Apr. 12, 2007
Bangkok to Chiang Khong
Like most travelers, I planed to enter Laos by crossing the Mekong River from Chiang Khong in Thailand to Huay Xai in Laos. There are actually direct night buses from Bangkok to Chiang Khong. However, I made an easy mistake by underestimating the craziness of bus travel during the Thai New Year. Two weeks before my departure I went to Northern Bus Terminal in Bangkok only to find out all the buses to Chiang Khong during the holiday period were sold out. Luckily, there were still a limited number of seats on the mid day flight from Bangkok to Chiang Rai on April 12. I shopped around and bought the cheapest ticket for 3,250 baht. The flight arrived in Chiang Rai shortly after 3 p.m. Taxis are the only way to get into the town. I bought a ticket at the taxi counter in the arrival hall for 200 baht and arrived at the bus station around 4 p.m. Except for the Bangkok – Chiang Khong bus that passes Chiang Rai, most local buses are non air-conditioned but it costs only 57 baht and takes just a little bit over 2 hours. My bus left at 4:30 p.m. Although it was one day before the Songkran Day (Thai New Year), kids started to pour water to people already. The bus conductor tried to close the door most of the time but I still got wet a few times because I sat in the front near the driver. The book I was reading got wet too. No big deal – it’s time to have some fun.
The bus stopped 3 km from the pier in Chiang Khong. A Tuk-Tuk took me into the town for 20 baht. I found a place called Sawadee Home Stay near the pier on the road uphill (then downhill) for 200 baht per night including breakfast. It's a wooden stylish place with private shower (hot water) – very comfortable. For my dinner, I had some pasta at an Italian restaurant near the pier. The food was so-so, but for 100 baht, I didn’t expect too much.
Chiang Khong to Pakbeng
The immigration opened at 8 a.m. I was there shortly after 8 a.m. Everything was straightforward. There is a 5 baht surcharge for the Songkran Holiday. Like other Mekong crossings between Thailand and Laos, this one is no difference. I got my visa on arrival at the Lao side. One interesting thing to point out is that they seemed to have stopped issuing the 15 day visa. I even tried to get this visa in Bangkok but was told only 30 day visa is available. Again at the border I had to pay 42 US dollars (for Canadians) to get my 30 day visa on arrival (still cheaper than the fee in Bangkok which is 1,700 baht). Due to the low water level and maybe also safety concerns, there were only slow boats available (no speed boats). The slow boat pier is at least 1 km away to the left from the immigration. A small road to the left just after a major intersection leads to the pier. I could only buy a ticket to Pakbeng (mid way to Luang Prabang) for 95,000 kip (or 365 baht). The boat left at 11 a.m. and took 6 hours to arrive at the small town of Pakbeng on the Mekong in the mountains. I stayed at Villa Salika, the first white building you will see after the pier, for 8 dollars (300 baht) with private bathroom but no hot water. It’s basically a one street town full of guesthouses and restaurants. After surveying a little bit, I selected a restaurant called “Onhouan Restaurant”. Most of their dishes seemed to be 5,000 kip cheaper than those in other restaurants. I ordered a famous local food called Lao Lup together with sticky rice (the most popular way to eat with Lao Lup). Although the owner said “not spicy”, it was way too spicy for me. No regret to try anyway.
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| Pakbeng Pier |
Apr. 14, 2007
Pakbeng to Luang Prabang
The second leg to Luang prabang takes a little bit more time so the boat from Pakbeng departed shortly after 9 a.m. The ticket was slight more expensive at 100,000 kip (390 baht or 11 dollars). The scenery on this leg is better then that on the first leg with mixed stones and mountains along the river. There are also more stops on the way to pick up passengers in the small villages along the Mekong. The boat arrived at Luang Prabang around 5:30 p.m. The pier is in the city center near the Royal Palace Museum. It was not dark yet and children were still playing with the water. Of cause I couldn’t be exempted even as a foreigner. Furthermore, my face was painted to blue by a boy (another kind of celebration during the holiday). I made a quick decision to stay at a very simple guesthouse called Vong Cham Pa Guest House near the river for a very simple room without private bathroom for 5 dollars. I was told by the owner of another guesthouse that many guesthouses near the river were full. But the main reason was that I wanted to use the remaining of the day to visit Phu Si before dark. Phu Si is a small mountain behind the Royal Palace Museum. It’s an easy climb. I had to pay 20,000 kip on the way to go to the top. The view at the top of Phu Si is great. You can see the whole city, the two rivers and even the airport from there. After Phu Si, I rushed to Southern Bus Station (30,000 kip return by Tuk-Tuk) to book the ticket from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng for the next day. There is a 10,000 kip booking fee in addition to the fare 75,000 kip (regular bus). Although they told me there was no need to book in advance, because of my tight schedule I couldn’t afford making any mistakes so I still paid the additional 10,000 kip to have a peaceful mind.
