The Rollercoaster Mountains of northern Laos

Roller Coaster Mountains of Northern Laos:

After recuperating our Chinese visas, we left Vientiane and our daily feasts of chocolate croissants, banana bread, and French food. It was with mixed emotions that we left the capital: we were excited to be on our way and looking forward to what was supposed to be fabulous scenery, and yet we were a bit sorry to be back on a diet of intestine-filled noodle soup.

The road heading north out of Vientiane was more polluted and populated than in the south, but it became quieter and much more interesting, albeit more difficult, as we neared Vang Vieng. The two hills just before this city just about did me in. As we biked up the mountains under an unforgiving sun, I thought that my heart was going to explode out of my chest. Or perhaps stop altogether. But the scenery helped to make up for it. We found some real rivers with enough water to swim in, and we had them all to ourselves, aside from a couple of kids heading downstream on a bamboo raft and some others fishing with a bow-and-arrow.

Unfortunately, the Laotians practice slash-and-burn agriculture, which is a real insult on the environment. There were a lot of small fires and sorry-looking charred tree stumps covering the mountainsides. Smoke billowed up as if a volcano had just erupted. The smoke, along with the haze from the humidity, often obscured the view of the mountains, and even made it difficult to see oncoming traffic. Breathing, especially while riding uphill in this heavy smoke, was difficult, and we were often covered in ash.

Vang Vieng was the first major town that we passed. I had been looking forward to the caves and the river tubing in Vang Vieng ever since we had first heard about it half a year before. When the searing temperatures never dip below 100-degrees, you find yourself thinking more and more often of drifting in a cool river. Unfortunately, it was just the day that we arrived that the storms and the cool temperatures rolled in. In fact, the thermometer never descended below 80-degrees, but when your body has become acclimated to 100-degree temperatures, 80 seems FREEZING! We actually brought out our jackets! We didn’t go near the water until the third day, at which time we rented a tube and spent a wonderful afternoon on the Nam Xong River with unbeatable scenery. We passed mountains, suspension bridges, playing kids, and men who were bathing and washing clothing. There were a lot of bars along the river playing music, and men beckoned the tourists in tubes, yelling “Beer Lao! Beer Lao!” If you were so inclined, they would pull you in with a bamboo branch. You could also take a turn at jumping off a rope swing or a trapezee.

While we were waiting for the sun to come out, we visited several of the many caves in the vicinity. Some were large and cavernous, with high ceilings and large clumps of stalactites and crystals, while others were small and shallow. Some housed Buddhist statuary, while others, like the Water Cave, were explored by tube.

Although the surrounding scenery was fabulous (green forests, rice paddies, limestone mountains), the town of Vang Vieng itself wasn’t spectacular. Our 4-year old guidebook had said that the town was untouched by modernity, and yet, how things have changed in four years! The town today is overrun by tourists, and the main street is one long string of guesthouses and restaurants, many of them showing non-stop episodes of “Friends” all day long, every day. There are some bars and a half-dozen or so opium dens. The police department posted signs around town outlining rules for visitors: 1) Hugging and kissing in public is impolite; be discreet; 2) no drugs; penalties are severe for you and Lao society; 3) don’t bathe nude in public; 4) it is unacceptable to wear bikinis and bathing suits in town; 5) ask before you take photos; 6) Lao people appreciate visitors who are clean and neatly dressed. Just in case there were any questions on how to behave politely (unfortunately, many tourists needed reminders such as these).

We continued northwards towards Luang Prabang, the pride and joy of Laos, and the steeper mountains for which the north is known. The 230-km. stretch along Rte. 13 was a real rollercoaster ride. We went up and down, and up and down, and then up and down again, yo-yo-ing back and forth at sharp inclines. Sometimes it was 6 km. up and then 10 down; at other times it was 15 km. up for only 3 km. down. It was very difficult, especially because the sun was brutal and there was precious little shade, with all the burning of the forests that was being done. My legs were worn out and rubbery, and my overly-used stomach and back muscles ached. At the beginning of the week, we managed an average speed of only 8.3 km/hr. (5 mph). At the end of the week, we had a 15-km. steady uphill climb, but we made up for it with a 20-km. downhill, where we averaged 28 km./hr.!

Things were made a bit complicated, though, because there was absolutely nowhere to pitch our tent. The mountains rose steeply above us on the right side, while the left side dropped away sharply. We were forced to reach the next town before nightfall or risk having to pedal at night. We awoke with the birds and started very early, but even so, on several occasions, we pulled into town to find a guesthouse just minutes before the sky turned black.

The view of the mountains – and from the top of the mountains – was superb. We had spectacular views of the craggy limestone peaks, sheer mountains, and rugged terrain. Colorfully costumed tribespeople built their houses directly on the road that bordered the cliff’s edge. One false step, and whoops! Down you go!

We passed few people and few motorists in the mountains. The locals seemed to have not seen many foreigners before. On several occasions, the children and women of some tribes ran away from us in fright when they saw us approaching (I still think it was Stephane they were afraid of, and not me!). It was the first time that we had encountered such a reaction. A few of the children started to cry and the eyes of some of the women held what was unmistakable fear. The men didn’t seem to be so disturbed, though. A few of them smoked opium from enormous bongs and even wanted to know if we wanted to join in.

The yo-yo-ing slowed on our last day into the town of Luang Prabang, when we reached the lower altitudes and the Mekong River.