Laos: Luang Prabang to BKK

Dear All

There is something called "The Flow". Capital T, capital F - The Flow. It is a symbolic current of tourism that pushes the individual backpacking minnow downstream towards some traditional spawning ground. This clouded pond of tourist interest directs the schools of fish that make there way there to either stare unblinking (fish have no eyelids y'know) at the magnificent surroundings or simply rest after the long swim around. Go with it little fish - go with The Flow. The Laos stream moves around the mountains and into the cities of Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and finally Vietienne. There is very little to blink at in this place but there is a lot of resting to be done. The best place for this is in Vang Vieng.

I left Luang Prabang after three days. This leaves 12 days on my visa to go. I took the speedboat so that I wouldn't have to rush through the country and waste time commuting. Funny how things turn out. The glowing bulbs of the Luang Prabang night market drew me like a moth to a flame and I irresistibly conformed to buying one of the BeerLaos t-shirts - a passport stamp of the country of sorts as many of us who walk the country can be seen wearing the US$1.75 print. The Hive, the local ex-pat bar, filled ever night with opiated intoxicators until the 11:30pm curfews set all of us tucked nicely in our beds. Laos, for those who understand Asian backpacking economy, isn't as cheap as was rumoured. Like Thailand, I slept for anywhere from US$1.50 to 3.00 and ate for a buck. There are much fewer street stalls here selling food as the locals mist likely eat only at home. This leaves the country with mostly tourist oriented overpriced restaurants leaving this street urchin hunting around for some classic Laos dish traditionally found near plastic stools that surround plastic tables set underneath either plastic tarping, corrugated metal or clear South East skies. Luang Prabang is a beautiful place and nice for chilling but nothing compares to the god-like chill out powers of Vang Vieng.

After a seven dollar bus ride, I and many others in the school of fish, made our way to the classic tourist trap of Vang Vieng. These tiny villages that get rave reviews by the Lonely Planet build up tourist facilities in a very predictable fashion. Inter space travel agencies randomly between countless hotels, have restaurants with beds instead of plastic stools, play movies every three hours and offer the whole setting in magnificent mountain surroundings. Vang Vieng is the perfect place to chill out with some tubing down the Mekong to add some variety to the day of hammocking and watching the entire series of Friends. I spent three days here but managed to lose one when I ate a Special Pizzas, one of many special items on the menu with a funny tasting oregano. Dr oozy from watching two movies in succession and full of funny oregano, I slept from 6:30pm to the same time the next day and watched two more movies. The following day I went tubing down the Mekong and got a inconsistent burn across my chest and arms - a welcome feeling to remind me that I am in a country that never experiences snow. There are several pseudo restaurants that offer pre-rolled joints at several stops along the two hour river journey. If you do want to get to these restaurants, just signal near to them to pull out a long bamboo stick to grab and reel you in. I can imagine in the high season that the riverside restaurants are packed and pumping but now they are empty like the Sahara. I left after 3 days here but only two days of real experiencing Vang Vieng. It is all it really needs. The next place in The Flow is Vietienne.

Vietienne is the capital of Laos and though it is the most developed city in Laos it still shows the signs of economic instability in this country. The rain fell hard for the day I spent here and the streets flooded over so that the cars and trucks pushed knee high wakes through the waters that couldn't find proper drainage. Most travellers talk of how little there is to do in Vietienne but with this kind of minor natural disaster I managed to see even less. I wanted to tour the city and see some interesting French architecture but, alas, I took the overpriced bus back to Bangkok to meet some old travel friends of mine, Akira and Yen-Chao and to get a new passport.

Wait a minute. Three days in Luang Prabang three days in Vang Vieng and a day in Vietienne with some commuting time in between makes for a total of 9 days. Why did I rush to get around so much and why couldn't I use my time here. It seems that this country doesn't have that much to offer but many wold disagree. Many love this place and feel that it is better than Thailand. I feel that they are the same. I have to make a second run through the south of Laos when I leave Vietnam so my image of this place being peacefully neutral may change.

So that is where The Flow stops. I have been in BKK for a few days since I am slightly crippled by the fact that I cannot leave Thailand until July 1st when the Canadian Embassy gives me a new passport to replace my full one. Feels good to have a full passport - a sense of accomplishment. I may head down to Koh Pha-Ngan again to try and catch the full moon party for real this time and kill some time before heading to Vietnam and Cambodia then back to Laos to find my way home. I have been following this Flow for a while and not diversifying from the general wide stream. With the exception of going to Chinatown and the enormous weekend market, hanging out with the always fun Yen-Chao and seeing a few movies in the theatre, I have done little in BKK. There have been some birthday adventures thanks to Sarah Jakiel getting older by chronology but not physically and some late nights that include live Irish bands but otherwise I have been vacationing. I do feel my travels have come to a stop here as the rains, effort and time have been OverFlowing my river but slowing down is what SE Asia is all about, isn't it?

I will head to Koh Pha-Ngan for the full moon which will leave me out of communication for the next two weeks to return to a new passport and time here in BKK getting visas.

Be Well




Oren Jalon
World Traveller

This message is brought to you by JohnOCallaghan who reminded me that backpacking isn't always about discovery and that having a holiday during a year of travel is part of the process.