Day Thirteen (23/10/2024): Hanging out in Vang Vieng


Without any activities planned for the day we were able to explore the town of Vang Vieng at our leisure. And at a pace that suited the heat and humidity! That translated as spend the day lounging around the pool or having massages for some, or exploring the temples for others. Or in my case all of the above, and going to the Bank and locating some cans of tonic water for our G&Ts. A range of priorities you'd have to say!

Jan and I headed off for massages but we were rather surprised to see that the massage beds could be seen by anyone journeying down the river! However we were provided with loose cotton pyjamas so that our bodies weren't seen but the masseurs could still massage us.


I had asked for a Lao herb massage without having any idea what it was. I had envisioned being plastered with green herbs but instead was pressed with a pad of muslin wrapped around green herbs and warmed so it felt wonderful.









The iced coffees took a while to drink!
Our one group outing for the day was to have lunch at the Luang Prabang Bakery Restaurant, recommended by our guide. Despite the oppressive heat we walked up the road to find it. We were stunned by the extraordinary display of ENORMOUS bakery items.

The chocolate chip cookies were the size of a dinner plate and the croissants were three times the usual size. Some of us were attracted to the cinnamon rolls which looked delicious although huge, and a few of us bought one. The following day mine was shared by all seven of us whilst we were travelling in the van.....and there was still plenty left!

We had an enjoyable lunch and the huge iced coffees or lime sodas helped to keep us cool.




The decision was made to get back to the Hotel via a tuk tuk, for most of the group,whilst Jenny and I went exploring for temples, a Bank and Tonic water.


We amazingly found Schweppes Tonic water in one of the larger street stalls. They all seem to stock large quantities of Lao Beer, which unfortunately is sold in cans the same colour as tonic water. Several times we had our hopes dashed when we realised it was beer and not tonic we were seeing.








In every town we've been in there are numerous small cafes and restaurants selling great Lao coffee: better than any I had in Europe that's for sure! Some of them may only be a couple of metres wide but they have modern coffee machines and fabulous local coffee, much of which is grown in the mountains.  I did like the name of this one though.








Well, Jenny and I did set off for the temples but both of us had a sudden attack of the 'collywobbles' as my mother would call it. Fortunately Temples have public toilets (although some are not up to much!) but we both were in need. Jenny decided to head back to the Hotel and, based on my scant directions, got thoroughly lost, which wasn't great in the heat! 


A different graveyard with ashes stored in these shrines


Some of the boy monks having fun



I decided to keep going, managed to see the three temples in the main street and nearly froze to death in the arctic temperatures the Bank thought visitors would want!


Plenty of gold buddhas in this temple

After a cool down in the pool and some rest to recuperate from the heat, a few of us decided to go to the local Hospitality Training College - The Academy -  for dinner. Hospitality jobs are very desirable so it's important to support these initiatives. The place was very modern with scandinavian-style furniture and comfortable surrounds. The staff were young but very well-trained and delightful. When Jan asked about the red wine on the menu the lovely girl went and brought the cask from which it came to show her! So cute. The food was simple but delicious. I hate to admit that we had pizza but they were delicious because of the mint- basil or Lao basil that they use in many dishes. They also have a few hotel rooms to train hotel staff and I'm sure they would be a great place to stay.

After a quieter day we went to bed early before a busy day of travel ahead

your slightly unwell but doing fine correspondent

Dianne



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