Good Night, Laos.....Good Morning, Vietnam

After another week's hiatus, it's about time for me to get you all updated (it's well overdue) on the occurrences of the past 7 days in Laos, which coincidentally enough, will be my last 7 days in the country. My flight has been booked, and I'm officially heading to Hanoi, Vietnam, tomorrow. That officially makes my arrival in Vietnam, oh, 3 weeks or so late (my visa started on 8/12). But as the traveling life goes, if you enjoy a place, you stay. And I've enjoyed my 3 weeks+ here in Laos.

A week ago, after spending a couple days in Phongsavon and visiting the Plain of Jars (see previous post), our group of 4 headed south to Vang Viene, the "Apple River" of Southeast Asia. For those of you who DON'T know Apple River, it's simply a lazy river float where you can enjoy a couple beers with a few of your closest buds. For those of you who DO know Apple River in ol' Somerset, Wisconsin, just imagine the place on steroids...complete with on-the-river establishments, 20 and 30 feet-high zip lines and cable swings, and after-dark arrivals to your home base. The pictures can explain more below....

Before arriving in Vang Viene on Thursday evening, we had a short 7-hr bus trip (strange how 7 hours is now a "short" trip). We've seen some challenging roads on our journey in Northern Laos, but the swamp that we would soon approach on this leg would soon keep us sitting for over 2 hours in the hills. Luckily, I learned there are probably two words that describe the Lao people when things don't exactly go as planned in getting from Point A to Point B:

1) Rubber-neckers
2) Resiliency

When things get rocky, nobody loves to get out of their vehicles more than these people and simply stare as others try to cross the impassable mud pit. The section of the road that had collapsed was about half the length of a football field. It had disinegrated into a giant mud bath, consumed 3 or 4 vehicles, and halted dozens of vehicles, tourist buses, and large transporters. But luckily these curious, rubber-necking folk are a resilient bunch, determined to reach their destination. So, rather than getting a rig up there to level out the road, these drivers just keep plowing the mud pit until they make it through, often with a large pack of people pushing or a chain to tow. First the smaller vehicles, than the vans and shorter buses, and then the big rigs and buses come steamrolling through the crowds of people watching in effort to reach the other side. Thankfully during our stay, we witnessed nobody getting steamrolled, just the muddy road...

We reached Vang Viene on Thursday evening, and this is where our traveling group of 4 went our different ways. Let's just say I got a little caught up in Vang Viene and stayed through Tuesday morning--the scenery along the Nam Song river, combined by the scene created by the crowds of young, upbeat foreigners, was my little slice of heaven after a couple weeks of traveling on our own, and I had a tough time leaving.

One comment before checking out. I've had a lot of inquiries on the food here. It seems I'm doing a good job of eating all the time but not necessarily a good job of sharing the details! In Northern Laos, as you inched closer to the Chinese border, it wasn't too uncommon to see some dog, rat, beatles, and other bugs on display at local markets. So, let's just say I didn't ever order anything completely off the map--I was content with my fried rice and vegetables, sticky rice, laap (Lao salad), and papaya salad (sliced papaya mixed with an array of peppers and other vegetables). Ordering meat, especially when it's in a link form, is generally going to have some sort of a "mixture," so I usually played it safe up in that part of the country. All in all, the food is great, filling, and always fresh. Best of all, you'll never spend a lot. A big dinner last night cost 40,000 kip, or between 4 and 5 US$, and it included: laap (the Lao salad), a wicker container packed with sticky rice, and some spring rolls. I'm not starving. I'll leave it at that.

Thanks for your patience in waiting for my post and in reading this---we'll see you in Vietnam!

The crew at the Plain of Jars











Plain of jars













Dejected in the hills after another obstacle in the road (or just a dramatic pose to cease the moment)














The mud pit












View in Vang Viene from our guesthouse balcony











In the hammock at sunset








Getting flipped off the zipline into the clear water below in Vang Viene













Standard construction seen frequently in Laos: bamboo scaffolding!





The country's pride and joy