Reunion Blog Post

And we're back together again! Z learned first hand the often red-tape laden measures travelers encounter when trying to obtain a visa in Vietnam, especially when that visa is for China. After multiple fruitless attempts it was clear he would not be getting said visa in Vietnam. With a quickly expiring Vietnamese visa he decided to head to Laos and re-apply for the China visa there, after a few friends had reported having luck with the embassy in Vientiane. Fate brought us back together as E was only a few days from, and headed to, Vientiane also! Z easily got his 2 month visa for China and E took advantage of the US embassy in town as she needed more pages added to an overfull passport! We spent a fabulous few days in Vientiane and instead of making a run for the China border after a short reunion, Z decided to stay on in Laos for a while opting to cycle North to Luang Prabang with his favorite tour partner.

Traveling in Laos continues to be serene and supremely rewarding with the beautiful countryside and the warmth of people. When E. awoke early for the 150 km long haul into Vientiane from Paxsan a mix of incense and misty fog blanketed the streets. A air of tranquility lined the roads. Women sat along the side walk quietly chatting while waiting patiently with bags of sticky rice resting in their laps for the passing monks collecting their morning alms. This Buddhist ritual takes place every morning around 5 am as the monks file out silently from the monasteries heading to collect food offerings, their gleaming silver collection bowls shinning in the morning rays. Buddhist chants and prayers rise up among the procession.

The ride between Vientiane and Vang Vieng was stunning, rainy, and anything but flat; introducing us to the mountainous landscape of Northern Laos with a few decent hills that shocked our legs and might have been the principle cause of some serious whining. We arrived in Vang Vieng around 2 in the afternoon and checked into a sweet little bungalow on the small island in the Nam Song river which our guidebook warns is a big party spot, complete with the backpackers holy trinity: all night bars, loud music, and cheap accommodation. Our bungalow was impossible to resist though, complete with a hammock on the deck and abutting the river it was an idyllic setting to spend a few days soaking up the atmosphere of the place.

Our sweet bungalow and sunset in Vang Veing:

We rushed off to catch one of the last runs of tubers heading out to the drop point a few kilometers upstream from town. Considered the rite of passage within SE Asia, Veng Veing has become legendary for its tubing experience. We piled into the back of a tuk-tuk with 8 other sweaty young travelers and our the bumpy way to the drop in site. Seemingly hundreds of happily intoxicated backpackers lined the rivers banks, setting up shop in the make-shift bars along the shore. Besides the river itself, the second main attraction is the giant swings and zip lines that are haphazardly strung out in front of the bars, providing the tubers with an irresistible temptation. We watched countless dare devil sloshed travelers tempt fate with these contraptions. We watched one girl face plant into the river, leaving her bruised and probably with a concussion. E tried one of the zip lines sending her cascading feet first into the river. Luckily we learned from watching that you have to let go before the line reaches the end or else the sling shot effect sends you somersaulting headfirst into the rock-hard river surface. Due to the active monsoon season the river is running swiftly, sending you shooting down the upon entering. Lao bar workers call out to the passing tubers, beckoning them in with promises of free tequila shots and the best drugs. Because your moving so quickly down stream the method of stopping rests upon luck and pure muscle as the bar workers chuck out ropes tied to water bottles to reel you in. If they are not strong enough to pull you in or you miss the hurtling bottle, then you simply continue the journey downriver, with or without your friends. The two hour trip soon passed the make-shift bars, opening onto jungle lined river edges with only the sound of the bubbling river. Overall we had a blast and managed to come out from the experience unscathed and sober.

The following day we pedaled out to the nearby Tamhoy, Thamloup, and Elephant caves where we unwittingly picked up a local guide, without whom we certainly would not have found our way to the second, third, and fourth caves. Most of the caves have religious significance to the Buddhists of the region and each cave has some spectacular incarnation of a Buddha enshrined inside. Past the first cave we wandered behind our guide, meandering through villages, in and out of families yards, and along cattle paths that cut between raised rice paddies. Our guide gave us an incredible tour of the second cave which seemed to go on endlessly! What started as a walk through a muddy but interesting cave soon became a slog through limestone ringed pools and eventually ended with us swimming through narrow caverns to reach huge cathedrals of cave on the other side. We trekked through this cave for what must've been half an hour before our guide decided we should turn back. Only the sound of our sloshing shoes and our guides melodic singing echoed down the length of the cave as we felt utterly alone in the depths of the limestone mountain. The last cave of the day was a tubing cave! Here we hopped in inner tubes, strapped dim lights to our heads and commenced to pull ourselves along an intricate system of ropes into a cave that had been carved out by an active river. During the dry season it is possible to kayak through the cave but at times we had to duck in order to keep from bumping our heads along the cave roof. At the end of the day we paid 5000 kip to take the bridge to get back across a river to our bikes, unfortunately the bridge isn't quite done and only spans three quarters of the river, so we had to ford the last third of the river; luckily we'd already been swimming a few times that day so no harm in getting wet all over again!

