Sabaidee Laos

When in Bangkok we ran into an old mate of ours Conrad, who we had met the previous year when we were all travelling through Laos. Unlike the rest of us who loved Laos and then moved on after a month, Conrad actually got a job running a bar/restaurant and lived in the gorgeous country ever since. So when we ran into him on the streets of Bangkok, it was fate that we should return to Laos. And that's just what we did. After saying goodbye to Rachael and pulling ourselves away from the relaxation of the Thai islands, we ventured to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. Now Vientiane is about the smallest capital city you could ever visit. There isn't a whole lot to do there, tourist wise, however it is a great place to catch up with mates and eat good food (the restaurants are some of the best in Asia). We stayed in Vientiane a total of 7 days, which is far longer than most people would spend in the tiny capital, but we needed to wait for our Indian visas to be processed at the embassy and so we bided our time with several things, including a few "firsts" - namely: We ate crickets for the first time (deep fried and surprisingly delicious); We went to our first Laos club, where Hummers, Porsches, BMWs and Mercs paraded out front in sharp contrast to the poverty of the country - and a bottle of Johnny Walker Gold sat on every table; And we rode three people to one motorbike for the first time in our lives (a small motorbike too) ... and yes, the police did pull us over, but being in Laos, they simply fined Conrad on the spot a whopping $4. Crazy times.

See ... perfect fit!
In Vientiane

Crunchy and strangely delicious
Bol, Paul and Conrad
The view across the Mekong from one of the many riverside eateries
We loved the "cook it yourself" meals (all this cost a total $2.50 including beef and squid)
With our mates at the Laos Club called "Romeos"


We decided it would be fun to take a stroll - and shower - in this downpour. The locals found it hilarious.
Stocking up for a BBQ at our mates place

After a great week in Vientiane we collected our passports from the Indian Embassy (where we had to wait half an hour for $8 change because the correct person to issue the change was in a meeting .... just an indication of the bureacracy we are about to experience when we get to India). With our passports in hand we farewelled our mates and jumped on the ever-fun overnight bus south to the Si Phan Don, otherwise known as the 4000 islands. The south was the one region of Laos we missed when we visited in 2006, and so we were excited to finally see a new aspect of the beautiful country. We chose to stay on Don Det, one of the few inhabited islands of the Mekong, and we couldn't have chosen a more perfect place for stunning scenery and pure relaxation. We were among just a handful of tourists on the island, because it was low season, and on arrival we made our way to the north side of the island, otherwise known as the sunset side. The sunrise would also be beautiful I am sure, but we knew we would never be up early enough to view it, so sunset side it was! After walking for about a kilometre we came across the perfect place for us: a small string of bungalows jutting out over the Mekong. They were very basic - just a wooden hut with gaping holes - but when travelling through these parts of Asia you learn to value different aspects of accommodation. These bungalows had hole-free mosquito nets which was our only real criteria, considering the Dengue Fever and Malaria in the region. Plus they were just $1 a night- right on our budget! Tena Bungalows became our home for six days and I can't really tell you what we did apart from hang out with some friends we made on arrival, walk around the island (about 2 hours to complete the loop), master the art of hammock swinging and polish of a pile of books each. The island had no electricity so apart from a few hours of generator time in the evenings, we enjoyed candlelit nights and stumbling to the toilets in the dark with our torches. It was the perfect way to get ourselves completely unwound before heading to our next destination, which would be undoubtedly frantic: India.

Our home for the week

The sunset view from our balconyStress, stress and more stress

On our balcony by candlelight

Mates David and Evelyn at the bungalows

Heading to Don Det

The path to our bungalow

Island life

Our daily walk took in many rice fields

Kids making their way home from schoolThere are more water buffalos than people on the island
And nearby this waterfall has the largest volume of water in Asia

We eventually left Don Det and headed back to Bangkok by train to get ready for our flight to India. At each station all the girls waved to Bol, so he felt like a celebrity - and a huge stud all at the same time!

And while he stayed awake and soaked up his new celebrity status, I went to sleep in the crazy train bunk beds I have grown to love.