Then we read in our guide book about a recommended place to get massages, right near Wat Sok Pa Luang. We spent a few minutes in the aromatherapy steam room which was full of spices (eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon grass, basil and many more) that smelled wonderful and felt great on my cold stricken lungs. Then we got traditional Lao massages that felt heavenly. We enjoyed our night in Vientiane and took a 3 hour bus ride to Vang Vieng the next day.Incredible Tom Yum Martini at Sticky Fingers Cafe (Vientiane, Laos)
Breakfast at Joma Cafe before the bus ride to Vang Vieng
Our 3 hour bus ride ended up taking about 6 hours when an hour into the ride, a tire went flat. It took about an hour for the drivers to put on a spare, then a while to find a mechanic to put a new tire on. The delay allowed us to get to know some fellow travelers and talk about our respective trips.
Once we were in Vang Vieng we had lunch and found the river, because we knew that's where all the action was going to take place. We saw a hotel called, "Grand View Guest house." It looked nicer than most of the other places so we decided that since it was almost my birthday we could splurge on a room. We were shown a beautiful room, right on the river with a gorgeous view. We were amazed to find out it was only $12 per night for all three of us! Once again, we saw that the guide book had highly recommended this guest house-- after the fact. Go us!
We went out for a mediocre dinner at Q bar and went back to our room to prepare for the next days adventure. That morning we woke up-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME-- and had breakfast at Luang Prabang Bakery.
Once we were in Vang Vieng we had lunch and found the river, because we knew that's where all the action was going to take place. We saw a hotel called, "Grand View Guest house." It looked nicer than most of the other places so we decided that since it was almost my birthday we could splurge on a room. We were shown a beautiful room, right on the river with a gorgeous view. We were amazed to find out it was only $12 per night for all three of us! Once again, we saw that the guide book had highly recommended this guest house-- after the fact. Go us!
We went out for a mediocre dinner at Q bar and went back to our room to prepare for the next days adventure. That morning we woke up-- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME-- and had breakfast at Luang Prabang Bakery. We rented inner tubes and took a tuk tuk to the part of the river where the tubing began. The whole river was lined with bars ready to pull you in by a rope and serve you free shots of Lao Lao (Lao whiskey) in bottles full of critters like bees, scorpions, snakes, and more.
The first bar we went to had fun games. For the first game, we tied balloons around our ankles, and the object of the game was to be the last one with an unpopped balloon. Very entertaining... Next we played a game of musical chairs. There was this huge swing going from a deck over the river. Once I got the courage to try it... it was amazing. I was scared at first but everyone cheered me on... what a rush!
We made our way down the river stopping at most of the bars along the way until we needed to get back in time without losing our deposit.
That night we took it easy so we could wake up early the next morning for our bus ride to Luang Prabang. The 6 hour, nausea inducing mini-bus ride had incredible scenery. But the bumpy, winding roads left us holding our stomachs hoping for sleep. We arrived around 3pm, found a room (nothing special), had a late lunch, and went souvenir shopping at the Luang Prabang night market. Poor Steve felt too sick to leave the room but we came back early and watched old cheesy movies on TV. We debated getting a tuk tuk to a nearby waterfall in the early morning, but felt satisfied with the week long, beauty filled trip we had just experienced. We had Joma Cafe one more time before we left. Yes, it was that good.
Saturday was a full day of flights. We flew from Luang Prabang, Laos, to Siem Reap, Cambodia, then to Phnom Penh. We at dinner in the city before taking a late night flight to Seoul. We arrived in Seoul in the afternoon, with enough time to unpack and prepare for the week of teaching ahead.
The first bar we went to had fun games. For the first game, we tied balloons around our ankles, and the object of the game was to be the last one with an unpopped balloon. Very entertaining... Next we played a game of musical chairs. There was this huge swing going from a deck over the river. Once I got the courage to try it... it was amazing. I was scared at first but everyone cheered me on... what a rush!
We made our way down the river stopping at most of the bars along the way until we needed to get back in time without losing our deposit.
Mint-Lime drink at Joma Cafe... so refreshing!
Saturday was a full day of flights. We flew from Luang Prabang, Laos, to Siem Reap, Cambodia, then to Phnom Penh. We at dinner in the city before taking a late night flight to Seoul. We arrived in Seoul in the afternoon, with enough time to unpack and prepare for the week of teaching ahead. 
No comments:
Post a Comment