It was about time to close “the golden triangle”, after numerous travels in Asia. The Golden Triangle is the area where the borders of the three countries Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. We didn’t manage to get to the pre-mentioned area, however after this trip, I could cross the three countries from my traveling list. Laos was still missing.
What to expect in Laos? Last year we visited Thailand several times, and went on a Mynamar journey for almost 2 weeks, and added Cambodia as a two-day pit-stop as well. Would Laos be much different than those countries? Would we notice a difference?
As we weren’t keen on visiting another major city, like Laos’ capital Vientiane, because the bigger cities usually look pretty much alike, we opted for two more laid back destinations in Laos: Luang Prabang & Vang Vieng.
We definitely didn’t regret our decisions on visiting both cities without our one-week-holidays.
Lao’s culture & vibes.
The major difference of Laos, compared to Cambodia and Thailand, is the quietness within the cities. We were told that random honking isn’t allowed in Laos. The traffic is visibly less dense as in Thailand or Vietnam. There are way less cars and motorbikes in the streets, and you definitely can hear it. Driving around is easy, you don’t have to pay that much attention while driving, and can enjoy the surroundings and sights along the streets.
During our seven days in Laos, we didn’t see any beggars, nobody ever asked for money. Except for a few tuk-tuk drivers who were asking for a ride, after leaving the market areas, not one single person ever bothered us.
Bargaining was useless, at least for myself, as food, drinks and local crafts were so cheap, that I would have felt ashamed to ask for a lower price. The food dishes were mostly 20.000 kip (which would be 2$ for a meal), drinks were less than a 1$. During happy-hours we ordered two cocktails for 2.8 $. How can you bargain for a better price, considering that the locals and merchants won’t get rich with those prices. Because of the kindness of the Lao people, and the fair prices they offered, I mostly felt like tipping with every money I spent.
The main local crafts were things made out of bamboo, handbags, tshirts, totem bags, bamboo straws, coffee and spices. The prices ranged from 10000 kip to 60000 kip (1-6$). Everything seemed super cheap in Laos.
You definitely need to rent a scooter/motorbike if you wanna move easily around the cities. The city centers of Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang were rather small, however if you wanna visit the touristic sights it will easily take 45 minutes by scooter.
“Sabaidee” is how they welcome & greet you. The temperatures were quite mild, chill at night and the early morning, which means you don’t need a fan or A.C. while sleeping. During the day the temperatures reached the 28-30 C°, however they fell less warmer than in neighboring countries.
Foodwise, expect the same like in Thailand, lots of stir-frieds dishes, with any kind of noodles and rice, delicious fresh spring rolls like in Vietnam, and they tend to serve sticky-rice more often than in Thailand. We spent most of our evening strolling around the night markets in Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang, as we always managed to find stuff to spend money on. The food at the night market was also pretty cheap, and always deliciousl.
Luang Prabang.
We flew in to Luang Prabang from Bangkok. At the tiny airport, we got our visa on arrival. We didn’t had to pay any tax, nor did they use our photos, as they took our portraits with their webcams. There was a sign, that people from Luxembourg, had to pay a fee of 35$ upon arrival, but they let us through without any hassle.
At the aiport I paid 7$ for a 7-day data-sim-card. Transportation to the hotel was 50.000 kip (around 6 us$ / 5 euro). No hasseling either… we paid for the van-ticket inside the airport, and headed towards the closest driver outside the building.
We stayed for 3 nights at the "Villa Chitchareune 2" guesthouse, where we were welcomed by the whole family. The hosts were super welcoming, and they proudly showed us their newly built guesthouse, which was sold-out on daily basis, during the time we were visiting. The guesthouse rented scooters/motorbikes for 11$ a day. They also offered transportation to various touristic attractions. We managed to book our bus ticket to Vang Vieng for 11$ per person. You could catch a bus to Vang Vieng or Vientiane 3 times a day.
