Laos

"It's not really a capital city as you know it, there's not even a McDonald's or a KFC!". We'd just crossed the very amiable Friendship Bridge between Nong Khai in Thailand and the Laos border station twenty kilometres south of the capital of Vientiane, and were chatting to a couple of English fella's who had been residing in Thailand for the past five years. To us, their news seemed like just the ticket, but clearly they'd been wrapped up in Thailand's commercialist environment for so long that leaving it all behind was a bit of a chore.

As we took our old-skool red cadillac into town, it was clear to see that Laos hasn't seen the tourism boom like it's neighbours, and the infrastrucuture hasn't quite caught up with the twenty-first century. This was refreshing however, and the signs which adorned the roadside to 'Keep Laos Tidy' were a welcome sight.

In fairness, the guy at the border was right in one aspect, Vientiane isn't really a capital city as we might know it. For starters, it's only got one international cashpoint (making us wonder, rightly as it happens, about the likelihood of being able to get cash in the rest of the country). Neighbourhoods of traditional wooden houses are mixed seamlessly with avenues of colonial mansions and stunning architectural designs. It's no surprise to find out that over the last thousand years of it's history, it has been looted, smashed up and generally bullied by successive Vietnamese, Burmese, Siamese, Khmer and French conquerors, but it's location on the bend of the Mekong and the distinct lack of high-intensity traffic noise make up for any aesthetic shortfalls. It's a city that is on the up, and as more tourists pass through we're sure that steady investment will mean a bright future for it's inhabitants.

With little to do bar strolling the streets and arranging our Vietnamese Visa with the embassy, we spent a relaxing couple of days here taking in the few sights such as the Patuxai (their very own Arc de Triomphe) and the grand National Culture Hall, and took some time to relax in some of the quaint cafe's which line the river and it's surrounding streets. On our third morning, it was up early for a bus journey to the town of Vang Vieng, four hours to the north.

We'd read some interesting things about the town in question, but still weren't quite prepared for what greeted us. Slightly concerned glances were exchanged between the three of us as we made our way across the disused airstrip in the direction of what appeared to be civilisation. It was as we entered the main street that we heard the all familiar sound of music and singing: "I'll be there for you...". It said in the guidebook that this is a place you either loathe or love, mainly due to the fact that almost every single bar, cafe and restaurant in the strip plays 'Friends' re-runs throughout the day and night. Those that have opted out, simply replace it with either movies or The Simpsons, making (surprisingly) for a place where backpackers tend to come and lounge around for days on end in a twilight zone of square-eyed delight.

We have to admit that for the first couple of days we were a little sucked in ourselves. An afternoon of Friends (Series 9), the FA Cup Final in the evening, a stint with The Simpsons (Christmas Specials!) the following morning, and a return to Friends (Series 2) in the afternoon before we realised we were getting dragged into the black hole. Admittedly, Sarah and Jan went for a walk on the second afternoon but I really couldn't be bothered (TV wins every time!). And that, unfortunately, seems to be the trend. The whole idea may be great for the respective businesses who are pulling in the punters day after day, but we eventually found the whole thing reliably unsociable. Odd words are muttered to waiters as they pass by, but generally, everyone crams into the small cushioned booths to sit glued to the box. A little bit of home may have been randomly presented to us in a town in the middle of nowhere, but we were glad that we'd booked ourselves a tour for the third day to get us out of the routine.

It's once you get yourself out of Vang Vieng that you get to fully appreciate the beauty of the area. Stunning limestone peaks covered in lush greenery tower over the Nam Song river as it winds it's way gently south. Immensely long caves (some up to five kilometres) beckon curious adventurers into their dark mouths, whilst trekking through small villages and paddy fields gave us a glimpse of the real way of life for the people that inhabit the area. After spending the morning exploring some of the caves around the Tham Sang Triangle and walking among the locals it was time to jump into our kayaks for the final stretch, a twenty kilometre paddle (downstream thankfully!) amongst scores of other backpackers in rubber tubes!

For our next destination we had to take a six-hour winding bus journey through the hills and valleys deeper into the heart of northern Laos. It wasn't until chatting to a few other travellers once we reached Luang Prabang that we found out that this exact route had been the target for revolutionary terrorist groups on three previous occassions. Admittedly, the chosen carriers were local buses, but on each occassion (the last in 2003) all of the occupants were removed from the bus and executed with machine guns! We were quite glad that we found this out after the event, and hadn't sat there for six hours with that kind of thing hanging over us while we fought the nausea of an already sickening journey.

In fact, this is just one of the few problems that this country has faced in recent decades. To this day, many people are unaware that Laos is one of the most bombed nations on the face of the earth. Between 1964 and 1973, citing the presence of the Vietnamese in the east and northeastern regions as the reason for their secret war, the USA were responsible for one of the largest sustained aerial bombardments in history, flying nearly six hundred thousand missions into Laos airspace and dropping over two million tons of bombs. As if this wasn't bad enough, nearly thirty percent of these bombs failed to explode, leaving the countryside littered with unexploded ordnance (UXO). The people who have to live with this legacy accept this as a part of daily life, and although clearance work began in 1994, and the UN have taken a more formal stance on tackling the problem, it is thought that it could take more than one hundred years to make the country completely safe.

This tragic story seems a million miles away from the beautiful French colonial streets which greeted us on our arrival into Luang Prabang however; a mixture of fine architecture, delicate buddhist temples and emerald green mountainous surroundings. Unesco placed the city on it's world heritage list in 1995 and it's clear to see why. With a few days here before we left for Vietnam, we took the opportunity to explore the quaint surroundings, browse the evening handicraft markets and sample some typical Laos dishes. By night-time, the town takes on a new twist, with cool bars and cafes becoming packed with diverse crowds, before everyone heads off to the most popular late night drinking venue: The Bowling Alley. A slightly surreal, but entertaining diversion...

For two days, all we'd heard from idling Tuk-Tuk men was "Waterfall?" and so for our final day we took one of the men up on their offer and drove the thirty-two kilometres out into the hills of the Tat Kuang Si area. On entering the park, we were greeted by a large bear and tiger sanctuary, which for once actually bore the hallmarks of legitimacy and wasn't just a tourist gimmick. After "ooh-ing" and "aah-ing" for a little while we made our way to the multitiered waterfall, watching it tumble it's way from the hundred metre cascade at the top to the smaller turquoise pools at the base. Swimming opportunities are not something to be passed up on, and so we took a dip in one of the more accessible spots and played monkey on the handily placed rope swing. To be honest, we hadn't expected much from this attraction, but it turned out to be a beautiful spot, largely unrivalled by anything on this scale we'd seen previously.

In fact, this was the story with Laos throughout. What we'd hastily cast aside as a mere cut-through to a more exciting land in the east, had turned out to be a big highlight of the trip, and a place we'd recommend everyone should take the time to visit if they can. Clean, hospitable, friendly, fun, and more importantly, without the intensity of neighbouring Thailand, this beautiful country will almost certainly be hit by touristic popularity in the years to come, but will hopefully retain it's charm for much longer.

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