Vang Vieng to Laung Prabang; an eight hour road journey

 We left Vang Vieng for Laung Prabang shortly after eight in the morning. Mr Phone had told us that it was a long drive but much prettier than the day before {well, I think that's what he said} It turned out that it was a pretty drive despite the down-pours we went through from time to time. We stopped a few times along the way, once which was for lunch, another to buy bananas and a few other times to admire the views/and or just to take some photos.

A rather greyer morning when we set off….

Not to far from Vang Vieng we stopped to take a couple of photos of paddy field workers….

they were a cheerful bunch :)

surely a back-breaking job!

Glimpses of Village life….

I like to think that this little girl is blowing kisses at us in the car….

Children alongside the road…

The stall we  stopped to buy bananas from…..

except there weren't any bananas to be seen….not one!

there had been a lot of loud chatter as we stood around not really knowing if we should leave {I'm guessing that theses villagers rely on tourist/travellers to stop and buy their produce} and then this gorgeous girl with a beaming smile came running towards us with ripe bananas! we bought the largest bunch from her family stall {guessing they owed the owners of the bananas some cash!}

this was the best of my photos of the children….I forgot about their feet! silly me!

When we stopped before lunch to take in some of the spectacular views, I noticed the lack of bird song - in fact, you don't hear birds; period! In our guide book I read that one cannot see let alone hear birds in Laos especially in populated areas such as villages/towns etc. Apparently the Lao people have a long tradition of hunting and they have a taste for almost all wildlife. If you want to see/heard birds, you need to get deep into the jungle/hills/mountains of Laos. What you do see a lot of are butterflies and some are huge and almost all are gorgeous in colour….I didn't even attempt to take photos of butterflies from the car!

Views from our brief stop a few hours before lunch….

 

We stopped for maybe 45 minutes or so for lunch at what seemed to be a popular spot! Most of the tables were full; a couple of large tour companies had stopped too. We sat down and selected our lunch from the  menus for 'westerners' only…there was another menu that we weren't handed but a large table of Asian tourists were…this menu had dishes that comprised of animal parts! I'm grateful we got to eat before the Asian tourists got their lunch! The 'shop' next door to the restaurant we ate in had large jars of which contained animal claws, paws and body parts in some sort of a preserving liquid! The large jars had little taps on them and I'm guessing that if this liquid was 'your cup of tea' then you could buy a glass of whatever the preserving liquid was that was 'flavoured' with animal parts! I'm sorry - no photos as I just couldn't bring myself to take a photo of a claw or a paw of an animal that should have been wild and free in the mountainous jungles of Laos! Our lunch was yum by the way.

One last stop before reaching Laung Prabang…..

Then the rain came…..

And finally after 8 hours on the road, we reached at our destination for the next four nights….the Maison Dalabua which is a lovely little boutique hotel in Laung Prabang! We LOVED it here!! Charlotte had her own over water Bungalow as did we. The hotel was really comfortable and the food was so delicious; I'd go back to Laung Prabang and stay in the same hotel and eat the same yummy food….I also loved Laung Prabang as a whole…more on our stay in Laung Prabang next time.

the reception on the far right and the dining room which was 'open-air' - you can see it to the left in the photo

Charlotte on her balcony/porch 

at night candles are lit along the wooden low bridge/walkway over the lotus {flower}ponds

Five airports and 4 flights & a road trip : Leh in Ladakh {India} to Vang Vieng in Laos in 36hrs

We flew out of Leh on the morning of the 12th of August for Vientiane in Laos via Delhi, Mumbai {where we dashed home - well, not really as the traffic was horrendous - so we could re-pack our bags and shower} then onto Bangkok where we had a 'long', four hour layover before flying onto Vientiane finally landing at noon on the 13th; we were very tired people! It was my birthday and I was looking forward to our road trip from Vientiane to Vang Vieng as soon as we stepped outside the terminal. Vientiane wasn't our final destination, Vang Vieng was and it was a 4-5 hour drive away!

