Guest entry...

Hello there! I'm not the normal blogger here, but rather a guest here. And, here are my thoughts on my last two weeks in Laos:

One of the first questions I got from people, when I told them I would be going on vacation for two weeks, was “where are you going?” The second question happened to be the same question, “where?” Sure, to many, Laos is not the typical place you would hear from someone who wants a real vacation, which is what I was wanting. But, when your good friend, almost cousin (as we referred to ourselves in Laos) is on a globe-trotting adventure, you go to meet her, in a destination you may have not gone to otherwise, right?

My trip started in the sleepy capital of Vientiane. I was assured that this is not what Laos is like, not just by my friend but also by the folks on the Lonely Planet Thorntree forum, which I frequented daily before my trip. Next up was a, longer than what was suppose to be usual, bus ride on a local bus. Local buses in Laos are those that leave the bus station once every seat is full, and those that stop along the road to drop off passengers in their villages, which equal very long. Vang Vieng is a haven for 20 something year-olds wanting to “chill out” and be “happy.” By happy, I mean you can order bags of pot and opium for as little as $10 US. Also, this haven served as a place for some biking on rocky and gravel-filled dirt roads (as a side note, I broke my foot on a bike, on a similar road on a vacation in the past). But the bike trip was successful, and quite beautiful. We biked along the limestone caves that surround the picturesque Vang Vieng, and even dared to enter one cave.

On route to Luang Prabang, I was filled in on where to stay and what to do by my friend, as she had already spent several days there. I was not prepared to meet so many around-the-world travelers, as I was about to meet in this city. Each day, I felt as if I met a new traveler, who was traveling until the money ran out, or had already been traveling for months. I was the odd person out, who was only in Laos, and who would only be traveling for two weeks. Regardless, I tired to pull off the “I’ve-been-traveling-for-months” look with my North Face gear and giant backpack. Luang Prabang is where I was told I would want to spend most of my time, and that I did. We spend about six days there, instead of the original three days I gave us on my rough itinerary. I was able to take a slow boat ride on the “mighty” Mekong River, saw the amazing Kuang Si waterfalls, saw more wats (temples) and monks than I could imagine, spent plenty of kip (Laos currency) at the night market, played several frames at the local bowling alley, and even assisted in teaching English to the local kids and monks.

Although Laos is not a typical vacation destination, the country does know how to treat its visitors. I think I have traveled a fair amount, and I have to say the country is probably the friendliest, laid-back place I have every visited, along with being a place I felt very safe with my belongings. It has been a rough transition from flip-flop wearing, sun block wearing, 90 plus degree temperature to fleece-wearing, closed-toed shoe wearing, 60 dgree temps in a matter of days. My friend asked me if I would return to Laos. Initially, I said no, but perhaps I will. There is still the South to see, which is where my friend will be spending the next month. As the Laos people say, it will be “same same, but different.”