamboo Grove]

My first time in Vientiane was in 1990. Doesn't seem to have changed much in 30 years time.

[PeteC]

Not yet a city of high rise buildings. That in itself brings a smile and memories of this place. Last time I was there was about '95 and it looks much the same.

[buksida]

The city itself has not changed much, the only major difference I noticed are the fat SUVs that have permeated the place, the pavements have been turned into car parks so you have to walk in the road most of the time. It is a different planet compared to Bangkok though!

[oakdale160]

Whereas in VN and Cambodia, both ex-French colonies there is little evidence of Frenchness, I found a surprisingly noticeable French presence in Vientiane.

[laphanphon]

Nice stuff, thanks.

Only thing I noticed, difference wise, since living in Udon Thani for 16 years, and making various trips to Vientiane, is the the development of the waterfront / riverside.

Which, since more there, can get quite congested, in comparison to first time there, when it was just a market on a dirt patch. Seems the rest of the city has been spared of any development.

A pleasant city to stroll around, abet, lacking thing to keep the tourist interested, those that need to be entertained anyway. I loved visiting, and the low key atmosphere.

[buksida]

Continuing on before the heat wave descended, we walked another couple of kilometers to Pha That Luang which is a big golden stupa in the center of a temple complex. The car park was big enough to land a plane in and the place was spotless, no trash to be seen anywhere. On the way back we ventured into Vientiane’s only shopping mall which was underwhelming to say the least. Back at the hotel it was time for a ridiculously cheap (10,000 kip or about a dollar) Beer Lao.

Nearly everything I have seen here so far has been a significant amount cheaper than the Thai equivalent. Laos does not seem to have the hang-ups and rafts of ridiculous regulations that have infected Thailand over the past few years. Another side effect of this was evident from chatting to a number of ex-Thailand expats that could no longer live there due to restrictive visa requirements and escalating living costs; many had been forced to leave family and property across the border. I spent the afternoon knocking back a few with a Canadian chap on a visa run from Nong Khai.

Breakfast in Vientiane is a 3,750 kip (14 baht) fresh baguette and some Italian salami. Mornings are nice and cool and a good time to walk around the laid back streets. Evenings are similar so we ventured down to the river front night market where you can buy all manner of clothing for a couple of bucks.

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To follow: Nam Ngum Lake

[PeteC]

1700.jpg looks like some old bullet holes. Perhaps the statue a refugee from a more hostile location in the past.

[buksida]

It was time to get out of the city and head north but before we got to Vang Vieng we decided to splash out and have a couple of nights on the largest lake in Laos at the Sanctuary Resort at Tha Heua. The three hour minivan ride was taken at typical Asian breakneck speed on a road that made the surface of the moon look smooth. Apparently the Chinese have been trying to rebuild them for the past five years with little success. They do have a tight grip on all of the power plants and most of the construction up here though.

The resort truly was a tranquil hideaway and being beyond the budget of most backpackers, virtually empty. The Nam Ngum reservoir is around 380 square kilometers and the dam generates nearly all of the power requirements for the county, the rest - around 75% of the total - is sold to Thailand. Our resort was at the northern end of the lake, which is dotted with thousands of tiny islands formed when the valley was flooded. The only drawback was at this time of the year it was field burning season so a permanent haze shrouded the place and visibility was limited.

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More to follow ...

[PeteC]

Unique swimming pool. Is it one of those with heavy duty vinyl sides and bottom?

[buksida]

Yep, felt very weird getting in that!

[barrys]

Whereas in VN and Cambodia, both ex-French colonies there is little evidence of Frenchness, I found a surprisingly noticeable French presence in Vientiane.

Little evidence of Frenchness in Cambodia!? Where have you been?