Luang Prabang doesn’t have that much to offer, as compared to other popular asian cities, but it’s more the peaceful vibes and streets that I really in enjoyed in both cities. You will always a side alley to check out, or a restaurant to have dinner at. The times we were visiting there were more restaurants and bars in the city that tourists. Laos tries its best to attract and satisfy the tourists, but there’s just too many options left, and sadly too many places remain emty. You will find a street with at least 20 bars and restaurants next to each other, and only one or two of them are really busy, and the few left are trying to attract the customers.
We went for the Kuang Si Waterfalls which were worth the visit. Driving across several villages til you reach the entrance of the park makes the journey even more interesting. Before reaching the 4 different waterfalls, you will walk through a bear care center, a rescue shelter for brown bears.
The Tat Sae waterfalls were dried out during the high season. The route through the country side was less charming than the one for the Kuang Si falls. Tat Sae is only reacheable by boat from the mainland. After the boatride, just seconds before paying for the entrance fee, a croation tourist advised us not to pay the entrance toll as there wasn’t one drop of water in the pond. Nevertheless we enjoyed the boatride, and managed to meet a lovely french family on the mainland.
Another amusing fact of Laos was, that we always bumped into the same people; people that you would recognize from the airport, or people that you noticed at the different tourist spots. The french couple that we met in Luang Prabang, wet met them again at the airport. We also met two german girls once in Vang Vieng and later on in Luang Prabang.
In the early morning around 05:30 many tourists were rushing towards the Sakkaline Road, to witness the morning alms of the monks. Hundreds of monks were leaving their monastries to collect food on the streets. The locals, but also many tourists, would hand them bowls of rice, as the monks aren’t allowed to make money. Therefor they’re heading out to collect food on daily basis. We were told that the monk would also share their food with poor kids, who are welcome to step into their temples and ask for support.
The sad part about the morning alms, which actually has been part of the monks’ daily lives for ages, have become a major tourist attraction in Luang Prabang. As it happens before 6:00 am, it’s really not easy to get a descent photo of the monk parade. Too many people are using camera flashes, and it just doesn’t look authentic anymore.
After the alms most of the visitors will visit the small local market, where mainly food is being sold, or small locals crafts. I almost fainted while we were passing the food lane, where almost any kind of food was being sold. My girlfriend just told me “don’t look down”, so I guessed that it could either be a horrible looking insect or a spider, and I kept on moving forward without looking around. A couple of meters she told me, that she recognoized the hairy legs of a tarantula moving underneath a wooden cage. Thanks for telling me!
The top of Mounth Phu Si, which is located right in the hear of Luang Prabang, gives you an amazing view all over the city. We were told that you need to climb up 300 steps to reach the top. Considering the height of the hill, you easily reach the top withint 10 minutes. At the entrance, we bought a tiny wooden cage with two living birds inside. We felt bad about the the captivated birds, so we bought one and released the animals on top of Mount Phu Si. The locals told us that it was just another “good luck charm”. Handing over money to local merchants they would also hit the floor three times with the money bills, as a ritual, to attract good luck.
A less entertaining spot to visit would be the “Old French Bridge” nearby the city center, which only allows motorbikes to cross it. You have to follow a small wooden lane on each side, which isn’t that easy if you’re not used to it, as hundreds of bikes cross the bridge in the same line within a minute. The architecture of the “old bridge” reminded me of the ones in Hanoi (Vietnam).
A must-visit bar would be the bar/restaurant “Utopia” which gives you the balinese feel of a hipster hotspot. The backyard offers you a beautiful view over the river, surrounded by palmtrees and a couple of bridges (Old bridge and the famous bamboo bridge). The bar is pretty laid back during the day. You can’t go wrong with their food and cocktails. It’s a little bit pricier than the usual local bar, but the view in the backyard is worth it. The “Utopia” bar offers morning yoga classes, starting at 07:30 am. I guess you won’t get a better view for saluting the sun.
Vang Vieng.
Vang Vieng was supposed to be Lao’s backpacker town. We expected heaps of wild backpackers keeping the village alive at night. But this wasn’t the case. Maybe due to the corona virus, the season was less busier, than it’s supposed to be.
