Laos

[englandmj7]

I mentioned this a bit in the thread entitled "Strangest Place You've Ever Been / Want To Go", but since it is getting a little closer to the end of the year I am starting to draw up my roadmap for a trip I am taking to Laos in December:

A bunch of friends and I are taking jeeps/trucks from Pattaya, Thailand through Laos and up to the southern tip of China (probably won't have time to get a visa to enter China unfortunately though). We plan on going to Vientiane for a few days, up to stay along the Mekhong for a few days, then to Luang Prabang. After that we want to drive along the Vietnamese border to the northernmost tip of Laos. We plan on seeing the Plain of Jars and other 'touristy' places in between.

Anyone been? What were your impressions of the country? How were the hotels? Many decent places to camp? Any other cities to check out? I will be there for about 11 days. Also, where can I buy Dior Homme/Julius in Laos!!!! ()...............

[poly800rock]

the dior/julius boutique on main street in vientiane should have some 19cm raw DeNIMz.

everyone i ever talked to says laos is about the chillest place you could ever go to. i skipped it, sorry

[englandmj7]

the dior/julius boutique on main street in vientiane should have some 19cm raw DeNIMz.

everyone i ever talked to says laos is about the chillest place you could ever go to. i skipped it, sorry

WiLl BuY EvERythinG!!!!>!>

By "chillest" did they mean "boring as shit" or "really laid back and relaxing"?

[poly800rock]

laid back and relaxing. everyone i know loved laos.

[Cue]

I travelled through Cambodia into Laos in Jan.

All through SE Asia people told me Laos woulde be a highlight - def was ...

We started on the Cambodia border and got speedboats into Laos. (speedboats were basically hollowed out logs with car engines on the back - our one was from a Toyota Camry). We covered 50km in one hour with an 8-year-old kid perched on the front looking out for logs on the river - pretty hairy, but rad.

Went to the 1000 Island Area which is basically a traveller/ hippy hangout - weed everywhere, with the option of including it in everymeal.

We then travelled up the country through Paske, up to Vientenne, Luang Prabang, and then back to Vieng Vien (sp? sorry) - wish we had gone further up the country and spent longer (were there three weeks in total)

Um, brain is a bit fucked today - throw me some questions and I'll see what I can do...

[Cue]

Oh, and the hotels were totally sweet

non air con (fine by me - find air con too much most of the time) were $5 ish

I wouldn't bother camping at all

[Cue]

Oh, and one think to remember, the Laos people are mad mad mad chill. They don't think anything is wrong with trying to fix a bus by the roadside for 12 hours.

Bring a couple of good books and hang out and it's all sweet. Nothing gets done fast, the safety standards are hmmmm, well, dodge at best.

It is a charming place, and one you'll wanna spend longer in

[Analyst]

Sounds like a great trip. Everyone I know who has visited Laos and Vientiane absolutely loved it. I really wish I knew more about this place.

Another place of interest would be Burma/Myanmar. Any intel would be much appreciated! Cheers!

[GiantEnemyCrab]

VTE is my hometown and I havent been there since I was a kid. Laos is way chill. LPB is great, its a world heritage site and the people and weather of LPB is the same as CM in Thailand. Whats great about Laos is its more relaxed unlike the fast life in BKK. The culture is similar to Thai,(Isan). If you speak Thai then they can understand it. Both languages are similar cept thai has cambodian influence and use more R's. Its a bit underdevelop than thailand but its awesome.

[poly800rock]

Sounds like a great trip. Everyone I know who has visited Laos and Vientiane absolutely loved it. I really wish I knew more about this place.

Another place of interest would be Burma/Myanmar. Any intel would be much appreciated! Cheers!

i snapped this pic around the golden triangle. we were allowed to get a myanmar visa for the day. as silly as it sounds, this is easily one of my favorite pics from my 2003 travels simply because it's so ridiculous. I saw this weird gold statue of a military guy and decided i wanted a pic. So i took out my camera and snapped a picture. Little did i know that the guard standing there immediately alerted his superior and was proceeded to be chased by him yelling stuff at me. I ran immediately for a few blocks and hid out in some alleyway and lost him.

I think burma/laos/vietnam is my next trip. I'm trying not to do repeat countries anymore.

burma is great just because there is so much mystery behind it. disregard the stories about human rights and you barely have any info about the country at all. You can't even go to the western side of the country bordering India. The only thing i know is you don't talk politics in burma.

[sybaritical]

I spent Christmas in Luang Prabang with my girl of the time ... Proper good spot. People are OK, although they're razor sharp and wised up to the financial possibilities of western tourism, so it ain't always cheap, especially on the accomodation front. Other than that I can't say a bad thing about the place.

