My Adventure Part II — the VIP part
Feat. a hot air balloon, some monkeys, and a whole lot of buses
This is a continuation of my last blog post Six Weeks, Four countries, and a couple photos, the first installment of my six week Chinese New Year/Winter/Intercession Break.
I ended the last post when we were driving to the border between China and Laos (red target on map). I was super excited to walk across the border! It was slightly anticlimactic, but still cool! The bus dropped us off at Chinese border control; we got stamped out. The bus drove us across No-Man’s-Land to the Laos border control where we paid $37USD got a fancy new Laos visa (1 whole page closer to my goal of filling my entire passport!). I really wanted to take a picture of us crossing the border, but logical Tony pointed out all of the cameras and military personnel. I just settled for this sly selfie of us going through No-Man’s-Land (you’ll just have to take my word for it):
As soon as we crossed into Laos the geography totally changed. I mean the natural scenery remained pretty constant, but in Laos we could actually see nature. China was all built up with developed towns, big buildings and highways. Laos, on the other hand, was not. The buildings we saw were much more modest. We drove through a couple small villages, but no cities.
We spent the night in Luang Namtha. It was a cute little town that is pretty much centered on one street. It’s known as the center for trekking excursions. We just spent the afternoon/evening exploring the town and the overlooking hills. The Russians who had been on our bus from China were quite disappointed to find there were no nightclubs in this little town.
From Luang Namtha we took a VIP (they love that phrase in Laos) bus to Luang Prabang. Even though it was only 150km, it was another 7 hour bus ride. I’ve been totally fine in terms of carsickness since around age 10, but this ride actually made me super nauseous. I don’t really remember our trip up to Sequoia all that much, but I have a feeling this entire 7hr trip was like that trip down the mountain… So Much Fun!
Mom and Dad probably just groaned reading that.
I felt so nauseous that I missed out on one of our most adventurous meals — see the menu (aka the pictures above the restaurant) on the left. Darn. They had a nice selection of fresh delicacies like frogs, turtle, and hedgehog 😫😥 I can’t tell you what it was like. You’ll have to read Tony’s blog for that one. Oh wait…
We got to Luang Prabang (LPB) in the early afternoon, just in time to watch sunset over the Mekong River from the iconic That Chomsi on the city’s central hill. LPB is a city that dates from the 7th cent. Previously known as the City of Gold, LPB was a prosperous city-state that passed between the Yunnanese, Khmer and Mongol empires until it became the capital of the Lan Xang (Kingdom of a Million Elephants). It became the Buddhist center of the region and a thriving Silk Road stop.
In the French Protectorate, LPB was recognized as the royal and religious capital of Laos. It served this role until the administrative capital moved to Vientiane in the mid-20th century. LPB became a favorite getaway for the French. I can see why. I loved this town. Definitely one of my favorite stops this trip. The blend of Lao and French is a beautiful fusion. You can see it everywhere — in the architecture, the food, the traditions, etc.
We started our first full day in LPB off with the traditional Buddhist alms giving ceremony around 6:30am. LPB has over 30 wats (temples) with over 1,000 monks. Every morning at sunrise the monks walk around town collecting alms (usually little balls of rice or fruit) from locals.
Tourists are welcomed to observe this spiritual Laos tradition that dates back to the 14th century, but it was so sad how many tourists abused this opportunity by pushing their cameras in the monks faces and even using flash!!! 😥 I’m guilty of taking pictures, but I used this little thing called “Zoom” and there’s no way I used flash! So some of the pictures are a little fuzzy/dark (that makes me happy though).
We then proceeded to do the Lonely Planet walking tour (remember those Court? Reese? 😍) of LPB. This took us to a cool market, the Royal Palace, the Mekong River, a handmade bamboo bridge, and countless Wats. Here are some of the best shots of our explorations:
The Royal Palace is the ultimate example of Lao-French fusion. It’s beautiful. It’s now a museum dedicated to the history of LPB with a special emphasis on the royal family. The palace is definitely grand, but it’s not a Versailles. I think it’s pretty tasteful. Pictures (and shoes!) aren’t allowed inside the building so you’ll have to go see it for yourself!
Wat Xieng Thong, originally built in the 16th century, is one of LPB’s (and Laos’) most important monasteries. It’s situated on the northern part of the LPB Peninsula, at the meeting point of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers.
You can see the edge of the rickety, handmade bamboo bridge in the picture on the left. We walked across this bridge for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the river (super clean) and wandering through the city. At night it was all about the night market, baguettes (omg) and the fruit shakes — I’ve already forgotten the fruit shake count. I’m addicted.
We’re off again. This time to Vang Vieng. LPB was really awesome though — I would’ve totally stayed longer and I definitely want to go back.
As if our last bus ride wasn’t enough, after this 7 hour “VIP Bus” ride I concluded that I really really don’t like public transportation in Laos. Or maybe it’s the infrastructure. Either way, it makes me nauseous.
Despite the trip there, Vang Vieng itself was awesome. Super picturesque. It’s this quiet little town that’s set alongside a river with huge karst cliffs on one side and paddies on the other. It has the feeling of a beach town even though it’s hundreds of miles away from the sea.
Like good tourists, we went tubing down the river. I think it’s just something you have to do. Super relaxing. Super beautiful.
I just think the landscape is awesome.
Check out that sunset (left and below):
If you thought those were cool, just wait.
In a moment of spontaneity I decided to go for a hot air balloon ride above Vang Vieng and the surrounding countryside. I’m not sure why, maybe due to how many times I’ve watched the Wizard of Oz, but I had always wanted to try it. So, I did. And it was awesome. Check it out:
We went at sunrise. It was pretty cloudy but you could see little bursts of light poking through. Definitely another high point of the trip. Even though it cost about 10% of my monthly salary I would totally do it again.