The road between the Royal Place Museum and Phu Si becomes a market in the evenings. I had some snack before climbing the mountain so I didn’t feel very hungry. In Laos normally you need to spend 10,000 to 20,000 kip for a regular noodle or rice dish (double or more if you eat western food). But for this night, I got a noodle soup for only 8,000 kip at a restaurant full with locals in front of Phu Si – big smile.
Apr. 15, 2007
Luang Prabang
Although also a World Heritage city, unlike those in Cambodia and Thailand, most sites in Luang Prabang are in the city. Since I only had half a day, I got up early at 7 a.m. and had some American breakfast (barely qualified) on the river for 18,000 kip. I first checked out the Royal Palace Musuem (30,000 kip) nearby then got on a Tuk-Tuk (5,000 kip) to Wat Xieng Thong (free) then took another Tuk-Tuk (8,000 kip) to Wat Visunalat (supposed to be 20,000 kip but I managed to pay only 10,000 kip without the receipt). These places are worth checking out to learn about the history and Buddhism in Laos. Since I like natural sites more than historical sites, it only took me 2 hours to finish all the three major sites in Luang Prabang. The big question was how to kill the remaining 1-2 hours before my bus to Vang Vieng. The Lao Red Cross across the street to Wat Visunalat (recommended by guidebooks to have good and cheap massages) was closed for the holiday. So I decided to treat myself at a luxury spa at Thanon Phothisalat for a one hour body scrub for 15 US dollars – still cheaper than those in Thailand.
There are several buses throughout the day from Luang Prabang to Vientiane that passes Vang Vieng. Those leaving in the morning tend to be more luxury. My bus left at 12:30 p.m. The journey from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng is quite scenic with mountain views most of the time. We stopped at Kasi for a 45 minute break – mostly for the drivers to eat and smoke. When we arrived at Vang Vieng, it was already over 7 p.m. Vang Vieng is a tourist town with numerous guesthouses and restaurants. After learning there were no cheaper (fan) rooms available at two guesthouses near the bus station recommended by guidebooks, I picked one called Pan’s Place also near the bus station. It’s run by a local lady Pan and a guy called Neil from New Zealand. It’s only 40,000 kip with private shower with hot water. They also provided good information about tubing and the caves and allowed me to borrow a pair of slippers for my tubing the next day.
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| Wat Xieng Thong |
Apr. 16, 2007
Vang Vieng
Tubing along Nam Song (the Song River) is almost a must do in Vang Vieng. So the first thing I did in the morning was going to the tubing company (there’s only one company doing tubing at the moment). They opened at 9 a.m. (before that I had some good Scottish Breakfast at Pan’s Place). You need to sign an agreement and pay 40,000 kip before they give you a big tyre and a life jacket (if requested). Because you will get wet, you need to put your stuff like cameras into a dry pack. They are available for rent for 1 US dollar each. Luckily I had one already. 3 people are needed to take the free Tuk-Tuk to the launching point (or pay 10,000 kip if you cannot wait). Luckily two Australian ladies just came and we were done.
The Tuk-Tuk driver dropped us at a place where we still needed to walk a little bit to get to the river. None of us had done this before so I decided to just try it. I walked into the river, put the tyre on the water and sit on it. That’s it - bye-bye two ladies. At that moment, the current was strong enough to move the tyre. I later realized that many times you also need to manipulate the water to move the tyre or at least to control the directions. There are some shops and bars on both sides of Nam Song and I saw the two Australian ladies went to the first bar they saw. For myself, in order to save time, I decided not to get on the shore. The scenery along the river is good, more or less like that in Guilin of China. There are a few bamboo bridges along the way. Since the water lever was not too high, some people even drove their cars to cross the river. I encountered a few rapids – more fun and not dangerous. After a few hours, I saw a yellow sign almost hidden in the bungalows saying “Finish Tubing” then I got on the shore and asked directions back to the tubing company (about 5 minute walk). By the time I returned the tyre and the life jacket to the tubing company, I took my watch from my dry pack and found out it took me exactly 4 hours to do the tubing (starting from the tubing company and finishing at the tubing company). I didn’t stop at any of the shops and bars on the way and most of time I used my hands to manipulate the water to make it faster. It still took me 4 hours! – not 3 hours claimed by the hotel and the tubing company.
