Laos

It's been a while since I've plucked up the energy to update my blog, you'll understand why later on. My final stops included Halong Bay (slightly less outstanding that I expected, although kayaking round the bay was fun) and Hanoi (fairly similar to Ho Chi Minh City, lively and some exceptional food). We left Hanoi to fly to Laos, arriving into the capital Vientiane's airport, hello mosquito central!



Hanoi Street Food, fingers crossed.

After eating our first meal in Laos, I was beginning to realise we may not be experiencing food or coffee to the outstanding standards we enjoyed in Vietnam. However there was a saving grace: Beer Lao. The country loves it, it tastes great, costs nothing and it practically sponsors every sign/billboard in Laos. Cheers.

We left Vientane to embark on a daunting 4 hour twisting and turning bus journey up into the outstanding scenery of the mountains, passing some beautiful small villages that offered a drive by glimpse of a chilled out, simplistic life in the Laowegian country (not official term for Laos natives).

Vang Vieng was our next stop, the town that was once famous for 'tubing' but has since had several of the bars closed. Despite this the town is still lively with plenty of bars and restaurants showing endless repeats of Friends and Family Guy to entice westerners. Tubing is still available, but a few of us decided to go for the safer option; renting motorbikes for about $5 each for the day! This helped us get around to explore the caves and lagoons surrounding the town, whilst also being on the edge of dying. The lagoons were like in a movie, crystal clear blue water that was incredibly refreshing to jump into to escape the heat. One lagoon even allowed us to swim deep into an empty dark cave, a spooky and surreal experience. Another cave, which required you to climb 500m up a steep path, simply kept going into the mountain. In contrast to a cave at Halong Bay where artificial lights and too many tourists ruined the visit, this huge cave was left untouched as we delved deep into the pitch black abyss with only torches to help us see. My like minded Australian friend and I then realised there was only one thing to do: rave in the cave.



Harry Nelson Photography ™



Vang Vieng: Blue Lagoon

(Warning: explicit paragraph) The perfect day could only be ruined by one thing: food poisoning. 2am waking up with a bit of sick at the back of your throat, to then chuck up everything you ate that day. The following morning saw it coming from both ends as my body emptied. As Micky Flanagan puts it: "with the gentlest of pushes, the world fell out my arse. I'd be left as a costume of a man, they'll find my hung up on the back of the bathroom door." This was perfect timing for a 7 hour bus journey to Luang Prabang. That evening I spent in bed, and woke up the next morning slightly better, no way was I gonna let illness ruin Sonkram 2k13!

The Songkram is the Thai new year, also celebrated in Laos, where people have huge water fights in the streets. This explained why suddenly our bus would get buckets of water chucked at it as we drove through villages on the way to Luang Prabang. Groups of people sit by the side of the road with hoses, buckets of water and water pistols drenching anyone that walks past, and everyone gets involved! Whereas this may turn into trouble back home, it's done with great spirit here and rarely do you see someone without a smile on their soaking face. Our first port of call was to rent bicycles and buy huge water pistols to join in the mayhem, which went on all day in the sunny streets of Luang Prabang, temples and cultural visits could move aside for this awesome carnage. In the evening we climbed Mount Phusie for a disappointing sunset, but probably the best one of the day, and forced down my first meal in two days: buffalo pad Thai.

Our final stop in Laos was a homestay in a tiny remote village of the Khmu people, reaching it after a relaxing 10 hour boat journey down the Mekong River. Stepping off the boat we were met by the chief of the village along with a few locals. We walked through the village with locals beginning to gather to look at us as we found our sleeping areas. The village was as simple as you can get, shacks for houses and little/no electricity apart from the odd light bulb powered by generators. Although a shock, it was fascinating to see how some people can live yet remain content with daily life. We then offered to them a number of gifts such as books, pens, and our water pistols from the day before, then played football with them down on the beach- an exhausting thing to do after a few days of illness. Needless to say I slotted home a few goals and showed them all up, nah joking, but seriously, I scored twice. They say football unites the world and it was exemplified in this, the local guys showed great skill sportsmanship and helped us overcome language barriers through a game that everyone loves (sob). We ate dinner, spent time with the chief asking questions such as "do you even lift?" and had uncomfortable nights sleep to then begin another 10 hour journey to the Thai border.

Nha Trang / Hoi An

Nha Trang - life's a beach

I met the tour group that I'd be spending the next 22 days with, and discovered them to be a great group from places all over the world, who introduced me to their love of Dong (Vietnamese currency) jokes. That evening involved traveling by sleeper train to the beach resort of Nha Trang. The term 'sleeper' train is an optimistic assessment of this method of transport as I discovered, and the warning of bed bugs did little to prepare me of what was to come. Settling down that evening in my bed in the carriage, I was lucky enough to stumble across the film set of A Bugs Life 2 around the edges of my mattress. Any attempts to sleep were ruined by the feeling of a bug scampering across you. I also filmed a video on my phone that Dispatches would be proud of. Needless to say I got no sleep that night, escaping to a seat further down the train watching the Vietnam night go by.

We arrived at Nha Trang at 5.30am, being welcomed into a small beach town that closely resembled paradise; a huge stretch of sand, clear water and Islands in the distance. I spent the day under a giant thatched umbrella on the beach, with the occasional dip in the warm sea, and flinching every now and then due to chronic bedbug-a-phobia. And that evening sat at another bar that had swings instead of seats (disclaimer: not a swing bar) I witnessed the moon rise above the Island opposite ours, appearing about twice the size as normal and being an unforgettable moment which my camera wasn't there to capture!

5.30am Nha Trang Beach

The next day we visited some Temples in town where I sat in a giant bell whilst a guy bonged it and said prayers and there was also a giant Buddha. Cutting edge blogging. Then we went round the Nha Trang market with its strong smells and huge variety of food and clothes, I even bought myself some designer 'Aberconnbie and Fiche' flip flops at a bargain price- here in Vietnam, your Dong goes a long way. The great thing about part of this market was how local and untourist-like it was, as we sat down at a make shift stall asking for only 'rice' and 'noodles' and receiving incredibly tasty dishes as we sat on small plastic children's chairs. And 2 hours later, we had survived the street food scare- and so the Immodium remains unopened in its packet. That evening involved getting another night train to Hoi An, and despite not getting as bad a bed this time round, local $3-a-litre rum helped me get a comfy nights sleep.

Nha Trang Market lady

 Hoi An - suit you sir

We arrived in Hoi An to discover we were staying in a stylish hotel with swimming pool, not quite the backpackers stay I was expecting! A walk round Hoi An introduced me to one of the most picturesque, peaceful settings I have ever seen. Smiley local people, colourful buildings and unspoilt character. This town is also world famous for suit tailoring. After a chat with my wise Canadian room mate, I realised I would regret it forever if I didn't have made one of the nicest fitting 3 piece suits I have ever worn. Although handing over a lot of Dong to the giggly suit lady at Yaly Tailors (recommended by Lonely Planet), it was totally worth it. That night we indulged in some top food and 25p beers.

Colourful Hoi An

The next day was a cycle tour around the beautiful Vietnamese farms out of town. I even got a chance to ride a buffalo through a marshy field, with a local man on it with me singing Buffalo Soldier. The tour also stopped at a small play school, where the kids happened to be on break in the playground. They invited us in to sing and play with the kids, who were unbelievably cute and provided me with an unforgettable moment. Later in the day I went for a second and third suit sitting, an incredibly professional and meticulous job done by the tailors. Fell in love with Hoi An, next stop Hue and Hanoi.