LAOS

A bunch of us decided to make a trip to Laos. Now I was wondering why in the world did I agree to this trip as I've not really heard great things about this country. I was proven wrong when I set foot in Laos.

Four of us flew Air Asia (we got discount seats at RM 240 per person) to Vientiane. It was about 2.5 hours from Kuala Lumpur. We being young and adventurous decided we'll go on tight budget as backpackers. We reached Vientiane airport and took a van to the city. There we decided to just walk around and look for an inn to stay for the night. We ended up taking a tuktuk to the river side. The tuktuk driver had to be an old man who didn't speak English so we did have a bit of a language barrier there. Moving along, we found a backpackers inn called Youth Inn Hostel where we stayed for a mere RM10 per person that night. We had a really good meal of rice and a few dishes nearby the inn and walked around the street bazaar which sold cheap t-shirts and trinkets of sorts.

The next day we decided to take a chartered bus (this we arranged through the innkeeper himself) to Vang Vieng. It was a long, bumpy, pothole filled journey. We reached Vang Vieng in what seemed like a lifetime later (actually I'm exaggerating, it was about 7 hours ride). We checked into a pretty decent inn called the Vang Veing Central Backpackers Inn. We paid RM8 per person per night for a room with one king sized and one single bed with a huge attached bathroom and a toilet. It was extremely cheap considering the fact that it is a newly renovated inn. The food there is pretty decent as well.

We did a whole lot of activities such as bar hopping. I'm guessing this is one of the favourite backpacker activities! Alcohol was really cheap and there were many other *ahem* intoxicants sold for a very cheap price. We also went for massages. A full body massage was as low as RM30.

We also went tubing. We just hopped on a tuktuk to the riverside. A million little pubs on stilts (maybe not a million) dots the riverside. Tubing is where you get on a huge black tube, and slide down the first pub into the river. After this, you're on your own. Basically you use your skills (don't ask me what skills!) and get to the last pub along the river. On the way you can stop by all those pubs by waving, and they throw a rope towards your direction which you use to hoist your way to their bar. At these bars, you get to mud wrestle, swing from a rope and drink until you're drunk out of your mind (which I didn't do as I was already super clumsy with the tube!).

Later on in the trip, we rented bicycles and cycled all the way to the village area to see the paddy fields and the lovely village side. There were random markets and shops at the side that sold little trinkets and random winter clothes! (This is where my friend Nurnur bought a kickass black/yellow jacket!). Of course only when I cycle there are pigs and cows crossing the roads! Besides those, it was an entirely fun cycling trip!

There you go, a very quick guide to enjoying parts of Laos! Go travel!!!