So here we are again updating you on our travels.... Since we left you last time we have travelled further up north to the capital of Laos-Vientiane or Vien Chang as the locals call it- something to do with the French not being able to pronounce it and giving it a new name (of course this was a long time ago!)

We took the night bus to Vientiane from Pakse which was called a sleeper bed bus (or something like this) and it meant that we had a double bed on the bus lying down flat with curtains all around us for the 11 hour bus ride! It was great. We left at 20:00 from Pakse and woke up at 06:00 in Vientiane. For us this was great- for the Australian who we met it wasnt quite the case as duting the night someone joined the bus and he suddenly had to share his bed with a stranger and without the possibility of communication! However all good things have to come to and end, as we arrived in Vientiane to torrential rains They did however subsequently subside and as we reached our hotel in the capital it was a tad drier. We handed in our laundry close to the hotel (as we had no clean clothes left) and headed out to explore the city- and buy some clothes! An air of calm came over us as we walked around the various sites, as in comparison with Pakse this town/city was peaceful! Immediately it hit us that there was a large ex-pat community here as there were bars, cafes, shops and newspapers in English and French everywhere. There were also many beautiful monuments and a carbon copy of the Arc de Triomphe as it is in Paris (although not as many cars!) in addition to then barracaded UN building.

After trying to find 3 recommended restaurants in the guide and not finding one of them, we found a nice small place and even better they did the most amazing fruit shakes with fruits that i had never heard of before! Later on in the evening as it was Cedric's birthday, we tried to find somewhere to have dinner. We found a wonderful place and relaxed for the evening in front of a glass of Chilean wine however lesson learnt we must realise that one plate of food is enough and we should stop being greedy in ordering multiple things- this was also because here they dont distinguish here between a starter and a main course- all the food seems to appear at the same time!

The day after we decided it was time for a little luxury and we had an amazing foot massage for 1 hour (the first time in Cedric's life!) which was amazing..... all for the bargain price of 4 euros. This may become a habit..... We also went out and visited the local markets where they sell traditional handicrafts and materials.

After 2 days we left Vientiane (it wasnt a place which was going to leave a huge impact in our journey) and headed further up north towards Luang Prabang. In order to break the 11 hour journey it would have been from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, we stopped off in Vang Vieng. It was stunning however being known for being a backpackers paradise (at least this is what the guide says!) we were cautious- as we borded the bus to head towards this town we soon realised that we were maybe too old for all this as we were faced with a bus full of 20 year olds in bikinis and swim shorts! However, of course, Mum and Dad were there to help should we have a crisis- arrghhh we're old As a result of this experience we checked in to an eco lodge 7km outside of the town. After having meet two very nice spanish guys (Basque) there (who had just come from LP and gave us some advice) we decided to stay just one night before heading up to Luang Prabang the following day.

Once again we learnt that nothing is easy when you are in a foreign land without the ability to speak the language (or read it in this case). After having asked for the VIP bus to LP (basically a coach with soft seats) we arrived to the end of the road from our eco lodge to find that we had been booked onto a minibus. However, despite the confusion over the VIP/Minibus, and our inability to communicate and resolve the problem, we met a great group of people on board- Christophe (French guy, who had decided he had had enough of working and left for an indefinite period of time to travel), Elisabeth (American girl, who had lived in Spain for 10 years and decided before moving back home to travel) and Anjel (Spanish guy, who had been travelling for 10 months and had 2 months left). All clouds have a silver lining!

It seems here that everyone helps each other and if they can make money for someone they know rather than giving it to the big companies, so they will. Who are we to complain- not that we could anyway, even if we wanted to Until the next time.....

Depuis la derniere fois que nous nous sommes connectes a l'internet nous avons presque traverse le Laos et sommes maintenant a Vientiane, la capital!

Nous avons pris un bus de nuit de Pakse a Vientiane, un bus avec des lits...qui etaient confortables, 11 heures de sommeil, balance par le roulis de la route. En arrivant a Vientiane, sous la pluie et dans 10cm d'eau, la dance des conducteur de touk touk a commencer "Where are you going? Centre?!"...meme sous la pluie, ils n'arretent jamais! Dans le touk touk qui nous avons pris au centre de Vientiane, nous rencontrions un Australien qui a demande un lit double avant de prendre le bus de nuit et a donc eu la surprise de partager son lit avec un autre homme....et les lit sont petits!

Vientiane ne laissera pas une trace indelebile dans ma liste des villes a revoir.
Ville de taille moyenne (Compare aux villes Francaises), pauvre au niveau culturel...beaucoup de temple, quelques petits musees et c'est tout. Rester 2 nuits m'a suffis meme si je regreterais la petite boutique a jus de fruits...et les massages (c'est pas bon, je commence a m'y habituer!!!)

Nous avons rencontres quelques expatries (americain et anglais) qui ont essaye de me venter les beautees de leur ville et meme si je suis sur que je peux apprendre a aimer Vientiane...j'ai pas le temps!

Voulant aller a Luang Prabang, qui n'est qu'a 300km mais a 11 heure par route...nous avons decides de nous arreter a Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng est au Laos ce qu'Ibiza est a l'Espagne...mais sans la mer! Donc, nous avons pris l'option hors "ville" dans un petit bingalot avec une vue impressionante sur riviere et montagne. Nous avons rencontres deux basques tres sympas, dieu est leur ames!...la derniere fois que nous les avons vue ils partaient faire une descente en canoe sur la riviere qui passait devant le bingalot en pleine saison des pluies...et ca bougeait!

Au petit matin, apres avoir reserve un VIP bus (au Laos ca veut dire qu'ils ont une roue de secoure) de Vang Vieng a Luang Prabang, on a vue arriver un genre d'estafette...sur le coup, panic! mais quand j'ai vue la place que j'avais a l'interieur...j'aurais put rester pendant 7 heures avec les jambes alonges!

A l'interieur, nous avons fait connaissance avec Christophe ( Francais qui en a marre de bosser et voyage plein temps), Elisabeth (Americaine qui vient juste de passer 10 ans en Espagne et voyage avant de rentrer aux etats unis, Angel (Espagnole qui vient de passer l'annee a voyager) et deux autres personnes qui etaient en vacances 2 semaines.

Plus de credits alors a la prochaine...