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  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    1
    Day 91

    Day 91

    May 6 in Laos ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Kayak Trip 2

    I barely slept because of the thunderstorm in the night, the chickens at sunrise, and some mystery machine that made a whole lotta noise. Despite that I was feeling better and was ready for the day. Before breakfast, we end up playing football with some of the village kids for a while, and when it was time for breakfast I ended up giving them all a bunch of high fives which was really really cute.

    For breakfast we had some sticky rice and some other stuff but honestly I can't remember, but I had a sachet of light roast coffee which I'm sure had lots of creamer in, and honestly I think I've found the kind of coffee that I like. It's one of the few coffees I've ever had where I really enjoyed it and wanted more. I'm sure it also helped with the lack of good sleep too. We packed our things and said thankyou to our host then went to go paddling again. A bunch of the village kids had come to the bank to wave us goodbye and we were off.

    Today was a lot better than yesterday, I wasn't in as much pain which meant Michelle and I were able to get in sync much easier. Kasper ended up paddling super far ahead of us which meant we missed our planned lunch stop but that was fine because it had only been an hour or 2 since we had breakfast. When we caught up to Kasper we all ended up having a little lie down in our kayaks for a little bit as we were well ahead of schedule. It was really nice laying down with a life vest as a pillow and feet in the water, gently floating down the river. Unfortunately we didn't float very far but it was very relaxing nonetheless.

    We ended up getting sight of the dam that marked the end of our suffering / journey and as we approached the currents definitely picked up a bit, helping us along which meant we could float for a bit until we landed on the bank. When we had pulled our kayaks onto land and got them out of the way of the boat behind us uploading timber, we perched a seat on the logs and had a nice lunch of glass noodles wrapped in banana leaves. After a strangely comfortable lie down on the logs, it turns out we had boarded the wrong bank and had to get everything back onto the kayaks and paddle a little bit further towards the kayak to where the minibus was waiting for us. We had to haul our kayaks up from the water up a concrete ramp, up a small dirt verge then heave the kayaks up and onto the roof so they could be strapped down. The 2 person kayak especially was super heavy and didn't have a wheel to help go up the ramp and I somehow ended up carrying most the kayaks which was more work than the kayaking today.

    We hopped into our local bus and went towards Luang Prabang. Because I was helping strap the kayaks down, I was last in the bus which meant I was lucky enough to sit more towards the front and have a bit of AC and a window next to me which was more than the people behind me. After a while towards Luang Prabang, we pulled over and got the kayaks off the roof and dumped them on the side of the road to be picked up later and taken back to Nong Khiaw. Worse than getting the kayaks up was taking them down as there's a sudden moment where the weight suddenly drops down on you. Having built up a sweat, I grabbed some water and some snacks from the shop nearby and we kept going to Luang Prabang.

    When we arrived there was a bit of confusion with the directions as Google Maps directed us across a motorbike only bridge which our driver knew about but refused to look at my map and only wanted me to point forward or left which is why I ended up choosing wrong. He presumably started cursing me out in Lao so I handed my phone to the dude next to me so he could talk to the driver instead of me. We arrived and we got our bags down from the roof and said goodbye and thankyou to David before Michelle and I went to check in at our hostel.

    We chilled for a bit and showered before deciding to go for a walk to explore Luang Prabang. Michelle had already been before but I hadn't so we did a little loop of the main touristy bit so I could get a feel of the place. It was a nice little city with a night market and all kind of centrered around a temple on the hill called Phousi Hill (but hilariously pronounced with a P not a Ph sound). I was pretty sore so had decided I wanted a massage and they were super cheap so I couldn't resist. We found a cheap looking place and I went in. I went for a head, neck, shoulder, and back massage although a lot of the choices looked quite good. After my painful experience with a Thai massage I was a bit fearful of a Lao massage and decided against it. After cleaning my feet, my masseuse took me upstairs to the mats on the floor and I laid down and she started on my back and neck, as well a bit of my legs too. Then, she had my lie on her lap on a pillow and she massaged my head. This was the nicest and most relaxing feeling I had ever felt I almost fell asleep 3 times. At the end, she did this weird thing and cracked my back in the most satisfying way I've ever felt. And just like that, the most relaxing hour of my life was finished. I decided to tip her the price of the massage, that's how good it felt.

    Right after, I enjoyed some tea then headed out and met up with Michelle, Kasper, Rasmus, and Robert (the Scottish dude from Nong Khiaw) for some dinner at Kasper and Rasmus' favourite restaurant. They raved about a specific set of dishes that was the best thing ever so I blindly trusted them and let them order me some food. I ended up getting a pork laab salad, steamed rice, a Lao sausage (with a really weird jelly), and a mixed fruit shake. Honestly, it was okay but I'm not much of a salad guy and when mixing it with the rice it felt like it was missing a sauce. Still, it was really nice still. We had some beer with dinner and we decided that we would be going to the bowling alley as that was the 1 thing in Luang Prabang that a few of us hadn't done and wanted to do.

    The bowling alley was quite well known in Luang Prabang as it was open till 2am and was where everyone headed after everywhere shut around 10 or 11 if they wanted to keep the night going. Plus, it's bowling and who doesn't like bowling. 4 of us (minus Kasper as he was feeling a bit ill and tired) found a tuktuk driver (much different to the tuktuk in Cambodia) and got a lift over and it was a bit out of town. We grabbed a beer and played our first game. Around frame 7 Robert said that loser buys shots which I was not aware of and I am famously terrible at bowling. I was the last up and on the final bowl of my 10th frame I only had to knock down 1 more pin to tie with Michelle. Feeling the pressure, I lined up and bowled the most beautiful strike that has ever been bowled. Just kidding, I threw it straight into the gutter and turned and went straight to the bar and ordered 4 Lao Whisky as they were the cheapest shot on the menu. What I didn't know is Lao Whisky is basically happy water and made me feel incredibly ill as my stomach was still having flash backs to the Ha Giang Loop.

