arriving at Vientiane-Finally!!

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So I just wrote my first journal entry in a journal and figured I should also write on this travel blog to keep you guys, family and friends, updated and to have an electronic journal. Anyways, yesterday morning I arrived at the Vientiane airport after grueling 10 hr layover. I proceeded to get my visa, which the line took forever and for some reason I was nervous they wouldn't accept me. It turns out I forgot to fill out 1 of the 2 forms which the flight attendants were handing out earlier and I figured I didn't need one bc she was talking gibberish to me. I then got situated with my luggage and money and took a taxi to the center area as recommended by the UBELONG team. It was stated in the handout that many travel agencies would be near and the closest one was a 20 minute walk away according to an employee at a store. Luckily a tuk-tuk driver was near so after 5 minutes of confusing Lao and English back and forth he took me to the bus station. There I waited another hour to get a better deal riding in a mini van than bus. I did get a better deal not realizing the amount of people you can fit per van(13ppl in a 9 seated van). It took four hours to get to Vang Vieng. And during those four hours I could see the poverty not only in the small towns we drove through, but the city, Vientiane as well. There was waste everywhere on the sides of the road, homeless and starved dogs, and the children I came across. One 3-4 yr old boy was walking on the road in a small town NAKED and not caring about the traffic. Being on the road is scary in general being that there were not only no lines, but no passing lines.. when I finally got there they dropped me off by another tuk tuk and after 20 minutes I was there (the driver didn't know where the house was). Two girls, On and Ved greeted me happily and showed me around. There are no volunteers except me and the staff were out. Which made me sad, but it is only temporary. They made me noodle soup with different veggies and spices in it.The rest of the night ended quickly. I took a shower and fell asleep by 730. Now I promise I wont write a blog as big as this one from here on out! I survived my travels! Now the fun part😊

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