While enjoying a quiet dinner on the back streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter last night, it struck me that none of us have shared any of our expectations about our next destination, Laos.
Imagine my surprise when everyone indicated that they weren’t really sure what to expect.
That’s the mystery with Laos. The guidebooks seem a little vague and the country seems shrouded in a lovely veil of mystery that we are all looking forward to. We are all in general agreement that Loas will be quiet and serene, especially after the madness of Cambodia and Vietnam. I hope we aren’t wrong.
Laos strikes me as being a little backwater. It isn’t as well-traveled as other Asian countries, so it should be easier to get off the beaten track a bit more. This is important to me, because the longer I travel, the more I realise that we all travel in ever-expanding circles. For example, we saw a couple on our first night in Siem Reap, and have since seen them in Phnom Penh, Nha Trang and Hanoi. Sometimes this makes me feel like adventure travel these days isn’t so much of an adventure anymore. Just about anyone can do it and I find myself searching longer and harder for a completely unique experience.
I think I’ll be able to find what I’m looking for in Laos. In addition to magnificent temples and a rich cultural heritage waiting to be explored, I think that this trip will involve a bit more trekking and hopefully some more environmentally friendly excursions.
This is the part of our trip that I’ve been looking forward to the most. John has been eagerly awaiting our arrival in Vietnam and I’ve loved our time here, but Laos is the one country that has held special meaning to me since we started planning this trip a few months ago.
Today, we’ll be flying with Laos Airlines, one of the few airlines in the world I haven’t had the opportunity to travel with. We’ve decided to skip land borders, as our other crossings into Cambodia and Vietnam were absolute hell. Plus, we’re trying to maximize on time as we’ve only got a short time left here in Asia.
We’re flying into Luang Prabang. From there we’ll travel east to Phonsavon to view the Plain of Jars. We’ll spend our last few days in Vang Vieng, where we can enjoy some eco-trekking, cave exploring and inner tubing along the river in a quiet village in the heart of Laos before heading back to Bangkok to catch our flights home.
Welcome to Laos. My beloved country.
I hope you have a wonderful time in our country.
Regards,
http://samakomlao.blogspot.com
My lovely world traveller! I have just returned from a little adventure of my own… up to Whistler to shoot Ry’s gig, and the back to Vancouver today to shoot the “behind the scenes of the music video” footage of Jessie’s first single. Very exciting! Before I crash into bed, I just wanted to say how much I love reading your posts…. although sometimes I wish we had a separate Buffy blog where we could be super nerdy.
Safe travels and I’m thinking of you.
Laos does sound serene and mysteriouse Carrie…. I am looking forward to hearing about the experience from you…
It is funny how you run into the same “Lonely Plannet” using travellers while traveling. In Thailand we saw groups of people who were using the guidebook word for word. It isn’t nessisary and what fun is that?
Needless to say I am very curious to hear about your overland boarder crossings. I have a somewhat romanticized view of trekking across South East Asian boarders. I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say!
I think the guidebooks should be a rough guide to what you will do in a country. They should never be followed to the letter, as I have found that some information is already outdated by the time you get it thanks to the Lonely Planet.
Nevertheless, they are paramount when traveling.
Laos…
I am sure you will have the most wonderful time in Laos, if you enjoyed Vietnam. It’s supposed to be way more relaxing and fun.
The plain of Jars? Watch out for land mines!
Luang Prabang, another world heritage site from Unesco that you will see.