Continuing to Laos

After having to stay in Hanoi due to Anton's typhoid, I finally started in Laos on 10.03 with the night bus. The bus arrived in Vientiane at 4 p.m. after crossing the border at 6 a.m. in the morning. During the journey, I met two guys from Switzerland, with whom I spent the evening. Olga arrived by bus at 6 a.m. the next day and cuddled up with me in my bed for a few more hours.

Since Vientiane is really not worth seeing at all, we took the next bus to Vang Vieng around noon again. A really cute place surrounded by green mountains, rice fields, and rivers. On the first evening, we had dinner with the Swiss and some other people from the hostel, but we quickly left and went back to the hostel to sleep. The second day in Vang Vieng started with a hearty breakfast on the rooftop terrace of the hostel. Then we met up with the others again for tubing. This means that everyone gets a water tube and drifts from bar to bar with the river current. In the bars, volleyball, soccer, and of course various drinking games are offered. After tubbing, everyone gets ready in their hostels and continues to the nearby bars and clubs until late at night.

The 14.03 was again a packed day. Between breakfast and lunch, we rented scooters and drove with the others to the Blue Lagoon. After extensive bathing and sunbathing, we climbed to a viewpoint in time for sunset and watched the slowly setting sun from the platform. Even after that, we didn't go back yet. Next on the agenda: the Tiger Cave. Despite the sign 'closed', we took a look into the really very dark, almost creepy rooms of the stalactite cave. After about half an hour, we left the cave and made our way back home. One more cozy dinner by the river, our stay in Vang Vieng also came to an end.

Next and last stop in northern Laos: Luang Prabang.

After another 5 hours on the bus, we arrived at the Central Backpacker Hostel the next afternoon. With the three very loud but funny Englishmen from our room, we went to the night market after a short break. The market is endless and offers everything you could wish for in food and clothes. Olga and I strolled around for about 3 hours and were delighted with every stand...

We couldn't be motivated anymore for tonight either, so we ended the day with a romantic-kitsch movie. On our last day, we took a tuk-tuk with the guys and two other backpackers to the famous Kuangsi Waterfalls. An absolute must-do for every tourist. If you start at the bottom, you will reach the big waterfall after about 10 minutes of walking, but there are still many cascades and beautiful natural pools for taking photos or swimming. Although the water was really cold, we went swimming in the swimming areas until the afternoon and then made our way back to the hostel, increasingly exhausted. Back at the hostel, Olga and I actually went on because we didn't want to miss the yoga class at the Mekong Delta. Completely relaxed and full from the food market, we had to take the night bus back to the capital on the same day.

Unfortunately, the last few days and the next few days are heavily influenced by the exhausting bus rides, which is why we arrived at the hostel completely exhausted from the night drive at 5:30 a.m. in the morning today. After another hour on the hostel couch, however, we managed to get up and join the Tai Chi group at the Mekong at 7:30 a.m. to learn a little Chinese martial arts.

Currently, Olga is on the bus to Bangkok and I am on the next night bus to the Mekong Islands. So I will get in touch in the next few days from the south of Laos.

Until then: see you soon ທັນທີທັນໃດ!