Vang Vieng

Monday 8th October

We got up early ready to get on the VIP bus, we got a free transfer to the bus station and the tuk tuk was actually on time. That is definitely a first in Asia. We got to the station and the ushered us onto a double decker VIP bus that was about to leave. I don't think it was the actual one we were supposed to be on, but as usual there were people grabbing our bags and pushing us on saying it was about o leave. We ended up being sat at the back with all the locals and not together. It was alright, except I was sat next to the fattest Laos Man who decided to take up all of the seat so I was sat half on and half off.

The bus journey had some impressive scenery, it takes 6 hours because you have to go right up into the mountains, the roads are tiny as well. It's pretty scary at times, I was glad I didn't have a window seat. We ended up getting free water, a cake and lunch so that was a nice surprise and made up for the fact that the air con kept breaking and we kept having to stop. When we stopped for lunch they even had to hose down the engine. I don't think that's a good sign. We arrived at Vang Vieng about 5.30, so the bus journey took about 8 hours. First thoughts were, it is quiet but beautiful as it's surrounded by mountains. It was also boiling, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

A little Laos guy was telling us about his guesthouse so we thought we would give it a go, it was the otherside of town (but it's not very big place). It's a bit of a bargain, it's got aircon, clean bedding and a nice shower. Only 80,000kip a night which is about £7 a night for the two of us. It's just nice to have somewhere clean. We went for a walk to get an idea of what it was like, it's beautiful. So chilled out and really quiet which I think is mainly due to the fact that the tubing has been shut down. Well the tubing is still allowed but all the bars are closed, so it's basically just floating down the river on a rubber ring.

We got chatting to the couple in the bungalow next to us and they were from Narre Warren in Melbourne. Which is just round the corner from Berwick, where Arlene lives. Such a small world.

We went out for food, the restaurants and bars all have comfy cushions to sit on and either family guy or friends on repeat. It's ace. I had the best red coconut curry it was so good and Matt had a spicy fried chicken. We love this place.

We then headed down to the bars overlooking the river and thought we would try a bucket as it's cheaper than the beers. It was pretty good, we got chatting to some guys who had been in Laos for a few months and were teaching over here. They knew all the locals and the bars to go to, so we followed them. We checked out a bar called 'Fat Monkeys' where we met some Irish people and Guy who was on the slow boat. Matt played beer pong with Len one of the Irish guys. They won the first game and then had to cancel the second as all of the bars shut at 12pm because of the curfew. So we called it a night.

Tuesday 9th October

The next day Matt was rather hung over, I don't think the beer agrees with him over here. So we decided to chill out. We had a lie in until 12pm and then went out to get some lunch. We both got noodles and watched Family Guy. In the afternoon we had a bit of a read, it was nice to not actually be doing anything. We went back out for dinner and I had to have the curry again as it was so good. We had an early night.

Wednesday 10th October

We got up early to make the most of our last day here we got a lovely breakfast on the side of the road. I had a nutella and banana pancake for less than £1 and Matt got a bacon & cheese Baguette. Yum. We then got a Tuk Tuk to the Blue lagoon and cave. The blue lagoon is basically part of the river that is turquoise and you can jump in and swim. It was definitely needed after we walked up the cave. It was a vertical climb, so hot and so sweaty. The cave was interesting until I saw the biggest spider. It was bigger than my hand. I freaked out a little bit. So we carried on to the reclining Buddha and then headed back out. By the time we got out we were dripping with sweat, so climbed back down and jumped in the lagoon. It was refreshing and definitely worth a visit. This afternoon we are going to check the internet as we can't get Wifi in our room and then head out for dinner to watch the sunset over the river.

Tomorrow we are getting the bus to Vientiane we only plan to stay there one night and then will be booking the sleeper bus down to the 4,000 islands at the bottom of Laos, where they have the rare Irrawaddy dolphins. We will probably chill out for a few days before crossing over into Cambodia.

Hope everyone is ok back home. Miss you all.

Lots of love Berg & Barr x x x