Sa-by-dea!!

Incase you were wondering, we made it to Laos. However, we don’t know how. We bid farewell to our awesome Vietnam by Bike group, and were naturally running late to the airport in a mad craze to make our international flight to Laos. Ho Chi Minh City is not a place you want to be in rush hour-due to the fact that there are 9 million rabid motor bikes buzzing around the city, whether it is on streets, sidewalks, or people. Birmy decided it was good idea to hitch a ride to the post office 20 minutes before we needed to leave, to ship home all that he acquired in Vietnam. Luckily this was when our whole group was eating breakfast- we all had a nice view of Birmy frantically running down the streets of NAM to get a taxi, and we saw his return when he made it back to the hotel standing on a motor bike. Anyway, we made it to the airport and boarded our first of 3 Lao Airlines flights for the day.

Lao Airlines. Umm… this makes Ryan Air look like First Class Virgin Atlantic Airlines. We walked up the five step independent ladder and boarded our flight, with all of 17 people who were crazy enough to leave Saigon and head to Pakse, Laos. You could say the take off was rough. Then again any take off would be rough when your flying in a plane with wheels that belong on a skate board, an engine that couldn’t propel Thomas the Tank Engine, and plane sidings made of aluminum foils. The plane’s cruising altitude was 17,000 ft..and you knew you were in trouble when your neighbors on board where all laughing at the fact that it felt like we were on the Super Man roller coaster, because our stomachs came out from under us every five seconds, and the plane ride was turbulent for all of 2 hours. We descended and landed in all of 30 seconds and made it to Pakse. Palms sweaty, and pouring sweat for fear of our lives, we left the plane and entered customs. Even though Birmy did not have a valid visa, we successfully made it through “customs” because “customs” had no computers, or eyes for that matter, and stamped Birmy’s Vietnam visa for entry, when it had been stamped DEPARTING 3 hours earlier. Pakse International Airport can’t be explained so we wont even try other than it was no bigger than the Blacksburg 711, and there were no electronic devices in the building…we were handed a reusable laminated boarding pass. After then clearing “security”, we boarded our second flight. Made it to Vietiane, and then made our way on our last and final flight to Luang Prabang.

We were greeted with our first Tuk Tuk ride, a truck/1944 Harley/transport contraption whose average speed is about 4 miles an hour. After barely making it up a few rolling hills, we made it to our guesthouse. We toured around this lovely city for a few hours visiting the night market, some local shops and restaurants and realized we were in special place. There is a curfew in Luang Prabang, because it is primarily Buddhist (with a strong French feel), so the nights begin early. The streets here are lined with restaurant after restaurant, whose deals are continuously improving every step you take. This town definitely has the best bar scene we have been in, you can grab a beer in tree houses, beer gardens, docks overlooking the Mekong River and much much more. We had a quick dinner with some local Lao cuisine, and decided to have an early night in order to catch up on the sleep we lost in the pass 3 weeks in Vietnam. We both went for an hour traditional Lao Massage, 4 dollars each, and locked ourselves in our mosquito infested room.

Our following day was spent tasting various local coffees, and Birmy’s Michelin tire street meat. At this point, it felt weird to be touring without a bike, so instead we paid 2 dollars (20,000 kip) and rented 2 bikes for the day and toured the town. We cruised through streets, aligned with temples, and many Buddhists taking their alms and chanting throughout the day. 3 recommendations out of today are as follows:
1- Absolutely visit Luang Prabang, even if it means traveling via Lao Airlines
2- Stop by Utopia. A hookah/restaurant/lounge/bar etc. beautifully situated above the Mekong River in a tree house, where you can lay on giant indo-Chinese lounges and pass the day with a book or beer
3- MUST: have dinner at Lao Lao Garden

Traveling this city via bike allows you to uncover these hidden gems. Luckily, we found this place for dinner and had Lao Style Barbeque, where the regular set (all of 4 dollars) was self grilled chicken “served with mixed vegetables, eggs, mushrooms, glass noodles, tamarind/peanut sauce, lime garlic, chilies, and soup broth. In South-East Asia these are often called hot pots, where the chicken cooks on top of hot coals on a pot whose edges boil the soup and accompanying veggies. Great meal! Meeting up with Dunn and Gilson in a few hours, some college friends, for an awesome time in Laos. Will catch up with a Vietnam update soon!