Lazy Days in Laos

After a days journey by bus, which was really gorgeous, we made it to Vang Vieng. The area is green and covered in mountains, and only one paved road weaves through the countryside between Vientiane and Vang Vieng. It made for a lovely bus ride. As we rolled into town, the sun was setting over the jagged rocky mountains and the cloud cover and little river passing through made for quite the picturesque moment. It's so peaceful and quiet and underdeveloped and the landscape is just incredible. And when we hopped off the bus, there weren't 700 moto and tuk-tuk drivers all up in our face to take us away to their "cheap, cheap" guesthouse. It was a welcomed relief and I was reminded that I just pretty much love Laos! We strolled the street to find a little hotel room in the middle of town (which means it was on 1 of 2 main streets that make up all 10 blocks of this little place).

The next morning we went tubing down the river. It was delightful! We met up with a girl from England, Katie, and two Dutch boys, Roger and Martin. The 5 of us floated the river together, hopping off at the riverside bars for drinks (Beer Lao seems to be the beverage of choice for many) and some good times on the rope swing.

Tubing filled our day and then it was a relaxing evening spent strolling down the 2 main tourist streets. We grabbed some grub, and then came upon a true fat kid treat that Lani and I just couldn't pass up. There are these little banana pancake stands that the locals set up on every corner. They whip up little banana crepes and you can put any topping on them that you'd like: chocolate, coconut, peanut, sugar, honey, lemon, condensed milk, etc. (JCJ, you'd be in crepe heaven!) It's a fat kid treat if I've ever seen one - and Lani and I ended up eating one nightly!

Another piece of Vang Vieng is the fact that "Friends" is played in every single restaurant lining the streets. I didn't even know what I was missing out on when the show was on in the States for years on end. Fortunately for me, the pouring down, rainy days in Vang Vieng allowed me to get all caught up on re-runs. I know, this is probably not the best activity to really experience the culture of Laos, but the restaurants were totally set up lounge style with pillows and cushions - just calling out to me to grab a pillow, lay down and relax, sip on a fruit shake and escape from the rain showers. Plus, unfortunately Lani got sick with some ear troubles during our stay in Vang Vieng, so we had to keep our activity levels low.