Vientiane, Laos

Well this was such a cute little city! We arrived in Vientiane very early in the morning.  I took my 1st sleeper bus that night. Twin size bed, oreos and milk and a bunk mate (slept right next to me in a "bed" maybe a little bigger then a twin size bed at home).  Her name was Cathrine and she was French. Thats about all I got from her cause I was passed out soon after we started rolling....

Something I learned from the sleeper bus....if your going to take the inside...or the "wall" side...better put the window side....don't drink water. I had to crawl over poor French Cathrine 2x to use the bathroom in the middle of the night...I will spare you details of a sleeper bus bathroom.....but all in all I like  the sleeper bus better for night bus rides because I got to lay down and not switch 5 different sleeping positions on a bus seat. whoo hoo

We got some coffee and knew the next few days was going to be indulging in western food ( salads!!!!) Our favorite place was a cafe called Full Moon where we dived into novels, talked with other travelers and planned for the upcoming travel days!

The girls and I heard of a place called Buddha Park....and we also knew they rented bikes to ride around the city.  We came up with a brilliant idea to ride our bikes to and from Buddha park....let me tell you. All the locals were like..."No, can do" "To far, don't do it!"

So we did it! 25 Kilometers ONE WAY. It took us 2 hours to get there. We were sweaty, sunburn, but had smiles on our face because we were so proud we made it!  It was a looong hot ride!! (we were not thinking about the ride home just yet...)

Walking around the park was great, very neat statues...we met a couple named Chris and Linda who met us for dinner later that night...they were telling us about their son and all the traveling they have done, giving us hints and tips throughout the evening!

As we started the 2 hour bike ride back to Vientiane we were all looking at each other like....it seemed like a good idea, but man oh man this ride home is going to be bad news bears.  It had gotten hotter...our legs were feeling a little heavy...

Erin and Danielle were ahead of me and Erin dropped her camera case so I stopped to pick it up. Right in the front of a neighbor and family gathering party.  We were called to the patio for Laos Beer and cold water. You have to have Laos beer in Laos.... especially since we rode right past the brewery!!! The music was cranked up and we were just having a merry only time. A beer, water, some Laos dancing lessons, some homemade food.....about an hour of that we were back on the bikes with a little higher moral. That lasted about 45 min.

You know how your parents always tell you don't talk to strangers....well we failed. We had to have looked like hot messes biking down the side of the highway.  This nice looking Thai man pulled over in his pick-up and loaded us into the bed of the truck(we got good vibes from him, we did not sit in the cab of the truck, there were lots of people around)....bikes and all. So there we were going "native" riding in the back of trucks down highways.  Thats what they do here...ride in back of trucks. In Asia I guess its safe?

We figured we rode about 24 miles that day. We were dusty, sweaty, smelly, and hot but what a great day!!!!! Buddha park, hangin with the locals, pick-up truck rides....you better believe we slept like babies that night!

We got our Vietnam Visas squared away in Vientiane, I walked along the river banks and through a few parks that kinda sorta, but kinda sorta not, reminded me of North Ave beach in Chicago, I ate a really good chicken pita SMOTHERED in French's Yellow Mustard, we saw historical sites around the city (pictures one day) and stayed in a guest house with lots of "character".

Mimi's Guest House. I will save that one for the post I dedicate to lodging. You will need pictures.

I am now in Luang Prabang, Laos.  Up in the north and in the mountains....again a very cute town, very relaxing and chill.  I have stories of elephants, waterfalls, food night markets, sunsets that are indescribable and temple stair workouts.

We head to Vang Vieng early in the morning.  Which we keep hearing is "Spring Break"...ohh goodie!  I can say I have been a sober (1 beer Laos does not really get a buzz up and running....) for a solid ten days!  We are to busy waking up and being productive to be tired the next day...but tomorrow we might decide to shake, rattle and roll with tubes, rope swings and zip lines....I need to find myself a life jacket!