Trip Report: Laos Day 3, Driven

Pui, Pot and I were up mid-morning, and we walked up the road about half a mile from the hotel and ate breakfast, which consisted of papaya salad and that famous Lao coffee... thick and chocolaty, with a goopy layer of sweet condensed milk on the bottom.

After that, we went back to the hotel and found everybody ready to leave for Vang Vieng, so we quickly got our bags packed (Pui had packed enough clothes for a 3-week vacation, and then unpacked them upon arrival to the hotel, only to repack them again 16 hours later), checked out of the hotel, and piled in the waiting van.

The ride north from Vientiane to Vang Vieng is about 3 hours: About 1 hour across the flat lands outside Vientiane, 1 hour through twisting curving mountains, and then another 1 hour through lower hills and the valley of Vang Vieng. It's a really great ride to take, as you get to see a fair amount of Laos... or at least what is possible to see from the two-lane highway that forms the backbone of Laos' transportation network.

Vang Vieng is now the capital of the backpacker world... a place surrounded by Karst topography A type of topography that is formed over limestone, dolomite or gypsum by dissolution, and that is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage. (wikipedia) where scroungy hippies taking a year off from the responsible life go to see an exotic part of the world on $10 per day, while carrying around 50 or 60 pounds of T-shirts, canvas shorts, sandals, camping equipment, and souvenirs in 2 massive backpacks (one on the back, one on the chest).

Prior, Vang Vieng was the headquarters of Air America, which was a CIA drug-running operation during the Viet Nam war. My friend Rick (heading up our trip) was here a couple of times in the early 1970s, when he was working with the Hmong hill tribes.

We got checked into our hotel... $12 per night for an air-con room, $8 for those of us who could do without. Then, it was off to the Green Adventure offices, where (without so much as a complaint from the fellow selling the tickets) we signed Pot up for the kayaking as well.

Pot was following Pui's lead (and Pui was following Kak's lead) by whining that if he went on the boat in the rain, he was going to catch a cold and die. My need to strangle somebody would grow every time Pui (or Pot) would complain about how dangerous / wet / unfun the boating trip was going to be for Pot. (The constant rain drizzling throughout the day only added to my ire.)

The group of us went to a restaurant, and then after sundown went for a walk. I pretty much lost all patience when Pui insisted on buying Pot a rain coat for the boat ride tomorrow in case it rained. Even Rick and Willie (both of whom had stayed out of it) had to raise their eyebrows at that logic: Imagine going kayaking, spending the entire day soaking wet, and then worrying about a few raindrops. So Pui and I had yet another argument, but she still bought the rain coat. (Even Pot knew enough to think the rain coat was a bad idea... but Pui couldn't back out of her decision at that late juncture without agreeing with everyone else that she was being dumb... so that was that.)

After we finished our "loud and frank discussion" at the store, we all walked back to the hotel. Kak went to bed, I gave Pui some money, and she and Da bought some beer and sat out in the lounge drinking while Pot watched TV in the room. Willie, Rick and I went out to a bar and watched a stupid John Candy movie while drinking "buckets" (a 1-liter metal bucket filled with a mixture of Lao whiskey, coke, Red Bull, and crushed ice) for $3 each.

After that, it was back to the hotel. Rick and Willie went to bed, while I sat up with Da and Pui (who was in a much better mood... I think because she realized that she had been putting a crimp on the enjoyment level of the trip a little bit and wanted to turn things around) and had some beer and listened to Lao music before turning in for the night.