June
1, Friday
Already 10 days into my 30-day adventure with Intrepid. It is a free day today and although there are optional things we could be doing, and plans had been made by some for activities this morning (cooking classes at an organic farm) everyone seems to be either sleeping or having a lazy day around the cottages and in town.
There are also options for activities this afternoon kayaking, tubing or trekking to the “blue lagoon” and the caves a few kms away. I’ve opted to just relax and enjoy the wifi, sit on the verandah, have a couple of dips in the pool, and just rest !
Some of the cottages at the Khampoui Guest House. They are working on new, bigger building.
Actually, in this picture the cottages look nice. Emphasis on the "look" nice.
View from the restaurant of the guest house. That's a car on what I thought was a foot bridge.
People crossing on the nearby hanging bridge over the Song River
It is a beautiful view with the low clouds against the craggy mountain ridges
Although we are in small cottages again, they don’t compare to those in Luang Prabang. They are all in need of some TLC since the woven mats on the walls are covered in mold, some of the roofs are obviously leaking (not ours thankfully, I'm sharing with Lindsey) and we are invaded by tiny little ants that get into absolutely everything.
I haven’t had a chance to talk much about the people in Thailand and Laos. People are friendly, easy going and almost always smiling. They have a sweet nature and we rarely hear a voice raised in anger. They are also extremely polite and outside of Bangkok, very conservative in dress and manner. Ladies: No uncovered shoulders and knees must be covered, so no tank tops and no shorts; in this heat and humidity it is difficult for us. The Thai and Lao languages are very soft and musical. There are hundreds of different dialects throughout, as well as different tribal groups. The borders of the countries have changed many times throughout the centuries and there are still hard feelings between some groups.
This is the entrance to the bridge near our guest house. If you want to cross it, you have to pay a toll.
Everywhere in town, we see intersting things that have been created by tree trunks. This slab was at least 3 feet across.
I took this picture so that you could see what the written Loa language looks like.
A side street in Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng is a small town located 164 km north of Vientiane, the Capital. It has developed as a tourist area for the young, and the young at heart. It also has an "intersting" reputation.
Streets of Vang Vieng. There are massage parlors and bars everywhere.
Walking to the downtown area.
Dinner tonight is in an “Aussie” bar. Everyone opts for some “regular” food: meat pies, huge juicy burgers, fries, steak, mashed potatoes, etc. Draft beer available as well as other drinks. A few of our people are still trying to recover from over-indulging yesterday and are much more quiet that usual. Still, when Violet and I opt to return to the cottages, the rest of the group stays on for a few more drinks.
Ah… to be young again !
Already 10 days into my 30-day adventure with Intrepid. It is a free day today and although there are optional things we could be doing, and plans had been made by some for activities this morning (cooking classes at an organic farm) everyone seems to be either sleeping or having a lazy day around the cottages and in town.
There are also options for activities this afternoon kayaking, tubing or trekking to the “blue lagoon” and the caves a few kms away. I’ve opted to just relax and enjoy the wifi, sit on the verandah, have a couple of dips in the pool, and just rest !
Some of the cottages at the Khampoui Guest House. They are working on new, bigger building.
Actually, in this picture the cottages look nice. Emphasis on the "look" nice.
View from the restaurant of the guest house. That's a car on what I thought was a foot bridge.
People crossing on the nearby hanging bridge over the Song River
It is a beautiful view with the low clouds against the craggy mountain ridges
Although we are in small cottages again, they don’t compare to those in Luang Prabang. They are all in need of some TLC since the woven mats on the walls are covered in mold, some of the roofs are obviously leaking (not ours thankfully, I'm sharing with Lindsey) and we are invaded by tiny little ants that get into absolutely everything.
I haven’t had a chance to talk much about the people in Thailand and Laos. People are friendly, easy going and almost always smiling. They have a sweet nature and we rarely hear a voice raised in anger. They are also extremely polite and outside of Bangkok, very conservative in dress and manner. Ladies: No uncovered shoulders and knees must be covered, so no tank tops and no shorts; in this heat and humidity it is difficult for us. The Thai and Lao languages are very soft and musical. There are hundreds of different dialects throughout, as well as different tribal groups. The borders of the countries have changed many times throughout the centuries and there are still hard feelings between some groups.
This is the entrance to the bridge near our guest house. If you want to cross it, you have to pay a toll.
Everywhere in town, we see intersting things that have been created by tree trunks. This slab was at least 3 feet across.
I took this picture so that you could see what the written Loa language looks like.
A side street in Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng is a small town located 164 km north of Vientiane, the Capital. It has developed as a tourist area for the young, and the young at heart. It also has an "intersting" reputation.
Streets of Vang Vieng. There are massage parlors and bars everywhere.
Dinner tonight is in an “Aussie” bar. Everyone opts for some “regular” food: meat pies, huge juicy burgers, fries, steak, mashed potatoes, etc. Draft beer available as well as other drinks. A few of our people are still trying to recover from over-indulging yesterday and are much more quiet that usual. Still, when Violet and I opt to return to the cottages, the rest of the group stays on for a few more drinks.
Ah… to be young again !
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