Advertisement
Published: September 6th 2006
VV
Great beer...even better food! I really didn't know I could relax this much! I always felt guilty if I slept too late, or didn't get anything done during a day but those feelings disappear in Vang Vieng.
After a long 5 hour bus ride where I shared the front seat sandwiched between a crazy driver and even crazier traveler(you should have seen his hat) we arrived in Vang Vieng. To my surprise it wasn't really a city, but more of a dirt lot with a collection of guest houses and restaurants situated on the Mekong River. After settling in our guest house (Me, Taylor, Shane) went off to find food, get money, and drop off laundry. Immediately we noticed that all the restaurants had a large selection of "Happy" items. Happy Shakes, Happy Pizza... We finally found a restaurant that served regular food and enjoyed a large western meal.
The following days were spent getting up around noon, exploring the area on moto bike, or floating down the river on a large tractor tube. I was very relieved that I didn't crash the motorbike because I waited until I arrived at a city with few other motorists, and left hand drive to
VV
What to do today? NOTHING! attempt this feat for fear of my life. The tree of us concluded that all animals and children have a suicide wish in Lao because they enjoy being in the middle of the street or even running toward you as you drive down the roads. The roads are very, very interesting.
The other thing we discovered on our excursions is that when a child can walk in Lao he/she is given a large knife at least 50% larger than their leg! Its amazing to see 3 year olds with enormous machetes! It seems that we don't want to give children too much responsibility and want to keep them safe in the west, but these children survived and seem to do well in this environment. It is very different.
The THING to do in Vang Vieng is to tube down the Mekong river and visit the numerous river bars. As you can see from the picture the only identifying mark is the number they place on your hand at the start. The part I wasn't aware of was the trapeze swings that you can only use if you buy a beer. They also get higher and more elaborate(read...drink more=
VV
Other thing? more dangerous) as you float down the river. At one point it even started to downpour, but luckily we were at one of the bars under an umbrella so we were safe. It was a really great time and I would love to go back during the dry season, when the sun is out.
After a few days of these adventures we decided to keep heading south to the capital of Lao in Vientiane.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 8; qc: 43; dbt: 0.0528s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
anonymous
non-member comment
i wish i was there so bad! it sounds fabulous. hope alls well, come home soon! kisses, your sis