Laos - Vientiane & Vang Vieng 🇱🇦

Our journey together began with a big surprise for mom and dad. They were of the opinion that they would only meet me in Laos and so they sat waiting/sleeping at the airport in Bangkok. But I had other plans and surprised her in Bangkok. I would say that the surprise was definitely a success for all of us! A few hours later we all landed together in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. We then went straight to the hotel. I haven't had this much luxury for months - hotel reception with a drink, hotel with pool and pure luxury. But for me it was a really nice adjustment after 3 months of backpacking. After I jumped into the pool, of course, I went into town in the evening to get something to eat. Unfortunately we couldn't convince Dad to have the night market, so it ended up being a restaurant. Afterwards we all just fell into bed dead tired. The next day started with a really good breakfast. The fresh fruits are simply the best in Asia - I was looking forward to them the whole trip! The morning was spent at the pool before we went back into town in the afternoon and took a look at the city center. I finally have a camera again and spent the time in the city trying it out. Mom and I had our first mango shake - a dream! We then watched the sunset over Vientiane from a rooftop bar. At this point it was clear that we were in Asia. The colors of the sunsets here are just so beautiful. Like every day, the next one started again at the pool. In the afternoon we visited the Victory Monument in Vientiane and the city's night markets. Dad will definitely no longer be a fan of the night markets! We then continued by train to Vang Vieng. Oh yes, taking the train in Laos is also an adventure in itself. The train is very modern but you are not allowed to take knives with you. And as my father's daughter, I of course take a knife with me when I travel around the world. Because the backpacks were examined very carefully, they found this too. After a somewhat longer discussion with 3 police officers, none of whom spoke English, I was allowed to keep it and was also able to take the train. When we arrived in Vang Vieng, I showed my mom and dad what it meant to live in a hostel, so we checked into a hostel for the next few nights. But then it was just me sleeping in a village. But we were all fascinated by the view and the surroundings, because we have never really seen real mountains in Asia. Vang Vieng itself is just a small town, which we visited in the afternoon. The city used to be known for its alcohol and drug excesses among tourists, but that was abolished years ago, but one or two bars definitely still remain. The sunset was spent at the pool right on the river. I just can never get enough of these sunsets. The next day started pretty early as we hiked to a viewpoint in the mountains of Laos. The view from Nam Xay Viewpoint was quite breathtaking over the plains of the city surrounded by mountains. Seeing the sunrise behind the houses of Vang Vieng during the hike was also awesome. Gradually the hot air balloons were up in the air as the sun came out. The atmosphere in the air was pretty magical. When we got back to the city, we quickly decided to rent a buggy car for the rest of the day so we could explore the surrounding area a bit. We then drove through local villages in an unsuccessful search for a waterfall. Went to the Blue Lagoon, which unfortunately wasn't really blue. We ventured into a cave and just got dusty due to not really good road conditions. But we had a lot of fun with it! The last evening in Vang Vieng was once again spent playing cards (Toepe). In the morning we took the bus further north. 🛺