Lazy days in Laos...

Luang Prabang, Laos

It was the bus journey we had been putting off for days and probably been dreading the whole trip! Hanoi to Luang Prabang - 27hrs!!! The idea of booking the $45 bus with a promise of VIP sleeper beds, toilet on board and having the mental support of our good friends Max & Acacia put our minds at ease though. Imagine our delight when we walked past 15 other VIP state of the art buses at the station to be greeted by this glorious wagon! No toilet, semi reclining 1950's sleeper beds and aggressive staff!

My verdict on our transport!

The only positive about this journey was that we met some new lovely people! Freddie the Swede  Greg from England and a Canadian couple Amy and Chris. The bus company  herded all the westerners to the back together. 3 hrs into the trip we were hushed out of our seats so they could rip them up and start loading boxes beneath them. Then at 3am we were woken from our sleep by locals who had boarded the bus, basically they sat on us, the isle way and anywhere space was available!

Laos consists of mountainous terrain covered with leafy vegetation, amazing to look at but highly challenging to stomach on the wagon of doom with our erratic driver.

We finally landed in Lung Prabang at 8.30 pm. We checked into the B & B Guesthouse
http://www.agoda.com/asia/laos/luang_prabang/b_b_guest_house.html
This really was a great spot, super clean, slate bathroom and well furnished...

After we checked in and got washed up the night was still young.We met up with the guys for some food and beers, basically it was like a self help group to get over the trauma of the bus journey. All bars/restaurants have a pretty strict curfew 1l:30 pm to be closed up by. That's when all the backpackers congregate on mass on the street below and hit the only after ours drinking den - a bowling alley in the middle of nowhere in a shed that sells drink to 3 am, totally random but totally awesome!

The next day we had a little lie in which was much needed. We met up with Max and Acacia and decided to do a little exploring...

That night we hit the night market, were i picked up yet another pair of infamous 'traveler pants' and some nick nacks. Then headed for some cheap Laotian food.

The next day we were up early to hit the Kuangsi Waterfall Park with the guys. 1hr TukTuk ride later we had arrived... Before you actually get to the Waterfalls you pass by a bear sanctuary.  We were very lucky that on the day that we visited the very rarely sighted upright standing Albino Bear was visible!

After a challenging hike we made it to the summit of the Waterfall. 

But boy was it totally worth it...

Later the six of us took a dip in the falls, it was refreshing and i was strangely feeling at one with nature (though that could have been the small fish nibbling at my feet eckkk)

We loved our time in Luang Prabang, it was so chilled, visually stunning and the people were so so genuine and friendly...

Vang Vieng, Laos

The bus journey to Vang Vieng was a 6 hr trip, a mere doddle you'd think after the previous 'journey of doom'. Once again our drive took us through the mountains, luckily our symptoms of motion sickness were non existent! Unfortunately though for a local man sitting behind us he was unable to avoid the nausea. For five solid hours, he wretched, through up into a bag and made wincing noises! I have never been so thankful to listen at full volume to Karen's Barry Manilow Playlist in all my llife!

We checked into Jamme Guest House http://www.jammeegh.com/ the guesthouse was about 10 mins outside of the town but it was surrounded with some stunning scenery.

Whenever any traveler mentions Vang Vieng to anyone the first thought is 'Tubing' down the Meandering Nam Song River. In 2011 27 reported tourist deaths happened as a result of drowning or diving head first into rocks. At its peak 100's of tourists hired rubber rings and floated down the river stopping in at ramshackle wooden bars selling buckets of alcohol etc... In August past Laos authorities and the Army swooped down on the river dismantling all the jumps and ropes and closing down all the bars...

But that didn't put us off... We hired our tubes, bought a 6 pack, met a lovely couple Veronica & Patrick from Colorado and floated our way down the lazy river...

(Though as i was setting my tube into the river, a little 5 yr old Laotian boy demanded money off me 'Give me money, give me money', i said no shhhh, then he told me 'F*#king off you' then ran over to me impishly and grabbed me inappropriately in the southern region and ran off laughing with his friends... I didn't even know how to begin to process what had just happened so i just opened a can of beer and floated off.)

Clearly i'm over the trauma at this stage...

That night we met up with Vron and Pat and enjoyed all that Vang Vieng had to offer... This is us in Laos's only Irish Bar apparently, ran by a young Kerry man, Ryan.

The next day was a quiet one! A lot of the local bars/restaurants show american sitcoms while you drink your complimentary bucket and eat your meal, so we decided to make the most of it that night... 

Vientiane, Laos

Basically Vientiane was a stop over for us while we waited for our extended Thai Visa to be processed. Even though it is the capital of Laos there really isn't a lot going on, temples and a mediocre night market. We checked into the Mixay Paradise http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g293950-d1904218-Reviews-Mixay_Paradise-Vientiane.html

The Thai Consulate were you get your Visa is a pretty horrendous experience. They don't lay out exactly what has to be included so your left queuing and re-queuing in lengthy lines of people! The next day we waited in the heat for an hour to get into the consulate.

Karen pretty much sums it up here!

Laos has been one of the most positive experiences of our travels so far, the scenery, the food, the people and the culture were unforgettable...

Next stop crossing the Thai boarder and hitting Chiang Mai....