As soon as we checked into our hotel in Hanoi the concierge asked us what our future plans were.  We told him we were unsure, and he immediately told us we had to book a cruise on Halong Bay.  I had read something about Halong Bay, so I knew that it was a tourist destination so we told him that we were interested and to book us on a 2 night cruise.

On the morning of the 14rh...Happy Valentine's Day by the way...we boarded a van for the 3.5 hour ride east to Halong Bay.  The best part of our trip was the tour guide that told us some interesting facts about Hanoi including the fact that there were 7 million people living in Hanoi (including infants) and there were 7 million scooters registered meaning that there was one scooter per person, including infants.  If you spend 5 minutes in Hanoi you would definitely believe this!

Anyway...after 3.5 hours hours we arrive at Halong Bay in the rain.  This is pretty much the first rain we have seen since we left the US and of course it would be falling the day we are going on a cruise.  First we have to board the dingy that gets us to our boat:

As soon as we got to our boat, V'Spirit, we were given our room key and were very happy with what we found...and the dining area was just as nice:

After putting our bags in the room we headed back upstairs and to see the view…and what a view!

Taking the word "cruise" to heart, we were served a huge lunch around 1:00 PM as the boat wandered further and further into Halong Bay.  First stop is a Hang Sung Sot, a cave reachable only by boat.  Even though it was very touristy, and every single boat that was on the bay stopped here, it was well worth it:

And in case the cave wasn't spectacular enough, the view from the opening was pretty incredible:

After the cave we then visited a beach with a 20 minute climb up stairs to a really nice view:

We finally got back to the boat, was served tea and biscuits, and then served a huge seafood dinner around 6:00 PM…only 5 hours after eating a huge lunch.  The food was so good that we ate till we felt like we just ate Thanksgiving dinner.  After dinner we hung out with our new friends (from the UK via Scotland and Argentina) drinking beer and wine till after 11 PM…I know…this is the latest we have been up for a while!

The next morning breakfast served at 7:30 AM…now we remember why we usually don't stay up drinking till 11 PM…and then the lucky 4 of us who was staying on the boat for 2 nights were whisked off to a day boat while the other 14 stayed onboard for a quick kayak and then taken back to the shore for the 3.5 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.  For those unlucky to book the 1 night cruise, they didn't even spend 24 hours onboard…I sure am glad we went for the 2 night.

Here is a video I took on that morning on the day boat as we were on our way to our kayaking destination:

On the way to kayaking there was more incredible scenery, and Tim even got into the moviemaking fun shooting a video of a local fishing village family:

For kayaking we took a 2 person kayak through a 75 foot cave that opened up to a lagoon completely surrounded by mountains.  What an amazing place…unfortunately I didn't want to take a chance and bring the camera with us, so you just have to believe me.

Next stop is a 3 hour anchor for lunch, swimming, and just relaxing:

Before heading back to the boat we made one last stop at a oyster farm, that was interesting, but yet another tourist destination where the real purpose is to visit the gift shop, but the oyster beds did make a nice picture:

We then had a great trip back to the boat when the blue skies began to appear for the first time since we boarded the boat yesterday.

I know...that's a lot of pictures of the boat with the sails up, but I just can't help taking pictures of this incredible bay.  Anyway...after returning to the boat...tea, dinner, and of course drinking with new friends that joined us from Norway, and then off to sleep for our last night aboard V'Spirit.

The next morning I looked out the window of our stateroom to this awesome view:

We had breakfast and then kayaked through another cave and arrived in a different lagoon than yesterday and it was just as amazing.  We then got back to the boat for a lesson on how to make spring rolls followed by lunch, and a little rest on the deck as we made our way back to the port.

It is now time to say goodbye to the spectacular Halong Bay and take our 3.5 hour bus ride back to Hanoi.  By the way, we took over 400 pictures of Halong Bay…yes it was that amazing!

After 3.5 hours we returned back to Hanoi and back to our awesome hotel that we stayed in before leaving for Halong Bay.  We chilled out in the room for a bit, went out for some dinner, and returned to the hotel for the night.

I know...its a corny title for the blog, but I couldn't help it.  We woke up in Vietnam after an awesome nights sleep on a nice soft bed.  We went downstairs for the included breakfast which included a buffet plus a made-to-order menu.  So far Vietnam is treating us perfect.

