At 9 am we ere were on the VIP (VIP=reduced chance of breakdown???)10 hour bus to Vientiane (Capital of Lao). A coupe of local pick ups later we were straight into the mountains heading through amazing bamboo hut villages perched on the edge of the mountain side-these people put a lot of trust in bamboo round this part of the world! It was great to see but we didnt pass through quietly. Our driver was intent on using horn on every corner and as we passed on where about to pass every car, bike or person. While the horn was also used to advise oncoming traffic (who had right of way) to make way for the VIP bus, this resulted in some interesting moments! We had about of couple of hours of windy mountain road driving at speed with lots of use of the brake pedal. Again another sick note on the bus, luckily we were a few rows behind us but again was unprepapred so had a bit of a sick stream going on again, he later filled a couple more bags.

Fortunately we came out of the mountains to flatter but still under developed single lane roads. Using our dinner voucher we stopped off around 1430 and sampled some authentic roadside culnary delights. Finally around 1900 we made it to the bus station after the driver (still pedal to the metal had overshot it in the darkness. We got a Tuk Tuk wagon to the centre of Vientiane and checked into Youth Inn 2. We then caught a good meal down by the Mekong. Unfortunately when we got the bill we hadnt replinished the money bag. So I quickly headed back to the Youth Inn 2 to get some. On getting back April was in deep conversation with the waiter (Lay) about what we could do in Vientiane which later moved on towards Buddhism. He was such a good guy we invited him out for a drink, so he took us to a local spot with live music for a drink. Listened the band perform I'm Yours (Jason Mraz) possibly better than the origninal followed by some Maroon 5, I was certain there was a CD playing in the background. There wasn't these guys were awesome. If they could get a UK Visa (which is very tough for anyone from Laos) I would back these guys for the X-Factor final!

This morning we had a relaxed start to the day and took advantage of the late midday checkout. Checked out the museum and saw some of the sad history surrounding the aggression by the French and USA. Lao per capita is the most bombed nation in the world with millions of unexploded devices (30%) didn't explode on impact still in the fields. In some of the worst areas, as the Lao people still need to farm a explosion occurs almost every day. Despite this it seems the Lao people do not hold a grudge against these nations.

Later in the day we walked to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (Lao style). Actually the cement was donated by the Americans...in the background we could see the Soviet Union flag. This place has some interesting politics!