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After much debate we decided to take the cheaper but longer option to get to Luang Prabang from Chiang Mai, which was a 1-day bus journey and a 2-day boat ride. It was dragged out and very uncomfortable but the scenery was amazing so we didn't mind it too much. The first day on the boat was a bit of a party because the boat was fairly big and most people were standing around drinking. Sonny and his new found friends drank until there was no more beer left so when the boat stopped for the night at a small town the socialising continued. As a result of this the second boat ride was not as enjoyable and it didn't help that it was twice as small and no room to lie down and sleep.
We had 3 nights in Luang Prabang altogether. We found Luang Prabang a beautiful peaceful town with all the old French style buildings surrounded by the spectacular mountains. Our 2 days/ 3 nights were spent visiting temples, getting some bargains at the markets, walking around the river and having lovely food and Beerlao at the river side restaurants. One of the things Laos is
famous for its great beer called Beerlao and you can’t go far in Southeast Asia without seeing someone with a Beerlao T-shirt on and if you ask anyone who’s drank it including us they will say that it’s one of their favourite beers.
After our relaxation time we took the typical backpacker route and caught a 5-hour bus south to Vang Vieng, as we just couldn't miss out on the tubing experience.
On our first full day Sonny and I hired our tubes for 40,000kip (₤2.00) and hit the river to go tubing. However we were never in the river for too long because we always got pulled in to go to the bars at the side of the river. Really it's just one big pub-crawl along the river. Each bar had their swing and you can have a free go if you buy a Beerlao, which costs 10,000kip (50p). It’s all a bit dangerous really because water and alcohol just don't go together. However putting the danger factor to one side it was the greatest fun and the best social activity ever. The two Aussie guys sonny met on the boat were tubing the same time and also
Helen the girl we met in Chiang Mai turned up with a random American guy. It was yet again another big party. Thanks for Sonny wanting to catch a rugby match we were finished in time to hand our tubes back before it went dark. The party continued later at the Oh La La bar.
Well the next day was just a day of rest. We just nursed our hangovers by chilling out watching Friends (all of the restaurants continuously play episodes of Friends) and drinking refreshing none alcoholic shakes. Not a bad place to have a hang over if you like Friends that is- Sonny hated Friends before and despises it now! Funny enough we weren't the only ones feeling rough, all day we bumped into people we went tubing with and most of them had funny walks and were extremely sore from jumping from the swings.
The following day we had 100% recovered from the fun of tubing and instead of going through it all again we decided to see some caves and do a spot of Kayaking. In the morning we went through the caves in a tube guiding our way by the ropes. They
were amazing but due to the lack of light we couldn’t capture them with the camera.
After Lunch we went on a 3-hour Kayaking experience along the river. Personally I've never been kayaking before and surprisingly I didn't take to it too well. I shared a Kayak with Sonny and thought that I could get away with letting him do all of the work. Well it wasn't that easy because we kept going towards the side and Sonny would shout at me to stir but not knowing which direction to stir we'd crash into the side every time. Fortunately the guides came to our rescue and separated us. Sharing a kayak with a guide was a lot easier and I did really enjoy it. We stopped off at one of the tubing bars and got caught up with the tubing atmosphere. We had a few drinks but didn't stay too long as we had to take the Kayaks back.
After 4 nights in Vang Vieng we decided that it was enough and caught a bus to Vientiene. We were going to go tubing on that day instead as our kayaking group were talking about it over a few
beers. However everything seems like a great idea when you're drinking but it's a different story in the morning. As much as we loved Vang Vieng it's good to move on as you can very easily get caught up there because it all gets too familiar being such a small town.
Our last stop in Laos was Vientiene. This city was nowhere as good as the last two places so it was a flying visit and we were in and out within 24 hours after we got our Vietnam visa and booked our flight. We would have loved to see a lot more of Laos and gone off the beaten track but due to time constraints we both agreed that this would have to be done another time. We said goodbye to Laos with a Beerlao before boarding the plane to Hanoi.
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Jean and Brian
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looks like your having the time of your lives
Hi Kathryn and Sonny What a wonderfull time you must be having The photos are brilliant and its great to keep up with your travels keep wring and I'll keep reading much love jean