We finally had our first taste of a sleeper bus on our journey from Pakse north to Vientiane - needless to say I won't be looking to repeat it! As with virtually all transport here, even the tourist transport, it's built for the locals, but it was still a surprise when we found out that the 'double' beds were little wider than a large single bed and we would be hemmed in by metal ends, making it about 5 1/2 foot long. You can fly from Pakse, but it's 5 times expensive than the only other real alternative which is the sleeper bus. Luckily the roads weren't as bad, and the driver didn't seem like too much of a maniac, but we'd hear some stories.
After we got in to Vientiane, showered, and had some breakfast, I went to explore the city and Fiz caught up on some sleep. Vientiane is perfectly placed almost 2/3 up the country, on the river border with Thailand. Compared to the other capital cities we've been to so far, there is a lot less to do here, it is more like a large town, but it still has lots of charm.
When we were both largely awake, we decided to take a tuk-tuk to the COPE centre, a charity that primarily cares and provides prosthetics for mine victims, as well as other things such as psychiatric care and physiotherapy. It's situated at the same place as the national indoor arena for disabled people, which would have played host to some of the sports in the SE Asia games which were held in Vientiane a couple of years ago. We got a hugely friendly welcome from one of the employees and were shown around the place. There's a really well organised 'museum' which explains what they do and why, and it clearly does some amazing work - Laos is apparently the most bombed country in the world per capita, and with much of the population still living below the poverty line, many families rely on farming the land or looking for and selling scrap metal, both of which can lead them to some of millions of unexploded bombs that still sit in the ground and which are still live and still maim and wound people today. So this charity is a breath of fresh air.
After wondering round the city along the promenade, booking our tickets to get to our next destination and downing a couple of BeerLaos, we headed for dinner. In the evening we found a Belgian bar, Chok Dee (we were welcomed by a porcelain Tin Tin at the entrance) selling Belgian beer (surprise surprise) and mini snacks (including mini chorizo and banana buns - strange combination, but it works really well - try it!) so we gorged on those before heading to bed.
It was baking hot on both days, to the extent that we couldn't move far. I shouldn't be complaining - whilst I've definitely acclimatised, this was almost unbearable. So I was looking forward to a respite in the hills of Vang Vieng, 150km north of Vientiane.
But I didn't get it!
A brief 3 hour minibus trip further north is the picturesque town of Vang Vieng, known for tubing and partying. Or at least it was... at the beginning of this month (September) the president of Laos himself (spurred on by international pressure apparently) came with the military to close down all but a couple of the bars that lined the 3km tubing route down the Nam Thon river, with a view to halting the too-frequent deaths of tourists. And it is this crack down that was probably the reason that we thought we'd missed something when we'd arrived - it was eerily quiet. That, and it was a Sunday, and the Laotians are generally a laid back type of people anyway.
It is still primarily filled with younger tourists here, mainly Brits and Americans (the most Brits we've seen on our trip so far), but I couldn't help feel that there was a sigh of relief amongst the locals now that the levels of visitors have reduced because of this recent change. And we think it's a good thing - this place is beautiful and can now perhaps be enjoyed for what it is, rather than what you can do here.
On our first day we couldn't really do a lot, it was even hotter here than in Vientiane. So we ate... again! (It's our excuse to sample the local cuisine.) Once we'd cooled down, we did explore the town, going over the rickety bridges to the small islands on the river and admired the backdrop.
On Monday, we were picked up first thing in the morning and driven 30km up river to start our descent down by kayak. When the guide started talking about what to do when we capsized, Fiz started to worry and with good reason - we'd not got round the first bend when the 'rapids' had claimed their first victim of the day - us. The rapids were timid but the water was running reasonably quickly and were enough to ensure you needed to pay attention! Luckily it didn't happen again and slowly we re-built Fiz's confidence.
On the way down we stopped for a walk through the rice paddies to yet another water cave - this time we pulled ourselves through on tractor inner tubes. After some lunch we were back in the kayaks and stopped at a dodgy suspension bridge where we were told it was too shallow to jump off 20 foot back in to the river - and the guides only knew this because they had 'tested' it first!
Back on the home straight and 27km in the kayaks later, we drifted through the main tubing route on the Nam Thon river - since the bars on the side of the river had been closed, the number of people on the river has reduced significantly and as we passed burned/closed down bars, it's not hard to imagine what this place was like when it was busy. And as we passed a deserted 25 foot slide (with a 10 foot drop in to the water) made of bathroom tiles you get an appreciation for why there's been so much tragedy here in recent years.
We later had some dinner with our new found international friends from the day's activities and spent the rest of the evening learning what they were up to.
On Tuesday David (a yank we'd met the day before), Fiz and I hired some mountain bikes for a 14km round trip to the Blue Lagoon, through some of the most beautiful countryside we have seen so far. The Blue Lagoon was a mixture of a deep dark cave and at the bottom of the entrance there was a swimmable section of river with trees and ropes to jump off! Perfect for loud Brits, of which there were many. Despite having been told by a Laotian friend of him not to jump off stuff, David was leading the way with double flips off a 3m high tree trunk - we weren't sure if we'd be travelling back in an ambulance (if they exist here!) with him or cycling.
On the journey back we were greeted emphatically by locals everywhere we went, especially kids on their way back from school; a brilliant end to an awesome day and a reminder of just how different the people are here.
Today (Wednesday) we unfortunately had to leave, we've already stayed a night longer than we originally intended, but we both loved the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, and met some cool people, not to mention the scenery.
However, Luang Prabang is next - and it has a lot to live up to - several people have independently called this out as a top highlight of their trip in SE Asia. Just a 7 hour minibus trip along the side of the mountain (where the straightest bit of road is about 50m long) stood between us and our next adventure.
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