Vientiane

05/01/08 - 09/01/08

The capital city of Laos, the so-called 'most relaxed city of the world'.

Well yes we suppose it is, but we were not so enthusiastic about it... in fact we only spent a few days here in order to get our minds sorted for our next move.

We found accomodation at a cheap guesthouse at a time when most of the guesthouses were full. Janet managed to snatch the last room just in time before some other travellers were about to take it... the so called survival of the fittest.

We spent most of our time in the centre, apart from some sight seeing with a motorbike. We went to the That Luang Victory and to Monument (Patouxay) which is the most important monument in Laos. As sightseeing goes that was most basically it. We checked out both the morning and night markets but were quite dissapointed... nothing in comparison to Chang Mai.

As regards to eating, after the first disgusting experience of our first meal next to the river, we stuck with The Swedish Bakery, which serves delicious pizzas for very reasonable prices, as well as a small restaurant we discovered serving good food (The Full Moon Cafe).

On our second day we decided to go out for a drink. After going round with the bike to check out various places we ended up in a small bar owned by a very friendly Korean owner, who had a very pronouned french accent. He confirmed our suspiscion, when he eventually told us that he spent thirty years of his life in France, which most definetely explained his accent. We promised him to go back the day after so Yakof could show him some tricks with his Poi... and so we did.

We were lucky enough to meet Oliviero Rusconi, on our second night there, an italian archeologist who has been living in Laos for the past ten years. He has a vast knowledge of Angkor and explained to us some historical aspects of Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. A very nice man with an extensive knowledge of history. Later as promised, Yakof performed his mini poi show next to the river bank.

Apart from this, the only highlight, was a bowling game which Yakof convinced Janet to play... And guesss what... surprise surprise...her first game turned out to be the success as she was won!!

So thats all about it for Vientiane...not much to see...not much to do...

Now hitting off to the south...

Vang Vieng (Laos)

27/12/07 - 04/01/08 Vang Vieng... a place to remember... we really had a great time here. We longed for a place where we could stop for a little while, a cheap place with a mix of things to do, nice surroundings... and Vang Vieng gave us all of this...and more.

The trip here from Luang Prabang was an unforgettable one. Not only did we see astounding mountain views surrounded by lakes, but also various villages set in mountains, the inhabitants of which, are mostly born to die in those same mountains. They seem to live such simple lives, living in huts built with their own bare hands, earning their living by a hard days labour, to sell the days outcome to the nearby villages. With no electricity and no running water, the only way for the kids to spend their time is by inventing games of their own and running around with their pets something our parents probably had the pleasure of experiencing.

We arrived in Vang Vieng at around 4'oclock in the afternoon and set off to find an accomodation. Our first try at Pan's Place was not a lucky one, as the place was full, our second try was. We spent the night at Nana's guest house which we found to be great value for money. Nevertheless we preferred looking for an accomodation which was closer to the river and so we did. Champ Lao our guesthouse for the days to follow offered a small but comfortable brick room at an extreemly reasonable price (around 3$ per night). So reasonable that in order not to risk loosing the room, we paid for that night, though we were going to sleep at Nana's guesthouse (good thing we did... the day after every guesthouse in site was full:)).

The ten days we spent in Vang Vieng can be described in one simple phrase.... chilling out.

Mornings were spent having breakfast at either our guesthouse, enjoying an incredible view of the river and surrounding mountains, whilst rocking on a hammock, or else at a local place which served english breakfast for just 1 euro. We would then stroll around the island or just go back to the guest house, where we would either sleep again, play cards or read.

Most of the evenings were spent eating and watching TV. For the first few days we went to River - Sunsent View Restaurant where we enjoyed good Western food along with a DVD of our very own choice. After four days or so we shifted over to one of the numerous restaurants which showed the famous TV series 'Friends' over and over again. We loved going there, eating good food and laughing our hearts out watching the TV series. The tables were very comfy in both restaurants, they resembled a padded wooden bed with pillows to rest your back against and a sort of tea table infront of you.

Here, Yakof tried out a manual motorbike for the first time. After the first few hiccups caused by the changing of gears he managed to master it perfectly (once he realised there was no clutch). In all we spent nearly three days going round with the bike. We went to nearby villages and visited two caves. The first cave was basically a big WHOLE IN THE WALL (ta Johnny Hexa! :)... ) inhabited by different kind of spiders.

The second one was much nicer....it was a large cave hosting a reclined buddha in the middle of it... and no wonder why, the buddha was reclined, given how tough it was to get to the top of the cave (not to mention the way down).

Two days before leaving we went for the famous 'Tubing'. It basically involves this: A tuk-tuk takes you to the river bank armed with a huge tyre and a dry bag. You are then left to your own faith... to find out how to tube along the river. We eventually set off....Yakof taking a long jump to reach his tube which was being taken away by the current and Janet heading straight into the middle of the tube (please note the tube has a hole in the middle), clothes and sunglasses included (that was the first time Janet managed to dive head first into the water).

We stopped in two bars along the way, were we had a couple of beers and a couple of other drinks :). In the second bar we met a friendly alcoholic dog...why alcoholic you would ask...? At one point we caught him sneaking his tounge into a girl's glass of beer and later he licked his way on the pavement after some guys dropped a bucket full of vodka. By the end of it he was pissed! Yakof familiarised himself with this poor creature so much... that he decided to by him some food!!!

The whole tubing lasted around five hours. By the end of it we were getting cold as the sun was setting... eventually Yakof had the brilliant idea of hitch hiking.....a kayake. Thanks to which we made our way to the finish line in half the time.

Last but not least... Our New Year's eve.... we went over to a couple of bars situated on one of the islands close to our guesthouse, had a couple of drinks and danced till the countdown was over (imagine Yakof dancing to grease tunes :)... he felt like EF all over)... after which we went back to our guesthouse. It was an enjoyable night...not much happening....but still nice.

And so the days in Vang Vieng drifted away... until it was time to move on to our next destination...the capital city of Laos...Vientiane.

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