[englandmj7]

Thanks for all the advice gents. Concensus seems to be that it is a very nice place. I am just wondering if a large group of guys will be able to stay entertained there for two weeks if the 'party' scene is non-existent. I love to relax and could care less, but I know a couple of the people going will surely be bored if there isn't much going on.

throw me some questions and I'll see what I can do...

Any details on cool little towns that are off the beaten path, side trips to take, food to try, places to check out. Prices of decent hotels........anything!

[sybaritical]

AHAHHAHAHaaaaa.ahh. ha.

Beyond the fact that the entire country is practically sponsored by Beer Lao (which is fantastic), Lao Lao ( read: firewater) is available freely everywhere in the bars and drinking clubs that operate post curfew and that will keep you going all night. These establishments alone will keep you entertained, but should you require more ( and knowing you, you will) Laos is famed for it's production of opium, mushrooms and industrial strength cannabis : There's international programs running trying to get farmers to grow Coffee instead of narcotics but there's still a huge amount of drug (and sex) tourism, Just DO NOT get caught doing any of it or you will be over.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

My mom came back a few months ago, she said they woulden't let her go into Vang Vieng at that time because some Hmong rebels were shooting or something. Theres been incidents of some rebels ambushing a bus, im not quite sure what went on though since I live in the states and havent kept up with news. The latest Ive heard about Laos was a Hmong man from America was trying to supply the rebels with weaponry to destroy downtown Vientiane buildings and kill officials but has been caught. Other than that my cousin says you can walk around in the middle of the night peacefully and not have to worry about anyone bothering you.

[Cue]

England - Vang Vieng is a good little party town - just full of travellers getting mashed - nothing classy, but good fun

for a few bucks you can hire a rubber inner tube and float a few miles down the river stopping at riverside bars and swinging into the water from massive swings - it's all good actually

Oh, and food to try - the laap - basically mince meat with spices, but so tender and so nice

[sybaritical]

Hey Cue how you getting on?!

England, try the Sticky rice with Seaweed and Tomato Garlic sesame sauce as well.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Good food. I have always perferred the lao version of papaya salad over the thai. the thai version is a bit sweet for my taste. The Tam mak hoong(spicy papaya salad) goes great with khao neo(sticky rice) and bpieng gai (grilled chicken). as for laap my fav version is beef. they also have chicken, duck and fish laap.

[Tisswat]

Is it true that customs will ask you to hand in your phone when arriving at the airport in Burma? And then they'll return your phone when you leave.

Edit: sorry, I guess I'm derailing, but the question arose after reading poly's story a few posts up.

[poly800rock]

i heard conflicting stuff. but the answer can be found on thorntree.lonelyplanet.com. I went in 2003, and was away for so long i didn't even have a cell phone, or laptop, so no idea.

they have everyone over there now. one thing they did do was hold on to my passport when i entered the country via thailand overland. very nerve wracking as you can imagine when you're backpacking for 4 months, the only thing you really do need is your passport.

[sybaritical]

no way ... I entered from Thailand and held onto mine .... the border town was way out there though - crazy place.

[poly800rock]

no way ... I entered from Thailand and held onto mine .... the border town was way out there though - crazy place.

was this the northen most point in thailand? i loved that sign

[Cue]

Hey Cue how you getting on?!

England, try the Sticky rice with Seaweed and Tomato Garlic sesame sauce as well.

all good dude - been back in NZ for 6 months - been so busy it's shit - no mind but - getting things sorted...

[xcoldricex]

my sister and brother in law went to laos and burma and they loved it - if you know any thai you should be able to get by easily- my sister said they all speak thai because they watch thai soap operas on tv all the time...

[sybaritical]

was this the northen most point in thailand? i loved that sign

Yeah ... Houei Xai? Crazy town. Did you mean the sign as you left Thailand and

crossed the river? "Gateway to Siam" my girl got all excited about that, but I never

bothered taking pictures

One thing I forgot about Laos was having to work out how much everything cost in

about 4 currencies ... Dollars, Kip, Baht, and the eventual comparison in pounds.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Heres some pics for those who want to get a sense of what the country is like.

[groovbusta]

Laos just made the NYT #1 travel destination for 2008... definitely go now while you can still enjoy the orignal flavor...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/travel/09where.html?em&ex=1197522000&en=f973113e5926fabd&ei=5087%0A

[poly800rock]

if teh times already reviewed it, it's probably too late.

[Cue]

Well, the main cities are pretty much packed with tourists - that doesn't mean it's not a great place to visit.

I had a ball. It's the most chilled out place I have ever been (apart from the AK47 carrying chap on one of our buses, he seemed a little on edge).