Heduš and the Forbidden City in Laos

Hi everyone,
Greetings from northern Laos. Luang Prabang is the old colonial city situated in the beautiful valley of the Mekong River. Around the mountains are covered with a deep jungle. We spent the
three days, which took trips to the neighborhood and city tour. We stayed in a family house with a large parking lot and went to the center. In Prabang’s many beautiful old houses built by French colonists and most of them are converted to guest houses and restaurants, which calls for tourism. Luang Prabang is probably because most visited city in Laos.

There are surprisingly many tourists from all over the world who recognize the beauty of Laos like us. There are also many temples and royal palace, which lies on the banks of the Mekong. We found a rented boat dock, usmlouvali price and headed upstream Mekong River to a small tribal village of Pak-Ou. From the beginning, we did not know that at that village is a sacred cave. Although it does not seem to Mekong River is very treacherous, full of rocky cliffs. But our pilot was experienced and adept at avoiding the pitfalls of all rivers. From the shore waving us on local tribesmen who have caught fish there, or trying to pan for gold. That we are very interested and now we are asked about our captain, if you really fetch the gold. Approvingly nodded his head and explained that during the monsoon river floods here in the mountains will bring sand and clay, which contains small pebbles of gold. The beauty of coastal forests and fishing villages on the banks of the enchanted us so that we do not even notice that we’re at our destination.

Pak Ou is actually a small village with two restaurants, which are on stilts over the river and on the other side of the entrance to a sacred cave.

Way back into Prabang was faster, as we floated downstream. Similar trips we spent the whole weekend and we encourage everyone who visits Laos to Luang Prabang in spent at least three days. It was Monday and we went on the path Phonsavan. We had to return about 80 km direction of Vientiane, and then turn east. Phonsavanu path leads through the beautiful mountains that are quite high and are covered with pines. Phonsavan lies in an area where the war took place in heavy fighting, and their remains are visible today.

Along the way we are looking for a little detour into the jungle that the map should be forwarded along the Ngum River. We asked, but this much we do not understand. When one boy who came from the forest to catch some are suggesting that we turn ONU has long passed. It was both a hunter adventure books. The passport had a large knife over his shoulder, a dead animal (like a small doe) and hung around his neck old Kalashnikov assault rifle, which it did not fit too.

Guns are a common thing among the villagers, using them to hunt. We demanded little in Luan Phrabangu one employee of our house and he offered us with a Kalashnikov rounds per $ 100. It is strange to us that we are occasionally seen in the villages of armed civilians. They usually have a strange old rifle with long barrel, but sometimes you can see Russian or American machine gun. Well, we branched out with a little description of our trip.

The Phonsavanu we arrived in the evening, they found a small guest house clean and stayed. In the title we have ever trip to the Forbidden City Long Cheng. The map was from us deep in the jungle, this time south. We decided that if we let go over the border into Vietnam by car, so we return to Phonsavanu and then south to Long Cheng. With these plans, we fall asleep, and morning is launched. We started with breakfast and local pozeptali which way to get to the famous plains of pitchers, which is about 5 km south of the city. They are two locations where the stone vessels of unknown origin. This archaeological site, we thoroughly inspected and we judged that we do not know what, these containers can be used and therefore leave it to the experts, who are puzzled with it. The plain is No.1 in the middle of the former battlefield and around the trenches are overgrown with large craters from American bombs. Tourists can walk only on marked roads or areas not yet cleared of landmines.

The plain No. 2 is located about 10 km from the plains and the No.1 in the forest. But this we know only a guide, because we did not visit because of continuing our journey along the road No. 7 to the east towards the border with Vietnam. After 150 km ahead of the jungle gouge the roof of a small house that served the Lao customs officials. They welcomed us with surprise and immediately notifying us that we let go by car to Vietnam. So we walked a short walk to the Vietnamese border in order to confirm this information. Unfortunately, customs had laoští truth. Vietnamese customs officer was very friendly, but sorry to tell us that we can only across the border without a car. Not only do we need a Vietnamese driver’s license, but a special permit issued by perhaps diplomats. Nothing else we had no choice but to turn and go back to Phonsavanu.

Along the way we have sought after a visit to Long Cheng will continue in southern Laos, where we park the car and go to Vietnam to stop. It had enough hours and we spent the night in the same house as last night. Immediately after breakfast we went on an adventurous journey into the jungle for a secret city Long Cheng. We are oriented according to our imperfect maps and we are asking villagers. Every villager us from the path of betraying our NEB will not let the army there and it’s very dangerous. Driving through the villages of Hmong and those of us quite puzzled stare. We had to wade through several small creeks and we were not even sure if going right, because they were not any villages, and there was nobody to ask. Then before we appeared in one corner an old Russian military truck in which several men were. We stopped at them and asked for the Long Cheng. They nodded, that we are going in the right direction, but he looked pretty weird. This time we have left, but betray a few days ago. There was a beautiful wild jungle and we have a speed of 20 km farther Struggling through. On the way we were already about 3 hours, during which we drove a mere 70 km. We thought that it can and will achieve our goal, which was the old airport from which the Americans started bombing of Ho Chi Minh trail (can be seen in the movie Air America). But suddenly appeared before us a group of armed men who forced us to immediately turn the car and come back.

So no second attempt to get into this area, we have failed. We went back to the jungle Phonsavanu and after a few hours we arrived on a forest path leading to the village of Ta-Viang and Nhiep to the lowlands of the river, which flows into the Mekong. Two days took us to get through the deep jungle to the city Paksan, which lies on the banks of the Mekong River. Despite this city, we continued south to Savanakhetu, where we had to restore the already sunken Vietnamese visa. Savanakhet was very pleasant stop, here are the Internet, an excellent pastry shop and a lot of excellent restaurants. We spent the weekend and on Monday morning went to 200 km journey to the Vietnam border. At the border we are pleased to offer use of Laotian customs and our mobile home parked in their garages. We packed a backpack and set off on foot across the border into Vietnam. But next time, Hi.

Milan and Eve