You Tube - Louang Phabang and Vang Viang

---

We got a minibus from Nong Khaiw south to Louang Phabang, a lovely small city filled with temples and French architecture, protected by UNESCO. The weather was hot but the sky was grey and visibility poor. This was ''slash and burn'' season for local farmers so there was a lot of smoke and ash in the air. We found a lovely family run guest house in the pretty Ban Wat That district (the old silversmithing district) called Vilay Guesthouse.

We spent a couple of days with several of our 'boarder crossing friends' exploring the beautiful quiet city, Buddhist temples, caves, boating on the Mekong River and eating at the yummy street markets. One day we took a trip to pretty Kouang Si Waterfall and despite it being dry season the waterfall was still stunning. They had a bear rescue centre there filled with cute Black Asiatic Bears saved from bear bile farms. Randomly, we also stumbled across a group of hippies giving out free massages as part of a Thai Massage Circus they were promoting. We all had a massage but passed on the arcomassage (a massage where the therapist dangles you above them from their feet in an acrobatic style!!). It was all peace, love, wavey arms dancing and 60s music! The water in the pools was clear and blue but very cold, but this didn't stop the male members of our group from testing out the rope swing! That night we went out to Lao's one and only Ten Pin Bowling Alley that sold beers and had a right laugh. Good times.

On our last day in Louang Phabang we got up very early to witness the local Buddhist monks, wearing orange robes, collecting alms. They walk silently in lines through the streets collecting rice, flowes and money in their bowls offered by local people. This is a very holy and old tradition and very beautiful to watch. Bit of a shame that millions of paparazi camera weilding tourists come and disturb the peace by pointing long lenses in the faces of the monks without asking. We've seen a lot of this, people snapping away without taking a moment to see with their own eyes. Everyone wants the 'perfect picture' whatever the cost.

We got a bus to Vang Viang, a small riverside town known as a party destination and were surprised to arrive mid afternoon to a ghost town. Turns out everyone in this place is either out on the river during the day or recovering from a hangover in bars showing back to back episodes of Family Guy and Friends. We spent our first day in Vang Viang chilling out but there is nothing to do in this town except drink and watch TV. The following day our friends had arrived so we went tubing. Tubing is basically a floating bar crawl. We each hired a big rubber ring (a tractor tyre inner tube) and took a tuktuk 4km up the river to the starting point, the start of the riverside bars. We enjoyed a brilliant day of rope swings, mud volley ball, water slides, floating between bars, dancing, playing flip cup and sampling the free snake whiskey shots! Unfortunately Holly slipped off a ladder and bruised her leg but this didn't prevent us from going back to town and dancing the night away around a bonfire at the Bucket Bar.

With fuzzy heads, we knew that if we didn't leave Vang Viang soon we'd be tubing zombies stuck here forever so we booked a bus and headed for the Laos capital Vientiane......

---

Comments

[Eric]

I really enjoyed your post. I have always wanted to go there. My blog is looking for travel photos. If you have the time, email us some at [e-mail] and check us out at dirty-hipppies.blogspot.com. Continued fun on your travels, Eric

[Cherise]

Life through a lens
Hi guys, glad you are still having the best time. I have to be honest that life here is currently so busy and draining (in the work, eat, search for different work, go to the gym, watch half an hour of tele, sleep, start cycle again sense) that I have used a good amount of time on this lovely bank holiday to catch up on you blog. I loved your comment about the photo people. EVeryone is so obsessed with documenting everything that they forget to look. Just got back from Barcelona where we watched this woman go round taking photos on all the menus hanging on the wall in one resteraunt. Just dont get it?!!! EVerywhere you try and go there are tonnes of people blocking off the way by taking photos so in the end i decided to just go my own way as there would always be someone wanting to get the best shot, so screw em i say. I wanna revel in the awe of a sunset i aint waiting till the jonas family from Memphis, Tennassee set up the damn shot thrice over. Enough ranting anyway and back to blogging- sounds great so far, and Holly- sorry about your leg, you poor bugger. Stop drinking all those bloody Mai Tais. :)

[Dee and Holly]

Jonas Family
I think we've met the Jonas Family from Memphis! Glad you got a break from the rat race to visit Barcelona. And thanks for my birthday card.......I really cannot hide can I ;-). Love you mate. Hxxxxxxxxx