    What's awesome about Laos is I could order a pot noodle in the bowling alley for super cheap and have an awesome snack to have alongside my beer whilst playing bowling. Plus, it helped alot chasing the horrible Lao Whisky. For our 2nd game, now knowing that loser had to buy shots I decided to try and step up my game, unfortunately that meant do even worse than my first try and watch everyone do better. The only chance I had of not losing is if I scored 3 strikes in a row at the end. Feeling the pressure, I lined up and bowled the most beautiful strike that has ever been bowled. And this time I'm not lying I actually got a strike. When it came time for my 2nd and 3rd strike things collapsed a little bit and I went to buy my 2nd round. I ended up getting a cider and 3 shots of tequila as my stomach didn't want any more spirits. With that, alot of people started pouring in and filling up the alleys so we donated our lane to another group and sat around a table chatting.

    Eventually, Rasmus and I felt like heading outside for the post bowling event of archery. Because what's better than giving a bunch of drunk people a bow and arrow and very little supervision. Luckily I wasn't drunk but Rasmus and I lined up and scored a terrible round of archery, with only 4 of my 5 arrows hitting the board and, 3 of them being in the outer ring. Rasmus gained a sudden burst of energy and wanted to jump in with a group of people heading to the club but in the time that we went to grab Michelle and Robert, the tuktuk has gone and Rasmus wanted to head home to bed. We left Michelle and Robert to enjoy their night going clubbing whilst we went back to our hostels and went to sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    1
    Day 90

    Day 90

    May 5 in Laos ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Kayak Trip 1

    The day started like any other, a beautifully cooked breakfast. Today, however, I went for a beautiful Arabic Shakshuka with some fresh bread which absolutely hit the spot as, like yesterday, was something different for breakfast which was really nice. I, of course, grabbed a final smoothie from the usual spot to drink with breakfast and then Michelle and I checked out and headed to the tour office to begin the tour. We said sometime between 8 and half 8 to meet, as we wanted to leave at 9 but the boys ended up being a little bit late. We paid, stored our big bags and sorted our stuff into dry bags before meeting our guide for the next 2 days: David. David wasn't his real name but his nickname he chose to go by for Westerners. He introduced himself as "David like David Beckham" so we naturally called him David Beckham for the next 2 days.

    We went down the bank and boarded our kayaks. Michelle and I were sharing a larger kayak as it would be easier but Kasper and Rasmus decided to paddle solo - as well as David who didn't really have a choice to paddle solo. At first, it was lovely, we were kayaking along the river crusuing past the beautiful mountains and landscapes before we were told we were going too fast by David. We thought maybe he was struggling but he said we weren't taking in the landscape so we slowed right down and chilled. Then, he said we were going too slowly so we had to try and find a happy medium.

    Apparently David hadn't done a kayaking tour in 4 months as he was more of a trekking guide so I think that he was struggling a little to begin with and that's why we had to slow down for him which was quite funny considering he was our guide. His English was really good and apparently he watches alot of YouTube and TikTok and that's where he's learnt a lot of English from as they didn't really teach it in schools.

    We stopped at this small bank for a little brake where we all went for a swim to cool off and have a small snack. We got going again and asked "how far until lunch" and the answer we got was "not that far". This statement was infact a lie. It was very far - or atleast felt like it. David hadn't been back to his home village for a couple months so we were going a little bit further so we could go to his village for lunch and he could see his friends and family for a little bit. What he didn't mention is that it would be so far away.

    We asked again how much longer - "just around the corner" - then again "just in the distance" - then again "you can see the white house in my village!". By this point trust was gone. My neck and shoulders were in alot of pain and it hurt to keep paddling but I had to keep going. I couldn't wait just to lie down and stretch my neck out as it hurt so bad. The white house he kept saying we could see at first was nothing, then a tiny speck I wasn't sure was a building, it slowly got bigger until eventually we had arrived. From the first time David said "not that far" we had been paddling for over an hour until we got to his village and we were all so relieved.

    We parked up on the shore and we walked through the village to David's parent's house. All of the children of the village probably hadn't seen foreigners for months and were all fascinated by us. Usually we're greeted by lots of waving and hellos but this time they were all just following and staring at us. We got to his house and sat on some cushions on the floor whilst kids poked their heads through every single window in the house to stand and stare at us. After a little lie down, we all sat on the floor round a small table and enjoyed some fried rice wrapped in banana leaves that had been prepared for us that morning. After lunch, we all shared some Beerlao with David and his friends- whilst the Danish boys had some happy water which I chose to decline after the Ha Giang incident.

    After some more rest, we got going again kayaking. We weren't sure how far it was going to be so we were all dreading what was to come. On the way we went past a cliff where there were pictures of villages and cattle painted on the rock, made from climbing up trees and the locals dippings their hands or fingers in red paint. By now, the trees had fallen but it meant there were these ancient looking hand paintings of simple village life high up on the cliff wall which looked pretty awesome. As we paddled we got some of the best views we had gotten the whole journey so far, with some beautiful mountains and cliffs rising up right by the river. Unfortunately I didn't take alot of pictures as it meant I had to stop kayaking and undo my dry bag but I made sure to stop for this.

    Fortunately, we actually weren't that far from our homestay village which begged the question why we went so far before lunch and not far after. It made sense as David got to see his family but God I wish he lived closer to Nong Khiaw. I think we kayaked a total of 24km on day 1 and 18km were in the first stint which absolutely killed. When we arrived and docked it was also revealed that Rasmus' kayak was half filled with water as he was almost sinking and it took a few minutes for all of the water to pour out. Apparently he told David this and David said it was fine and Rasmus ended up struggling with the lack of bouyancy the rest of the way.

    We rocked up to our homestay and this really was a homestay. The upstairs area was designated for us and when we arrived there was only 1 bed in a small room that Michelle was designated. The rest of us only had the floor and a small mattress to sit and lie on. They would bring up more mattresses later but it was quite funny looking at a big empty wooden floor and a small folding mattress and thinking the 3 of us boys were sharing.

