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We left Lak Xao early on Thursday morning to travel to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. We had a take away breakfast from the hotel but arrived in Vientiane in time for a late lunch. After that we hired a tuk tuk to take us around the main sights of the city.
We visited a couple of temples and the main stupa and also the victory gate. Considering it is the capital, Vientiane is very quiet and laid back, not really a major city at all. A million miles away from the bustle and mania of Hanoi or Saigon. Laos in general is so laid back and affectionately referred to as lazy Laos.
At the end of the tuk tuk ride we were dropped at the riverfront where we enjoyed a couple of drinks while watching the sunset. We were in for a treat too as it was a very good one (see cover shot). We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
It was another group birthday to celebrate so we headed to the local restaurant for food, drinks and cake. Generally speaking places aren't open very late in Laos so we stayed at the restaurant until it was closing and headed to the only nightclub that was open later.
It was a bit of a strange experience. It was on the third floor of a hotel and was full of locals but they weren't dancing, just sitting. They weren't playing music that we recognised either so after a couple of drinks we called it a night and headed back to our hotel and bed.
Friday morning and back on the bus but not too early. Again arriving in time for a late lunch we got to Vang Vieng. As with most places in Laos it is surrounded by the beautiful mountains and lush vegetation but Vang Vieng is also located right on the river and is most famous for the activity of tubing, I will explain more in a minute.
Friday afternoon after lunch we mooched around the Market doing a bit of shopping and then the rain caught up with us again and another down pour. We met for dinner and ended up eating in the hotel to avoid the rain and then ventured to the next door bar for some drinks. The rain eventually stopped and we headed down the road to the main bar, Q bar, where everyone heads after tubing. It was full of westerners, largely backpackers and was a really good, fun night.
Saturday morning and a sore head meant I had a lazy one just going for brunch as we were going to go tubing that afternoon. Tubing is basically where you float down the river on a large rubber ring stopping off at riverside bars along the way where locals pull you in using ropes. Essentially a pub crawl on a lazy river. It has got a bit of a bad reputation as people die every year doing it but generally I would say these people are ones who get too drunk or do stupid things along the way and hit their heads etc.
You pay for your tube in the town and then get a tuk tuk further up the river (approx 4km) to the start. You cross the river to the first bar where there are loads of people, loud music, buckets of alcohol and spray paint stencils. Most people just wear swim suits and maybe a T-shirt or shorts so you get pictures or words sprayed on you as well. Then once you want to, you jump in a tube and off you go.
We stayed in the first bar about an hour or so and then headed off to the next bar which was just across the river. Since it is the rainy season the river is flowing quite quickly so it can be difficult to control the tube against the current. Guys from each bar have long ropes with empty water bottles on the end. They throw these to you and then pull you into their bar. Hard work for them but makes your life much easier!
We had another couple of drinks there and then moved on again stopping at about six bars in total. You can see why accidents happen as water and alcohol don't usually mix well and you certainly could get pretty drunk but fortunately the worst thing that happened to us was me getting stuck in a tree and then scraping my leg on a rock. All fine.
It was such a good afternoon, just floating down the river admiring the beautiful scenery and relaxing. We wished we had done it the day we arrived so we could have done it twice. We arrived back into the town a bit after the sunset (weird being in the river after dark!) and headed straight for some food. I think we were all pretty exhausted from the day and previous evening so actually headed to bed pretty early after that.
Another day and more travel. This time seven hours to the town of Luang Prabang. We stopped on route for lunch at a mountainside cafe with stunning views across the valley. We arrived into Luang Prabang around 4pm and had a bit of time to sort ourselves before heading out to see the night Market and get some food.
The Market was fantastic with so
many different things to buy. It has a road just for food so we headed there for dinner. For less that £2 I had a beautiful barbecued chicken breast and all you can eat rice, noodles, vegetables etc. Yummy. After dinner once everyone had finished shopping we went to experience a Laos discotheque.
In Luang Prabang there is curfew at midnight so the discotheque starts at around 9.30. Apart from the tune , the music wasn't familiar but basically most songs seemed to have a kind of line dance or country dancing routine set to them. Was an experience to watch and certainly different from home.
Craving some 'western music' we headed to one of the tourist bars run by some Europeans but this place still had to shut at 11.30 so we decided to head to the only place open later. To get around the curfew rules there is a bowling alley open out of town so we jumped in a taxi and headed there, not really knowing what to expect. From the outside it looked like a big factory building but on the inside was a brightly lit bowling alley just like home. Bizarre. It was filled with probably 80% tourists and we played a couple of games of bowling and had a few more drinks. We then headed back to the hotel and finished off the moonshine I had in another room party. Hilarious evening.
Having had a late night I took the opportunity of getting a lie in yesterday, getting up in time for lunch and the afternoon activity. We got a taxi out to Kuang Sii waterfalls. These are a really pretty set of waterfalls where you can also swim in the pools. We spent about an hour there relaxing in the water and some people jumping off the rope swing much to the delight of a large group of Japanese tourists.
We headed back to the hotel and back out to the night Market to finish off the shopping people wanted to do and have some food. We had a quiet and early night last night as we needed to get up early this morning. Some of us met at 5.30 this morning to go and give alms to the Buddhist monks in the town.
Buddhist monks have to follow 227 rules which includes not being allowed to cook or beg and only being able to eat two meals a day. Each morning they walk along the road with a bowl each and people can offer them food. Locals also bring food to the temples for them to eat. Buddhists believe that if you give then you will receive so by offering food to the monks they will receive something back. This practice happens all over the country but in Luang Prabang there are sometimes 200 monks in one place so is quite an attraction.
We are now on our last part of the journey out of Laos. We are travelling along the Mekong river to the Thai border which we will cross tomorrow.
In less than a week I will be treking on the Great Wall of China in aid of Cancer Research UK. If you have already sponsored me, thank you very much. If you would like to sponsor me, please visit my just giving page at this link http://www.justgiving.com/Sarah-Smith79 thank you.
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Nikki I might have known you'd be the one to get stuck in a tree love!