After reaching Stung Treng from Phnom Penh by bus and then to Pakse in a mini van, we finally got to Vientiane on Sunday morning, after more than a day of travel. We dropped off our stuff in the hostel (Garden backpackers, pretty recommended), and then decided to hire motorbikes to see the city. Read on for our Laos travel story…

We were super tired after our trip from Cambodia, if you have read Part 1 of our Cambodia to Laos travel story, you will understand why. So we couldn’t be bothered to keep walking. I recommend this because Buddha Park is a bit far but definitely worth it. That night, we went on a stroll in the Night Market with people from the hostel. Vientiane is not the most buzzing city, but there are some cool bars. The day after, we kept visiting the capital (this time walking), and the truth is that the city is beautiful but there are not that many things to see.

We were there until 1pm, when we got a bus to Vang Vieng for 12$ each. After reaching the city at 6pm on Tuesday and went straight to the hostel, Pan Lane Backpackers, which is also cool. We loved the city. It’s not very big, but all surrounded by amazing mountains. A lot more spectacular than Vientiane.

In the night, we went to Sakura Bar, the best place to go out in the city. Always full of backpackers and free whiskey from 8 to 9 pm… SAY NO MORE. Only thing: it was very hot in there.

The morning after we went on an expedition to the caves and then did tubing.

I have underlined and put this in bold because it is amazing (you can get that from my face). As we went as part of a tour, we had a local follow us with a kayak, looking after our stuff, taking photos of us and recommending bars. He had zero clue of English but somehow we understood each other perfectly.

Then we met some friends for dinner (who we met there). It’s pretty impressive the number of restaurants and bars who offer Happy Pizzas, Happy Shakes, and other food containing drugs, mainly marihuana, mushrooms or opium in a completely legal way. That night we went back to the open whiskey place (not surprisingly). It was pouring rain, but it was the most fun of our Laos nightlife. There were Koreans everywhere. Apparently they had a reality show there, so it’s a very famous destination in Korea (South of course).

Luang Prabang – A World heritage Site

The following morning, we took a minivan to Luang Prabang. On the way, we had a flat tyre so we had to stop in the middle of nowhere for very long. We got there 4 hours late, it was awful.

Anyway, Luang Prabang is gorgeous, a World Heritage site. Even though you can see that there is a lot more tourism. We stayed there 3 nights in which we visited the city and the surroundings and it was very enjoyable. We took a Tuk Tuk to go see the waterfalls. Turquoise water, in the middle of the mountains… Pretty amazing.

If you want to have a drink or whatever, people usually go to Utopia. It’s like a chill out bar, and if you want to carry on with your night, there is a bowling place opening until 3 am and serving drinks. It is all a bit illegal but great fun.

In our last day in Laos, we went to see the monk’s offering at 5.30 am. It’s a very interesting thing. After, we went on a walk around the city before our plane to Bangkok.

We definitely recommend Laos to everyone. We fell in love with the landscapes, the people, the temples, the food… everything! There’s a famous proverb in Spain that says that you should always leave something unseen when you travel so that you can have an excuse to return… So we will definitely be back soon Laos!

 

Translated from Spanish to English (original text below). This write-up was written by Maria – a traveler from Spain who is backpacking South East Asia with her friends and submitted this article as part of CamboTicket’s traveler memoir section. We wish Maria and her mates the best of luck for this trip and wish them more exciting adventures in times to come. You can read the first part of their travel from Cambodia to Laos here.

 

Una Semana en LAOS ( Vientiane, Vang Vieng y Luang Prabang)

Por fin llegamos a Vientiane el domingo por la mañana, despues de mas de un día viajando. Dejamos las cosas en el hostal (garden backpackers, bastante recomendable) decidimos coger motos para visitar la ciudad, ya que hacia demasiado calor y estabamos muy cansadas para andar tanto, cosa que recomiendo cien por cien ya que el Buddha Park esta un poco lejos pero merece la pena.

Esa noche nos dimos una vuelta por el Night market con gente del hostal, no es que sea una ciudad con mucho ambiente, pero hay algun bar que está bien.

Al día siguiente seguimos visitando la capital, ya sin motos, la verdad que es una ciudad bastante bonita pero tampoco hay tanto. Estuvimos hasta la 1pm que cogimos un bus hacia Vang Vieng por 12$ cada una.

Llegamos a Vang vieng el Martes a las 6 de la tarde. Directas fuimos al hostal Pan Lane Backpackers, estaba muy bien. Nos encantó el sitio, en sí no es muy grande pero esta rodeado de montañas impresionantes. Mucho mas espectacular que Vientiane. Esa noche fuimos a Sakura Bar, es el mejor sitio para salir de fiesta alli, donde van todos los Backpackers ademas de 8 a 9 tienen free whiskey, se llena siempre, aunque cómo no, hacía demasiado calor.

A la mañana siguiente fuimos a una excursión por las cuevas y luego hicimos tubing,  experiencia obligada, super divertido. Estuvimos hasta las 5-6 de la tarde. Como fuimos con un tour, en el tubing ibamos con un local que nos seguia con su canoa, nos guardaba nuestras cosas, nos hacía fotos y nos iba esperando y recomendando bares.

No tenia ni idea de ingles pero nos entendimos sin problemas. Después quedamos con unos amigos para cenar. Llama la atención que es bastante famoso los restaurantes que ofrecen happy pizzas, happy shakes y demas comidas que incluyen droga, principalmente marihuana, setas u opio,  de manera legal.

Esa noche volvimos a la barra libre de whiskey. Diluviaba también, pero fue la mas divertida de todas. En realidad Vang vieng esta lleno de koreanos. Nos contaron que es porque hubo un reality show en Laos y por eso se había hecho tan famoso. Como siempre llenisismo de Backpackers.

A la mañana siguiente, Jueves, nos recogió una minivan dirección a Luang Prabang. Por el camino se pinchó una rueda y estuvimos un buen rato parados en la carretera, llegamos 4 horas mas tarde de lo planeado, fue agotador.

Luang Prabang es un sitio precioso, patrimonio de la humanidad. Aunque se nota que hay mucho mas turismo. Ahí pasamos 3 noches.

Estuvimos visitando la ciudad, las cascadas las cuales fuimos en tuktuk son preciosas de agua turquesa en mitad de las montañas… para salir a tomar algo ahi se va siempre primero a Utopia que es un bar como de chillout y luego si quieres seguir la fiesta hay una bolera que abre hasta las 3am donde te dan acohol y puedes jugar con tus amigos, es todo un poco ilegal pero muy divertido.

En nuestro último dia de laos fuimos a ver la ofrenda a los monjes a las 5.30am, es algo muy curioso, y a dar la ultima vuelta por la ciudad antes de coger el avión hacia Bangkok.

Definitivamente recomendamos Laos a todo el mundo, nos enamoraron los paisajes, la gente, los templos, la comida… todo!

Además nos dejaos muchisimos sitios sin visitar asique…Volveremos pronto!