#18. With Love from Laos...

"Steve!" I cried, chasing the bus whilst ferociously waving his passport in the air. "Steeeeeeeve!!!". But it was too late. Feeling defeated, I hopelessly watched as Steve headed back to Thailand.

After another uncomfortable ride from Pai to Chiang Mai and an even less comfortable and sleep deprived 12-hour overnight journey from Chiang Mai to Khon Kaew, a tuk-tuk ride from an unsuccessful con man, a straight forward border crossing and a bus ride over the Friendship Bridge brought us to Laos immigration.

Our dealings with the official looking currency exchange office proved to be dodgy, with the staff rather corruptly altering the rate to suit our needs. "How much can I get for 2000 Baht?" asked Steve. "25 dollar", came the reply in a blatant attempt to rip us off. "But I need $60" Steve responded, pleadingly. "Ok" replied the guy, after getting the nod from his colleague. If only we had asked for more...

"$35 each" demanded the hostile Visa official. It seems that since only the beginning of this year the cost has increased from the $30 fee that we were expecting. Despite our protests and appeal to his better nature when, armed with only $60 and some lose change we clearly didn't have enough money, a blunt "no bank here, Thailand" and the now irate official slammed the proverbial door in our face. How ironic it is called the Friendship Bridge, I mused.

So there I stood, in Laos, whilst Steve headed to another country armed with...my passport! In all the rush and panic and Steve worrying about his beloved camera (which admittedly I had left unattended), I had given him the wrong one. Not only this but our last shrapnel was spent on his trip back to Thailand. First an irate Visa official, now an irate boyfriend, I thought to myself as I waited for what seemed an eternity, pondering whether to hitch a ride back across the bridge to reunite Steve with the correct passport. Being stranded in No-Mans-Land started to seem like a feasible option. Nevertheless, 15 minutes later and Steve returned...smiling and cash in hand! After trying to explain the situation to an increasingly disgruntled Thai immigration officer who didn't speak a word of English, Steve (much like a fugitive) jumped three barriers to reach the nearest ATM. Luckily this wasn't the American-Mexican border!

Finally, with the experience nearly ending in frustrated tears, we breathed a sigh of relief as we crossed immigration, turning the corner to see...a bank! Sods law strikes again!

25-hours after leaving Pai and we finally arrived in Vientiane, treating ourselves to a much deserved "luxury" (in backpackers terms) hotel, spending the night drifting in and out of consciousness in an attempt to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Very much a capital city like no other, Vientiane is how I imagine Cambodia's Pnom Penh to be in 10 years or so: low rise concrete blocks mixed with traditional wooden buildings line quiet streets and avenues adorned with European eateries, the French influence heavily evident by the colonial style buildings and baguette laden stalls. Vientiane is a nice, relaxing city, the mellow ambience atypically Laos.

Following a very confusing insight into Laos history at the National Museum, we whiled away the twilight hours alongside the Mekong, supping Beerlaos (the best in Asia) and having our daily fix of the very moreish sticky rice.

With the excitement and anticipation of heading to a new destination comes the dread of getting from A to B. With erratic driving and overtaking on blind bends the norm (and on mountainous roads, may I add) and wandering livestock and small children to name but a few obstacles, Loatians are notoriously bad drivers. Needless to say, every journey is guaranteed to be a nerve wracking, stomach churning, white knuckle experience!

With our nerves in tatters we arrived in Vang Vieng some 4-hours later. Nestled alongside the Nam Song river amid stunning limestone peaks, Vang Vieng is a travelers mecca! Touristy but without the cataclysmic development normally associated with such tourism, the quirky, relaxed "chill-out" bars and array of delicious local street vendors made Vang Vieng another place we didn't want to leave. With the intention of having a quiet first night, we became absorbed in the mellow ambience and, not wishing the night to end, even thought that smoking opium was a great idea! Rather stupid in hindsight given that, had we been caught, the $500 police on-the-spot fine would most definitely have blown our budget! Nevertheless, the aches, pains and frazzled nerves from our earlier journey were somewhat soothed!

