Nov 8: Afternoon, Vang Vieng
Ah. It is back to hot and dusty for us in Vang Vieng, rather than cold and dusty in Phonsavan. But really, once out of the main road and various construction projects, Vang Vieng is very OK.
More than OK, actually, with lots of beautiful scenery. Like so many parts of Laos
we have seen so far, Vang Vieng also possesses its share of postcard scenes and scenery.We are spending the rest of this afternoon lazing around. Vang Vieng is like that. You can simply laze, laze, laze.
Or you can get up and go. Go tubing (sit IN a tyre and raft down the river), explore caves, or check out the countryside on a bike.
Earlier, we did our usual. Walk.
We walked the riverside, walked past villages and walked some more. That's what I like when travelling. There is often this sense of space that I don't find cooped up in an office, ensconed behind the desk, the moat for a castle of paperwork.
As we grow older, it seems to Annie and I that fresh air, space and the freedom not to rush for the next big thing are becoming increasingly valuable to us. And out of the drone-like bustle of the cities in Asia, life elsewhere in Asia
looks compelling to us without the city-dwellers' compulsive charge from one adrenalin rush to another.But, I know I'm a city creature. So is Annie, I'm guessing. I love the space and freedom to wander. And I know that living and working in the city have given me the bonus of that freedom.
So, for us, travelling
to places very different from Singapore is a chance to recharge. When it is time to leave, we can go home with a better appreciation of not just our travels but also the place we call home.Aiyoh, the sun must be getting to me. So, enough philosophising. Now, where was I? Oh yes, our walk earlier.
We walked into a morning market selling vegetables, seafood and dry goods. The market spilled from its covered location into the alleys linked to it. At certain spots, everyone had to inch their way forward, giving the sellers ample time to show off their wares to the crawling traffic.Leaving the market, we saw a woman wading into the Nam (river) Song. When deep enough, she hauled up a small bamboo trap from the river. The trap was long, almost oblong in shape, and it was filled with fish.
When we walked back to the market a little later, we saw the same lady pouring her catch into a couple of metal basins perched on stools. Her stall set up with fresh goods, she was all set to do busines.
After our morning junket, we ate lunch and was just strolling the main drag wondering about tubing when we ran into more acquaintances from our Huay Xai-Luang Prabang boat trip. Among them were two British women with the same first name, Sarah. Sarah said they were going to Singapore in January.
We are now seating in an outdoor cafe. I'm sipping a cold pineapple drink and watching a man standing knee-deep in the river below. He is binding thin tree trunks and branches together to build a bridge.
Hmm, that reminds me: we will cross the wooden bridge by the Nam Song Hotel tomorrow and take a walk in the countryside across the river. As I watch the man in the water and the half-made bridge, I think about what Annie and I saw earlier today.
That bridge by the Nam Song Hotel was in two parts. The first part ended abruptly after the toll booth (we have been told we have to pay to use this bridge). From land, we saw its dip into the river. People walked to the edge, took off their shoes and walked or pushed their bikes in the river for a few metres. Then, the second part of the bridge rose out of the water and they continued on the bridge to dry land.
That should make for an eventful crossing tomorrow.
Budget (for two in kip and USD)
Nov 8
Room >> K40,000
Breakfast >> K7,000
Titbits (v expensive) >> K18,000
Drinks >> K6,000
Lunch >> K15,000
Drinks >> K6,000
Dinner >> K33,000
Nov 9
Room >> K40,000
Breakfast >> K15,000
Bread (for tea) >> K7,000
Bridge toll (return) >> K4,000
Lunch >> K26,000
Dinner >> K16,000
Pancake >> K5,000
Next... Off to Vientiane
No comments:
Post a Comment