Laos, Plain of Jars

This summer we stayed (relatively) local and did a round trip from HCMC, to Thailand and Laos then back through the North of Vietnam stopping at Hanoi, Hoi An and Hue before heading back down here. We have a side trip to Singapore sorted for the weekend but that doesn't count as holidays because it's mainly opticians and knicker multi packs.

This time we visited Xieng Khuang province, home of the giant and mysterious stone jars and one of the most bombed areas in the most bombed country in the world. MAG, the Mines Advisory Group gives good information on unexploded bomb clearance projects in Laos.

Meanwhile: Pictures



Jars, purpose unknown.





There are thousands to see, and almost as many will make it to the Flickr account, click on any picture to take you there where you can spend hours looking at someone elses holiday pictures. Irresistible.

The Mines Advisory Group are doing a good job but it's a vast undertaking.


Below is a marker identifying the end of the safe zone. There's no way I was crossing it.


The results of further bombing are all too visible in the old capital city of Xieng Khuang, Muang Khoung, flattened with only a few exceptions.

Here, the ruins of a hospital built by the French during their tenure.



In the same area is a ruined temple, the Buddha still nearly intact but showing terrible ravages.





More on Laos later, I'm still organising the pictures I took.

You know you're in Domestics when

You share the airport with chickens.



People travel with bread.



Pajamas and trilbies make for stylish travel wear.

Holiday pictures, Laos

I finally got around to uploading the remaining pictures of Laos to Flickr. There are still several hundred on the hard drive waiting to be sorted out but I thought I'd share a few here before I get back to the business of everyday life in Vietnam.

Food and Food related stuff

Woven baskets for holding sticky rice, eaten with your fingers and served at most meals. It's the most substantial rice I've eaten.


Collecting and processing water weed, it looks like the same bright green, fibrous stuff you see growing in rivers all over the place, I didn't know it was edible but it's sold in hanks in markets in Laos. It's deep fried before eating and the younger stuff is considered better because it's less tough.


Noodle soup, part of the package on the VIP bus from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. Beer Laos not included in price.


It was orange season and the air by the river smelled wonderful, even at night when the oranges were all away.

Transport
Tuk Tuk

Tuk tuks and similar vehicles are the main form of in town transport, there's a good bus network for going further afield. Tuk tuks are cool during the day, chilly at night and dusty whenever you get out of town but they're much more interesting to ride than taxis. This was taken on New Years Day in Luang Prabang, called International New Year, Laos has it's own, Tet is celebrated by many and the ethnic minorities have their own New Year too, good place to go if you like fresh starts.


Sorry about the lamp post in the foreground but I coudn't get a better angle. This is King Of Bus, the VIP bus from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. There are two a day and for $6 you get air conditioning, pretty good suspension, endless Lao Pop videos, water, a wet wipe, a cake and lunch. You also see some of the world's most stunning mountain scenery. I couldn't get any pictures of it because we didn't stop going through the mountains and my camera's anti shake just wasn't up to coping with it.

We were dreading a nine hour bus journey and wishing we'd got better organised to fly back down to Vientiane but it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip.


Lots of Vespas and Piaggios around Laos, most in excellent condition. The country is landlocked so there's very little salt in the air hence little rust. I loved this one with a sidecar but couldn't imagine sitting in it in HCMC.


Stephen takes the lead while taking elephants down for a bath in the river. I'm at the back right stepping out of line on the biggest elephant of them all. They were incredible creatures and while we didn't get anywhere near controlling them they and the mahouts were very indulgent and let us believe we were in charge.

We spent the night in a little hut on stilts and at dawn took ourselves and the elephants for a morning bath, then we got to take off the silly mahout suits.


We flew Air Loas to Luang Prabang in a plane I've never heard of with the most garish upholstery and seats that flipped forward to let people in and out. This picture makes domestic departures look quite swish, it's not but it's efficient and got us where we were going.

Scenery

Finally some random images of things I saw and liked.

Sunsets


Orange candles



Young monks



Reflections



Tad Sae Waterfall




Images of Buddha





If you get a chance, go.

Laos

We had an amazing trip to Loas flying into Vientiane from Saigon via Cambodia. We liked it so much that we left a lot unseen as it's fairly obvious we're going to go back.



The architecture and statues are stunning, I filled two memory cards on the camera. If you want to see them all (and frankly I can't think of a better way of spending four hours than looking at someone elses holiday pictures) click on any of the pictures to go to Flickr.

Food is fresh and tasty, there are a lot of higher end restaurants in Vientiane and Luang Prabang but we honestly didn't have one bad meal no matter where we ate. Well, there was the weird sweet curry in Vientiane but that was par for the course because it was Stephens birthday and he always gets a dodgy curry on that day.


There were men in santa hats.


Around every corner was a classic image.


Honest Tourist Attraction notices



and we even found a bar dimly lit enough to feel seedy





The lasting memory though has to be spending two days with elephants. More on that in a later post. Meanwhile here's my elephant having a snack.

What I did on my holiday

Laos, a lovely country for a holiday and the Beer Laos is damned fine at about 50p for a 650ml bottle. Here's our first bottle:

Beers, dry grilled beef, papaya salad and sticky rice for under three pounds on the river front in Vientiane on Christmas Eve.

We stayed in a nice guesthouse, incredibly clean and at £10 for a room including breakfast and airport transport very good value for money. We had a standard room for our first stay because there weren't any superior rooms available at Aroon Residence and particularly enjoyed the room decor. It reminded me of the painted hotel in Priscilla Queen of the Desert.


And now unobstructed by furniture:


We returned to Aroon Residence for our last night and got a superior room without murals, very tasteful.

Just a few dollars more.

It's a guesthouse, not a hotel so no bar, but there are no restrictions on bringing your own in. The manager is very efficient and responds to emails quickly.

Holiday Snaps

We've been in Laos over Christmas and New Year. Lots more pictures to follow but here's one from Buddha Park near Vientiane to start.