Trek

Enchanted in Laos

~ Melissa ~ Leave a comment

It was with a very heavy heart that I left Vietnam. I somehow felt that I was leaving a part of myself behind. It also didn’t help that I was embarking on a 36 hour journey. So off I went, back to Hanoi and then on the road to Luang Prabang in Laos. My long journey was spent between sleep and thought. When I was awake I couldn’t listen to music since my phone had no more battery, and I couldn’t seem to focus on reading. And so, looking out the window at the beautiful mountains in the background and the lush greenery zooming past, I reflected on my last 3 months of travels. I thought of the places I had been, the people I met along the way, and all that I experienced in between. I felt sad about leaving Vietnam but I was looking forward to my adventures to come. I thought about how sad I had been to leave Bali, but how awesome the Philippines had turned out to be, and likewise how sad I was to leave the Philippines when the time came to head to Vietnam. It dawned on me that no matter how long you’ve been travelling for, there are some feelings you can never really shake off: the bittersweet feeling of leaving a place you love as you continue your journey, and the feeling of dread when packing up the few belongings you have into your little home that is your backpack.

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I was immediately enchanted by the stunning natural beauty of Laos. The misty mountain peaks edging around the jungle-clad valleys are sure to impress even the most jaded traveler. Eventually we made it to Luang Prabang 27 hours after leaving Hanoi. After so much time spent together on the bus, a couple of us formed a pack to search for a hostel. The next day, Marina (from Germany), Sabine (from the Netherlands) and I rented scooters and made our way to the popular Kuang Si Waterfalls. After a breathtakingly scenic ride along the countryside we made it to the Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre, (inside Kuang Si Waterfall park). Run by Free the Bears, an organization that rescues endangered Asiatic Black Bears from poachers and bear bile farms, the sanctuary does not receive any money from the waterfall park admission and relies on donations only.

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Eventually we made it to the waterfalls, which were even more grand and beautiful than I thought they would be. The large multi-stage waterfall consists of multiple pools at different levels that you can swim in, and are swarming with the little fish that pick at your dead skin that you tend to see at fish spas all over South East Asia.

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After a day of swinging off the Tarzan rope and jumping from one pool to the next, we made our way up the 190 steps to Phou Si/Chomsy Hill to get a beautiful panoramic view of the city and watch the sunset. This was truly an amazing place to get a bird’s-eye view of incredibly romantic Luang Prabang, with its glittering temples, brightly colored robed monks and sleepy riverine lifestyle.

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That night we went to the night market for dinner where for 15,000 kip (roughly $1.50) you can fill your bowl with as much food as you want/can. Challenge accepted. After stuffing our faces, we made our way to Utopia bar where we met up with our bus buddies. Once the bar closed at 1am we made our way to the only place that stays open late – the bowling alley. Full of backpackers looking to keep the party going, I felt like I was at a kid’s birthday party. But as the game started and the beer kept flowing, I started to get the hang of it. I even coined the “Melissa Style” bowling method to try to up my game, which was essentially the same method I used when I was a kid and too weak to throw the ball with one hand, using both arms to launch the ball through my legs. While this initially garnered attention due to the fact that I looked like an idiot, after I started striking out more and more people followed my lead in hopes of improving their game. The cherry on top was when the tuk-tuk driver dropped us off at our hostel and pointed at me, then proceeded to imitate the “Melissa Style” bowling method. Priceless.

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The next day, Marina and I had a long breakfast (delicious baguette and coffee, what else?) and enjoyed the town’s picturesque charm, watching local life pass by. At night we headed to the night market, which seemed to stretch on for miles and miles, showcasing the best Laotian wares – intricate weavings, elaborate silver trinkets (sometimes made out of unexploded mines leftover from the previous decades of seemingly endless wars), and tasty specialty foods. We went to Gary’s Irish Bar for some good live music (and a free beer between 8-10pm) and ended the night at the infamous Sakura Bar (famous for its “drink triple, see double, act single” tank tops worn by backpackers across Southeast Asia, which you can get for free for every purchase of two vodka drinks).

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Our next stop was the thriving tourist center of Vang Vieng, commonly known for being the backpacker mecca for partying. Although things have seemed to calm down quite a bit since the government has cracked down on the number of bars in the area, Vang Vieng seems to have established itself as the exception to the rule that Laos doesn’t have a nightlife. Besides that though, the limestone cliffs and riverside scenery remain gorgeous and offer a lot of potential as a base for adventure tourism if that’s your thing. While the main attraction for many visitors remains the tubing (read: 20-something year old backpackers), it’s quite easy to avoid the party scene and use the town as a base to explore the surrounding countryside. After a night of indulging the party scene, Marina and I decided to skip the traditional tubing experience and instead went on a day trip outside the city. We swam through a cave on tubes and went kayaking down the Nam Song river (that covers the same part of the river as tubing and a more untouched part further upstream).

