Luang Prabang, a World Heritage City, and a short walk through “Sodom” Vang Vieng

We arrived at the northern station of Luang Prabang, a station like all, Laos style, but more crowded. We went to the area with the largest guesthouse in the center of Luang Prabang, and of course, we walk … under a torrid sun, Mayra a little dizzy, but whatever it is rather than accept the ruinous haggling of the tuk tuk drivers … Walking we cross the neighborhood of artisans, where there are workshops of paper, clothing and other local crafts. The streets are dry mud, you could bake an egg on any stone and on the horizon the Mekong river looming …

Following the road, we find a tributary to the Mekong, Nam Khan, you have to cross it to get to the city … problem, but … oh! What do we see there in the background? It is a bridge made with bamboo that allows crossing the 50 meters wide river! Saved! We started to cross it, it is a bridge more than artisanal … always stepping on a bamboo crossbar to avoid any unforeseen on the floor of little resistant … At the end of the bridge there is a group of locals, under a bamboo roof, sheltered from the sun, we passed in front of you and a lady tells us something … we ask her to repeat it to us, and she says: 10,000 kips each … Eing? Yes, they were charging us to cross the river on the aforementioned bridge, back and forth … hahaha … we got a little angry, but when we came to our senses we told him that we were not going to return and that we only paid 5000 kips each … In Laos, they charge everything … the amount is not very high when it is converted into a euro but the ability to charge the minimum without hitting the water is annoying … and who are we to judge it? Now … we’re more beautiful, quiet …

The search for a guesthouse was fortuitous, just entering the city a boy yells at us and offers us the lowest price we will find, 60,000 kips, which by haggling we reduce it to 55,000 kips. A double room with fan and private bathroom quite acceptable.

Luang Prabang was the capital of the kingdom of Laos, although it is now the third city in population of Laos, but the first in tourism. The city is Buddhist, with more than 50 temples, considered the most beautiful in Southeast Asia. You can perceive the bustle of its multitudinous ceremonies the indicated afternoons, beautiful, with colorful colors, spectacular for laymen like us.

Although, possibly, its main attraction is the architecture of the city center. French colonial style buildings are proudly displayed over time and wars on Sisavangvong Street, which in 1995 earned him the title of World Heritage Site by Unesco. Its cafés and restaurants invite you to relax and enjoy time, in a city where time has stopped.

In the center of the city is also Mount Phousi, a 100-meter high elevation that allows a spectacular panoramic view of the city. Climbing your eternal steps will cost you 20,000 kips per person …

On the main street you can also find the Night market, full of souvenirs and crafts, colorful and colorful, nothing more.

Another market, for us more interesting than the previous one, is the Phosy market. A local market with its unhealthy corners and colorful vegetables on the ground, we love chafardear through the corridors, while locals look at us without understanding what we are doing there …

How is it de rigueur, and like a good French colony, there are also baguette sandwiches here. In the center there are about 100 meters with sandwiches stalls side by side, where you can eat a vegetable sandwich with chicken (or the combination that comes to mind) bathed in a refreshing fruit smoothie. For us the trick was to find the place to toast the bread … umm … On the street we also found a post of noodles for 5000 kips and another one of grilled meat where we bought the famous Luang Prabang sausage (10,000 kips), like a longaniza from Huesca but spicy … very good! Perfect menu at the best price … live the backpackers !!!

If you want to go to an original place, bar Utopia is your place. The prices are high, but the view of its terrace is spectacular, perfect place to stay lying dumbfounded with the river …

and there we went later, with José, a very nice boy from El Salvador who accompanied us to take a bath in the Nam Khan River. There were also a group of Lao children that we joined to play in the water !! What memories when we knew how to have fun with nothing … the current was high, we grabbed a branch of a stranded tree, then we went upstream to let ourselves be carried away by a fast mini … pure fun, and the children took us accepting us as part of the group, proud to show us their knowledge of the terrain … so it’s fun to travel …

And finally the day arrived, after several visits, haggling and checking, we bought a motorcycle !!!!! Ole Ole ole!!! This bike will take us the rest of the way as real nomads, only depending on our instinct, the navigator and the desire to see more world!

It’s called: Vietnam! a machine prepared for the modern world, it crosses roads, mountains and deserts … We bought it from Carlos, a very nice Valencian who came from traveling with her, and who continued on his way by bus. At first we were sure that I could not with two people and our backpacks … but surprise, it’s over! Go machine we just bought …

With the bike we went to see Kuang Si waterfall, a spectacular and idyllic waterfall that turns into pools where you can bathe. It costs 20,000 kips, but it’s worth it … At the entrance there is a park for the protection and recovery of Laos bears that have been found injured by poaching … you can see them in a kind of game park in the middle of the forest, quiet and playful, oblivious to the sights of tourists.

Then there are different natural pools at different heights, up to the largest waterfall, spectacular, turquoise blue waters … very beautiful. The path continues and you can climb to the top of the waterfall, where there is a wooden step above the marsh that forms on the summit … pure nature!

We found a spider like my fist that apparently is poisonous ciborium, and speaking of ciborium, we met a very nice Basque, I take this opportunity to greet Egoitz! All beautiful, in a cooler micro climate, among fantastic jungle … It is clear that here the good is cooked in nature! Stop colonial styles or tortilla sandwiches … hehehehe.

And … we go from Luang Prabang, in Vietnam, loaded like a mule … we leave without being very clear that it can take us … hahahaha … weight calculation, checking the baggage … then lost to the river … there we go!

We made 186 km in 5 hours and a half with La Vietnam … hahahaha … we are chalaos … we had the square ass … But the landscape was spectacular, the road passed between walls of rock populated with jungle. Crossing villages where time does not pass, we saw people taking showers in the center of the town, using a water tank made of cement, in which the tap was a stopper … We crossed mountains with 12% gradients, climbing in first … and then down sandy roads … luckily this motorcycle does not exceed 60 km / h, because the road is safari … Traveling by motorcycle has its Cons, but its Pros compensates, the contact with the environment is maximum …

Next stop Vang Vieng, a town in the middle of a beautiful spot, invaded by hordes of teenagers looking to make “tubing”, go down the river in a truck wheel chamber as a float and go making stops to drink beer and other liquors. People die like this, you can imagine the stupidity of this … So we stayed alone one night, in the most disgusting place we have been … often hovel … and it cost us 60,000 kips …

In Vang Vieng you can do any adventure sport you want (and the place allows), like driving boggies, zip lines, riding a motorcycle, but the most popular is to fly in a balloon, because it’s very cheap here. A nice place to visit is the Blue Lagoon, a lake with beautiful turquoise waters.