As I am listening and singing along to Sarah Kang’s Time Traveling, I am reflecting on the days I spent in Laos. I wanted to close this chapter on a good note. In this post, you can find helpful Lao phrases, estimation of costs and the collections of some places to visit along with where to stay and my recommendation. I hope this will help future travelers but also myself if I am going back to the country in the near future.

Personally, this small country reminded me that I can push myself beyond my comfort zone. Before this trip, I really did not believe in myself and often stayed in the comfort zone but when I went through stress in this country, from adjusting to a newer environment, learning the language, figuring out how things work, I realized that I was way more capable of being a responsible adult. My wandering is not always about the pretty picture but there were difficult moments that I faced. Some that are mild was when I had to sleep uncomfortably on a cold floor just because I was scared and didn’t feel uncomfortable, being seated with a lot of strangers that for many people, that was not the way to live or living but I did it. That is why I said this phrase to myself whenever I have discomfort,“ if I survive 3rd class Thai train and traveling during songkran, I can survive anything”. I can tell you that much, it was that bad.

This time, my adventure started with an OK note. At least I wasn’t scammed at the border with the transportation. It was a comfortable ride from Thanaleng (the border) to the hostels that I stayed in (Ban Anou Village). You will read about these places below.

But first, if you’re from Thailand you can either cross the border by air or by land. There are some ways to do that but you can do it by train that I explained quite thoroughly over here

How to get to Laos from Thailand

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Then in this post below, you can find some small information about the local customs, food, internet speed, and currency. In Lao, depending on what card that you use there are some options but if you have a mastercard, phongsavanh works. The only problem is the maximum withdrawal is 1.000.000 kip which is $58.68 whereas for some of you that is too little. Though for me, it was enough for a week that covers food, going out, and miscellaneous expenses. Accommodation is another story as it can range from 190.000 kip to as cheap as 120.000 some places accept card and cash, so make sure that you also check on that. Also if many blogs mention that KIP is worthless outside Lao, you can go to Phongsavanh and exchange your kip to Baht or any currency of your next destination. I exchanged 100.000 KIP and had no issue but there was a minimum for Baht to Kip which is 500 Baht.

Food, Culture, Money, Festivals

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One of the things about hostels overseas is that they require deposit and back home in Indonesia, they don’t. So, it was something interesting that I noticed and now I am always having spare cash as opposed to before where I will only withdraw after I get settled in the bank.

There are some hostel recommendations that I stayed at and can attest that others had pleasant experiences. People usually don’t stay more than 2 nights in Vientiane but if you’re a lazy wanderer like me and would love to only discover language, culture, and food, Vientiane is quite interesting. Even coming from SEA, I had my culture shock moments. Depending on your budget if you’re into hostels, you can stay in either 1920 Barn Hostel, Barn Hostel, or Petit Espace. However, if you love coffee like me, 1920 Barn hostel would be the best choice. Almost everything is perfect about this place except sometimes it’s fully booked. They also arrange transportation to Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and other areas of Laos. For overseas, they do Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

What to see

As sight-seeing, you can check out Wat Ongteu, Ho Phra Keo, and Patuxay. There are more to see but those are the places that you can see below.

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Best Cafe To Check

There are also many cafe’s scattered all around Vientiane but downtown, one of the best(I am biased) but it’s 1920’s Drip. Their cafe is 1920’s themed with awesome and friendly baristas. Every coffee nerd who went here mentioned that the coffee is really good in this place. So, it’s not only me but also several other coffee nerds who testified that the coffee in that place is good. They also have fast wifi to work from. So everything included, you get delicious coffee but also great wifi to work from.

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Unlike in the past where I lay down the cost in a separate post, I have to say that Laos is very affordable as compared to Thailand and Bali for a month. In total for around 3 weeks and 2 nights of stay you can spend less than $300 in a hostel with free breakfast, wifi and free quality coffee.

As transportation in Laos, you can easily use Indriver for motorbike and car options as well. So, unlike in most South East Asian countries with their Grab or Gojek, in Laos Indriver is quite reliable.

Insights

If you’re a broque (broke) and lazy wanderer like me, for almost a month in Laos, expect to spend $500-$600 on everything including transportation back to Thailand in a 2nd class sleeper train. You can definitely make it cheaper and see more things more than I do but because I am that lazy and it’s too hot, I only saw tourist sightseeings a couple of times but in exchange, I make meaningful connection and learning Lao and can speak basic lao phrases that I can feel proud about.

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New Life Chapter!

I have to say that Vientiane exceeds my expectations. I find new friends, new experiences, and calmness. I get more time to think about what I want to do in life, what I wanted out of life and once I am back home, I am making a big decision to move in back with my parents so I can focus on taking care of them, the bakery and travel full time and not paying quadruple bills like I am right now. I would rather wander and like some have suggested, living in a van is an option for me as well. So, here’s to a new chapter of my life!

If in Bali, I was slowly learning about myself, in Laos, I applied what I learned when I was in Bali and ended up learning more things such as;

• Before traveling make sure to minimize bills in the home country.
• Never leave the country before your visa expires in 3 days. Always leave a week before or 7 days before it ends.
• Not over packing because in Thailand and around, clothes are cheap. You’d end up buying a couple anyway.
• Think twice before choosing a mixed dorm.
• Never travel without a power bank.
• If everybody says it’s a scam, it’s highly likely it is a scam.
• Bring USD everywhere even if it's emergency money. 100$ can go a long way in some countries around the SEA.

Helpful Lao Phrases

• Hello (Sabai dee)
• How are you (sabai dee bo? )
• fine (sabai/ sabai deee)
• Yes (doi)
• No (bo)
• How much (Thaoi dai?)
• No problem (Bo Pen nyang )
• Thank you (khop chai)
• Thank you very much (khop chai lai lai)
• Delicious, yummy (sep)
• Very delicious (sep lai)