Laos with Type 1

Where Was I?

Laos

Total Flights: 0

Transported by bus and boat through Laos

When Did I Go?

Nov 16 – Nov 20

Currency

Lao kip

While I did not intend to write these posts months after traveling to these locations, there are some benefits to doing it this way. With more experiences I can compare some of the things I did in Southeast Asia to other parts of my trip. I can also look back at some of the pictures and notes I took and it brings back nice memories with people I met along the way.

The five days in Laos included some of my favorite times of this whole trip, with some stunning destinations and some entertaining nights.

Laos

We went over the border from Thailand to Laos by bus and while the border crossing took a little while, it was fairly easy to get a Laos visa on arrival. While we went over the border by bus, it wasn’t long after arriving in Laos that we jumped on a boat and cruised down the Mekong River until reaching a village called Pak Beng where we spent the night. I didn’t ask, but it’s pretty safe to assume this was not the kind of village that would have insulin at the pharmacy.

I was fortunate that the rooms we stayed in did have refrigerators, so even though we were traveling to a new place almost every day, I was able to refrigerate my insulin at every stop. During the travel, either by bus, boat, or plane, I’d store my insulin in my Frio bags and then would remove the vials and place them in the refrigerator once we would get to the hotel/hostel. It became pretty routine after a few days of this process and besides one hiccup, which I’ll write about in the next blog on Cambodia, everything went swimmingly.

The Best Thing I Saw in Laos

I’ve been traveling over four months now and the day at the Kuang Si Falls was one of my favorites. It’s a stunning location about 30km (I don’t do miles anymore) south of Luang Prabang. Getting there consisted of jumping in an open air taxi or their version of a tuk tuk. It was a bumpy ride, but not the worst way to get around. I went with a couple of new friends I met on the tour and who would become nice travel companions through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Once there, we stepped into a serene environment where we first walked through the Bear Rescue Center to see the bears before making it up the falls. There were areas to swim and smaller waterfalls on the lower grounds before making it to the massive waterfall that gets most of the attention.

After staring at the falls for a good chunk of time, we hiked up an unknown path, which may have not been the wisest decision in a foreign country like Laos, but we survived. I had to chug a Gatorade to avoid a sugar low as we then walked up the steep steps to the top of the Kuang Si Falls and got this view:

We wrapped up the day by heading back to Luang Prabang and had a really nice outdoor dinner at a cool spot, even though we were the only three people at the restaurant.

Luang Prabang was a great stop and a city I’d highly recommend visiting if you make it to this region.

Other Highlights in Laos

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng was a quick stop but a nice spot in central Laos that had some interesting history that related to the Vietnam War.

Alms Giving in Luang Prabang

This picture was the end of the ceremony where nearly 100 monks walked by our group for their food. They were not allowed to touch the food, so we had to roll balls of rice and put one ball in each of their buckets as they walked by. It took place around 6am in the morning, but was worth waking up for as it was a really interesting experience.

Barefoot Bowling

It wasn’t Lucky Strike, but it’s one of those places they tell you to visit when passing through Luang Prabang. Although it was kind of in the middle of nowhere, it stayed open late and was a place to go after the bars. There was also no need to get fitted for bowling shoes as bare feet was the way to bowl here in Laos.

Laos was a country I knew I’d be visiting because it was on my tour, but it wasn’t one I really knew anything about before traveling. All I knew was that it bordered Thailand. Although I was only in the country for about five days, I was able to get some sense of the land and the people. I thought the landscape was really breathtaking and the people there were friendly and laid back. Our local tour guide told us they don’t have any crime in Laos and as we visited some of the villages by the river, we could really get a sense of the community-style living they practiced. We were able to see the Hmong people in their homes and saw how different their lifestyle was to that of a westerner who lived in a big city.

We flew on Laos Airlines to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Even the flying experience was different. The flight left 30 minutes before it was scheduled and the pilot started taxiing before everyone was seated, similar to how a bus would operate in the city. That certainly could never happen in the U.S., but it really wasn’t so bad and arriving in Siem Reap ahead of schedule was nice.

The Sugars

Highest high: 224

Lowest low: 50

Avg Morning: 114

Avg Afternoon: 90

Avg Night: 134

Insulin Pods: 2

Avg Basal Rate: 1.10

Emergency sugar supply: Skittles, glucose tablets, energy drinks

There wasn’t anything too crazy in Laos. A few of the days were very warm and I knew the heat combined with physical activity could really affect my blood sugars. I had to check my sugar a few extra times, but I kept it in pretty good range for most of the time there.

One of the days there was an option to do a kayak trip down the river which included some cave exploring. I did research what I could about the trip, but there was still some uncertainty about a few things. Going on day trips like these can be tough, even for non diabetics, to know what to pack, what to expect, etc. But for diabetics it’s even more difficult because you know you have to be prepared for anything. I ended up not going on the kayak trip and walked to a different cave site instead. Based on what I thought the trip would be, it wasn’t worth the risk of not having what I would need. If I thought this would be a really great trip, I would have gotten a waterproof bag for my medical stuff and probably could have made it work. But, I chose the safer route and opted not to go and still had a really good day at the caves.

I ate plenty of noodle dishes in Laos and a few of the nights drank more alcohol than I normally would, but my morning sugar readings came back pretty clean.

In the next blog about Cambodia I’ll write about the first real diabetic problem I ran into while traveling.

That’s what industry professionals would call a tease.

Until then,

Keep the sugar levels steady

Jeremy

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