Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng

My initial plan after Luang Prabang was to take the bus east to Phonsavan, and then take another bus southwest to Vang Vieng and then finally to Vientiane to catch my flight back to Singapore.

During my last day in Luang Prabang, I walked into a travel agency and asked about flights between Phonsavan and Vientiane, and the agent found a one-way ticket for less than half the price of what I could find online. So, I made a snap decision to head south to Vang Vieng first, then bus it to Phonsavan, then fly to Vientiane. This would reduce the time I would have to spend on buses. I contacted my friends from the slow boat - who had left for Vang Vieng that morning - to let them know I would arrive the next day.

The minivan ride to Vang Vieng took about four hours, much of it on a winding mountain highway. Parts of the highway had sheer drops off the side due to landslides. I arrived in Vang Vieng around 11am and located my guesthouse - about a 15 minute walk from where I was dropped off - quite easily. The guesthouse allowed me to check-in early. My first impression of Vang Vieng was the amount of Chinese and Korean signage around - usually a sign of mass tourism. As I was hungry, I told my friends I was going to eat. Just as I was tucking in to my lunch at one of the ubiquitous burger/sandwich stands along the main drag, they ambled along.

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