In Hanoi, I went to a snake village and did weird things
Snake blood with rice wine
Snake bile with rice wine
Bottoms up
Biting the snake heart out and swallowing it whole
My turn
Balut (duck embryo) in Ho Chi Minh
Thursday 17 January 2013
Tuesday 15 January 2013
I was supposed to go home, but...
After Thailand I was planning on returning home mostly because of my money running out, but on a whim I decided to continue on. I hopped on an overnight bus from Bangkok to Vientiane, Laos. On the bus I met Henry who had also just finished teaching in Korea. Then I met Suzanne, a dutch girl who I ended up traveling with for a few weeks.
Vientiane
When we finally arrived in Vientiane, we were all still tired from the long bus ride, so we booked into our hostel, ate breakfast, and napped. The funny thing about Laos is that the bars there close at about 12am. So what do a bunch of backpackers do after this happens? Bowling. So, even after these bars close, people can still go drinking/playing at the bowling alley, which they do no doubt. Nightly. The first night we walked along the river, ate dinner, sent off little flower boats for good luck, went bowling, and ate/drank with Laos people in the street. Oh what a wonderful 1st day in Laos, and it was only a preview of what was to come. The only other 'interesting' thing I did in Vientiane was watch a 19 year old Aussie guy almost kill himself. Note video evidence below----
Veng Viang
After 2 days in Vientiane, Henry, Suzanne, and I decided to head to Veng Viang. I fell in love with this city. It sits right along some mountains and a river and has the most spectacular views. I ended up staying here 2 days longer than planned (total of 5) because I enjoyed being here so much. It is a quaint city with restaurants and bars everywhere. Almost every single restaurant has a big screen tv that plays either reruns of Friends or Family Guy every hour they are open, so if you are not partaking in the daytime activities, you will be at one of these places enjoying a drink and some American television This town is basically dedicated to tourists and tourists do mainly 1 thing here- party. The ultimate party is the tubing down the river. You rent a tube and a jeep takes you to the start off point. From here, everyone (our group was 62 people) hops in their tube and floats down. This takes up pretty much the whole day. Many people bring beer, however there are many bars along the way. The Laos people throw ropes out and you have to catch them so they can pull you up to their bar. Our first bar had a basketball goal, beerpong tables, and a big mat where everyone sat and played games. Each time you buy a drink you get a bracelet. There are also places that sell mushroom shakes and other such things. By the end of this journey down the river, everyone is inebriated and somehow must navigate back to the tube shop to return the tubes. Later in the night you can hear people complaining drunkenly that they didn't get their deposit back because they were too late to return their tubes. And so on.
Veng Viang does not have a bowling alley, so when the main bars close at midnight a secret bar opens for another hour or so. Also when I was there people were hosting secret bonfires by the river, but while i was there some people got into trouble.
Another place to visit in Veng Viang is the Blue Lagoon. It has this beautiful clear-blue water that is wonerfully refreshing after a long night out. There there is a rope swing and a tree to jump from. There is also a little cafe and a volleyball net. Most people spend the entire day here to recover from their hangovers.
Luang Prabang
We rode a few hours to LP and arrived at night. We had no idea where to stay but we traveled with 4 Scottish people we met in VV, so we all decided to ride together to the same hotel. Luckily, it turned to be right near our favorite bar, Utopia. That's until we learned the staff were thieves, but nevertheless, we were close to pretty much everything. Most people adore this city, and I have the same sentiment. It is a little larger the Veng Viang, but much less 'party' and much more 'crafty'. Every night there is a flea market down the main strip. I really loved eating all-you-can-pile-on-a-plate for a dollar and drinking beers and then meandering through the street goodies. There were also 2 waterfalls that you could swim in only a few km outside of the town as well as a Buddhist temple on a very steep hill you could view the sunset from. It was quite lovely, all of it. I spent almost a good week here, as well as my 27th birthday.
Phonsavan
I was sad to leave my Dutch friend and the Scots behind, but there was one more city I wanted to see before my journey to Vietnam. I had heard about the Plain of Jars from some other travelers, and I decided I wanted to see more of Laos before departing. My last stop was Phonsavan. This town was unlike any other town in Laos I had seen. It was much less 'touristy', and I walked along the streets most days not seeing another foreigner. This was exactly what I needed after 2 straight weeks of being with 'white' people. The only thing here for tourists to really see is the Plain of Jars. And it is exactly what it sounds like. There are hundreds of jars in 3 different sites, and to this day no one knows what purpose they served. It is still a mystery.