While doing research on Hanoi I came across a picture of a lake with parts of a B-52 that was shot down during the Vietnam War...or as they call it here, the American War.  My thoughts for the first day is to take a taxi to this site and then walk  our way back to the hotel and see some of the other sites.  The hotel called a taxi and told us that based on where we wanted to go it should cost around 60,000 Dong.  Speaking about Dong....check out how cool these bills are...they feel like plastic and I love the clear windows:

For your information, the current exchange rate is around 21,000 Dong for $1 USD.  To make things easier for daily calculation we say that $1 USD equals 20,000 Dong.  So...back to the taxi ride...the cost should be around $4 USD.  Anyway...we get into the taxi and I show the driver a map and point to where I want to go...well...to be completely honest...I pointed off the map to the area where I wanted to go.  The driver nodded his head and we were off.  As the meter hit 50,000 Dong he pulled over and made a call and then asked me to take the phone.  The person asked where I wanted to go and I told them about the lake and the B-52 and explained where I thought it was.  The driver took the phone back and then continued driving.  When the meter rolled past 60,000 and approach 90,000 ($4.50 USD) I told him that we wanted to get out.  He pulled over and pointed on the map where we were.  I figured we can just ask people where this "B-52 lake" was.

So...we get out of the taxi and start walking down the road.  WOW...the traffic here in Hanoi is crazy, especially since we haven't been in a large city like this since we left Bangkok almost 2 months ago.  Anyway...we wandered the streets trying to ask people where this B-52 was but no one seemed to speak English.  Then I noticed this sign:

No English, but I do recognize the word "bia" being "beer" and the picture of the kegs, so in we went and ordered 2 mugs followed by 2 more mugs:

While drinking our beers I noticed a white guy at another table and asked him if you knew of this B-52 he said he did and found on his phone the exact location...we were only 15 minutes away.

After paying our bill of 30,000 Dong ($1.40 UDS) for 4 mugs of beer...that's $0.35 for a mug of beer!!!!...we walked to where the guy told us to go.  We didn't come across the "B-52 lake", but we did come upon the "B-52 Victory Museum":

For those military folks that might be more interested in this place, here is a YouTube video I made.  Oh, the vietnamese statement on the missile control station translated says, "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom!"

In case one military museum wasn't enough, we came across and had to stop at the Vietnam Military History Museum.  Although the museum covers the entire history of Vietnam military history, it seemed that most of the exhibits focus on fighting for independence from France and fighting the US during the Vietnam War.  Here are a few of the highlights from this museum:

We then walked back to the hotel during rush hour where the streets were full of motorbikes:

Next on the agenda is a food tour of Hanoi.  It was a little pricy but we figured we would splurge for the private tour so we would know what to look for during the next month in Vietnam.  Here is all the food we ate:

A two hour tour with 14 different tastes of Vietnam...WOW!  A great ending to a great first day in Vietnam.

After a late night out (we didn't get back to the room until around 10:00 PM...I know...we are lame) we slept in, had breakfast, and went back to the room for a little downtime.  We finally left the room just after noon and headed out for a walking tour that is advertised to be just over 2 miles and take around 2 hours.  For us it took 5 hours and we probably walked at least 4 miles...these streets are very confusing and it is very, very easy to get very, very lost.

Here are some highlights of our walking tour:

Here are two videos taken on the streets of Hanoi for your viewing pleasure:

After the 2 hour tour that took 5 hours we attended the famous water puppet show.  I couldn't take any pictures during the show, so I borrowed the first one from Wikipedia.  The second I did manage to take when the puppeteers came out for a bow:

After the puppet show we ate dinner on our way back to the hotel by snacking on street food and then called it a night.  Tomorrow we have to wake up early to get on a bus that is taking us to Halong Bay for a 2-night cruise.  We can't wait!

The only thing that got us our of our soft bed was that the included breakfast only went till 10 AM.  After breakfast we returned to the room to enjoy some more R&R...after the kayaking trip we needed a bit of a break, plus, Tim felt like he was coming down with a head cold so we decided to just take it easy.  Around 3:30 we finally wandered out of the room mostly because I needed lunch.

Luang Prabang is a really cute city with a main street lined with French inspired architecture:

After lunch we returned to the hotel since Tim was feeling a bit worse.  Luckily he didn't have a fever, so it seems to be just a cold will hopefully run its course by tomorrow morning.  Around 7:30 PM I ventured out alone looking to buy some street food from the venders.  I bought some spring rolls, a small grilled fish, grilled tofu, and some steamed rice.  Of all that food,all that was edible was the tofu and the rice...we are not looking forward to leaving Laos, but we are definitely looking forward to the better food of Vietnam.

The next morning I woke and went down for breakfast san Tim although I did bring him up some toast and orange juice...yes I am the best wife ever.  Anyway...I gave Tim till noon till I forced him in the shower so we can start our walking tour of Luang Prabang...maybe I'm not the best wife ever?  After the shower he felt good enough to give it a go, so we headed out to follow the walking tour our guide book suggested.  The plan is a 3 mile walk that covers the highlights of Luang Prabang.  First stop That Chomsi, a gold gilded stupa built on the top of a hill situated in the middle of the city.  Here are some pictures taken on the way up:

Here are some pictures from the top:

And pictures taken on the way down:

Next was a walk around the streets which was quite impressive with amazing looking alleyways:

We continued on the tour and saw some more amazing scenery including temples and gardens.  Here are the highlights:

After walking around 3 miles we were ready for a beer.  We stopped at one place and tried a new beer called Lane Xang...not the best, but it was palatable and it had a cool elephant on the label:

After one beer we headed to a place suggested by our guidebook called Utopia which is kind on an ironic name considering it was decorated with cluster bomb dispensers:

And the ultimate irony is that they had a yoga class going on when we arrived...I love this picture!

