Getting there...
In our travels through South East Asia the next port of call was to be Laos, the landlocked underdog of the region. Flying into the country was both beyond our budget and came with a certain risk (Laos Airlines has a very patchy safety record). That left us with the joyous prospect of a 24 hour bus trip from Ha Noi south to Vinh, then heading east to the border at Cam Neua and on to Vientiane, the Laotian capital. After two less than memorable experiences on sleeper buses Justyna and I decided to try our luck with the regular sort of bus, the one used by locals. The difference in price is substantial - $13 as opposed to $38 for a sleeper bus - and when we reached the bus terminus we could see why. The luggage hold was full of merchandise, and the passenger's luggage was shifted to the aisle. When the seats were full the driver pulled out some folding chairs to squeeze in a few more passengers, and some were even told to get comfortable on the luggage in the aisle. Still, we had our own two seats, and after some persuasive elbow maneuvers I convinced the Laotian sitting in the corridor next to me that I didn't enjoy the fact that he was using my shoulder as a pillow!
The going was easy enough - the sound system didn't seem to be working so we were spared the blaring karaoke music that had been a regular torture feature of our travels. This meant we got in a fair bit of sleep by the time we got to the Vietnam/Laos border at 5am, two-and-a-half hours before the countries opened for business!
When the sleeper bus full of backpackers pulled up we were quite pleased with our choice of transport - it seems that the bus was overbooked, so some people who had paid the full fare ended up sleeping on a mat in the aisle with the Vietnamese and Laotians who generally hop onto the bus along the way and put a bribe in the driver's pocket. Not to mention the usual hassles with karaoke music at all hours, cramped beds etc. Score one for the shoestring travelers!
Through Vietnamese customs, a dollar poorer for the unofficial stamping fee, we walked downhill to the Laotian immigration, where the going was much easier, and the stamping fee official! With all our papers in order the bus set off into the mountains, and what a ride it was!
The sleepiest capital
Despite being roughly the size of Great Britain, Laos remains to this day with a very small population of some 6 million inhabitants. This is largely due to the inaccessibility of the land - the mountains are everywhere, making getting to and from anywhere an arduous task. The average speed of travel for buses is between 20 and 30km/h because there are no long flat stretches. The roads are a succession of hairpin bends that wind their way up a hill and down the other side, only to start going up again at the next mountain. This of course makes for spectacular scenery in all weather. On our trip from Vietnam the sun was shining and the skies were blue, providing an amazing contrast of green jungles, grey cliff faces and powder blue skies. As we got nearer to our destination the monsoon clouds moved in, and the scenery transformed itself - black shapes looming out of the grey rain, flooded paddy fields disappearing into the distance, and the occasional motorbike speeding past the bus. The scenery rolling by my window and the lack of traffic made me wish I could get onto a touring bike to explore the country on two wheels - if ever there was a place made for two-wheeled, petrol powered exploration, Laos's gotta be it!
Eventually our bus rolled into Vientiane's bus station, but we were wondering if maybe the driver was a bit confused - there was no way that this sleepy bus station was the main transport hub of a South East Asian capital. No pushy taxi drivers harassing us for our business, nary a tùk-tùk in sight, just some pick-up trucks with benches in the back. Eventually one of the drivers realized that there were fares to be had and gingerly asked if we would like to get into town. The ride into Vientiane's bustling centre was much the same - it felt more like a ghost town than a city, what with the wide avenues of recently surfaced streets, traffic lights and landscaped traffic islands.
Further exploration of Vientiane once we had secured some lodgings revealed that the same sleepy attitude spread all over town… In the sea of chaos that is mainland South East Asia, Laos is a secure island of calm where you can retreat to recharge your batteries. Our stay being limited to just over a week we decided to stop in Vientiane for a couple of days to explore the capital before moving on to the northern jewel of Luang Prabang. To make getting around easier we rented a bicycle - following the SEA Games of 2009 prices in Vientiane have skyrocketed, with tùk-tùk drivers asking for more than 5 times the price quoted in our guidebook. The sparse traffic and relative flatness of the land which Vientiane lies on made our exploration easier.
There are several Buddhist Wats to be seen in the city of Sandalwood, though most of them are of recent construction as Vientiane has been sacked several times in its history. The Wats that we stopped by had a somewhat run-down feel to them, looking in desperate need of restoration.
After the temples circuit we retired to the Mekong riverfront for some tasty Lao food served by street restaurants - open kitchens that seem to be permanently set up on the banks of the Mekong looking across the water at Thailand. The Laotian government is currently beautifying the riverfront area so beyond the pavement it was one big construction zone. We didn't dare dart among the heavy machinery for a closer look at the country across the border, but the presence of diggers didn't seem to put the Laotians off their evening stroll by the water.
Housed in the former French Governor's residence is the Revolutionary Museum, the rather disappointing national museum of Laos. The building itself is in dire need of restoration, and the displays inside start out well but sadly peter out when things start to get interesting. The first section of the museum is dedicated to prehistoric finds in Laos - the dinosaur displays leave a little to be desired but the information boards in English do a good job making up for that. The section on ancient civilizations is probably the best in the museum, bar the small display on hill-tribes. This may be due to the fact that there's a lot of foreign aid when it comes to prehistoric archaeological finds. Up a flight of stairs and into the minority peoples section, where the Revolutionary Museum displays interesting artifacts relating to Hmong, Kho and Lao Lao minorities that inhabit the mountainous regions of Laos.
From here the museum's informative fountain runs dry - the rooms dedicated to the struggle for independence from French rule and the Secret War are all labelled in Laotian. For a nation that has the dubious record of being the most bombed per capita in the history of the world, the people of Laos seem to be doing little to bring their plight to the attention of the foreign visitor.
With the afternoon sun baking down on the capital, we headed for the so called morning market (even though it runs till 5pm) looking for a respite from the sun. Housed in a four story building housing stalls selling everything from custom made clothing to pirated DVDs and household appliances.
Vientiane is not a city that you visit for its bustling night life, nor for adrenaline pumping action… you visit Vientiane to amble aimlessly from one Wat to another, taking in saffron robed monks walking under matching umbrellas, to admire enterprising tùk-tùk drivers who fit their vehicles with a hammock, enabling them to nap comfortably anywhere. Laos' geographical position, sandwiched between the regional giants of Thailand and Vietnam, make it a great place to stop for a while to recharge your batteries, to take a deep breath and enjoy the fresh air before you head into the chaos that lies east and west beyond the mountains.
For pictures of Vientiane, head over to my Picasa Web Albums!
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