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Vang Vieng

Sunday, April 9th, 2006

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Beside the Nam Song River, against stunningly beautiful limestone karst mountains that remind me of Guillin China, is the small town of Vang Vieng…a backpacker haven. Well, the mountains would be beautiful if you could see them but the haze and smoke all but obscures them from view.

The main attractions here are the activities that are available….tractor tubing, kayaking, rafting, rock climbing, trekking, caving…

Leila…an Australian woman I hooked up with in Luang Prabang to travel to Vang Vieng and Vientiane…went tubing while I adjusted photos on my computer
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The whole town is full of 20-30 year olds sitting in one of the many little “TV Bars” on raised tea-beds (like in Central Asia) lounging against pillows and pads…watching blaring videos of “Friends” reruns.

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Leila and I chose to go to the market for BBQ chicken…tipping a bit of Lao whiskey with three older Lao men tickled to invite us to sit with them.

Two days was enough.

Road South To Vang Vieng

Sunday, April 9th, 2006

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Slash & Burn! The mountains here are obscured by the smoke from slash & burn fires as in Chiang Mai so unfortunately the sunset over the Mekong isn’t as clear and beautiful as it was when I was here two years ago.

The road south from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng is reputed to be incredibly beautiful but you would never know it as our minivan chugged around five hours of consecutive curves in smoke-filled mountains!
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Stops along the way gave us a chance to swallow, get some air relieving car sickness and to take some pictures of village life.

Meat Market
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BBQ Pork Fat
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Sticky Rice in Banana Leaves
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Mystery Eggs
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