Next stop: Vientiane, the capital of Laos. We took another VIP bus, only 4 hours this time (!!), from Vang Vieng. Spoiler alert: this was our last bus in Laos — good thing too, I don’t think I could’ve handled many more.
In terms of other Southeast Asian capitals I’ve been to (Bangkok, Hanoi, Manila, Phnom Penh), Vientiane is quite small. That makes exploring it feel a lot more manageable. We only spent 2 days here, but I think I have a pretty good sense of the city. Like LPB, Vientiane has a strong French influence (perhaps even stronger) that’s apparent in the tree-lined lanes (Tony’s favorite!) and colonial architecture.
One of the perks of doing PIA is that there are about 100 other fellows dispersed around different parts of Asia. That means you have instant friends (and tour guides) in a lot of popular cities in the area. If you remember in Yunnan we met the former Shihezi fellow, Chris. In Vientiane we met 6 more PIA fellows. Some of them even let us stay in their house (Thanks Natalie, Jo, Mai Yer, and Emily!!). So fun to meet and exchange stories. I felt a little less like a tourist hanging out with these guys!
Ok I admit it, we cheated. We had planned on going all of the way down to Phnom Penh by land. But after it took us 7 hours to go 150km and all of the nauseating car rides (and those were VIP, can you imagine normal?!) I don’t think we could’ve done it. Well we could’ve done it, but it wouldn’t have been enjoyable. Not like that 45 hour train ride 😉 We were planning to take a bus from Vientiane to Siem Reap, but that would have been 24 hours on Lao roads. Yikes. So we swallowed our pride, patted ourselves on the back for already traveling over 125 hours and 2,000 miles by land (measured the way the crow flies) and shelled out for a flight to Phnom Penh.
We then hopped on a 6 hour overnight VIP Luxury Hotel bus up to Siem Reap to meet up with Richard and the Whiddingtons.
Spoiler: It was neither VIP nor luxurious. I’m sure you’re shocked. It was pretty miserable.
The jewel of Siem Reap is the Angkor Archaeological Park. This massive site contains the remains of different capitals of the Khmer Kingdom from the 9th-15th centuries. There are a diverse array of remains: temples, administrative buildings, bridges, hydraulic systems, etc. Even without knowing the details of the history, just by witnessing these structures you can appreciate the sophistication, order and vision of the Khmer Empire.
Perhaps the most famous Angkor relic is Angkor Wat, the Hindu-turned-Buddhist temple that served as the capital of the Empire in the 12th cent. It’s become a icon of Cambodia:
Even though it’s been 2 years since I came here the first time with my family, Angkor Wat was just as cool. This is definitely one of my favorite places I’ve been. It’s incredible. This time Tony and I rented bikes to explore the temples. We got dinky little 2-gear city bikes, but we still managed the 17km loop. Even though I’m sure Mom would’ve been 100% down, I don’t think biking in August in Cambodia would’ve brought out the best in any of us. It was quite fun this time though!
Tony’s favorite was Bayon Temple, the central temple of the ancient capital city called Angkor Thom. Besides for it’s incredible reliefs, the temple is predominantly known for its stone faces that are thought to be a combination of the king who ordered Bayon’s construction and Buddha. Even over 800 years after its creation, the faces are still smiling! You can kind of picture how grand this temple was in its heyday.
Tony really liked the faces of Bayon, but for some reason I really love the giant trees that have grown with, on top of, and underneath the temple of Ta Phrom. You can feel the power of the jungle. This temple has been kept in about the same condition that it was found — nearly entirely swallowed by the jungle. As a result, despite the large tour groups, you feel like you’re one of the first people to discover the ruins.
Perhaps even better than the temples, (**BIG CLAIM I KNOW**) was the fact that we found wild monkeys playing outside of Angkor Thom(!!!!!!). If you read my last blog, then you know that we didn’t find ANY monkeys at Emei “The Wild Monkey” Mountain in Sichuan, China. To say that I was majorly disappointed about that would be a understatement.
So imagine my excitement to find a dozen adorable little buggers (incl. a baby!) playing at Angkor Wat. As if this place couldn’t get any better!
I’d say Siem Reap was a success. We explored the temples and town, found monkeys and we also got the opportunity to meet Richard’s parents. They’re delightful! After 2 days in Siem Reap we headed back down to Phnom Penh — no VIP Luxury Hotel bus this time (darn).
Phnom Penh fits more of the crazy, busy, exciting Southeast Asian capital city mould I was used to. The roads are jam packed with motorcyclists, tuk tuks, and cars. Yet somehow there’s a method to the madness. It was really fun to just wander around the city exploring. Although we of course had to take the obligatory trips to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Prison Memorial Museum to remember those killed during the Khmer Rouge. Both the fields and the museum were really powerful and had awesome audio guides.
Phnom Penh is another PIA hub. There’s over double the amount of Shihezi fellows. That makes it a Lot of fun. Thanks to Brian and Tanner for letting us crash in your apartment (I hope your landlord didn’t have a heart attack) and to all the others (Devin, Alessandro, Ben and Kate) for hanging out with us! It was fun to be one of the bros for a few days!
With that, I’ll end this post here. I think 2 countries is more than enough for you to digest. Don’t worry, there’s only 1 more installment for this adventure!
Here’s a summary of the trip so far:
- 1 month
- 3 countries
- 10 bus pukers
- 12 monkeys
- 13 PIA fellows
- 139 hours in buses/trains/airplanes
- >2,500 miles the way the crow flies
- an uncountable # of fruit shakes
Stay tuned for the last 2 week adventure in Thailand with some new travel buddies!
xx
