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Nilufer:
Greetings from Vientiane! We arrived yesterday afternoon in the capital to be met with expensive guesthouses and overpriced food, so we're heading out pretty sharpish. Tonight in fact we're starting our gruelling 24 hour bus ride to Hanoi! Well, we see it as practice for the bus journeys we're going to have to take in South America, this one is nothing compared to the 44 hour one that's waiting for us! Anyway, I'll just talk a little about Vang Vieng, which is a stunning riverside village set among mountains and lush countryside.. it's just a shame that the western tourists have come here and ruined the tranquility and natural beauty of the place! I'll let Tom tell you about that. We decided to escape the tourists and headed to the mountains just beyond the river, and we were completely on our own, because the tourists are too hungover from tubing to make it past the river to check out what Vang Vieng really has to offer. It was a steep climb past snakes, giant crickets and angry looking red ants to the top of this mini mountain (to us it was a huge mountain, but in comparison to the ones behind us, it was tiny!), and spent a good half hour just enjoying the views at the top. The climb down was more taxing than the climb up - if it hadn't been for the tips we'd learnt from Bear Grylls's Man vs Wild TV programme, I don't think we'd have made it! Only joking! We didn't do too much in Vang Vieng, and we don't plan to do too much here in Vientiane because we're a little sick! Yep, the curries have caught up with us.
Speak to you when we get to Vietnam. Lots of love.
Tom:
It took a little longer than I thought it would, but we've finally got Ganges' Revenge!
We've been really careful with our food and drink up to now, but perhaps I was getting a little cocky and the curry Gods decided I needed knocking down a peg or two. It's almost on the verge of getting better so taking a 24hour bus journey isn't a stupid as it sounds.
Anyway, my summary of Vang Vieng: If you like commercial beveraging - i.e. "down it, down it", "let's get totally wasted", "locals, what locals?" - then you'll like Vang Vieng. 'Nuff said.
My summary of Vientiane: If you like astronomical prices despite being in a very poor country, in a city with nothing to do, then you'll like Vientiane. 'Nuff said.
Seriously Luang Prabang is the Laos that I've enjoyed most. It's the most beautiful, culturally rich and peaceful city in the whole of the South East Asia that I've traveled so far. Anyway more bowel movement reports from us in Vietnam! Much love, Tom.
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