Zach swimming in the cave and tubers lining up to enter the cave:


We skipped town the next day and started the ride to Luang Prabang that would take us three days at best, possibly four. The first day we encountered the usual Laos traffic, sunbathing cows, water buffalo, ducks, and chickens… oh and the occasional car, truck, or tuk tuk. The climbs weren't too bad and we topped out at just under 800 meters and ended the day at an awesome little mountain resort in the middle of nowhere called Bor Nam Oon. Our little chalet was just big enough to fit a full size bed and our collection of bags. We woke to incredible views and some incredible fog as well.

So when a small man with a big gun asks to have his picture taken, the answer is YES!


The ride between Bor Nam Oon and Muang Phu Khun was quite a bit more uphill and came in at 76kms. The views were stunning and in the late afternoon the rain was also stunning, but in a different way. We learned quickly that coupled with Laos notorious steep descents and white-out rain squalls our cantilever breaks don’t offer enough stopping power, causing much unneeded hand cramping from the bear like grip we have on the breaks while gingerly making our way down the mountain. We hid under a thatch hut while the worst of one squall passed. Next bike tour we will definitely use disc breaks. Even with the screeching descents and the endless ascents the breathtaking views made this part of the journey completely worthwhile. Laos offers up those type of views that look so stunning and so massive that they almost seem fake, like a pastoral landscape painting. During those wet moments children would come out en mass from the villages scattering the mountainside. Naked they run about singing and playing in the downpour and lake sized mud-puddles. As we rounded one corner four young girls dressed only in bright green galoshes with pink plastic bags on their heads and beaming smiles echoed laughter in unison and began playfully splashing us with their muddy puddle water. We made it in to Kiou Ka Cham and got a chance to chat with a couple of Brits on vacation in Laos in a town otherwise devoid of tourists. The room was not worth mentioning and the concrete box with a hose and tap for a shower was also not worth mentioning.

Zach and one of those views and rain squall:


A little kid waving from home and one of the many roadside veggie stalls:


We left early the next morning and rode a looooong downhill before riding a long windy uphill and then we were coasting the last bit of the way into the lovely world heritage city of Luang Prabang. We cycled through scores of thatched and tin hut villages along the way. A surprising feature dotting the ride was the ubiquitous satellite dish. More prevalent than tin roof and multi-room homes, satellite dishes perch blatantly outside homes, marking Laos unofficial entrance into the 21st Century. As we cycle by its not uncommon to hear the latest American or Thai pop song ringing out from inside.

E. enjoying a magnificent views:


Arriving in the former royal capital of Luang Prabang we were struck by its confluence of French, and Chinese architecture nestled in the surrounding hills. Monks shrouded in bright orange robes scurry about to the town's 32 historic temples. Although we both felt like we could stay a while we decided to make a side trip to visit a well known archaeological site called the Plain of Jars. Currently we are in Phonsovan in North Eastern Laos, having recently arrived via minivan after 8 hours on switch backs roads. This single day journey would have taken us at best 4 days by bicycle.

We spent a whole day exploring the three Plain of Jars sites surrounding Phonsovan town. Little is known about the jars, but archaeologists believe they are ancient funeral urns dating back over 2500 years ago. The three most accessible sites are located near Phonsovan but there are hundreds of jars scattered across Laos. The jars are huge and seemingly placed at random and weigh up to 1 ton each. Situated next to many of the jars are deep craters, remnants from the US secretive bombing missions in Laos during the Vietnam War. As the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) notes it is estimated that at least two million tons or ordnance was dropped on Laos between 1964 and 1973, making Laos the most heavily bombed nation in the world (per capita). Furthermore it is estimated that up to 30% of all bombs dropped failed to explode and now lay resting on Lao soil. Growing up and learning about the Vietnam War we never heard about missions and bombing runs in Laos. The province where Phnosovan lies is in the most heavily bombed region of Laos and it was shocking for us to learn that millions of unexploded bombs (UXO) still lay waiting. Walking around the Plain of Jar sites de-mined markers line the pathways, delineating the safe places to walk free from UXOs. The remnants of American bombing missions can be seen in Phnosovan and the neighboring villages; 3 foot bomb casings line café entrances, flowers grow in halved out bombs, cluster bombs shells used as scrap metal. War for us plays out in stories, books, and in the news. War for the Lao people plays out within daily life; In the rice paddies, having to carefully hoe the fields for fear of uncovered bombs or whether your child will find a cluster bomb the same color as the fruit on the trees. We uploaded the complete Plain of Jars photos here.



We will again part ways in the next few days. Zach having gotten his China visa will fly from Vientiane to Chengdu, China on the 27th. He'll meet up with the group cycling in Tibet and they will start their amazing journey a week later. Elise will be taking the slow boat up the Mekong from Luang Prabang to Thailand on the 20th. Her teaching course in Chang Mai, Thailand starts at the end of the month. We send our love to you back home. Thanks for reading the blog.