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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Laos - It's a wrap

Laos - the final
When I completed my run through Europe last year I adopted a set of questions as a template, something to use as a nice way of rounding out the few weeks that I'd had. Sticking with tradition therefore and adopting the same template that I did then, well, I bring to you the close out of the Lao experience.

Laos - the close out

Favourite Places - Aside from the drama, the Gibbon Experience  was fantastic, but in terms of towns visited, it's a close run thing between Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang, perhaps Vang Vieng getting the edge due to its overall vibe.

Most Surprising - Vang Vieng - filled with backpackers and definitelty a tourist trap but never the less a great place to spend a day or as much time as you have/need.

Coolest place for a night out - Vang Vieng, but with that said, Luang Prabang was charming, and surprisingly, hanging out in Vientiane overlooking the Mekong was also a treat.

Favourite Hotel -  Well, not exactly a hotel but sleeping up in a tree nearly 100mtrs off the ground in a remote part of Northern Laos I think suffices as a favourite hotel spot.

Best place to get totally lost - Vang Vieng again, you could get lost in any bar for weeks with the right type of attitude.

Best place to drink and get totally lost - Vang Vieng

Coolest Moment - Tough one, it's a tie between a massive zipline that I did on the Gibbon Experience, just flying through the air, probably 100mtrs above the forest canopy, travelling at 60-70kms per hour between two mountain ridges, absolutely exhilirating, or, the cruise down the Nam Song, for it's overall vibe and 'chilled out air'

Uncoolest Moment - It's Mr Swiss Garlic merchant telling me that he hates it when other people chomp on cloves of garlic but that he couldn't smell his own stench....very uncool Mr weird Swiss man, way, way uncool!!!

Best comeback - JJ's comment to the 'Rings of Mystery' merchant in Kuala Lumpur, 'You're just a ringget whore'. Not a comeback in the classic sense but the fact that the he was doing our heads in for so long, in my mind, made the line somewhat of a stylish comeback. In terms of physical comebacks, I think that when Jase rose from the dead whilst walking out of the Lao jungle (see the Gibbon Experience), well, that might just make the grade as the best comeback of this escapade.

Most random but still cool event - JJ and I wondering the streets of Huay Xai and finding a huge open wooden bar that looked like it was an afterthought. It was more then well hidden away and it absolutely qualified as being random, never the less, it was a cool place but strangely not frequented on the night we visited with either tourists or locals...bizarre.

Best Meal - Some would say the KL lemon chicken, and I have to admit, it was damn good, BUT, the 10 foot burger in Vang Vieng was just the tastiest thing I've ever had in my life, SERIOUSLY!!

Total Flights - 7

Total kms covered - 20,292 (approx)