Vientiane, Laos

We are in Laos and to be more precise, in Vientiane the capital, right at the border with Thailand.
After spending Saturday afternoon at the train station (as when we have to check out of our hotel with our bags, it is hard to do anything else!), doing their first official homeschooling work on their math books, and playing card games to pass the time, we took our first night train to go from Bangkok to Vientiane in Laos. It was NOT comfortable! I couldn’t get beds tickets, so we had seats, which were not very comfortable and the light in the carriage stayed on all night…. We did not sleep well (the kids better than us apparently). When we arrive at the border the next morning, I had previously organised our evisa and I thought it would make it easier. It didn’t! I thought I read all the information properly, but apparently not as evisa cannot be used through the entry by train. We had to take our bags off the train, take a tuktuk to the Thai border, pass the border, take a bus to the Laos border, pass the border after writing an entry card for the four of us, and take a tuktuk to our hotel. It was supposed to be easier than that. Anyway, we also have trouble with our bank cards, and we couldn’t find ATMs that work for us and we had a fair bit of trouble getting Kips (which is the Laotian money). Luckily, we had some US dollars left, and we use that to change them to Kip.
After settling in our hotel, we had our regular walk around to discover our area. It was a bit underwhelming, maybe because we were tired, or frustrated due to the issues of the day. So back to the hotel for a good night sleep.
The next day we walked a lot along one long street full of temples and small museums. The temples here are Buddhist as it is the main religion (as Cambodia and Thailand) but they are more recent, as a lot of temples were destroyed during the 20th century due to wars. We found one old temple. It was a lot of walking, but the kids did great. We also visited the COPE visitor centre.
COPE stands for Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise. “It is a local non-profit organisation created in 1997 by a group of non-governmental organisations, in partnership with the Lao Ministry of Health, to support the Centre for Medical Rehabilitation and help ensure that people with physical disabilities have local, affordable access to quality, nationally-managed rehabilitation services” (taken from their website).
I didn’t know much about the history of Laos to be honest. There were a lot of war in during the 19th and 20th century. Civil war, independence war, the Vietnam war.
“The Laotian Civil War was waged between the Communist Pathet Lao and the Royal Lao Government from 23 May 1959 to 2 December 1975. The Kingdom of Laos was a covert theatre during the Vietnam War with both sides receiving heavy external support in a proxy war between the global Cold War superpowers (Russia and USA). The fighting also involved the North Vietnamese, South Vietnamese, American and Thai armies, both directly and through irregular proxies. The war is known as the Secret War.” (from Wikipedia).
From 1964 to 1973, the US dropped over 2 million tons of ordnance over Lao in 580 000 bombing missions: the equivalent of one planeload every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 9 years… Please read the last sentence again and let it sink in.
Out of all those bombs, between 10 to 30% did not detonate. With means that since then, people have been stepping on them and lost a limb (or several) or died. COPE helps cleaning the country of all those bombs and help people who need prosthetics. They don’t only help people who get hurt from UXO (unexploded ordnance) but everyone who need prosthetic for whatever reason.
They obviously need funding. If you feel like it, here is a link: https://copelaos.org/donate/. This is a worthy cause (it will become one of our regular monthly donations when we come back).
It was a heart wrenching visit, but an important one. Traveling shows us how lucky we are to live where we live. Not everything is perfect, but we have to count our blessings and help the less fortunate one when we can. It is a lesson that I hope Andrew and Emma will take with them and hopefully their generation will take better decisions.
The next day, we went to visit Buddha Park. I was a bit hesitant to visit yet another place with Buddha statue, as we have seen a lot lately!!! But it was a lovely place, outside, with a lot of pretty impressive statues. It was worth a visit.
Then we had to spend some time doing some school work. But I love how different it is from normal school work: doing research about what we see, writing about it, using math to count different money and how much it is in Aussie dollars. So much more interesting!
In the evening, we found a small fair and the kids (well Andrew as Emma got hurt a little bit and got out of it quickly) had fun doing dodge car.
