Vientiane

My last stop in Laos was the capital city of Vientiane. Not my favorite, but an ok city to have a stopover in. We got picked up at our hotel in Vang Vieng by a tuktuk. We thought there were only going to be a few of us, but we continued to pick people up. No biggie, except they didn't put our luggage on the top like they've done before. We were a little tight squeezed, but made it to the bus station without much difficulty. We waited for a few minutes and then boarded our VIP bus. Mind you, it's not really VIP. It's VIP since it's has AC. Some of the seats were broken, but in comparison to local buses, it's a dream. The ride was a bit more comfortable than the minibus we took from Luang Prabang. We had a short bathroom break about halfway and made it to Vientiane close to on time. Of course, we got dropped off at the North Bus Station. The Central Bus Station would have been so much easier. But why would they drop us off there. We went through the same spiel as in Vang Vieng. No negotiations and we boarded a tuktuk reluctantly. I guess since we got picked up at our hotel the other times, I'll even it out.

We checked into our hotel and then went in search of food. I heard and saw on the map, that there was a market nearby. But we found a children's carnival instead. I don't know if it changed or we missed it or if there was a special event happening. But regardless, we didn't find food. After a little bit of wandering, and bypassing a lot of Western-style restaurants, we found a local noodle shop with some delicious noodles and rice. We filled up, called it an early night, and headed back to the hotel.

Still not sick of rice and noodles.

The following morning, since I decided to do my long run on Saturday, I spent a few short miles exploring the city a bit along the Mekong River. Once I first got to the river, I thought the river would be right up against the boardwalk (not really a boardwalk, but that's what they call it), but the river was actually quite a distance away. Not sure if it's receded over time or maybe it's a seasonal tide thing. I'm no expert, and I'm sure I could google it, but not right now. There were a few others enjoying the boardwalk as well, and I saw a few runners out there. Towards the end of the run, it started to rain a bit. When I got back, it got even worse. We were going to head to Buddha Park, an hour bus ride outside of the city. But we were not going to do it in the rain. So we ate breakfast and hung out a bit. Once it let up, we headed to the bus station and hoped for the best. It continued to drizzle a bit on our way out there, so we decided to get lunch across the street from the park. We got papaya salad and boy was it spicy. I'm glad I had that beer to wash it down with. I was hungry and the salad was good, so continued to eat it, despite the hot factor. They gave us cabbage to tone it down, but it wasn't enough. So we also got fried rice.

Those napkins were for my runny nose due to the spice.

We paid the entrance fee (plus the camera fee) to Buddha Park and checked out the interesting but creepy Buddha statues throughout. Definitely some weird stuff going on, especially the scary pumpkin. Animals are a norm among the various temples, but these were definitely not the norm. It was kind of cool, and I'm glad we went. Although we didn't need long to explore the small park, so once we had our fill of all the weirdness, we headed back to Vientiane.

Scary pumpkin.

We did a little more exploring when we returned, but there really isn't too much to see in Vientiane. We went to see Patuxai (coined the Lao "Arc de Triomphe") and surrounding area. Later on that evening we went to check out the Night Market. We were hoping to find something similar to what we saw in Luang Prabang but was definitely disappointed. It was a lot of knockoff brands and cheap clothing. And when we did find a stall that had some items we were interested in, they wouldn't negotiate on the price. It was much more expensive and not worth the trouble. I wasn't really looking for anything and have hopes for Thailand. We picked up a bottle of wine and some food at the Noodle Shop and called it a day. I had to get up early for my long run and Susan had to get ready for her flight out. I'm glad she was on board with our plan. I was getting pretty tired. I was happy to support the same restaurant and even though her English was limited, she was really sweet. 

Dinner pick-up.

