This place just doesn't let you leave! We originally planned for 2 nights here.. but after tonight, we'll have been here for 6! I blame the 2 days of crappy rainy weather though. I can see why some Westerners just stay here permanently and work in the bars for free food & accommodation. As much as I really want to leave and keep on going.. I also kinda want to stay..... hopefully the spell will be broken once we hop on the bus to Luang Prabang tomorrow.
Our time is running out waaaaaaay too quickly. The first half of our trip we took so slowly because we felt like we had soo long overseas... and now it's like AAARGH where has our time gone?! We need more time!! We're definitely going to have to come back! Why can't we just be millionaires now and just travel as often and for as long as we want?? I do miss friends & family back home.. but we've just made so many awesome friends over here as well!
We had a really fun time last night when we arrived back at our guesthouse from tubing, went to pick up at our key at reception, only for them to tell us that they don't have it. They then proceeded to tell us that WE had actually taken the key.. which was all lies, because we distinctly remember putting it on their counter, and there is no way we would have taken it tubing with us! So they continued to blame us for losing it, and to top things off... there was no spare key!!! Steve and I then proceeded to freak out because we thought someone must have taken the key from the counter and taken all our money/passports/cameras/ipod etc from our room. The only English speaking Lao woman at the office informed us that she remembers us leaving WITH the key (BULLSHIT!) and that we had to wait for a locksmith to come (God knows how long that was going to take!). Steve and I weren't very happy at this point.. and very worried that all our stuff would be gone, so Steve decided to climb in through the bars in the windows (I have absolutely no idea how he managed to fit!). PHEW.. all our stuff was safe.. but we still couldn't leave to go have dinner because we couldn't lock our room. I went and found the main guesthouse woman to try and explain that we had managed to get the door open, but we still needed a key, but failed to do so because she spoke pretty much no English whatsoever. I tried to get her to go and get the English speaking woman so I could talk to her, but she didn't understand that either. We got her to come so she could see that we had got into the room... but that then made her think that we had the key afterall! So we then tried to explain that no we did NOT have the key, and that Steve had gotten in through the window. To achieve this, Steve had to demonstrate going through the window again, which made the woman yell a lot and threaten to call the police and have Steve arrested, for 'breaking in' to our own room. Another Lao girl came out who spoke a little English and said something about the possibility of a drunken family member of the guesthouse owners taking our key by accident before going out to party, and yet the other 2 main guesthouse women were still angrily blaming us for losing the key and denying any possibility that they had lost it. Confusing stuff. So then we had to wait for a 'locksmith' to come and fit a new lock (no doubt at our expense!). I went and met our friends for dinner while Steve waited and helped the locksmith. Finally we had a new lock and a key (+ 2 spares for the guesthouse!). Just as the locksmith finished.. the non-english speaking guesthouse woman (the one that had been yelling a lot) came out sheepishly with a key she had found and asked if it was ours. Which it was. Apparently the key had been in the drawer of the reception counter the entire time. She said sorry, but I am still not happy with them! And this morning, the guesthouse women have been glaring at me! God knows what for, considering it was entirely their fault! Gah. Fun times had by all, but at least it worked out for us in the end!
Steve has gone rock climbing for the entire day today, which should be amazing. I opted not to go to save money (plus a whole day would be a bit too long for me)... Steve's the main rock climbing enthusiast. After I finish posting this I'll probably be really original and go and watch some Friends! Haha.
Having a great time & loving life.
Amiee xx
Showing posts with label Vang Vieng. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vang Vieng. Show all posts
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Vang Vieng
I could never get sick of the scenery here! Huge tree-covered limestone mountains jutting out everywhere, incredibly blue lagoons and creeks.. it's very gorgeous. It reminds me of the Glasshouse Mountains but 50x more intense. Haven't got any good photos to show yet, though, because it's been a bit rainy!
The day before yesterday we hired mountain bikes and rode 6km out to a cave (I forget its name) and lagoon. The cave was absolutely huge and very interesting to explore! We've had to postpone tubing and rock climbing due to the rain.. I really hope it clears up soon! It feels like wasted time when you can't do anything!
The town of Vang Vieng is very crazy and very tourist-oriented. There are heaps of 'surf shops' selling Billabong and Roxy boardshorts etc, you can buy TimTams and Mars Bars etc from most shops, Pantene Pro-V and Lynx deodorant are even available! Almost every restaurant is constantly playing episodes of Friends or Family Guy. Going shirtless is not very acceptable in Lao culture, but most Western guys strut around the streets in just their boardshorts anyway. I've also seen several girls wearing nothing but bikinis around the streets, probably on their way home from tubing... I just think it's very disrespectful! There are always drunk Westerners around due to the numerous riverside bars offering free whiskey shots and cheap 'buckets' of alcohol. Not to mention the availability of weed, opium, and 'mushrooms' in most bars. There is supposed to be a 12am curfew in Laos, but some of the bars down on the river manage to stay open past that most nights; there is always the loud ruckus of Westerners heading home after they shut. Last night it was about 130 when they all got back to town; I could tell from all the shouting and door slamming. I'm not having a big whinge, I'm just trying to give an illustration of what it's like here! I really feel for the local Lao people, they must be so sick of all the tourists and having to constantly listen to Friends and Family Guy episodes!
