Trip Report - Lao
Our Trip & Itinerary
We squeezed Lao in between Vietnam and Thailand, thinking that only 8 days would be enough time to fully appreciate the country. To maximize our short time we planned our stops based on where the new higher speed Lao-China Railway made stops: Vientiane, Vang Vieng, and Luang Prabang. While we thought we made enough time for each stop, we enjoyed Lao so much that we could have tacked on even more!
Vientiane
We arrived in Vientiane, expecting a bustling capital city, but found a quiet town instead. Much to our surprise, there were so few tourists roaming the streets that we found ourselves in nearly empty restaurants every night. Despite this, Vientiane has a certain charm with vintage car ruins tucked away in overgrown corners of the city, quirky cafes on every street, and a kind of stillness that invites visits to local temples. On our first day, we arrived later into the evening and merely went for a stroll and grabbed dinner at NUAN. While pretty empty, the spot was a top recommendation on Happy Cow and featured great vegan/vegetarian options for me! They even make their own veggie meat – an instant win in my book!
The following day, we got up early to beat the heat and went to Wat Sisaket, which is believed to be Vientiane’s oldest surviving Wat. It was built in the 1820s by the very last monarch of the Kingdom of Vientiane and features over 2,000 silver and ceramic images of Buddha, featuring every pose and posture of The Awakened. The temple walls are painted with intricate detail and are pristinely kept, despite some peeling walls. Continuing our temple tour, we went to Ho Phra Keo, which now houses a museum of hundreds of Buddha statues and religious relics. There, we took a moment to observe the great altar from the carpet, lighting candles for our loved ones before we left. Between temple visits, we dropped our dirty laundry off a suspiciously dark laundromat and waited out a rain shower in a cute coffee shop (they had great pad thai). On our way to the night market later, we wandered into Wat Mixay, Wat Ong Teu, and Wat Inpeng, all stunningly tiled with prominent Buddha statues.
To make the most of our final day in Vientiane, we hired a tuk tuk driver to take us to the massive complex of Pha That Luang after breakfast. The complex’s main attraction is the gold-covered stupa in the center that was likely constructed in the 3rd century A.D. The temple holds great national importance, as it is believed that it was constructed to safe-keep the breastbone of Buddha – crazy to think we walked those grounds! The complex not only has this impressive centerpiece, but also includes a beautiful golden reclining Buddha statue, gardens, multiple temples, monuments, and Wat Neua That Luang Palace. If you’re lucky, you might spot young monks taking part in their ordination ceremony!
Vang Vieng
After some time at Pha That Luang, we made our way to the newly built train station to take the fancy, high-speed LCR train to Vang Vieng that was built in collaboration with the Chinese government. We showed up confidently with all of our luggage, only to discover that each item needs to be run through airport-style security scanners. This meant that sharp objects, like a knife I was transporting from Japan, were not allowed on board. Thankfully, Lao security has devised a sneaky loophole where they charge a small “deposit fee” (aka a bribe) to have a police officer carry the prohibited item for you while you are on the train and deliver it to you on the platform on arrival. Sketchy, right? Well, somehow the trick worked for us and the nice gentleman handed us the goods just as we hopped onto the platform. From there, we hopped into a new kind of tuk tuk, which was simply a built-out pick-up bed, and were driven to the Angsavanh Resort. So it turns out that this resort is ages away from central Vang Vieng and is an absolute dump. On our arrival, we spotted piles of trash around the property, unused building equipment, and unkempt gardens. Not only this, but our room had cracked walls, endless ants, spider webs, and terrifyingly dirty bathroom facilities. The staff also failed to mention that our original room was being renovated and that the pool is no longer in existence and is instead being used as a sad restaurant platform. Shocked by how we had been bamboozled by social media (yes, our booking was inspired by an Instagram Reel), we stormed to reception to get out of the booking. Thankfully, the staff was fairly understanding and agreed to cancel our booking and arranged for us to be dropped off at our new hotel, which we had booked in the speediest Expedia search known to man just five minutes earlier. And so, we reattempted our arrival in Vang Vieng by driving back through the countryside, this time accompanied by a new tuk tuk driver and his two toddler sons. Upon our second hotel arrival of the day, we were pleasantly surprised. The Riverside Boutique Resort was stunning – lovely inner gardens framed the central pool and the spacious rooms were decked out in traditional Laotian decor. Somehow our luck had turned around! Exhausted from the heat and a full day of travel, we went for dinner at Happy Mango. This spot turned out to be one of my favorite restaurants in Southeast Asia with its tasty Penang curry and incredible mango sticky rice.