Our next day was a bit different. We want the kids to learn about history and culture, so we often do museum, but we felt that we had done a lot lately, so we found something a bit more fun: it is called the ‘Trick art museum’. It is not a museum. It is in a shopping centre and it is a place with a lot of 3D paintings and you can take pictures in front of it and it looks ‘real’. The kids loved it. We took what feel like a billion pictures! After that we walked our way back and we walk through the normal Vientiane (as opposed to the tourist Vientiane). Laos is richer that I thought, and we saw some really nice houses. And it was not like in Cambodia where you see one really big and lovely house in the middle a lot of poor one. The average cost of living is a fair bit higher and that surprised me (I should have done my homework!). This is great for the Laotian people of course, but it means that things are more expansive here than expected (still very much affordable though compared to Australia!)
We spend the evening sipping on a bottle of red wine at a lovely pub while playing board games with the kids, which was really nice.
Thursday we had a computer morning, doing blogging and school work and a bit of work for me.
After lunch we had a Laotian massage. It was tough!!!! The kids had it nice, but Kev and I had the full experience and well, it was at my limit of tolerance! I think I will get a relaxing massage next time. Don’t get me wrong, it was good, but they try to stretch your body as far as it can! One of the position is: you are laying on your front, the person doing the massage has one foot on your back and lift your legs as high as they can go.. That was an interesting feeling!!!
In the evening, we went to the Blues Box: this is a bar which play blues music. But that night, there was a band playing guitar and singing. They were awesome. Really calm bluesy vibes. The atmosphere was so peaceful relaxing. We got a couple of cocktails, which were delicious, for very reasonable prices. This is a hidden gem in Vientiane and if you are in the area, go check it out (the Blues Box near the Nam Phou fountain).
Then today is packing day again as we are going to Vang Vieng (2 hour bus ride)! See you soon!
Mel

1.2.2025. Stayed in the room all morning, then took a bus to the train station. We had planned to see some stuff around the station, but were unable to get storage for our bags. So, 6 hours or so at the train station. Hopped on the train around 9:30 and off to Laos. The train sucked. The seats were shit(couldn't get a sleeper), it got bloody cold and they never turned the lights off all night. The kids slept ok but it was a rough night for Mel and I.
2.2.2025. Another messy border crossing, had to get off our train and cross by foot, even though it was an international train supposedly going to our destination. More time and more money. Anyway, we made it to our hotel which seems nice. Had a look around the place, decided on a pretty nice restaurant for dinner since the last couple days had been shit.
3.2.2025. Late start after trying to sort some stuff out. Visited a few temples within walking distance and then the COPE visitors centre. Not everyone knows about the “secret war” in Laos, I certainly didn't. During the Vietnam war Laos was on the receiving end of enormous amounts of bombings(1 full plane load of bombs every 8mins 24/7 for 9 years), a total of 2 million tonnes of ordinance. Of which they believe 10-30% never exploded and are still a danger. The Americans bombed Laos in an attempt to disrupt Vietnamese supply lines. To this day there are still unexploded ordinance causing casualties in Laos, though through extensive efforts there are fewer each year as they painstakingly remove them. To see photos of innocent people many years after this war still being hurt or worse by this is heartbreaking.
Emma was in need of new thongs/sandles, they kept slipping off causing her to drag her feet and by the end of the day her feet were disgusting. We found a mall not far and had a look. Got some snazzy looking ones with something at the back so they won't slip off, looks like a proper backpacker now! Found somewhere dinner, really nice Lao curry. Better yet, found my first dark beer. Was a dark larger, nowhere near a Guinness but it was probably the best beer of the trip so far. There will be pictures of all the beers I try at some point.
4.2.2025. Hired a Tuktuk to take us to Buddha park. I'm about Buddha'd out, but this park was pretty nice. Lots of different statues amongst pathways with trees and flowers. Now back at the room, blogging. We went out later looking for a few drinks and later dinner. Found a nice rooftop bar, tried a few more local Laos beers while watching the sunset. I found something called “the walking market”. Small rides and some dodgem cars. Kids had a go at the dodgems, no seatbelts and they are a bit small so it was tough on the big hits. Emma had a head on with a guy who apologised alot. I think she hit the steering wheel with her chest and got a bit scared, so that was enough for her. Came to the side and stopped. Andrew lasted alot longer but eventually it got too much for him too as we noticed he was avoiding alot of contact and only hitting from behind. It cost us 60,000kip for both of them to ride(about $4.40) and it lasted for ages, they only stopped it because a girl busted her lip. Andrew later told us that the accelerator pedal did nothing, the car was always on. After that we were hungry, so we ventured further up the walking market. Found some food, pretty ordinary, wrong food twice. They tried to charge us for what we didn't order. So overall not a great experience food wise. We've had way better food for much less. See what happens when I find something to do.
