Located on the Xiangkhoang Plateau in the North of Laos lies a megalithic archaeological landscape consisting of thousands of carved stone jars from the Iron Age (500 BCE to 500 CE), perhaps unsurprisingly known as the Plain of Jars. Their origin and purpose was shrouded in mystery and local legend until excavation by French researcher Madeleine Colani and subsequent investigations by Lao and Japanese archaeologists found evidence to suggest they were used for burial purposes. They are the main tourist attraction in the province and after leaving Tom we decided to head out over the hills to see them. The main Jar Site (site 1) is the biggest and best example of the features and offers a small but detailed museum which explains the theories of how the jars were used (spoiler alert: the best guess is that whole bodies were placed in the jars which were then sealed, leaving the body to rot until just the bones remained, after which they were removed and cremated). The jars, however, are not the only reason this area is steeped in history.
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After another cramped mini van ride, we arrived at arguably the best visitor attraction in Laos – Luang Prabang. Lying at the confluence of the mighty Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers, the town enjoys UNESCO status as “an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by the European colonial authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries” [1]. The town a great place to walk around – French colonial houses and traditional temples sit side by side, and with hotels and restaurants catering for all budgets, the result is a relaxed atmosphere and chilled vibe with enough going on to satisfy both those looking for bar hangouts and those hunting for cultural nourishment.
One of the main stops in any Laos itinerary is Vang Vieng. This small town was once the unlikely party capital of Laos, where backpackers headed for days of drink and drug fueled debauchery whilst floating down the Nam Song river in the inflated inner tubes of tractor tires. The ‘glory days’ saw bars, complete with makeshift rope swings and zip lines, lining the river banks, pumping out dance music and offering drugs on their menus alongside beer, Pad Thai and the stupidly cheap local tipple – Lao-Lao whiskey (this is so cheap bars often offer free bucket cocktails of the stuff). Perhaps unsurprisingly, high numbers of tourist deaths (mainly from backpackers under the influence drowning in the water or landing on sharp rocks whilst jumping in the river) led to a crackdown by the Lao authorities and today Vang Vieng is much more peaceful. You can still go tubing and some bars remain on the riverbank, however, they only open in strict rotation and the once legendary crowds are no more. Instead we went on a kayaking trip , stopping only for a 10am beer in a nod to the towns previous reputation and basically didn’t see another living soul.
After planning, syncing up itineraries and waiting to see if Tom could actually get some time off work, finally the day of his arrival was upon us! For the first time in 6 months we were going to have some physical contact with home and we were both pretty excited (a bit of an understatement). We’d been talking to Tom about our plans from the very beginning and were always keen for him to come out and join us if he could so when he planned some travels in South East Asia and Canada we were beyond excited. Laos was decided as the best place to meet up and our ten days together started in the capital, Vientiane. We managed to surprise Tom at the airport with a little home made name sign after his epic three stop plane journey (London – Copenhagen – Bangkok – Vientiane!) and took a bus back to the hotel for him to have a well earned rest. After a little acclimatisation and some jet lag recovery, we were able to spend some time exploring the streets of a city that is pretty unusual in Asia. With a population of only around a quarter of a million people, Vientiane is a far cry from the traffic choked mega cities that seem so ubiquitous in the region. Additionally the weather seemed to have cooled just in time for Tom’s arrival so he wasn’t overwhelmed by the heat and humidity.
Heading back to Bangkok after our amazing time in Myanmar weirdly felt like going home. As our third visit to the city it felt reassuringly familiar, and we stayed a night before heading to the train station to take our second sleeper of the trip so far. We were heading for Nong Khai, a small town close to Laos and from where you can catch a train across the Friendship Bridge to complete the border crossing.
Our time in Bagan started in the same way as many of our travels - with a long and horrible bus journey. Given we arrived in Inle overnight and that we were both half asleep, it was easy to forget that we'd actually travelled up through the mountains to get there. The way to Bagan, which is west of Inle, involved driving down the steep roads that had led us there in a bus which can only be described as aged.
Inle Lake is quite rightly one of the main attractions of Myanmar. The expanse of water is home to many villages on stilts, where lake residents still practice traditional handicrafts such as making lacquerware, hand-weaving with lotus and silk and rolling tobacco to make cheroot (basically cigars). Cue a picture of Joe making his mother cry by smoking a crazy Myanmar cigar filled with tobacco, banana, honey and star anise.
Picture the scene… It’s Friday the 13th (a bad omen already). We’ve been on an overnight bus that was delayed meaning instead of 12 hours it took us 16 hours to reach Inle Lake in Myanmar. We’re tired, have headaches and are feeling just generally dirty, but are looking forward to showers and freshening up. Joe decides to cut his hair (we invested in a shaver in Chile and Joe has been giving himself free haircuts ever since). He disappears into the bathroom and starts shaving. All I hear is ‘wow my hair is longer than I thought!’ before a series of confused noises and exclamations. He walks out looking like this: His hair was not longer than he thought, he was actually just cutting off more than he meant to after putting the wrong attachment on his shaver! Cue laughter and crying, shrieking and general hilarity. He ended up having to give himself a number 2 all over and now bears a striking resemblance to a Buddhist monk.
We knew when we booked our flights to Myanmar that we had inadvertently timed our stay to coincide with one of the country’s major celebrations – Thingyan and the Burmese New Year. Running for about a week in April, the Buddhist water festival of Thingyan is celebrated across the country in what can only be described as a giant water fight, and which culminates in New Year festivities. Our schedule was pretty tight so we had no choice but to come to Myanmar at a time when all buses and transport grinds to a halt as the people take to the streets to dance and fling water at each other. We ended up in the Inle region for 6 days, staying in a village outside of the Lake area called Nyuang Shwe. We were lucky enough to have chosen an absolutely beautiful family run guesthouse (the Golden Empress), which turned out to be a perfect place to shelter from the water throwing. Our double en-suite room was gorgeous and the included breakfast was absolutely to die for - juice, coffee/tea, mountains of fresh fruit, toast with butter, jam and marmalade and the option to have eggs in a variety of ways or a banana and chocolate pancake! Given the festival, many of the activities and top things to do were closed, so our days focused on sampling some of the most highly rated lunch and dinner spots in Nyuang Shwe. We had some seriously delicious North Indian food (one meal of which was actually in a bizarre Eminem themed restaurant), amazing dim sum, some pretty good Italian pasta and incredible grilled vegetable sandwiches on homemade bread. We've since decided that getting fat from delicious food tourism is actually the best.
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Hi! We're Alice and Joseph, currently on a year long RTW trip :) Archives
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