Batur Volcano - breakfast views

Biking through the Balinese countryside

High fives for friendly local kids as we ride by

Knee-deep in mud in a rice patty

Joe, our British-sounding Balinese friend

Our other memorable activity from Ubud was an evening cultural show. Sure it was pretty touristy, however, the one we saw was the work of an entire village. Everyone had a role in the show and everyone benefited from the proceeds. The men and boys had a majority of the roles as they chanted, danced and acted out a traditional story. I was impressed with the camaraderie amongst the group as I could not imagine anything comparable in our culture. The Balinese are a very tight-knit group and without the support of or role in your family unit, you’d essentially be a social outcast. The show was incredibly entertaining and stimulating. Unrelated to the story that had just been enacted, the night concluded with one gentleman performing a fire dance, walking over and kicking through hot coals. It was quite the sight to see his black, ashen feet at the end of the performance – proof of the coals’ burning temperatures. We ended our fun evening back at a Balinese tapas restaurant we discovered and loved, and left Ubud the next day feeling happy we went but ready to move on.

Kacek Fire and Dance Performance

Crazy costumes

Fire dancer

He wasn't faking it!

The book that made Bali famous...again

After a fabulous few weeks in Thailand and Laos, it was time to head south for the last leg of our journey. We had a quick overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before we arrived on the Indonesian island of Bali. Bali is truly a special place. Where Indonesia is the most populated Muslim country on the planet, the Balinese are Hindus with their own unique set of beliefs, food, and culture. I had literally just finished reading Eat, Pray, Love as we were landing and it got me excited about where we were headed. The book also does a pretty good job of explaining some cultural aspects of Bali that we would have easily missed or not noticed going on around us.

I traveled to Bali in 2001 when I was down under studying abroad in Australia and I was excited to be going back after 10 years. It was the first place we had been on our trip that I had been before (Ted’s being Thailand).

After a few weeks of very laid-back travel in northern Thailand and Laos, Bali was a bit of a slap in the face – we felt as though we were stepping into a tourist trap, with too much going on, not enough real character, and too many people haggling. It’s a busy place, not only thriving as a tourist destination, but as a pretty heavily populated island with a lot of domestic commerce. Before arriving, we imagined a serene and peaceful oasis, but what we quickly encountered was hectic traffic and bustling streets. But after a good night’s rest, it didn’t take long to realize the beauty and depth of this place – the landscapes are lush and green, and there is wonderful serenity to be found – it’s just not the norm everywhere on the island. We went right from the airport to Ubud, the island’s artistic and cultural center (and where our pal in Eat, Pray, Love hung out). Ubud is not on the water, but it’s a well-known spot that draws its own tourist crowd. I don’t know how Ted talked me into staying inland when we were on a beautiful, tropical island but I’m happy he did as we had plenty of beach time in our future.

Monkey Forest Road - Downtown Ubud

Ubud is super trendy, full of culture, very ornate and well decorated, with lots of artistic presentation, lots of delicious food, and quite a bit of up-market options. Interesting, but not exactly the vibe we were going for at this point in our journey. I liked all the cute shops and nice restaurants but the place lacked authenticity. Everyone you met was out to sell you something and I was having flashbacks to India about how regularly we had to turn down offers for transport and tour bookings (“You need a taxi? Ok, how about later? How about tomorrow? How about a massage?”). You would literally have to say ‘no, thank you’ to or ignore a dozen people on a short walk from our hotel to a restaurant – it was the first time since India that we have been haggled to the point of antagonism.

Amazing Indonesian Tapas Platter

And where Thailand and Laos were filled with hundreds of other long-term travelers, the visitors to Bali and Ubud were primarily just folks on a short vacation – usually from Australia. That resulted in a non-traditional vibe that permeated the whole city and drove up prices. As a short-term visitor from the U.S. or Australia, lodging, food, and activity prices may have seemed like a good deal. However, coming from Laos to Bali, our money didn’t go nearly as far. The money we were spending was top-of-mind as we neared the end of our trip and the end of our bank accounts. The fantastic news is that we scored a pretty great room that had a sweet swimming pool on-site. Escaping the urban hustle for some quiet time by the pool each day was the perfect way to unwind and get into the Balinese vibe.

Sarah enjoying the pool at our Ubud guesthouse

Top Ten (ok, Top Eleven – We liked it that much)

1. 

