Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Laos: Vientiane and Vang Vieng)

So the next stop on my trip was Laos. I flew into the capital, Vientiane, from Kuala Lumpur. After arriving and finding a hotel, I set out to check out the sites around the city. This isn't a very big capital city and so it was easy to cover the highlights in one afternoon.

The first site that I went to was called Wat (Which means Temple) Si Saket. This temple is lined with Buddha statues in various positions of relaxation (sitting down, laying down, reclining, etc.) After snapping some photos of the Buddhas, I walked around the perimeter of the temple to check out the other buildings in the complex. While doing this, I saw what I thought was the coolest thing of all; each building had extremely detailed dragon statues as the handrails.

After Wat Si Saket, I headed to the Wat Pha That Luang. This is another temple but this one's main attraction is a MASSIVE golden spire that shoots up into the sky. It was truly a very impressive site.

The last site that I hit on day one was Patuxai. This is Laos version of the Arc de Triomphe. The cement to build it was actually donated to Vientiane back in 1969 and was suppose to be used to build a new airport. After Patuxai, I called it a day and prepared for the trip north in the morning.

The next day, I headed to a town called Vang Vieng. This is officially on the "Southeast Asia Party Trail" and now I can definitely see why. The town is completely build around the river it sits on and the various activities that take place on the river.

Basically the main activity is either tubing or swimming/floating down the river while stopping off at the various bars along the way for some music, dancing, and some very refreshing beverages. Also, many of the bars have some extreme activities that one can partake in if they feel inclined. These include HUGE rope swings (dropping on a trapeze type of a rig from about 60 feet in the air and letting go over the river,) MASSIVE zip-lines (again letting go over the water,) and finally at the last bar, there was a HUGE water slide that shot you over the water at the end of it.

In addition to the beverages and music that are at all of the bars, each bar has a "theme" These themes include the "Smile Bar," "The Paint Bar," The Mud Pit Bar," "The Water Slide Bar" and many more that would take too long to name here. So basically, after my one day in the capital, I spent the next 5 days enjoying the sunshine and the river. That is unfortunately all I have time for in Laos. Its off to Cambodia tomorrow so be sure to check back for another update soon!