Laos - ...and relax.

Leaving China did not prove to be as easy as anticipated.... arriving at the Kunming South bus terminal to catch a bus to the border seemed easy enough until we saw the actual bus we would be taking. After spending some time armed with our electronic translator (we could not find anyone who spoke any English to help us), we finally bought 3 tickets for the only bus leaving that day at 10am. The lonely planet didn’t mention the fact that the bus journey takes 13 hours to a place called Mengla, from where it is an additional 2 hours to the border and from there another 2 hours to the nearest Laos town. It also failed to mention the state of the buses they use... this had not crossed our minds as so far they had been fairly good. This bus on the other hand was falling apart and was a Chinese sleeper bus. A sleeper bus comprises hospital like beds lined up in 3 rows down the bus all in a semi reclining position with the back seat, one huge bed, and 5 people wide. The ‘mattresses’ and sheets they provide have not seen a washing machine in months and to make matters worse the beds were only long enough for a person of about 4ft height i.e. not your average westerner. Paul and Jonny attempted to get in their seats but could not sit or recline as they were about 2 ft too long. They also had the misfortune of having 2 of the back seats and was expected to sleep alongside 3 other Chinese men in close proximity... that and the noise of spitting and hocking that had all ready begun 15 minutes before we had even left, was enough to tip Paul over the edge. Having had enough, he marched us back into the ticketing hall, armed with the translator found the phrase in mandarin for ‘We would like a refund please’ and demanded our money back. They were more than happy to give it back in full (I think by this point glad to see the back of us) and we promptly hailed a taxi and headed to the airport.

At Kunming ‘International’ airport, there were 2 flights on the departure board to Vientiane, Laos. We then tried to purchase tickets.... apparently, this is not possible. The only way to purchase a seat on an international flight was to get a taxi into town, go to a travel agent, buy a ticket and then go back to the airport... glad to see flights in China are as bureaucratic as their trains. This would take too long and we would miss the 2 flights departing in the next 2 hours. Finally accepting we would need to stay another night in Kunming, we headed to a hostel called the ‘Cloudland Youth Hostel’, a change from the Mingtong International Youth Hostel we had stayed in the last couple of times we were in Kunming. It proved to be a really good hostel, good food, private rooms, helpful English speaking staff, and we wondered why we had not chosen to stay here earlier...

We found a Laos Airlines office that agreed to stay open after business hours for us to have time to get there and buy 3 flights, and to our amusement, we find that you can negotiate anything in China so despite advertised rates both online and in the Laos Airlines office, the girl was happy to discount the flights considerably and charged us 30% less than the advertised ‘reduced’ fare.

Next morning, armed with tickets, we make our way to the airport again. It claims to be an International Airport but there are only 2 airlines that operate a limited number of International flights – China Airways and Laos Airlines – and there are 2 ‘check in’ desks, one for each airline. It is here that we realise that the flight times on the ‘Departures’ board are actually ‘check in’ times and not departure times as you would expect and in fact we would have had time the day before to make it back and leave on one for the flights bound for Vientiane... obviously not meant to be!

We arrive in Vientiane excited at the prospect of a new and exciting destination.... and some hot weather, 35 degrees. Vientiane is not quite like any other Capital city... it is more of a small town and has a relaxed, not at all hectic feel that most cities do. Most of Laos was under French rule like Vietnam and so everywhere you go there are still remnants of past French Colonial buildings, good bakeries and patisseries, good coffee and good beer; Beer Lao, for want of an original name. It also shares close ties with Thailand both linguistically and culturally so it is predominantly Buddhist and for those that know a few words in Thai, which we all did, you could manage to get by (albeit everyone also speaks English). Thai baht is also accepted as currency as commonly as Laos Kip and US$ given its close proximity. Laos used to be a cheap destination and received much fewer visitors than its neighbour Thailand, however after the Tsunami hit Thailand a couple of years ago people have looked to Laos as an alternative although being landlocked it doesn’t have the same great beaches, but prices have risen significantly anyway. That said, we still found a great little hostel for around £8 a night and eating out was barely £1-2 each so no great hardship!

We spend a few nights in Vientiane relaxing before we took a bus to the UNESCO World Heritage City of Luang Prabang, 8 hours north of Vientiane through beautiful lush green countryside. Luang Prabang is a beautiful old town positioned close to the Mekong River, littered with old French Colonial buildings, great cafes, restaurants and bars all very tastefully constructed in keeping with its surroundings and many Buddhist temples looked after by orange-robed monks... it makes for a very picturesque and photogenic place to relax.

After being mobbed at the bus station by guesthouse owners, we chose one and head there only to discover that the rooms they say are available, are not and the place is not close to the main centre at all... they will try to sell you anything for commission. Annoyed, we trudge into town with our bags to find somewhere to stay and after asking at many, finally stumble upon a great place, Kintamani, with huge rooms, lovely old furniture, balcony, bathroom and all at the rock bottom price of about £10 a night. Most other places were twice this price and didn’t have the benefit of a great balcony from which we could not only watch the world go by & have a few beers but we could also watch the monks walking past during their early morning calls for alms.

It is true what all the guidebooks say about Luang Prabang, it is a beautiful place and one where you can easily spend a week or two relaxing. Whilst this is exactly what Jonny and Paul chose to do for a week, I stayed only a few days, checked out the sights, notably many wats dating back hundreds of years, ambled around the town and checked out the night markets before heading back to Vientiane and further south to Savannakhet, hopeful to see a little more of the country in the short amount of time we had. Jonny’s 40th birthday was approaching and we agreed to spend it in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I had hoped to cross the Laos-Cambodia border overland and see as much as possible before arriving in Siem reap in time for his birthday but despite the relative short distances, travel by bus is slow and it would prove to be impossible. Jonny and Paul booked flights from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap and booked onto the same flight that connected in Savannakhet instead.

The drive to Savannakhet was long (10 hours), uncomfortable (no aircon, 38 degrees, PVC seat covers, stops every 5 minutes) but it passed through some beautiful countryside and I met some lovely people en route. Savannakhet, unlike Luang Prabang, was nothing like the guidebooks say.... “beautifully faded Indochinese mansions”... “ghostly charm”..... “streets abloom with bougainvillea” but rather a ramshackle mess, maybe 3 or 4 old colonial buildings still remain and little in terms of sights or anywhere decent to eat. That said, the people were lovely and it made for a nice relaxing few days all the same.

In my absence Paul & Jonny spent the rest of the week getting up late, heading for a leisurely breakfast of exactly the same omelette & Latte every day, back to the room for a little lay down, reconvening at about midday for a few hours guitar playing out on the balcony & making some significant headway with the songwriting for the’ Dangerous Brian & The Casino Brothers’ sessions, coming up with such ridiculous songs as ‘I know they’re only Spring Rolls, but I like them’ & ‘Bringing The Bristols Back’ – inevitably leading into a few too many Beer Laos’ & dinner at one of the riverside restaurants having a thoroughly good time.

We all reconvened on the plane as planned & flew onto Cambodia to celebrate Jonny’s big 4-0!