Laos - Jewel Of The Mekong

It's not so common for travelers to visit Laos comparing with the rest of South-East Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc. I personally only aware of two friends who have visited Laos - a Malaysian and a French. One of them gave me some good pointers about the country that was totally unknown to me. Yes, I had a sense of insecurity.

Kuang Si Waterfall:
A Very Friendly Hmong Lady Who Let Us Visited Her House:
Hmong Village:

The noodle I love:

Street of Luang Prabang:

It's good for me to find out by myself that Laos is in fact safer than my own country. I did not see any criminal activities there. Nobody will try to cheat you like the Vietnamese or Chinese. Yes, they may hike up the price knowing that you're a foreigner but you can bargain all the way down to the price you're happy - this is a pretty common practice in South-East Asia. The living standard has gone up in recent years due to the hike of petrol price. I could no longer get 50,000 kip taxi ride to the airport. Instead it cost me 70, 000 kip. T-shirts cost around 15,000 kip. Lao coffee powder was purchased at Luang Prabang for 50, 000 kip a bag but later found out they were available at 32,000 kip in Vientiane. Currency exchange to kip can only be done in Laos. Thai baht and US dollar are widely acceptable. 10,000 kip is about USD1 or RM4.

Tuk Tuk - The Main Transportation In Laos:


A Stupa At A Temple In Luang Prabang:

Bring along a torch light if you are afraid of the dark because their electricity availability is inconsistent. You may encounter sudden black out while walking half way on the street in total darkness, but it would last only a few seconds.

A Temple In Luang Prabang (Forgot The Name):

My trip basically covered the UNESCO site, Luang Prabang, and Vientiane. Luang Prabang is ideal for nature lovers especially if you fancy waterfalls (i.e. Kuang Si waterfall and Tad Sae waterfalls). Just bear in mind that there's no water at Tad Sae during dry season. I skipped Tad Sae waterfall. I decided to skip the cave because I did not know how to appreciate caves. I also skipped the cruise at the Mekong river because to me it's just another muddy river. There were plenty of temples to visit such as Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Visoune, etc. Try searching via Google and you will find plenty of temples in Laos. In Luang Prabang, you can climb Phousi Hill to have a good view of the city by following a stairway path. There's a temple on top of the hill.

Shophouses along Mekong riverside:


Hawker At Mekong Riverside:
The people are generally friendly and helpful. They speak better English than Vietnamese. It's comparable to Cambodians. It's always useful to learn some basic Lao as you travel in this country. If you know Thai you will obviously know how to count 1 to 10 already because they're the same. Their language has some similarities with Thai. Knowing simple Lao helped me to bargain and seek for help easier. The following are some of the list of words I find useful:

Hello - sa bai dee
Thank you - khawp jai
zero -soon
one - neung
two - song
three - saam
four - si
five - ha
six - hok
seven - jet
eight - paet
nine - kao
ten - sip
eleven - sip neung
twelve - sip song
thirteen - sip saam
twenty - song sip
twenty one - song sip neung
twenty two - song sip song
thirty - saam sip
1,000 - phan
10, 000 - sip phan
100,000 - loi phan
now - diow nee
later - la gon
afternoon - tiang
morning - dthawn sao
evening - ton lang
night - kaang keun
today - meuh nii
tomorrow - meuh euhn
black - sii dum
white - sii khao
blue - sii faa
green - sii khiao
red - sii daeng
gray - sii ke thao
brown - sii nam taan
chicken - gai
beef - neua
fish - pbaa
shrimp - goong
egg - khai
vegetables - phaak
fruit - maak mai
bread - khao jii
rice - khao
rice noodle - pho
coffee - khaafeh
water - naam
juice - nam mak mai
hot tea - saa hawn
soap - saabuu
shampoo - saapom
pen - bik
how much is this? - anee tor dai?
I don't want it - khoy bor yak ow
no - baw
yes - maen laeow
please -kalunaa
I don't understand - khawy baw khao jai

In Vientiane, forget about Kao Lao Restaurant if you're seeking for cultural show and local food. The food was made for Westerner's taste and they taste awful for South-East Asian's taste. The cultural show is just 3 musicians playing their local musical instruments accompanied by one or two dancers with limited space for them to move. One of the hotel staff mentioned to me, "That's not true Laotian". It's not worth the money you have to spend for it. Look for other better option to spend your money. If you want to taste the real local food, try their street food if you dare. It's not very hygienic based on the way they hold the food with bare hands and I had stomach upset once but I believe it's not as bad as India.

It's a very relaxing and slow pace journey comparing with Bangkok or Hanoi. No traffic congestion. No rat race. Don't expect any huge shopping complex in Laos either. However there are some luxury hotels if you have money to burn. Night market and morning market are the places for shopping. Most of the stuff sold are cloth related handcraft and t-shirts. It is one of the lowest cost trips I have come across.