    We got invited by the homestay dude to go on a walk which we much obliged by and went to a small streak where it seemed all the locals where bathing and filling up their water bottles which was a little awkward as they were all in only towels. We followed a bit further along the trail through the jungle to go and see the spring which was quite important to the village as its where they went to get their water. Michelle and Kasper decided the walk was too off road for them and they didn't want to get tics so they turned back but Ramus and I powered on the next 10 meters to see the very underwhelming springs. We turned around back the way we came and went for a quick wash in the stream to freshen up.

    We walked back and met the others in our room upstairs. This was where Ramus decided to check for a thorn he thought he thought he got in his foot, and it turned out to be a LEACH. A bit freaked out I decided to check my feet even though I didn't feel anything and turns out I had a leach twice the size wedged inbetween my toes. Honestly, I started panicking, I wasn't sure if leaches gave diseases but I knew sure as hell I didn't want it sucking my blood either way. We weren't really sure what to do so I started calling for David to come save us but he ended up being in the shower. I tried to pull it off myself but it seemed to have a good hold of me. The homestay owner came upstairs, looked what was happening, then quickly hurried back downstairs. He grabbed some paper and slid the sheet under the leech to unhook it, then crushed the bastard.

    We were both now leach free but our feet kept bleeding nomatter how many times we tried to stop it, blood kept coming. It turns out when leaches bite you they thin your blood so that they can drink it and that's why it looks like there was so much blood. Also, apparently they don't carry disease which was a big relief and I was nowhere near a hospital, and didn't fancy kayaking to one. David came up and grabbed his first aid kit and gave us some cotton wool and a cleaning solution which stopped the bleeding, and gave us some plasters. We were left shocked and with a pile of bloody tissues but we had survived the fearsome attack.

    After the commotion we all sat down for dinner where we were treated to some fresh sticky rice, bamboo soup, and this egg / veg mix which was all really nice. The sticky rice is really fun to eat with as you tear off a chunk, roll it up into a nice ball then dip it in a sauce to eat. We were given chili sauce which was too hot to enjoy properly so I dipped it in my soup instead. We then didn't have a choice but to indulge in having a shot of happy water 1 by 1 and when it was my turn I felt like I was going to vomit and decided I did not want another one.

    When we finished we all chilled for a bit, with Kasper and I chilling on the floor on some cushions with the 2 kids of the house, and Kasper let them play some games on his phone. When we went up to bed they set up a lovely couple mattresses with pillows, blankets and bug nets which was really nice of them as I needed a good sleep after the abuse my neck and shoulders had been through.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    Day 89

    Day 89

    May 4 in Laos ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    Sleeping Lady Hike (Again)

    On my first day I had done a hike called Sleeping Lady but Michelle really wanted to do it as her boyfriend did it 8 years ago and had a terrible time fighting for his life in the heavy rain so she wanted to prove she could conquer it. For breakfast, I went to the place where we had dinner yesterday and ordered a Laos breakfast as I was curious what it was. It turned out to be some sticky rice, dried Mekong river weed, omelette pieces, and a cup of tea which was actually really nice - especially when dipped in the Chili sauce and made a nice change as the river weed is a very local delicacy and was surprisingly pretty good. Unfortunately, Elisa was leaving this morning to Luang Prabang but I wasn't able to say goodbye in person which was a shame

    For my first Smoothie of the day I grabbed a mango which as always was beautiful and also wanted to stock up on some snacks for the day. I decided I didn't want any Western snacks so along with the stuff we still had from yesterday, I also brought some oranges, some bananas, and a mango from a fruit stall. We made our way up which compared to our hike yesterday was much easier as it must have been only half the height - though the path wasn't as good. At the top we enjoyed a lovely feast of sunflower seeds, peanuts, fruit chips, bananas and oranges. Also, due to the rain yesterday the view was much clearer than 2 days before so that was nice and boded well for the next couple days.

    I usually adopt a "falling with style" method of descent from hikes which meant that I stacked it a few times last time I did this hike but this time I moved a bit slower with Michelle and saved myself the hassle of sliding down on my ass. When we got down my next mission for the day was to find a knife so I could cut up fruit as it seemed like a cool thing to do - especially with all the the fruit stalls dotted about. Surprisingly, I found one straight away in a massive hardware store and I had the choice of a few sizes but went with the smallest one just to be less of a threat. This one had a peeler built in to the middle which I thought might be useful but ended up being a pain in the ass when cutting.

    We went back to the usual spot for my 2nd smoothie of the day where I went a bit adventurous and brought a mint, lemon, and honey smoothie which happened to have a very strong mint flavour which I wasn't the biggest fan of but I persevered regardless. I saw a sign for some local honey and thought it would go perfect with the mango so went on a mission to find the shop and buy some. I ran into Paul from the boat journey from Muang Khua and said hello, as well as Rasmus and Kasper who we had booked the kayaking with. After getting the honey, we eneded up having lunch with them before I started on the mango. I asked for a plate then got to work cutting. It was my first time ever cutting a mango and was very surprised to learn that mangos had a massive seed in the middle. After butchering the hell out of the mango I eventually had it cut into little chunks ready to eat. Dipping the chunks into the honey, I was in heaven with both the taste of the mango and the local honey. Another side mission of today was to find people to join our tour as it would have made it cheaper for all of us, but unfortunately depsite our "best" efforts (we didn't try very hard) we didn't find anyone, even after asking about in the restaurant.

    I precariously cleaned my knife with tissues and hand sanitiser then we chilled at the restaurant for a while longer before I went for my 3rd smoothie of the day - a banana and coconut combo which tasted solely like banana with no hint of coconut unfortunately. The boys hadn't slept in a few days so they headed to bed early and Michellle and I went back for a shower before dinner. Michelle had moved to the same homestay as me which made it alot easier as we weren't on other sides of town to eachother. After a shower, shave and a bit of a rest, we went out for dinner and tried a different restaurant where they had an adorable little cat who begged for food and cuddles. I went for a red curry and Michelle went for a green curry and it was bloody tasty and possibly one of the nicest meals I've had in Laos. I've fallen out of the habit of taking pictures of my meals but thought this deserved the privilege.

