Luang Prabang- Vang Vieng- Vientianne

We spent a total of four nights in Luang Prabang, enjoying the laid back atmosphere. I really liked this place- the population is only about 26,000, so it is really peaceful. The photo on the left is a pretty sunset over the Mekong. Everyone likes sunsets. I am not sure if I could live in Luang Prabang, but I could definitely stay there for up to a month. Unfortunately we only have 9 weeks total time on this trip, so maybe next time...

After Luang Prabang we popped into Vang Vieng for a couple of days to experience floating down a river in an inner tube between makeshift bars. I have heard stories about how Vang Vieng was a complete den of iniquity, and how the town had been totally corrupted by Western capitalist running dogs and was the scourge of Asia. Maybe I am a totally corrupted Western capitalist running dog, but I didn't really find as much offensive tourist-centric development as at Khao San Road, for example. Yes the Friends bars were kind of odd- there are a number of bars with lounger seats and big screen TVs playing Friends episodes continuously- but the town closed down at about 1030pm each night.
The tubing in Vang Vieng was quite fun. Actually, it should have been quite fun. I think both Marie and I would have had more fun if I didn't drink as much as I did, but that is my fault for starting on buckets of whiskey based cocktails at midday.

The original plan after that was to then move down to southern Laos and maybe do a little bit of trekking. Then we started hearing about Hanoi, and our plans changed.


Once we got to Vientianne, we cycled round a couple of monuments and then decided to catch a plane to Hanoi. If you look closely in the photo of our rides, you will notice that my blue model is called Fairy and Marie's pink model is called Crocodile. No, I didn't find too much else to do in Vientianne :)
Please see pictures below of assorted monuments, stupas and silly self portraits from Vientianne. Interesting thing about the monument below which looks like an exotic version of the Arc de Triomphe (picture to come when I manage to resize some more photos): The US government donated a few loads of cement in 1969 to lengthen the Vientianne runway. I think this was before the US started bombing Laos as part of its war against Vietnam. Anyway, the Laos government decided not to upgrade the airport, and instead they built a monument to the Laos revolutionaries who lost their lives liberating Laos from the French. Thus the locals call this monument the vertical runway.