Leaving Bangkok we boarded the overnight train to Nong Kai, we both had top bunks and they were pretty comfortable for a train bed! The journey took us twelve hours and we finally arrived in Nong Kai a little bleary eyed. We had to catch a Tuk Tuk to the border crossing with Laos, where we then had to pay for a bus to take us from the Thai border control to the Friendship bridge and Laos border control.

$70.00 lighter we had our passports stamped and walked through into Laos only to hounded by people wanting to provide us with transport. We managed to agree our destination Laos centre and our price and climbed in the back of vehicle. It looks like a Tuk Tuk but holds i think there were 12 of us at one point.

It was pretty confusing crossing the border between Nong Kai and Laos, with no signage not even in Lao, so when we got on the Tuk Tuk into Vientaine we felt pretty glad just to be headng into town. However, our driver had other plans! He drove us beyond the main centre and then wanted more money to take us back! So we off loaded our bags and made the half hour walk back into town in the midday heat!

Finally we found a guesthouse that wasn't full called Mixay Paradise, we have a great room with a shared bathroom for the bargin price of $12.00 (USD). The guesthouse is right in the heart of the town and a short walk to the Mekong. We spent the afternoon exploring the city before having a power nap and heading back out for dinner and the night market.

We catch the 9.30am bus to Vang Viang in the morning which should take us about four hours and hopefully provide us with more of a glimpse of traditional Lao country life!