   Exploring wats by bike

   Value for money – Thailand and Laos are a cheap date. Both the accommodation and food options provided a lot of value for a little bit of money. After paying out the wazoo for crappy hotels in Africa, and paying nearly nothing and getting what we paid for in parts of India and Nepal, Thailand and Laos over-delivered on nearly all aspects.

2. Bangkok party night – Shout out to JDMesh! We couldn’t get enough of our world traveler friends, this being the 4^th country and 3^rd continent we’ve chilled together (not including our home country/continent), and we went out with a bang on our last night of hanging together on the Big Trip. Fun times ensued.
3. Chiang Mai – Yep, the whole city. If Ted and I pick up and left the U.S. on a whim and you want to know where to find us, Chiang Mai should be one of the first places you look.
4. Thai cooking class on our anniversary – I love Thai food. I love learning new things. I love Ted. All these reasons and more made this experience a Top 10 in this part of the world.
5. Namo yoga with Poncho – Our traveling pals connected us with Poncho prior to arriving in Chiang Mai. Not only is he a fun and fascinating person, he is one heck of a yoga instructor. We had lots of fun with Poncho both at class and around town.
6. Lots of wats – and Buddhas for that matter. You can’t spend time in Thailand and not visit at least one wat. In fact, you’ll probably visit a dozen. Very unique and special places, we enjoyed exploring the different wats that Thailand has to offer.
7. Village life – Talk about getting off the beaten path. Our time spent in the village of rural Thailand was pretty damn cool. Challenging and rewarding – good words to describe both this experience and traveling in general!
8. 

   Mekong slow boat journey

   Slow boat to Luang Prabang – Why spend less money and get there in a shorter amount of time when you can ride for two days on a riverboat down the Mekong with seventy 20-somethings from around the world who like to drink Beer Lao?

9. Waterfall day in Luang Prabang – Unbelievably beautiful waterfalls in a hot, steamy country with lots of fun people around. Yep, hard to beat.
10. Tubing day in Vang Vieng – Sure we hated being the crazy Westerners contributing to this insanely over-the-top debauchery, but we still managed to have a pretty fantastic time.
11. Motobike extravaganzas – Having your own transport is a fun and liberating experience for people who have been relying on others for transportation for a long time. From Chiang Mai touring to completing The Loop in Laos, we dug it.

Bottom Five

1. Heat – To avoid sounding like a whiner, I’d just like to note that this part of the world was melting hot. My Scandinavian self could hardly bear it. We almost bailed on Laos because of heat concerns, but boy I’m glad we didn’t do that.
2. Gap year debauchery – especially in Vang Vieng. After Western Europe, Thailand and SE Asia are the meccas of backpackers. These young’ins are incredible partyers that are a little over-the-top.
3. Our travel companion’s crash on The Loop – Talk about an adrenaline rush – and not in a good way. I don’t do well with the sight of blood and knowing this poor kid was hundreds of miles from decent medical care was a scary thought.
4. Sarah losing her glasses to the Mekong River – You could blame it on our tubing day in Vang Vieng and you would be right. After 9+ months of carting around my prescription sunglasses, I lost them on that fateful day. They certainly had a good run.
5. Not having enough time to enjoy these places – Cliche but true. Each of these fabulous countries deserved more time. I wish we could have given it to them.

Food Top Ten

1. Bangkok street food – Where to start? Late-night pad thai? Grilled meat on skewers? Big bowls of soup? The list goes on and on. No shortage of fab options and of course they were all at a steal of deal. Life is good for food lovers in Thailand.
2. 

   Khao Sawy

   Dinner with the Chads – The Chad living in Chiang Mai invited us to a great restaurant right by his house and did the ordering for us. We ate a lot of things that I didn’t recognize and I know my mouth was on fire by the end of it which makes me think it was quite an authentic experience.

3. Khao Sawy – A regional specialty of Northern Thailand, this curry-like soup was fantastic. Ted specifically sought it out the moment we hit Chiang Mai (he remembered from his last visit 10 years ago). At one point, we found a spot that impressed Ted so much he immediately ordered a second bowl after finishing his first!
4. Fruit smoothies from our juice lady in Chiang Mai – One of Poncho’s many pearls of wisdom, this lady worked in the market just down the road from our hostel and we visited her once if not twice a day.
5. Lao BBQ – You do the cooking yourself on a set of coals brought to your table. Brilliantly, the system allows you to cook meat, veggies, and soup simultaneously! Very fun.
6. 

