8 Days in Laos

My itinerary in Laos included 3 locations, two nights in the capital city of Vientiane, 3 nights in Vang Vieng for natural beauty and 3 final nights in Luang Prabang. I flew in and out of the country, but took buses within Loas. I was planning to take a bus to Thailand, but when I found out that the bus would take 20 hours I booked a flight instead, even though it was nearly triple the price. The flight to Chiang Mai is only offered a couple times a week, which meant I needed to stay one more night in Luang Prabang than I originally planned. Which ended up being perfect.

Vientiane 

A quiet capital city with a lot of high quality food choices and nice hotel options. I enjoyed my time there even though there wasn't a lot to see. Besides taking a taxi from the airport to my hotel on arrival, I was able to walk everywhere. I walked to the monument, the park, cafes, and the big temple.

Pha That Luang temple is a national symbol and considered by many to be Laos most important monument. Interestingly it was originally built as a Hindu temple and later it was a Khmer temple. It was made a Buddhist temple in 1556 when the king at the time moved the capital city from Luang Prabang to Vientiane.



Patuxai Patuxay was built to celebrate Laos independence from France. The monument I'm referring to looks like another famous monument, the Arc de Triumphe. It seems an odd way to celebrate freedom from France, but it would be a constant reminder of that country, which isn't too far from the meaning of a memorial. I also understand that they used cement donated for the purpose of making a new airport runway, from America, to make the monument. It makes for a very interesting story and monument.



I also strolled around Vientiane's Chao Anouvong park to checkout a their nightly group exercise dance class (there was actually 3 of them).  Anyone is welcome to join in.

Vang Vieng

I stayed just outside the town of Vang Vieng for 3 nights. The town isn't known for not being really nice. I biked through town on my last morning there and it didn't have anything appealing to me. I went on 3 different hikes with views during my time here. I leisurely biked through the countryside to get to them. That’s what I came for. 

There were 2 recommended hikes for me to go on. After hiking the first intense mountain, I reflected that it was a great view but not the one I came to see. So, I figured the next one would have the view I came to see. When planning my Laos trip, I had seen someone's photo on Instagram and decided Vang Vieng, though being known for a party town, was a place for me. The second view had lovely rice fields, but no. It was not what I came to see. I had to do some research on my own since my accommodations had never heard of the place I was seeking. I found it! And it was literally, I think, maybe, the coolest thing I've ever seen. By the time I ascended the mountain, after the bike chain incident*, the sun wasn’t at the best place for pictures, but I am so glad I got to see it. It would have been great to wait, see it longer and get better photo lighting but, I had to head down the mountain. Because, I would not wish. upon. anyone. to have to climb down (or up) that mountain in the dark. If you go to Vang Vieng you must make sure you see the Namxay view, just be careful because it is a short 30 minute, but steep and treacherous climb. Or at least it was for me. It had rained that day which added to the danger.

*The chain fell off my bike about 6 km from where I rented it. I had to walk it back. And exchange it. And start over. The rental was 10,000 kips!, so it really shouldn't have happened. I'm kidding. 10,000 KIP is 1.19 USD. It only cost 1.19, for the whole day. I didn't mind the walk and I still got on the bike to go down the hills. Haha.

There was a decent enough restaurant at the place I stayed, so I ate there for every meal. Their Laos coffee and baguettes were amazing. The place was in a great spot and had beautiful trees, greenery and flowers, but it was a little rustic. I still had a private room with AC and a balcony though. I paid 54 dollars for 3 nights. I heard them checking in other guests who were walk-ins, so I now know it would have been cheaper to do it that way. They only paid 15 dollars a night. The last place, in Vientiane, I stayed at cost nearly twice as much but the fee included free tea/coffee at any time, a nice breakfast and it was much nicer. 

I think of the Mark Twain quote, "Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions." I'm getting better and better at learning how to pick a place to stay at. I've had to stay at a few places I didn't really like, this year, so I'm learning how to get more out of the reviews people leave about their stays at places. I prefer paying a few dollars more (within reason) and being able to sleep more peacefully, but sometimes it's just hard to tell. I'm getting experience with just that on this month-long-solo trip, as I'm currently in my 9th 'stay'.

