Vang Vieng and Vientiane - A tale of 2 cities (Day 125 - 130 by Chris)

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Tuesday 19th January 2016

We left Luang Prabang after a great 3 days and were heading south to a place called Vang Vieng. We were collected by a tuk tuk driver at 9am and driven the short journey to the central bus station where we boarded our 'VIP' bus. There are a number of options available when taking this journey but all bus related. You can take the VIP bus which is basically a big coach, a minibus, local bus or a wagon with benches. We opted for the larger bus expecting it to be a much smoother ride. The word VIP was used to differentiate this bus to the local bus, which like buses at home will stop to pick people up. Once we had found our allocated seats and were ready to leave, the bus conductor then placed lots of plastic stools in the aisle of the bus and some local people boarded and sat on the plastic seats. Although we weren't on the most comfortable seats ourselves we we happy not to be sat on hard plastic seats with no back support. We were especially happy about this once the journey started and we spent hours on a mountain road winding around swaying side to side.

The journey was meant to take roughly 5 hours but actually lasted 7.5 hours. Despite being a VIP bus the driver was happy to pick people up along the way and at one point let an old lady onto the bus who seemed to be moving house. Before she boarded, huge bags of rice and vegetables were brought on and we had to pass them down the bus over our heads until they found a free spot on the aisle. This was quite a strange experience but made even more so when she brought her live chicken on with her. This brought a chorus of laughter from everyone on board. The journey then continued and seemed to never end. If it hadn't been for the SPECTACULAR scenery from the mountain road this could've been labelled as one of the worst journeys we've taken so far, however we've now put it down as one of the best.

We arrived at Vang Vieng at 5pm after a very tiring journey. We checked into Laos Haven Hotel and Spa and were given the room on the top floor (only 2 floors) which looked out over the small town with amazing views of the hills in the distance. It's an absolutely incredible view and we were very happy with our hotel choice. Whilst settling into the room Gemma realised she had a bag missing. Unfortunately we'd left it on the bus which we understood was heading to Vientiane, the Laos Capital after dropping us off. I hopped onto a motor bike with one of the hotel workers and made our way very slowly to the bus station only a couple of miles down the road. Thankfully the bus was still there and so was the bag.

In the evening we popped out for a walk around. It got dark about 6pm so we couldn't really see much other than a small dusty town with a few bars and restaurants. We went to a restaurant that was open plan with seating areas raised up on wooden platforms with small tables and comfortable cushions to sit on. There was a TV showing non stop episodes of 'Friends' which is something that Vang Vieng is famous for. For some unknown reason, pretty much all bars show Friends constantly. It was quite nice to relax before heading to bed.

Wednesday 20th January 2016

We quite fancied a relaxing day today so that is what we did. We spent the day sitting in a bar watching some friends and writing some blogs and also took a walk to the river which is a short 2 minute walk form our hotel. Nothing is more than a 2 minute walk here as the place is so tiny. We popped into Gary's Irish Bar for some lunch and was told to return in the evening for some happy hour drinks.

In the evening whilst sat drinking coffee and eating some baked goods in a brilliant bakery we found we were pleased to bump into Mateja who we met in Luang Prabang and had traveled to Vang Vieng today. He told us that some of the others we'd met had also arrived a little earlier in the day and were staying at a hostel around the corner. We later met up with everyone and went to a bar called Sakura which seemed to be the main place to be in the evening. Pretty much everyone was there drinking, dancing and playing beer pong. They had an offer of free drinks between 8 -9 and you got a free t-shirt if you bought 2 vodka cocktails. Almost everyone was wearing the Sakura t-shirts so we thought it only fitting to do the same. After a few hours of drinking and dancing we called it a night having agreed to meet up the following day for tubing.

Thursday 21st January 2016

Tubing is the number one thing to do in Vang Vieng and involves sitting in a huge rubber ring and floating down a river stopping off at bars along the way. Over the past 10 years the number of bars along the river swelled and each bar had a zip line or diving spots into the river. As a result of mixing drunken (or drugged up in some cases) tourists with varying river levels and diving spots many people have died as a result of drowning or hitting hidden rocks. As a result of this, the police enforced the closure of all bars in the past year which made for tubing a more safer activity but some might say more boring as a result. Recently a few bars have started to open but none have dangerous swings or zip lines. At the point of writing there are 3 bars open and we intended to visit them along the way.

