VIENTIANE

Not a long journey south from Vang Vieng, and for once was also not a pot hole fest on the road so actually was able to read / listen to music etc. without wondering when the next brain rattling bump was coming from!
After nearly a month in places with 5 ft doorways and narrow entrances it's nice to give a few of the cuts on my head some time to heal!

From what I've read and heard up until now, the capital of Laos hadn't really recived much good press, with many people just stayinga night or two on the way to everywhere else....which is pretty much what I'm doing as well!

Although that said, one of the reasons I'm not staying too long is that I'm off to the South (Pak Se, to cross to Don Det Island) to the 4,000 Islands, which is about 16 hours south by bus to a place where the river separates into lots of small islands....with only 2 weeks on the visa left I want to get down there to see what that has to offer as well as the Bolovan Plateau to the East of that.

Sticking to my original route, the plan would then be to head back up to Vientiane again to get to Hanoi. I had orginally said to myself that I was going to go 100% overland, although the prospect of a 24hour bus journey over roads that look victim to a meteor shower a flight is looking an attractive option, the condition of my head has taken presedence over the ocnduition of my wallet!

That side, the place is actually OK, it hasn't got the whole backapcker area of bars etc that other places have had which is good, although it means that people and places are very far spread out not making it that social a place.

Photos are of the main drag in Vientiane, as well as Buddha park (with me at the mouth of hell - maybe a sign of things to come??!!)