Today we left Vientiane and went by "VIP" bus to Vang Vieng about 140 km north. We got collected from our hotel and taken to the bus with 5 others - when we boarded it looked as though here were no seats, but 4 of us managed to fit in. The other 3 had no seats and presumably were taken back to their hotel to wait for the next bus 4 hours later! The bus was full of people mainly in their 20's - no-one within cooee of us oldies. We had an enjoyable trip chatting to a very nice young Canadian who was wearing a T-shirt that said "I am not a nice Canadian".
Vang Vieng is in a great setting with nearby karsts (mountains formed from volcanic plugs we think) on the banks of the Nam Xong River. It is a centre for adventure sports - trekking, rock climbing, kayaking and the most popular river tubing. Tomorrow we have booked into a trekking tour, involving a drive, trek uphill to great views and a waterfall, swimming, jumping from ledges from 5m-15m (optional), more trekking. The next day we'll do the kayaking, cave exploration and river tubing tour. We'll need a massage after all that but Graeme couldn't wait - he's off having another 90 minute massage now (grand cost of US$6).
The Lao money is ridiculous. There are no coins. The smallest note is 1000 kip (about 10c). I changed US$150 day and got about 1.5 million kip. This really confuses me as I keep getting things wrong by a factor of 10 - thinking something costs say $4 when it is really 40 cents. Graeme of course is telling me how hopeless I am at Maths!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Karst is a type of limestone (it is not volcanic). From Wikipedia "Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of a soluble layer or layers of bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite. These landscapes display distinctive surface features and underground drainages, and in some examples there may be little or no surface drainage. Some areas of karst topography, such as southern Missouri and northern Arkansas in the USA, are underlain by thousands of caves." Vang Vieng Laos is listed as a notable karst area..... The Chemical Oracle
Post a Comment