Vang Vieng was a less attractive city than Luang Prabang. The city center wasn’t that pretty, however the countryside outside of the city was quite impressive, and made it all good again. Vang Vieng had even less to offer then LB. The main attractions were it’s 5 “blue lagoons”, two high view points, and a cave. That’s it.
The city center hosted a night market on daily basis, however nothing comparable to the one in Luang Prabang. During our stay, the busiests bars was the “Sakura” club with loud electronic music, and a nearby irish pub. Once again, in Vang Vieng, way to many options for food and drinks, but hardly enough people to fill them up, except the usual two to four popular places.
Getting to Vang Vieng from Luang Prabang takes between 4 and a half to 6 hours. We took both options, the local bus and a private van. The van is faster, but you get less leg room, as they carried all the luggage inside the van. Both cars also do half an hour break, as the drivers get free food at the stations where they do the halt.
On our first day we visited “Blue Lagoon N° 2”, and I was disappointed that it was just an amusement park for western tourists. We left the park immediately. The road to the lagoons are a real pain in the ass, as you have to drive your scooter on very rocky roads, filled with holes and sandy paths. In some areas you can’t drive faster than 15-20 km/h.The second day we drove all the way to the lagoon N° 5, as we were told that it was the most natural one, that didn’t look like a theme park. It was all worth it. The ride was very bumpy, but we enjoyed spending an hour at the lagoon, sunbathing and playing with the landlord’s puppies.
My highlights of Vang Vieng was definitely the view point on top of Nam Xay. Climbing up big rocks, wooden ladders, and slippery sandy paths, wasn’t easy. And I gotta admit that, even for a 37 year old fit guy, it was kinda risky, walking the hill back down again. Everybody was very exhausted after climbing up the mountain for about 20-30 minutes. Walking down-hill was less exausting, but you had to be more careful. On top of Nam Xay there’s a a vintage motorbike, on which one you can take a photo with a breathtaking background.
Another hidden gem would be the private backyard of the hotel & restaurant “Vieng Terra Villa”. It’s supposed to be only accessible for their customers. However as we walked inside the lobby, there was nobody available to ask, if we could take some photos. So we walked our way to the backyard, which offered a magnificient view over the rice fields. After having shared the spot with a couple of spanish tourists, to take our photos and videos, I went to the waiter at their restaurant and gave him a tip, for letting us do our thing. Just be respectful and don’t bother the people who have rented the beautiful bungalows next to the rice fields.
We were glad that we visited Vang Vieng, to make up our own opinion about it. However in the end we’d frankly recommend Luang Prabang over Vang Vieng.
Useful informations.
The maximum amount of cash that you can withdraw at the local ATMs is 2.000.000 kip (which are 200 $ / 200€). In Luang Prabang we noticed that 4 out of 5 ATMs wouldn’t work with our Credit Card (VISA) from Luxembourg. So get some cash in advance, in case you’re traveling around for a few days.
It was one of the few countries, where nobody ever bothered us for using my drone. Some of the people that watched us flying up the drone, approached us to have a look at my phone (liveview of the drone). Just be gentle and show some respect towards the local people. I mostly filmed at the countryside, where I wouldn’t bother any tourists, nor locals. In the center of Luang Prabang you won’t be able to use it, as the city is located too close to their local airport.
Everything closes around 23:30. Most of the restaurants already close around 22:00 (10pm). The hippest and loudest bars in Vang Vieng would close at midnight. There’s definitely no nightlife in Laos. If you wanna get a few drinks and enjoy your evening, start earlier. The night markets close early between 21:30 an 22:00. Just before hitting midnight, the whole city is litterally dead.
While moving around from city to city, get a Mini-Van as you can save some time compared to the slower bus rides. Our bus-trip from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng took 6 hours, the mini-van to get back just took 4 and a half hours.
If you rent a motorbike for a day or two, the rental-company will ask you for your passport. Our first guesthous actually did the same, they held back my passport, unil we would check-out or not use their motorbike anymore. I know, it’s not fun, to not be in possession of your passport in a country like Laos, however it’s the only way how to rent a motorbike.