Maybe another time, other circumstances, but for now we are happy to say Goodbye to Laos and go back to Thailand. Who would have thought it would kind of feel like ‘home’ to us.
Admittedly, we had a good time in Luang Prabang. It is a charming, sleepy little town with lovely French colonial architecture, many nice restaurants and cafes overlooking the Mekong River and amazing waterfalls to go visit.
Newly opened Tingkham Guesthouse in Luang Prabang. Little tight, but very new and modern. We had the corner unit on the second floor (as seen in picture). The balcony was an excellent spot to watch the monks collect alms early in the morning (5AM – 6AM)… a tradition Luang Prabang has become world famous for.
We usually don’t get sick much on the road and are not overly sensitive, however, we both got sick there. I just had a little stomach thing that I overcame within the matter of a day. Konrad wasn’t so lucky. After stomach issues, he developed a really high fever and was basically knocked out for 24 hours.
Spray for the throat, Paracetamol for the fever and after shave for the fever blisters
Some Paracetamol and lots of sleep later, it cleared up, followed by a mean sore throat. Got some spray to sooth and heal, hopefully. But this wasn’t all, a day after the fever, giant fever blisters developed on his lips. They will take days to clear up. Finally, we were both well enough to go see the waterfalls, which are really impressive. But we felt it was time to move on.
We had a great time at the Kuang Si Waterfalls
Vientiane. Horrible night on the sleeper bus. I think there were bed bugs and it was impossible to find a comfortable position to sleep in, while the bus winds through the mountains and rolls me around at every curve. And hmm… Vientiane is actually not so much of a lovely place as Luang Prabang.
No restaurants on the riverside. No cute little guesthouses. Rather large backpacker compounds. Our room is right next to the lobby. Noise and smoky air travels through the door. There is no window and we keep waking up with headaches or dizziness just from the lack of oxygen.
JOMA – we are spending lots of time here
No surprise then that we find ourselves spending most of the day at coffee shops. We came to like JOMA especially, which we knew from Luang Prabang already. Not so much for its very touristy prices, but the great internet (no comparison to any of the guesthouse’s wifi) and cozy seating areas.
We have a hard time warming up to this city. I am just realizing, I haven’t taken any pictures yet. This should speak for itself. So by our second day in Vientiane, we line up at the Thai consulate to get visas to go back to Chiang Mai.
The first photo I took in Vientiane
By the third day we have our visas, but Konrad is sick again! Ahhh…Laos! What are you doing to us? Postponed travel plans, but hopefully by tomorrow we will be well enough to hit the road.