Laos!

So I realize that it has been a while since I last posted and I'm waiting for the sun to come out before I go to the river again in Vang Vieng so I figure now would be a good time to tell you what's been going on over here.

Slow Boat
Last week I traveled from Chiang Rai in northern Thailand to Chiang Kong where I took the slow boat to Luang Prabang. I had heard that the slow boat was a great time and that it is a must do when traveling in Laos, and everyone was right. The boat was a big long boat that travels down the Mekong with probably about 50 people on board. The trip takes a full two days about 8 hours a day on the boat but the time really flies by. Most of the people on the boat were other travelers which was great. Everyone got to meet each other and just hang out. I met a great group of 8 other people and we've been traveling together ever since. Four Americans, two Swedes, a Brit and a Dutch. Not to mention all the other people that were on the boat that were around Luang Prabang and now Vang Vieng.

Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang was a great little city with some great food. I had my first real bagel lox cream cheese in about a month. It was delicious! There were some great little bakeries and restaurants there. The western food was good, I had a great pesto and tomato wood fired pizza and also some good curry and noodles. The highlight of Luang Prabang had to be the waterfall. The 9 of us hopped in a tuk tuk (southeast asian open cab type thing) and headed to the famed waterfall. Once there we were truly amazed at how beautiful nature can be. The waterfall consisted of many different swimming areas and blue pristine water. The best part had to be at the very top of the waterfall though. After trekking through a stream and climbing up a couple rocks the top had a natural infinity pool. You could sit and see the entire valley with all the mountains around while the water flows past you and down to the other pools. When I came on this trip and was excited to see natural beauty, I couldn't have imagined that it would actually be this nice. The next day we were off the Vang Vieng.

Vang Vieng
This place is actually a dreamland. For the most part you only see travelers here and they seem to all have been here for a while. Everyone stays a week or more and just parties as hard as they can. The main attraction here is the river. I was told you rent a tube and just float down the river and you'll stop at a few bars along the way. Well I didn't make it to the end of the river. After spending the first 5 hours at just the first three bars you realize that no one is going all the way down the river. It was like spring break Vang Vieng. For a conservative country like Laos it is an odd juxtaposition to have a bunch of inebriated westerners in bikinis and bathing suits partying on the river and then partying in town once the sun goes down. It is a really fun place but I'm not sure I could really stay here longer than the three days that I have. Tomorrow I head to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Haven't heard the best things about it but I'm sure I'll find some fun around. I'm only there for two days and then its a thirty hour bus ride to Hanoi, Vietnam.

The sun looks like its coming out so its time to hit the river. Talk to you from Vietnam!