So I made it down to Laos and was overwhelmed by the heat! it was amazingly hot compared to china and im still not fully used to it, and apparently this is cold compared to the south! Laos is a nice change from China, everyone here is very friendly and very laid back! if you want some dinner its usually best to order half an hour before you feel really hungry as it can take up to 45mins for it to arrive and normally means one of the kitchen staff head out on a bike to pick something up.
Luang Prabang
I was staying in a really nice hostel in Luang Prabang that had free breakfast and a great common area so I was able to meet people the next morning which was a relief after not seeing anyone for days in China. I met up with 2 Swedish girls who were also thinking of heading north after LP which was great. The first day we all headed out to see a big waterfall Tat Kuang Si with lots of different limestone pools that turned the water crystal blue. We found a path that climbed up to the top of the waterfall and then you could walk across the river and look at the views down the waterfall, needless to say people lost their flipflops in the river! The climb back down was slippery as there were steps that went under the waterfall slightly. At the bottom you could swim in the pools but it was very slippery! The waterfall area also had a park with some sun bears in which were cool to see, they are the smallest of the bear family. Luang Prabang has a large night market full \of different tat to buy and also cheap food. I found a great Vegi buffet that was very cheap and and of course sampled some beer Lao! There is a curfew in Laos so all restaurants closed at 11.30 and we had to be back in our hostels for 12pm so not late night partying!
The next day I headed out Kayaking with the Sweeds and also 2 English guys we got taken out to a river (cant remember the name) I was expecting to spend the whole afternoon on the river but we only did 15mins before stopping at a smaller waterfall that had an Elephant park. The other guys decided to go ride the elephants while Hannah and I lazed around in the waterfall pools, the waterfall looked a little man made due to all the limestone but I guess it was just created from all the erosion. Finally the guys returned and we got to watch the Elephants go for a wash in the pools which was great but I didn't get to see any of them squirt any water from their trunks. Once we got back on the river the guide told us that we were running out of time to get to the end of the trip and down the rapids in the light so he made us paddle really hard for 2 hours and not stop paddling, as we were an odd number I was with the guide and he kept trying to make me paddle fast but I finally made him realise how unfit we all were and that we needed breaks. The rapids were great quite big rocks and very fast, I got totally soaked and I'm sure the guide did it on purpose! but luckily none of us capsized.
On the third day we decided to take it easy and hired bikes and explored the city, we didn't end up seeing too much as it was too hot but found an interesting local place for lunch that had dubious bits of something floating in it, i just had to eat around it! Luckily its been quite easy to get vegi food here, lots of bread for breakfast, pho (noodle soup) for lunch then some kind of fried vegis and rice or noodles for dinner, it gets a bit boring but at least its cheap!
Luang Prabang
I was staying in a really nice hostel in Luang Prabang that had free breakfast and a great common area so I was able to meet people the next morning which was a relief after not seeing anyone for days in China. I met up with 2 Swedish girls who were also thinking of heading north after LP which was great. The first day we all headed out to see a big waterfall Tat Kuang Si with lots of different limestone pools that turned the water crystal blue. We found a path that climbed up to the top of the waterfall and then you could walk across the river and look at the views down the waterfall, needless to say people lost their flipflops in the river! The climb back down was slippery as there were steps that went under the waterfall slightly. At the bottom you could swim in the pools but it was very slippery! The waterfall area also had a park with some sun bears in which were cool to see, they are the smallest of the bear family. Luang Prabang has a large night market full \of different tat to buy and also cheap food. I found a great Vegi buffet that was very cheap and and of course sampled some beer Lao! There is a curfew in Laos so all restaurants closed at 11.30 and we had to be back in our hostels for 12pm so not late night partying!
The next day I headed out Kayaking with the Sweeds and also 2 English guys we got taken out to a river (cant remember the name) I was expecting to spend the whole afternoon on the river but we only did 15mins before stopping at a smaller waterfall that had an Elephant park. The other guys decided to go ride the elephants while Hannah and I lazed around in the waterfall pools, the waterfall looked a little man made due to all the limestone but I guess it was just created from all the erosion. Finally the guys returned and we got to watch the Elephants go for a wash in the pools which was great but I didn't get to see any of them squirt any water from their trunks. Once we got back on the river the guide told us that we were running out of time to get to the end of the trip and down the rapids in the light so he made us paddle really hard for 2 hours and not stop paddling, as we were an odd number I was with the guide and he kept trying to make me paddle fast but I finally made him realise how unfit we all were and that we needed breaks. The rapids were great quite big rocks and very fast, I got totally soaked and I'm sure the guide did it on purpose! but luckily none of us capsized.
On the third day we decided to take it easy and hired bikes and explored the city, we didn't end up seeing too much as it was too hot but found an interesting local place for lunch that had dubious bits of something floating in it, i just had to eat around it! Luckily its been quite easy to get vegi food here, lots of bread for breakfast, pho (noodle soup) for lunch then some kind of fried vegis and rice or noodles for dinner, it gets a bit boring but at least its cheap!
No comments:
Post a Comment