Our motorbike wounds are healing well, and we're both healthy and happy :)
Amiee x
Laos album
The day before yesterday we hired mountain bikes and rode 6km out to a cave (I forget its name) and lagoon. The cave was absolutely huge and very interesting to explore! We've had to postpone tubing and rock climbing due to the rain.. I really hope it clears up soon! It feels like wasted time when you can't do anything!
The town of Vang Vieng is very crazy and very tourist-oriented. There are heaps of 'surf shops' selling Billabong and Roxy boardshorts etc, you can buy TimTams and Mars Bars etc from most shops, Pantene Pro-V and Lynx deodorant are even available! Almost every restaurant is constantly playing episodes of Friends or Family Guy. Going shirtless is not very acceptable in Lao culture, but most Western guys strut around the streets in just their boardshorts anyway. I've also seen several girls wearing nothing but bikinis around the streets, probably on their way home from tubing... I just think it's very disrespectful! There are always drunk Westerners around due to the numerous riverside bars offering free whiskey shots and cheap 'buckets' of alcohol. Not to mention the availability of weed, opium, and 'mushrooms' in most bars. There is supposed to be a 12am curfew in Laos, but some of the bars down on the river manage to stay open past that most nights; there is always the loud ruckus of Westerners heading home after they shut. Last night it was about 130 when they all got back to town; I could tell from all the shouting and door slamming. I'm not having a big whinge, I'm just trying to give an illustration of what it's like here! I really feel for the local Lao people, they must be so sick of all the tourists and having to constantly listen to Friends and Family Guy episodes!
Our motorbike wounds are healing well, and we're both healthy and happy :)
Amiee x
Laos album
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Don Det & Vientiene
So we finally made it to Laos!
We spent a couple of nights on the island of Don Det in Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) on the Mekong River. Very picturesque and laid back. We stayed in a little bungalow with just a bed and a mosquito net, with our own little verandah and hammock over the water. Not much to do but walk around and explore the island.. we also took a little boat tour around the islands at sunset, which was lovely.
We then took an overnight bus to the capital of Vientiene. Can't say it was the best night's sleep I've had.. in fact it was probably in the top 5 worst. It was a sleeper bus with beds, which is all good in theory, except the beds were narrower and shorter than a single mattress, and one ticket buys you half that bed. So 2 people are crammed onto the one tiny bed! Luckily I'm travelling with Steve because I can't imagine having to share with a stranger! Well actually, I can.. because we were 'lucky' enough to get the back row, which consisted of supposedly enough room for 5 people and so it was an Amiee sandwhich between Steve and Random Strangers. I learnt that I can't actually sleep with strange people invading my personal space!
We arrived in Vientiene at about 6am and walked around trying to find a spare room in a guesthouse for a couple of hours; everywhere was full or out of our price range! We eventually found a place though and I got my much needed catch up on sleep. Vientiene is nice.. a lot more orderly and clean than all the other major cities we've visited.. and no constant honking!! I find it interesting that just across the Mekong is Thailand! You can just glance over and there it is! Maybe I find that so fascinate having only lived in Australia where we're an island and have no neighbouring countries?
This evening we've arrived in Vang Vieng. If Contiki was a town, this would be it. Heaps of young people, heaps of bars, very much catering to Western taste (I found a packet of M&M's!!!!). Some people would turn up their noses and say that it's too 'touristy' and that this isn't the 'real' Laos... we know.. but so far we like it anyway. There's tubing, caving and rockclimbing etc for us to do over the next few days so no doubt we'll have a lot of fun here.
I'll post some photos soon, I promise.
Amiee x
We spent a couple of nights on the island of Don Det in Si Phan Don (Four Thousand Islands) on the Mekong River. Very picturesque and laid back. We stayed in a little bungalow with just a bed and a mosquito net, with our own little verandah and hammock over the water. Not much to do but walk around and explore the island.. we also took a little boat tour around the islands at sunset, which was lovely.
We then took an overnight bus to the capital of Vientiene. Can't say it was the best night's sleep I've had.. in fact it was probably in the top 5 worst. It was a sleeper bus with beds, which is all good in theory, except the beds were narrower and shorter than a single mattress, and one ticket buys you half that bed. So 2 people are crammed onto the one tiny bed! Luckily I'm travelling with Steve because I can't imagine having to share with a stranger! Well actually, I can.. because we were 'lucky' enough to get the back row, which consisted of supposedly enough room for 5 people and so it was an Amiee sandwhich between Steve and Random Strangers. I learnt that I can't actually sleep with strange people invading my personal space!
We arrived in Vientiene at about 6am and walked around trying to find a spare room in a guesthouse for a couple of hours; everywhere was full or out of our price range! We eventually found a place though and I got my much needed catch up on sleep. Vientiene is nice.. a lot more orderly and clean than all the other major cities we've visited.. and no constant honking!! I find it interesting that just across the Mekong is Thailand! You can just glance over and there it is! Maybe I find that so fascinate having only lived in Australia where we're an island and have no neighbouring countries?
This evening we've arrived in Vang Vieng. If Contiki was a town, this would be it. Heaps of young people, heaps of bars, very much catering to Western taste (I found a packet of M&M's!!!!). Some people would turn up their noses and say that it's too 'touristy' and that this isn't the 'real' Laos... we know.. but so far we like it anyway. There's tubing, caving and rockclimbing etc for us to do over the next few days so no doubt we'll have a lot of fun here.
I'll post some photos soon, I promise.
Amiee x
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