woensdag 9 maart 2011

Lazy Laos

I arrived in Laos almost two weeks ago. I tried to figure it out, but I can't. Laos is a country stuck in the middle of the big players; China, Thailand, Vietnam... Apparently Thailand feels some affiliation with Laos, they're both boeddhist, and tried to take them over in the past. At this moment it's more China and Vietnam that are the big allies. Laos is 'communist' or that's what they call it and so they get a lot of support from China and Vietnam. It is a very strategic country geographically and apparently economy is not doing bad here. Because of the geographical importance, connecting South East Asia, trade is growing. What I noticed is that the standard of living is not that bad. At least not in the places I have been to here in the North. Tourism is definitely a big thing here. Transport, touristic tours, guest houses, restaurants... they are everywhere and it's all very well organised. And they are doing well. High season is coming to an end because in April rainy season starts, so March is hot hot hot. But still a lot of guest houses are full by noon. And the last two weeks I saw more 'Whites' than I had been seeing the past 4 months. I like the slow pace and the very laidback attitude. But at the same time this bores me a bit. After the challenge in India and the exploring in China, Laos has not much more to offer than 'relaxation'. I'm not complaining, this came at the right time, but now I'm ready to move on again!
My first stop was Luang Prabang and that is still my favourite. It is a small city next to the river. It's friendly, very safe and it has something to offer for tourists. I went to the caves on a river boat, to the waterfalls, the blue lagoon, the national museum, some temples, Lao Disco (which is really part of local culture, haha), the nightmarket, the little backstreets... it's very charming and beautiful. I had a good time here and ended up staying a whole week. I met some really nice people and thanks to them I had a very filling nightprogram aswell! ;-)
Then it was off to Vang Vieng. Now that is a weird place! It's a small city... more a village that consists of only a few streets, next to the river. And the main attraction is the 'tubing'. This is when you take an inner tire of a truck, blow it up, and float on it going down the river. What makes it even more 'special' is the amount of bars along side the river. So the plan is to stop at as many bars as possible and drink drink drink! You get free shots, and with the boiling sun people get really drunk, really fast. There's swings, diving decks and other 'toys' along the way and it's all about having crazy fun! I did the tubing and had a few drinks, but I didn't get waisted and we arrived at the finish on time. You see, if you're not back before 6PM you have to pay extra. And of course when you're having fun and drinks, you're not in a hurry. So my guess is that this is how they really make their money! There have also been a few accidents in the past, one girl even got killed a few years ago, but nobody seems to care. The locals don't think much of those hurdes of young tourists coming here for the tubing, walking around drunk and half naked, but at the same time they all make their money of them. So there is NO WAY that they will stop the exploitation of the 'tubing'. I hadn't heard of it untill I arrived there, but some people came all the way from Thailand or Cambodia JUST for the tubing! I met a guy who had been there for a week, going tubing EVERY day!
I had a fun day, met 3 girls that came along, but it would have been more fun if I had my own friends around. I don't like loosing control on my own, so I kept it nice and clean... :-D
Apart from the tubing Vang Vieng has more to offer thanks to it's surroundings. The scenery is just amazing; the mountain peaks, the river! You can go climbing, kayaking, swimming in the blue lagoon (which I did of course), biking... But my time is limited and so I only stayed three days and then I came to Vientiane. Vientiane is the capital of Laos and after falling in love with Luang Prabang (the old capital), I was expecting a lot. Well, don't do that! Vientiane is soulless and has absolutely NOTHING to offer. It's full of tourists, a lot of them just passing through or doing a Visa-run in order to stay in Thailand. It has the river but they don't really exploit it so it's not really an attraction. There is a morning market, but it's just like a mall. There is a lot of shopping for fake goods; Burberry, Lacoste... but there is nothing original to find. I actually need a bag and have not been able to find one without a brand on it. It's pretty expensive here in comparison with Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng and there's also more hostility and ripping off. I heard quit a few stories about people getting robbed 'cos they have quit a lot of problems with drugs here. And so my general opinion is that if you have to be here as part of continuing your travels, it's okay, but don't consider this a must-do. There's better places to go!
That said, I have to admit that I had one of my best meals so far. There's a Belgian restaurant and last night I had 'ballekes in tomatesaus met frietjes en mayonnaise'! Mmmm, perfect meal and after that I just went to my room and watched some romantic movie. Just like being at home! Haha!
I like Laos. I hope to come back one day and visit the South which is said to be even more beautiful. But there's no challenge in traveling here. Maybe the challenge would have been to go to the little villages, and that's something I will have to find out next time. This time I'm satisfied with the time off, the relaxing, the 'holiday'. But I'm getting bored now and so it's time to go! Tonight I'm back on a nighttrain... where to? Bangkok for the weekend and then it's off to Nepal!

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