Christmas, the day I was transiting to Vientiane, ended up being quite two-faced. The holiday turned out alright in the end, but the travel portion of the day sucked.
The day wasted no time in getting off to a bad start. It was the classic death-by-a-thousand-cuts, something that I’m no stranger to, especially given how long I traveled before. My guesthouse’s breakfast area was completely full when I went downstairs in the morning, so I had to shift around my entire morning schedule. After walking into town to get some coffee elsewhere, the strap on my sandal – which was literally on its last thread – finally broke and I had to hobble back to my guesthouse and throw them out. My booking through Agoda apparently didn’t include actual payment – the credit card was for holding the reservation only – so I was blindsided with a $100 charge and had to use up the rest of my U.S. dollars unexpectedly. When I finally had time to sit down for breakfast, I got two bites of food when my minibus unexpectedly arrived 15 minutes early and I had to leave. The minibus dropped me off at the travel station where I was ushered onto a (slow) coach, even though I had paid for a (fast) minibus. When I plopped into the only open seat, I immediately realized the seat back was broken and wouldn’t stay upright for the entire journey. Finally, the annoying Italian guy in front of me decided it was a good idea – and certainly not rude at all – to put his legs up on the back of the driver’s seat, so my view out of the front window, the only saving grace of the entire morning, was tarnished by a pair of ugly, stinky feet. Uuuggghhh.
The road to Vientiane was too winding and bumpy to read, which is what I was planning on doing, so I just watched the scenery through the front window instead. The highway was full of buses, minibuses, tractors, pickup trucks, motorcycles, motorbikes, bicycles, and pedestrians all fighting for space. Occasionally, the bus would swerve or slow down or stop completely to avoid the herds of cattle wandering on the road. At one point, we almost sideswiped an oncoming bus on a blind curve because the driver was trying to pass a guy on a motorcycle who was transporting a long farming implement while wearing an AK-47 on his back. A few minutes later, the driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid a horrible collision as a speeding minibus made an ill-advised pass in front of us on another blind curve with another bus approaching. It was ill-advised even for Southeast Asia, and that’s saying a lot!
On the bright side, the trip actually went by pretty quickly because of the entertainment outside, the aircon level was reasonable (i.e. not set to the “Arctic” setting as it usually is), the TV was mercifully turned off and not blasting loud music videos or variety shows, and we seemed to make pretty good time too. After the usual tuk-tuk shenanigans upon arriving in Vientiane, I was happily checking into my guesthouse and getting lots of good information from the incredibly pleasant employees.
After some lunch, an iced coffee, a Lao massage, and a stroll around town at sunset, I was feeling much better about the day. I made a new local friend and treated us to a big Christmas spread of Lao food: mushroom jeow, stir-fried vegetables, mushroom soup, and fish larb. The day was more than salvaged and it was great to have such pleasant company for a very unconventional Christmas dinner.
The next morning was far, far better than the previous one. After breakfast, I grabbed my camera and went to Wat Si Saket, one of the more well-known temples in the city.
After leaving the temple, I wandered town with my camera for a bit, trying to get a sense of the city’s atmosphere. Even though it was December, it was still at least 90°F, so I wrapped up my strolling before the hottest part of the day. Like Luang Prabang, Vientiane is undeniably Southeast Asian with a kiss of French influence, but definitely more of a city and less of a quiet cultural escape.
Once the day got a little too hot for me, I retired to one of the many cafes in town for some much-needed laptop time to catch up on email, blogging, and trip planning. This became my routine during my time in Vientiane: wander around with my camera for a few hours every day, but leave time in the afternoon for sitting in a cafe, drinking iced coffee and reading my book (currently: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman). And I would always grab a sundowner at one of the bars by the night market with a view of the sun setting over the Mekong.
The next day I hired a tuk-tuk to take me to That Luang, a massive golden stupa and the most important national monument in Laos. It’s a very simple monument, as is the neighboring temple, and there’s not much to do beyond take a few photos, but both structures complement their simplicity with sheer size.
Conveniently, my new friend’s office was close by, so after my temple visit, I walked to her office and met her for an afternoon coffee. Before she went back to work, she reminded me to visit Patuxai on my way back to town, which I did once the temperature started to drop. Patuxai was originally constructed as a war monument to honor those who died in Laos’s struggle to achieve independence from France. But several decades later, the Lao monarchy was overthrown and the victors claimed Patuxai as a monument to those who died during that fight for independence. Irrespective of what the monument’s meaning should be, everyone can agree on the fact that it was built using funds and cement from the U.S. that were supposed to be used for a new airport.
History aside, the monument and surrounding grounds are pretty and the view from the top is probably the best in the city, especially in the fading light of the late afternoon.
My last full day and the following morning were filled with more of the same activities: temple hopping, wandering the streets and sois, eating, getting massages, shopping, taking photos, watching the sunset over the river, and grabbing dinner in the evenings with my friend.
After several days in Vientiane, I still couldn’t believe I was in a capital city; it felt more like a small provincial city or even a large town. Vientiane is just as laid-back as all the guidebooks say and pretty representative of Laos’s overall relaxed disposition, which is a great segue into some final thoughts.
The fact that Laos is quiet and humble is one of the reasons I never went there during my sabbatical. I didn’t see what differentiated it from the rest of Southeast Asia and couldn’t come up with a compelling reason to go. Not only is the country quiet and unassuming, it’s land-locked (so, no “real” beaches or islands), it’s Communist (so, a visa is required), and it’s surrounded by three countries (China, Vietnam, and Thailand) that attract a lot more attention and visitors. Even Laos’s description of being a Communist Southeast Asian country with French influence – something you’d think would be unique – is shared by its much more popular neighbor to the east.
But as I learned on my trip, the fact that Laos is hidden in plain sight is exactly why you should go. I experienced a level of calm and quiet that I haven’t had in a long time, and I traveled exclusively to the three most popular places in the country! If you went off the beaten path and visited the really rural parts, you could absolutely disappear. It was refreshing to be in a place that felt peaceful and detached from the frantic pace of modern life. It was charming and therapeutic and the country’s personality started to reveal itself to me before too long. While a part of me feels a little silly that I spent so much time reading and thinking and “doing nothing”, most of me knows that was exactly the right thing to do. And exactly what I needed at that point in my life. I left the country feeling energized and motivated.
And with that, my time in Vientiane and in Laos came to an end. Though it was frustrating to have “only” a week and a half – a far cry from the one-month-per-country allotment I was used to – I’m really happy I finally made it there. I’m certainly not opposed to going back and would love to see the more rural parts of the country, perhaps with a heavier dash of outdoor adventures.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t include the only reference to Laos in (American) pop culture that I have ever seen:
Murrika, amirite? After experiencing the country for myself, I can say with reasonable confidence that even Hank Hill would love Laos.