We saw and conquered the amazing Plain of Jars and left early this morning for Vang Vieng.  The last three days have been tough on all of us.  We rented a mini-van and personal driver to take us up and through the mountains from Luang Prabang.  Ock was an excellent driver and guide.  He stopped at all the scenic spots and introduced us to several small mountain villages along the way.  I have some amazing photographs to prove it too…..but you’ll have to wait for those. 

I can only describe Phonsavon with two words.  WILD WEST.  The main street is lined with dusty little shacks and a few guesthouses.  We didn’t have a lot of information for this area, other than what is provided in the Lonely Planet guide.  Earlier this week, Range left a comment on my blog about his thoughts on traveling.  He intends to use his LP’s as a rough guide and I couldn’t agree more with him.  However, on this particular trip, we’ve relied heavily on LP to get us where we need to go.  Speaking in general, when I journey to well-traveled countries like Thailand or Indonesia, I rarely use my guide.  We were forced to use our guides a bit more in Cambodia and Vietnam, simply because they’re harder countries to travel through.  Laos is a mix of both.  It’s been easy to navigate, but we’ve found it wise to take LP’s suggestions on accomodations and restaurants, especially in places like Phonsavon.

We left Phonsavon at 8am this morning and journeyed another six hours to get to Vang Vieng.  It’s been raining since we left, but this hasn’t stopped us from being super-excited to be here.  We are staying in a $9 room with a magnificent view of cloud topped limestone mountains and hand-made wooden bridges extending over the Nam Cong River.  We arrived just in time to join in the locals in a Rocket festival.  There are hundreds of people on the riverbanks setting off rockets to wake the gods up for the rainy season.  It’s pouring now and we’re drying off a bit before we head out again.

Tomorrow we’re renting tractor tire inner tubes to float down the river, weather providing.  Laos is exactly how imagined it to be, only more beautiful than words can express.  We’re having such a wonderful time, it’s going to be hard to leave.  As hard as it will be to leave, our thoughts are already turning to our family and friends waiting at home.  We are so anxious to see you all and can’t wait to hear your stories from the last two years!