   Laap and sticky rice

   Laap (and sticky rice) – Laap is a Lao specialty and to eat it with sticky rice is the only way to do it. Laap is essentially meat or fish chopped into tiny pieces and seasoned and spiced to perfection.

7. Baguette sandwiches – Merci to the French. It sounds hard to believe, but sometimes you just can’t eat another meal of noodles. Getting to snack on fresh-made baguette sandwiches was a fun and unexpected delight in this part of the world.
8. Beer Lao – Prolific and refreshing in this steamy country. We enjoyed many a Beer Lao.
9. Mekong fish-on-a-stick in Luang Prabang – Don’t mind if we do!
10. Mango Sticky Rice – Best Thai desert ever!  Perhaps best fruit desert ever.  Fresh mango with some cream-infused sticky rice.  Mmmmmm….

Be sure to check out our Best of Mainland Southeast Asia photos to see some of our favorite moments from this wonderful part of the world.

We were not ready to leave Thailand and we were not ready to leave Laos either, but our trip was winding down, we were running out of time, and we needed to B-line it to the beach to relax in our final days of bliss. We caught an international flight to Malaysia where we had an awkward 16 hour overnight layover. We made the best of it by spending the night in a sketchy hotel near the airport, eating some ridiculously good seafood noodle dishes, and getting a decent night’s rest. Then it was back to the international terminal for our flight to Bali!

Approaching the cave

Cave entrance

Ted and I traveled through the cave in a long skinny boat with our non-English speaking guide and his non-English speaking assistant. With the help of some hand gestures and common sense, we determined when we needed to get out of the boat to walk around and check out the cave for ourselves. It was an incredibly impressive place – we were really blown away. Though there were some lights, it was actually only several hundred yards of the nearly 5 mile long cave where we could see anything at all. The rest of the time it was pitch black except for the pathetic amount of light that came out of our headlamp. As we cruised down the river, the walls would narrow to just a small passage, and then open into a great expansive cavern. Our driver navigated our long-tail boat through the winding labyrinth, expertly avoiding protruding rocks, shallow sandbars, and even a few short falls. Certainly one of the most unique caving experiences to be had.

Our guide and driver

The short illuminated section of the cave

Crazy stalactites/mites

And just when we least expected it, we saw the smallest sliver of light that opened up to the other side of the mountain. As we approached the shore, resourceful locals were on hand to sell us chips and sodas which we happily enjoyed before heading back through the maze and darkness.

The light at the end of the tunnel

Yes, this was our boat, which needed to be bailed out twice during our 2 hour tour

Konglor Cave is a pretty awesome attraction. It’s a relatively new place to check out and it’s just far enough off the well-traveled tourist loop to make you feel pretty cool for getting there.

Clouds floating over impressive rock walls

Mountains jutting out of nothingness

Rice patties as far as the eye could see

Lush green fields

Occasionally muddy roads

Chance encounters with Slow Boat friends

Women working in the rice patties; men with oxen plowing the fields

Adorable children

Quaint rural villages

Lots of open space, very few obstacles for nervous motorbike drivers

Fairly fantastic weather

Not a lot of other travelers, very little English

Lots of Beer Lao (post-driving, of course)

Dozens and dozens of caves to be explored

Surprisingly nice accommodation and food options

Two extremely happy people who were so glad they did The Loop.

But we were excited to experience “The Loop” after the rave reviews we had heard from other travelers from as far back as Bolivia. So we took the bus 5 hours south from Vientiane to our starting point in Tha Kaek, a small town among the foothills of Laos’ central region. We got hooked up with Mr. Ku who rented us our bikes, taught me a few things about driving, provided a pretty impressive hand-drawn map, and got us some decent helmets. We also met another traveler who was going to do The Loop too, so we had a partner in crime – Deo is Philipino but on vacation from Thailand where he was currently living and working.

Mr Ku's not-so-to-scale map of the Loop

When we set off on our ride, it was dry but the clouds were quite ominous and we were pretty sure rain was in our future. We knew we were on the front end of the rainy season, but we were optimistic/naive about how much rain we might get. Well, about 7 minutes into our 4 day/3 night 400 km motorbike loop, it started raining. Then it started raining harder.

We pulled off to get our rain gear on and pull down the visors on our helmets before we pressed on again. Our Philipino friend was leading the way, followed by me, with Teddy pulling up the rear. Twenty kilometers north of town, I rounded the bend to see our new friend in a ditch by the side of the road. He had apparently taken a curve too quickly for wet the roads and slid right off. His bike was busted up a bit, his rain poncho was in shreds, and his poor foot was a wreck. He may have broken something and at the least needed a ton of stitches. He was a little discombobulated – as you might imagine – however, still coherent enough to call Mr. Ku and to contact his health insurance provider in Thailand! Thank goodness he was traveling with a cell phone because we were not!

Another traveler stopped to help us as well as a Lao family who spoke zero English but knew exactly what needed to happen – this kid needed to go to the hospital. They were headed the wrong direction but they waved down another passing truck, helped load the kid into the back and off they went to get medical attention. Laos is one of those countries that you hope to not need medical care in. Our Lonely Planet guide states, “There are no good facilities in Laos; the nearest acceptable facilities are in Northern Thailand”. Fortunately for Deo, that wasn’t too far away!

So as our friend headed off to the hospital, we stayed by the side of the road with his motorbike waiting for Mr. Ku to come pick it up.

At this point, only 20 km into our trip, I am convinced our driving extravaganza is over. I was nervous to begin with and then I saw what could easily happen in just a moment’s time. We had already met dozens (literally dozens) of other travelers in Thailand and other parts of Laos with motorbike injuries – ranging from cuts and bruises to broken bones. So after Mr. Ku rescued the bike, we got back on our own and headed back towards town and where we’d come from. The rain had lightened up but we still took it easy because I was a little shaky from all the adrenalin and nervous excitement.

And that’s where this story might end. But it doesn’t. No more than 5km back towards town, I changed my mind. I don’t know what really came over me but I decided I could it. I wanted to do it. We’d come all this way to do it. We should probably do it. So just like that, The Loop was back on! We decided to take our kilometers/hour down a notch, and we were not going to drive in the rain – but we were going to do it. And boy am I glad we did!

A taste of what was to come...

Stunning landscapes

Happy travelers

P.S. Our friend made it safely to the hospital in Laos but decided to return to Thailand for his medical care. He must know what the folks at Lonely Planet know!

A beautiful riverfront

Healthy street food!

And, of course, all the BeerLao you can drink!

As we imagined, Vientiane isn’t full of a lot of hustle and bustle. Rather, it’s pretty chill, kinda like the Lao people in general. Things just move along at a medium pace. Walking around that first evening, we were very impressed with the vibrant street scene, the french-inspired architecture, the remarkably clean streets, and the overall feeling of modernity. After spending time in places like India, which are mentioned in the news for their developing global economy yet are very much in disarray in terms of public services and general operations, we were quite surprised that little ole Communist Laos, one of the world’s poorest countries, had such a lovely capital city. Nice sidewalks, all sorts of landscaping and greenery, an awesome riverfront, tree-lined streets, flower-lined avenues, and just no trash anywhere. No clue how they they got so on the ball, who’s paying to keep it clean and landscaped, but it’s nice. The Lao people have something good going on here.

The French influence is very much alive here

Street restaurant owner, thanking us for our business

The amazing meal we ate at this guy's restaurant - Lao specialty, Laap, with sticky rice!

Though we didn’t leave ourselves much time for tourist activities, we did enjoy a lovely sunset walk along the newly-completed Mekong riverfront path (funded by foreign aid). The riverfront was booming with activity – kids playing soccer, couples watching the sun set, teenagers just hanging. One activity we did not expect to encounter – literally hundreds of Lao folks out for their evening exercise. Throughout our trip we had not seen a lot of exercise for exercise’s sake – most people in developing countries have much larger concerns than their level of fitness. Ted got ridiculed in India when he went for a jog – why is this guy running?!? But in Vientiane, we saw runners, walkers, joggers, people on bicycles, roller-bladers – the works! The big kicker was a strangely popular waterfront aerobics class – literally dozens of participants moving in unison in the shadow of a gigantic statue! There were also public exercise stations and stationary bikes lining the path that appeared to be quite popular.

Vientiane riverfront at sunset

Riverfront fountains and art

The Lao fitness craze - who'd a thought?