    After them not having any sticky rice for a sticky mango rice, we called it a night and went to bed as we were starting our 2 day kayak tour tomorrow and needed to be fresh.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    Day 88

    Day 88

    May 3 in Laos ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Pha Kao Hike

    We decided on an early rise to beat the heat of the day for our bike hike we had planned. We went for some breakfast, joining with Elisa and Robert before their day trip to Muang Ngoy. With a full stomach, we made our way to the start of the hike to the viewpoint and paid entry. We had to cross a very rickety bamboo bridge before starting on the incline. The actual distance wasn't very far but there was enough elevation to get us sweating. Luckily, unlike the other viewpoint I did yesterday, this one had very good steps cut into the dirt so I wasn't as concerned with slipping over.

    There was a smaller viewpoint about 1/4 of the way up again which was nice to stop for a little break and let my sun hoodie air out a little but as it was starting to get pretty sweaty. The rest of the hike was really nice, walking in and out of the jungle with beautiful old trees, big luscious green leaves, and some stunning views of the cliffs to our side. Luckily, it was mostly covered in shade aswell so wasn't as hot as it could be, but we were definitely happy that we left early in the morning. Towards the top, where it got steeper over rocks, there were little wooden ladders in place which were quite fun to go up.

    When we reached the top, we scrambled over some rocks and found what seemed to ge the in-situ camping stuff all packed up ready for the tours that they did to the. We got to the little platform that had evidently once been a whole structure with a roof but hadn't survived as all the metal sheets lied strewn about. The view was pretty nice but more than anything, I wanted a bit of shade to relax in for a while. I immediately got to work, grabbing the sheets and trying to balance them on the beams to try and give us a small covered area. With a bit of teamwork and tip toes, we were protected.

    After the scrambling, my shoes that I had proudly repaired a couple weeks ago I'm Vietnan had decided they had enough and started to fall apart again. Luckily, I had a suspicion this might happen and brought my glue with my to do an emergency repair. To celebrate the finish of the hike and the repair of my shoes, we busted out some snacks. I had decided that I had indulged in too many sweet treats in Vietnam (mostly Oreos I can't lie) and wanted to force myself to try more local and less sugary snacks. I had some seaweed crisps from the day before left over, as well as some small packets of peanuts, and some dried fruit chips. Those paired with Michelle's coconut flavoured sesame seeds, we were eating like royalty.

    We met a couple that stayed for a while and as we were chatting, the metal sheets I had precariously placed right above my head decided that with a bit of wind they didn't want to stay and fell down right next to me, almost either knocking me out or cutting me up. Luckily, I wasn't hit but my stupidity still continues to surprise me - even after 20 years. After having enough of the karaoke we could hear from all the way down in the town, we made our way down which was considerably easier than the way up.

    Fancying a smoothie, we went to the same place as dinner yesterday and I grabbed a coconut smoothie, then we grabbed some lunch there too. After lunch we ended up chilling for a bit and I had a shoeer before meeting up with Elisa and Robert again in the evening for some dinner. I ended up choosing the Laos Steak which looked amazing on Google but ended up being some really thin pork steaks and nothing else with it so I was a little disappointed. After dinner, we headed to a restaurant / bar / café thing that was still open and had a drink (I had a lovely watermelon cider called Somersby) before I had to figure out how to open a gate to get back in my homestay so I could go to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    Day 87

    Day 87

    May 2 in Laos ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Muang Ngoy > Nong Khiaw

    I grabbed another pancake for breakfast, and quickly packed my bags up whilst saying goodbye to the dog from yesterday and her friends. Afterwards, I buy a ticket for the boat to Nong Khiaw which "left at 9". It seems in Laos things are very much more relaxed when it comes to schedule - or atleast the boats are. A group of us wait on the steps before boarding the same boat I had gotten off yesterday. As our captain was about to push us off from the shore the boat next to us shouted at him, warning him of the snake sneaking up on him from behind. With quick reactions he turns around to scare it and throw a rock at it too. With in only 12 hours I had now seen a scorpion and a snake!

    We cruise along the Nam Ou for only a short while and I grabbed myself one of the nice seats so I was cruising in comfort. When we arrive my first mission was to find somewhere to stay as everywhere online seemed to be super inflated and the 1 hostel seemed terrible. It didn't take long before I found a private room for only $7. I went without AC as I did fine last night without it so I may aswell save some money. After grabbing some cash from the ATM and feeling rich (the biggest note is the equivalent of $5 so you get given alot of notes) I found a place on the river for some lunch and a very interesting tasting papaya smoothie.

    After looking into some of the hikes in the area, I decided to go for one of the medium length ones known as "Sleeping Lady" for reasons I couldn't explain. After paying for the entry I found a bamboo stick as my walking pole and made my way. The first viewpoint was about 15 minutes up and gave a small view over the town, and I rested for a bit whilst hanging up my sun hoodie for a bit to dry. Using old cables nailed to the trees and some shoddy bamboo hand rails, I made my way to the top of the 2nd viewpoint covered in sweat. There was another little shack at the top so I sat in the shade and drive my hoodie off for a while whilst giving my mum a quick call before she went to work. Because of burning season, the visibility wasn't that great as was very smoggy in the air but it was still nice regardless.

    On the way down I actually ended up slipping a couples times as the dirt was so dry and fine, and my shoes were so destroyed that I had no grip. Unfortunately, I had also put too much pressure on my precious trekking pole and it ended up splitting at the ends and cutting my hand. I still felt committed to bringing it back down so I carried it down the rest of the way with my butt covered in dirt and my hand sore, then laid it to rest in a tree at the bottom.