5.2.2025. Tuktuk to a shopping centre to have a look at the Trick Art museum. 3d paintings on walls and floor to take photos with. Wasn't sure what to expect but we weren't disappointed. Took 100’s of photos each and all had fun. After that we found a small arcade and changed some money for tokens. After that Mel was especially hungry and we had noticed a cafe next to the shopping called “The Mystery Cafe”. Really nice place, great decor, food was really nice. I had a beef stew, bloody terrific. We all had a dessert afterwards and left full as googs and very satisfied. Highly recommend if your ever in Vientiane. Walked back to our room because we're trying to save a bit of money on Tuktuks and get a bit more fitness. Took around an hour and a half to get back. Shower, cause we all smell, especially the kids(they stinky). Andrew is becoming more happy with beef noodle soup, it's not usually spicy. Emma just wanted steamed rice, and suprise suprise she was still hungry after. Finished off Andrew's soup. Mel was craving a glass of wine(it's been ages). We found a nice bar, picked out a very nice Bordeaux and enjoyed that together. The kids got nothing!! Hahahahahaha!!! That's it for today, stay tuned for more.
6.2.2025. Planning a slow day today. Had some breakfast, which for the last 3 days has been 3 cups of noodles for the kids and I and the free breakfast sandwiches for Mel. Free coffee and hot chocolate for the kids. Kids did their school work and blogged a bit then were allowed to play a bit. We realised it was after 12 when my belly growled at me. Put everything away and found a nice little restaurant for lunch, delicious. Andrew has taken to beef noodle soup, safe bet it won't be spicy. After lunch we went for what is becoming a tradition in this family. We all had a full body local massage, we slipped up in Thailand and only had a foot massage. Going ahead, it's only full body massages from now on. Tropical north day spa should take note, if they weren't so bloody pricey we'd go there way more often. I had a sneaking suspicion the bloke was trying to break me, never copped that many elbows in a rugby maul. After this massage I really felt it, my calves were given a real work over. 60mins seemed to fly by. We returned to the room and did some research, compiling information on where we have been. Headed out for some dinner, burgers and chips. Then off to “The Blues Box”, a blues bar we had found in our wanderings earlier. We decided to go Thursday night as live music was advertised. It did not disappoint. The trio sang in English and played guitar. The music was great and the voices superb. Coupled with a dark, relaxed atmosphere and some very well made cocktails, created a wonderful end to our night. We did not want to leave, but we could tell the kids, who have been great and not once whinged were getting very tired. Today was one of my favourites of the trip so far. We didn't see any temples or museums. We didn't go to any playgrounds or amusement parks. We just spent the day together, as a family. That is what this trip is for me.
7.2.2025. Guess what! We're packing for our next destination, yay! Talk to ya later.
Kev

On the 1st we waited in our room for a while because we were leaving on that day, but it was in the night so we had to wait. We waited in the hotel for a while, I played on my computer for a while but I don’t remember what the others did, but soon I ran out of battery.
When we left, we went on a bus that took us to the train station, (the train was going to Laos) we are going on a night train in case you didn’t know, so what ever. When the train left it was around eleven o’clock at night (Andrew edit: there’s going to be a mum edit because it’s probably the wrong time I didn’t check) (Mum edit: it was actually pretty close: we left at 9pm). When I fell asleep it was twelve and I was still on the train.
When I woke on the 2nd it was 7am, when we got to the border, our visa wouldn’t work because it was an evisa and they didn’t accept it. My mum had to fill out some paperwork so we could get through, when we were finished, we went into Laos. We went to find a tuktuk to drive us to our hotel, and we did. When we got there, we dumped our bags and walked around like we always do, it wasn’t that interesting it’s just streets. When we came back to the hotel we slept.