The next morning, I got my 14-miler in around the city and along the Mekong River. Ten of those miles were meant to be at marathon pace, but it was tough to maintain. You could say they were at marathon pace, but at a slower marathon pace than I would like. Since it's been faster than previous long runs, I took it. The scenery was good and somewhat enjoyed it. Fortunately the temps were cooler and there was a cloud cover, but I still managed to be dripping wet when I finished. I'm dreaming of when I can run in low humidity. But that will be a while from now, and would also probably mean I'm home. Which I'm not in a hurry to do.

One of my long run views.

I got back in time to have breakfast with Susan and send her off to the airport. It was so great having her here with me for a part of this. It went by so fast, but I had such a good time. I'm sad to see her leave, but it's time to be on my own again. I'll be seeing some more friends soon enough. After a quick nap and checking out, I made my way to the hostel where I was spending my last night in Laos. On my way, I met a girl and chatted with her for a bit as we walked. She gave me some recos on Thailand, which I ended up listening to. The hostel was kind of  cool place, so enjoyed some beer as I caught up on my running journal.

The rest of the day was low-key. I got food, bought postcards (I've been buying them in every country for friends and myself), walked for a bit, met people at the hostel, and got more food. I needed a relaxing day of doing nothing. And Vientiane was a good place for that.

Beer and running journal at the hostel.

The following morning I made my way to the airport. I got on a bus near to the hostel based on direction from one of the workers. Which wasn't a good idea since it wasn't going to the airport. I asked if any bus would be good and she said yes. Next time, ask again to be sure. I was concerned that I was running late so ended up taking a tuktuk to the airport with my last little bit of Lao currency. Of course it may not have been necessary since I sat at the airport for a while waiting for my flight. With no wifi. And it was boarding later than what I was emailed. Oh well. I was there and not late. Good time to read Go Set a Watchman. And get excited for my next stop: Thailand.

Vang Vieng

We only had one night in Vang Vieng, but it was a good visit. We got picked up at our hotel in Luang Prabang and joined a group of people in a crammed minibus. This wasn't a good sign for our ride to Vang Vieng. Fortunately they were only taking us to the bus station to switch to another vehicle. After a little confusion on the driver's part, we got to where we needed to be. This minibus (or van as they like to call it), didn't have as many people. But the ride still wasn't super comfortable. It was a cheaper option and took less time, but it was still a bit crowded and definitely warm. And coming slowly down mountain roads that aren't great, makes for an interesting ride. As much as I wanted to get to our destination, we did make a pit stop for lunch and I'm glad we did. It provided a good break, and we were able to get some food. It was a hopping place and it was pumping bass, including multiple songs by J Lo. I almost thought we were at an outside club in Miami the way they were cranking the music. But then I would look around and know that I wasn't even close.

Rest stop view.

We finally made our way to Vang Vieng and of course they dropped us off at the bus station that was furthest from town. Really, they couldn't take us one more mile? A little irritating as the sole tuktuk driver wouldn't even negotiate the price. He made a lot of money for less than 10 minutes of driving. We got dropped off at our villa and it was stunning. The Nam Song River and mountains in the background was beautiful. We were right on the water and was looking forward to our short stay there. 

View from our villa.

After we relaxed for a bit, we headed out to check out the town and get dinner. Besides food, one of our priorities was also to get wine. We've been doing that everywhere we go, and of course a new town meant a new bottle. We actually ran into the couple from Toronto and got some recos of what to do. Which really was to go to one of the restaurants nearby to get dinner and watch Friends. Yes, you read that right. Watch Friends. Someone we met at some point had also mentioned these restaurants. And since Susan and I both love the show, we went for it. It was really low-key and the food was cheap and good. And why not. So we sat there enjoyed some local food and beer, and watched a mini marathon of Friends. 

Beer Lao and Friends.

We bought our bus earlier on and chose the later bus so we'd have the morning to hang out and relax. I kind of wish it was even later though. I didn't mind getting into Vientiane later. It was raining when we woke up, but it eventually stopped and we took in the view over breakfast. The clouds and mist made for some stunning scenery. 

Morning clouds.

