Si Phan Don

The mighty Mekong River and its tributaries together create perhaps the single most important geographic feature of Laos. In direct contrast to the mountainous Northern/Central landscape, the Mekong Delta lowlands are perfectly flat. Nestled in the wide river just above Cambodia is Si Phan Don, Four Thousand Islands, literally. However, the few you’re likely to visit on this scenic 50 km-long stretch are so laidback you’re liable to turn into a hammock-bound icicle. The series of channels open up slowly, the first chug on the Mekong giving the barest taster if the enormous riches of the river, its wildlife and its people. There must be some rule in Laos saying the farther south you go the more tranquil it becomes, because just when you think your blood pressure couldn’t drop any more, you arrive in Si Phan Don. It’s actually the most chilled and relaxed region in not just all of Laos, but all of Asia. The lush scenery, spectacular sunsets and almost untouched natural ambiance of the place make it a must-see.

Don Det has a good pattern of footpaths, some through the fields used to grow coconuts and bamboo, past jungle patches with wild mangoes and more exotic trees, leading to coves where you see fishermen with their Mekong harvest of 2ft-long fish. The river-oriented village life is more detached from time than from the riverbank. The key attraction of the country is its undoubted status as the least westernized, the most relaxed and therefore the most authentic of all Indochinese nations. The winding layout therefore offers a much more serene tubing location than Vang Vieng. We spent hours drifting through the maze of islands in emerald waters, perfectly peaceful with barely a soul in sight. 

The launching point is an unspoiled beach at the tip of Don Det, which hosts campfires and their accompanying acoustics each night. There are a few other river-based sights including the largest falls in Southeast Asia and the Mekong pink dolphin. On Don Khon, near the village of Ban Khon, are the raging rapids of Taat Somphamit. But Khon Phapheng takes the cake for the largest volume waterfall in SE Asia, covering 13 km. You can sit in awe on a little platform bar hanging over the falls, sipping BeerLao.

Just before the river falls dramatically into Cambodia, the endangered species surface for air every two minutes. After extensive killing by the Khmer Rouge with bomb fishing, as well as unsupervised mesh fishing nets, only around 100 remain. Harsher tribulations of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge control of Cambodia will be witnessed when we visit Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. Estimated to take 300 years to construct today, it was completed in 40… an empire I’ve been dreaming of seeing for years!

Vang Vieng

Four hours on a minibus with drunken singing Aussies made for an entertaining journey to Vang Vieng, the backpacker haven of Central Laos. Once little more than a bus stop on the long haul between Vientiane and Luang Prabang, hedonistic travelers decided the long, wide Nam Song River provided the perfect tubing setting. Floating downstream at a sedate pace in an inflated rubber tube shouldn’t be a risky activity, but raising the danger level are the bars offering buckets of cheap hard liquor and numerous variations of launching yourself into the river. Ziplines, rope swings and slides line the banks, some reaching as high as around twenty feet and some that are blocked-off or were taken down 6 months ago due to frequent injuries.

Heaps of backpackers just graze on half-engulfed picnic tables, drinking, rocking tunes and people watching, with no intentions of even tubing. It’s easy to hop between the first cluster of bars as there are plenty of pathways and bridges connecting them. Westerners employed by the bars for food and accommodation hand out free shots and organize drinking games to attract/keep customers. They even offer promotions to encourage you to visit their twin bars in town later in the evening. The atmosphere of the town is one of lethargy by day and debauchery by night, as all the tubers spend each afternoon on the river and then end up at the bars collectively known as The Island. Or if you make it back to the tube rental joint by six o’clock to get your $7 deposit back, you can reach it via a decrepit bamboo and wood bridge. The competition between the bars on The Island is so fierce that the deals are pretty amazing, and if you time it right you can bar-hop for free buckets and cheap deals. You can also chill in more relaxed settings, such as Happy bars or TV restaurants playing only ‘Friends’ or ‘Family Guy’. The ramshackle town itself offers no real attractions, but the limestone karst mountains provide a stunning backdrop and a few interesting caves. One day we rented bicycles to visit Tham Poukham, Blue Lagoon, a quiet place to relax or cool down with a swim.

The spring-fed pond is at the bottom of Golden Cave, a modest 100-meter hike up a makeshift bamboo ladder. Deeper than presumed, the aboveground chamber houses a reclining gold Buddha and glimmering stalactites. 

Our rented head-torch came in very handy when we decided to explore further into the dark cavern, crawling over well-worn rock formations. The seven-kilometer bike back through several tiny farm villages on painfully rough roads brought our total to 15 km after making a few wrong turns, the most exercise we’d gotten in days. We also got the most bracelets we’ve ever worn, 13 each, force-tied around our wrists after taking the required shot to enter certain river bars. A twenty-two hour sleeper bus south to Si Phan Don will help us recover and rejuvenate from the craziness.