Luang Prabang

I knew the least about Luang Prabang so it was a big, happy surprise. It has colonial architecture with temples and orange clad monks walking around. There is a tourist infrastructure which makes being a tourist convenient, and yet there wasn't too many tourists.

I climbed up Mount Poushi which is really just a hill located in the middle of the town. It has great views of the surrounding areas including the Mekong Delta, which I forgot was so brown. People gather at it's summit to watch the sunset each night. 

I went to an really interesting and heartbreaking museum, called the UXO Museum, about the unexploded bombs left from the Vietnam war. 

I also got to check out Kuang Si waterfall. It's deservedly one of Luang Prabang's most visited tourist destinations. For that reason, the government should consider improving the maintenance of the trails and ensuring correct signage. It's truly a beautiful natural wonder.

I also got up early one morning to observe the daily Alms Giving Ceremony, when the locals offer rice to the monks. It's a tradition that has been practiced for hundreds of years. It's at sunrise each morning.



On a side note, I'm really having fun keeping track of how much money I'm spending. It's definitely making me more aware of my spending and encouraging me to spend less. Maybe I should start doing this in my normal life.


Laos was one of those places that seemed so exotic and adventurous because I, and it seemed the world, knew so little about it. But as I find with every place I have such thoughts about, it's another location with distinct beauty and people not so different than me. 

Wrapping up Week 1, in China's Yunnan Province

I accomplished all I wanted to see

So I've just wrapped up week 1. 

Even if you don't have an Instagram account, you can see my most recent pictures with detailed captions here: Webstagram. Just search anebraskaninchina (A Nebraskan in China- written in lowercase and without spaces), or my name.

1. Stone Forest
It rained pretty much the whole time I was there, but it was still incredible. The Stone Forest covers a huge area of land. They are karst landforms, not trees, but they are so named because they resemble petrified trees. I’m glad I stayed in Shilin the night before my visit (Shilin city. Shilin literally means stone forest), so I could go to the park early. Good things I did because, like clockwork at 10:00 am hundreds, probably over 700, Chinese tourists filed into the Stone Forest from huge tour buses coming from Kunming, which is 2 hours away. That’s when I left. I had never seen anything like the Stone Forest before. I learned there are a few similar ‘forests’ like this in the world. A notable one in Madagascar.



2. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain AND Blue Moon Valley
The mountain is named Jade Dragon Snow Mountain because looking from the city of Lijiang, the snow-covered and fog-topped mountain is suppose to look like a jade dragon lying in the clouds. Jade is the, typically, green stone used to make jewellery and ornaments. From the picture below, that I took off the internet, I can see how it resembles a jade dragon. This mountain is the highest I've ascended.The highest peak is 18,360 feet above sea level, but we could only go to 4,680 meters or 15,354 feet and 3.968 inches.



The entire day was an amazing experience but, seeing Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is a bit of a fiasco. The government is forcing people to go in tour groups of 7-10 people. I understand this is to limit the number who visits everyday to 10,000 people. That is a crazy-lot of people. Exactly what is going on is still muddy, because the recent information written by travelers online did not match the seeming reality. Also the cable car took us up so far that there really wasn't anywhere to hike. We just walked up some sets of stairs to see the mountain.

Only those buying a tour package the day before could visit the mountain. The tour included transportation to and from your accommodations, a cable car ride, a coat, lunch, entrance to the mountain and to Blue Moon Valley, and oxygen. I’ve never been given oxygen before. People were sucking this stuff up all day, but I didn't need any. I wonder if they really did either. My transportation van had 4 young Chinese people who helped me throughout the day because everything was in Chinese. At first everything was shrouded in fog, so I was thrilled when things cleared up a bit. I can only image how it looks on a clear day, though I understand they are rare.







