More time in Laos

Our time in Vang Vieng was very interesting. This little river town is a bohemian hot spot. We weren't sure what the draw was, but after a few minutes walking down Main Street, we soon figured it out. Bob Marley, dreadlocks and restaurants that serve opium tea... this was a place for the young backpacker hippie crowd. (Mostly Australian and Europeans.) It was so hip in fact, someone decided that naming their restaurant "Jack Johnson Inn" would help draw in the crowd. Did I mention we're in a very small town in the middle of Laos? We passed on the opium tea, but decided we had to try floating the river in a good ol' fashion inner tube. Again, if you're from the NW US, you've done this before. No big deal, right? Not so fast. This was hippie land. The river was lined with bamboo huts blaring Bob Marley and serving the national beer, Beerlao. The also served an awful concoction called lao lao. Rice whiskey. In the states we would probably use it to clean wounds or scrub the shower, but dirty hippies sure do love drinking it! Tubing was another party. Huge rope swings, volleyball courts, diving boards and enough Michael Buble to make your ears bleed. (Who knows?) Needless to say, Van Vieng wasn't our bag. But it sure was good for the people watching. (I also have to note: Several restaurants in town drew crowds by showing 'Friends' re-runs loud enough to drown out any other audible sound.)

We happily left there on our way to Laos' capital city of Vientiene. Much like other large bustling cities in SE Asia, we found our way around several Buddhist Temples and enjoyed the simple Laos quisine. One temple had over 10,000 Buddhas! We visited the center of Laos Buddhism and enjoyed a relaxing evening river side.