Stray - Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng

We woke in the dark to walk across empty streets and watch the alms giving ceremony to the local Buddhist monks. Everyday at sunrise a procession of monks builds from the 30 temples within the city to collect alms given at the roadside by locals. The alms include bread, rice and other foods.

As the sky turned from ebony to navy, a drum beat rumbled from the temple we had chosen to sit across from. Out of the steps came a line of monks in bright saffron robes, a flash of bold colour contrasting with the muted tones of grey and blue cast by the dawn light. The elders led whilst the youngest, barely teenagers (you can begin your training as a monk at 7 years of age), were at the end of line. Silently on bare feet they past kneeling women and received food into platters carried in their hands. The procession moved quickly before turning a corner to disappear from sight. Further down the road we saw other lines of monks and the women remained kneeling with their offerings as these monks would also pass them in time.

With the sun fully risen we were on a bus out of the city and winding up through the mountain roads to Vang Vieng. Switching back and forth with the road, we climbed higher and higher to break through a barrier of low cloud. Out of the window, the mountain peaks became visible and appeared as islands of green in a sea of grey and white cloud.

It was a 7 hour drive through the mountain road and Keo explained that before the road was built in 1996, the journey could take over a week. Still now we could see where small landslides, caused by the heavy rains, partially blocked the road. Fortunately we were able to get through without delay.

We stopped at a roadside village, it's homes made of bare breeze block or weathered timber. Toddlers and dogs played on the floor of its small shop, where bottles of 'Bear's Claw' whiskey could be purchased. The clear barrels showing the fermenting paws of Asian bears, partially hidden behind corrugated iron sheeting due to this local tradition clashing with national laws that protected the animals.

Later we stopped at toilets claiming to have the 'best view in the world' due to rear wall being absent, allowing for a panoramic view of the mountains whilst on the squat toilet. Thoughtful touch.

Vang Vieng's notoriety comes from its river tubing, whereby you can 'booze cruise' your way down the river, stopping at the riverside bars. Until 2012, there were dozens of bars, which had rope swings and slides that patrons could use to throw themselves back into the river. Whilst this sounds fun, it unsurprisingly led to a steady rise in alcohol-related deaths (a total of 22 in 2012 alone). As a result the government took action, removing many of the bars and all the swings and slides. However from reading reviews it still attracts a culture of lapsed safety, pressure selling of alcohol and people generally acting like arseholes. So we dodged that bullet, keeping the awesome memory of tubing in New Zealand in our minds.Read more