You may not believe it, but we finished off the night back at the pizza place we went to the first night.  Tim wanted to go there again and I wasn't going to complain since he was a good sport walking around all day when we wasn't feeling very well.

The next day we checked out of our hotel after breakfast, left our luggage for storage, and walked around the city.  We had till 5:00 PM till we had to be back to the hotel for our ride our of town.  This time our plan was to just walk and find see sites we missed the day before.  I don't know the name of any of these places, but there look pretty cool:

We were pretty much done walking around but we still had a few hours till we had to leave, so I decided to finally have that massage I have been putting off all these months.  For the incredible low price of of $8 USD I got a 1 hour massage with lemongrass scented oil.  I don't know why I haven't been getting these massages the entire time we have been traveling!

It was finally time to go, so we went back to the hotel, grabbed our luggage, and loaded on to a tuk-tuk for the airport.  What is that?!?  The airport?!?  That is correct.  At this point we had the choice of taking a 26 hour bus ride from Luang Prabang for $50 USD or taking a plane for $125 UDS that gets us there in 1 hour.  After doing some research and learning that the bus ride is regularly called "The Bus Ride From Hell" we opted for the 1 hour plane ride on Vietnam Airways.

We took off at 7:25PM from Luang Prabang, Laos and arrive in Hanoi, Vietnam at 8:35 PM.  Our hotel sent a driver to pick us up...I can get used to this pampering...and we arrived at in our hotel room just before 10 PM.  Awaiting us in our room were rose pedals and a fruit basket...all for the low, low price of $36 USD per night!

DAY 1
We woke up the next morning still questioning our decision to kayak for 3 days, but we can't back out now.  We figured we better get a good breakfast for the energy plus we didn't know what to expect food wise for the next 3 days.  I noticed on the menu something called Laos Pancake that looked interesting, so I ordered it.  This is what came out:

I think it is a sticky rice patty coated with egg and then fried making for a dense and yummy meal.  Added an egg on top and pour some chili sauce on top and I am very, vey happy.

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and met our tour guide, Kim, for the next 3 days.  We packed what we needed into dry sacks and the tour company sent the rest of our belongings to Luang Probang where we will meet them in 3 days. 
We were finally in the kayaks and going down river by 9:30 AM and by 9:40 AM we were wondering...yet again...what have we got ourselves into.  The river wasn't running too fast requiring us to paddle pretty hard, and looking downriver it didn't look like it got any better.  After 30 minutes Kim was pretty far ahead and stopped to allow us to catch up.  I asked him if he was concerned and he said he wasn't then he said, "Well, maybe a little."  Great...maybe we are doing as bad as we felt we were.  What have we gotten ourselves into?!?

We decided to pick it up a bit and after about 1 hour Kim said that he was feeling a bit better about our ability to paddle.  At 1:30 PM, after 4 hours of paddling, we stopped for lunch.  We expected individual lunch portions, but instead Kim opened a bag of sticky rice and a bag of sautéed vegetables and said to please eat.  This is what is called eating lunch Laos-style:

The food was pretty good, but not as good as the scenery:

Kim said that we only had about 3 more hours left of paddling today before making it to the village we will be spending the night.  Only 3 more hours?!?  He also kept telling us that today is the hardest day of the 3 since the river is wider here and doesn't run as fast.  He also kept telling us that tomorrow is the fun day with 5 sets of rapids...great...something more to add to our worries.  Oh...Kim then tells us that just before the end of today's paddle we have to tackle a dam that according to Kim is a bit tricky.

Tim at this point isn't very happy.  For the next 3 hours he is mumbling behind me that he didn't sign up for this...that they said it was an easy paddle with no whitewater and today we have been paddling our butts off and now we have to go through a tricky whitewater section...that this kayak isn't the best quality and it is hard to turn...and that he doesn't want to go in the water and get soaked.

2 1/2 hours later we approach the dam.  Kim tells us that as long as we follow him and keep the kayak straight we should be alright.  So...follow we did with waves crossing the bow and hitting me in the face, but we managed to make it through without going over...although we felt like we almost did.  30 minutes later we landed at our overnight village.

