Feeling the Heat in Laos

Luang Prabang, Laos
20.0656°N, 102.6216°E

Sarah and I landed in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, after a short layover in Cambodia. We took a cab from the airport to our Airbnb, but after getting dropped off realized our driver left us at the wrong spot. We were way too far from our place to walk with our bags, so we walked about a block before finding a tuk-tuk driver to take us the final leg of our trip.

From the moment we walked out of the airport we started to sweat and didn’t stop until we were back in the airport a week later. The hottest months of the year in Laos are April and May, so we knew we were in for some serious heat when we arrived. But neither of us had experienced this kind of heat before, at least for more than a day or two, so we prepared ourselves to be uncomfortably hot for our seven days in Laos.

We arrived at our Airbnb and met our hosts Peter and Rattana, who are natives of France but moved to Vientiane a few years ago to open up a restaurant and homestay. They showed us our room, we cleaned up a bit, and then headed out towards Vientiane’s Ban Anou Night Market.

Peter and Rattana’s place is on a street running parallel alongside the Mekong River. The street is lined with little outdoor restaurants serving barbecued meats and lots of fresh fish. Just across the river, you can see the lights of Thailand, and we joked how in one day we were in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and were currently a stone’s throw from Thailand. Southeast Asia can be big and small all at the same time.

Shhhh….

We walked for about 20 minutes before getting to the night market. It was somewhat similar to night markets we have seen in other places (i.e., vendors selling handmade trinkets, tee shirts, and jewelry). But there was one big difference – the silence.

Well, it wasn’t entirely silent but the market was packed with hundreds of people and I could hear my flips flops squeaking as we walked down the narrow rows of tented shops. We had heard that the Lao people are very laid back and calm, but we really couldn’t believe how a group of so many people could collectively be so quiet. Faneuil Hall is louder than this at 5:00 in the morning.

We spent our two days in Vientiane cruising around on bikes rented from our hosts but needed regular breaks because of the heat. The heat index our second day there hit 108 so being outside all day wasn’t an option. Fortunately, there’s a very cool (and shaded) morning market we spent the hottest hours of the day exploring. We checked out a number of Buddhist temples and a few other tourist destinations as well, using tuk-tuk services when we got too hot.

Vang Vieng

From Vientiane, we headed north on a “VIP” bus to Vang Vieng. There are a number of transportation options for getting from Vientiane to Vang Vieng, and none of them give you an entirely clear idea of what sort of vehicle you are booking. Our understanding was that in booking a “VIP” bus, we’d be getting in a 16 passenger van that would get to Vang Vieng in under 4 hours, stopping once for a bathroom and snack break.

What we didn’t realize was that the bus drivers will pack on as many people as they can on the bus. After giving the driver our bags to tie to the roof of the bus, I got on board and saw that there was only one seat left. I looked back at Sarah as we both realized we’d probably have to wait for another bus. But the driver came back and signaled for me to sit down in the seat and then flipped down some type of booster seat for Sarah.

The best way to describe this “seat” is to imagine if you are sitting in an aisle seat on a plane and the flight attendant comes by and unfolds the tray table from your armrest. But instead of it folding over your lap, it folds out into the aisle and is about 3 inches off the ground. Not exactly what you think of when you hear the letters VIP.

So this was how Sarah rode to Vang Vieng. I offered to switch with her halfway but we realized I couldn’t physically fit on the tray table seat, and even if I could it probably wouldn’t support my weight. The roads to Vang Vieng are mostly paved, but very windy. And the 1970’s era shocks on the bus didn’t provide a lot of support, something I realized I’d probably need when we got off the bus.

But we made it in one piece, and pulled into Vang Vieng around 4:00 in the afternoon and sweated our way down the street to our hotel.

Vang Vieng has long been a popular spot for backpackers and traveling college students because of its natural beauty, cheap accommodations, and launching point for tubing down the Mekong. It’s a pretty sleepy town but becoming more of a destination for hiking, mountain biking, ATV’ing, and other outdoor activities.

We ended up having dinner at a pub in town and asked the bartenders for recommendations of things to do the following day. They confirmed that tubing was well worth the effort, and also recommended getting bikes and heading out to the lagoons and caves in the area. We headed to bed early in anticipation of an activity-filled day.

Change of Plans

We woke up early and went to get breakfast at the hotel. Another hot day for sure. After eating Sarah said she didn’t feel well and started to wobble a bit, before proceeding to pass out in the dining area of the hotel. Heat exhaustion.

Fortunately, there were a number of people around, including a nurse who helped get her situated with a cold towel and some orange juice. She checked her out to make sure it was nothing more serious and we proceeded back to the room, where Sarah would stay for the day drinking water and complaining about her FOMO.

It was a scary moment, especially when I asked where the nearest doctor is and was told via Google Translator “about 10 minutes by tuk-tuk”. But it was also a good reminder for us to take the weather here seriously.

I left for a few hours to explore some of Vang Vieng by bike, stopping off at one of the lagoons and an underground cave. The countryside is beautiful in this part of Laos (but not that great Sarah), and I was able to get some good pictures before heading back to crush a couple of pizzas in the a/c with Sarah.

Last Stop in Laos

The place we were most looking forward to in Laos was Luang Prabang, about a four-hour drive north from Vang Vieng. We opted for a private driver this time around to ensure that we’d have good air conditioning and Sarah would have an actual seat.

Like Hoi An in Vietnam, Luang Prabang is a UN World Heritage Site and has that “preserved” feel to the city. We arrived and first noticed the wide and clean streets, as well as the beautiful architecture of the temples, homes, and stores all mixed together on the main street. The town is situated on a peninsula with the massive Mekong River on one side and the smaller Nam Khan river on the other side.

Luang Prabang is known to be a very spiritual town, and there are Buddhist temples and monks around every corner you turn. In the early mornings, the monks line up along the main street and walk down in a single file line collecting food (mostly rice) from locals and tourists. There is a proper way to participate in this ritual as a tourist, and our Airbnb host Bill offered to meet us at 5:45 in the morning to help us participate.

Luang Prabang is stunningly beautiful, and we really enjoyed taking the time to walk the streets. For someone with a passion for photography, Luang Prabang seems like a dream come true with its bright colors, relatively uncrowded spaces, and smiling and welcoming people. While not diehard photographers ourselves, we found it hard to keep our phones in our pockets walking around Luang Prabang. There is just too much beauty to try and capture.

Outside of the city, the natural landscape is equally as stunning. We decided to visit Kuang Si Waterfall, about 45 minutes outside of town. We visited a bear sanctuary at the base of the waterfall and then climbed to the top where we saw monks playing in the water, taking selfies, and diving off bamboo bridges and homemade bamboo rafts. This is definitely a place we want to return to at some point.

After three days in Luang Prabang, we left our Airbnb and headed for the airport, only a 20 minute ride away. Of course, a taxi wasn’t an option so we loaded our bags into a tuk-tuk. The flight from Luang Prabang to Bangkok is less than two hours, and we were excited to be meeting up with our good friends there to kick off our Thailand travels.