Of course I'd heard that this was probably going to happen from other travellers, but it's still a bit of a surprise when you see it. The reason (as I understand it,)for this armed 'guard' on most journeys between Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang, is due to the linking road (Route 13) having been attacked by bandits fairly heavily in the past. However, I'm really not sure what good it would do anyone to have one armed guy on the bus against a group of armed guys attacking the bus. Personally, I'd much rather that guns were taken out of the bus altogether, so that there was no need for anyone to fire one at anybody else. Luckily though, our trip was bandit free. I don't think our guard was up to much anyway - he spent the whole time sleeping, with his gun poking him in the side, as likely to shoot himself in his sleep than defend us against any outside terrors.

The route for the first 4 hours takes you over and around the most windy mountains you could possibly imagine. And the bus driver didn't like to break too often. So, although I'd managed to get a double seat to myself, any thoughts of lying down for a kip soon went out the window, as I'd either slam my head into the wall, or slide off the seat altogether. Eventually we arrived in Vang Vieng in one piece, and I got a room for about $2 a night.

Vang Vieng is a really weird place. It sort of springs up in the middle of nowhere. It's on part of a massive dusty flat plain, with mountains reaching up to one side and far in the distance; and the river running beside it manages to remain hidden until you're actually on it. The town seems to exist soley because of the backpackers going through it. It's a bit of a surreal place - almost like Las Vegas in that you're not sure if there is a real heart to it anymore, or whether it's just an exotic Centre Parcs.

The Guesthouse I was staying in was one of those that showed Friends from about 8 in the morning to 11-11:30 at night. And, as with most of the bars and restaurants in Vang Vieng, it had really comfortable seating (consisting of raised platforms with loads of cushions and pillows, and a small table in the middle) which, once you'd sat down, was so comfy that it was difficult to sum up the energy to get back up again. You could end up going somewhere for lunch and then staying there till closing time - on my first evening I put myself through 5 hours of Friends (series 10)in a paralysis of comfort. When I came down the nest morning, series 1 was back on, and so it goes on and on and on. Another bar showed Simpsons on a loop, with others showing various movies. On my last night I found one that had a load of Family Guy.

Apart from all this culture, I also managed a couple of day-trip type activities, one of which was the famous (among backpackers anyway) tubing along the river. You get given an old lorry-tyre tube, which you jump in and stop at the various bars along the route back to Vang Vieng. We started at around 1 as we'd heard that things didn't really get going until then, but it turned out that as it was the sunniest day for a long while, the river was absolutely packed. The bars were really good fun, and apart from serving beer and other drinks, had music and massive rope swings that took you really high above the water. We were having such a good time in the bars, that it began to get dark before we realised it - and we had to get the tubes back by dark,
a)because the hire-company asked that you do so, and
b)because otherwise we had no idea of where we were going or when to stop.
So, in a slight panic, our group of about a dozen quickly jumped in the tubes, tried to stick fairly close together, and hoped for the best. It turned out that we needn't have worried, as the neon lights of the bars beyond the finishing points guided us home.



I also spent a day kayaking, but there was only 3 of us doing it, so I had to share a kayak with our Lao guide, who soon quized me as to whether I was married and about my girlfriend. He told me that I should have 3 girlfriends, and although he explanied why, I couldn't really understand him. So I asked him whether he was married. He wasn't. Did he have a girlfriend. No. He laughed when I asked this. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable, but was slightly reassured by the fact that if he tried anything on whilst on the kayak, I'd just capsize us.

We stopped to look at some caves later in the morning. The first one was the 'elephant cave', so called because there was a rock that looked like an elephant in it. And that was about it. There was some buddhist stuff in there too, and our guide (coincidentally called Row) decided it was time for a story. One that would sap our will to live, as it would plod on for the next 15 minutes, with Row using his great theatrical talents to give different voices to all the different characters. I think it was about a dragon that lived in the cave. The monk that lived in there too told him he was lazy. And then so did a monkey. The dragon said that he couldn't do anything else because the villagers were scared of him. So the monk said he could stay and guard the temple. There was no further mention of the monkey.

Then we went to another cave, this time semi-submerged, and to go through we laid on tubes and had to follow a rope. It was actually a bit more fun than I've just made it sound. Afterwards we kayaked back to Vang Vieng.

I'd heard through the grapevine that there really wasn't much to do in Vientiane, so I decided to just book a trip all the way back to Bangkok. This still gave me a couple of hours to have a look around Vientiane in between bus journeys. My impression of it is: it's still a bit French. Went over the 'Friendship bridge' back into Thailand and boarded our 'luxury' sleeper bus that would arrive in Bangkok at 7 in the morning.

written by  olliejohnson on September 12, 2006 from Vang Vieng, Laos
from the travel blog: A man from Cockshutt.
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Those years of canoeing in France were worth while, then! The water looks a whole lot more wholesome than the murky mudpool in which we were taught how to handle a kayak and perform rolls when we were near Pierrefort that first time. It has to be the only time I have come out of water feeling dirtier than when I went in!

written by  Old Man of Cockshutt on September 18, 2006

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Wow, its looks really good, tubing in Laos is one of the things I am really looking forward to doing. I'm glad your safe and well and enjoying yourself, your stories are entertaining as ever! I am starting to feel scared about my trip but I can't wait to leave work, it is worse now than ever! Take Care & keep up the stories!

written by  Erica Hayward on September 27, 2006

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