Living it up in Laos

Well another country over... :o( and this one has been the best so far we think.

Laos has the lush, (largely) untouched natural vegetation (from rainforest to Australian mountains-ish style) covering a large percentage of the the country. (85% of the land ...or so we have read.)
The mountains here (particularly in the north) are pretty amazing and there is very little flat countryside.

We entered the mid south via Hue (vietnam) and arrived at the quiet town of Savanakhet. It doesnt have a lot to see and do, hence isnt very touristy. (which is the thing we loved about it!)
The people are all very friendly and its a laid back atmosphere. Most people here that are in the tourist trade speak better english than in Cambodia and Vietnam. We missed the deep south which sounds like it would have been fantastic too... (Si Phan Don - the area of the 4000 islands, where the mekong is splintered into forming all the little islands. The towns on generator supply too, so its candles only after 9:30 when lights go out! :D )

We caught a public overnight bus to the capital Vientiane as it was the only option, but it was a suprisingly better service than most tourist "VIP" services that run express busses. The only issue is that you have to get there early - otherwise you dont get a seat, but the locals didnt seem to mind perching on the little plastic stools in the aisle for the trip (anywhere from a few to 10 hours!) We even had a scooter come along for the trip. Lifted up the steps by 4 guys and tied in the little space near the driver. (which meant people had to go in and out the back doors after that.)
Ventiane still has a lot of its french colonial influences showing. Most obvious, the "victory monument" gate replicas of the city. (donated by the french government.)
We hired some pushbikes which was a great way to see some of the city - even if we did get a bit lost trying to find the sights we were after...





Next stop was the touristy but fun Vang Vieng. I think this is probably South Thailand (ie Phuket/Ka Samiu etc 20+ years ago.) The westerners well outnumber the locals and there are more restaraunts, guesthouses and tourist attraction booking places than local houses but its still a relaxed atmosphere and doesnt seem western in culture or appearance. Vang Vieng is located on a small river in the middle of endless mountain ranges. Sunsets are amazing and its great to be able to walk along the river and skim stones without being hassled everywhere for "tuk-tuk rides" or any other activity. We decided to have a day Kayaking and "tubing" inside a water filled cave. A mid-point down river had a huge rope swing that we stopped at for a bit more fun. (Except the mega backflop that had all spectators cringing and exclaiming "Awwwww" was not a highlight for me. (Tim)) The other days were relaxing and making the most of the best food we have tasted on this trip.... and all really cheap! (under a US $ for a burger, or 5 large fresh spring rolls, or any other of countless rice and noodle meals etc.)





We spent 3 days here and would like to have spent more, but time was not permitting as we had to see the rest of the north - and didnt want to miss out on the North of Thailand either. Aint life tough! :)


The best part of the trip to date was unfortunately followed by the worst bus trip to date.
Another one of these "VIP" express tourist busses from Vang Vieng to Lang Prabang, that left an hour late... then proceeded to speed at frightening speeds around the windy, cliff face roads that seemed to meander through the mountain ranges with no overall general direction. >( A lot of people ended up with motion sickness as it went on for 7 hours. It didnt help that we passed two people with machine guns (one a 10 year old boy), stopped to pick up a spotted cat (leopard?) that was roadkill (unknown as to if we hit it or not) and also hit a motorcyclist when overtaking him - and the driver didnt stop!

I (Tim) also contacted some sort of tummy bug around that time (first in 2 months, so not too bad considering the things I've eaten! (much to Renees disgust!) :) The next few days were spent largely relaxing as I tried getting better, but we did visit some speccy water falls and natural swimming pools.

Due to time restrictions and the desire to spend a few days in Chiang Mai (North Thailand) we decided (with aprehension) to catch a speed boat out of Laos to the Thai border. We had heard bad stories about boats flipping, hitting rocks and sinking etc and the Lonely Planet writeup seems to confirm these sentiments. However we figured plenty of people use this method and we didnt fancy spending 3 days via slow boat, so speed boat it was. It turned out to be very cramped (knees up at ears for 7 hours) but there were enough stops, plenty of magic scenery to keep you distracted and it was kinda fun. (VERY noisy though... they should have warned us we needed ear plugs!)

So now its just a few days in Chiang Mai before heading back to Bangkok to fly out to India for the next fun episode.

Hope you all are having as much fun as us,
(if you have made it this far without a break or falling asleep you have done well!)
Catcha next installment,
Love Tim and Renee.