Sunday, February 12, 2012

Vientiane and Tha Khek
Vientiane is the capital of Laos and EVERYONE I spoke to told me there was NOTHING to do there and hated it. With such raving reviews, I debated whether or not I should even bother going there. I was still undecided when I ran into the Dutch twins on my last night at the Bucket Bar and they said they were headed there the following day. I decided to head off with them and am glad I did because I had a much different take on the city and really enjoyed it. I woke early in the morning that day and booked my bus ticket at the hotel desk. After a quick breakfast and some internet time, I boarded my tuk tuk to the bus station. Once there, I boarded the bus, saved two seats for the boys and then we set off for Vientiane. Except for the overwhelming heat, it was a quick, painless trip of 4.5 hours. We arrived around 2:30 to Vientiane and made our way to the hotel where we met up with Jeroen, Hilda, and Jorien who had arrived the night before and secured a "family ensuite" room for us. The room only had 5 beds so I dug back to my Korean/Japan travel roots and slept on the floor. I think I actually slept the best out of everyone that night! Upon arriving in the room, we sat around and tried to cool off for about an hour before heading out to grab some food. We were sitting at an outdoor café eating when another Dutch guy we knew walked by. I told you, it happens A LOT here! After eating, we tried to catch the sunset on the river but it was too cloudy. It was a really nice night and all the locals were out exercising…EVERYWHERE! There were people running, biking, kids on jungle gyms, and TWO separate outdoor aerobics classes going on. I LOVED the outdoor vibe there! They also have outdoor exercise machines like in Korea and the next morning, I went for a run and used them. It was nice to be in a place where people didn't look at me funny for working out and I didn't feel strange wearing a tank top since they also dressed with a little more exposed than anywhere else I've been in Laos. Honestly, I would have stayed an extra night in Vientiane and relaxed by the river, but the gang wanted to head out the next day. I loved the cafes and vibe of the city and I honestly think everyone thinks it sucks because they head there after Vang Vieng where there is SO much to do and they are too partied out to appreciate it. Since our bus didn't leave until 12 noon, I was still able to work out and then see some of the city before we left. Turned out too that our tuk tuk ride to the station included a free tour of some city sites. We don't know what any of the buildings were but they were big and elaborate and we're pretty sure they were something important. Tha Khaek The ride to Tha Khaek was with Ronnie, Eddie, and Jeroen. It was the nicest bus I had been in (double-decker and air actually worked at a decent temperature…and it had a bathroom!). It was also the best ride I've had because I nabbed the BEST seats on the bus while Jeroen threw the bags underneath. We had the first two seats on the top so we had an unobstructed view out front and plenty of leg room. Enough to stretch our legs all the way. I realize that's not saying much for me, but he's about 6' 6" so that should put it into perspective for you. My headphones broke that morning on my run so I wasn't looking forward to a long ride with no music. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise though as I was able to finish a book (that should lighten my load on my bag now. I started with no books and am now up to 7…yes, SEVEN. Need to purge the weight a bit.) Jeroen was also nice enough to lend me his ipod a bit and we even tried to watch a movie on my laptop but couldn't hear it well over the Laos music the drivers blasted. The ride was long (6.5) but passed quickly. I was hungry all day and it seemed I couldn't get full, no matter how much I ate. Our buss overheated at one point and it was lucky for me since I could get off and buy more food. When we arrived in Tha Khaek, we grabbed a tuk tuk and asked him to take us to any hotel in the center. Luckily, the one he brought us to was in our price range and met our standards so we set up shop. On the way, we saw a little dog get hit by a motorcycle. I did not enjoy that. We went right away for dinner along the water front and ran into the couple from the cave and my friend Natalie! Small world, again! We swapped travel tips and itineraries and had dinner at the river. We called it an early night. On the way back, we saw a "gym," a room with some free weights in it and asked the price and times for the next day. I was in bed by 8:45 pm with a movie on and I was out about 30 minutes into it! This brings me to…TODAY! Could it be that I'm ACTUALLY caught up?!?! YES! I woke up today around 6am but got up around 7am. I went out for breakfast but nothing was open so I found a storefront with yogurt. I came back and typed my blog for about an hour until everyone else woke up. We went out for breakfast and found wifi. Then the twins and I tried to go to the gym but it was closed : ( We decided to go for a run instead and found a soccer field with a dirt track around it. We did a mini bootcamp but it was so hot and we were all so out of shape it wasn't too impressive. I came back and wrote some more before heading off for lunch. Went back to the same place for wifi and while there, received an instant message from our other Dutch friend, Elmer saying that he had just arrived in Tha Khaek and asking where I was. I was here too so we told him where to find us and all met up again! We spent the rest of the afternoon running errands (I had the fabric I got in Luang Prabang made into a skirt for $.60) hanging at the café, eating dessert at a waterfront stand, and chilling in the hotel lounge (with free water to refill our bottles—a first and much appreciated!) I'm waiting for Joe and Steven to arrive any minute now. I'm looking forward to seeing them, but also getting half my clothes back since they were still wet when I left and they agreed to bring them for me. THANKS! : ) We have big plans to hit the karaoke bar next to the hotel tonight and then set off for a 3 day motor bike tour around the area. It's a famous route known just as "The Loop." I'll write when we're back from there!