Before we left, we quizzed prior SE Asia adventurers on the must-see sites and appropriate length of visits. Recommendations like Chiang Mai, Angkor Wat and Bali were common and always given positive reviews, but the one location that received the most revered reviews was Laos. Everyone we asked professed their undying adulation for this place, but yet it was the one place we knew the least about. Hearing statements like, "I could spend weeks there just doing nothing" or "I can't believe I waited to go to Laos last when it ended up being my favorite place." prompted us to hightail it out of Thailand and head for the landlocked, Lao People's Democratic Republic.
With little knowledge and few expectations, we booked an overnight train from Bangkok to the Thai border where we then connect with another train to Vientiane. During our research, we read that Thai trains are clean, modern, well run and most importantly dirt cheap. With all first class cabin tickets sold out for weeks, we were forced to settle for 2nd class sleeper, thankfully with AC. As you can see from the picture below, it resembles a cramped third world hospital ward you see in in old movies complete with bright blue polyester curtains and 30 or so, surprisingly comfortable, chair/bunk beds squashed together. The very old Korean made train was loud (even with ear plugs) and extremely rickety. In between continually closing the broken train door, we drank some beers and watched movies on our iphone until sleep set in. Unfortunately, the only good sleep we got was when the train stopped for extended periods of time to take on people or cargo. Needless to say, it wasn't as romantic as an Amtrak or European sleepers car, but our 12 hour train ride turned out to be efficient and uneventful event, with a few lessons learned (pick seats in the middle of the car, don't buy food on-board, and drink more beer), we would probably do it again.
Between the years of 1893 and 1954, Laos was incorporated into the French Indochina to protect it from Chinese raiders. This provided Laos with access to French culture, so with guide book promises of French architecture, French coffee, French bread, French wine, and French cheese awaiting us in Vientiane, we exchanged our passport photos (the only country we needed passport photos) and $35 for a 30 day Visa and entered the country. Then we hopped in the back of a shared tuk-tuk (similar to the one below with the driver fast asleep) and rode for 45mins down the dusty capital streets before arriving at our $12/night fully equipped hotel (this ended up being the cheapest hotel on our trip).
Vientiane was a backpackers paradise. It was relaxed, friendly, cheap and easily accessible by foot. Best of all it really delivered on the French influence (the picture above is a Lao knockoff of the Arc de Triumph). We spent our 3 days eating and drinking as many French croissants, bread, cheese and wine as possible, knowing once we left this European oasis, we would be back eating noodles and rice.
In between gorging ourselves on French epicurean treats, we explored the cultural temples through the city including the temple of a thousand Buddhas, the national palace, and Wat Pha Kaew, which was previously the royal monastery with beautiful landscaping.
After taking in all the cultural sites during the day, we would spend our evenings mingling with locals along the recently built Mekong River Walk. As you can see from the photo's below, during the dry season (Dec-April) the Mekong shrinks significantly and all the locals come out in the evening to nosh at outdoor markets and restaurants set up along the river.
Overall, we had a great experience in Vientiane and it was here that we were introduced to our favorite meal and beer of our trip. Our favorite meal we got was called Mii Kati in Lao or Koa Soi in Thai. It is an awesome dish of fresh rice noodles in a thick coconut curry broth topped with pork rind, bean sprouts, chopped scallions, and chopped cilantro with the prerequisite amount of heat required of all Laotian dishes. It was so good we ate it three days in a row and made sure it was our last meal before we left.
It was also here along the banks of the Mekong in Vientiane that we discovered, Beerlao Dark. It quickly became our favorite beer on our trip and was really delicious. It is a roast malt beer made with rice and imported German hops. Plus, the brewery has a great story. After the wars that ravaged Laos, the brewery was doing very poorly, till they recruited a Cambodian woman who was working in a Czech brewery to become the brew master, even though she doesn't drink beer, she turned it around and now makes awesome European style beers. We drank it every chance we could, plus it only cost about 50 cents.
With little knowledge and few expectations, we booked an overnight train from Bangkok to the Thai border where we then connect with another train to Vientiane. During our research, we read that Thai trains are clean, modern, well run and most importantly dirt cheap. With all first class cabin tickets sold out for weeks, we were forced to settle for 2nd class sleeper, thankfully with AC. As you can see from the picture below, it resembles a cramped third world hospital ward you see in in old movies complete with bright blue polyester curtains and 30 or so, surprisingly comfortable, chair/bunk beds squashed together. The very old Korean made train was loud (even with ear plugs) and extremely rickety. In between continually closing the broken train door, we drank some beers and watched movies on our iphone until sleep set in. Unfortunately, the only good sleep we got was when the train stopped for extended periods of time to take on people or cargo. Needless to say, it wasn't as romantic as an Amtrak or European sleepers car, but our 12 hour train ride turned out to be efficient and uneventful event, with a few lessons learned (pick seats in the middle of the car, don't buy food on-board, and drink more beer), we would probably do it again.
Between the years of 1893 and 1954, Laos was incorporated into the French Indochina to protect it from Chinese raiders. This provided Laos with access to French culture, so with guide book promises of French architecture, French coffee, French bread, French wine, and French cheese awaiting us in Vientiane, we exchanged our passport photos (the only country we needed passport photos) and $35 for a 30 day Visa and entered the country. Then we hopped in the back of a shared tuk-tuk (similar to the one below with the driver fast asleep) and rode for 45mins down the dusty capital streets before arriving at our $12/night fully equipped hotel (this ended up being the cheapest hotel on our trip).
Vientiane was a backpackers paradise. It was relaxed, friendly, cheap and easily accessible by foot. Best of all it really delivered on the French influence (the picture above is a Lao knockoff of the Arc de Triumph). We spent our 3 days eating and drinking as many French croissants, bread, cheese and wine as possible, knowing once we left this European oasis, we would be back eating noodles and rice.
In between gorging ourselves on French epicurean treats, we explored the cultural temples through the city including the temple of a thousand Buddhas, the national palace, and Wat Pha Kaew, which was previously the royal monastery with beautiful landscaping.
After taking in all the cultural sites during the day, we would spend our evenings mingling with locals along the recently built Mekong River Walk. As you can see from the photo's below, during the dry season (Dec-April) the Mekong shrinks significantly and all the locals come out in the evening to nosh at outdoor markets and restaurants set up along the river.
Overall, we had a great experience in Vientiane and it was here that we were introduced to our favorite meal and beer of our trip. Our favorite meal we got was called Mii Kati in Lao or Koa Soi in Thai. It is an awesome dish of fresh rice noodles in a thick coconut curry broth topped with pork rind, bean sprouts, chopped scallions, and chopped cilantro with the prerequisite amount of heat required of all Laotian dishes. It was so good we ate it three days in a row and made sure it was our last meal before we left.
It was also here along the banks of the Mekong in Vientiane that we discovered, Beerlao Dark. It quickly became our favorite beer on our trip and was really delicious. It is a roast malt beer made with rice and imported German hops. Plus, the brewery has a great story. After the wars that ravaged Laos, the brewery was doing very poorly, till they recruited a Cambodian woman who was working in a Czech brewery to become the brew master, even though she doesn't drink beer, she turned it around and now makes awesome European style beers. We drank it every chance we could, plus it only cost about 50 cents.
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