Vang Vieng

Today we took the bus to Vang Vieng. Ah the bus! It was great. It was the express to Luang Prabang, as opposed to the air conditioned 'VIP' bus with other foreigners, and yet quicker than the actual local bus, and we were one of only three groups of "falang" amidst the Lao. It was brutally hot, the only relief came with moving forward with all windows down, until the rain started and the world was just drenched in utter downpour. Passing out of Vientiene, the scenery went from the city to the suburbs to the country and villages, marked by the progression from concrete dwellings and tile roofs to wooden buildings and tin roofs to traditional Lao raised houses made of woven bamboo and thatched roofs. Beautiful scenery of rice fields, rich forest/bamboo, and steep mountains, dotted with buffalo.
These photos are from a cigarette-pee-and-secure-the-load break on the side of the road.







These are some scenes from the village where the bus pulled up for refreshments...






Now we're in Vang Vieng, where limestone 'karsts' rise as sheer-sided stunning mountains all around, with a lazy river flowing through. This photo (and the one starting this post) is the view from our bungalow beside the river.

We splurged for it, at $7. And it's outside town, which is good because town is full of Aussie backpackers intent on eating the "happy" pizzas and watching the Simpsons and Friends (I kid you not) on rows of recliners in bars lining the main road.

Tomorrow we'll grab some bicycles and go check out the limestone caves, Hmong villages, and the river that are the attraction around here, with a lot of swimming thrown in.