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Published: July 19th 2010
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Ve stredu 14.7. jsme se presunuli z Phonsavanu do Vang Viengu, ktery se nachazi v centralnim Laosu. Vang Vieng je turisticky vyhlasene mesto obklopene vapencovymi krasy. Stravili jsme tam pouze jeden den, pri kterem jsme navstivili nekolik jeskyni. Jeskyne jsou lehce dosazitelne pesky, na kole ci na motorce. Pred kazkou jeskyni sedi parta kluku a vybira vstupne. Ochotne vam udelaji pruvodce {v nekterych jeskynich se clovek bez nich neobejde}, ale pak si nestydi rict o pomerne solidni baksis. Je potreba s nimi smlouvat, ale to trochu kazi celkovy dojem z jeskyni.
Na nasi obedove pauze jsme se seznamili s panem z Thajska, co momentalne zije v Laosu a uci deti vesnicanu angicky. Vypravel nam, ze zil pomerne dlouhou dobu v Evrope, ale pak se rozhodl vratit zpatky do Asie a stal se na 4 roky mnichem v dzungli.
V patek jsme se presunuli VIP autobusem do Vientiane {hlavni mesto}. VIP autobus se vyznacoval tim, ze v nem byli jen zapadni turisti - a to jeste princove a princezny, co si do Vang Viengu odskocili z Thajska, tak to podle toho vypadalo. Pro nas to bylo pouceni, ze priste uz jen s mistnimi.
Hlavni mesto Laosu se za poslednich
nekolik let hodne zmenilo. Z maleho, ospaleho mesta se pomalu stava metropole {na Laoske pomery}. Vsude se horecnate stavi a ulice jsou plne aut. Naopak spousta malych stanku na brehu Mekongu zanikla. Po obhlednuti situace, jsme se rozhodli stravit zde jen jeden den a pak pokracovat dal na jih.
Behem tohoto dne jsme stihli projit hlavni pametihodnosti. Nejprve jsme vyrazili do Xieng Khuang {Buddha park}. Toto je od centra asi 20 km vzdaleny, nove postaveny {70. leta} pomnik budhistice a hinduisticke mytologie. Jsou zde k videni pomerne bizardni betonove sochy, ktere sice nejsou remeslne moc dobra zvladnute {a beton taky nevypada taky zrovna atraktivne}, ale jsou svym silenym zpusobem krasne. Po navratu do mesta jsme se sli podivat na Patuxai {Vitezny oblouk}, coz je Laoska imitace slavneho Arc de Triomphe. Legenda pravi, ze na jeho stavbu byl pouzit beton darovany americkou vladou na stavbu letistni drahy. Na oblouku je plaketa, ktera v posledni vete rika neco jako: z blizka vypada jeste hur nez z dalky - jako obluda z betonu. .... Laoska uprimnost mluvi za vse. Zlatym hrebem, a to doslova, byl nejvyznamnejsi narodni pamatnik v zemi {je i na bankovkach} - Pha That Luang {neboli Velky Svaty Relikviar
neboli Zlute raketove silo}. Tento je vyroben z oblibeneho Vientianskeho materialu, kterym je beton.
Dale jsme jiz mistnim autobusem pokracovali v ceste na jih. Abychom nasali atmosferu, rozhodli jsme se na jednu noc zustat v mestecku zvanem Tha Kaek. Za zminku stoji snad jen to, ze jsme spali v cinskem guesthousu a primo pred okny nam drncela strasliva cinska diskoteka.
V pondeli jsme dorazili do Savanakhetu, ktery je hlavnim mestem stejnojmenne provincie a kde se planujeme na chvili zdrzet. Je to prijemne mestecko lezici na brehu v techto mistech jiz dost mohutneho Mekongu.
On Wednesday 14.7. we made our journey from Phonsavan to Vang Vieng in central Laos. Vang Vieng is really turisty town surrounded by limestone karsts. We spent here just one day during which we visited several caves. They are reachable by motorbike, bike or simply on foot. In front of each cave there is a crew of boys who are collecting entrance fees. They are keen to be your guide {and in some cases you need them} but they are not ashamed to ask about quite a lot of money for guiding. You have to bargain with them which ruins whole
experience.
On our lunch break we met a gentleman from Thailand who temporary lives in Laos and teaches local children English. He spent several years in Europe but then he decided to come back to Asia and become a jungle monk.
On Friday we moved by VIP bus to Vientiane {Capital}. VIP bus means bus full of western princes and princesses who just popped to Vang Vieng from Thailand.
Vientiane has changed a lot during last couple of years and it is not a sleepy downtown anymore. New building are growing fast and streets are full of cars. So decided to spend here just one day and then continue our journey to the South.
During that day we managed to see three main sightseeing. First we went to see Xieng Khuang {Buddha park}, which is roughly 20 km from the town center. Buddha park is monument full of concrete statues representing Budhhist a Hindu mythology. The statues are not particularly cleverly made and concrete is not very pretty either but they have some surreal charm. After returning to the town we went to see Patuxai which resembles famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The legend says
that it was made from concrete given by the US government which was originally supposed to be used for an airport runway. The highlight of the afternoon was seeing Pha That Luang {or Great Sacred Reliquary or Yellow Missile Silo}. It is the most important national monument which is even on bank notes. Pha That Luang is also built from the most popular Vientiane material - concrete.
We continued our journey to the South by a local bus. We decided to spent a night in a downtown called Tha Keak to breathe an atmosphere. There is not much to say about it just that we stayed in Chinese guesthouse with a dreadful Chinese disco in front of our windows.
On Monday we arrived to Savanakhet where we want to stay couple of days. It is a nice town on the river Mekong.
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jan dolejs
non-member comment
patuxai
z dalky vypada celkem zajimave :-)