The interesting part of this village is that it is only 6 months old.  This village was located right by where China built the new dam.  To compensate, China built a whole new village just down river.  The houses are a lot nicer than the old houses, but the villagers do not like the new location since a lot of their rice paddies are now hard to get to, but according to Kim, they are getting used to it.  Here are some pictures of the village:

Here is the house we stayed in and the family that hosted us:

Notice the fish being grilled in the picture of our host family above?  Well...I told them that I didn't eat meat but that I did eat fish, so they went to their neighbor's house and brought back a fish.  After it was cooked they told me to help myself so I started eating it.  After a few bites Kim came to me to tell me that the entire fish wan't mine that it was for the whole family.  This fish was only about 8 inches long and i would have easily been able to eat it and probably still be hungry...luckily there is all the sticky rice I can eat.

After dinner we went to our room.  Being a new construction our room was a lot nicer than we expected although we still slept on a thin mattress on the floor.  

DAY 2
The next morning we woke up, had some scrambled eggs and sticky rice and headed back out on the Nam Ou River.  As we launched, Kim told us that today we would face 5 rapids that he nicknamed cousin, sister, brother, mother, and father...each one gets progressively harder.  Again, Tim isn't a happy person.  We hit the first rapid that we survived, but it wound up being the "little cousin" so didn't count as one of the 5.  Each rapid we hit and thought was legitimate Kim said it was the second little cousin or the little brother, but not 1 of the 5.  Finally we made it to cousin and sister and successfully negotiated them.  Then we hit brother...more like evil brother since it knocked us over pretty early in the rapids.  Because it was impossible to get back on the kayak while in the rapids we were forced to ride it out by hanging onto the kayak and then ultimately, after Kim took the kayak from us, we had to swim our way to the edge, which we succeeded to do.  Neither of us were injured and the water temperature wasn't too bad so all in all it wasn't too bad of an ordeal, except that we still have 2 more rapids that are supposed to be worse.  But first we stopped for lunch at another beautiful location along the river:

After lunch we hit more "little sisters", "little brothers", "uncles", and then finally we hit mother.  Again Kim told us to follow him, which we tried, but it was hard to steer the kayak and we wound up taking a different line that ran us right over a small waterfall...which we survived...and then we went over.  We don't know how or why since we were so close to exiting the rapids, but there we were floating down the river yet again.   At least we knew the drill...hold onto the kayak, pass the kayak to Kim, swim past the rapids and head towards the edge.  We get back on the kayak and Kim said that we only had one more rapid...another dam to get through, but worse than the yesterday's dam, that he calls "father"...great.

Although he said we only had "father" left, we went through more "little brothers", "uncles", "little sisters", and then finally we see the dam.  Kim said, as usual, follow him and keep the kayak straight.  As usual, we had trouble keeping the same line as he did, and wound up going right through the high wave section of the rapids, but somehow we managed to hold on and not go over...success!  Around 3:30 PM, a little further down the river, we pulled into our village for the night.

Here are pictures of the house we stayed in.  Kim said that these people were rich and that the house is very large compared to his and most other houses.

After another dinner consisting of mostly sticky rice we called it a night and went to sleep.

DAY 3:
We can't believe that we have made it through the first 2 days and we now finally felt like we were going to make it.  We hit the river around 8:30 and 2 hours later stopped for a quick break:

Although today was supposed to be the easy day there were still many rapids to negotiate and at this point we ready for a hotel room with a bed and a shower.  Right at the point that we were tired it was time to pull off for lunch at one of the most beautiful areas on the river with sheer granite cliffs:

About 1 hour after lunch we made it to the confluence of the Nam Ou River and the Mekong River.  We turned downriver on the Mekong and made an immediate stop at the Pak Ou Caves AKA, the Buddha Cave, home to thousands of Buddha images:

After the cave we had just 45 minutes on the Mekong before we got to our pull-out point.  During the 1 hour drive to Luang Prabang we made a quick stop in the Whiskey Village where Tim tried out the rice wine with Kim looking on:

Then, around 4 PM we made it to Luang Prabang after 3 days and almost 60 miles of paddling we made it.  To celebrate we walked over the pedestrian bamboo bridge and had pizza for dinner:

Tomorrow we sleep in, relax, and walk around Luang Prabang.

We are now running out of time fast.  Because we are exiting Laos in February, a month with only 28 days, Laos only gave us 28 days...3 less days...on our visa.  I know 3 days doesn't seem like a lot, but it means leaving out the 2 day boat ride down the Mekong that I wanted to do.  Instead the plan is to make it to Luang Prabang and do a 2 day trek staying in a remote village.  A bus from Sam Neua to Luang Prabang is over 15 hours, so we decided to break up the trip by stopping in Nong Khiaw only 8 hours away.  Stopping in Nong Khiaw also allows us the possibility to take a 1 day boat ride down the Nam Ou into the Mekong and to Luang Prabang.

