3rd October 2006
We are now in Laos, in a town called Luang Prabang. Originally, we were going to get the boat from Chiang Mai but this would actually have been 3 day jaunt via coach and boat – so we opted for the plane which took an 1 hour and cost about £50.
We checked the guide-book for places to stay and picked a hostel called Jaliya for the soul reason that our Footprints guide claimed it had a ‘friendly pet deer‘. We really are that fickle. It was a 10 minute walk out of the main town on a very quiet little street. It was an extremely quaint little place, with large pots of water full with water lillies and little fish, a very peaceful garden to lounge about in and small clean bedrooms.
We took a stroll to the main town and found many other nice hostels closer to the town’s action. Ours is about $6 USD per night per room, (£3.50) and it really isn’t that bad! It even has a hot shower. I must be getting used to travelling., they’re slowly breaking me in.
There is something very strange about Luang Prabang and possibly Laos in general. It feels like everyone is stoned. The pace of life is beyond slow and the general atmosphere is lethargic, apathetic. It is so quiet, despite it being quite a bustling little place.
It is famous for its charming little open air markets that run all day and night. Motor bikes seem to come out of nowhere as you stroll around taking in the sites, but they make literally no sound, so they just add to the strange eery vibe. It feels like I’m in a peculiar alien movie. It is almost too much effort to do anything more than sit and read.
They seem to love Christmas here and have Christmas decorations in every shop and guest house, despite it being October. I am not sure whether they really know what festival the decorations are actually for or if they simply like the festive quality. We saw a vegetable seller in the market who was even wearing a santa hat!
There are cats and kittens everywhere. Fortunately, the locals treat them well and are nice to them. Us cat lovers are in heaven and have to stop and stroke every single one.
As Laos was under French rule until 1953, that influence has resulted in the abundance of French bread being sold. Food here is average and they tend to serve basic touristy rubbish, pizza etc, which I hate. On the up side, the toilets are an improvement.
For our first evening out in Luang Prabang we consulted the guide-book for recommendations. It advised a place called Maly, a local style BBQ restaurant consisting of tables with holes in the middle and round bbqs placed in the centre. You cook your food yourselves on the BBQs. I think these are also quite popular in Vietnam and China.
We were given plates of raw chicken, fish, pork and beef and raw noodles, eggs and leafy veg to cook ourselves. The BBQ has a little moat which they pour chicken/veg stock in to and you can cook the noodles and eggs in there. They light the BBQ underneath your table and you can layer the meat on the BBQ to cook to your own liking. It was delicious and the novelty factor was great. We were also the only Westerners in there, which was really nice. On that day, Luang Prabang was celebrating “Older Persons Day” and most of the locals were out with the grandparents and older relatives.
While here, we have taken a trip to the local waterfalls and a cave. The view was quite spectacular and the pictures came out well. We had to catch a tuctuc to the outskirts of the town and a boat up the river to the waterfalls. The waterfalls originate somewhere in the jungle, and pour down in to the Mekong river. The girls braved the water, which looked clear but was ball freezing. We met a yellow squirrel in a cage on our way.
In the evening we went to the local night market, which is so nice and far more relaxed than Chiang Mai or Bangkok. The locals here take everything are very casual in their attitude and are far less less pushy. We bought some little trinkets and presents for home, local silk etc. We were given leaflets for a local bar called LoaLoa garden, so we headed there for dinner. On arrival we saw the trekking guys from Chaing Mai which was really nice.
In Luang Prabang there is a local rule that everyone has to back at their guesthouse here by 12pm. The locals go to bed early so they can get up at 6am and given ‘alms’ to the Buddhist Monks. You also have to be quiet on the streets after 10pm so as not to wake any of the locals. How very civilised.
Unexpectedly, we also saw our old friend Sponge Bob. We thought we’d shaken him off but everyone tends to do the same route in Asia, so it was only a matter of time before we stumbled upon him. He was in an internet café and Lizzie spied him through the window, we snuck off before he saw us. Coincidently also we saw a Laos lady with Sponge Bob backpack.
So far, there really isn’t much more to say about Laos as we have not had the opportunity to see that much or maybe not immersed ourselves enough. Like marmite, I can see why some people love it and some people hate it. It is very laid back… or some would say boring. The scenery is nice … but some would say you could find the same in Thailand or another S.E Asian country. I personally find it makes me restless and drained at the same time – like staying inside all day on a wet sunday but longing to be elsewhere. I can’t wait to move on to somewhere more exciting, with more going on, more to see and more to do, maybe at this stage of travelling I don’t appreciate what it can offer and the very fact that it is so laid back is probably the draw for most people. So far, it doesn’t seem to be an remarkable place that that will leave indelible ink on your heart forever but maybe there is more to see or something I am missing. It is so very unwestern and basic.
We stay here until Thursday and then we’ll catch a minibus to Vang Vieng.
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