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Vang Vieng

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

I’m here in Vang Vieng! I took a van ride here from Vientiane and met a group of Canadians. We’re splitting a riverside bungalow. The town is very peaceful and full of chickens and kittens and cows that block the roads. The weather could be better though.Yesterday, we went on tubes and floated lazily down the river through stunning limestone cliffs and lush vegetation. If you ignored the several bars spotting the banks playing loud music and the occasional power line, it really was a majestic experience. Floating down, listening to the crickets and frogs, it was timeless; it felt like it could have been thousands of years in the past. We did stop at a couple of bars with rope swings and zip lines and dancing and had loads of fun.

I’m heading back to Thailand most likely tomorrow. I can’t wait to snorkel and lay on the beach!

Oh, and there’s this strange new thing happening to my skin. I’ve never experienced this before, it’s like my skin is getting… darker. Barely, but surely. How peculiar. (I’m still as white as snow though!) 

Laid-back Laos

Sunday, August 10th, 2008

Vientiane, Laos is the most laid-back capital city I’ve been to. After bussing to Bangkok, then going up through the Thai-Lao border (and getting ripped off by visa services), I finally made it here. And I’m glad I did. My guesthouse is right by the river, and I love it here.

Since Laos was occupided by the French for a while, it has a lot of French influence in its road names and architecture. This blend of styles is very interesting, and results in good French restaurants. There’s barely any traffic and the weather isn’t too hot, so I felt safe enough to rent a bike and explore today. (In Chiang Mai, I had a biking horror story. I don’t think I’ll rent a bike anywhere that has bad traffic again.) I found something very similar to Paris’s Arc de Triomphe, and it had great views from the top! I met some monks at the top and we talked about where we’re from. They were really interested in what I thought about Vientiane. [read on]