Advertisement
Published: December 1st 2008
Edit Blog Post
Vang Vieng, Laos
Great town for winding down After Luang Prabang, we jumped on a "VIP" bus down to a little town called Vang Vieng. (Note: "VIP" does not mean an easy bus ride. What ensured was 7 hours of absolute hell which involved the bus not driving straight for more than a few hundred metres through winding mountain ranges, me being sick twice and the air-conditioner above Perry's head breaking and soaking him with water). But ah, Vang Vieng. What an odd place. You get the feeling that this village was built solely for the pleasure of 20-something year old backpackers wanting a drink and a party. Set on the Nam Song River, the town is made up of open cafes, hostels, massage parlours and crepe stalls (peanut, milo, chocolate, banana and condensed milk ... yum!). The most popular thing to do by far in Vang Vieng is tubing, and how awesome was that! On our second day there, we slathered ourselves in sunscreen, hired some huge inner tubes and headed on down to the river to laze away a few hours. I don't think you can quite describe the feeling of floating in a huge rubber wheel down the Nam Song River, massive looming green hills surrounding
you, no sounds except for the occasional rapids and floating bars, the sun on your face, passing a packet of Oreos back and forth. It was beautiful. Unfortunately no photos for this little adventure - we were too scared the camera would fall in the water! The other thing about Vang Vieng - every cafe and restaurant has these chairs you sit at that are like beds you can lean back on as you eat, and every single one is playing re-runs of Friends. We certainly did a lot of catching up with Rachel, Ross and the rest whilst we were there.
Next was a much better bus ride with the locals down to Vientiane. We were only there for a day, but we managed to fit in some French food for lunch (massive French influence in Laos - the architecture, food and language), a massage, some snacks from a Scandanavian bakery and a bit of sight seeing.
Then it was Hanoi in Vietnam which is where we still are. What a crazy, crazy place. It's the first place we've been where there's not hundreds of stray cats and dogs wandering around, and we're guessing that's because of
the roads (or as Perry keeps saying, the dim sims). Walking across the street in this city is a bit like I'd imagine sky diving would be like. No one obeys traffic lights or lines on the road, there are scooters everywhere - even on the footpaths, and the sound of horns beeping is never ending. Yes, there's a line in the middle of the road meaning two lanes, but hey, if three or four cars/scooters can fit side by side, then why not! The trick is to just walk out into the traffic, be confident and just completely trust that everyone will brake or swerve in time.
They say that Hanoi is a city of juxtopositions. Seems pretty accurate. The distinction between poverty and wealth, and modernity and tradition, is very distinguished but everything is jumbled into together. You've got your teen with their funky hair do and latest iPod next to the tiny little old lady sitting on the side of the footpath cooking Vietnamese noodles in a tin. Right next to a flashy boutique store, we saw a woman wearing a conical hat crouch down in the middle of the footpath under a tree and take
a whizzer. It's a fast paced, sort of strange but definitely exhilarating city.
Today we got back from Halong Bay, which was one of the things we were most looking forward to on this trip. We stayed on a sleeper junk overnight in the bay, got fed lovely food and sunbathed up on deck. We felt like we were at the Four Seasons but probably only because we actually had a doona and lo and behold, hot water! Halong Bay was breath taking. We were surrounded by vegetation-covered hills rising up from the ocean and the weather was pretty perfect. This morning we took kayaks out and went through some caves, and into a big empty cove. It was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been, the water was completely still, the scenery was beautiful, eagles soaring overhead. No wonder the Vietnamese are pushing for this place to become one of the seven wonders of the world. It's already an UNESCO, world heritage site.
Tomorrow night we are onto a sleeper bus and headed down south to Hue.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.074s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 12; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0248s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Vicki
non-member comment
Looks terrific guys. Clare has a job..dental nurse in Caulfield 2nd day today. May have a bungalow lined up. We are good ...been fishing today. Love Mum