Our next stop in Laos was a small town of Vang Vieng. It is a cozy little town situated between mountain ridges, famous for river tubing and crazy western parties. We weren't into either of those but we heard that the scenery was not to miss. We were greeted by a gorgeous sunrise after camping in the middle of a bungalow camp.
The first time we got to use our tent after carrying it around for a month. Not because we didn't want to, but because the places we visited before were densely populated with no space for camping.
There was a statue of the reclining Buddha illuminated by the sunlight creeping through a wall crevice. We were amazed by the size of the cave, as t was the largest one we've been in. High ceilings with massive hanging stalactites puts you in awe of this nature made Gargantuan structure.
We knew to bring a head torch with us, since after the first 30m into the cave, it becomes pitch black. We felt a bit claustrophobic as we moved into complete darkness and silence deep into the cave. Although in full darkness, the stalactites gave out a brilliant sparkle when illuminated by our torches, as the little crystals embedded in them over thousands of years reflected light.
Looking over the landscape on the way back the dusty road.
Walking through the town, we saw an interesting barbershop setup.
The other attraction of Vang Vieng among many other outdoor activities you can do is hot air ballooning. Although not cheap it's a once in a lifetime experience that we decided to partake in. The air balloons take off 2 times a day, at sunrise and sunset, we opted for the sunrise experience next morning.
In the evening the town transforms into a completely different place with top 40 music blasting from cheaply decorated flashy bars and drunk westerners roaming its streets. However if you walk a bit further out from that craziness onto the river you might just see chinese lanterns being launched high up into the night sky.
One of the most popular setups in restaurants is large tv screens with benches playing seasons of Friends, where people can order everything from asian to american to italian cuisine and enjoy a somewhat tranquil evening. This is where we found our piece of Vang Vieng.
Next morning we got up before 6am for our best experience in Vang Vieng - hot air ballooning. You get taken into a large field where you witness the entire process of blowing up a hot air balloon with air and taking off.
You have limited flight control in a hot air balloon. The blasts of flame heat up the air and allow you to change altitude while catching air currents at different heights enables the balloon to drift horizontally. Needless to say that you'd rather have lots of open field space around you for landing and taking off as it requires some skill.
Floating above the river that hugs the town of Vang Vieng.
Unfortunately we didn't see the sunrise as it was a bit foggy, but the mountains surrounding the city were themselves worth a sight.
Flying right above our bungalow campsite. Look out for a light gray dot in the middle of the field, that's our little home for the night.
Our little tent as seen from a bird's eye view Half an hour later the balloon landed in a field about 5 km from where it took off and we had to be picked up from there and driven back to the city by the crew.
While strolling through town we stumbled upon a cage with 3 monkeys. They were not too friendly, as one of them tried to grab Slava's glasses as he got too close to the cage.
On our last morning in town we went for a hike to the top of a nearby peak.
After a short but steep climb we reached the top of hill Pha Poak.
It felt rewarding to be on top of this rock and see the panorama of the entire town. Now, onto the capital...
Vientiane
We arrived in the capitol in the evening and went out to check out the local night market. You can find nearly anything there, even a local artisan blowing glass right in front of you.
The night boulevard by the Mekong river open only to pedestrians in the evening. We saw these motorized unicycle versions of the segway that you can just pick up and carry in your hand, an idea that we thought was pretty cool. They did seem to require a bit of skill to ride but the results looked like worth it.
A strange looking tree with fruits resembling figs.
This flower is real, we promise.
In Vientiane we visited the Royal Art and Antique museum. It was originally built as the personal temple of the king. The museum houses lots of antique Buddha statues in various poses, which we learned have all different meanings.
Elongated fingers as well as a lotus flower imprinted on Buddha's foot are thought to be 2 of the "32 characteristics of an great man" in Buddhism. The physical appearance of Gautama Buddha is thought to posses all these 32 major characteristics.
The exterior of the museum.
The Lao take of the Arc de Triumph of Paris is the perfect example of the French influence during the colonial era.
Local delicatessen, fried grasshoppers.
Of course it was time to try some... they taste like salted fried fish, really not so bad once you get used to the crunchiness :)
The 7 headed Naga guarding Buddha's meditation.
Believe it or not there's not that much to see in Laos' capitol. However, one thing that left a long lasting memory on us was a visit to the COPE center. This is a nonprofit rehabilitation center for people injured by leftover American cluster bombs all over rural Laos. The small exhibit next to it is as educational as it is moving. We weren't even aware that Laos suffered the most amount of bombings per capita during the Vietnam war. We feel that this should be a worthwhile visit while in the capital since it gives a fair bit of history of the country and its people.
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