We arrived at the bus station at 6:30 AM, 1hour before the van is supposed to leave.  When we got there the van to Nong Khiaw was already there, but the driver would not let us on.  For the next hour we waited to board, but every time he entered the van for something or another he would get out and lock the doors.  Finally the time came to leave and he finally unlocked the doors...but he made us all remove our shoes and put them in plastic bags...thus the wait till the last minute.  He wanted to ensure that he can control the entry into the van which he could only do once all the luggage has been stowed and we were ready to leave.

Overall the trip was pretty good except for the 2 young guys behind us that kept throwing up due to the twists and turns of the mountain road.  We finally arrived in Nong Khiaw just before 5 PM and just in time to catch the sunset:

Here is where we are staying for the next 2 nights:

Here is the view from our balcony the next morning:

After breakfast we walked through town to look into how to take the 1-day boat down the river to Luang Prabang.  We talked to one tour company that didn't offer the boat to Luang Prabang, but did offer a 2 day trek similar to the one I wanted to do in Luang Prabang, but less expensive and would be a private trek with just Tim and I...hum...something to consider.  We continued down the road and finally found a place that offered the boat trip, but a dam has been erected so instead of simply getting on a boat and going to Luang Prabang you have to get off the boat at a dam, catch a tuk-tuk around the dam, then get onto another boat.  Not that big a deal except now that the dam has been built less and less people have opted for the boat trip so the price has gone up.  It would have cost us $150 USD each...quite ridiculous, so not an option.  We decided to go back to the trekking company but stopped at another company to see what they could offer in terms of treks.  They offered a very similar trek to the first one we found, but they also offered a 3-day kayak trip that ended in Luang Prabang.

When we heard 3-day kayaking, all we thought was we get to be on the river like we wanted and we didn't have to get back on a van for an 8 hour mountain drive AGAIN.  He said it was an easy paddle and that there was little to no whitewater.  Before we knew it we were signed up and told to be there at 9 AM the next day.  After leaving the tour company we were like...WHAT DID WE JUST DO?!?  Oh well...we will worry about that later.  Right now we have to hike the 1.25 mile hike up to the viewpoint.

There was a few warnings he had to heed during the hike:

And here is the reward for the long climb that felt like it went straight up the side of the mountain:

The trip back down the mountain was just before sunset allowing for some beautiful scenery:

After the hike I was rewarded with an awesome Indian dinner.  A meal like this back in the US would probably cost around $25 USD.  Here in Laos it cost around $10 USD!  Tim even managed to find something on the menu that he really liked.

After dinner we called it a night.  Tomorrow we are off on a 3-day kayaking trip down the Nam Ou River towards Luang Prabang.  We still can't believe we have signed up for this.

The off the beaten path tour of Laos continues with a grueling 8 hour van ride up and down mountain roads similar to the roads we drove on to Phonsavan.  The only difference now is that instead of having only 6 people in the van, this time the van was full with people actually sharing seats for most of the ride.  Tim and I held our ground and refused to allow a third person to share our 2-person bench seat, but eventually the guy sitting next to me had one cheek on my seat and another on his seat that he shared with another guy.  No worries...it is only a 10 hour ride.  In some weird way the trip didn't seem as bad as it could have been.  People got off the van giving us some room but then someone else would board squeezing us tight again.  This went on and on and on until we were finally in Sam Neua around 4:00 PM.  

We checked into our hotel where we were the only guests the first night, and then went for a walk before dinner. We came across the market so decided to walk around it.  It seemed like a really nice market:

As we walked around we started seeing some weird stuff that I couldn't even bring myself to take pictures of.  Put it this way...this is the least disturbing food that I managed to take a picture of:

The most disturbing was rats both alive and dead with the dead ones split opened showing the organs...no picture necessary.  After a pretty fast exit we made it to the one restaurant in town with an English menu, had dinner, and called it a night.

The next morning we rented a couple of motorbikes and headed to Vieng Xai Caves...about a 1 hour ride through the mountains.  These caves is the reason we made the trip all the way out here.  These caves aren't the kind with stalagmite and stalactites...these are the kind of caves that people lived and hid in.  Specifically, the founders of the Laos communist party lived and hid in these caves during the US Secret War that brought almost 10 years of bombing.  The tour consisted of a tour guide taking you around town from cave to cave along with listening to an audio tour that details the story of the communist uprising in Laos, the way life was in the caves for almost 10 years, and the ultimate victory against the US when the Secret War ended and the communists taking over political power in Laos.

Before we got to the cave we noticed a monument so pulled over:

While we were looking at it, a guy across the street asked us where we were from.  I pointed to the statue and said USA and he said, "That's OK."

Here are some highlights of the Vieng Xai Caves tour:

After the tour we hurried to hit the road to ensure we get back before dark.  We made it to Sam Neua just at sunset and went back to the one restaurant in town that speaks English.  I noticed they sold a plum wine for $7 US, so I ordered a bottle and really enjoyed it.  Definitely something I would drink again.

