18.01-21.01.2018 Vientiane, Thakhek and the trip to Pakxé

Vientiane is the capital of Laos and has about 350,000 inhabitants. Since we only spent a day and a night in this city, we rented bicycles at the accommodation and explored the various sights of the city. In the evening, we mingled with the crowd at the night market and enjoyed a fresh papaya juice from the fruit stand. Hmmm... very delicious and highly recommended!

The stay was short and already on Friday, 19.01.2018 at noon, our next bus drove to Thakhek.

Thakhek is a small sleepy town that really doesn't have much to offer. Generally, people travel to Thakhek if they want to visit the Xe Bang Fai caves or Tham Kong Lor, or if they have booked the legendary 'Thakhek Loop' (motorcycle road trip). We chose Thakhek because it was recommended to us by a tour guide in Vang Vieng. Chris wanted to visit either the Xe Bang Fai or Tham Kong Lor caves. A 3-day tour with a tour guide costs between 300 and 500 US dollars. On the first day, you travel there, bathe, and relax. On the second day, you go to the cave, and on the third day, you go back. The price was absolutely incomprehensible to us, so we stayed in Villa Thakhek and enjoyed the sweet idleness. We thought about what our next destination could be and finally decided on Pakxé. We wanted to travel there by night bus, despite very bad reviews on the internet. Personally, I was a little anxious about this journey, but I wanted to be confident.

At half past one in the night, the boss of Villa Thakhek told us that he would take us to the bus station by tuk-tuk. We had packed all our belongings the night before and were ready to embark on the somewhat feared journey.

When we arrived at the bus, the nervousness and scruples quickly disappeared. Our bed was on the upper floor of the bus and it had enough space for two people. Blankets and pillows were ready and all we had to do was cuddle up and wait for the Sandman. All the other passengers were already fast asleep.

I have to say, the journey was far more comfortable than expected. Of course, we didn't sleep for six hours straight because we were on bumpy paths, but we felt well-rested when we arrived at the bus station in Pakxé at 7.30 am. It's exciting to get on a bus in one place, sleep, and wake up in a different city the next morning. That's how a rockstar must feel.

Now, let's see what we experience in Pakxé... of course, we'll keep you updated.