March 11, 2008

Vang Vieng (LAOS)

Goodbye Vientiane, an Interesting Bus Ride, and Arriving in Vang Vieng

There is a midnight curfew in the city of Vientiane, so even if I was a party animal I would still have gotten plenty of sleep last night. As it stands, I awoke at 6:00 am this morning feeling fully refreshed, and so I set off to have another look at the city before having to share it with all the other inhabitants and visitors; seeing any city naked in dawn's early light is always best.

Sadly, there isn't a whole hell of a lot to see in Vientiane as it is easily the world's most unassuming capital city. I looked online and read that the population is 400,000 but even that number seems grossly exaggerated. Quite literally, there are only a handful of buildings that are above two stories tall, and the city can be walked from end-to-end in under 30 minutes.

The picture to the right was taken at the Department of Information and Culture, but when I tried walking in to have a closer look I was told by a worker that there was nothing to see. Am I the only one who sees the irony in that?

After locating the city's bus terminal, I awoke Neil and David so we could catch a local bus to Vang Vieng, roughly 130 kilometers to the north. On the way to the station, I bought one of the many French baguettes that are sold along the streets. The sandwiches are stuffed with tuna, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise, and some kind of dressing that make them irresistible. Plus, costing only 10,000 kip ($1.10USD) they are cheaper than the sandwiches I used to make at home when I could no longer afford Publix subs.

The public bus to Vang Vieng was only 20,000 kip ($2USD), which is four times cheaper than the daily air-con tourist bus that plies the route. As is always the case, traveling "locally" turned out to be the better way to go as I met a variety of interesting people on the bus - Chinese girls from Shanghai, a Japanese couple from Yokohama, an Israeli with his own businesses in Guangzhou and Bangkok, a Canadian girl from Calgary, and a Malaysian from Penang. The Chinese girls were overwhelmed that I spoke Chinese, and offered to show me around when we reach Shanghai at the end of the month. As for the Israeli, Yanif, I spent most of the four hour bus ride talking to him about his businesses in Guangzhou (import/export) and Bangkok (the Green House guesthouse on the Khao San road.) Starting up my own business in Asia has long been something I have considered, but the truth is that I think furthering my education will pay greater long-term dividends first.

Something that may not pay long-terms dividends is buying cheap meat on a stick from vendors on the side of the road in Laos. It only cost me 2000 kip for a chunk of brown meat wedged between two sticks (shown to right), and if I am lucky I won't spend the next week vomiting as a result.

Another Laotian man on the bus saw me eating the dried-out meat - dog or rat, presumably - and offered me sticky rice to go along with it. This is basically just ultra-sticky rice that has been flattened down, and people use their fingers to pry it apart when eating. Obviously, it isn't the most tasty food on the planet, but it goes well with meat that has been left out for too long. There was also a local LaoLao liquor for sale, but with 60% alcohol (!!) and costing only 8000 kip (under $1USD) for a 1 liter bottle I will wait until I am desperate... Really desperate.

When we arrived in Vang Vieng we were picked up by a tuk-tuk driver and taken to a bungalow along the river. At $10USD/person, I thought the prices high, and spent the next hour searching the town for cheaper accommodation. Eventually, I found a newly-opened youth hostel called Tony's Guest House, where we got a room with air-con and hot water for only $4USD/person. It was a real steal, but there wasn't much of a river view as it is located at the end of the main road running through town. Why would the river view be worthwhile, you wonder?

Where else but on the river can you see a man riding his motorized tractor? (See photo to the left.)

Come to think of it, I have not seen a single traffic light since I entered Laos, nor have I seen a single police officer. Those two facts should, as well as any, give an indication as to just how laid back Laos is.

Later in the evening we met up with Yanif (Israeli) for a dinner in the town. Most of the restaurants are geared toward backpackers in need of a vacation - we counted seven restaurants showing Friends re-runs - but with a bit more searching we located a great Laotian restaurant serving home-made food. It was kind of a two-woman operation, so the service was slow, but the food was the best I have had in a long while, so we were happy with the find.

We checked out some of the bars around town, but there weren't many people out and about and the blaring music felt oddly out of place in this otherwise quiet town. I thought about getting a haircut, but apparently the barber had already gone home for the day (see photo to the right.)