The Plan B Adventure

VIP….Very Important Person, right? Maybe if you are a Laotian karaoke star!!! This is just what we found on the ride from Phonsavan to the Lao capital of Vientiane. What was billed as our ten-hour luxury VIP ride through the Laotian countryside turned out to be a hilarious yet death-defying ride (OH!!! You didn’t think it could get worse, did you?) through, what we felt was, every mountain range in Laos. The bus was very nice. Comfy, reclining seats with plenty of leg room. Sorry, we didn’t take any pictures (couldn’t release my grip from the seat cushion) so just close your eyes and imagine. Obviously, once you graduate from negotiating a public bus through the Lao mountains they move you up to a bigger, faster bus, which you are expected to drive faster through the same mountains. Apparently, the factor for our driver’s success must be full volume karaoke videos blaring through the entire bus because he moved us from Phonsavan to Vientiene in 7 hours rather than the expected 10 hour journey. What a talent!!…moving in and out of car with a giant bus while wrapping back and forth around the high mountains of Laos.

From what we had heard from fellow travellers about Vientiane it was nothing to look forward to. Big city, bustling with cars and people, that just hasn’t quite made it into the 21st century yet. Well, we were pleasantly surprised. Especially since the minute we stepped off our ride into the center of town we literally ran into our British travel buddy, Andrew whom readers will remember from our bus ride in Northern Thailand and our Mekong slow boat float. Yes…..he was on THAT boat too!! but he’s a river fanatic and we think he put up with the rigors a bit better than the two spolied Americans. Well, Andrew introduced us to what he’d been doing in Vientiane since we didn’t have any definitive plans so we thought we’d combine his highlights with some other stuff we had seen.

These sights included a walk to the Patuxai (Laos’ version of the Arc de Triumph), a stop by Si Saket (our favorite Wat yet and site of some spectacular photos), a sun-sheltered visit to the Lao History Museum (great job Lao government), a quick jaunt through Talat Sao (the gigantic morning market), a short interlude at the national temple of Tat Luang, and then the highlight of our trip (courtesy of Lonely Planet and our Spanish dining partner, Baba), the Buddha Park. As you can see from the pictures these are great national treasures and should be must-do’s for any visitor to Vientiane. Since Jeff is eliminating his extremely verbose nature in this email we thought we’d take the time to highlight just one….our favorite….the Buddha Park.

This park, otherwise known as Xieng Khuang, is located about 25-35km outside of Vientiane proper located on a great piece of property along the Mekong River. It was constructed in 1958 by a Lao sculptor and is his attempt to fuse Buddhist and Hindu cultures. The park and sculptures are fantasticly unique and provide a quirky look at many of the statues, gods and dieties that we have been veiwing over the past month. Check out this traveller’s site whom did a bit lengthier explanation if you are interested in the details.

Many guidebooks say you could bike it for exercise but trust us this is a horrible option, which includes multiple face-fulls of dust and exhaust, the ever-present possibility of getting run of the road by any number of vehicles, and obviously the heat which was reaching into the mid-90’s (F) with no relief from the humidity. We saw two Japanese girls on their way back and they did not look happy. Sorry girls…but we had to chuckle. We opted for the public bus, which you can all guess would be an adventure in itself. And it was…..a Great One!!

The #14 bus could possibly have the friendliest drivers, both out and back, we have encountered on our trip. On the way out, which took about an hour, we drove with a jam-packed bus (Bec on one side, Jeff on the other with a family of four sandwiched in-between) which was piloted by the Dancing Driver. As we made our way through a local festival parade he musicly tooted our horn and donated some of the bus fare to the locals that were celebrating. We think it was for a local temple but our Lao is pretty bad and the people on the bus just smiled when we tried to ask what was happening. When we reached the temple our driver happily jumped up and kindly ushered out to the Buddha Park. 

We really enjoyed the park which was littered with every Buddhist and Hindu diety you can imagine constructed in the sculptor’s unique eccentric way. The solitude and lack of tourists was also extremely welcoming and gave us the opportunity for some great photos and a relaxing discussion about what the heck this guy must have been thinking (or smoking)! His version of the universe is especially a mind-blower as he fashions it to look like a giant ball with windows all over and a leaf-less tree rising to the heavens. As you walk into the belly of the beast you get to witness the life level first, then ascend to heaven or descend to hell. Quite interesting, especially since we each took a seperate way, Becca heading straight to the top, while can you guess which way Jeff decided to explore first!!

So as we said the driver on the way back was just as funny. Picking up groceries and drinks from locals on the way into town as well as stopping for ten minutes to rabble-rouse the local Happy Hour gang where we picked up the highlights to the journey. They were Alex, Sai, and Diana. All native Lao, Alex now lives in France, his wife in Laos, and their sister is Kansas City. Quite a hilarious bus ride for the next 30 minutes getting to know them all and hearing about their enjoyment of Johnny Walker since 3pm in the afternoon. It was great fun and we can’t wait for our next public bus!

