“There is an unspoken bond you create with the friends you travel with.” – Kristen Sarah
Once I am introduced to or learn something about a country, it becomes a mission for me to visit the country. So, I have this friend/mentor whom, when I first met, while in undergrad, told me she was Laotian. Before that moment, I had no idea where or anything about the country Laos. After that, I had to make a visit to Laos.
Fast forward to last October. My hiking crew and I were on this long treacherous hike up Halla Mountain. During that time, I ran the idea of going to Laos for Lunar New Year with Brianna to see if she was interested. Now, Laos isn't a country that everyone is running to visit (hopefully, after reading my blog, you will), but I was shocked that Brianna had the same energy and excitement about Laos as I did. There was a point I asked Wanda if she was interested, and she didn't seem to be thrilled about it. Lolz. So, after that hike, Brianna and I started our preparations for an adventure of a lifetime. Two months later, Wanda and I were sitting down for coffee, discussing travel plans for Lunar New Year. I told her about the travel plans to Laos, showed her a couple of pictures of places in Laos, and convinced her to join the Ladies Trip to Laos! 🙌🏽
As we're waiting to board our flight to Laos, we realized that we had not made an itinerary for our trip; none of us were bothered by that, as we all were looking to relax and stumble across adventures.
Brianna was the smart one that exchanges KRW for USD. Me being a “well-rounded” traveler, I decided to wait to get to Laos and pull out cash. We get there, Wanda and I were having troubles at the airport's ONLY ATM. (You’re probably wondering what’s the point of this story. Just keep reading.) Thankfully, Brianna had cash to get us a taxi ride to the hotel. We decided to worry about it the next morning. We eventually got up, had breakfast, and headed out to the city. The hotel shuttle bus dropped us off near ATM machines. PERFECT! I tried one a couple of times; it spits my card out. I went to another one… same thing. 😑A tuk-tuk driver was talking with Wanda and Brianna about helping us out and taking us around. Me knowing how tuk-tuk drivers like to finesse foreigners, I’m like nahh! He was trying to explain to me how he could help us. I told him we didn't have any money for a ride to the bank. He was like he got us, and we could pay him once we got the money. I'm like, "What if we can't get the money?" He insisted. So, he dropped us off at the open bank, and we got our money. 🙏🏾 Now we have to negotiate a deal with him.
This tuk-tuk driver took us to Patuxai, Pha That Luang, Buddha Park, AND HIS HOUSE for coffee and tea with his wife and children. This man was sharing the history of the country as he was taking us places, and Wanda could confirm it wasn’t BS (she was the only one that did Lao history research).😬🤷🏽♀️ I’m just glad for the convenient and consistent driver, riding every, and not having to find transportation to different tourist spots. As you can see, I enjoyed myself, and I got to see Buddha Park (the only thing in Vientiane I wanted to see). If you ever visit Vientiane, I highly recommend contacting our tuk-tuk driver. His info is below.
The next day, we slept in for the most part; however, we got up and headed back to Patuaxi to climb up the tower. After that, we chilled at this Lebanese restaurant and later had some Laotian ice cream. Vientiane isn’t the city I highly recommend. I think a 1.5 day stay there would be all that’s needed. The End.
Next stop…Luang Prabang. Lolz. So, we took the cheap, economic plane (Lao Skyway) to Luang Prabang. Man…. That was an experience like no other. We boarded the flight from the back (I don't recall a "front" door), overhead space doesn't exist on those planes, and the seats automatically recline as the plane takes off! 😂 I just said a prayer and napped for about 30 minutes.
Oh, the difference in the climate made it must more pleasurable. Our driver was waiting for us, and we were ready for all the exciting plans we had for this city. Brianna and I choose to go "glamping" along the river. Oh, man…. if you could only experience what we did. (You will be able to when you visit the country.) Namkhan Project Ecolodge was a majestic place. From the facilities to the food, everything was hand made and grown on the property grounds. I saw the cook cut lettuce from the garden with my own eyes!!
After the falls, we went to Nahm Dong Park with different itineraries. Brianna wanted to zip-line, Wanda wanted to do weaving, I just wanted to sit down (but that didn't happen). I went wandering along the trails for about 45 mins and found myself acting scary and paranoid. I decided to head back to this rooftop area and relax until we had to return to our tuk-tuk driver. Brianna and I went back to the night market that night, as I had to school her on negotiating. 😏
It was finally time for us to head back to Vientiane for about 8 hours until we had to catch our flight back to Korea. We were trying to eat a pizza cone from KONO Pizza, but I apparently gave the wrong address to a sketchy place, and our tuk-tuk driver "kindly" suggested another replicable pizza place, The Pizza Company. Lolz. We enjoyed our pizza and all the unhealthy sides we ordered. We walked it off, going to the night market (that we never found during the first part of our trip), where we came across some Laotian dancers and found some bumper cars to drive wild in! You should have seen how wild we were acting with those kids.
It may seem as we didn’t do much, but it was just enough for us to relax, enjoy our vacation, and experience Laos for what it is!
Until the next adventure,
ຂອບໃຈ (Thank you in Lao).
PS I learned two words in Lao, hello (ສະບາຍດີ) and thank you (ຂອບໃຈ). I know you can’t read it nor pronounce it, but I can! 🤣😆
Bw.travels6
Wow. The pictures look amazing, I can’t wait for my chance to visit such a beautiful country. I’m sure your friends made it even more enjoyable!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment. My friends and I had an enjoyable time. When ever you visit the country, you'll enjoy every second of it!
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