YA LEUM.10 — Luang Prabang in hue of emerald green
Do you remember Pai, the backpackers paradise in Thailand?
This time, we went to the backpackers paradise in Laos — Vang Vieng. Around the world, there will be always a place more westernized, usually taken over by backpackers. Vang Vieng has more the party vibe than Pai which is more about peace&love mantra.
Vang Vieng is a small town about 250.000 inhabitants located between Vientiane and Luang Prabang, right inside the Laos jungle, towered by hills and mountains.
The small town became popular especially due to tubing in the river that anyone can do, in addition to caves visiting.
Madalena and I stayed in a very cozy hostel, free breakfast with one of my favorite fruits — rambutan. We started well!
Walking around the city was like coming back to your holiday summer town: tourists shopping bikinis, drinking daiquiris in terraces and buying all-inclusive tours in the shops nearby.
As I mentioned before, we are not the type of complaining, we rather go with it and adapt to the place.
So, tourist kind of mood? Easy for two Portuguese ladies raised by the sea. We picked our tourist outfit from the backpack and surf on the wave.
This town became quite an adventurous experience for us. We visited the Tham Chang caves, did ziplining and went tubing.
We visited inside the Tham Chang cave with a guide, otherwise it is not possible. To reach out the first area of the cave we had to get on a tube and slide through the water inside the cave! That was my first-time tubing in a cave, and it was amazing! Until I found out my phone drown inside of my high quality colorful waterproof bag. That almost screwed up my mood.
After the tubing part, the guide walked us through the cave with an oil lamp pointing to the stalactites and stalagmites. Just the three of us inside of this massive, enormous cave. Sometimes in a nippy second, the darkness, the heavy air, the unknown path struck me in the throat. It was never a long second, since the overall experience was thrilling to me.
After the cave, we went to the zipline area.
It was my first time doing it! I absolutely loved it! Crossing the dense Laos jungle, like a bird…what else can I say? Nature opens the doors of their mansion to you, unfolds their beauty in front of your feet and hypnotizes you with its greatness. Again, again! (watch the video at the end)
Now, let us talk about tubing (we did in a different day!)
Tubing is a fun and relaxing activity where you ride on top of an inner tube (like a donut) on water. Do you remember, right? From your summer vacation? Exactly, so fun!
First you must rent your tubes in the city and rent a tuk tuk to drive to the river. Jump together with everyone in the starting point area. For a few seconds you are like “do I just jump? Is it safe? Too deep or shallow? Is this really ok?”. Everybody starts jumping to its tube one after the other, depending on the current, ones manage to go straight and steady, others manage less good and end up in the river bank, others just don’t understand how to sit in the tube. The whole thing is fun since the beginning!
Everybody gets in the water separately and it is not exactly that you can brake the tube like in a car, so how do you tube together with your friends? Funny again! Everybody is trying to move in the water close to their group of friends, but not always the current is in your favor. You can picture it.
The idea of tubing in Vang Vieng is (mostly) to do bar hopping to get booze. You do not have to but that is the fun of it! Do you just want to float in the river to see the view? Also possible, and as pleasant.
I went for the first option, rarely miss an opportunity to party in bikini with a drink.
On the riverbanks, you can find bars and stop by for a drink or join a drinking game. Music is loud, people are dancing, weather is good, and everyone spreads happiness and smiles.
Back in the river, you enjoy the stunning view over the mountains, the ease to be floating and the sun coming slowing to its end of the day.
The end sign is not clear, but as a shallow part pops up and people are getting out, we decided to follow. By the end of the day, you cannot find many sober people returning to the city. It was needed to find an empty tuk tuk, still rent it for a fair price and return.
Back in the city, the vibe was lively, and you could clearly see who was tubing that day: bikini outfit, wet hair, red cheeks, and tipsy look. Madalena and I stepped up our game and lost our clothes in a bag, somewhere during the afternoon…
Vang Vieng, a place to remember for the fun and beauty of its jungle.
