Vang Vieng - Vientiane, Laos

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July 24, 2006

We woke up in Vang Vieng, Laos on our 2nd wedding anniversary in a hot, stuffy, dirty room! Yuck! However, we managed to get ourselves out of there and on to Vientiane, the capital, to enjoy our anniversary evening. In the morning we hung around Vang Vieng with our British friends, Michelle and Andy, for a few hours and then decided to hop on a bus and get to Vientiane. We paid $5 each for an “Air-con” bus (as they call them here), but after about 1hr into the 3.5hr trip all the windows were opened and the sweating began. Once we arrived in the capital, we checked into a much nicer and cooler room. We walked down to the banks of the Mekong River and enjoyed the cheapest pitcher we’ve ever bought! We paid 90¢ for a 4-glass-jug of Beer Lao and watched the sunset at an outdoor bar. Steve and picked a nice French restaurant out of the Lonely Planet book for us to enjoy a romantic dinner. We managed to each have a 3-course meal and a carafe of nice French table wine for about $30! We were thrilled because that type of dinner would have cost us over $100 in DC.

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Photos

Vang Vieng
View from a gas station that was about 1/2 way between Phonsavan and VV.

Vang Vieng
View from our hotel in VV.

Vientiane
2nd wedding anniversary celebration.

Vientiane - Arc de Triumph
Parisian knockoff / vertical runway.

Vientiane - Arc de Triumph
Under arch, looking up.

Vientiane - Arc de Triumph
Blasphemous signage.

Vientiane - Arc de Triumph
The "excellent view point over the city", but only after climbing many stairs and passing through a souvenir shop at each level.

Vientiane
Oh, Steve! Don't you know the saying about how you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't...well, you know.