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The next day was raining so we took advantage of the situation and spent the day eating pancakes and watching Friends at a restaurant near our hostel and ended the day with an amazing traditional Lao massage. Unfortunately I only had one week in Laos, since I stayed a bit longer than expected in Vietnam, so I didn’t get to see as much of Laos as I had planned. Having said that, I heard amazing things about trekking in the far northern provinces, the mysterious Plaine des Jarres, the lazy island life in the far south, exploring the ‘in between’ in Pakse and the 4000 Islands at the border of Cambodia.

Destinations aside, Lao food is sure to entice the inner foodie in you. Spicy buffalo salad (that I hadn’t tried personally, being a boring vegetarian and all), sticky rice, noodles, curries and the culinary remnants of French colonial occupation in the form of delicious crunchy baguettes and sweet ice coffee. Add to that an ice-cold Beerlao (obviously) and take in all that Laos has to offer.

Next stop: Phnom Penh, Cambodia!

Mellow Yellow rating : 💛 💛 💛 💛 💛

What’s Sapa-ning?

~ Melissa ~ Leave a comment

As my time in Vietnam was coming to an end, I made my way north to Sapa, a picturesque hill station high in the mountains and a remnant of the French colonial era. The area is very popular with nature and trekking enthusiasts, as it is famous for both its fine, rugged scenery and also for its rich cultural diversity. Sapa and its surrounding regions are home to a multitude of ethnic minorities, the majority of which are the Hmong (pronounced Mong). I had previously heard other travelers often raving about their experience in Sapa and their “authentic home-stay experience” with the local hill-tribe people (I say this in quotation marks because I cringe every time I hear the word “authentic”, or even worse, “off-the-beaten-path”). The first time I heard about Sapa was on my second day in Vietnam. A fellow traveler told me about the vast rice terraces, lush vegetation, and Fansipan, the highest peak in Vietnam. Truthfully I wasn’t too keen, since I had just come from the Philippines, where I had done a 3 day trek through the rice terraces of Banaue (often referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World), and before that did a 3 day trek up the 3,700 meter high volcano of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia. However, with the rave reviews at the back of my mind, a couple of days left to my visa and the discovery that I can cross from Sapa to Laos (and probably most importantly because I wasn’t ready to leave Vietnam), I decided to go for it. Lucky for me, on the overnight bus from Hanoi I ran into the lovely English girls that I had met a couple of weeks before in Nha Trang. As soon as we got off the bus in Sapa we were swarmed by a sea of Hmong sisters, all dressed in black with colorful embroideries and accessorized with silver jewelry and a fez-like headpiece.

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The girls and I found Mama Chu, who greeted us with bracelets and took us to get some breakfast before starting the 10km hike to her village. Even though the weather was quite cloudy, the landscapes and views were absolutely astounding.

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It started to pour as soon as we got to Mama’s, but we were finally home sweet home! We settled in while Mama and her daughters made us dinner in one pan over a small fire. After enjoying the delicious meal all together (consisting of spring rolls, fried morning glory, pork and rice), Mama showed us the different jewelry she had for sale, and gave us each another gift to thank us for staying with her.

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The next morning we started our trek back to Sapa after a breakfast of thick rice pancakes and bananas. About halfway through it started to rain very hard, so we got lifts back to town on motorbikes. The girls were heading back to Hanoi on the evening bus, so we said our goodbyes and I ventured out to find a hostel in the rain (this was just the beginning of my constant struggle with the rain in Sapa).

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I ended up at Mountain View Hostel,  a newly opened hostel in the same family of the Vietnam Backpacker Hostel. I was planning on staying for 2 nights and then getting the bus to Luang Prabang in Laos. It’s funny how plans can change so much. On the day my bus was supposed to leave, I was informed that the road to Laos was “broken” (that’s literally what I was told by the lady at the bus company). So I took some time to figure out what my options were, and somehow ended up staying in Sapa for one week. Between free beers on Sundays, happy hour with 2 for 1 beers everyday, all you can eat and drink ricewine at Mama’s for $2, and obviously the amazing staff, no wonder I got stuck in Hotel California. If you happen to be there when it’s not raining 24/7 there’s plenty to do around Sapa besides the trekking. There is a small market not far from the center and a couple of waterfalls you can motorbike or take a taxi to. You will see Hmong sisters scattered around the town selling trinkets and souvenirs all day. If you’re not used to it they might seem pushy, and when you say no thanks they’ll probably swear at you in Hmong, but they are just as charming and good-humored as they are business savvy. All in all, I had a great time in Sapa and wouldn’t change a thing! Lucky for me, the weather was beautiful on my last day and I got to explore the beautiful town and its surroundings on motorbike, enjoying views of the beautiful rice terrace laden mountains and the valley below.

