It was hard to leave Luang Prabang because I really liked that town. It had a great atmosphere in the downtown area with many comfortable restaurants and a great night market down the middle of the main street. There were also many cheap food stalls down a back ally to buy authentic Lao dishes and cheap beer.
I did a bit of shopping and bought a handcrafted, standing paper lamp for about $35. It's just over a meter tall and about 30cm wide. I can't wait to assemble it in my house once back in Japan.
The day before I left I discovered a fantastic tea house that bought and sold used books. It was a great place to lounge around and rest while you read. Twice a day they showed artistic movies in an upstairs chill out area where people would congregate across pillows all over the floor.
Anyway, the minibus ride to Vang Vieng was much more comfortable than public transport and probably a little faster. The road wound around through the misty mountains which were kind of teton-esque. Occasionally we saw uniformed guards carrying AK-47s and in many places there were mud slides caused from recent rain and the occasional fallen boulder that partially blocked the road. After looking over the edge of the road into a mountainous abyss, I'm very glad we had a safe journey.
Vang Vieng is a small backpacker's town. It's only a couple of dirt roads lined with restaurants showing pirated DVDs 24 hours a day. It's also interspersed with bicycle and scooter rentals and various kayaking shops to take trips down the river.
Cliffs of Vang Vieng
The plan was to rent a intertube and float down river checking out some of the caves along the riverside, but it's raining today, so it looks like I'm going to sit around and catch up on newest movies I've been missing. Most restaurants are already playing SpiderMan2, Shrek2, and Fahrenheit 9/11.
Maybe tomorrow I'll make it down river.
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