Vang Vieng and a remarkable onward journey

Here I am now, sitting in the waiting hall of the China-Laos Railway, doing what one does in a waiting area: waiting. The good part is that, compared to German train stations, it really is a waiting hall where waiting is bearable. There are seats, more than enough. Roughly, there must be around 1,000. Currently, a maximum of 100 are occupied, even during the actual 'rush hour,' around 4:00 PM. But I dare say that there won't really be a rush hour here. Nor will all the seats ever be filled. It’s a hall that loudly screams that Laos is not the builder. On the contrary – everything looks as if we have traveled the last 4 km from the center of Vang Vieng into another world. The construction was initiated by the great neighbor China, which has also covered 70% of Laos' costs (for which the country now guarantees with its natural resources and pays annual interest at a rate of 20% of the total Laotian state expenditures).

The hall is massive, with a ceiling easily 25 m high. It is open and glazed everywhere. There are no corners where one could sit a bit less noticeably. Otherwise, one might possibly avoid being observed. And there are plenty of observers here, dressed in pressed and starched purple shirts or military-looking khaki shirts. When I look out of the main entrance, I see a huge, vacant square. No people or any sign of activity. Immediately upon entering, the passport and ticket are required (luckily I took a screenshot because there is, of course, no WiFi here). Then the baggage is scanned. I had read in several blogs that sprays are particularly problematic, which is why I was worried about my insect repellent. Yet my backpack passed through (I buried it deep), as did I through the body scanner, and I also passed the subsequent pat-down. But almost all (European) travelers after me have to unpack – and also dispose of items. They have a total of 10 security staff stationed for this. Not that there is a big crowd here. Welcome to China. Uh, Laos. If I travel within the country again, I may take the bus.

PS: I don't want to imply anything about anyone. But I believe that just now, at the start of a Chinese travel group, 2 bottles of hard liquor changed hands. I hadn't read anything about a ban on alcohol. But oddly enough, the entire group cleared the check in a short time. But as I said, I don't imply anything.

PS II: In the meantime, 2 young European women were taken away by security for 'questioning'?!

PS III: Now the rest of the group, including all their luggage, also has to go for a talk in the separate office wing...

But back to Vang Vieng. The place or the region has made a name for itself, among other things, for being able to fly in a hot air balloon relatively affordably. I never thought about doing that before. But before I push through the blue lagoons with hundreds to thousands of Chinese, I book a ticket for the ride. Technically, the ticket came to me since everything was fully booked. However, when I jokingly looked again, there suddenly was a last place for the sunrise flight. 🤩

So I booked it and stood ready for pickup the next day at 5:10 AM. As always, I climbed into a van in the dark, with a driver who can't speak English, hoping that everything would fit. 🙈 Upon arriving at the hot air balloon meeting point, there was coffee and the balloon division, which consisted of 5 Belgians, one Laotian, one Finnish half-Japanese, and me. And before the question arises, why fly in a balloon at all, let alone in Laos? Everything made an exceptionally professional impression and the organization operates according to European standards. 👍🏻

After the coffee, everything happened quite quickly: the balloons were inflated, the basket was set up, we jumped in snugly, did a quick dry exercise in case of a bumpy landing, and then we were already going up. I had no time to think about whether I'd be afraid of heights or not. But it wasn't necessary either since you really don't feel or realize the height at all. Yes, everyone tells you that. But you only truly believe it when you experience it yourself. The next 50 minutes were simply magical! Views, balloons around us going up and down, the sun ☀ slowly rising, the (almost still) full moon fading on the other side, the tranquility, the weightless silence, the heat when Arliu (our pilot) ignited the flame. Indescribable and unforgettable! We then slowly glided back down and all together made an excellent landing. After that, there was champagne 🍾 for everyone, a hot air balloon pilot license, croissants, and fruit – and a permanent grin on top! 

For today, I spontaneously booked a kayak trip on the Nam Song River, as well as a visit to 2 of the many caves. We were a colorful group from the UK, US, Thailand, and Germany (due to her perfect native English, I initially placed Yvonne in the UK. Then it turned out she comes from Balingen...) We had perfect paddling weather, and our guides didn't miss any opportunity to splash water on us. We went through rapids and had a lot of fun. The first cave was nice, but nothing more. However, the second cave was a flooded one that we had to hike through lying backwards on a large inner tube. There were ropes on the left and right to help us pull ourselves along. Those who couldn't reach the rope simply took the hand or toe of another. 😉

And then I was back in the waiting hall. I have now arrived in Luang Prabang. The boarding and everything surrounding the train journey happened as methodically Chinese as it had started before: constant instructions, announcements, regulations, to ensure no one steps out of line. When we arrived at the train station, there were again small minivans waiting, into which we were distributed for 40,000 Kip (about €1.70) (the stations are all outside of the cities). It took me a bit longer for some reason. I should have gone from Van A to Van B, to Van C, back to Van A, oh, maybe better to Van D... Until I got somewhat impatient and a Laotian who spoke English helped me out and finally got me into one of the vans. This ride then took me back into the 'normal' Laotian world, with road conditions that are not really roads at all. The highway from a few days ago was sadly the exception... We were overloaded, with of course lots of Chinese, but I arrived safely at my accommodation.

And now I’ve had enough, I’m going to sleep – good night!