After a slow morning by the pool, we went to seek out some adventure in the afternoon and decided to rent electric mopeds out to the countryside. We originally wanted to cruise around in some cool buggies, but discovered they were only allowed outside of town. I had never been on a moped before, but quickly found it was loads more fun to drive it yourself than to be a passenger! We cruised through the empty, windy roads through the valley to our first destination: Tham Chang cave. The cave is located near BLue Lagoon 2, but don’t miss climbing the 150 stairs to the cave! It’s absolutely massive – spread over two levels and filled with sparkling stalactites and stalagmites. After wandering the multiple chambers of the cave, we hopped back on to our mopeds to go to Num Bor Keo cave. This one took us down a dirt path, through a little village, over a river, through some rice paddies, through the jungle, and even through rows of cassava crops. Finally at the cave, we quickly realized that this was a much more rudimentary set-up, especially as the signs literally were being consumed by the trees they had been nailed into. The mouth of the cave was small and followed a tight pathway up into the dark. While Jackson was busy sweating in the narrow passages of the cave, I was worried about his safety and being attacked by swarms of mosquitoes. Fed up with this stop, we trudged back to our bikes to continue weaving through the landscape. We rode past village restaurants, buzzing with people as the evening rolled in, swerved cattle on the road, and honked at cute, stray country muts. That afternoon, we just had to give in and go on one of the many longboats that constantly zip up and down the river. We expected to join many others, but we got lucky and found ourselves on our own instead! The ride was way better than expected – our captain took us a way up-river, allowing the boat to glide right past bathing water buffalo and under the make-shift bridges overhead. To top our evening off, we decided to have a few drinks directly on the water at one of the many bars where the only seating is on wooden pontoons that carry child-sized pink chairs. A perfect spot to watch the sunset!
The next morning, we discovered that the clouds and fog had rolled in, putting a pin in our original plan to hike up to Nam Xay viewpoint to see the valley from above. Instead, we decided to rent mopeds again to head north of Vang Vieng towards Pha Tang. We made a stop at the Vang Pha Xay village to admire the Elephant Cave, a small shrine with one particular stalactite that had formed to look exactly like an elephant over the course of the last millennia. We scooted on from there, turning around soon after as we realized that the main highway suddenly turned into a dirt road. We made it back at the perfect time for our first coffee of the day from Rabica Cafe, my new coffee obsession composed of coconut juice, whipped instant coffee, and condensed milk. I loved it so much, I asked the barista if she could show me how to make it. She happily agreed and showed me her craft, all while we connected with the Malaysian-Dutch couple who was sharing the space to kick-start their dirt bike / camping business, Dust & Dirt. Happy and caffeinated, we popped on over to the hotel to pack up our luggage and have our next indulgence at the restaurant before our next high-speed train to Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang
Oddly enough, we weren’t stopped because of the knife this time, easily slipping through security at the train station. Much to our annoyance, the station was absolutely boiling, as it was so new they hadn’t installed air-conditioning yet. After feeling a bit woozy, we finally boarded the train and rode speedily towards Luang Prabang.