Tomorrow we board a van for another 10 hour trip to Nong Khiaw.  It is a logical stop on the way to Luang Prabang and is supposed to be beautiful.  I guess we will see tomorrow.

We are about to go off the beaten path in the country of Laos that is already off the beaten path.  The only thing that sits in the way is the 8 hour van ride on a twisty mountain road...thus the "off the beaten path".  Most people traveling around Laos skip the northeast of the country because the travel is slow and tiring, but not us.  The trip started out great when only 6 people boarded the van...at least we will have plenty of room for the trip.

The good parts of the drive are the incredible scenery and when we drive through villages.  This picture was taken out our window while we were passing through a village:

And here is our lunch stop:

After enduring 8 hours of being in a constant turn we made it to Phonsavan.  We checked into our hotel and then decided to check out the UXO Information Centre run by the British organization MAG (Mines Advisory Group).  For those of you that don't know, a UXO is an unexploded ordinance and there are supposedly millions of these lying all over Laos and in particular in this northeast area of Laos.  According to MAG, Laos is the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in history.  Here are some scary statistics:

• The US performed more than 580,000 bombing missions on Laos from 1964 to 1973 during the Vietnam War.
• That's equivalent to one bombing mission every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years.
• Over two million tons of ordnance was dropped on the country, with up to 30 percent failing to explode as designed.
  
• More than 270 million cluster munitions (or ‘bombies’, as they are known locally) were used; up to 80 million failed to detonate, remaining live and in the ground after the end of the war.
  
• Approximately 25 per cent of the country's villages are contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO).
• From the end of the war in 1974 to 2008, more than 20,000 people were killed or injured as a result of UXO accidents.
• There have been approximately 300 new casualties annually over the last decade.
• Over the last decade 40 per cent of total casualties were children.

After walking around the exhibit and watching a film about the subject we were compelled to purchase a t-shirt to help the cause.  We then went next door and purchased a scarf with the proceeds going directly to families that have been affected by UXOs.

After that eye-opening experience we went for dinner where I experienced river weed for the first time.  It is like seaweed, but from a river so it isn't very salty, but it was delicious.

The next morning we set out on a tour to see a Hmong village, Tham Piu Cave, and Plain of Jars Site 1.

First the Hmong village.  Some of the more interesting things in this village is how they use bombs for everyday objects.  Also, notice the last picture of this group.  These villagers, according to our tour guide, is preparing some kind of root that someone in the U.S. ordered to help with lowering blood pressure.

Next we stopped at Tham Piu Cave where during the so-called Secret War on 24 November 1969, a single rocket fired from a US aircraft killed an estimated 374 people, rumoured to be an entire village, who had taken refuge in the cave. 

Finally, the star of the day, a visit to Plain of Jars Site 1, a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos.  No one knows what civilization made these jars, but it is believe they date back to 500 BCE.  There are more than 90 jar sites, but site 1 has the largest concentration: 

Oh...this place is one of the areas the US bombed intensely, so it is important to stay within the "lines".  We are supposed to walk on the paths on the side of the white stripe:

After Plain of Jars we returned to Phonsavan, had dinner, and called it a night.  Tomorrow we must endure a 10 hour, 155 mile van ride to Sam Neua for yet another "off the beaten path" adventure.

We boarded a van with about 20 other Westerners for the 100 mile, 4 hour ride.  That is right....we will be averaging 25 miles per hour because the road twists and turns up and down a mountain road for the entire trip.  Although the road was rough, the scenery was beautiful and then when we arrived in Vang Vieng the scenery wasn't too shabby there either:

Back in the 2000's Vang Vieng was know as party capital of Laos.  Young backpackers would come here for cheap rooms, cheap beer, and illicit drug use.  Another popular past time was to float down the river in inner tubes stopping at all the makeshift bars along the way.  This party atmosphere ended after 2011 when 27 tourists died due to drowning or diving head first into rocks while under the influence.  Today the inner tubing continues, but the drug use has ended.  What do people due here instead?  We watch Friends where not one, but two restaurants play the DVDs non-stop all day and night:

After a few BeerLaos and multiple Friends episodes we called it a night and headed back to our hotel room.

The next morning we rented a couple of scooters to ride the West Vang Vieng Loop, a 15 mile loop of beautiful scenery, but with a bumpy dirt road to go along with it.

Along the way there are multiple caves you can stop and explore, but we just continued around the loop with and made only one stop at the "Blue Lagoon" where the highlight is a blue lagoon with a tree to jump off of and a cave:

On our way back to town we had our first sighting of re-appropriated bomb.  More information on these bombs to come in the next few blogs:

After an enjoyable day we got back to town, had a couple of BeerLaos, ate dinner, and called it a night.  We have a long 170 mile, 8 hour trip to our next stop, Phonsavan to visit the Plain of Jars.

