An early goodbye
Mat, Mischa, and I were leaving Luang Prabang this morning by a bus to Vang Vieng. We woke up fairly early this morning to make sure we were prepared for the bus to Vang Vieng. The three of us enjoyed our final free breakfast of eggs, then gathered our stuff together. I said a final goodbye to Jannis who was still in bed, and with that, we were off.
Long bus journeys are usually very laborious and tiresome, and I’ve found the best way to get around this, is to get some kip! The bus to Vang Vieng was no different at around 4 hours long or so (which is short compared to others!). I managed to sleep for about half of the journey, and when I woke up, we were in the midst of some beautiful mountains. The world truly is a stunning and spectacular place, and I’m humbled that I’ve been able to see more than most already. The road was a bit hit and miss, but we eventually made it, after tense moments.
Vang Vieng
Our bus to Vang Vieng arrived in the town during the afternoon. It was a large town, but quite flat, no sky scrapers or overly tall buildings. There seemed to be one long road that went through the whole place, so we followed this for a bit until we reached our hostel. Everywhere you looked, beyond the town, there were mountains, it felt kind of cosy. We checked into our hostel, chose our bunk beds, and then headed out for dinner. Our hostel was called the Real Vang Vieng Backpacker Hostel. It’s a moderate size, nice pool and chilling area. When we were here, there seemed to be a lot of party goers who come back late and make a lot of noise, but apart from that, it was great.
The three of us went across the road for some dinner, which turned out to delicious. It’s hard to go wrong with food in Asia! Afterwards, we took a walk around the block to get a measure of the place. I managed to find a bandana to cover my mouth and nose when on the road, I looked like a bandit though! We returned to the hostel to chill for a while. Mat and I hopped in the pool for an hour or two to avoid the mosquitoes. Mischa joined us for a bit too, we had a small game of water polo to pass the time.
Tastes like home
After a good session in the pool, we had worked up an appetite. Luckily, there was a Mexican restaurant across the road, so we decided to give it a bash. I had a huge burrito, absolutely filled with fillings such as chicken, cheese, and different salad. It was immense and beaut. Back home in Nottingham, Mat and I used to frequent Taco Bell almost every weekend, a hearty burrito with chips and a drink. This took me back to those days and reminded me of home. But I’d still rather be here eating this burrito than back in Notts!
After our gorgeous meal, as well as discussions about different philosophical topics, we headed back to the hostel for the night. I called Elva for a couple of hours. I also called my Grandparents too, that was very nice. Every Thursday after work I would visit them, I’d have some dinner and pudding with them. I’d also leave with some chocolate bars too, made me even happier! 15 or so people came back drunk as a skunk, whilst I was on the phone. They were very loud, but it was quite a good atmosphere and made me laugh.
