I spent the summer of 2014 backpacking Southeast Asia. I started in Bangkok, made my way to Vietnam and then travelled to Laos.
What better way to start a trip to Laos then visiting the capital, Vientiane. Take a look at some of the landmarks I visited.
Wat Si Saket
Cow tongue?? Anyone want some that has been sitting out in the heat for eight hours? These people must have stomachs of steel.
Pha That Luang
Buddha Park
This place was incredibly creepy. Don’t waste your time.
The C.O.P.E Museum
Playing with my new friends in the COPE museum.
The C.O.P.E museum was the number one site to visit on trip advisor in Vientiane. If you research it, you will definitely not be proud to be an American. This was my first “Damn we are really not good people” moment while traveling. Of course during my travels I have ran into many people who will make sure to share their views on Americans. I am definitely not a stranger to those comments. The museum speaks of events that occurred during the Vietnamese war. Maybe there’s a reason why the world hates us?
Okay let’s get back to the title of this post then shall we?? From Vientiane we decided to head North to this lovely mecca called Luang Prubang. Many people along the way had claimed it as a prize destination for people looking for some meditation and a great spiritual experience. However after so many weeks of traveling by bus we had a enough of 8 hour bus rides, so we decided to make a pit stop along the way in a small town called Vang Vieng (what a mistake!)
Although Vang Vieng was incredibly beautiful, surrounded by pure untouched nature, the town was something out of a horror story.
Basically is was a happening place for young people a while back. That came to an end when the death tolls rang up every year. Too many youngsters were getting drunk and doing drugs, and then participating in water activities such as tubing, and drowning. Many European countries banned their youngsters from the druggie paradise, which in return killed Vang Vieng’s economy. The place is now a rundown town that craves for the business they once had. So what have they done? They are still supplying tons of drugs to all the weary travellers they can lure into their traps, and then wait for the wasted to be too stupid to realize they have been robbed. It was a really scary town to stumbleupon. There were still tons of underaged backpackers lying around on beds watching reruns of friends episodes tripping, while their stuff was stolen beneath their nose. Sample of the menu below:
Phil wanted to leave the first night we were there. He recognised their scam immediately, however I could see there were so many beautiful natural places to check out right on the outskirts of the town. So I convinced him to stay for one more night… BIG MISTAKE.
The next day we rented a motorbike for some exploring:
Okay the story is still on an upbeat rhythm. don don don…..Halfway through our travels our motorbike died. We rolled it all the way back to the place we rented it from, and the man insisted that we broke it. He wanted us to pay for a brand new bike. We had to put our passports down for the deposit of the bike, and the man refused to return our passports. He went to the police and called us criminals. The police were in on the scam as well. Long story short they beat us up and insisted upon money to allow us to leave the country. Not to our surprise there were tons of westerners in that police station all complaining of stolen passports, or money, etc.
This place is a total DO NOT VISIT!
No Comments