A 34km bike ride the following day took us through some lovely rural villages (with children shouting "Sabaidee!" as we passed), peaceful riverside retreats and past the most beautiful, breathtaking scenery! The dramatic landscape, enveloped by haze and mist, looked almost illusional, rather like a cardboard cut-out. So tranquil and serene, the magical Nam Song can't help but put a smile on your face.

The following day was an action packed day of tubing. In other words, sitting your backside in a huge rubber ring and floating, with sun beating down and not a care in the world, down the clean and refreshing Nam Song River!!! Floating, that is, until you reach the next make-shift bar! Oh, and the odd zip line and swing jump thrown in too for the adrenalin junkies! We spent much of the day with Ana and Mano (the latter a crazy German Action Man!!!), and 4-hours later we finally finished half the course...a mere 3km!! After a random game of volleyball we headed to the last bar, just as night fell, warming ourselves on the bonfire against the onsetting chills! The last 1km was spent drifting along the river in pitch black darkness, clinging onto any stray person that drifted past, and absolutely FREEZING!!!! It's amazing how cold the nights are in Laos!!! It was such a fun day and we met some really cool people, although sadly we mostly lost each other in the dark (including Ana and Mano unfortunately)!!! I'm hoping they too made it back in one piece!

Very sad to leave Vang Vieng but with time at the essence, another white knuckle ride of a journey took us to Luang Prabang, a lovely, picturesque French colonial city (and now a world heritage site) where we mostly spent our time eating, drinking, watching sunsets and quite simply being blown away by the relaxing ambience. If we were laidback before, now we were practically horizontal! Another cooking lesson, this time in Laos cuisine, and some bargaining on the bustling and very colourful night market completed our time in this lovely city.

Despite the odd passenger vomiting into plastic bags on the next notoriously bad, notoriously bendy 10-hour journey to Luang Nam Tha, it was surprisingly easy! Easy, that is, until the evening when I suddenly came down with a bug of sorts (or being too gluttoness with rarely dodgy Laos food), marking day 1 of another bout of sickness for Michelle!!! Third time unlucky! Nevertheless, we managed a bike ride into some remote, rural villages (the kind where they have rarely seen farang) before having an early night.

The following day we took a pick-up truck to Muang Sing, possibly one of the most uncomfortable, bumpy but amusing journies ever with as many people as possible crammed into the back! There's no better way to get acquainted with your fellow travelers than when you are practically sitting on their lap, that's for sure! Arse on the floor, my legs were left hanging over the edge, freezing in the morning mists! 2-hours later, with bruises aplenty, we arrived at our destination. Sadly for me I was bedridden for much of the day, rather unfortunate for Steve as Muang Sing is not the most exciting of places for a lone traveler! Nevertheless, we found a very local bar for some pre dinner beers before going out for grub with Mel and Ariaan, with me tucking into a delicious.....chip butty! Theres nothing like some involuntary colonic irrigation to put you off the local food!

Muang Sing is best known for the ethnic hilltribes who live in the surrounding areas and, unlike the commercialism of Thailand, can be visited in their most natural environment with as little environmental and social impact as possible. Thus the following day we hiked up steep hills and waded FREEZING rivers in our quest to visit them, including some al fresco dining alongside the river as we tucked into sticky rice and local delicacies eaten from banana leaves. And a trek wouldn't be a trek without taking a few wrong turns along the way! It was an amazing experience! Such warm and welcoming people, whom have had the most minimal of contact with foreigners, it truly was a lovely and heartfelt day. And as for the children...simply adorable!! Laos kids are the cutest, happiest and smiliest of all children! Dubious at first, greeting us with a shy "Sabaidee", they were soon willing to run around and play, following us like an entourage as we left their village with a chorus of "bye bye, bye bye" and frantic waves.

Sadly our time in Laos came to an end and, after returning to Luang Nam Tha, we made our way to the border. Laos did not disappoint and in fact exceeded all our expectations, making the stress of our entry into Laos all the more worthwhile. So now we say farewell to the very special land of the very infectious smiles. Chopsticks at the ready, time to head to China...