Laos

Vientiane
On January 21st, 2003 Antony and I started our journey together. We met at Vientiane airport, in the capital of Laos. Antony had arrived a day earlier from China, having spent nearly 6 months in Asia already, and Kathryn had flown in fresh from London. It was the start of an 18 month plan - to travel in SE Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
Laos was our starting point. From there we would travel overland to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and on to New Zealand before entering Australia to travel and find work for 1 year.

Here I am at the gateway to our travels, and the gateway to Laos - Monument Anousavari, Laos' Arch de Triomphe.

A quick mention about the currency - the Laos Kip. It's out of control. Change 50US$ into Kip and you end up with about 5 inches of notes to try and put in your wallet! Its so devalued that at today's exchange rate it is 1 Lao Kip = 0.00009909 US$Dollar... and with the largest note being a 5000 Kip note, you can imagine the wadge you get from the bank.

One thing I remember most about Vientiane are the sunsets. I don't think I had ever seen such a stunning sunset along the Mekong river. We spent 2 days in Vientiane, and then headed to Vang Vieng in the North.

A true traveler's stop over, known for being very chilled out, we had taken a public bus to Vang Vieng. In my diary I wrote "Amazing landscape and chilled out town. And nice lady called "Noi" who made my silk skirt!. Nice room for US$4. Good walking. Wish we had spent more days there".

And good for walking it was. Vang Vieng is a small place but the hills around it are extensive. Situated on the Nam Soong river, looking over the quiet waters to the limestone outcrops layering into the distance in hazy greys and blues, is one of the most beautiful views imaginable.

Two days later we headed out of Vang Vieng, north to Luang Prabang. It actually turned out to be almost the same price to take a mini bus as it was the public bus. Often in SE Asia the minibus is the more expensive option, which on a travelers budget of US$20 per day is too expensive! But we booked and you can imagine our thrill.... when we saw that we were the only 2 going in the "porniest" car since dukes of hazard.

Luang Prabang