    Michelle and Elisa (from the Ha Giang Loop) had now arrived from Luang Prabang so I joined them for some lunch where I had my 2nd smoothie of the day (this time mixed) and some sticky mango rice. It seemed that Laos was quite similar to Thailand which meant that the smoothies were good again (Vietnam's weren't the best) and they had sticky mango rice which I had missed so dearly. I had heard that you could Kayak from Nong Khiaw to Luang Prabang online so we discussed that for a while as Michelle and I were interested in doing that instead of taking a bus as it sounded much more fun. That's when a couple of Danish dudes called Kasper and Rasmus overheard us and said they'd be interested in doing that too. I ended up messaging the company and going over to their office to get some more information about prices as well as what the difference between 2 and 3 days were. With some good information, and even better prices we said we'd discuss it with the other 2 and let them know what we would do.

    By now, it was almost sunset and there was a small viewpoint that wasn't far that was meant to be good for sunset. Elisa had already gotten a headstand whilst Michelle and I had been asking about the kayaking but right after we had paid and set off the wind had picked up and thunder bellowed in the distance letting us know that it was gonna piss it down from the heavens any time up. Hoping to make it up to the shelter at the top before it started pouring down, we sped up. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the top, but fortunately there was shelter at the halfway point where a small group of us hid from the sudden downpour. Eventually, Elisa made her way down from the top, absolutely drenched and came under the shelter again. There was a hammock which happened the be the least comfortable thing in the world, being nothing but a thin net but I made it work as I really wanted to lie down.

    Soon after, the rain cleared and Michelle, Robert (a Scotsman who came up at the same time as us) and I made our way the rest of the way to the top and enjoyed a nice view. The rain seemed to have cleared a little bit of the smog in the air and the clouds passing brightened up the sky a little, but the sun had definitely disappeared. After chilling for a bit, and waving the Laos flag about, we realised we spent a bit too long at the top and it was starting to get dark so we made our way down and met back up with Elisa and a nice American dude who waited with her called either Ryan or James (I can't remember) from Boston.

    With my head torch now on, we made it the rest of the way down and decided to head to a restaurant that James/Ryan recommended. They said the smoothies were really good so I grabbed my 3rd smoothie of the day (which was incredible) and some noodles (which were also amazing). Service was a bit slow as the lady cooked 1 meal at a time but she was lovely and the wait was definitely worth it for the food. After a while, we paid and let the lady close up then I headed back for a shower and to sleep.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    Day 86

    Day 86

    May 1 in Laos ⋅ ☀️ 38 °C

    Muang Khua > Muang Ngoy

    After my first breakfast in Laos (which I'm somewhat ashamed to say was a banana pancake) I packed my bags and headed 1 minute down the road to the dock for 9.15 as I was told the boat left at 9.30. My aim was to go all the way down to Nong Khiaw but they could only give me a ticket to Muang Ngoy and I could see if there was another boat from there. In total, it was only me and 2 other guys - who were both tourists - and we had all been told different times.

    Eventually though, about an hour later than I thought, we hopped on the boat. Then, after another 15 minutes, so did our driver. We pushed off of the jetty and waved goodbye to the group of kids who were swimming, jumping off our boat, and washing their clothes in to the river. I think I'm starting to learn that in Laos, schedules are a bit more relaxed and you should never be in a rush to get anywhere (which is true in all of South East Asia to be fair). We floated down the Nam Ou River at a decent pace and for the most part it was pretty relaxing (if you ignore the deafening roar of the engine only a few meters from us). I was wearing my ear plugs but still, it was pretty loud.

    For most the journey it was just us, but we ended up picking up people along the way, until there was about 15 of us. I spent the whole journey writing blog posts so I kept myself occupied but I could have easily sat and enjoyed the views. When we passed villages there were small ramps of mud that constituted a pier and all the kids would wave as we went by. Unfortunately, due to the Chinese's love of building dams in other countries, we had to hop off to go around. We waited for a while at a little stop before hopping in the back of a raggity truck to the other side of the huge dam. We helped the only local left with us with her heavy sacks of who knows what carry them down the hill onto our new boat then we set off again down the Nam Ou.

    This last section was really scenic as we got some great views of cliffs and mountains along the river. When we arrived in Muang Ngoy I decided I would stay the night and get the boat tomorrow (which I don't think I had a choice about anyways). Without having to make any effort a lady greeted us at the docks and said that she had a room for only the equivalent of $5. This was good news as everything on Booking.com seemed super expensive so maybe I just have to wait until I arrive somewhere before booking online in Laos?

    The rooms were okay, they quickly cleaned them before we checked in but there were quite a lot of geckos and ants chilling about. First things first, I changed into my LIDL shorts and went for a swim in the river, swimming over to the other shore, having to fight the current. The other side was nice but had alot of trash and broken glass from what seemed like a big party so I thought I should stay on the side of caution and get back in the river to avoid any potential gashes.

    After that, Paul (a French man) and I went on a hike together towards a cave and a viewpoint for sunset. As we made our way, an adorable dog decided to be our guide for the day and led the way. We paid our entry and made our way up the mix of trail and bamboo ladders to the cave, occasionally having to lift our new friend above the harder bits as she seemed to get a bit confused. The cave was pretty nice, it was somewhat lit and at the end there was a little shrine which is always cool. The highlights were definitely the tree roots that were hanging from the ceiling like large bundles of ropes, making their way through the ground and into a cave - pretty cool. Also, seeing bats flying and being able to hear nothing but their wings flying, no squeaking or anything, felt pretty rare.

    Still with our trusty friend by our side, we went to to end of the trail to the viewpoint which overlooked the whole of the town, as well as the mountains and river. Due to burning season still being a thing in Laos, the sun had disappeared behind a layer of smog in the air and there was definitely a thick haze floating about but the view was nonetheless really nice. I think the dog was quite thirsty as she was panting quite alot so I got a water bottle and cupped my hand and allowed her to drink as much water as she wanted. It turned out to be a whole small bottle which I'm glad as it seemed she really needed it. Pietro (an Italian) ended up joining us, and Paul went back down with the dog so I ended up wandering back down with Pietro after we had chilled for a while.