Afterwards, we packed up our stuff and headed into town to wander a little bit and check out some other parts of the very small town. Which didn't take too long. But got some more photos on this bridge. We did have to wait patiently as scooters went over this pretty consistently. 

More stunning views.

We then ended up back at the place from the night before to relax before our bus. So we watched some more Friends over lunch and a beer before heading out of town. It would have been great to stay an extra day or 2 to just relax and wander. 

Luang Prabang

Laos was our next stop. Susan and I got to the airport in Siem Reap with plenty of time and enjoyed one last Cambodia beer. As we were finishing up, we heard the boarding announcement, and just at that time, a woman came up to ensure we heard the announcement. We assumed it would take some time for the passengers to load, so I ran to the bathroom quickly. As I was exiting, I heard Susan's name being called over the loudspeaker. Which means they were waiting for us. So I ran back to where we were sitting and we hurried to our gate. We exit the airport and make our way to the plane, at a little bit of a jog. We get on the plane and don't find many people at all on it. There was a total of 9 passengers. And they were waiting for us. Well we felt a little bad, and maybe a tad embarrassed, but then realized we were taking off much earlier than anticipated. So no worries. We took off, got some food, and had our first Laos beer in the air. 

No one in front of us.

We then landed in Pakse, Laos. We had about 2 hours, or so we thought. We figured we'd go through immigration and wait for our next flight. Well we got off the plane, were given a transfer ticket, and entered the tiniest airport waiting area. Not the tiniest I've been in, but definitely small. We determined that we'd be chilling there for a while, which we weren't too thrilled about since there wasn't much to do and see. We decided to get some beers. But as we were about to pay, they changed over the destination sign, and started to load everyone for Luang Prabang. So we got back on the plane we just got off of. We just picked up a few more passengers. I guess there was a reason why there wasn't any specifics on our layover. But we were ok with that since we arrived in Luang Prabang sooner than anticipated. And we saw an amazing sunset as we landed.

Luang Prabang sunset after landing.

Once we leave the airport, we then get ripped off. We decided to take the taxi into town as there were no tuktuks around, which was surprising. We tried to share with a couple, but they said maximum 3 people. So of course we thought we were going in a small vehicle of some sort. Nope. They pull up in a van and pile us all in there. And made more money. They even confirmed one stop. If we were paying for a taxi, then we shouldn't have had to share. I don't mind sharing. I just don't want to overpay. A short ride later, we got dropped off at the entrance to the road where our guesthouse was. We checked in, took a few minutes to decompress, and then headed out to check out the Night Market.

Night Market.

I really liked this particular Night Market. Instead of a building with stalls, it was a road that was closed off for the evening, with tents set up along the sides. They were selling a lot of the standard items I've seen elsewhere, and also local items. It was hard to resist shopping, but I've decided to wait a bit longer before I go to town on buying things. We also found some delicious food at one end of the market. We selected our food and got the price. And then told her what veggies we wanted. Once the food was ready, we went to pay and of course she tacked on extra money. Well we didn't pay since they didn't tell us it was extra, but it was still kind of sneaky. We sat down nearby and met a nice couple from Toronto. We hung out and chatted with them for quite some time. They gave us some tips and we did the same, as we are going a little bit in the opposite way. They were in Thailand, so they gave me some recos, and we advised them on Siem Reap.

Deciding on what to eat.

We wandered a bit more and then decided to check out some of the tour offerings. There were tours to Kuang Si Falls, an elephant sanctuary, and other places. We decided to think about it and come back the next morning to figure what we wanted to do. Susan really wanted to do the elephant sanctuary (which I was totally on board with), but I also wanted to be sure we had sufficient amount of time to explore Kuang Si Falls (one place was only giving an hour to explore). We decided to see if there was a good tour that would allow us a bit more flexibility. And when we came back the next morning, we did. We were going to have 2 hours with the elephants, and then 2 hours at the falls. Good compromise, and we'd back in time for the sunset on Phousi Mountain.

