Last Word on Laos

Vang Vieng

Virtually every backpacker who swings by Vang Vieng’s floats 3 kilometers down the Nam Song river in a giant inner tube. “Tubing,” amazingly enough, has made this tiny outpost a major stopover for Southeast Asia travelers. In fact, I’d say the entire town’s identity and economy revolves around tubing, with some ancillary outdoor activities also thrown into the mix.

Jen and I did the tubing thing, and admittedly found it a pretty fun and relaxing way to spend an afternoon. It’s not what I would call exciting - at this time of year, the river runs *really* slowly – but still – enjoyable. You float by riverside bars that look like part of the Swiss Family Robinson set, you have a Beerlao, you play volleyball, you take a turn on the rope swing...what’s not to like? Actually, Jen did find that it’s best to let go off the rope swing at the top, not bottom of the arc. She pretty much plowed into the water at top speed, much to the delight and horror of onlookers.

Vientiane

Our last Laos stop, Vientiane, had neither the grace of Luang Prabang nor the hedonistic vibe of Vang Vieng. Like our buddy Khanh said, “It’s dead, dude. Like Sacramento.”

But I did like seeing a city where tourism was a relatively minor part of daily life. Even in the most touristy areas, t-shirt shops and backpackers were few and far between. However, there are a lot of ex-pats in the city, thanks to all the embassies and foreign aid agencies. So you could get a great pain au chocolate along with your super strong Laos coffee in the morning. In fact, just for a change of scenery, we went to see a screwball French lesbian comedy at the French Cultural Center. As we walked to the theater, I had great hopes of enjoying pre-screening cocktails with all the French ex-pat glitterati. “Ah, remember the good old days, Pierre?” they would say. “Yes, colonialism was the best, wasn’t it?” So I was sorely disappointed to see only two other people at the theater. They did seem French, at least.

Basically, we walked around town all day, just getting a feel for the place. I liked this sign, on the giant monument in the center of town (I’d add a photo but I'm on a real slow connection):

“At the northeastern end of Lanexang Avenue arises a huge structure resembling the Arc de Triomphe. It is the Victory Gate of Ventiane, built in 1962, but never complete [sic] due to the country’s turbulent history. From a closer distance it appears even less impressive, like a monster of concrete.”

I think Vientiane’s PR and marketing department could use a little help. “Monster of concrete?” Ouch.

Oh, the hot soymilk we had from a street vendor was great. One of the best street foods yet.

Goodbye Laos, Hello Nepal

We’re staying at a friend’s place just outside of Kathmandu. My first impression of the city is that it is friggin’ amazing and insane. For the first time on this trip I feel like I’m seeing a place that’s totally unfamiliar and new. Total sensory overload. Tomorrow we leave on a 21-day trek around Annapurna. More when we return…