Advertisement
Vang Vieng
Tarmac . . .where the CIA supposidly didn't enter Laos Ventianne--the Capital We took a night bus up to Nong Khai, Thailand from Bangkok. Oh, how lovely it was! I had missed the nice, spacious buses of Thailand. Both of us actually slept most of the way, and we were excited to arrive in Nong Khai. Of course, upon arrival, everyone who drives a Tuk Tuk was ready to rip us off on a ride to the Thai/Laos Border. Luckily, Billy does not let people walk all over him too easily, and we managed to get to the border for a few dollars. Surprisingly, it was very easy to cross the border into Laos. We applied for our visas and were granted entrance into Laos. Along the way, we met a nice guy from the U.S. who is currently living in Bangkok--just hanging out there--and needed to leave Thailand to renew his visa. So, we split a taxi to Ventianne. Once in town, we found a nice hotel along the Mekong river . . .Joe's Guesthouse. To get around Ventianne, Billy decided to rent a moto. It was AWESOME to have our own transportation for once! Billy is an excellent moto driver, if I do say so myself.
Vertical Airport Vang Vieng
The scenery as it drifts by . . . So, I guess the United States donated enough concrete for Laos to build a new international airport in their capital city. The Laotians decided a better idea would be to build a tall monument in the middle of the main street--made strictly out of concrete. Very tiny airplanes made for mice could land on it, but it's definitely not an international airport. However, you can get some great views of the city from the top, so we climbed up as high as we could to take some pictures. Then we decided we were hungry. So, we grabbed some lychees and headed out to Brenda and Billy's favorite Indian food restaurant--Nazims. It was fabulous! I had delicious Mutter Paneer, and Billy had Aloo Gobi. Billy thought it would be a good idea to tell our waiter that he would like to have his supper "as hot as they could make it". He soon realized that hot Indian food is too hot for him! He ate a few bites of his food . . .waited, drank some water, ate some of my food, waited . . .ate a few more bites of his own food and said, "I'm done!" He ended up
Ventianne
The beautiful sky in Laos! eating half of my supper and plenty of Naan! After supper, Billy decided it was time to teach me how to drive the moto. Luckily, it was dark and not too many cars were on the road! I was a little wobbly and turning wasn't my best forte . . .but no one died or got hurt, so I think I did alright! I'm not sure I could drive in the crazy traffic, but the night time is rather quiet . . .so that's when I do my best driving. Billy, however, is a driving maniac. He knows how to drive like the locals, and so we make it safely wherever we go. One thing I have learned . . ."Traffic laws are my friend!"
Vang Vieng--Chillin' Capital of the World Upon arriving in Vang Vieng, we found a great guesthouse . . .Malany Guesthouse. It was right on the main strip of restaurants. We immediately found some food and a restaurant playing FRIENDS . . .which was not hard. After a few relaxing hours, we did some shopping then some walking. We ended up taking a short nap before the evening. That night, we got a nice Laos massage--it
Vang Vieng
Tubing down the Song River was GREAT! The next day, we decided to do some tubing down the Song River. Excellent time for only $4/per person! As we floated along down the river . . .getting slightly rained on . . .we saw a place where you could climb up and use a rope swing to swing out over the river and drop into the cool water. So, we stopped. Billy immediately ran over and swung off into the river. I was a little hesitant . . .okay, a lot hesistant! I was afraid that once I put my weight on the swing, I would slip off of the handle and fall right down--there were rocks right down below. But Billy encouraged me, and told me that there was a lot of grip on the handle and I would be okay. So, I stood close to the swing off point and met some nice Israeli men who also encouraged me to swing off. So, I stepped up to the plate . . .and looked down. Then I stepped back to wait and watch a few more people do it before I took the plunge. Meanwhile, Billy is swinging away . . .betting people he can
Vang Vieng
Mmmmmmmmm . . .Banana Pancakes!!!! do a flip off the rope or a dive off the rope. Suddenly, I decide that it's now or never . . .and without warning, I grab the rope and swing off over the river. I splash land into the cool water and realize it was more fun than scary! But one time for a day was enough for me! So, we jumped on our tubes and headed off down the river again. It was so relaxing! We just floated with the current and watched the beautiful landscape drift by. It was so fun that we decided to do it again the next day before we left Vang Vieng.
A Little History So, I met an Englishman in our hotel that told me that the tarmac behind our hotel was used by the U.S. and the CIA as an entrance point into Laos during the Vietnam War. Supposidly, there are several old planes crashed into the hills surrounding Vang Vieng. Also, since then . . .several drug runners have used that tarmac to transport heroin and marijuana into Laos (and probably out of Laos). Interesting. I have yet to do some research to confirm that, but interesting all the same.
Vang Vieng
Risking the camera on the river! Our Final Day We left for Ventianne from Vang Vieng not too early, so we were able to do another trip down the Song River and get some last minute shopping done. When we got back to Ventianne, we stayed in the Orchid Guesthouse and had . . .of course, Nazims for supper. We did some shopping around and found a great Scandanavian Bakery! We did breakfast there the next morning before flying out to Cambodia. All in all, Laos was a great break from all of the hasseling of Southeast Asia . . .and we got some wonderful relaxing done while enjoying the cooler weather--I'm convinced Laos is cooler than the rest of Southeast Asia!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.091s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0416s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Cherrie
non-member comment
Well, looks like your are having lots of fun! Don't forget to catch your plane back to California.