Me, Gemma, Lianne, Mateja and Michel met up to head off tubing and also along for the trip were an English and Scottish guy (Gav from Newcastle and Max from Stirling). There were a few others in the tuk tuk but their names escape me at this time. We arrived 3 km later at a spot on the river. The idea is to collect your rubber tube and simply float until you reach the end of the river. As the river runs very slowly this is meant to take a few hours to travel the 3km. We entered the river and got comfortable in our tubes before being thrown a rope and dragged into the first bar only 100 metres down the river. We spent the next couple of hours having a few drinks and playing beer pong and getting to know some other people. Whilst in conversation with Gemma I suddenly had a thought that I'd seen Gav and Max before. The penny dropped that they were the same guys that were in the jeep with us about 8 weeks ago whilst visiting the sand dunes in Vietnam. We spent the next hour getting to know them and finding out that we have basically taken the same route as them since September. They both left 1 week before us and traveled to exactly the same places - small world.

After discovering that we had spent more time than we planned in the first bar we got back into the water. After floating for a while taking in the beautiful surroundings we arrived at bar number 2. We had some more drinks, engaged in a game of beer pong and after picking up some more people our now extended group entered the water again. It was getting quite late in the day now and we decided to take someone's advice and get out of the water when we reached the bridge. By not doing so we would have another hour of floating down the river to the end with no stops to break up the journey. Along the way however I some how fell off my tube, as did Gav and with the water being very shallow (scrape your back on rocks shallow) we watched as the tubes quickly floated away from us and not being able to walk on the wet rocks there was nothing we could do. We hobbled over the rocks to the deeper water and swam to catch everyone else up. They all took the piss because we'd lost our tubes so we did the honorable thing of popping to the last bar and stealing 2 tubes from the pile that other people had left. We then joined the rest of our group and after reaching the bridge got out and took a tuk tuk back to the main town. It was a brilliant day having so many laughs with some really funny and like minded people.

After showering and getting changed we headed out for some food and then met everyone else in the Sakura bar again. We had some more drinks and a few dances before calling it a night and falling into a deep slumber.

Friday 22nd January 2016

Today is a special day as its my birthday and I turned the ripe old age of 34! :-(

We had plans to be active today and do some cycling to a lagoon where we would spend the rest of the day playing in the water. After a quick breakfast and feeling surprisingly alert, despite the number of drinks from the previous day, we walked the short distance the other hostel where the other guys were staying. Some of the group were equally awake, however we found out that Gav and Max had continued their night into the wee hours and as a result were not tip-top. Max was up for making the most of the day, but Gav was unwilling to leave the room. After some convincing he decided to join us and after picking up some mountain bikes from the shop next door, Me, Gemma, Lianne, Michel, Mateja, Max and Gav set off to find the blue lagoon.

The blue lagoon is about 5km away from the town and the only way to get there is to travel down a dirt track which offered stunning scenery of limestone hills covered in trees and surrounded by beautiful country side and small local villages. We took a few wrong turnings to begin with, but once we had located the correct road we spent the next 30 mins struggling up and down some hills before arriving at the blue lagoon. We locked up the bikes and paid a small entrance fee and found a seating area that became ours for the day. Max was struggling and fell to sleep looking very hungover, the rest of us took a dip in the very blue, but also very cold lagoon. Joined by over 100 South Koreans (who seem to everywhere in Laos!) we paddled around cooling off.

After enough soaking we had lunch and Michel, Gav and I joined in the fun of jumping off the tree platform into the deep cold water. We then all relaxed playing some cards and getting to know each other better. We spent a good 4 hours at the lagoon and despite the journey being brilliant and the company being equally as good, the lagoon itself felt too much like a tourist trap and despite initially jumping straight into the water, we spent most of our time sat on the wooden platform thingy playing cards. Still a place worth visiting if you're ever in the area.

