So we flew to Udon Thani from Chiang Mai and then Got a bus up to Vientiane over the 'friendship bridge' at the border. Our visas took 5 mins to get with 1 passport picture and $45. We are now allowed in Laos for 30 days but we don't have time for that, I sat next to a lovely Thai man who works for Bangkok banks branch in Vientiane which is the capital city of Laos. Him and his wife said we could share a taxi into town from where the bus drops you off, I heard that was the best thing to do so we agreed. He paid 10baht for me and Caz to get the first bus 10 mins across the friendship bridge, 10 baht is only 15p but he wouldn't let us give the money back and insisted it was their shout. He spoke excellent English and was clearly very well educated as he has a good job and had just got back a holiday in Paris and Rome, most people in these countries are not well educated enough to have the desire or means to travel to places like that. When we got to the border him and his wife went through the check point and said they would get a taxi and wait at the other side, it was raining so that was nice of them to get us the taxi. We had to wait a few mins for the visas and they take all your passport info at the check point which takes them a relatively long time because reading and writing english is tricky when not your first language! After about 10 mins we were through and Tom and Suzie (the Thai couple) were there waiting with a taxi. We put our bags in the back and got in out of the rain. We spoke for a while about our travels and his job and him living in laos for the last 4 years. We asked how much the taxi would be but never got an answer, instead they spoke more, they also pointed out landmarks to us, we couldn't see much because it was raining and dark but the next day we saw all the things he had pointed out. When I asked again how much the taxi was he said it was his treat. I explained that we had to give them the money but he said that they were both only children and had never had their own kids so they said it was lucky that they met me and wanted to treat me. They said to tell my parents that they would look after us and that they were very pleased to meet me. How sweet and generous!! We got dropped off at a guest house we had seen in the rough guide which only had a dorm room which was mixed sex, there were only 4 beds but one of them clearly had mens stuff on so we kept looking, we went to two other places in the guide but one was closed for refurb and the other was full so we stayed in the dorm. It was not very nice to say the least! The matress looked alive, the bathroom smelt of sewage, I gagged non stop when brushing my teeth in there. The guy who was staying in the room was a weirdo! He was from Germany I think but kept talking about whisky and how he bought a bottle for about 60p. he did tell us that there was not much to do though and that there was a midnight curfew which we didn't know. After he eventually let us go to sleep (I had my hoody on with the hood up and my back to him and he was still talking!) we tried our best not to think about the dirty bed we were on or the sheets that I was using that were alive! The next day we got up and walked around the town to see the sights. It's a very small town and Wat Sisaket which is a temple apparantly built in 1818 was nearby so we went there, it was not that dissimilar to other Wats we've seen but still a nice building and interesting. After that we went to the Laos PDR (people's democratic republic) museum where we learnt alot about the history of the country. Suprisingly they had pictures dating back to the 80s and older of the wars and famine the country suffered. It was a very interesting museum and we spent alot of time looking around. We walked back through town but realised there was not much else to do, it was like a miniture Bangkok, very smelly and dirty and everything was aimed at tourists. We checked out of our guesthouse and into a (slightly) nicer one where we had our own room but still shared a bathroom. We decided to move on the next day as there was nothing to keep us there. We got a public bus to Vang Viang, it was very cheap, just over a pound, and very interesting! It was FULL to the brim. We were in the front two seats on the right of the bus (they drive on the right hand side of the road in Laos) and yet there were 4 people in front of us, standing, squatting or on make-shift stools made out of their luggage. In the aisle between the seats behind us a few people sat on boxes or plastic stools. The luggage was put on the roof of the bus, this included, rice sacks, bags, groceries, mopeds and other huge containers, it was almost half the height of the bus again with luggage! Along the way things kept falling off and the young Laos men would climb on the roof via the window and see what was falling off (it seemed to be mostly parts of the bus rather than luggage!) we stopped in a town where all the locals ran over trying to sell food and drinks. As Caz and I were the only foreigners it was all local Laos food. Ie. Chicks on sticks. Yes, with heads, a beak and everything, barbequed. I refrained and waited until we arrived in Vang Viang. We got there after about 4.5 hours and were the only two to get off the bus.