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Next stop: Laos!

Mellow Yellow rating : 💛 💛 💛 💛 💛

Traveler’s tips : There are many agencies in Hanoi that will book your Sapa home-stay experience for you, but be warned that they are charging you double or even triple and are pocketing the difference. The best thing you can do is find a Hmong sister yourself when you get off the bus, that way you know exactly where your money is going. Also VBH will book a ticket to Laos for you from Hanoi – if you want to leave directly from Sapa (shorter journey but roads are in worse condition) you can book a ticket at the store selling trekking gear with a picture of a bus on the sign, it’s right next to Mountain View Hostel (next door to the bakery).

Some eating, less praying and lots of love for Ubud

~ Melissa ~ 2 Comments

Our first stop in Bali was in Ubud, a small and quiet(ish) town amidst the mountains north of the hustle and bustle of the city center. It is rich in Balinese history and culture – it is hard to walk a couple blocks without seeing a temple, palace, art gallery or traditional Balinese dance performance.

This was a wonderful place to start out our trip and wean off our jet lag, since there is plenty to do during the day and not much to do at night. We started by visiting the market and loading up on breezy dresses, turquoise jewelry and harem pants – a backpackers wet dream. The next day we visited the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, where we got to see voracious monkeys that inhabit this nature reserve and Hindu temple complex. I personally didn’t get too close to the monkeys in fear of getting rabies, but a lot of people bought bananas to get the monkeys to climb up to their heads (which makes for a great photo op).

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The next day we did a cooking class, which I would definitely recommend doing! We started by going to the market around 8:30am and were explained what kinds of food and spices we would be using during the class. We were then taken to a small plantation where they were growing ginger, turmeric, vanilla, chillies and coffee beans. We had a tea and coffee tasting, with 6-8 samples of each and different natural flavors like coconut coffee/tea, saffron tea, ginseng tea and spiced chocolate coffee. Our third stop was a beautiful village with a huge rice field that’s divided between the different families in the village. We did all the actual cooking and eating out in the open with a breathtaking view on the field and village. After a food coma afternoon we found a free yoga class in the evening (this was unrelated to our morning’s indulgences during the cooking class) and ended the night at a quasi-karaoke reggae bar.

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On our third day we walked around Ubud (along the Ridge Walk) to see some rice fields. We walked along the electrifying green fields and stopped at a cafe to admire the view.

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Our last day was an adventurous one – we climbed to the summit of Mount Batur at 1,700 meters! The day started at 2am where we got picked up from our hostel and brought to the base of the volcano. After a surprisingly delicious banana crepe and coffee we started our ascend in the pitch dark. We must have been at least 100 people climbing, although the group from our hostel was around 12-15 people. The first hour wasn’t too difficult and it was really spectacular to see the stars glowing against the dark sheet of the sky in the middle of the night. The second part of the hike was steeper and more difficult, especially the parts that were very sandy and slippery. Once we got to the very top, the difficult climb was the last thing on my mind and we watched the village below disappear as fog and clouds rose with the sun. As we climbed down we saw the tomatoes and chillies growing by the path in the light of day, and I felt a real sense of accomplishment that was soon taken over by a wave of utter exhaustion.

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The next day we were off to Kuta and looking forward to some beach and party times to counter Ubud’s chill and laid back vibes. We found a taxi that would take us to the beautiful rice terraces of Tegalalang on our way to Kuta, and thus ended our first atop in Bali.

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Next stop, Kuta!

Mellow Yellow rating: 💛💛💛💛💛
5/5

 

Travelers tips: Ubud is the perfect place to go to if you want to get away from the swarms of tourists that come to Bali just to see the beaches of Kuta. Our cab from Denpasar airport to the hostel cost 300,000 IDR (when you leave the airport cross the street and get a Bluebird taxi and ask for the metered fare). We stayed at In Da Lodge Hostel, stupid name but really good hostel with good tours (essentially same prices you would pay in town). The free yoga class is at Yoga Barn every Friday at 6pm. Also, try Dadar Gulung. Your taste buds will thank you.