Luang Prabang, Feb 7, 2011.
Must say I enjoyed Vang Vieng. It was quite a relief seeing the extremely noisy bars gone from Erawan Island. Now let us hope that the peaceful bars on that island come back, as they were some four years ago. In town there are still a zillion young travellers watching television in bars all day, and they walk around town mostly undressed. The guys barechested and some Australian girls in string bikinis. I personally don't mind slender chicks in bathers but I wonder how the Lao feel about it.
Apart from my tube leaking and sinking the tubing was generally almost as good as first time I did it. There are ever more bars each year and rather loud. But as long as the music is good I can live with it.
I noticed early on that my tube seemed low on air and thought I had better not stop at any more bars once I had had my starting large beer right before launching my tube trip. I was quite sure I would make it all the way despite other tubers calling to me saying what I already knew. I ran aground several times in the shallow areas and kept telling myself that the only way to go on is forward. Eventually I had to make a run for the nearest river bank though or I would have gone down midriver. When I got up on dry land my tube was practically empty of air, hanging like a dead baloon off of my arm. I walked for a bit and then accepted a tuktuk drivers offer of taking me back to VV for 10000 kip. I wanted the guys at the tube business to promise they would accept to scrap this tube altogether. I never saw where the actual leak was but the tube had about a dozen patches on it and may have leaked in several of them. The tubing guys though just threw it in a corner and did not want to promise anything. Maybe you get it next time? Check properly!
Then yesterday morning I took the bus to Luang Prabang, VIP bus at ten o'clock. We met several cyclists in the mean hills and I saw how they struggled, as I had. I am glad to have cycled these hills once but don't really feel I have to do it again. I will have enough hills riding to Pak Mong, Udomxai and Namtha.
Anyway I saw several new guest houses along the way but can not say specifics of where.
Luang Prabang seems to have three times as many tourists now as two years ago. Many are old ladies shopping like mad at the evening market. Prices in bars and restaurants are outright ridiculous by Lao standards. The best bar in town seems to be gone.
There used to be an outside bar quite high up along the main street, on its western side. I think of it as the best bar I have ever frequented, even the only real bar. It consisted of one bar with some 7 stools on each side. The bartender was at the short end. For reasons beyond me he was dressed up like a cowboy, taking orders and serving cocktails from his end of the bar.
It was a great meeting place for single travellers. Wherever you sat down you always had someone else right opposite you. It was so easy talking to people. Two years ago we came to be a regular group coming there for a cocktail somewhere around 7 pm. We talked about the drinks and who had done what during the day. Eventually someone popped the dinner question, and off we went to try out some suggestion. I could not find it all last night and fear it has disappeared altogether. Will check on some back streets tonight though, maybe it has just relocated?
........
No, sorry I never found it. I walked around a fair bit in town and was really impressed at how even the new hotels along the back river side of the peninsula were built in a beautiful old style that goes well original Luang Prabang. I think this town is destined to be Laos' main tourist attraction for many years to come.
On my second evening in Luang Prabang I had dinner at a Mekong side outdoor restaurant. The food was great but the most memorable thing with it was the young Lao woman serving. I orderded a large Beer Lao which she brought with a frozen glass and some peanuts. When I thanked her she looked me right between the eyes and said 'Enjoy!' with a smile and what seemed to be an earnest wish that I would. Had it been possible to capture that single word, that sweet smile and the radiance of her face, capture all that on video, it could have sold millions of whatever. Oh the lovely Lao!
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