Saturday 24 January 2009

Laos - Expect the Unexpected

On the day before I came back to KL, I sat by the Mekong in Vientiane with a Beerlao in my hand, reminiscing about my adventures in Laos.

To wrap-up my trip to the Jewel of the Mekong, here's a list of memorable moments (in random order) of my trip there:

  1. Drinking Beerlao by the Mekong.

  2. Watching the sunset on Phousi with almost every tourist in Luang Prabang.

  3. Pissing in the bushes by the roadside on the way to Luang Prabang. It was difficult without a penis.

  4. Admiring the tranquility of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers in the cool hours of the afternoon.

  5. Hiking to the top of the Kuang Si Falls.

  6. Sitting in a bus for 12 hours from Vientiane to Luang Prabang.

  7. Having to pay 5,000 Kip (USD 0.60 or RM2.10) toilet fee at the Pak Ou Caves. Exhorbitant ... but I had no choice; my bladder was bursting.

  8. Enduring a 2-hour boat ride to see the disappointing Pak Ou Caves. And then had to endure the 2-hour journey back. What made the trip uncomfortable was the ultra hard seats on the boat which was not butt-friendly at all. After that incident I refered to the caves with a vulgar name that sounds like its original name, if you can guess what it is.

  9. Watched in disbelieve as a female Caucasian tourist scolded a Lao girl and stomped out of the shop just because the girl spoke English with a Lao accent. Super bitch! Don't travel if you can't accept the locals.

  10. The friendly Lao people who never stopped smiling. They're one of the friendliest people I've met.

  11. Saw 7 men and 1 lady piss in the Mekong in broad daylight.

  12. A bunch of locals who sat on stools in the aisle of the bus for 12-hours from Luang Prabang to Vientiane. Despite the long and uncomfortable journey, they smiled at me every time our eyes met.

6 comments:

Salt N Turmeric said...

That story abt the female caucasian makes my blood boils. Its good enough that the girl speaks english. some caucasian need a good slap on their face so they realise not everybody speaks english. What a bitch!

Esp not in a country like laos where most ppl have other important things than to learn how to speak english with american/british accent. grrrr!!!

Julie Lim said...

Farina,

I totally agree with you - some Caucasian needs to be slapped becuse of their arrogance!

And the hubby of the bitch only smiled when he saw his wife throw a fit! I thought to myself that this must be a case of a bastard marrying a bitch.

But thank God not all Caucasians are like that. Many are pleasant and nice and respectful of the local culture. There's a balance between good and evil, hehehe.

Anonymous said...

Pissing in the bush huh...this I must learn from you master!!!

Julie Lim said...

Priscivin, I'll teach you this Sunday, muahahaha.

Anonymous said...

Hi Julie

Nice blog, I am contemplating on a Lao trip myself but only Luang Prabang so hope you can assist me.

In Luang Prabang is it easy to go to all the sites outside town like you know, the waterfall and the mountain? or do you have to find a tour company there?

thanx in advance

Julie Lim said...

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for dropping by my blog :-)

The best way to go to the waterfall and other places is to follow a tour. Just ask your guesthouse. It's quite cheap. I paid:
- 50,000 Kip for the trip to Kuang Si Falls and
- 80,000 Kip for the trip to Pak Ou Caves.

There are also many other tours to outskirts of Luang Prabang - elephant camps, hiking, visit hill tribes, etc. All these you can ask at your guesthouse or at the numerous travel agents in Luang Prabang town.

Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me again if you need more information.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...