Vientiane

After a turbulent ferry transfer back to Bali, bus ride to Kuta for last minute shopping and a taxi to the airport, we were off to Kuala Lumpur again. We didn’t touch down until about 1am, didn’t get luggage and find a comfy place to sleep until 2am, then got woken up around 5am by the buzzing travelers. We checked in for our 7:35 flight, walked to the departure gate but were unsuccessful at attempting to squeeze in some more sleep. The flight to Vientiane was just the right length for a quick power nap before landing in the capital of Laos. Compared to the hectic, bustling capitals in other Southeast Asian countries, Vientiane’s relaxing atmosphere makes it feel like the small town it is. Easily covered by foot, we dropped off our packs and hit the streets. Right across from our guesthouse was Wat Mixay and then we randomly ended up at the Chao Anouvong statue, which was ridiculously large and decorated with offerings.

There are many temples all over town, just as I’d experienced in Luang Prabang, Northern Laos months earlier. We made our first stop at Wat Sisaket, the oldest standing temple and among the most atmospheric. Within the cloister walls are hundreds of niches housing Buddha statues large and small, made of wood, stone, silver and bronze.

In the center of the courtyard is a five-tiered ordination hall housing yet more Buddhas and beautiful but fading murals of their past lives. Across the street is Hophakaew Museum, a very stunning, elegant and majestic structure that acted as a former King’s royal temple. Just around the corner is the Black Stupa, a mythical abode of a seven-headed dragon that protects Vientiane. It has an attractive patina of age and is slowly being overgrown by lush green vegetation. Other relics within close distance are Wats Onteu, Inpang and Haisok, all unique in their own ways. The blazing sun beat down on us as we wandered to Talat Sao, the Morning Market that houses a collection of indoor stalls selling, well, pretty much everything. The first floor consists mainly of textiles, watches and electronics, which are nearly all counterfeit. The second floor is flooded with clothing and jewelry. The Talat Sao Mall next door boasts a few cafes and a Thai-style food court, as many of the vendors are from Thailand. The snack section along the outskirts of the market, however, sells some delicacies of fried insects including grasshoppers, larvae and worms. Neighbouring the shopping area is Patuxai, Victory Gate, a rendition of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe.

Besides the elaborate Buddhist embellishment, it differs from the original in having four gates instead of two and being just a bit higher, to spite the French. Reasonably impressive from afar, a surprisingly frank English sign inside the monument labels it a “monster of concrete” - donated by the US. Since it was supposed to go towards a new airport, this monster adopted the nickname ‘Vertical Runway’. But the arc itself aside, the palm tree-lined park around it complete with fountains is quite pleasant. Features nearby include a popular musical fountain as well as a World Peace Gong presented by Indonesia. Making our way back across town towards our guesthouse, we realized how long of a day it’d been. After an amazing meal we finally got a good night sleep. The next morning, before we caught the bus to Vang Vieng, we made sure we were thorough in the short amount of time we had by visiting the last few temples.

The still sleepy capital on the banks of the Mekong River was an authentic Laotian experience before hitting the wild banks of the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng! 

The Gorgeous Gili Islands

A veritable speck in the tropics, Gili Trawangan is only a couple of miles long and a mile across. However, it’s the largest of Lombok’s three Gili Islands, with a permanent population of about 800. These residents live in tiny mud-hut villages behind the main strip, which is lined with a great variety of restaurants and thatched-roof cabanas. As there are no motorized vehicles, the main means of transportation are bicycle and cidomos, small horse-drawn carriages.

If you were thinking it’s accidental like we did, you’re wrong; the locals have opted for relatively sustainable development, determined to avoid the mistakes that have turned Kuta into a traffic hell. Also making this undisturbed paradise one of highlights of Indonesia are its clear turquoise waters and fine white sands, fringed by coconut palms.

The atmosphere is one of complete and utter relaxation, causing the majority of visitors to stay longer than planned. Gili Meno and Air are even more remote, inhabiting fewer locals and practically zero nightlife. We jumped on an island hopping boat one day and journeyed Meno’s footpath around its empty but pristine beaches. It was blissful to have complete silence except for the tropical wildlife and crashing waves.

Another afternoon we gravitated toward exploring the coral reef that borders Trawangan. The sea is so clear that it’s possible to pick out individual grains of sand. But the marine environment is on the road to recovery after years of over-fishing and the effects of El Niño in 1997/8, when soaring water temperatures bleached the coral. But four years ago, the islands’ six scuba diving schools cut a deal with the local fisherman to cease fishing there so that marine life could re-colonize the coral. The effects are remarkable, not only having the top predators return in numbers but also smaller species including sea horses. Turtle spottings occur often, and vast schools of parrotfish cruise by on full-moon evenings. But we were lucky enough to see angelfish floating gracefully, clownfish darting in and out of the coral and purple-and-yellow sea slugs clinging to the reef. Our favourite sightings were of radiantly rainbow-coloured fish that easily caught our eye, unlike the semi-transparent, long/skinny, needle-nosed swimmers that would float right at the surface. A few times we got so close to them without noticing until the last second, just like the huge schools of fish that we practically swam right through. Making the snorkeling even more exciting were the rusted wreckages that had been sunk for years, the most interesting being a motorcycle on a flatbed. We figured someone had attempted to bring it onto the island but the locals requested its removal, or simply disposed of it themselves. Most other wrecks were broken fishing boats, one even labeled as coming all the way from Malaysia. That style of boats is famous for bringing in loads of freshly caught seafood every evening to be barbequed by the beachside restaurants.

