Laos

(Side note: I realize this post is very late. It was nearly impossible to do anything blog related in china since everything cool on the internet is blocked. Our apologies)

On November 17 Eric, Adam, Alex and I caught a rather pricey flight to Luang Probang, Laos. It seemed our best option considering our amount of travel time left in southeast Asia. Upon arrival into Laos we were greeted with news of our $35 visa that needed to be purchased. Not cool.

The only affordable accomodation we could find (Laos is not as cheap as it's neighbors) was a three person room at the Rama hotel. we arrived to our hotel and put on our puppy dog faces to try and convince the staff to let all share a room. Our pleading worked so we piled into our room containing three queen sized beds all pushed together, forming one massive mattress. It was great for a photoshoot and slumber party.

That is one huge bed.

Our second day in Laos was spent mostly in our private van. Our driver took us to see the spectacular water falls southwest of the city. After our waterfall visit, the trip got much more interesting. We headed to Vang Vieng, a city located about six hours south of Luang Prabang. The entire ride consisted of switch-backs through the mountains. This could have been enjoyed a little more if our driver was not pretending to be in a racecar accelerating around every turn. Despite his driving skills the scenery was beautiful. Each turn brought us to a new town of children playing, people working and pigs darting across the road. The ride became even more interesting once it got dark and foggy. Luckily we safely made it to Vang Vieng (only a few hours later than planned) and checked into the only vacant hotel we could find.

Who knows?

Too bad it was too cold for a swim.

1, 2, 5... say cheese.

A nice pic of the main waterfall.

The Laotian kids were adorable.

Hey Hey big fella.

We found this city to be quite simple. It consists of three main streets, a few bars and restaurants and a bus station. Most menus offered the same food, which consisted of pretty much anything imaginable (this makes choosing a meal quite difficult). Well we obviously didn't travel hours upon hours for the city or the food. We traveled hours to this city for the tubing.

Once a small town, only used for a stop-over point, Vang Vieng has become famous for it's tubing an activity that dominates the town and it's visitors. Thursday morning we rented our tubes and set off for the river. Quickly we found that there is not much tubing involved in tubing except to get from bar to bar. The people of Laos have turned the river into one big party by building bars all down the river banks. It's the dare devil's dream. Each bar is equipped with their own crazy slide, swing, or zip line to launch you into the river. Oh and by the way, locals call this time in November "leg-breaking season." This is becasue the water is so low, and many drunken twenty somethings try each and every zipline, some into very shallow water. Alex and Eric had to try it. We took part in the crazyness for a few hours before heading down river in our tubes. We quickly found out why we were the only tubers...it was freezing! Upon returning to the city, feeling like an iceburg, we relaxed at dinner while watching friends reruns (Laotions favorite past time). We finished up the night with some dancing to some old school tunes that had apparently taken 10 yrs to make their way to Laos.

Get that bucket. The start of our day on the Vang Vieng.

Eric and Alex getting ready to zip-line.

Centipede wine anyone?

The things you will do for a bucket.

His prize for completing the challenge.

Classic!

Our time was short in Laos but definitly enjoyed. We finished Laos with a trip to the border town Vientiane before crossing back into Thailand.

We spent our last night with Adam and Alex in Udon Thani, a small town with an airport, and not much else.

Alex manning his post.

The typical bed side painting.