Me-go: Around-the-World

The road between Vientiane and Luang Prabang is now paved but the trip still takes ten hours on a winding path through the mountains. To break up the trip I stopped in Vang Vieng, a town with little to do besides look at the steep, rock-faced mountains. There are a lot of caves in the area to explore but I soon discovered that they aren’t very interesting as far as caves go–they have only become attractions because there’s nothing else to see in Vang Vieng. I spent my time walking around town, wading in the river and eating dinner. The town could be a lot of fun if I wasn’t alone. Every restaurant has raised eating platforms with pillows and a large TV showing DVDs. Strangely, one of the restaurants only showed Friends. Every time I walked down the street I heard Monica yelling at Chandler or the irritating laugh track. Of course, this isn’t what people come to Laos for but it’s hard to blame the residents for wanting to make money or the tourists for using the facilities offered.

You can see the photos from Vang Vieng here.