We left and had to cycle back to town in the late afternoon. Thankfully the journey back wasn't as bad, as it was mostly down hill and the sun had hidden behind some clouds. The sunset along the way was amazing, as were the scenes of the local farmers herding their cows in the fields. Once we arrived back in town, we returned the bikes and popped back for a shower before meeting up again for a pizza dinner. It was after the pizza that I was surprised with a small birthday cake which was amazing. Gemma, being unable to get away from me had no opportunity to buy a cake so had got Lianne to do this for her. We had a slice of chocolate cake each and then headed to Sakura bar for some drinks as happy hour had started.

As it was Friday night, lots of people were talking about going to a jungle party which only happens on Fridays and as the name suggests takes place in the jungle. It doesn't start until 11pm and seeing as we were leaving Vang Vieng on the 9am bus tomorrow we weren't sure whether we would attend. We took little persuasion to join a few of the group and at midnight we left in the tuk tuks to the party. When arriving 5 minutes later though we quickly realised that the title of 'Jungle Party' was a little misleading. Yes there was a party, but it wasn't in a jungle. It was basically like any other night in Sakura but at a different bar. Quickly putting the initial disappointment to the side (we had covered ourselves in mosquito spray especially!) we quickly found a group of crazy south Koreans and spent the next few hours engaging them in some crazy dancing.

With the hours ticking by we decided to call it a night at 2:30am and said goodbye to Michal who is heading next to Bangkok and then back to Holland and a 'see you later' to the others as they were arriving at our next destination, the capital Vientiane, the day after us. We were fast asleep at 3am hoping that when we woke there would be no hangover in sight. I had a great birthday spent with some brilliant people and it was certainly a birthday I will likely remember for a very long time.

Saturday 23rd January 2016 - Vientiane

We were awake at 7am to pack and have breakfast before the minibus collected us at 9am to take us the Vientiane for our final stop in Laos. The journey was uneventful, if not a little bumpy, and after only 3 and a half hours we were in a cold looking Vientiane. As capital cities go, this must be, on first impressions, one of the quietest. There seemed to be hardly anyone around the streets, only a few cars on the road. It was only about 1pm and it seemed like the middle of the night. After a short stroll though, we arrived at our hotel, Moonlight Champa, spotting our names on a welcome board outside. The room was warm but had a strong fan and a clean bathroom. On first impressions the room seemed like it would offer us a comfortable stay.

In the evening we headed to a restaurant suggested by our hotel, a place called Laos Kitchen. It seemed quite popular with foreigners as it was white faces all round. We ordered a few dishes to share, but as we often do we over ordered and was unable to finish everything. After dinner, and not seeing much of a night life here, we headed back to the room and had our first hot shower in Laos and then spent a productive evening researching our next country Myanmar.

Sunday 24th January 2016

We had a fantastic sleep and actually overslept and missed our free breakfast. After popping out to a cafe to grab something to eat in the room we did some more Myanmar research before heading out to see some sights. It was really cold so we had to return to the room to put on more clothes. We then headed back out and found ourselves in a down poor so took shelter in a coffee shop where we continued to plan Myanmar until the rain stopped a few hours later. Not really feeling that Vientiane had anything to offer, despite being a capital city, we headed back to the room to continue further planning in our comfortable room.

We had arranged to meet some of the gang from the previous days at their hostel in the evening for some food. We met them at 7pm and headed out. We stopped off at a Lebanese restaurant where we had chicken kebabs and then into a coffee shop to warm up with hot chocolate. It was getting late and very cold we so took shelter in the other guys hostel to continue chatting. After another hour or so we said our final goodbyes as we were heading to Myanmar and the others to Thailand and Vietnam separately. We then shivered our way back to the hotel where we fell into another deep, comfortable and warm sleep.

This brings our time in Laos to a close. Its been a short stop, actually the shortest amount of time we have spent in any country on this trip so far. Despite that, we have had a very varied and fun-filled trip. From the amazing flight into the country and the relaxing time spent in Luang Prabang, then to the party filled fun in Vang Vieng and mixing with a brilliant group of people to the ghost town that was Vientiane, not to mention the death trap that the locals call a road. Its been a country that we will miss a lot.

Next stop Myanmar (Burma)....

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