Laos was good to us! We enjoyed starting in Vientiane, the capital, and then really enjoyed laying back in Vang Vieng. While the journey from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang was a bit of an adventure, Luang Prabang treated us right. I’m excited to share how we spent our time.
Day 85: Travel to Luang Prabang Was More Than a Notion
One of my favorite coworkers in Washington, DC would always say that something was “more than a notion” if it sounded straightforward but then ended up being complicated or challenging.
So by the time you finish reading this section, you will understand what I mean when I say that travel to Luang Prabang was most definitely more than a notion.
The Trip from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang
It started simply enough. Our understanding was that our hotel in Vang Vieng would provide a ride to the bus company. While we were checking out, we let the hotel know we would need that service, and they said that actually, the bus would come to us.
Three minutes later, a driver in a songthaew, a pick up truck converted into a “bus,” pulled up. He drove us rather aggressively through the muddy streets of Vang Vieng to a bus stop where we got out to wait. About 45 minutes later, he came back, we climbed back into the back of his truck, and we picked up a few more passengers. He then drove us to a different bus station where we loaded a van.
Our first van driver appeared to be about 17 years old. As a former high school teacher and administrator, I’m going to call myself an expert on approximating the age of teenagers. We drove for about three hours on the bumpiest roads I had ever been on. Despite wearing a seatbelt, I almost hit my head on the ceiling. The young driver stopped the van twice to check and see if we had flat tires. I don’t know how, but Rich slept.
After about three hours, our van pulled to the side of the road, and an older man from a different van approached our van. This man and our young driver switched places. While Rich and I were not expecting this shift change, we were both pretty relieved that someone with a bit more driving experience was taking over.
We then drove about half a mile on top of boulders. I am only minorly exaggerating. If you had told me there had been a rock slide a week before, I would have said, oh, okay, makes perfect sense. I don’t have photographic proof because I was too terrified to capture it.
We then drove up a very tall mountain on a road that was sometimes paved and sometimes not.
I’m assuming you get the picture.
The older driver seemed to do a great job navigating the treacherous terrain, but he did have to get out of the van to relieve himself on the opposite side of the road three times in the next three hours. So maybe the drive made him nervous too.
After about six hours in total of being in the van, and after a drive that while dangerous was unbelievably beautiful, we arrived in Luang Prabang. Our AirBNB hosts had arranged for a tuk tuk driver to pick us up at the bus stop where we were scheduled to arrive. Only one problem: the van driver did not deliver us to the bus stop.
Our Harrowing Trip to Our AirBNB
Our van driver’s English accent was very thick, and I didn’t understand what he said at all when he pulled over in town and started removing our items from the back of the van. Rich and another woman on the van independently heard him say that he would not be taking us to the bus station “because of the police.”
Oh.
So we were on the side of the road in Luang Prabang, Laos with our bags and with NO cell service to pull up google maps to find our way. I suggested we walk until we saw a cafe with WiFi and then we could go from there.
Where’s a cafe with WiFi when you need it? We walked for about 10 minutes before we found such a spot. Let’s just say when we arrived, we needed a beer as badly as we needed cell service. So we enjoyed our beer and realized that we were only about a 19 minute walk from our AirBNB which we both felt we had in us.
The Bridge of Doom
About 10 minutes into our walk, we reach a bridge that Google said we were supposed to cross. Let me paint the picture: It is wooden and is about one American traffic lane wide. Bicycles and motorbikes are speeding over it in each direction, barely missing each other. We look at the bridge, not quite sure how we are going to squeeze across with our bags, when we notice a small walkway on the side, below the main bridge.
I say, “I think maybe we walk on that, ” and Rich takes off like a man on a mission.
Oh, I don’t think I mentioned this: the bridge is over a raging river. Maybe I also didn’t mention that it is after 9 PM and pitch black out. And I did mention this but would like to mention it again: we both have our large backpacks and a smaller bag each. All of our worldly possessions.**
So I follow, more slowly, a few steps behind, when I realize this bridge has a ton of give in it, and I step on a plank that gives A LOT. My heart races. I think, “Are we supposed to be crossing the bridge on this adjacent platform? What if what we are on is only for workers or repairs? If I fall in the river, will I be able to swim with a 20 lb backpack?” My thoughts get darker from there, but you get the picture.
Rich is a good 10-15 feet ahead of me because a.) he’s a man, b.) he’s fearless, c.) he’s impatient to get to the AirBNB, or d.) all of the above. He turns around and looks at my face and says, “Are you crying?”
I wimper, “No” because that’s embarrassing. I’m not crying. I’m on the precipice of a full on panic attack. As any appropriately cautious individual would be.
Rich turns around and walks. I inch my way across a very long bridge. I survived. But barely.
The next day, we google the bridge. We read things like, “Only cross if you dare. Not for the faint of heart. No one likes the bridge of death.”
Yeah, no shit.
Day 86: Our Adventures at the Kuang Si Waterfalls
I’m seguing from a curse word to an adventure that my mom thought was irresponsible to share on Instagram because it looked too dangerous. Sorry, Mom! We really are being careful almost always, and I usually don’t curse!
