Ventiane & 4000 Islands - Laos

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I arrived in Vientiane after a very slow bumpy bus ride from Vang Vien. I arrived sad, since I had to leave the kids and the cool people I had met at SAELAO from volunteering. My sadness didn't last long, after I checked into a 6 bed dorm at a place called RD Guesthouse, I met a cool Italian named Jonathan and a dude named Luke from Indiana. Jonathan is from Pistoya in Tuscany but now lives on Koh Pag'nan in the south of Thailand (Full moon Party). Jonathan is somewhat older than me and has been traveling for most of his life, he has a really great story to tell. Luke teaches english in Bangkok and plans to stay there for another 2 years or so. Its great to meet people who live for world exploring, and the 3 of us immediately had a connection.

I didn't initially want to spend much time in Ventiane but given that I had an important phone interview scheduled 3 days later, I thought the capital would be the place with the cheapest and most reliable overseas phone options. Sticking around turned out to be a relaxful time.


Ventiane is the capital of Laos. It doesn't feel like a capital city though. It's small, low key, and pretty quiet. It has a left over french feel to it, from the French Indo-China days and you can still see lots of french pastry shops and stuff. One of the main tourist attractions is a cheap replica of the Arc de Triomphe.

The first evening the people from our dorm went out for a nice lao meal, I've grown a liking to Laap, which is ground meat (beef,chicken, pork) with a bunch of good spices with a side of sticky rice. Other favorites are Tom Yam soup and Pad Lao.

After dinner we went for a few beers at a bar that had mainly tourists in it, but since all bars close at 12, we weren't sure where to go next. Then when we saw the crowd heading out in the same direction, we learnt that everyone was headed to the to a club located in a luxury hotel down the road.... the ONLY club in Vientiane according to the crowd!

The next day we rented bicycles and toured the golden temple and the arc de triomphe.

That evening I made it a point to go to bed early, in order to be rested for my call the following evening. This is where sharing a room with 6 people can be horrible. Most of the others were partying on the ruff and going in and out of the dorm to get stuff. Then, a guy and a girl from our room came in and locked themselves in the bathroom from where I began to hear lighter noises and other weird stuff. I didn't smell any smoke so I was wondering what it was they were enjoying in there...trying to fall asleep became impossible. Later on, Luke came in and told me they were smoking Meth. Finally as they left, I thought to myself I would be able to fall asleep, but then Luke came in to sleep and began snoring like an animal. Add to that some mosquitos buzzing around, and you have one sleepless night. The next day I checked out and moved into a shared room with a French guy named Patrick I had met while volunteering in Vang Vien. Another older gentlemen who has been traveling for more than a decade!

The following day was spent at the Vientiane Water Park... a bit ghetto but a good way to stay cool in the heat. That evening I had my phone interview and once that was over, enjoyed my last evening with Jonathan and Luke since we would all be leaving the next day. The weather was gorgeous my entire time in Ventiane (most of my trip now that I think of it)

Ventiane was a really good and relaxful time with some cool people.


4000 Islands (Si Phan Don)

The weirdest overnight bus took me from Vientiane to the 4000 islands in the south of Laos. It was my first experience aboard a "sleeper bus", a bus with actual beds. Sounds comfy right? Thats what I thought, till I realized you are meant to share your small bed with a total stranger, in my case, a dude from Oregon. By the end of it, lets just say that we knew each other well. The bed was tiny!!! You couldn't roll over without rubbing up against your neighbor.. definitely my last sleeper experience!

The bus experience was totally worth it after setting eyes on the 4000 islands. Beautiful green tiny islands everywhere and totally pristine and undeveloped ( I was told they had just gotten electricity the week previous). People go to the 4000 islands for one thing - to RELAX. I stayed on the backpacker island of Don Det. There are 2 roads on Don Det, Sunrise Road and Sunset Road, the names reflect the direction the road faces. Since I prefer sunsets, I found myself a bungalow with a Canadian from Manitoba(complete with hammocks of course) on sunset road, and boy what a sunset it was! That day I also rented a bike and visited the gorgeous Li Phi Falls. On the way back, the chain broke off my bike though and I had to walk it back to town... unlucky. That evening I ran into a belgian and south african I had met in Vang Vien. Its amazing how you run into the same people along the "backpackers circuit".

It was a hard decision since I was really enjoying the vibe of the 4000 islands, but I chose to leave the very next morning for Siem Riep, Cambodia since I knew my time was starting to dwindle and I wanted to spend a few of my last days on a beach somewhere....


Siem Riep is home to over one hundred ancient temples, including the infamous Angkor Wat. It is one of the most anticipated stops along my trip... details to come!