We woke up the next morning knowing that we could find a better hotel for the price, so I sent Tim out to assess the situation and he returned with reservations for a hotel on the next block.  We packed our stuff, headed over to the new hotel, dropped off our bags, and rented mountain bikes from a place across the street.  The main reason we stopped here in Vientiane is to get our Vietnam visa.  Unlike Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos that has visas on arrival, you have to apply for and receive a visa for Vietnam in advance to crossing the boarder.  So, we hopped on our mountain bikes and headed to the Vietnamese Embassy.  Although we had a map, it wasn't as easy to find as we hoped and we arrive there at 11:30 AM and was greeted by a sign that said they were closed from 11:30 - 2:30.  So...back on the bikes and off looking for a place for lunch and a way to waste the next 3 hours.

We wound up riding 20 minutes back to the area we were staying since that was the area that catered towards westerners and we knew that we would find restaurants with english menus.  We settled on a corner restaurant mostly for the view and, according to Tim, had some of the best french fries we have had in a while:

After lunch we found a nice road that followed the Mekong River so rode our bicycles north and then south along the river until we had to return to the embassy.  Here are some scenes along the Mekong River:

We left the path to return to the embassy where we filled out the form and handed over $70 US each, and was told to return tomorrow at 5:00 PM to retrieve our passports with a visa.  Wow...that was easy.  We then decided to return to the river path where we left off to continue our ride.

And like magic, the path ended right at a lovely looking local bar with 10,000 Kip ($1.25 US) bottles of Beer Lao served properly with ice:

Although we were hungry we decided to forgo eating there, but watched the locals chow down on the grilled meats.  We also noticed that every table had an order of what looked like hard-boiled eggs.  I then remembered that I read about people in this area eating eggs with partially developed duck embryos inside and determined that this is what they were eating.  After some time, a group of 3 westerners appeared and I invited them to join us.  Although all three were American, one was born in China and moved when he was 10.  I told him about the possible "duck embryo egg" sighting and he said he was familiar with this.  Next thing I know, he leaves the table and return with said mentioned egg.  I just couldn't resist making a video to share:

And of course we had to stay to see the sunset.  By the way...across the Mekong is Thailand, so here is a picture of the sunset over Thailand:

Since we past on the embryonic egg we headed back towards the hotel at went to a restaurant recommended by the tour book and wound up having an excellent dinner of grilled squid, sticky rice, steamed vegetables, and gaw (a weird, but tasty substance made to dip veggies and sticky rice into). Oh...and Tim ordered a "safe" roasted chicken.

Oh yeah...on the way to dinner we came across another restaurant that had a halfed Volkswagen Beetle out front that they were using as tables...check it out:

We enjoyed riding the bicycles around all day that we decided to rent the same bicycles for the next day and do a tour of the city of Vientiane.  Here are some of the highlights:

Wat Si Saket:  Vientiane's oldest temple turned national museum.  Home to thousands of Buddha figures:

Patuxai: Victory Monument AKA Vientiane's Arc de Triomphe AKA The Vertical Runway because it was built with cement donated by the USA to build a new airport.

Finally, back to the Vietnamese Embassy to retreive our passports and visas:

And then we just couldn't resist not going back to that awesome local hangout before heading back to the hotel:

On the way back to the hotel we passes through a park that had a public yoga session going on :

After a dinner of grilled squid, pizza, and salad we called it a night and prepared for waking up early for a 4 hour bus ride to Vang Vieng at 7:30 AM.

We woke up the next morning full of wonderment of what a 7-8 hour public bus ride will be like.  We have seen many torn-up buses driving around here with people hanging out of the door and just can't imagine what 7-8 hours will be like riding one of those.  But first...I want to show you some of the French colonial buildings around Pakse.  It looks a lot like the buildings in New Orleans, except for the crazy outdoor electrical wiring:

Actually...many of the towns here in Laos have similar French-style colonial buildings...kind of cool.

Next the big surprise of the day...the bus we got on was actually really nice:

The only negative was the never ending Laos karaoke that went for the entire trip, although it did get interrupted by the vendors that boarded the bus at every stop:

After all was said and done, the 7-8 hour bus ride turned into 9 hours mostly due to us sitting at bus stops waiting for who knows what, but at least the seats were comfortable and eventually we were able to ignore the karaoke and get a lot of reading done. 

Next stop was to check into our hotel which wound up being one of the nicer places we have stayed in a while.  The only downside was that we were only staying one night:

The next morning, after a way comfortable nights sleep, we headed to the motorbike rental shop to get our bikes and hit the road.  Here is the Tha Khek Loop we are riding.  Most people ride it counter-clockwise, so of course we are going to ride it clockwise.