As we approached Luang Prabang in our very tight and disorganized minibus ride into town, Luang Prabang immediately charmed us. The houses looked like they had been plucked right from the French countryside (thanks, colonialism), paired with the lush green of the Laotian jungle. Over the next few days, we stayed at Villa Santi, a refurbished 19th century French colonial villa in the heart of town and directly across from a Buddhist monastery. Attempting to ignore the afternoon heat, our first point of exploration was Phousi Hill. We wandered up the old stone steps, breathing heavily alongside other visitors. Finally, we reached the top and found an amazing view of the city and lands around us, all basked in the golden afternoon sun. After soaking up the view for a moment, we wound our way down the other side of the hill, past numerous Buddhist monuments and small shrines. Once at the bottom, we ditched the crowds and found ourselves at Wat Siphoutthabath. The sound of chants lured us into the central temple, where the abbot was leading a prayer for a room filled with Bhikku (learning child monks). We watched in delight as two stray dogs took their playful tussle into the temple and caused a stir of giggles in the group, which of course, prompted a stern shushing from the abbot. Feeling fulfilled with our first few hours in Luang Prabang, we enjoyed a dinner on the main street while watching passersby.
We couldn’t visit Luang Prabang without witnessing the Alms Giving Ceremony, a traditional daily occurrence where monks from local wats walk through the city to accept offerings from the locals. They round every corner of the city holding alms bowls to collect their offerings (mostly rice) to bring them back to the communal kitchens for breakfast. The ceremony has unfortunately become rather touristy, with some locals taking advantage of the intrigue by setting up seated stations where anyone willing to pay a couple of Kip can participate. Although participation isn’t discouraged, it’s the fact that items supplied in these scenarios cannot be consumed by monks (for example, sugar), but must be accepted to honor the ceremony. Thus, these items are thrown away and leave the monks without sustenance. Additionally, the influx of tourists has created an uncomfortable environment for the monks, as visitors frequently get too close with their cameras or even touch them without permission. We’d recommend avoiding the touristy areas and wandering closer to smaller wats instead to watch the ceremony from afar, respecting the space of locals and the monks. After watching from a quiet corner, we wandered into a little coffee shop by the Mekong called Saffron Coffee, where we tried their signature carrot cake that did not disappoint. Feeling sleepy, we headed back to the hotel for a mid-morning cat nap. Slightly disoriented, yet revived, we decided to head out for another temple tour to Wat Sensoukharam and Wat Xiengthong. Both temples are stunningly detailed, their golden nagas pointing at the sun and intricate doorways open to all. Drenched in sweat a few hours later, we freshened up at the hotel and hunted down some drinks at the Maison Sam San rooftop bar. Their signature drink was so good, we just had to get another! Plus, it was lovely to watch the locals scoot by on their mopeds and the restaurants come to life as the sun went down. Craving something hearty and Italian, we stumbled upon a cute restaurant based out of a sweet local woman’s home. Her daughter was there with her newborn baby, quietly entertaining her as her mom cooked us homemade pasta. Their cats and kittens wandered through the garden, as their suspicious dog kept a close eye on us as we ate.
Our next day in Luang Prabang, we saddled up a new pair of mopeds to ride southwest to the Kuang Si Waterfall. After about an hour of cruising through the lush landscape, we arrived at the falls that also happens to provide entry to the Save the Bears sanctuary, where we watched the endangered Asiatic Black Bears, or Moon Bears, lounge around in their hammocks. We walked up to the lagoon to go for a dip and discovered that the water was actually freezing! There was also a limited number of areas where we could go in, as they are roped off the closer you get to the falls. Nonetheless, the falls spill into the lagoon beautifully, the natural terraces forming brilliantly blue pools below. Be aware that the little fish in the pools will gladly nibble at your skin! On our way back from the lagoon, we stopped at the Ock Pop Tok Silk Road Cafe. Founded by a Laotian-English girl power duo, the cafe doubles as a weaving workshop and education center for local women. The silk, batik, and hemp designs are woven on huge looms, embroidered, and sold in their shop. Not only was it great to watch this great cause in action, but the food was terrific!
On our last morning in town, we went on a bit of a mission to find a breakfast spot that would take cash, so we could get rid of the last of our Kip. After an extensive wander, we ended up at Two Birds Cafe, which serves very tasty smoothie bowls. As we headed back to our hotel to round up our luggage, I couldn’t help but feel sad that we were leaving Lao so soon! It has surprised us with its charm, beauty, and endless adventures and has been one of our favorite countries so far. We’ll definitely be back one day!
Recommendations
Where We Stayed:
Some of Our Other Favorite Restaurants:
Vientiane
Vang Vieng
Luang Prabang