We arrived in Vientiane on the 17th of November and checked into Mixay Guesthouse. This small town has French origins so there were lots of bakery's and little boutique shops selling handmade treasures. We went to Vientiane's public swimming pool, the standards were average at best! But it was nice to go for a swim as the weather was really hot! In the evening we went to a restaurant called "Full Moon" and tried a traditional Laos dish called "Beef Laap" it was nice but very spicy! After our meal we headed over to "Sticky Fingers" bar, where it was 2 for 1 on cocktails! We met a couple from the Lake District, Rachael and Paul.
Vang Vieng
After 2 nights in Vientiane we got a bus to Vang Vieng, the bus journey wasn't too bad, the toilet stop however was one to remember! When we arrived we got a tuk tuk with Rachael, Paul, Amanda, Anna and Steven. The accommodation in Vang Vieng was very cheap, only costing us about £2 each a night and that was for an en suite! We stayed in a Guesthouse called "Orange Guesthouse" on the first night but then moved to a private bungalow for the next 2 nights!
The night life was more lively here, we went to "Smile Bar" on the first night with the guys we had met in Vientiane. The setting was amazing, huge dark mountains behind us and the Mekong river in front of us, it was very picturesque! We bought a bottle of Laos whiskey which cost 80p for a litre! So it ended up being a cheap drunken night, requesting any song we wanted from the Laos DJ!
The next morning, still feeling sleepy from the night before, we had arranged to go tubing! We met up with the others, had some breakfast (chicken baguette!) and headed down to the tubing office. We got a tuk tuk up to the top of the river and then the madness begun! At first I was a little scared of going in the water and getting stuck on the random rocks scattered in the river. However, once I was in the river I was fine. We stopped of at the first bar, got a free Laos Laos shot and watched some people try out the rope swings! After about half an hour we got back in the tubes and floated to the next bar! The people who work at the bar throw ropes at you so you can pull yourself into the bar! We got another free shot and then we bought a bottle of Laos whiskey to share between four of us! Paul was the first one to do the zip line, which span him majestically into the water. Morgan was next to follow, not with quite as much finesse as his arms and legs started flighing everywhere! I didn't go on it because I thought I would die if I did! The next bar we floated along to was owned by a crazy Aussie girl who had only owned it for 5 days! She gave us headbands to wear and grass skirts! The next bar we went to had mud volley ball which soon spiralled into a giant mud fight which was a lot of fun! Before we knew it, it was getting late. We had to be back at the tubing office before 6pm otherwise we wouldn't get our deposits back. So we floated back down the river, it was very cold by now and it took over an hour to get back! We had such a fun day!
Tubing
Our home for 2 nights
Me on the rope swing at the Lagoon
On the last day in Vang Vieng we took it easy, we went to a Lagoon which had clear blue water and a rope swing, which I went on a couple of times. In the evening we watched a few episodes of Family Guy in one of the bars and then headed back across the river to "Smile Bar". We had a few buckets of Laos Laos, boogied and then went to bed!
Luang Prabang
After a not so comfortable bus ride on the "vip" bus we arrived in Luang Prabang! We found a Guesthouse when we got there called "Halo Laos". It was cheap and basic, our en suite wall was only half done (there was a 1m gap between the top of the wall and the ceiling) so we could hear Steven in the next room! The next day we booked a 2 day trip to the elephant village!!
Elephant Village
We were due for a pick-up from the hostel at 9am but we found ourselves still there at 10.30am unsure whether we had been forgotten about. Rachael started getting anxious as this was the only day they could go before they set off for Thailand in a couple of days. Thankfully our Tiger Trail guide showed up shortly after and after some apologies we were on our way to our home for the next day and a half, the Elephant Village!! After a bit of a shaky minibus ride we arrived and immediately came face to face with the herd of Asian elephants. Our faces lit up straight away, we couldn't believe we were this close to these amazing animals.
Nelly
After literally throwing our bags down we got straight on with our elephant experience and got to go on a ride round the park and through the river on the back of one of the elephants on a kind of park bench. Once back at the village we got to spend some time learning about the elephants and getting up close and feeding them. I got elephant dribble on my new havaianas but I didn't care, i was feeding an elephant right in to it's mouth!!
Feeding time
Once lunch was out the way we spent a short time learning how to be a Mahout (elephant-keeper) and to ride the elephants solo. This included learning commands to tell the elephant to move forward (PIE-PIE), turn (SAI-SAI), stop (HOW-HOW) and lift your leg to get on (SEUNG-SEUNG). I was slightly anxious shouting at and climbing up on to such a large mammal but managed ok. Morgs didn't have so much luck with the commands with his elephant, no matter what he shouted it just seemed to do it's own thing.
After our solo ride we headed down to Elephant lodge to check in to our nights accommodation. It was nice, probably the best we've stayed in so far (except for the gecko poo we later found on my pillow). Once checked-in we headed back down the river as we had to ride the elephants to where they spend the night in the jungle using our new riding technique and list of commands. We spent the rest of the afternoon at a nearby waterfall and fresh water lagoon chilling out with our Elephant Village rep Mekon. He loved a story. That evening after dinner at the village we headed back to the Lodge for an early night as we were to be up early the next morning.
6am the next morning we were up and about. After a long walk up to the elephants we got back up on to their necks and rode them down to the river where we washed them and gave them a good scrub down. What followed was a lot of splashing around which resulted in us coming out more soaked than the elephants. This was the best experience yet!!!