    For some reason Laos was hotter than Vietnam was, and it was sitting just under 40° even at sunset. I think the smog helped it feel cooler as you never had the sun directly on you but any amount of trekking (especially in my full hoodie outfit) was a pretty hot endeavour. I walked around the town for a little bit, getting a feel for the place. Half of the main street was either restaurants or places that offered trekking, fishing, kayaking, or tubing but there was also a few shops, a weiving place, and even a couple massage places. I met Pietro up for dinner at a place close by and we stumbled upon Paul too. I ended up having a Lao dish called laap which was fish and vegetables and was really nice but quite spicy. I also had some vegetables spring rolls and a Lao beer called BeerLao (great marketing in my opinion). We all talked for a few hours and we heard about alot of interesting travel stories from Paul who had been travelling for 2 decades.

    After that, I thought it was time to shower and head to sleep but all of a sudden I got a knock at my door. Opening it, I got a simple question from Paul "Do you wanna see a Scorpion in my bathroom". Not sure if I did, I reluctantly went in with Paul and Pietro and he shows us a small (but maybe still deadly? Who would even know?) scorpion chilling on the back of his door. And I was complaining about all of the ants forming a colony on my floor! Now being too scared to look at anything in my room too closely, I showered and headed to bed in my very hot room with nothing but a fan to cool me down.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    Day 85

    Day 85

    April 30 in Laos ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    Vietnam > Laos

    Unsure what was happening, eventually someone told us that we needed to change bus. This was what I expected at this was meant to be the "good" part of the journey and now we had to go on a local bus. We went to get our luggage from under the bus which I wasn't sure if mine had even made it on board as we were told to get on the bus before they had figured out how to fit our bags in around the whole motorbike stuffed underneath.

    Luckily, mine was all there and we threw our stuff onto the local bus where it was only us as tourists left. This meant that it was actually fairly comfortable as we all had space to exist. That being said it was still early hours in the morning and we weren't going straight on with our journey as we assumedly had more people to pick up before going across the border. We drove around the town a little bit, only picking up packages before arriving at a bus station around 4.30am. In my head, I had heard someone say that the bus leaves Dien Bien around 5.30am so I didn't think we had too long to wait. We helped our driver strap our bags to the roof which didn't bode well for the amount of passengers due to get on, then we sat outside for a while. About 30 minutes later we asked our driver how long it would be and he said 7am which was much longer than my 5.30 estimate.

    We all headed inside, and as a little group of 5 we sat round a table in the restaurant and played a few games of Uno to pass the time. I ended up getting a drink and a bowl of Pho for breakfast which ended up being my actual last meal of Vietnam and also happened to be the blandest. Eventually the sun rose and we watched a bright ball of fiery red appear above the horizon. I knew I didn't have a long journey after the border but felt terrible for the people who were not even halfway. We ended up leaving about 30 minutes early and headed to the border with a still relatively empty bus - much more comfortable than the sleeper.

    We had to get off to be stamped out of Vietnam - luckily they allowed me to exchange my Dong into Kip which was super useful. We then had to hop back on for another kilometer or 2 before being stamped into Laos. I heard that this could sometimes take ages with no one being about but we must have been lucky. We did have to fill out an entry form (which the guy proceeded to not look at in the slightest) before being stamped in but it was pretty easy. Back on the bus now and we head towards Muang Khua, picking up people on the way. I was super tired so kept falling in and out of sleep but eventually the call for Muang Khua was made and I hopped off, wishing those with another day of travelling good luck.

    I had no signal but I had learnt my lesson and downloaded the map, as well as Lao on Google Translate. I didn't know if I was going to be able to get a boat today but I walked along the main road towards where the boat would be. Luckily, on the way was a phone shop where for £10 I was able to get a SIM with 70GB of data for a month. A bit overkill for my 2 weeks but it wasn't much to pay and makes me feel better about being solo. I asked what time the boat was and they pointed me towards the dock so I made my way. I was told 9.30am tomorrow morning which I didn't mind so walked to the only accommodation I could find on Booking.com and checked into a room.

    It was only 11am but first things first is I needed a shower and to brush my teeth. After that was taken care of, I laid in bed for a while before gathering the energy to head out. I gave my brand new sun hoodie a spin and went to find some Iunch. The place opposite was apparently closed so I thought I'd walk to the other end of town to get a feel for the place. This was definitely a local place with not alot of tourists so I got some funny looks, but with some basic Lao (hello and thankyou) learnt, I found a restaurant that seemed open. I asked if they had food and after a long drawn out conversation on Google Translate where they said they didn't have foreign food and didn't have a menu, I eventually got her to recommend me some stir fry rice and I obliged.

    After enjoying my meal, I paid and headed back to the hotel. The Laos currency is strange because their biggest note is 100,000 (less than £4) which I think is because they suffer from such high inflation. I think because of this they've had to print alot more 100,000 notes which means that I have 2 different kinds that don't look similar or even the same colour or size - which makes it pretty confusing. Once I made it back, I pretty much instantly fell asleep even though it was only late afternoon.

    P.S. Uploading 5 posts in 1 day is definitely a personal record, for the first time in ages I'm fully caught up!    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    Day 84

    Day 84

    April 29 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C

    Sapa > Dien Bien

    Today was my last (full) day in Vietnam! I had very much enjoyed my time here but honestly, I'm excited to experience a new country and I know that it's soon time to go home. But for today, I didn't have much to do before my bus this evening so I had a lie in, checked out, and headed to a restaurant for brunch. I ended up staying for a few hours and ordering a banh mi, a pancake, and a couple smoothies (which both sucked). Eventually I knew I should do some stuff before leaving so paid my hefty bill and headed out.

