Overlanding To Australia – Part Ten
The chilled-out capital of south-east Asia makes a welcome change after the frantic chaos of China
After the chaos of China, the chilled-out capital of Southeast Asia makes a welcome change
Like a cork popping from a magnum of Champagne, we exited China into the calm fresh air of Laos. Entering from the northern Laos border at Boten, we instantly felt the chilled and relaxed vibe of the Laotians. There were very few vehicles on the road – in stark contrast to the intensity of China, with its bustling cities, packed roads and the constant sound of car horns.
We drove to the town of Luang Namtha, 30 miles from the border, parked the car up and chilled for five days, enjoying doing nothing but drinking coffee and beer, eating great food and listening to the sound of heavy rain on the tin roof as we wrote articles and updated our blog.
We were itching to get off-road again and explore, something we didn’t get to do in China, so we headed off with our Swiss friends to enjoy some mud. Making our way up and down the winding mountain roads, we spent our first night just off a jungle track. The rain had fallen non-stop since we arrived in Laos, turning the tracks into rivers of mud. Our way was blocked by a river that had swelled so much that fording was out of the question, so we had to turn around and get back on tarmac to head further up north to the town of Phong Sari.
The town was unremarkable, so the next day we set off in search of some off-road adventure. There had been a few landslides after the rain and at one point even the locals were unsure whether the road was passable. But as the day progressed, the weather improved to a perfect 25 deg C and the tracks soon dried.
The scenery was spectacular, with hills covered in lush green forest – a welcome change from the countless thousands of acres of rubber plantations following the deforestation seen in South China. We drove through some remote villages and came across a small school where the teacher came out to greet us. He explained that kids from several villages nearby use the school and was very grateful for the packs of colouring pencils we gave him.
After our few days in the jungle and its sticky, humid camping spots, we headed south toward the former French colonial capital city, Luang Prabang, nestled on the banks of the Mekong River.
With its source in the Tibetan Plateau, we had crossed the Mekong several times in China. This mighty river is the main lifeline for so many communities across the six countries it travels through and the Mekong basin is one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world, second only to the Amazon. However, it is also the fastest-growing large river basin in the world in terms of hydropower construction, which sadly does and will continue to destroy the wildlife and local fishing communities.
Luang Prabang was unlike any city we had seen in Asia to date, with strong French architectural influence mixed with the more traditional temples. The many restaurants, coffee shops and fine French bakeries filled with western tourists gave it a very European feel. We enjoyed four days sampling the coffee, bread and fine food. After enjoying such luxuries, we burned off some calories with a mountain bike tour to Kuang Si Waterfalls including a boat ride on the Mekong and several runs along the banks of this waterway.
There was still plenty to see in Laos, so we continued to make our way south. On the way to Vang Vieng, the party capital of Laos, we
“We were itching to get off-road again and enjoy some mud”
camped at a hilltop strawberry farm and witnessed one of the most spectacular sunsets of our trip so far. After a chilly night and the sea of fog in the morning, we called in to the famous party and tubing hub of Laos, Vang Vieng, but we were definitely pushing the boundaries of the 18-30 party scene, so we moved swiftly on.
Vientiane, the modern capital, was not the most spectacular city and we only stayed briefly. We had discovered a problem with the accessory idler pulley on the Defender’s (Ford-derived) 2.4 Puma engine and called in to the Ford and Land Rover garages for a spare. However, as most of the Puma engines in Laos are the 2.2-litre version, a spare was not available. It would take three weeks for the part to be ordered and delivered, which was time we simply did not have, so we decided to keep an eye on the problem and get the part shipped from the UK to Thailand, which would be our next port of call.
With the trucker’s tan on my left arm getting deeper by the day, we pushed on, taking in plenty of waterfalls, forest wild camps and tantalising views of our next country, Thailand, on the other side of the Mekong river.
We made a stop at Kong Lo Cave, which is one of the most impressive attractions in Laos. The clear, jade-green river flows through the cave all year round, so the 7 km long cave is explored by boats. However, as we were there during the dry season, we had to get out of the boat in pitch darkness to help push the boat along. The boatman was very skilled and travelled at high speed. It was like being in a Bond movie.
We also visited the area known as 4000 Islands (Si Phan Don). The islands were all located in the Mekong river – and there really were a lot of them. We stopped at the biggest of them all on the first night, Don Kong. We met up with our Swiss friends again before they exited the country to Cambodia and also made a new friend, Steve, a Brit who was travelling overland on his KTM motorcycle as part of the Mudd Life Crisis team.
Having said goodbye to our chums, we headed further south to within six miles of the Cambodian border to the peaceful island of Don Det. We stayed for a few days in a great guest house with bungalows on the banks of the Mekong, owned by the German guy called Lutz and his family. The food in his restaurant was really good and we ate there every day while we were on the island, working through the whole menu. We also enjoyed some kayaking and a visit to the Khone Phapheng Falls, the widest waterfall in the world at six miles.
After a very chilled time in Laos, in which we covered less than 1000 miles in a month, it was time to head to the border, with fingers crossed that the Thais would let us in.