The first 65 miles was a basic highway with little scenery, but as soon as we turned east...that's where it became beautiful: 

We pulled into our hotel around 3:00 and were the only people there.  By 9:00 PM there were about 8 other people doing the loop as well: 

The next day we left the hotel around 8:30 and headed to the highlight of the loop, Kong Lor Cave, but first the 30 mile ride there:

And now Kong Lor Cave:

To explore this cave you get on a boat for a 4.3 mile ride along a windy river through a really high limestone cave.  About 1/2 mile into the ride you get out of the boat and walk down a path showing off some of the caves formations.

Then back on the boat for 3.7 miles of darkness until the exit comes into view:

When we exited the cave the scenery was spectacular:

Then we pulled up to a village where some of the residence were selling food, drinks, and weaving:

Back on the boat for the return trip up the river and back into the cave:

The 30 mile ride back to the hotel was just as nice as the ride there:

We arrived back at the hotel in time to grab a quick snack before heading out to the Cool Springs.  We rode about 15 miles up and down a mountain road and then turned onto a dirt track for 3.5 miles across a savannah and over a bridge:

Until finally arriving at Cool Springs where I took a dip...and yes it was cool!

Back on the road in time to catch sunset just before pulling into the hotel for some awesome dinner and a good nights sleep:

The next morning we woke, had breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and said goodbye to our new friend, Hauke from Germany:

The plan for today is to continue the loop and stop at a guesthouse on the Nam Theun River.  We heard this place can fill up fast, so we wanted to get there in time to get a room.  The biggest obstacle standing between us and the guesthouse is that 18 of the 75 miles we need to cover is a dirt road...so let's get started.

As soon as we started going up the mountain the fog got thicker and thicker.  Luckily it was only really bad at the very top, so we kept on going...until we crossed a bridge and looked down to see boats made out of drop tanks left in Laos during the Vietnam Era:

During this stop I was able to get pictures of the fog:

Then came the dreaded 18 miles of dirt.  It wasn't just a dirt road.  We also had to ride through construction sites.  When I say construction sites, I mean that there was front loaders dumping rocks into dump trucks in the middle of the road without any flag crews or anything.  We had to time it right to pass in between "dumps".  Here is the damage done during these 18 miles...I am completely covered in fine red dirt:

 But look at this beautiful road we now get to ride for the last 20 miles of the day:

After riding a bit further we entered this really, really cool area with trees growing out of the water.  We decided to get to the guesthouse and check in and then come back out here for pictures, so here are some of the better pictures taken when we returned to this cool landscape:

Oh..and by the way...here is our bungalow for the night at the low price of 50,000 Kip ($6.25 US):

Most people stay across the street at Sabaidee Guesthouse, but we were worried that it would be loud there at night with all the typical backpacker types partying the night away, so we stayed here instead...but that didn't stop us from walking across the street and hanging out there a bit:

We didn't stay out partying with the other backpackers since we decided to get up early so we can return the bikes by 10:59 AM so we didn't have to pay for another day.  So after a couple of beers and a pretty good dinner we walked back across the street and went to sleep.

The next morning our plan was to be on the road at 7 AM, but first we went back to Sabaidee Guesthouse for a freshly baked chocolate croissant and then we hit the road.  It was a little chilly, but what a beautiful morning:

We were making pretty good time, so we decided to stop and see Xieng Liap Cave.  We were worried about missing the sign for the cave, but luckily some local entrepreneur kids yelled at us as we passed it, so we turned around and the kids parked us and told us that they would take us to the cave.  One girl stayed behind to watch our bikes and two boys led us through a field, through the jungle,  and into the cave:

When all was said and done we gave each of the kids 10,000 Kips ($1.25 USD) each.  The most excited was the girl who probably never gets money for "watching" the bikes, especially since she inside her house when we arrived back at the bikes, but giving her the money was worth the smile we got in return.

We arrived back in Tha Khek around 10:30 AM and returned the bikes...now we need to find out what time the bus is tomorrow to Vientiane and find a hotel room.  

We went across the street to a tour guide and he said the van to Vientiane wasn't until tomorrow morning, but we can go to the bus station and wait for a local bus heading that direction.  He said there wasn't a schedule, and if we went we might have to wait a few hours, but they show up pretty regularly until around midnight.  I was game, but Tim was looking forward to spending the day chilling out in town and in the hotel room.  After some discussion I convinced him that the best thing to do was head to the bus station and if a bus didn't come within 3 hours we would get a hotel.  So...off to the station and as luck would have it, there was a bus to Vientiane siting there.  Ten minutes later we were off to Vientiane for a easy 6 hour bus ride.

After 6 hours of...you guessed it...Laos karaoke, we arrived in Vientiane, found a hotel, had a quick dinner, and went to sleep.  Oh...here are some interesting pictures I took at the bus station in Vientiane of what they load on top of the passenger buses: