2 posts tagged “laos”
Laos is a country I had never really heard of until about a year ago. It's nestled between the more well known countries of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and China, but perhaps because it is landlocked it hasn't earned the same reputation among tourists looking for beaches. In the last few years, however, more and more tourists have been making their way across Laos by bus or river boat (the only real options for traveling aside from flying) to experience the relatively unspoiled culture. Compared to the busy and crowded cities of its neighbors, Laos is a breath of fresh air. It's also a communist country, but that fact seems to have little impact on most tourists (as long as they aren't trying to do or smuggle drugs).
In the middle of our winter holiday travels, we opted to spend a week making our way north from the capital of Vientiane to the village of Vang Vieng, and then onward to Luang Prabang (a world heritage site). Each place felt very unique, but they were all equally sleepy and relaxed. Vientiane is a rather small capital city, and is best known for its riverfront eateries and sunsets. Vang Vieng is a village of one major street (and no traffic stops) that caters purely to the tourists who find themselves there. The main street is comprised of restaurant after restaurant, serving everything from pizza to french toast (one of the remaining influences of the French colonization of Laos). Even more odd was that each restaurant had at least one giant flat screen tv mounted to the wall playing dvds of Friends, Family Guy and the Simpsons on repeat. If it weren't for the fact that you are sitting on pillows rather than chairs, you could easily drift into thinking you were not in the middle of Laos, but in Canada. This town is also known for its views, as it sits between the mountains, and beside the Mekong river. Many visitors take to the river on rubber tubes. Luang Prabang is the most northern city, known for its European influence in architecture and way of life, which likely had a hand in why I fell in love with this city immediately. I even had thoughts of returning to work with one of the many NGOs that are based there.
Unfortunately, I got a little sick at this point in the trip, which has tainted my image of the city. Plus, I'm not sure I'm ready to move somewhere that requires me to take daily malaria pills. Or that can only be reached by more than a day on a bus through the mountains. Although, you could also fly in on Lao Airlines, the airline with a less than stellar safety record. When we were ready to head back to the north of Thailand, we found ourselves on one of their planes. It wasn't all that bad, but I had my hands firmly gripped onto the arm rests for the entire one hour flight. After a week of hours long bus rides and lazy days, it seemed a much too short ride back to the more modern world.
Last month we traveled around South East Asia for about two and a half weeks. We went to Hong Kong, Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai) and Laos (Vientiane, Vang Vieng, and Luang Prabang). It was a wonderful trip, with a nice mix of food, adventure, culture and summer weather! I'll write about each place individually soon, but first I need to tell you about a discovery I've made. I've found the most fantastic travel shoes. They aren't necessarily meant for travel, but when I found them I thought they had all the makings of a good travel shoe, and I was right.
The company that makes these shoes is called TOMS. It was started by a participant of one of my favourite shows, The Amazing Race. While traveling through several developing regions Blake Mycoskie noticed many children were living without proper shoes. He had an idea and sought to help remedy the problem. He started TOMS shoes on the 'one for one' principal that for every pair of shoes he sold, he would donate another pair to a child in a country like Argentina or South Africa. Since he started the company in 2006, TOMS shoes has given shoes to upwards of 200,000 children around the world.
As soon as I heard about this company, I went to the website and decided I wanted to buy a pair of TOMS myself. I looked through the styles offered and settled on these. I loved the neutral colour and the wild animals print inside. Little did I know then that I would end up wearing them while riding an elephant! The next step, of actually purchasing said shoes, proved quite difficult since I live in South Korea. Unfortunately, TOMS doesn't currently send online orders to Asia, so I had to track down one of the 5 or so stores in Seoul that carry TOMS. I went to one in MyungDong, called 'ALand'. I was happy to find they stocked the style I wanted (and also that they have a second hand store on their 3rd floor!), and I happily forked over my $42 USD. I am proof that when you offer a customer something extra (especially something worthwhile) with their purchase, that customer is willing to pay a lot more than normal for your product.
I walked around in my TOMS before our trip, wanting to make sure they 'wore in' before we left. I was pleasently surprised to find they didn't need it. They were comfortable from the minute I put them on and they haven't stopped being comfortable since. I was also happy to feel how lightweight they are, which is the second most important traveling requirement. Comfortable? Check. Lightweight? Check. Two for two. The other benefits of making these my 'travel shoes' revealed themselves once we were on the road. In the past I traveled through warm climates primarily doning flip flops or other sandals. While I adore my flip flops, they do not keep my feet warm on night buses, and they do not protect my feet from mosqitos (who are potentially carrying malaria) or random things on the street I don't want to get on my feet. I was concered that they would feel too hot while I was walking around in the tropics, but I felt really comfortable in them. It was a bonus that my shoes seemed to go with almost everything I wanted to wear.
After two and a half weeks of wear through dirty cities and rough countryside, my TOMS held up very well. The quality of these shoes is very high, and I would trust them to stand up to a much longer trip as well. Obviously, I would recommend other travelers get a pair of TOMS. Not only do they make a great travel shoe, but they also give us an opportunity to improve the quality of life of people we often meet while traveling. Now I need to find a reason to justify the purchase of these lovely TOMS wrap boots.
