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Published: November 16th 2005
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Vientiane - Hash Running
Participation in the run was free if you dressed up. A few dollars to save was all the incentive we needed. Great people and great fun Vientiane
Life in Laos' capital Vientiane rolls along quietly at its own pace. When we arrived at 7 in the morning nothing was open and for the rest of our time there it really felt like the city really switched on.
I had my first ever sauna and first ever massage while in Vientiane at one of the local Wats. I don't think I've ever heard my body crack so much. I'm sure that these things are meant to be a bit of a mix of pleasure and pain and while having it I definitely thought it erred towards the second but for the next couple of days I felt really relaxed.
I also had my first ever Hash run in Vientiane!! IT was a special halloween run with free entry if you came in costume so explored the market places for costume ideas. THe results can be seen in the photos. The run was great and the meal and party afterwards were a real treat. I think I'll have to look up this hash running thing when I get back to NZ.
Vang Vieng
This is the place that all travellers will talk about, the experience
Who needs engineers
Bridges cross the river in many places and although they take a lot of traffic I think they also disappear every wet season. that really is unlike anything else. Vang Vieng is a small town on the river that seems to have been all but taken over by the tourism industry. The main road is all of about 140m and is jam packed with restraunts and tourist companies. All the restraunts are set up with low tables for lounging at and almost all are playing old episodes of friends on a number of TVs around the room. By the end of our time the friends theme song was ingrained into us, I can't imagine what it's like for the locals.
One day we cycled out to see some caves that were shown on the local maps 15km in the mid day sun meant that we were well ready to get into the water by the time we got there. After having a dip in the river and swimming down the rapid (leaving a few battle wounds on some) we wandered off to the caves.
We decided to give the first caves a miss, as the price seemed to keep growing as were trying to figure out what was going on, and headed for the cave that you got tubing in. We
Vang Vieng - Caves
After over an hour of riding in the mid day sun we were pleased to be heading into the cool water underground. Didn't have a chance of getting to the end though and after 20min drifting around by ourselves we decided to go back and warm up. eventually got some tubes and were heading into the bowls of the earth. It was absolutely huge, after figuring out that there was no end we decided to head back out to warm up.
The evening we spend at the bars by the river where they play chilled out music with a bonfire and have little huts to sit in that look over the river. All very nice.
The ultimate event in Vang Vieng is the tubing. You hire a tube and are dropped off about 2 hours floating up the river. The first bar is all of about 50m down the river. From this point on it is just a series of bars all the way down. These guys know what they are doing and if you don't paddle at all you'll pretty much end up in almost every bar. Each of the bars have their own character (They're all just a couple of platforms made of bamboo with a chilli bin). The first bar we went to had a flying fox over the river, another had a giant rope swing another had a guy playing Lao and Thai songs on his guitar. All of them were
Vang Vieng - Tubing
Tubers float quietly down the river thinking about which of the pubs to get their next beer from. great and by the time we got to the end it was dark and we were in very 'high spirits'. A quick shower and the night carried on in the town and after dinner, a happy shake and a few beer lao it was a great night.
Luang Prabang
After a night out in Vang Vieng the 6 hour bus trip to Luang Prabang was a little tiresome. Up into and around the mountains the road was very steep and windy. At times I think the driver was training to be a formula one racer! He did however manage to stop for every little (or big) animal that happened to be on the road though (and there were lots - cows, chickens, children and even a snake, we even waited at one stage for a pair of roosters to finish their fight and leave before we moved on).
We arrived in Luang Prabang Late and tired and after a brief look around and a meal at the street market it was pretty much time for bed.
The next day we spent a little while wandering the streets and walking to the top of the hill that
Vang Vieng - Tubing
Random Tuber about to start falling after letting go of the rope swing overlooks the town. Had a bit of a chat with one of the local student monks who was currently studying english and accounting at the local Monk School.
That night we went out for a meal and a few beer Lao to finish the day. It was also my priority to go and find the Wales vs New Zealand rugby match that I had organised to be played at one of the local bars (go the AB's). I couldn't find any Welsh around but the guys I was travelling with from Britain and Ireland (the Irish new what was coming!) were mostly quiet about the whole affair.
The following day we went for a kayak down one of the local rivers. Although this did require a little paddelling I'm a little tempted to call it a float. It was a nice day cruising down the river and we had a great stop at one of the most interesting waterfalls I've seen. The water has etched it's way through the clay and around the trees in this particular area so that the trees still survive and hundreds of smaller pools are created. It was beautiful swimming in the cool
Luang Prabang - Night Market
The night market here pops up in a matter of hours every night and has disappeared by morning. Plenty of bargins around for those who have space in their luggage water and getting massaged my the falling water. After the waterfalls it was a couple of hours drifting down the river and through some "rapids" and finally back to Luang Prabang.
We finished off the evening meeting some friends and going back to their guesthouse where one of the owners children was celebrating their 10th birthday party. We all sang happy birthday and were asked to drink copius amounts of Beer Lao in the name of tradition. I can safely say that children around the world are all the same and the birthday cake was a great success.
The following morning I was back on the bus at 6.30 heading back to Vang Vieng on the start of my long journey across the continent to meet my father in Phuket. This bus journey was beautiful. We started in the fog and then rose up through the cloud able to look back down at the valleys with the numerous mountain peaks breaking through the thick white cloud into the sunlight. I was a bit suprised though by the guy sitting across from me with the gun barrel extending down from his jacket. Later I saw him reveal the full
Luang Prabang - Water Falls
The water falls just out of Luang Prbang that were the start of our kayaking (drifting) trip. length of the AK47. I'd heard about this so I thought I'd just leave it. I believe he was one of the paid guards that are there just incase the bus is attacked some of the local tribes people (has happened before). Anyway he didn't go batty and I got to Vang Vieng Safely so all was good.
Vang Vieng Again
After having such a great time in Vang Vieng the last time I was happy to have another couple of recovery days in Vang Vieng including another two days tubing and mornings sitting watching the box. I know that it was not real travelling but it was real nice. with a couple of days to get down to Phuket it was time to move again and on the bus again to Vientiane and then onto Bankok
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