Day 27 - VIP bus to Vientienne Laos

This morning was an early start for us (not like the last few days) as we had to catch the VIP bus to Vientienne at 8am. Our tuk-tuk driver was to pick us up at 7.10 to bring us to the southern bus station so it was an early 6am start to get showered and packed.

Phil and Caroline were also heading to Vientienne today so we all ended up in the 1 tuk-tuk and bus together. On arriving at the bus station the VIP bus didn't look any better than any of the others, ok a little better maybe but it was supposed to be the fastest of the buses.

We left dead on time which was strange by Laos standards and started climbing into the mountains.

The scenery was amazing as we climbed high above the clouds on very twisty steep roads. Our driver wasn't too scared of the possible danger had the brakes or steering failed. It would of been a slip down into the valley several 100 meters below. His driving was very good though in my opinion. Carolines white knuckles on the handle of the seat in front told a different story - from her point of view.

I was so impressed at the scenery as we passed. Some huge mountain peaks sticking up out of the valleys of cloud. It reminded me a bit of the Lord Of the Rings movies. Breathtaking!

We stopped several times along the way for toilet breaks and to stretch our legs and we stopped about 4 hours into the journey for lunch. The VIP bus supplied you with lunch, a bottle of drinking water and a kind of cake bar as a snack as part of the ticket.

Lunch consisted of some traditional Buffalo Lup and sticky rice. It was quite nice at the time ... especially with a cold beer Lao as the mid day heat was really getting to us.

From there on it was much flatter land, still twisty but without the hills. At 6.20 we pulled into the bus station in Vientienne, about 20 minutes later than schedule, again an impressive feat in Laos. We all climbed into a taxi and headed for the town centre. We arrived beside the Nam Phu. The Nam Phu is a water fountain monument in the middle of the tourist area in Vientienne. Where the taxi dropped us off all the guesthouses were fully booked so we went around the corner and down a side street where we found another cheap one. Phil and Caroline were getting the train back to Bangkok the following day so they weren't too bothered where they stayed and we were just knackered after the bus journey so we didn't care too mich either.

As it was our last night together as a group we headed out for dinner along the banks of the Meekong, we had a few drinks as well and were joined by another travel friend of Phil and Caroline's who was from Holland. It was also her birthday and she was celebrating it alone so we all had a few more drinks together before heading back to the guesthouse and to bed!