Although I wasn't expecting to go to Laos, it was everything I wanted and more. I cannot wait to return and see more of this lovely country.
Vientiane
When we finally arrived in Vientiane, we were all still tired from the long bus ride, so we booked into our hostel, ate breakfast, and napped. The funny thing about Laos is that the bars there close at about 12am. So what do a bunch of backpackers do after this happens? Bowling. So, even after these bars close, people can still go drinking/playing at the bowling alley, which they do no doubt. Nightly. The first night we walked along the river, ate dinner, sent off little flower boats for good luck, went bowling, and ate/drank with Laos people in the street. Oh what a wonderful 1st day in Laos, and it was only a preview of what was to come. The only other 'interesting' thing I did in Vientiane was watch a 19 year old Aussie guy almost kill himself. Note video evidence below----
After 2 days in Vientiane, Henry, Suzanne, and I decided to head to Veng Viang. I fell in love with this city. It sits right along some mountains and a river and has the most spectacular views. I ended up staying here 2 days longer than planned (total of 5) because I enjoyed being here so much. It is a quaint city with restaurants and bars everywhere. Almost every single restaurant has a big screen tv that plays either reruns of Friends or Family Guy every hour they are open, so if you are not partaking in the daytime activities, you will be at one of these places enjoying a drink and some American television This town is basically dedicated to tourists and tourists do mainly 1 thing here- party. The ultimate party is the tubing down the river. You rent a tube and a jeep takes you to the start off point. From here, everyone (our group was 62 people) hops in their tube and floats down. This takes up pretty much the whole day. Many people bring beer, however there are many bars along the way. The Laos people throw ropes out and you have to catch them so they can pull you up to their bar. Our first bar had a basketball goal, beerpong tables, and a big mat where everyone sat and played games. Each time you buy a drink you get a bracelet. There are also places that sell mushroom shakes and other such things. By the end of this journey down the river, everyone is inebriated and somehow must navigate back to the tube shop to return the tubes. Later in the night you can hear people complaining drunkenly that they didn't get their deposit back because they were too late to return their tubes. And so on.
Veng Viang does not have a bowling alley, so when the main bars close at midnight a secret bar opens for another hour or so. Also when I was there people were hosting secret bonfires by the river, but while i was there some people got into trouble.
Another place to visit in Veng Viang is the Blue Lagoon. It has this beautiful clear-blue water that is wonerfully refreshing after a long night out. There there is a rope swing and a tree to jump from. There is also a little cafe and a volleyball net. Most people spend the entire day here to recover from their hangovers.
Luang Prabang
We rode a few hours to LP and arrived at night. We had no idea where to stay but we traveled with 4 Scottish people we met in VV, so we all decided to ride together to the same hotel. Luckily, it turned to be right near our favorite bar, Utopia. That's until we learned the staff were thieves, but nevertheless, we were close to pretty much everything. Most people adore this city, and I have the same sentiment. It is a little larger the Veng Viang, but much less 'party' and much more 'crafty'. Every night there is a flea market down the main strip. I really loved eating all-you-can-pile-on-a-plate for a dollar and drinking beers and then meandering through the street goodies. There were also 2 waterfalls that you could swim in only a few km outside of the town as well as a Buddhist temple on a very steep hill you could view the sunset from. It was quite lovely, all of it. I spent almost a good week here, as well as my 27th birthday.
Phonsavan
I was sad to leave my Dutch friend and the Scots behind, but there was one more city I wanted to see before my journey to Vietnam. I had heard about the Plain of Jars from some other travelers, and I decided I wanted to see more of Laos before departing. My last stop was Phonsavan. This town was unlike any other town in Laos I had seen. It was much less 'touristy', and I walked along the streets most days not seeing another foreigner. This was exactly what I needed after 2 straight weeks of being with 'white' people. The only thing here for tourists to really see is the Plain of Jars. And it is exactly what it sounds like. There are hundreds of jars in 3 different sites, and to this day no one knows what purpose they served. It is still a mystery.
Although I wasn't expecting to go to Laos, it was everything I wanted and more. I cannot wait to return and see more of this lovely country.
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