    As Sapa is known for its trekking, it has a plethora of trekking & outdoor shops, with lots of fake clothes. I was still on the search for a sun hoodie, as well as any other clothing that caught my fancy. The first shop I went into had a beautiful Patagonia T-shirt that I immediately wanted but was a bit more expensive than the others I had seen in other shops. Not wanting to commit straight away, I went in every other outdoor shop I could see on the way. Honestly, everything sucked. All the Patagonia T-shirts that they had, sucked. I decided on one last shop before I went back to the first shop. And that's where I spotted it, a beautiful sun hoodie that was both thin, and not plastered in terrible logos. I tried it on, and they had my size and a nice light grey, so for less than £5 I snapped it up. Back to the first shop now, I wanted the T-shirt in a nice light blue but they didn't have the size I needed so I settled for a light brown which isn't my normal colour but I went for it anyways.

    Even though I wasn't hungry, I went to a restaurant for my last meal in Vietnam as I knew the bus was long and there was no guarantee that we would stop for food. I went for some vegetables and pork with rice, as well as some fried chicken spring rolls. It was tasty but honestly way too much food as I was FULL afterwards, and now I had to waddle half way across town to catch a bus. The time said 18.20 and I wanted to be there 30 minutes before but I ended up being there with only 15 minutes to spare. Luckily though that didn't matter as no one was to be seen. The address was for the hotel next to the booking office which was quite confusing, but at the booking office, there was no one atall. A couple people said that they had messaged the company and they said 7pm which made sense as when I went to book the bus there were 2 times of 6.20 and 7.00 so I was fully expecting them to be the same bus. Eventually, more people were showing up, confusingly with different times given to them, but I wasn't alone at the very least. Most people were heading to Luang Prabang which was over 24 hours so I didn't envy them but we would be on the same bus anyways. Eventually some guy showed up who apparently didn't work there according to one of the girls waiting but after that, someone who actually worked there showed up and started asking to see tickets as well as proof we had our Laos VISAs.

    In our long wait I had gotten chatting to the others, and one of the couples were from Kent, with the girl having gone to Highworth in Ashford, in the same year as my sister. She didn't know my sister but apparently had over 20 mutual friends on Facebook. Very odd. Also the boyfriend was also called Sam and they now lived in Hythe. When the bus arrived, this is where the fun either started or stopped depending who you were. The bus was absolutely packed and was the most basic sleeper bus. I think they reserved the "best" seats for us but they definitely weren't good. There were 4 different places you could be. The first was definitely the best which was a single seat down one side of the bus. Narrow but you had a seat to yourself. The next best was the double seats on the other side. Pretty good if it was a couple but some had families all in these 2 little seats. The worst by far was the floor between the seats. As more people piled on, they had the share the same small floor space as the rest. Then there's the back, where I was. It was a 5 wide reclined seat like cushioning but with absolutely no divider. This meant 5 of us (all tourists luckily as locals weren't known for their respect of personal space) were lined up like sardines with not enough headroom to sit up straight. It wasn't good by any means but we atleast had room to lie down and maybe a couple centimeters between us. Some of the other tourists were complaining but they were definitely winning having their own seats to themselves - especially compared to the people on the floor.

    As we went along, more people kept getting on which was absolutely insane. The very small amount of room the floor people had was getting smaller and smaller and I was worried they'd try and get a 6th person in the back with us. Luckily, that wasn't the case. At our first proper stop, as we were leaving I had noticed that the reason for our stop was the pile of vomit that was on the floor near the front. After going to piss in a bush as some of the locals seemed to be annoyed at me for trying to use the actual toilet, we got back on and climbed over the people who were laying right were the vomit was 5 minutes ago. With nothing but Pikachu Oreos, my earphones, and a blanket as a pillow we kept going. I forgot to mention that in this little slot we had found ourselves in, the AC barely worked which made it pretty hot and sweaty. Especially being so close to the people either side of me, I could feel the heat from the dude to my let's armpits whenever he lifted his arms. Eventually we all kind of turned on our sides into the weirdest 5 way spoon of strangers and I managed to get a little bit of sleep.

    We arrived in Dien Bien sometime in the early hours of the morning and every local got off. Not sure if we were staying on the bus or leaving, we all claimed a seat to ourselves which compared to the sardine hot box we were in, felt like luxury. Unsure what was to happen next we sat tight. To be continued...    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    1
    Day 83

    Day 83

    April 28 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Big Hike

    Even if I couldn't do Fansipan without paying, I knew I wanted to do a big hike that went through some local villages as well as up some mountains. Luckily, AllTrails seemed to have exactly what I wanted. 2 separate hikes, 1 that went out to a neighbouring village called Ta Van, and one that came back on the other side of the valley. I could combine these for a fairly big single day hike.

    The first half was quite relaxed, it was about 11km in total, mostly downhill to drop into the valley with a little bit of elevation towards the end. It was nice and sunny and I got some gorgeous views of the rice fields as I passed through the "Black H'mong" villages, seeing lots of livestock too. Unfortunately some people did try and sell me stuff, though they were mainly kids and you're not supposed to buy anything from them as it encourages them to drop out of school.

    There were a couple bigger villages too, Lao Chai and Ta Van which were both towards the end. These evidently were super touristy too as the vibe was super different from the other ones I had passed through. I grabbed a smoothie at Lao Cai before heading over to Ta Van for some lunch. I ordered a Banh Mi, but to my surprise I got an even smaller portion of chips than I did yesterday, and it was in "normal" square slices of bread instead of the classic baguette. I knew the 2nd half would take a bit longer as it had some more elevation out of the valley, and it was getting to the hottest part of the day so I didn't stay long.

    After foolishly trying to take a shortcut and ending up having to sneak through a farm in order to get back on the main track, I found myself sweating and breathing heavy as I tried to push my way up the valley. Luckily, once I had actually gotten onto the path, it was fairly linear and I didn't have to think much, which caused me to apparently miss the route I was meant to follow and end up a bit further down the road than I was meant to. But hey, I'm never one to complain about extra kilometers as all that meant was more adventure.

