Before we start, here is a brief intro you’ll find at the start of all of my blogs!
This is a story-style travel blog featuring my adventure through Southeast Asia in the fall of 2024. I spent 1 week on my own in Laos, then joined a 14 day tour called Ultimate Cambodian Adventure from the company G Adventures, and a final 3 day solo stop in Singapore. You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:
* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some areas
*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish
*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your Tour CEO be in charge
* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.
Laos is a serene and captivating landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.
It is considered to be a relatively poor country, but it’s seen some growth recently due to tourism, mining and hydroelectric power export. There are 7 million people in this small country, with a diverse mix of ethnic groups. Here you can experience a lot of its natural beauty, like the lush jungles, flowing rivers, misty mountains, waterfalls and so many golden temples that glisten in the sun and welcome visitors to their warmth and tradtion. In the mid 1800’s, The French arrived here and you can see some of this influence in the architecture and some older citizens still speak French. During the Vietnam War, Laos was heavily bombed due to parts of the country being occupied by the Vietnamese. It holds the distinction of being the most heavily bombed country in the world, and they are still working to safely removed any unexploded ordnances, which I will talk more about in future blogs. Laos is a socialist state, and openly endorses communism.
Vientiane is the charming capital of Laos, with old world allure mixed with modern touches set along the banks of the Mekong River. It is the country’s political, cultural and economic centre. It’s very laid back and the perfect place to start your exploration . Here you’ll find so many Buddidt temples, French inspired cafes and colonial architecture that hints of its past ties with France.
Jet lag is super fun! I am wide awake at 3:30am and unable to fall back asleep. So I guess I’ll just go with the flow! I start the day off right with breakfast at a café called Le Trio; I don’t normally drink a lot of caffeine but a cappuccino is definitely needed this morning. This café doesn’t serve food, but they are associated with the restaurant next door, Coco & Co, so I order some amazing banana oat pancakes.
I head back to the hotel to meet up with Merryn, and we hire a tuk tuk to go explore Buddha Park.
It takes around half hour to get there. The ride is very bumpy and the wind blasts through my hair and I just know it’s gonna be hell to brush it out later.
Buddha Park is a sculpture park; it is not a temple but it is also referred to as Wat Xieng Khuan because it contains many religious images.
There are over 200 Hindu and Buddhist statues. We are told it will take a couple of hours to explore the park, but we’re done in just over an hour. The statues are made of reinforced concrete and they look really ancient but the park has only been open since 1958, so……
There are so many cool statues so I’ll just pop a bunch of pics here for you to enjoy.
Some standouts are the one statue that looks like a giant pumpkin and has 3 stories representing hell, earth and heaven. You can climb up to the top for a lookout, but we skip this activity.
This is the main attraction in the park…the ginormous 40 meter long reclining Buddha.
On the way back we make a detour to see Vientiane’s most famous landmark, Pha That Luang.
It is a large Buddhist stupa, covered in gold. Well, only the pinnacle is real gold, the rest of it is just paint.
As so many structures were, this one was destroyed many times and was finally rebuilt after World War II.
We wander around the complex for a bit, and as we’re leaving a guy approaches us and he has a bunch of little birds in cages. He wants us to buy the birds from him so we can set them free. I’m a little disturbed by this….how dare he capture birds into cages so I can pay him to release them? I’m not super happy about this so I decline. I discover later that this is a Buddhist practice called fangsheng – freeing captive creatures. It is done as a way to earn merit and demonstrate compassion but it’s obviously become a capture and release trade. Not something I want to support but I can see how people can be convinced to buy these poor birds.
Back in town, I head off to find a souvenir shop, since the night market doesn’t sell much. The shop is called The First; they have a few things I’m looking for but the shop girl tells me I’ll find way more at the night market in Luang Prabang, where I’m headed tomorrow.
A couple of cool things I pick up:
These hand painted cards, on Saa(mulberry leaf) paper, which are so pretty and look amazing framed!!
This Akha doll….a traditional doll made by the women from the Akha ethnic group.