Our driver Mr Phone was a man of few words. He drove slowly and carefully not that you could drive fast on the roads….there seemed to be one village after the next and there are children playing alongside the road also there were animals to watch out for too! The speed limit on the roads in Laos is 40kph in towns & villages and 90kph on open roads {that's doesn't stop the odd crazy driver in their big 4X4's from driving as fast as they possibly can}. The roads are not in perfect condition so reaching 90kph very really happens. Should you find yourself needing a driver from Vientiane to Laung Prabang {this was where we were heading the following morning} I highly recommend him!

One of the very first things that struck me when we hit the road was the 'silence'! No hooting/beeping of hooters/car horns! The people driving on the roads seemed pretty chilled and laid back and that was the experience we had for the duration of our road trip.

The drive was interesting. The housing quite different to what I'd seen before - the closest I guess I'd seen to the housing in Laos was probably in Thailand a number of years back. The Lao people we drove past in rural villages are not wealthy, they live off the land and what livestock they may rear. We passed lots of little stalls along the way; locals selling their fruit and vegetables. {a few photos will follow in the next blog}

A little bit about Laos…..Laos is a landlocked country and it is one of the world's few remaining communist states and one of East Asia's poorest. A French colony until the 1953, the power struggle which ensued between royalists and the communist group Pathet Lao also saw the country caught up in the Vietnam War. Communist forces overthrew the monarchy in 1975, heralding years of isolation. After the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Laos began opening up to the world. But despite economic reforms, the country remains poor and heavily dependent on foreign aid. Most Laotians live in rural areas, with around 80% working in agriculture mostly growing rice. The state has made no secret of its huge hydropower ambitions and its desire to become the "battery" of Southeast Asia. The government anticipates that by 2025 hydropower will become the country's biggest source of revenue. But neighbours Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia have raised concerns about the environmental impact of its dam building projects along the Mekong River.

We arrived at our hotel in Vang Vieng in the late afternoon sun where we were to spend the night before hitting the road the following morning. We wondered down the road to a recommended restaurant which over looked the Nam Song River. The food was delicious! We ate our full and then some.  After dinner we wondered back to the hotel with full bellies and eyes that could hardly stay open; it had been a very long day!

Up in the air somewhere between Leh and Delhi

Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand is full of gorgeous orchids. Trying to take a photo with my iPhone {too lazy and tired to haul my camera out of my hand luggage} just doesn't do the flowers justice!

A few minutes before landing at Wattay International Airport {Vientiane, Laos}

'dropping' through the clouds

the mighty Mekong River on the right {I'm guessing we're currently over Thailand as we come into land - guessing!}

the Mekong River; Thailand on one side and Laos on the other

again, Thailand one side and Laos on the other

the Mekong River

plenty of water around as August is still the wet season {May - late September}

a suburb the outskirts of Vientiane

paddy fields {where rice is grown}

suburbia

Mr Phone, a man of few words {probably 'cause his english was limited}

Seen from the car

a gravesite 

another gravesite

and another gravesite

ice creams anyone?

off to the market is my guess with her ducks

and the other use for my 2 wheeler and side-cart is for transporting another 2 wheeler with a side-chair {whilst checking out my mobile phone!}

these are for sale

we saw these a lot! known as a  Songthaew; they home made using a small tractor engine with manual handles to steer the vehicle; originally from Thailand and now also found in Laos.

I'm sure he's off to the market to sell his stock of balloons 

 another songthaew from the back

another photo out of focus…{there seem to be many when I snap pics from a moving vehicle} anyhow, I rather love this lady's smiley face and I think her skirt is fabulous!

children playing from their front porch/balcony

so many cute children on the side of the road playing….

loaded to the hilt!

this was quite a 'large' house

that's dried fish for sale {hanging up} I have no idea what's been sold on the tables….

so many people cycled and rode motorcycles holding umbrellas! it hadn't been raining {yet} so must be to keep the harsh sun off their heads

it's hot but yet 'I' feel the need to wear my cardigan/jumper/jersey/pullover and trousers today! and socks with my flip-flops :)

welcome to Vang Vieng 

a few photos from Vang Vieng

a view from our hotel room {and the following 3 photos}

a main street in Vang Vieng

a sign of how to dress in Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng draws a large number of back packers and I guess quite a number of them need reminding on how to dress…..

Charlotte is ready to tuck into the freshly caught fish for dinner

it had rained whilst we were out for dinner; I'm rather pleased this lady thought it was still raining….take away the umbrella and I don't think you have a photo!