So the Kuang Si Waterfalls are located in a large park about 45 minutes outside of Luang Prabang. Our AirBNB hosts arranged for a tuk tuk driver to drive us to the falls, wait a few hours for us, and then drive us home.
The Bear Sanctuary
Once you pay a small fee to enter the park, you cross a bear sanctuary to get to the falls. There are several bears in a big space that looks a lot like a zoo but with more fun toys. There is also a caged area where you can watch the baby cubs. Too cute!
Kuang Si Falls
We hiked for a few minutes before reaching the falls, and they were breathtaking. There were people swimming in a pool at the bottom, but we opted to hike a bit farther before going for a swim. We took some pictures on a bridge at the bottom of the falls, and then crossed it to another trail. We were able to climb up a steep path to reach the top of the falls before coming back down.
Once we were at the bottom, we noticed a few people were headed towards a path on the left. At this point, we had probably hiked for an hour so we said we would check it out but keep the option to turn around before going all the way to the top on the table.
I’m so glad we did NOT turn around. When we got near the top, we saw that there was a staircase that had become part of the waterfall that you could still walk up. Presumably, when the falls were less full, the staircase was dry, but it had rained a day or two before so the water ran down the stairs.
We decided to head up, and it was awesome. I never thought I would walk up a waterfall! It was one of the most fun thirty minutes of our whole around the world trip. (Sorry, Mom. Anyone who has not turned 34 yet most definitely should NOT attempt. It is ONLY really fun if you are old and careful.)
Dinner
We paid a boat to take us across the river to the town of Luang Prabang to avoid crossing the Bridge of Death.
Day 87: Almsgiving Plus Work Day and Laundry
Almsgiving in Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang is a very religious town with Buddhist monks everywhere. Each morning, the residents of Luang Prabang line the streets to give a small offering to each monk as he passes. Steve, our host, told us that the monks would pass the house between 6:00 and 7:00 AM so we got up early to sit on the balcony and watch. Sure enough, at about 6:15 AM, the women across the street headed outside and the monks came by.
It was really neat to watch and offered a nice, quiet time for reflection.
Laundry!
So we ended up going much longer in between doing laundry than intended. I won’t name the last city we did laundry in before Luang Prabang. Luckily, our AirBNB hosts provided laundry service for a reasonable fee so we gave them a VERY big load, put on the clean clothes we had left over (a tank top and hiking pants for me, a long sleeved pullover and jeans for Rich), and settled in to work for the day.
The AirBNB where we were staying was a true bed and breakfast. Steve and Meryl are ex-pats who live downstairs, and they have several guestrooms upstairs. Meryl cooked delicious eggs, bacon, and toast that we enjoyed each morning.
We spread out in the work space downstairs to crank out a blog post and do some planning together. We turned our laundry over to Meryl at about 10:00 AM; however, when we started really needing dinner around 6:00 PM, we hadn’t gotten our clothes back yet.
So Rich went to dinner in Southeast Asia in a snow suit, and I made my improvised outfit fit right in!
Of course, the laundry was wonderfully clean and folded when we got home.
Day 88: Checking Out the Sights in Luang Prabang
We really enjoyed having some time to work while we were in Luang Prabang, so I tackled one more blog post in the morning.
In the afternoon, we headed out to see the sights in Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage Center because of the fusion of Laotian and colonial French influences in its art and architecture. We hiked up Mount Phu Si, the highest point in Luang Prabang to reach Wat Chum Si.
Dinner at 525 Cocktails & Tapas
For dinner, we got drinks and tapas at 525 Cocktails & Tapas. The macaroni and cheese and water buffalo sliders were to die for. The owner was there and came over to chat when we had finished eating. He and his wife are ex-pats from the United Kingdom and Australia, and he said they love raising their young son in Laos. Similar to us, they had wanted to take a bit of a step back from hectic jobs and living “busy” lives. For them, that looked like opening a bar in Laos.
We enjoyed spending time with him.
Looking back on that delicious meal, I can definitely tell we have adapted to prices where we are! For less than $25, we got two cocktails, five tapas, one beer, and a dessert thrown in– AND we felt like we had spent a lot on dinner!
On our way home from dinner– across the scary bridge, I conquered my fear– we ended up walking beside a young monk and his talkative friend. At first, we thought the friend wanted to sell us something, “Where are you going? Where are you staying? Where are you from?” but he was just genuinely curious and friendly.
We really enjoyed the people we met in Laos. They were always nice, but a whole lot less pushy than people in some of the other countries we have visited. There was a quiet confidence to all of the towns we visited in Laos.
Maybe it is the amiability I talked about in my post on Vientiane: being kind and gracious is a virtue. It was easy to imagine why both Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang were full of ex-pats. Laos was an easy place to feel welcome and that you had plenty of space at the same time.
** We were carrying all of our worldly possessions not in storage, at my mom’s, or at Rich’s mom’s across the bridge of doom.