On the way back to the hotel I stop at the House of Fruit Shakes, for, you guessed it, a mango passionfruit fruit shake. Heaven!
I manage to get in a much needed nap before Merryn and I meet up for dinner and drinks. Phew!!
In the early evening, we walk past the Nam Phou Fountain, and it’s all lit up and lookin’ pretty, and so are we!
For dinner, we head over to Soukvimarn. It comes highly recommended, so we are surprised to find the restaurant completely empty. I make sure we sit right in front of the giant fan(like I have said, it’s a requirement from now on haha). I order the eggplant paste with sticky rice…it’s pretty spicy, so I can’t eat too much of it.
I also have the papaya salad which is really nice and fresh, but it has a bit too much fish sauce on it..even though I like fish sauce, I have a limit.
And now it’s time to find some fun nightlife on a Monday night…I really want to find a karaoke spot but from what I’ve discovered…it’s mostly private room rental karaoke which I don’t like, and also these private rooms can be disguised as karaoke but are used for something else if you get what I’m sayin’. No thanks!! First, we hit the Hard Rock Café, which is always a good bet, and the band is pretty good.
We stay for one drink, and then move along to Wind West bar; it looks like a country style saloon. And I also wonder if they meant to call it Wild West? Haha.
There is a live band here too, and I was told by a couple of locals that you can request a song and sing with the band. But the band isn’t taking any breaks and I feel awkward going up to the stage to interrupt and ask if I can sing.. this doesn’t make sense to me so we just enjoy the music and another drink.
This band is playing a lot of the same songs that the Hard Rock band played, so I’m wondering if there’s some kind of song standard and if the bands play all of these venues and all the same songs. Very possible. We heard at least 3 or 4 repeats tonight.
We head back to the hotel and I say goodbye to Merryn; I’m so grateful to have met her…it was nice to have a galpal in Vientiane and she made my time here less lonely and much more fun. Merryn had just returned from Northern Laos, and she had experienced something very traumatic , which I won’t get into out of respect for her privacy. Sometimes you meet people at the right place and time, and I hope I made her time in Vientiane a little easier…..
The next morning, for my last breakfast in Vientiane, I head over to Naked Espresso Milay; there are a few locations in the city.
I have scrambled eggs and bacon and it’s the perfect meal to start my day. I have a few hours to kill so I wander around for a bit.
I end up back along the banks of the Mekong River. I see an area that looks like an abandoned amusement park; it’s really creepy. A British couple are also checking out this site, and I make a comment about wondering how long it’s been abandoned and why no one’s cleaned it up. They tell me that it was a functioning amusement park last night!! Haha WHAT? The rides and décor look really old and rusty and all around dodgy so good luck to anyone that wants to go on these rides.
I need more souvenirs, so I walk over to Tai Baan crafts. All of their merchandise comes direct from the villages in Laos and the shop is part of the World Fair Trade Organization so that’s cool. I pick up a beautiful handmade indigo scarf and some bomb jewelry.
As I mentioned earlier, Laos was heavily bombed in the war, so the locals make all kinds of items with the remnants of these bombs. Jewelry, keychains, spoons, chopsticks, etc. It’s a cool concept to make beautiful pieces from a negative event, and it helps provide income to those living in poverty.
Back at the hotel, my driver is waiting to take me to the train station. It is around a 30 minute drive from Vientiane; I had considered taking a tuk tuk there but I decide that splurging for a comfy car ride is much more appealing. The guys at the hotel help me book all of my transport and my train tickets. I can’t tell you how helpful this is….I tried buying my train tickets online and it was just too confusing. Tommy and Sam from New Champa Hotel are just amazing and soooo helpful. They make my stay in Vientiane completely effortless!!!
The train station is spacious and clean, and when it’s time to board, the process is very smooth and organized. I am a bit confused as to what car I’m in and what seat, but the rail station dude shows me the way.
Thank goodness there is only one platform and track. Haha. I settle in for a speedy two hour ride to Luang Prabang. The train travels at 161km/hour but it doesn’t feel like we’re going that fast. I can’t wait to see what magic Luang Prabang has in store for me…..
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 