    I had noticed that the route on AllTrails went around a mountain but there was a perfectly good trail that went directly towards Sapa with only 500m more elevation, plus I'd get to summit a mountain which would be quite cool. I stopped at a homestay on the way to get some more drinks as I was getting low on water then kept powering on. The trail up the mountain was actually pretty good, although there were alot of diverging paths but I assume they all went the same way so I wasn't too worried. Plus, I had my GPS to keep me on route. As I climbed further up, I got an even better view on the whole valley below which was nice. I passed some locals, and some horses and before I knew it I was on the summit of Mount Ham Rong. Well, maybe. As there wasn't a summit marked and the path went straight up and over, I bushwacked to the summit as per my GPS and called it mission complete.

    I could see Sapa for most of the descent and knew I had a while left of sunlight so I wasn't in a big rush on the way down, so I took it fairly slow, watching the sunset behind Fansipan. As I made my way down, it passed through a little tourist attraction where there were some nice statues, gardens, and walkways. Plus, to cement the fact that Sapa felt like a D tier Disney, there was even a knock off Mickey Mouse statue. As I made my back into town, I had completed my 20 something kilometer hike with 1300 something meters of elevation - all to avoid a less than 3 pounds entry fee into the Ham Rong Park thingy right at the end. I knew I was a cheapskate but I didn't know by this much.

    I was now perfectly hyped to go to the Alps in just over a month, and perfectly craving an ice crea, some cookies, and a drink, so I went to a shop and splurged before eating till my heart was content.

    Unfortunately, as my homestay was full tonight, I had to move for a 3rd time in 4 nights in Sapa to another homestay on the other side of town. Luckily though this was the last time as I had booked my bus ticket to Laos for tomorrow evening. After checking in and showering, I went to a restaurant across the street and enjoyed a much wanted final dinner in Vietnam.    Read more

  • TravelerSouth East Asia
    Day 82

    Day 82

    April 27 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Sapa & Valley Hike

    Michelle was leaving today so we wanted to do a small hike in the morning as Sapa was known for its trekking. For the first time in almost 2 weeks I didn't have to pack up and check out which was a nice change of pace. On the way to our meeting point, I went to a bakery and grabbed a mystery bun as well as a chocolate doughnut. One thing I've learnt about bakeries in Asia is nomatter how good something looks, its always mid at best. The mystery bun that the person said was chicken turned out to be bright purple on the inside, yellow on the outside, and green on the edges. Whatever it was, it sucked and I had no more than 2 bites before I stuffed it back in my bag never to be seen again. The doughnut was as expected, bleh.

    After battling with the AllTrails app to get the trail to stay (I eventually would realise I was using it wrong the next day) we managed to find the start of the track. It was pretty well defined so we didn't really need the map but I've fell victim before to following a well marked trail and going the complete wrong way so I checked on it every now and again. It was only 9km so shouldn't take that long so we weren't in a rush. The first half descended into the valley, giving nice green views of the rice fields, mountains, and small villages. I managed to slip over and stopped myself from stacking it with my hand. Unfortunately though, the months of wrist pain had come back after not having any issues with it for my whole time in Asia.

    On our way back up, we stopped at a café for a smoothie, which unfortunately tasted more like milk than mango but was much needed in the heat. The way back wasn't as scenic and took us up a road most the way into Sapa but eventually we got back just in time for lunch. On the way, we encountered a local lady who wanted us to go trekking with her. When we said no, she said we should buy something from her as we weren't going to trek with her. Unfortunately, this is pretty common in Sapa and its hard to walk anywhere without the people harassing you for trekking and shopping. This lady was a little bit different though as she decided to follow us until we brought something from her, literally saying "if you buy something I stop following". Even when we sped up, she would run to catchup. Eventually, I spat out all of the Vietnamese phrases that I had learnt and she stopped following us. This was meant to be pretty common in Sapa which is why alot of people stayed in the villages outside of Sapa instead, and sadly was why I didn't really like Sapa too much.

    We went to a restaurant for lunch, and I grabbed a chicken burger and chips where I got maybe the smallest serving of fries I've ever seen, as well as the driest piece of chicken. Depsite that, a bit of strange Asian ketchup and it was pretty good. Apparently, being Belgian, Michelle said that the Belgians make the best fries in the world and if I ever went I needed to try them.

    I said goodbye to Michelle, hopefully to see her again in Laos, before heading back to my homestay for a bit. I decided I'd spend the rest of the day walking around Sapa to get a feel for it. Dodging countless motorbike, trekking, and shopping requests, I walked around the lake for a bit. There was a small supermarket nearby so I grabbed a drink and a snack then sat by the lake for a while, whilst what seemed to be a parade went on by.

    With the amount of bottled water I had been drinking, I (embarrassingly) wanted to do a taste test of water from the major companies (Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Nestlé) to see if I could taste a difference and if I had a favourite. Before I could buy all the water I wanted, I ran into a couple French girls from my homestay and they invited me to eat some dinner with them. Not having anything better to do than to taste test water, I joined them to a vegan restaurant where I tried a mixed rice dish, with vegetables and tofu. It was definitely different to the kind of food I had been eating and that was probably a good thing as it wasn't the nicest thing. Depsite the taste, it filled me up, and we were ready to head to the main square in Sapa for what seemed to be a big show.

    Sapa isn't very big but for some reason all the accommodation was pretty much fully booked. I didn't know why this was, whether Sapa was generally quite busy as it's close to China, whether there were lots of Vietnamese people as it was a weekend and there was a public holiday next week, or if it just always was busy. Then, I think what it was is that there was this massive show going on, with a big stage and sound system that officials from all over neighbouring countries had been invited to, so had probably brought alot of tourism with it. For me, I didn't know any of this was going on and just so happened to be here.

    The square was set up with 1000s of amphitheatre style seats but that still didn't seem to be enough for the amount of people that had flocked for the show. Us 3 waited through an extremely lengthy introduction of all the various officials that had joined, which nicely enough was also repeated in English, before the show actually started. The show was a mixture of dancing and singing which was cool but ultimately wasn't enough to keep my French friends awake as they had been up since 3am for the Fansipan hike, so they headed back. I watched the rest of the show then headed back myself.    Read more

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