 

As we were sitting at one enjoying lunch one day, a little Indonesian boy got his kite stuck in a tree. He immediately started to climb the trunk like a monkey, which was startlingly impressive! Everybody near was clapping as he easily reached the branches, then balanced across the thin one the kite was attached to. A few people got so nervous for the boy that they positioned themselves underneath him, but since the kite was at the very end of the branch he struggled to reach it. By this time a young man had hopped on another’s shoulders in an attempt to recover the toy, but to everyone’s amusement it ended very sandy. However, the effort was inspiring enough that others began to help out by searching for sticks long enough to reach the kite. There was real hope at this point, until one man’s stick ripped the fabric. The crowd erupted in dismay as they watched disappointment wash across the little boy’s face. As he glided back across the branch and shimmied back down the tree, everyone clapped once again. Kindly, the culprit handed the boy some money to replace his toy and he ran off displaying a big smile. Nearby, a group of guys repairing each other’s dreadlocks giggled at the entertainment. There isn’t much else to do on this hidden gem other than swim, sunbathe, drink Bintang and eat banana pancakes.

The scene is quite raw, unpretentious and hedonistic, unlike other tropical hotspots. We were hesitant to leave after a week, however Vang Vieng in Laos promises yet another unforgettable experience!

Bali

A three hour flight was all it took to get to the favoured island of Bali. A blast of heat as we exited the Denpasar Airport was our first taste of Indonesia, where we’ll be spending the next two weeks. Passing through village after village, we were in awe at the amazing antiquity. After arriving in Ubud, the cultural center of the island, we got settled into a lovely Balinese family homestay. Wandering down the narrow passages of our neighbourhood we observed their true way of life, rituals and practices aplenty. When we came to a main street we began passing an overwhelming number of little shops containing intricate carvings, sculptures and statues. We spent the rest of the day browsing through their vast selections, and then tasting our first Indonesian meal. The next day we rented a motorbike to assist us in reaching Gunung Batur, an active volcano in the Kintamani district. With a lake at its base, the view was breathtaking.

Cruising through the Balinese jungle, we spotted magnificent rice terraces shining lush green under the exotic sun.

Our next stop was Tirta Empul, one of the holiest temples in Bali, built around hot springs that still bubble in the central courtyard. Many locals go there to bathe and purify themselves physically and spiritually.

Even though we didn’t bathe at the temple, we sure got wet on our ride back to Ubud when the clouds decided to open. There wasn’t much else we wanted to accomplish that day except warm-up and relax over a pot of tea. Having the motorbike for only a few hours the next morning, we booted it to Goa Gajah, Elephant Temple. The centerpiece there is a cave, the entrance to which is an ornately carved demon’s mouth. Large stone guards stand around pools in the grounds, and a little path leads to Buddhist stupa fragments and a waterfall.

There wasn’t much choice but to spend the evening nursing Wes back to recovery, as he had eaten something that didn’t sit well. However, this allowed us to save up our energy for the following day, our last in Ubud, so big plans. We walked across town in the scorching heat to the market, two levels across several blocks full of every knick-knack you can imagine. After picking out some clothes and souvenirs, we visited the Royal Water Palace and Lotus Temple.

Our last task was to complete a rice field walk, just on the outskirts of Ubud. Not knowing that it’s a three to four hour journey, we found out from a local about half way. Most likely feeling pity for us as most visitors are on bicycles or motorbikes, he led us towards a short cut through his rice paddies. Stopping at his hut for some freshly poured coconut water into our empty bottle, we then carried on down to his sanctuary. Urging us to take a dip in the cool river, we were more interested in getting out of the ravine back to town. We passed a waterfall on the way and crossed a bamboo bridge before climbing up a steep dirt hill into more rice fields. Even though the trek didn’t turn out as planned, the views were incredible and we saw parts of Bali that most miss.

Before we headed down to Kuta the next afternoon we went to Monkey Forest, an exciting viewing of the rascals in their natural habitat. What was supposed to be a 1.5 hr journey turned into three and we didn't arrive to the beach town until the sun was just setting.

The next full day floating in the waves and grazing on the 5km beach was a cooker, but our acquired base tans will come in handy on the Gili Islands!