Day 52 - Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang

Transportation day heading north on our travels in Lao from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. We booked a "VIP" bus that would take 6 hours..but everything's relative... The bus was horrible, smelly, old, and lacked sufficient air conditioning. I doubt the head of state of the country would be caught in such a "VIP" bus, but these buses are probably a step up compared to local buses. We booked our tickets through a travel agency, and they drove us to the main highway, before stopping a random bus headed north, probably originating from Vientiene. I guess that's how they do it here. They just find any extra space in any bus, and pay the bus driver a cut of what they made off of us.

We arrived in Luang Prabang around 5pm and found a guesthouse with a balcony overlooking the river. Once settled in, we did what I usually do the first night in any city - check out the night markets! It was about a 5 minute walk from our guesthouse, around a mountain with one of the city's famous temples perched on top. We found the food area and bought ourselves a 10,000 Kip buffet dinner ($1.25 USD). The fish was exceptional as well, a whole fish for only $2.50. Fruit shakes were $0.60... Cheap food everywhere!

We ended the night strolling through the night market checking out the new merchandise being offered. Nothing caught my eye, but it's hard for me to find anything since it better be worth it for me to carry throughout my trip, plus I'm not really a fan of tchotchkes...

Laotian Buffet

Breakfast in Vang Vieng

Traveling through the mountains to get to Luang Prabang

Fruit Shakes for 60 cents

Night Market Merchandise