My favorite thing in Yunnan was probably Blue Moon Valley. It’s a valley below Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the mountain clearly because it was hidden by the fog, but what we could see was amazing.



The White Water terraces at Blue Moon Valley are my new favorite thing.

3. Tiger Leaping Gorge
I almost bailed on this day-trip to see one of the deepest canyons in the world because it seemed complicated and rain was in the forecast. But I didn't.



I got to gaze at this amazing view (above) before I headed off to see the iconic viewing point where a hunter is said to have been chasing a tiger through the gorge many years ago. The tiger lept across the river, escaping the hunter. I knew there would not be the famed turquoise waters, as the recent rain had stirred everything up, but it wasn't raining that day,  so I set off, excited to see one of the deepest river canyons in the world.

Hiking the middle section of Tiger Leaping Gorge ended up being simple and much better than I thought it would be. It was a rugged trail, and in places sort of dangerous. It made the day adventurous and fun. The hike wasn’t long, under 4 miles, but my phone said I climbed 116 flights of stairs. It was pretty, but I'm ashamed to say I wasn't overwhelmed. I hope I'm not becoming jaded. Maybe the lack of blue water and sky played a part. I think I just prefer the scenery of Mount Sanqingshan and Huanghsan. But it was a great experience and a good hike.



The trail on this section was cut from the side of the mountain. I was IN that mountain!



I'm not always a thrill seeker, but I was excited when I saw I could cross this rickety bridge. I think the bridge is suppose to lead to THE rock the tiger was seen on.

It’s official. I’m not scared of heights. There was another option, but this vertical ladder made my day so adventurous.

The low-down on the cities 

Kunming
I slept in late after arriving to the youth hostel in Kunming. I was really tired. My flight was delayed, but I'd slept in the taxi, the airport and on the plane. Still I was alarmingly exhausted. I guess finishing the school year, having my first visitor and moving house, and all at the same time, takes a lot out of me. I've long since recovered from that. 

Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan province with over 6 million people. I like what I saw of it. I walked around nearby Green lake, which is covered with lotus plants and a few beautiful blooms. Then I headed to the bus station.




Shilin City
Not a lot of choices in this Yi autonomous region. Most of China's minority people groups live in Yunnan and the village I stayed in was home to the Yi people. I stayed at a nice homestay where we used our broken language skills and translator apps to communicate. I knew this would be the case from the online reviews. The people were lovely and invited me to eat dinner with them. I declined, but took the offered tea. There is always tea. There were a few small stores nearby but not a lot of choices. I run into this occasionally, when traveling to small towns. They had no fresh food so I opted for Oreos and instant noodles. There is probably daily outdoor markets for produce, but not when I was there. They didn't even have instant coffee. Though I'm sure they had tea.


Lijiang Old Town
Lijiang Old Town is a well preserved ancient town. I picked a beautiful traditional style Inn to stay in. It was great to see it up close. Because of the language barrier and a little lack of privacy, I just stayed there one night. For the next two nights I was more comfortable at a simple hostel with a warm, fluent English speaker.







Good thing for Apple Maps because it’s really easy to get lost in the narrow alleyways.

Buses

I spent lots of time on buses this week. Two hours to the stone forest and back, 6 hours to Lijiang and back and 2 hours to Tiger Leaping Gorge and back. I really didn't mind as I had an up-front, window seats each time. I dozed, watched the scenery and listened to books.

Enjoying

I'm in Laos now and on day 10 of 33.

I admit it is nice to be taking a break from China. I love living in China. It's interesting, convenient in many ways, and it has so many beautiful places. I could go on. But there is also a chaos to it, and a harsh and crowded factor to it. 

I'm currently in Vientiane the capital city, and largest city in Laos, but it has a population of less than 800,000. Though the language is Lao and not everyone speaks English, mostly everything is written in English and in comparison, it seems quiet and orderly; easy. There are a lot of Westerners here even though there really isn't much to see. I think most of them are tourists, but they could live here. I've spent a lot time walking around the city and sitting at cafes.

But more on that next week. Now I just want to enjoy being here.