Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng…..and onwards to Vientiane

December 5th,

Some last thoughts about Luang Prabang…we enjoyed this town which has charm, historic attractions, activities and some very good eateries….we did not try any of the upscale establishments which I am sure would have been great experiences. The closest we came was two fer Lao Cocktails on the deck of our hotel. Many restos specialize in fondues which we tried > a large clay pot full of coals is placed in a hole on one’s  table and then you cook  a mountain of greens, buffalo meat strips and noodles in a heavenly onion broth ….if you are ever in LP do not miss out. A great couple of days !!!

In any event, the day starts cool but promises to be a hot one as we wait for our pick-up. Today we are going by  join mini-bus to Vang Vieng a journey of some 250 kilometers along what is called the “new” route which is supposed to cut 2 hours from the trip.

You may have noticed the word “join”, which means that there will be 15 souls in the minibus including the driver and everyone’s assorted baggage. Part 1 consists of being picked up more or less on time > 08:30 and then picking up everyone on the list, this takes about an hour with several phone calls yada yada…..then off to the bus station and transfer to another mini bus, counting of tickets, another 1/2 hour wait.

Finally all is good and we are off……no need to be worried about crazy driver techniques as the “road” has numerous craters, potholes and simply dirt/gravel sections > after counting 1 million, and 450 thousand potholes we resigned ourselves to being pounded for the next five hours…..accelerate, jam on the brakes bounce, shudder, bang and repeat, sometimes with the added bonus of passing while on hairpin curves > guard rails, shoulders etc., you gotta be joking. At one point we climb steadily for 45 minutes the poor van valiantly struggling upwards…….some great views, it is a very pretty ride through some very tough looking country unfortunately no pic stops and the windows are tinted and dirty….so just got these at the summit pit stop…note the landslide in the 3rd pic…..it was dry but in the rainy that section would have been treacherous…

We need to mention the pan-Asia railway project again as we spent virtually the entire journey viewing the work completed to date ….the scale is quite breathtaking, as vast  swaths of forest are being removed as are the hillsides to enable a stable surface for the tracks ….ultimately the rail line is to travel 3,900 kilometers running the length of the Southeast Asian peninsula ….the economic and geopolitical impacts can be monumental  and when coupled with other such projects (e.g. Africa) the consequences should not be underestimated….for some perspective check out this article: 

https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/asia/article/2158187/chinas-pan-asia-rail-project-slow-track-and-thats-ok

Two pit stops and we are deposited at the Vang Vieng Bus Station (40 USD for the roller coaster ride) where we are mildly ripped off by Mr.Tuk Tuk …no big deal arrive at the Villas Nom Sang, check-in, welcome drink and then a welcome cocktail of our own. Nice hotel on the river….with karst hills in the background….all is good……as we chill overlooking the craziness on the river…kayaking downstream, inner tubes, massage stations and of course the mini longtails powered by lawnmower engines…

The town is rather ugly and has the vibe of similar towns in various parts of the world, when I visited them 40 some years ago….in any event, we had a yummy dinner and got back to the hotel early to do some computing…seems the internet is half decent here. The town has lots of attractions for young guns (kayaking/cliff climbing/balloon flights etc) but getting the feeling of it suffices for us….

Only one night here and since we had so much fun on the mini bus today we are going to do it all over again tomorrow ….

December 6th

Beauty of a morning ……pretty nice breakfast > the mango was so sweet and juicy!!

Pack-up and wait for our pick-up…same deal as yesterday (only cheaper 30 USD) and no transfer to another mini bus……

….but all the thrills and spills for 3.5 hours (pretty ugly drive miles of dust clogged road with sad homes interspersed with “businesses”, scrap yards and garbage > lovely) , one close call with a truck and we are deposited in downtown Vientiane …switched to another minibus with another couple and in no tome we are at the Lao Orchid Hotel where we will stay for 3 nights ….great location close to the Mekong River, some fresh spring rolls for lunch and time for a siesta.

Decided to set aside the asian fare for one night and had a nice pizza and then stopped for a beer at Tysons Kitchen. A fellow approached us and after telling him we were from Vancouver he told us he was the owner and from Burnaby…..got into a chat about doing business in Laos, politics etc…..he also treated us to hockey pucks, not the rubbery type, but good Canadian Whiskey with maple syrup on the rocks. Nice young man making his fortune here and a fun way to end the evening !!!