Vang Vieng

Before we continue to the capital city, we made a short stop of two nights in the former party metropolis of Vang Vieng. In the past, the city was known for excessive parties, alcohol and drug consumption. In 2012, all bars were closed by the government to emphasize cultural values again. However, a touch of the past is still clearly noticeable.

But first, a few insights into our great bus ride. I let myself be persuaded to take the bus to the next city. Since the journey was scheduled for only 5 hours and we had booked the VIP bus this time, I was sure that everything would be better this time... First, we had problems with our ticket because we apparently booked the bus for locals and not the tour bus. After lengthy discussions, we finally paid an additional €7 and finally got our ticket for the VIP bus. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the wrong choice as we later found out. First, we didn't have a seat on the bus and were insulted by Polish mothers, and then the bus slowly drove over the pothole-filled road. I actually wished for the Chinese kamikaze driver from our last tour to come back... otherwise we would never arrive. Luckily, there was an accident on the route and we had to wait for about an hour until everything was running again. It must be said that the 'highway' here is like a better dirt road!!

After a total of 8 hours of travel, we finally arrived and I treated myself to a Mojito at the hostel for only €1.50. It was by far the most delicious cocktail I have ever had!!!=)

On our only day here, we rented a scooter and drove a little outside the city to different bathing spots called 'Blue Lagoon'. The road was an absolute disaster, full of potholes and puddles. But that's what made the ride through the beautiful landscape somehow charming, and we enjoyed it.

When we arrived at the first Blue Lagoon, we found out that it's not "blue" at all, but rather "dark brown" and completely crowded with Asian tourists. Above the lagoon, there was a cave in the mountain that we visited. In Laos, there seems to be a lot of caves that can be visited, as we later found out. Nevertheless, it was worth a visit.

Since we didn't feel like swimming with the Asians at the first place, we drove directly to Blue Lagoon 3. There was no one there except the local restaurant owners and about 5 other Asians. The lagoon was not "blue" this time either, but at least a little "green" and much more beautiful, as you can see in the pictures.

We realized once again today how small the world is. In the middle of nowhere, where it is difficult to get to, we finally met a German couple, he is from the Westerwald and she is from Halsenbach. We were happy about the funny coincidence and splashed around in the water together, and of course, Jonas tried out the entire range of activities with a cable car, swing ropes, and balance beams. We chilled for a long time in the cold water in our rubber tires and made plans to meet the two of them in the evening.

We had a nice dinner and later went to their hostel where whiskey was free... yeah, you could still feel the past a bit and there were drunk but extremely funny backpackers everywhere. To finish off, we went to a dirty, filthy bar where everyone else was going, but there was free whiskey and even free beer. My incredibly delicious Nutella pancake was probably the most expensive thing that evening=)

Even though the city doesn't have the charm of Luang Prabang by far, we had a lot of fun here and were glad that we decided to make this little stop=)