After a comfortable lunch at a restaurant on the river, I walked to Chang Cave – the most visited cave since it’s within walking distance from the town. I paid 2,000 kip to enter Vang Vieng Resort and paid another 10,000 kip foreigner fee to enter the cave. Having seen many caves in Laos and other parts of the world, this cave is not very impressing to me. However, the climb to the cave is good exercise and it’s a good place to get rid of the hot weather temporally. The cave is quite big and there is also a view point where you can see the resort and the whole town.
There are only Sawngthaews (pick-ups) to Vientiane in the afternoon (the last one leaves around 4-5 p.m.). I jumped on one leaving at 3:30 p.m. (25,000 kip). Unlike a bus, we had more exposure to the outside on the sawngthaew so I got numerous water raids from the kids on the roads and got the most water during my trip. It took over 3 hours to arrive in the suburb of Vientiane and we had to change to another Tuk-Tuk to get into town (5,000 kip). We got even heavier water on the Tuk-Tuk. Finally we terminated at Talat Sao near the bus station.
I located a guesthouse called Dokket Guesthouse near the bus station (at the corner of Thanon Samsenthai and Thanon Gallieni) for 6 US dollars with shared bathroom (hot water).
In the evening, I walked on the streets in Central Vientiane and still got water raids from the kids. I ended up eating some delicious Dim Sim at a Chinese restaurant for 4,000 kip per piece.
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| Nam Song at Vang Vieng |
Apr. 17, 2007
Vientiane
I rented a bicycle from the guesthouse for 1 US dollar and started my exploration of the capital city on the last day of my trip. Perhaps because the holiday ended on April 16 in Laos, most businesses resumed today and it's the only day during my trip that I didn’t get water raids.
I first checked out Ho Phra Keo Museum and Sisaket Museum (5,000 kip each) near my guesthouse. Then I climbed Patuxai (3,000 kip) on my way to the holy temple – Pha That Luang (5,000 kip). Not surprisingly, the fees in the capital city are much lower than those in other places. Again because I’m not a big fan of history and religion, it didn’t take me much time to finish all the major sites. I then rode the bike around the city and had my last meal in Laos at a Chinese restaurant (8,000 kip for 10 dumplings).
The best way to get to Nong Khai in Thailand from Vientiane is to take the international bus between the two cities. There are several buses a day from 7:20 a.m. to 6 p.m. I arrived at the bus station (next to Talat Sao) shortly after 3 p.m. to buy the 3:30 p.m. bus. The bus was almost full. Luckily I got a ticket for 55 baht (15,000 kip).
It only took a little over 1 hour to reach Nong Khai. Immigrations on both sides were quite straightforward. Prepare to pay 2,500 kip (or 10 baht) for the “Exit Fee” at the Lao side.
Since my train to Bangkok departs at 6:20 p.m., I asked a taxi driver to take me to the only shopping mall – Tesco Lotus for 80 baht. Having not seen a mall for almost a week, I had some familiar food at the Food Court and bought an electronic shaver (I hadn’t shaved for a few days because the old one was broken). A Tuk-Tuk driver at the entrance of the mall offered to take me to the train station for 50 baht (negotiated to 40 baht). I then got to my first class sleeper berth (bought 2 months ago for 1,217 baht) and finished this pleasant journey.
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| Pha That Luang |
Overview
Northern Laos has some of the most beautiful sceneries in the country, both along the rivers and on the roads. Food and accommodations are not necessarily cheaper than those in Thailand. Although most guesthouses are clean and comfortable, food in Laos is not as delicious as that in Thailand and it’s usually more expensive. People are generally nice and look simple. The ability to speak some Thai definitely helps (I have seen many Thai traveler – even independent Thai travelers visiting Laos - a rare thing in other countries). However, you can still find people who speak English especially in the major tourist sites. Overall, if you are tired with the beaches or want some simple days in the mountains, Northern Laos is a good choice.
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