Our original plan was to leave Chiang Mai and take a bus/minivan to Chiang Khong on the Thai border, cross into Huay Xai in Laos and then take a boat down the Mekong for 2 days to Luang Prabang. This would involve a stay in a guest house along the way. The boats are former cargo boats and consist of wooden benches with the bathroom being a closed in area with a hole. Not luxury travel by any means but common for backpackers. On Feb 27th, the government stopped most boat traffic due to the record low levels of water in the Mekong after a lengthy drought. So, we booked an overnight VIP bus to Udon Thani, Thailand (about 12 hours), then took a tuk tuk to the other bus station in Udon Thani to catch a city bus to Nong Kai on the border. Then, we took another tuk tuk to the border, exited Thailand, took a 15 baht minivan ride across the Friendship bridge to the Laos side and then stood in line for a visa on arrival at Laos. This visa costs $35 and the process took a couple hours. We shared a cab into Vientiane, the capital, and found a guest house in Nam Phu, the city center. I would say the whole trip took about 22 hours. I’ve included a picture of a tuk tuk outside our guesthouse in Vientiane – notice that the driver is resting in a hammock until his next ride comes along. I’ve also included the broom. I’m fascinated by the straw brooms they use throughout Asia. This is one of the better ones.
We spent a couple nights in Vientiane. There’s not a lot to see. We went to Pha That Luang, an important national monument and a symbol of both the Buddhist religion and Laos sovereignty. It’s about 3 km from the city. We took a tuk tuk there and walked back. Anytime you take a tuk tuk or taxi, you feel like you’re getting took took. The prices are all over the place.
We also went to see Wat Si Saket, the oldest temple in Vientiane. The walls of the temple and the surrounding walls are covered in cubby holes containing little buddhas.
From there we walked to the Putaxai which is a replica of the Arc de Triomphe built to commemorate Lao who died in pre-revolutionary wars. It was built in 1969 with cement donated by the USA for construction of a new airport. We paid the entrance fee to climb to the top for views of Vientiane.
We found a good Indian restaurant and ate dinner there both nights. There were also makeshift restaurants that set up on the riverfront. They were very aggressive. On the first night, we were walking through and somehow got “forced” into sitting at one “restaurant.” We ordered but I wasn’t too impressed with the cleanliness of this place. So, I fed my fried rice with chicken to their dog when they weren’t looking. It was a cute shepherd mix puppy. Kurtis sort of moved his around on his plate and then we paid and left and then went for Indian. We did find a nice bar near the city center where we enjoyed a few Beer Lao.
We left Vientiane on a VIP bus to Luang Prabang north of Vientane. I haven’t figured out what constitutes a VIP bus except that it’s supposed to have A/C and nicer seats that recline.
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