On the 3rd we walked around a lot looking at temples, it turns out there are a lot of temples in Laos. There was old temples and new temples, lots and lots of temples. Guess what we did after that, we looked at another temple, bet you weren’t expecting that. When we finally stopped looking at temples, we went to a war museum thing, it was about the secret war. I’m not going to talk about it for reasons.
On the 4th we went to the Buddha Park, it’s a park that has a lot of buddhas, it was big and old, I don’t have much to talk about, other than it was so cool. There was this huge circle thing about 35 meters tall called the giant pumpkin (it looked nothing like a pumpkin), there was also a big lying buddha, it was 40 meters long. There wasn’t just that there were also 200 smaller statues about gods, demons and monks. When we left it, we went to a place called walking street, it isn’t really a street, it’s more like big walking path that has rides and food. Sadly, the only ride we went on is bumper cars, but they had big crashes and sometimes a bit of the back of car would lift of the ground. It was rough. When we finished, we went home.
On the 5th we went to a place called the trick art museum, it was a place that had pictures that we could stand on and they were 3d. So, we took pictures of ourselves and on the pictures it would look like I was at the place. I can’t explain it at all but it was awesome. We went back to the hotel and put a way our stuff and went to a restaurant. When we finished, we went to the hotel to sleep.
On the 6th we stayed at home and wrote our blog and my mum said if we be good, we can get something, and I’m still trying to find out what that something is, I hope it’s something fun. When we left for lunch, my mum gave me a hint that pretty much gave it away, they said it’s going to be relaxing not fun, we were going to a massage. I like massages because I just lie down and people massage me (plus it’s cheaper than Townsville) the sad bit about that is that we had to eat lunch before and I’m very slow at eating (so is Emma, she’s even slower than me). But when we were finished, we went there, it was nice it was an hour long and it only cost $35 AUD, for the four the four of us, very cheap. When we were done, we went to the hotel and worked on our blog for a bit then we went to dinner, we went to a jass club the music was nice and the place was fancy, it was nice. When we left we went back to the hotel and slept.
On the 7th we wrote our blog and packed up because we were leaving to go to Vang Vieng, we are rushing because we are leaving very soon and I still have to get ready. So, I’m rushing to write my blog but the only problem with that is that I like to write a lot. I’m about to finish, look, it’s the end.
The End. Andrew (9 years old)

Saturday the 1st, we stayed in our last room till midday. Then we went and took a bus to the train station and did our very first homework of the year. Around 9 o'clock we got on the train and we were off. To be honest I didn’t really like being on the train because it was uncomfortable. Sunday the 2nd, we arrived in Laos BUT WE HAD TROBLE AT THE STUPID BORDER. We dropped our bags off at our new hotel and walked around a bit. Monday 3rd, we visited lots of temples and a COPE building. The COPE building was all about a war. Some Laos people were fighting other Laos people. And the bad thing about that is the US bombed most of Laos, and lots of people got killed or badly injured. It was so hard to listen to, I cried. I felt so so sad for them. We donated money to them, to help them get better. After that we went and found me new shoes. (which are comfy)
On Tuesday the 4th, we went to the Buddha park and saw lots of buddhas. At the buddha park there was this ginormous pumpkin. I am sad we couldn’t go in the pumpkin. But I’m happy I got to see everything else I did. I also saw a big laying buddha. it was about ten cars long. Wednesday the 5th, we went to a trick art museum, where there was lots of pictures that looked 3d: like for instance on the ground there was a picture of a vine with a hole under it, and on the wall behind it was a jungle. It was fun doing all those funny poses. Our, well my, legs were hurting by the time we got back. They hurt and I could not take a tuktuk which made them hurt EVEN MORE!!!!!!!!!!! (by the way, don’t you dare laugh at me or I will get very angry the next time I see you! I heard that. Opps I almost forgot to put on the bracket.) HEY!
Thursday the 6th, we had breakfast then we did school work and blog. Then We went and had lunch and then we had a massage. After that we had dinner, dad, Andrew and I had burgers and mum had a pizza. Then we went to the blue box were there was live music and I got a mocktail. I loved the live music but what I loved more was being with my family.
Emma (8 years old)Læs mere