Bird’s Nest Bevarage – 25% bird’s nest

Ruth and I left Vientiane by minibus. The bus departed according to Lao time, i.e. when the driver desired. For an average westerner Time has long been commodified and clocks are simply another master to be obeyed, but we were slowly acclimatising to the legendary Laotian patience (which is arguably a product of their beliefs of reincarnation). For an hour or so we baked in a rusty, cramped pile of metal on wheels before trundling off at a relaxed pace for an unremarkable journey through lush green scenery.

Our destination was Vang Vieng. We were dropped off, but not before the driver and his companion handed us cards for their preferred guesthouse (read – the one that paid him the highest commission). Haggling for a tuk tuk to our hotel of choice involved the usual faux eye-rolling and gasps of disbelief before a price suitable to both the driver and us was established. We found a room for a reasonable eight dollars a night in Orchid guesthouse which was situated right on the banks of the river. A newish place, if a little tatty, but it was fine for our purpose – sleeping. The only problem was the double bed. I would always wake and find my eyes unable to focus because Ruth’s nostrils, earlobes or other parts of her face would be pressed up against my eyeballs. We have slightly different views on personal space.

Now, depending on your backpacking ‘raison d’etre’ Vang Vieng is either paradise or purgatory. Some travellers find lazy days morphing effortlessly into lazier weeks. Others beat a hasty retreat as soon as possible, shaking their heads in bewilderment and quietly muttering words like “soulless”.

The rest of this post can be found here.

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