4/1/18

Laos - February 2016

I had been to Laos once before, but only for a visa-run while my sister was visiting me in Hanoi.  Some key things about my situation and mindset as I crossed from Cambodia into Laos: I had not used internet for 11 months; I had not used a phone or contacted anyone (including my family or my girlfriend in Saigon) for over a month - I was truly alone and loving it.










A guy on the side of the road selling freshly dead rats 'n squirrels

Laos Food
I was pretty critical of Cambodian food because I was accustomed to wonderful feeds in Vietnam for about $1 / meal.  Laos was better than Cambodia, but also much more expensive.  The main difference between Laos food and other southeast Asian countries is that in Laos the staple is not regular rice, but sticky rice eaten with your hands - this may seem trivial, but I found it to be quite a big cultural difference.

Seamed sticky rice is always served in these baskets, usually with some spicy mince meat, but at around $3 for a feed it is no bargain

I'm not trying to compare everything to my beloved Vietnam, but at twice the price and half as delicious Laos "phở" didn't do it for me

Sticky rice and soy sauce is like the nectar of the Gods after a full day cycling dirt roads

Curry with rice noodles was cheap and delicious

Food got better (but not cheaper) upon reaching the capital


I have no idea what these raw edible roots are, but they were my go to all month

Laos Roads
I thought the dirt roads were behind me when I left Cambodia, but I was very wrong.  I could've taken the paved highway north along the Mekong river, but that wouldn't be much fun...














Cycling with Sven
Sven is a guy from Germany who has spent more than 10 years cycling, mostly in Africa.  We met on the road in a mountainous region and cycled and camped together for 4 or 5 days.  He was an interesting, reclusive character and obviously someone who loathed social norms and common ways of thinking or looking at the world.  Once, while crossing a bridge, we decided to go down to the river and swim to cool down.  When we got down to the river, I used my sarong to change shorts and Sven just got completely naked and made his way into the water.  Later, when he came out of the water, he was standing on the river bank stark naked and some children crossing the bridge were staring at him.  He looked at them as though he pitied their brainwashing - he was 100% sure that a naked human was no different than any other naked creature and anyone who didn't see it that way had some psychological issues.


The bike of a couple who cycled from England

Being invited to - and getting drunk at - an afternoon party is very normal in Laos.  This is a homemade liquor made from honey 

Humanized condoms mingle with the Laotians


Sleeping - Pondoks Galore
One really great thing in Laos is that there are empty Pondoks (huts built on stilts) everywhere.  I have a lot to say about sleeping alone with no people nearby or access to phone/internet and the effects this has on one's mentality - or rather the mental fortitude one needs to build up in order to be able to enjoy traveling in this fashion.  However, I will keep this for another post because I could easily write 10k words about this and the various branches that this tree has.