After some breakfast, we joined a few others in a shared minivan and headed to the elephant camp. It wasn't the Elephant Village that most tours go to, and I think this worked in our favor. First, this was much closer to the Falls, and second, it's a pretty new establishment (opened in January), so it was flexible on timing and how the morning went. When we first arrived, we got a briefing of the sanctuary over a cup of iced tea. We learned that they buy elephants from people who have captured them from the wild and have been domesticated. They wouldn't be able to survive in the wild for very long if that's where they returned. Laos now has a law that it's illegal to capture elephants, so hopefully this minimizes the number taken from their home. They currently have 14 elephants, 12 adults and 2 babies, in total in the sanctuary. We learned they eat about 250 kilos of veggies a day (this is equivalent to over 550 pounds), which is crazy.  We got to feed them, and I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't overfeeding them. So I continued to feed them the banana stalks. And feed them. 

Feeding the elephants.

After feeding them for a while, we headed up this structure to get on the elephant for a short ride through the jungle. We all got to get on our own elephant, which was great. We did a mini trek and enjoyed the beautiful views of the Mekong River and surrounding mountains. At one point, one of the elephants couldn't hold it any longer, and just had to pee. And wow did it gush out. It was kind of amazing. You know in a gross way. And I'm really glad that I was up high on my elephant. We left the massive puddle behind and continued on our way. At some point I lost Susan. She got on an elephant right after me, but my elephant was in a hurry and passed a few others. And I figured hers was taking their sweet time. Once my ride was over I was waiting for Susan to finish. But I couldn't see her. I then looked over to where the elephants were and she was feeding them. Apparently hers got a bit scared and returned to the camp. Her ride was cut short, which was a bummer. But it was made up later on.

Going for a ride.

We then headed down to the river since it was now time to bath them. The elephants were there by the time we got down the hill (Susan and I were busy taking photos). We dropped off our things and went into the Mekong to join the elephants. We were able to convince 2 others who weren't doing the bathing to take our photos. I had to hop on one, which did take some flexibility, but I made it. And then I spent some time washing the elephant. It was very cool. And I hoped the elephants enjoyed themselves. It was cooling me off for sure. After a bit more bathing, it was time to head back. Since Susan's earlier ride got cut short, she was able to ride her elephant back up to the camp, which was nice. She was thrilled to ride it bare back too. They weren't hurrying us out of there, so we fed them some more. I'm sure they had many more kilos to eat for the day. All in all, it was about 2 hours of hanging out. It was then time to head to Kuang Si Falls.

Time for a bath.

Since we were over our time, I was worried our time at the falls would be cut short, but it wasn't. We grabbed something to eat quickly at the bottom of the falls and made our way to the top. The hike was a decent one. I did it in flip flops and barefoot at some point. Not super easy, but doable. And we were rewarded with some great views. 

Top of the falls.

On the way up and the way down, we got some great unobstructed views of some of the falls. The water was so blue and falls were very pretty. We tried to hurry down the other wise when we were done at the top, but it was a little steep, so had to move slowly. Which means we didn't have much time for swimming. We really spent about 5 minutes in the water. I think if we had an extra 30 minutes, it would have been perfect. I'm glad we did the hike, but do wish we had some more swimming time. The group was waiting for us, so we had to move. 

Kuang Si Falls.

Once we got back to town, we did some more hiking, and this time went to the top of Phousi Mountain to catch the sunset. It was a bunch of steps, and not as high as our earlier hike. So not major. It was a bit crowded at the top, but we were able to catch a nice sunset. The one from the night before was better, but the views were still pretty great.

Sunset from Phousi Mountain.

We spent the rest of our evening checking out the Night Market again and eating dinner. The next day, we were heading to Vang Vieng. I got a nice morning run in along the Mekong (and saw a few other runners) and got some nice misty views. Luang Prabang is definitely a recommendation and spending another day or 2 there would have been nice. But it was time to check out our next destination.