Loving Life in Laid-back Laos (Day 127)

Good Timers. I just spent 2 weeks in the not-so-developed country of Laos. Trekking to local villages, drinking Beer Lao with interesting travellers, swimming in lazy rivers that cut through the jungle, hanging out in the hammock of my bungalow. Here is how the good-times went down:

In the northern part of this country, where I spent much of my time, there is no internet (or much electricity for that matter), hence my delay of this post. Anyway, I really enjoyed Laos. Definitely one of my favourite countries so far. I was told it was a laid-back place with friendly locals. These things held true. Laos is quite undeveloped compared to its neighbors Thailand and Vietnam.

Anyway, I arrived into Laos in the popular city of Luang Prabang. This place is well-touristed, with its French-Lao architecture, nice guesthouses, and pleasant cafes. Nearby they have, possibly, the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen. Ther are in the dense Laos forest, multi-tiered, with cool, turquoise blue water. They demand frolicking. I challenge you to visit these falls and not go for a dip.

Postcard-perfect waterfalls. If only my photography could do it justice.

















After this, I visited the my highlight of Laos: the sleepy town of Muang Ngoi. Years later, when I look back on Laos, my days hanging out here are what I will remember. Muang Ngoi is fairly undeveloped, which is part of its charm. Only reachable by boat, it has no cars or motorcycles. It only has electricity for a few hours each evening. To bathe, just a tap of cold water. For $2, you can get a simple bungalow along the river with a balcony, a mattress, a mosquito net, and a hammock. What more can I ask for? No internet. If I wanted to email my friends and tell them how great the place was, quite simply, I couldn't. I'm not sure if they even have phones. There is one dusty road that is frequented by as many chickens as people. I spent my days trekking to the local hill-tribe villages, reading a book on the hammock, watching the lazy river meander its way through the jungle, and swimming from its sandy banks. And, of course, enjoying a few Beer Lao's, the country's finest (and, I think, "only") brew.


Spending some quality time on the hammock in Muang Ngoi.








During my time here, I went on a 2-day trek with an overnight stay in local villages. I have now done this a couple times on this trip. As usual, I found a top-notch crew of travellers to join me. Obviously, there is no running water. There is one pump which the whole village uses to bathe. They served us a chicken dish. This took some time to prepare, as the need to go find a chicken and kill it. A great experience. Here are a few pics from that one:


A typical home in the village.










Some of the village children. They love to have their picture taken and see themselves on the digital camera. I noticed that most of the young children don't wear any pants. I think this makes the potty process easier for them. If they need to go, they just get it done anywhere. No need to deal with pants or toilets. How convenient. (pic from Remi)















I will wrap it up with a few more comments about Laos:
- Boats in Laos are *the* way to travel. A Romanian girl and I chartered a boat for a 5-hour journey north of Muang Ngoi. The whole time you get treated with landscapes like this:













- The bus rides in Laos are awful. Simply, the infrastucture for decent road travel in the north does not exist. It takes forever to get anywhere. The buses are crammed. I typically have a couple Lao guys on my lap. Also, most times a local vomits. My friend was unlucky enough to be sitting behind a puker and got covered. Yucky. So, watch out for this when you travel Laos.

Next up: Myanmar (aka, Burma).



PS: Btw, wow, I really nailed the alliteration in the title of this post. Check out all the L's. I don't think I will ever be able to top this one...