Now time to rest from these busy days.
The best place for it — Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang is glamour! Charm in every corner, coffee places following the French-Indochinese architecture, longtail boats racing down the river like kings in their royal parades.
Attracted by the beauty and a time to take it slow, we planned to stay two weeks.
We found a guesthouse — Sokdee House — that was accepting volunteers in exchange for accommodation and basic food: me at the reception hosting new guests, showing the rooms, and giving instructions; Madalena at the pier with a group of volunteers promoting the guest house. The deal sounded just what we were looking for!
The guest house belonged to a Chinese family and basically the whole family was around to run the place. Many people, everywhere, plus volunteers. It was a busy place.
The communication was not the easiest with the owner, but we put a good effort. In two weeks, we had time to connect with most of the family, some more open to talk to us than others. Some days, they would invite us for dinner, other days we would barely talk. Like everyone in its own routine, caught up in day-to-day concerns, feeling some days more expansive and other days more reserved.
The volunteers were well traveled people: a French guy traveling Asia by bike waiting for his visa to China, a solo-traveler German girl slow traveling for about two years, an Australian living with less than 1 euro a day… among others.
My job was not too difficult, in fact it was quite enjoyable. I had the chance to take it slow and get to know Lao people better, just as I wanted. I repeated this experience most part of the travel: exchange work for accommodation was the perfect way to get to know the day-to-day life and of course, be kind to the budget.
In two weeks, we had time to do quite some sightseeing, enjoy the market, do nothing, watch movies, get film footage, sea sunsets, walk around.
Luang Prabang has a lot to offer in terms of sightseeing, but my absolutely top are the Kuang Si waterfall.
How can I just describe this waterfall? I will try. However, let me tell you, it is among one of the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen, as I put in the same list as Iguazu falls in Brazil and Argentina.
Let me explain you why.
Kuang Si waterfall is an enormous waterfall that streams through the limestone-rich jungle, clearing out in magical cascading pools.
We started in the low-level pools with a nice simple swim. As we continued walking towards the top of the waterfall, we found different pools in an emerald green hue. The water flows in stunning natural formations, and the sound puts you in a meditative state.
The hike up was slightly tricky since there were no railings and water was flowing through it in some parts. It was muddy and slippery the day we went.
But once I reached the top, my eyes glimmered gazing nature in its perfect form — a fairy-tale pool emerged in the jungle, traversed by bamboo trunks, revealing an exotic mist. Owww!
Up there, there is a spectacular view over the mountains and trees. Together, it is one of the ethereal places on earth.
Back in town, at 5am, one day, I also saw for the first time the morning alms. Sai Bat (morning alms) is a Buddhist culture tradition where the committed offer food to monks every morning. The procession is through the roads of Luang Prabang, in silence, and tranquility. The Lao people prepare the sticky rice and other offerings, they put in the alms bowl (bat) of each monk.
Later, I have seen the alms giving in other Buddhist cultures, but this was certainly the one that touched me the most. Perhaps, thanks to the serenity and silence of such acts.
One last small sad story before I leave you, and Luang Prabang.
I had a severe food poisoning, the only one in the entire trip! Can you guess with what?
It could have been from juices with ice, salads, fried and other delicacies laying in the food stalls. But not, instead I decided to eat an expired softened in the sun, living in the backpack, cookies. It was late, after partying and I was hungry. Madalena nicely said “I think that should not be good”, which I responded “It is going to be fine”.
June 11th, exactly 3 years ago, I was expelling in every way possible my bowels already dissolved in water.
Check on food poisoning during the trip!
From all the street food and weird food I had in 15 months, never I was so sick, besides that day with some fake but usually delicious, Oreo.
I recovered well, Madalena was very attentive. I still succeeded to have a nice phone call with Mathieu to wish him Happy birthday!
June, 2017
Patricia Assis
