Week Three

Well, I've a lot to cram in here since my last post, so I'll try and avoid "going around the houses" too much (good luck with that!)

Last Sunday, we had an easy day - that is, after waking up at 5am to watch the almsgiving to the monks, which was pointless as I was at the wrong end of town and then nothing happened until 6am. After going back to bed, it was a rainy morning, so we took the opportunity to grab a cuppa and plan our onward movements.

In the afternoon, Katie and I made it up Mount Phou Si, so admire the views of Luang Prabang and do a little more temple spotting! I must admit, I had had my fill of the town by now; yes it was very pretty, but I felt like I was stuck in an expensive resort on the Med, all the boutiques and cafes were full of middle-aged Europeans with greying hair. No offence to middle-aged Europeans with greying hair, but I'm backpacking, I could have seen you all out on the Greek islands, this is Asia!!! I guess there was just something I couldn't put my finger on about LPB that didn't sit right with me, but to many others, they loved the place, so each to their own I guess.

Monday - we were off on a "VIP" bus to Vang Vieng that should have taken "4 hours" - and there was a lovely toilet on board!!! Hmmmm, the toilet didn't function, and was dirtier than most of the squatters I have encountered so far, the "AC" was possibly wind because we were moving, the roads were HORRENDOUS and then we suffered a blowout at the rear of the bus, just under where we were sat! Everybody jumped up and someone spotted "smoke", so mass hysteria set in and everyone shouted "stop the bus!" and grabbed their belongings. In fairness, it was a standard puncture and the "smoke" was probably dust, but it later transpired that many people thought that the local guy with a rifle sticking out of his trousers, that we had noticed at lunch, had got a little trigger happy!!!

Bang Vieng!!!

We eventually arrived in Vang Vieng after 7 hours (OK, 30 minutes of that was stoppage time whilst the back wheel was changed). Vang Vieng is a pointless little backwater that exists only for tubing, a silly 'sport' where you float downriver on an inflated tractor tyre inner tube, stopping every few hundred yards at bamboo shacks, to get drunk and jump off rope swings and zip lines. Sorry, I can't be more generous than that; without the tubing, there would be nothing there. The main street was a line of guesthouses, playing Friends on repeat all day, every day. I decided to avoid alcohol whilst tubing, so it was quite boring for me to sit in the bars doing nothing, so I decided to float off down to the end. Once again, that was just my opinion, as everyone else had a great laugh!

Katie was feeling a bit ropey, so she decided to float downriver with me, so off we went, avoiding the bars and just taking in the scenery (which in fairness to VV, is pretty spectacular). The heavens opened and we froze for about 10 minutes, then I got wedged on a tree in the middle of the river, which was absolutely hilarious as I had to pull Katie back by the arm, so she could hold on to the branch while I freed myself... we had a real giggle over that one!

Eventually, we could just about make out a (poor) sign that the tubing stretch was at an end and we needed to disembark - unfortunately, we were right on the other side of the river and the current was very strong. I jumped out of my tube, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was only a few feet deep at this point... However, the current was so strong that it was pulling me along the gravel bottom on my feet and it was impossible to stand still. I could see the "Get Out Here" sign moving closer and then away from me again at a huge rate of knots, and it was only when a local boy jumped into rescue me, did I manage to make it to the river bank at last!

By Wednesday morning, we were ready to leave and after getting up early, we managed to squeeze onto a minivan to Vientiane at 9am. We had had enough of VV and arrived in the capital in the early afternoon. We had a bit of a shock when all the guesthouses claimed to be full, and then when we did find one with space, it was three times the price of a room in VV. Very expensive for Asia, but I guess still very cheap compared to home.

We had a general wander around the town and market in the afternoon, and then met up with Josh, Guy and Adam for a lovely dinner at La Terrasse (as recommended by the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide). I settled for a tomato salad whilst the others splashed out on steaks, and we had a lovely evening strolling through the night market. On Thursday, we took a tuk-tuk to Phra That Luang, the national symbol of Laos, and it was great to actually see some authentic Asian culture.

The national symbol of Laos

That morning, I had walked over three miles at 7am to the Cambodian Embassy to drop off my passport and visa application. I then had to do the trip again at 4pm to collect it, so I certainly got my fair share of exercise! Mad, you might think, but it would have been 160,000 kip in a tuk-tuk or an extra $20 for an agent to arrange it for me, so you do the math...

At 9pm, we boarded the "VIP" sleeper bus to Pakse - oh no, not "VIP"!!! However, we were pleasantly surprised when it finally pulled up at the bus station and it had proper air-con, actual beds, pillows and duvets, and looked as if it wasn't half a century old! It was great, just like caravanning (well, a little bit!) I was lucky enough to have a "double" to myself, so I settled down to read Homer's Odyssey with my head lamp, before I popped on the eyemask and ear plugs and settled down for the night.

We arrived in Pakse at around 7am this morning and quickly hopped into a tuk-tuk to Sabaidy Guesthouse. Quaint little place, reasonably priced, miserable staff, poor communication skills, but it will be fine for one night until we head off to the 4000 Islands tomorrow. Today, we were off on a tuk-tuk yet again, this time going on a river ferry with it, to Wat Phou, a pre-Angkorian Hindu temple in the mountains near Champasak. It was very Tomb Raider, I was expecting wolves to jump out at me and to find shotgun shells under rocks, but it was nowhere near as impressive as the Rough Guide made out - I'll save that kind of excitement for Angkor Wat. However, it was another box to tick and another place I have seen that many others will never get the opportunity to visit, so it was well worth it.

So, here I am again after a much needed shower and I'm very, very tired. It'll be an early night tonight before another early morning bus trip to Don Khong. I'm not sure how likely it will be to find an internet cafe on the islands, so it may be some time next week before I am online again. By that point, I should be in Cambodia (YIPPEE!!!) but that all depends if we make it across the "unofficial" Laos-Cambodia border... See you on the other side!