Vientiane We arrived in Vientiane on the 6th Feb, to stay for 3 nights. The first impression after landing was how easy it was to get to the city from the airport - the shuttle bus was right outside of the arrivals terminal, and cost only 15,000 kip (around
£1.50). There was free WiFi on the bus, which was a nice surprise. After we checked into our hotel - Pacific Vientiane Hotel, we went for a wander, and check out the city a bit. Having walked to the bus station to check if we could get bus tickets to our climbing camp in Thakhek, we were slightly disappointed with the city at first glance, however that could have been a bad introduction, as the bus station was crowded and dirty and we didn't get what we were looking for. The first impressions in comparison to Thailand, where we just came from, were that Laos people speak very little to no English (although it's good in some ways, as it encourages you to learn a bit of the local language) and are not as accustomed to incoming tourism as in Thailand. The food situation seemed that either there were very local places or overpriced restaurants serving western food, but not much in between. We had spent 7 weeks eating Asian food so we decided to treat ourselves to an overpriced pizza on the first night. Then we walked to the cinema, but unfortunately the only showings in English were late at night, so we didn't go as we didn't want to be making our way back in the dark in a place we didn't really know yet. The next day we decided to check out the local gym, which was large, well equipped and had a 25m swimming pool. Entry cost was 20,000 kip (under £2) for the gym, or 15,000 kip (£1.50) for the swimming pool, so we went there a couple of times. We also found a nice sunset spot by the river overlooking Thailand on the other side, where locals and visitors enjoy the sunset every evening. Some older locals also partake in a zumba-like dance class on the main square, which was quite amusing to watch.
The sunset viewpoint by the river, overlooking Thailand on the other side
Locals partaking in a dance session by the river Laos, or more specifically Vientiane, so far seems less developed with regards to tourism. Although you have enough western food places and coffee shops, it feels more difficult to get around in comparison to Thailand. There is less information online, and to find out where the required bus is leaving from, for example, you have to speak to several people to get your information. There were not many supermarkets either (comparing to the 7-evelens on every corner in Thailand, even outside of big cities). Here I've only seen one 7-one supermarket, which are only open till 1pm. There are other shops, but not as obvious. Another surprising thing we found, is that you can pay in Thai Baht or US Dollars almost everywhere. Some places even prefer USD (at the airport when getting the visa) and some hotels. We made it on the bus to Thakhek (we ended up buying tickets at a little travel agency I found online), which is meant to take around 5-6 hours. The bus tickets we booked were on a "VIP" bus, we laughed at how it must have been a VIP bus back in the 80s, however nothing has been updated since. The bus now looks like it's falling apart, dirty seats, the A/C is a little fan vent above the seat, most pocket nets are missing from the seat in front, and the bus was infested with mosquitos! Well, as long as we get to our destination, it will still be more successful than trying to ask for sugar with our tea at breakfast at our hotel, and being pointed to the salt while smiling and saying "sugar".
On the VIP bus to Thakhek Thakhek When we arrived to Thakhek, it was already past 6pm and was getting dark. The bus station was a bit out of town, so we decided to take a tuk-tuk into central Thakhek to spend the night, as it was getting a bit late to get to the climbers camp, 17km outside of town. We were dropped off in the centre of town, as without a hotel reservation for the night we were hoping to find something there. Luckily we saw the Inthira Guesthouse and Restaurant across the road, pleasantly lit and welcoming, so we decided to walk in for dinner. We then asked if they had any rooms available for the night, and luckily they had one. We later learned that Inthira was affiliated with the Green Climbers Home, the rock climbing camp, and did a special deal for climbers, where you pay for 4 nights and stay 5, and you get a free daily shuttle to and from the climbers camp. We later decided to use their deal, and stayed our last five nights there.
The tuk-tuk ride from Thakhek town to Green Climbers Home camp
The next day we arrived at the camp and were shown to our tent. The tent was slightly larger than the one in Jira (the climbing camp near Chiang Mai), and thankfully had no holes in. Overall we were happy with the camp, which looked lively and social. There were two camps, about 10 mins walk from each other, which together housed about 200 climbers (we approximated). We learned that camp 1 was more family-friendly, as they have bungalows with ensuite bathrooms. While we were staying in camp 2, where the cool kids go! :-P
Nadia chilling in the exercise area of the Green Climbers Home
The common hang-out and eating area at Camp 2
Bungalows in Camp 2 (they book out fast, so we only managed to get a tent)
The climbing crags at Green Climbers were very well situated, most within a few minutes walk from the camp. Most climbing routes were labelled, so it was very easy to find them if you had the climbing book. And there were lots and lots of routes within our grade, which was great. However, we found the climbing itself here was graded harder than at Crazy Horse, and bolts of most routes were spaced further apart (sometimes over 3m between bolts, while at Crazy Horse they were often around 1-2m apart). And it makes a big difference for beginners of outdoor rock climbing like us, as the idea of falling between the clips still often paralyses us.
Nadia putting on her climbing hear under one of the climbing routes that starts with the help of a ladder
Furry friends visiting us on the crag
Nadia belaying John on one of the routes
Walking back to camp after our last day of climbing
We had our tent booked from 9-19th Feb, so we were going to spend many nights in the tent and get lots of climbing in! Half way through, however, we went back to Thakhek town and stayed in a hotel for a couple of nights, to have a proper shower and sleep on a real bed. Our time at the Green Climbers Home went very fast and was soon over. We once again had to say goodbye to the friends we made along the way. Green Climbers Home was our little haven amidst numerous caves and rivers of the Thakhek region [find the right name of the region]. We really enjoyed our time the camp, with free-roaming cows and goats, morning yoga sessions, with lots of slack lines and chill-out areas, and the vast selection of lassis on the menu (our favourite were banana lassi and pineapple lassi). On one hand we did not want to leave, on the other, it started getting very hot (around 36 degrees in the day, with not much breeze), hence we moved to the Inthira hotel in town instead of staying in the tent for the last few nights. We enjoyed our time in Laos, however still decided we preferred Thailand overall, for the ease of getting around, prices for food and transportation being lower in Thailand, and plenty to do on days off from climbing. Thakhek was a sleepy quiet town, with a few cafes, and bars, and lots of local eateries. However, apart from that, there is not much to do. I tried booking myself onto a day tour to the local caves, however no one else was booked on for the dates that I was interested in. So instead one day, me and a couple of girls I met in the camp, decided to rent some bicycles and cycle to the Buddha Cave, about 12km from the camp. It was a nice day bike ride, however we did it in 36 degree heat, which made the experience a little exhausting.
Exploring local caves by the camp
Myself and Wingyin on a little boat inside the Buddha Cave
Beautiful rock formations inside a cave
A lake we saw on our little trek in the wilderness
I have heard and don't doubt that Laos has many beautiful parts, especially the north of Laos, and Luang Prabang has been recommended to us on numerous occasions. However, unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit north of the country due to our climbing camp being located more towards the south, and our flights going in and out of the country from Vientiane, which would have easily been an overnight bus journey if we did go to Luang Prabang. But one day we may return to Laos and explore the north for ourselves.