Well, it’s off to Siem Reap and the Kingdom of Cambodia. We can’t wait to share our stories and pictures of the fabulous Angkor temples and Jeff’s upcoming bout with Stomach Virus II, the revenge of Laotian food!!

Wow….what a great time we had learning and experiencing Laos. Starting in the far North, venturing into the untravelled East, and finishing up in the unassuming capital of Vientiane. We will have to save the South and it’s island mystique for another “round-the-world” trip. It looks like an entirely different experience altogether.

Well, of course, by now you’ve had time to follow our Mekong slow boat trip that took us to Luang Prabang as well as the time to read and view our great experiences in the Lao provinical capital. After L.P. we booked a public (meaning: cheap $8) Lao bus from Luang Prabang to Phonsavan, which are only 273 kms apart yet the trip is a good 10 hours. Oh yea…..we were prepared for this one. We got to the station early, strategically sat across from each other (monopolizing a double seat each), and buckled in for the adventure. By this time we were beginning to understand every trip on Lao transportation of any kind was an all-inclusive adventure of people, personalities, smells, sounds and, inevitably, livestock. At least on this bus they put the rooster in a cage on the top of the bus!!!

In all seriousness, if we can recommend to fellow travellers a way to get to Phonsavan this is it. All you need is a sack lunch, quite a bit of bottled water and kneepads. The only slightly uncomfortable part of this trip is if you happen to be taller than the average Laotian, which is gotta be 5’5″ so we both qualify. Unless you want to spend the $50 for a 30 minute flight, pony up the $8 each and jump onto this bus for Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. After quite a few fun and, not so, comfortable (Thanks China!!) bus adventures this is tame and gorgeous.

Over the 273 km trip we think we counted 1025 lane changes, 2371 hair-pin turns, and countless occasions when we could have easily envisioned ourselves plunging off a 3000 foot ravine. Now if you are weathered for this type of travel (As we are!!) then this is a gorgeous ride. The Lao mountain ranges differ tremendously. Each consist of their own lush vegetation, unique hill-top and road-side villages, multiple well-placed primary schools, and the ever-present, risky local animal that thinks he’s faster than the bus. We swear they don’t kill their own chickens and cows for food in Laos they just wait for the buses (No, we didn’t hit any) to hit them. The local bus offers a great experience. The drivers stop often (albeit roadside) for potty breaks, locals jump off and on during the whole trip, plenty of space as your luggage is chained to the roof, and the seat cushions are surprisingly comfy…even if you DO have to sit on them for 10 hours.

Entering Phonsavan in the Xieng Khouang province is very interesting. This area borders Vietnam and contains multiple networks of tunnels used by Vietnamese and Lao alike in the war against the French and American imperialists. So as you descend from the mountains you encounter the sights of multiple pock-marked hills from the intense American military attack across an expansive, rolling landscape. The area is also more positively-known for it’s Plain of Jars (the reason we are here) discovery in the early 1900’s. These Jars are billed as being fairly mysterious yet as we come to find not so much when you put your mind to formulating (something the guidebook writers don’t do) an explanation. We couldn’t wait to see for ourselves and after settling into our $4 guesthouse in the sleepy, yet construction-filled town of Phonsavan we booked a tour and took a day to explore the mystery (??) of the Jars.

As we come to find from our fun guide, Vi Jang (not so much English but he’s gettin’ there) the Jars represent different, ancient burial sites. Unlike some of his colleagues (whom believe they were used to ferment rice whiskey) Vi Jang knows what he is talking about as we confirmed later on the Lao National History Museum in Vientiane. This area was a midpoint (albeit a remote point) on the southern trade route that linked the east coast of Southeast Asia with the East Indian trade routes. Due to this link many people accumulated in the area and took up residence. When they died the Jars were used either as a grave or crematorium. This theory was put together as archeologists found burial artefacts (gems, ironwork, etc) inside the jars along side fossilized bones. The more important people were buried on higher hills in larger Jars and the lesser lower lands. OK….so we hope that history interests some of you as much as us…there are also some pretty cool pictures if you are more visual.

After the Jars there isn’t much to see Phonsavan (bit of a one-trick pony) unless you want to see some of the U.S. landing strips for drug-running, numerous bomb craters, or other remnants of the war we love to hate. But we thought we’d save that history for Vietnam itself as we will be there in a few weeks time. We had a few great bowls of noodle soup and fried rice, checked out a local market, attempted the slowest internet access yet, then caught a VIP bus to Vientiane, a short 10 hours jaunt to the southwest.

Wow....what a city. We love Luang Prabang. Smiling locals, great colonial architecture, beautiful Mekong sunsets, an unexpectedly quiet atmosphere, and, of course, better than expected food.

We are finally getting the hang of it....constantly-changing travel, that is!!! As we arrived in ... [Continue reading this entry]