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Published: October 28th 2006
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Hello hello!
Well now, since I last blogged we have been to Vang Vieng - we're now in Vientiane.
The bus journy to Vang Vieng was fun.. i think thats the word anyway. Maybe interesting is more acurate. We decided to take a local bus rather than a VIP minibus. The bus not only took passangers but also had a roof load of TVs and the isle was piled two sacks high with peanuts, and a few compulsary chickens of course. The journey was beautiful, you go up and up into the mountians past villages. When at our highest point the bus ground to a halt just after a hairpin bed. It did not move again..............four hours later at about 7pm the replacement part turned up. By this time it was pitch dark and, being so high up, frezing cold (well 21 degress feels like freezing here). So part replace we start of again........one hundered yeards later........stops again. This time we decide to get our backpacks and wait for the next bus to pass. However, the roadside recovery person ( yes they do have them amazingly) gave us a lift the rest of the way to Vang Vieng... in
the back of a pick up. So, we had 5 backpackers plus backpacks, 5 locals plus baggage and sacks of rice, two chickens, a baby and two spare truck wheels all in tha back of a pick up turk. Cozy. F********ing cold. We did stop for noodle soup thou which was good. Eventually arrived in Vang Vieng at 11:30pm (we should have arrived at 5pm). Luckerly we had time to get a room and go for a drink before the midnight curfew that all foriengers are supose to abide by but don't.
Vang Vieng is horrible. However we did have a good time mainly by avoiding the main street. It's horrible becuase all the bars play either friends or the simpsons from 7am to 12am and the bars are full of the 'why didn't you just go to spain?' type tourists who look like they are on a night out in newcastle. However, on our first day we found some bars by the river which were great...unitl about 5:30pm when all the drunk tourist turn up. The bars all have hammocks so we had a great day just laying in the hammocks looking at the amazing view of mountians
and river and drinking fruit shakes. We got rather adventurous with mixing different friut. Banana and organe is great but coconut and orange kicks serious arse. Try it.
On our second day we took a tour to see some caves. There were five of us and a guide. First we saw elephant cave were there is an elephant naturally formed in the rocks. Then we went to a cave that you go right in witha head lamp. we went in quite far. There and these really cool rock stalagtites that are hollow so you can play drums on them. Each one has a different pitch to the guide plyed tunes. We also turned off out lights for a while which was a bit scary as it was absolutly pitch black.
The guide was a bit carzy and his english was unfathomable at times. We were talking to some cows, as you do, and he decided to show us how to make a cow happy. He basically started to stroke it's anus....!!!!!!! We were all rather embarassed by this and a little worried that he then made our lunch.
Anyway, moving swiftly on, we then went to a
cave with a river in that we swam into. We also went on tractor tyres right into the cave. There is a rope that you pull yourself alonf with which is pretty cool.
After all this we were dumped 4 KM upstream on Vang Veing and give more tractor tyres to float back on. This was relly good. Just relaxing in a tube, floating along whatching the mountians and fields go by. The only downer is that there are bars all the way along the river where people stop to dink. They all play loud music and people are trollied by the time they get back to VV. We stopped at one bar to have a go on the swing over the river. Well, sam and the other boys had a go while i waited at the bottom convinced they were going to die. Which they didn't, Sam went back for a second go infact.
Later on we met up with some people we were on the broken down bus with and the other people from our tour. We were going to go to a disco that locals go to but it rained really hard so we all
went for a massage instead. It was a lao massage which it like a thai one but more brutal and uses tiger balm oil. I have all my bones crunched, but it was good. After I had finnished I couldn't find Sam so I asked where he was. I found him on his own in a back room with a rather camp male massure. No idea why he ended up there and the other four of us were in the main room. Not sure he knows either. hehehehe. Good to tease him about though.
We got a bus today to Vientiane, no breakdowns this time. So here we are. Going to stay here a few days and get our Vietnam visas then head south. Take care everyone.
Oh and btw I got Racheal user name wrong, its 'justmakebeleive'
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