Laos, Vang Vieng

Yesterday was one of those days where traveling isn't the bed of roses it usually is or should be.  The memory of the young girl with her face smashed like a pancake was still fresh in my head.  I had thought of renting a motorbike until that incident.  People here drive bad, really bad.  There isn't much to see in Vientiane and in a few hours you know the whole town.  The food isn't anything special and there is no real street food scene like in Thailand.  I was getting bored quickly. 

I wanted to see the countryside and some mountains.  Vang Vieng was the place since it was only 3 hours away.  But that is only true in the guide book.  In order to pick up our bag from Tom's house we were scammed on the taxi.  I guess I could have lost my cool and looked for different cabs but I didn't have the time.  I try to remember in Asia that losing your cool is a very bad thing.  It shows the loss of face.  Usually I'm not the type of guy to lose his cool.  So we get our minivan to the country.  The van is full of young backpackers from Canada and a German couple.  The full van proceeds to drive the city streets for an hour and then ends up right back at our starting place.  People, me included start wondering what the hell is going on.  Our driver gets out and leaves for 30 minutes and doesn't say a word.  The German guy loses his cool.  He get out and demands his bag back.  He raises his voice.  I guess he doesn't know about losing face and frankly I don't think he cares.  He gets his bags and leaves.  Two young Americans fill the seats of the Germans.  

Finally, we are on the road for a 3.5 hour drive through some of the worst roads I've been on before.  I'm staying cool but Lilly is really unhappy.  We fight for the next day.  We arrive in a beautiful town that is unfortunately overrun by young backpackers who are more interested in drugs and drinking than anything else.  I knew this would be the case though.  It was just as Lonely Planet said it would be.  The scenery was breathtaking though as you can see below.  We didn't have time to explore more of the area or enjoy the river.  Too bad since I'll never be back. 

It was hard to find a place to eat dinner since basically every restaurant is full of space cadet kids watching reruns of Family Guy and Friends.  Went to bed early and made the long drive back in the morning.  On the way back we were scammed again.  I really don't appreciate people ripping me off.  I thought the Lao people were supposed to be nice.  So I was in a really, really pissed off mood this afternoon. It really takes a lot to piss me off.  It took more than a few cold Beer Laos to cool me down.

I'm fine now but I can't wait to leave Laos and return to Thailand.  I really don't care much for this country.  I compare it to Cambodia in Southeast Asia where it is dirty poor and just very dirty.  At least Cambodia has the jewel of Angkor Wat.  Laos has nothing close to that.  I'm glad I have been here once to see what it is all about.  After all, that's what traveling is all about.  The only real way to learn about different countries and cities is by being there.  I've learned that I don't need to come back here.   

I've traveled to many countries in Asia but I really only care to return to Japan, Thailand and Vietnam of the places I've been thus far.  Well, I do plan to get back to HK and Singapore again since I didn't spend enough time in either spot.  Still on the must visit list are Bali, Indonesia and Philippines.  I have no desire to visit Korea.  Burma seems to rustic for me.

The day ended on a better note.  I had a wonderful tour of the US Embassy in Laos and met the Ambassador.  Dinner was in a nice spot on the river but the food was lacking.  Nothing in this country has wowed me like in Thailand. 

Really looking forward to Bangkok tomorrow.