The Notoriously Dangerous Route 13
I had to make it to Vang Vieng via the infamous Route 13 where there have been numerous hijackings and or insurgence attacks on public buses over the years (last one in 2004 where many passangers were kiled). The six hour journey dragged a little probably because I've finished the book I was reading so I was relying on passing the time by sleeping and hoping not to be rudely awoken by gun shots! The Lonely Planet guide even suggests that if you are worried about this route, you should take a flight. Well, for one you can't fly to Vang Vieng and number two, Laos Airlines is supposed to have a terrible safetly record (Or no safetly records at all.).
Vang Vieng is very much a tourist spot with restaurants serving up episodes of Friends or the Simpsons on a regular basis. Despite this once you actually venture out of the town and into the countryside you realise just why people come here. Huge mountains and rice paddy fields surround the town and the Mekong river passes by allowing visitors the opportunity to take up some tubing and rafting.
I met an Italain guy whilst eating lunch. His name was Ruddrego and his English wasn't very good, we had fun trying to communicate and eventually decided to hire a couple of bikes to cycle out of town to one of the many caves in the area.
In the evening I met up with Ruddrego and his friends a Spanish couple. The couple were useful as interpreters and we chatted about the differences between Spanish, Italian and English football. To my surprise they thought the English game was the more entertaining.
