Vang Vieng

We only had one night in Vang Vieng, but it was a good visit. We got picked up at our hotel in Luang Prabang and joined a group of people in a crammed minibus. This wasn't a good sign for our ride to Vang Vieng. Fortunately they were only taking us to the bus station to switch to another vehicle. After a little confusion on the driver's part, we got to where we needed to be. This minibus (or van as they like to call it), didn't have as many people. But the ride still wasn't super comfortable. It was a cheaper option and took less time, but it was still a bit crowded and definitely warm. And coming slowly down mountain roads that aren't great, makes for an interesting ride. As much as I wanted to get to our destination, we did make a pit stop for lunch and I'm glad we did. It provided a good break, and we were able to get some food. It was a hopping place and it was pumping bass, including multiple songs by J Lo. I almost thought we were at an outside club in Miami the way they were cranking the music. But then I would look around and know that I wasn't even close.

Rest stop view.

We finally made our way to Vang Vieng and of course they dropped us off at the bus station that was furthest from town. Really, they couldn't take us one more mile? A little irritating as the sole tuktuk driver wouldn't even negotiate the price. He made a lot of money for less than 10 minutes of driving. We got dropped off at our villa and it was stunning. The Nam Song River and mountains in the background was beautiful. We were right on the water and was looking forward to our short stay there. 

View from our villa.

After we relaxed for a bit, we headed out to check out the town and get dinner. Besides food, one of our priorities was also to get wine. We've been doing that everywhere we go, and of course a new town meant a new bottle. We actually ran into the couple from Toronto and got some recos of what to do. Which really was to go to one of the restaurants nearby to get dinner and watch Friends. Yes, you read that right. Watch Friends. Someone we met at some point had also mentioned these restaurants. And since Susan and I both love the show, we went for it. It was really low-key and the food was cheap and good. And why not. So we sat there enjoyed some local food and beer, and watched a mini marathon of Friends. 

Beer Lao and Friends.

We bought our bus earlier on and chose the later bus so we'd have the morning to hang out and relax. I kind of wish it was even later though. I didn't mind getting into Vientiane later. It was raining when we woke up, but it eventually stopped and we took in the view over breakfast. The clouds and mist made for some stunning scenery. 

Morning clouds.

Afterwards, we packed up our stuff and headed into town to wander a little bit and check out some other parts of the very small town. Which didn't take too long. But got some more photos on this bridge. We did have to wait patiently as scooters went over this pretty consistently. 

More stunning views.

We then ended up back at the place from the night before to relax before our bus. So we watched some more Friends over lunch and a beer before heading out of town. It would have been great to stay an extra day or 2 to just relax and wander.