I have no idea why there were so many folks on board the fitness train in Vientiane, but we’ll tack it on our list as another one of the many unexplainable things that we’ve encountered on our travels.

Tubing Tuk-Tuk

If you were to plop into your tube and cruise straight back to town, it wouldn’t take you more than an hour or so – especially on the day we set out as the river was particularly high due to recent rains. However, no one heads straight back to town because the river is lined with dozens of hilariously entertaining bars that vie for your attention and business. As you float down the river, bar employees literally throw you a rope and pull you in to come visit their establishment. Once on shore, there are a variety of drinking-themed games and loud music that distract people for hours. Some bars have water slides, rope swings, and other potentially dangerous activities for young people who have been drinking heavily, but the day we went they were mostly closed due to the high water level and a previous injury (a broken jaw) by a fellow traveler the day before.

The first of dozens of river-side bars

Party games at stop #2

A rather ambitious waterslide!

Ted and I managed to have a pretty hilarious time. We ran into lots of people from the Slow Boat cruise, and it doesn’t require too much convincing for us to have fun on a beautiful day with the primary activities being drinking cocktail buckets and floating down a river.

Cocktail bucket? Why yes!

Hanging with Slow Boat friends

From one bar to the next, beer in hand!

After a few different stops at the various riverside bars, we decided to call it a day and float ourselves back home before it got too dark. As soon as we set off from the last bar, we had the entire river to ourselves as the sun was going down. It was beautiful, it was serene, and it was hard to imagine the chaos that was going on behind us on the river. In our rather idyllic (and inebriated) state, we managed to miss the proper disembarkation point, and found ourselves hitching a ride back to town on a tuk-tuk waiting for clueless tubers like us.

Away from the bars, it's a beautiful and serene experience

Ted and I managed to get back, with both of our tubes, and in one piece. Many folks are not so lucky – the river claims lives and bones every year. We went on a day that the river was particularly high, and it’s no wonder that dumb drunk kids die there regularly. You’ve got respect that river, and most people don’t, and the rope swings, slides, and diving boards don’t help. Neither do the super-soakers filled with whiskey. In our transport to the river, we rode with folks who opted not to rent tubes at all – they were just going to swim or hold onto someone else’s tube to get back. On a raging river. In the dark. When they’ve been drinking. Not a great idea.

So though Vang Vieng is one of the most beautiful little spots we visited in Laos and we had a hilarious time tubing on the river, I can’t recommend it to too many people. It’s got a lot of potential, but until someone figures out how to attract a more appealing (and potentially more profitable) market of visitors, it’s destined to be a backpacker party town for years to come.

Views from our waterfront hotel

More hotel views

This all sounds quite lovely until I tell you that the average tourist to Vang Vieng is a 20-year-old British/Aussie kid on his gap year before university. We knew we were stopping at a party destination on the backpacker route, but we were kinda surprised to find the Cancun of Asia. The behavior of most backpackers was troubling at best, and downright obnoxious and appalling at its worst.

Vang Vieng must provide a huge percentage of BeerLao's business

When we first arrived, we ate dinner at a small restaurant on the main drag, both entertained and aghast by the steady stream of wet, drunken kids stumbling down the street. It was really disturbing to know that the local Lao people (a very laid back and warm people whose country only opened up to foreign tourism in 1988!) were witnessing this chaos everyday, and such behavior was the basis of their opinions of Westerners. I’ve lived in college towns all my life, and I understand that things get out of hand when people have been drinking excessively, but for a Lao teenager working in her parent’s simple noodle house to see girls stumbling in the streets in just their bikinis (considered inappropriate behavior in this conservative culture), couples groping each other publicly, and boisterous Aussies screaming obscenities at one another, it’s terrible and embarrassing that she knows little else of our culture but this behavior.

Ignored signs

When people aren’t drinking and tubing down the river (the most popular activity by far), they are camped up in the “TV Bars” nursing their hangovers (or contributing to them) and watching reruns of Friends and The Family Guy that are on continuous repeat at these establishments (yes, I did watch some Friends and rather enjoyed it…).

One of 1/2 a dozen Friends and Family Guy restaurants

I was completely overwhelmed by the vibe of this place, and we considered leaving the next day, but fortunately we decided to give it a chance. In the end, we were happy we did, however, I still feel bad for the poor old locals and the craziness they’ve had to endure as their quaint little river town has become the hub of backpacker debauchery in just a few short years.