Vung Vieng

We decided to do a one day road trip up to Vung Vieng, since my buddy from North Carolina has never seen the town.  Personally, I really don’t care for Vung Vieng although the landscape surrounding the town is stunning.  This will be the second visit for me and first for most of my cousins.  The main reason I didn’t really care for the town cause of all those obnoxious backpackers.  They are turning this little tiny town into the mega pot/opium  smoking city in South East Asia.  It is got out of hands for the past few years.

Although I tried to avoid the popular backpackers hangout spot.  There aren’t much tourist spots in town beside all the bars along the river.  I think we spend total about 4 hours in Vung Vieng and pretty much covered the town.

this is the main strip of Vung Vieng.. looking toward the south of town.

the famous coconut tree.. i never seen anything like this before..

i love the sign in Laos.. hahahha always homemade sign

lao version of golden gate brigde.. 🙂

another view of lao golden gate bridge..

when i was in the middle of this bridge.. i grab the handrail and begin to shake it for few minutes and almost gave my cousins heart attack. hahahah

there's a cave in that mountain.. if you notices the two structures almost half way of the mountain. we are going to hike up there

stairways up to the cave.."Thum Jung"

my cousin and I counted each step as we climbed this stairwell.

as soon we both got to the top.. we both yelled out loud.. 147!! my other cousin was like.. duhhhh.. why bother to count? someone wrote it right there and we both burst out laughing..

must obey the rules..

only our group was in the cave that morning... it was some what creepy at time.. the cave itself was cool comparing to the outside temperature..

it was not fun going down those stairs.. i don't know who constructed this stairways.. the various heights of each steps made it hard to walk down.. there are few times i had to grab on the rail

as you can see.. there are bars after bars.. infamous location for soaking up the sun and smoking pot

one of the popular slide.. the water level was so low.. it was dead there

no customers..

that is my cousin in the middle of the river... i'm not sure what is she looking for

nice landscape... but too many bars..

i saw this gal playing with her brother from distance.. i couldn't resist:-)

this sign is right next to the new bridge.. got it???? hahahha

same bridge... but home made version of sign.. hahaha there are fee for crossing this bridge.. i forgot the cost..

no charge for crossing this bridge.. although he like you to spend some $$ at his restaurant

Road Trip To Southern Region Of Laos

Hhhmmm..  It is been about 3 weeks since I got back from Laos and I’m still not my normal self yet.  I have so much stories and pictures to share, but I just can’t focus on writing anything.  So, please bare with me if I don’t make any sense at all.

My main goal for this trip is to see as many places as I can.  The first week of my trip was spend with families and friends.  One of my buddy from North Carolina followed me to Laos a week after I got there.  He was born in small village about an hour and half south of Pakse, near the Thailand border.  His parents separated when he was very young and saw his dad for the first time about 4 years ago for 2 hours.  So, he wants to spend part of the trip with his half brothers and sisters.  For some of his brothers and sisters is the first time meeting each other, as anyone could imagine the thrill and tears of joy seeing each other for first time.

Our journey to the Southern part of Laos begin so early that I didn’t remember much.  I remember getting in the van and went straight back to sleep.

at the middle of Pak Ka Ding Bridge.. my cousin is offering to the god of river for permission to pass and safe journey..

it is normal to see people pray at the end of bridge.. since there's no traffic, we decide to stop in the middle of the bridge:)

this is where we stayed the first night in Pakse... The Champa Grand Hotel

I've notices most of the guests are Thai tourist that are staying here.. the breakfast brunch is pretty good.

the sunset on MeKong River.. this is the view of my room from 7th floor.

picture was taken from the courtyard of Champa Grand Hotel.. Laos-Nippon Bridge crossing MeKong River

City of Pakse.. in the middle of the picture is Pakse Market

the sign from the main highway.. Khon Pa Pheng Waterfall

this is it..... khon pa pheng waterfall.. all those hours in the car to see this fall.. hahah

i thought about walking down to the bottom and take some pictures.. but i was too tired!!

the ferry station to Don Khong and Don Det Islands..

my buddy had to take one of these ferry boats cross the MeKong River to Don Khong

it is a beautiful place.. so calm.. the locals are taking the bath right on the river..

i feel bad.. i wanted to take the picture but at same time.. i feel like i'm invading their spaces.

i really like this shot.. so peaceful

the fishermen are heading home with their catches of the day.

the second night in Pakse, we stayed here at Arawun Riverside Hotel

another view of the hotel.. i didn't care for this place, much prefer Champa Grand

Traffic in Vientiane

Sorry, this second post about Laos comes little late because I can’t while at work anymore.  Damn IT people must been filtering blog sites and had block it. LOL   I guess they want me to do some work when I’m at work hahahahah.

I’ve mentioned on previous blog that it is been 4 years since the last time I was in Laos.  Wow!!! As we drove out from Wattay Airport and I’ve notices the different right away.  So many cars, trucks and motorcycles are sharing the same tiny little roads.

this is middle of the day traffic.. see the two ladies trying to cross the road?? lol

good luck trying to turn left.. hahhaha notices not all bikers are wearing helmets even they pass the law..

those ladies pushing the carts are very brave.. eventually the cars and bikes have to stop. hahah

One thing I’ve notices that Vientiane are filled with nice luxury cars.  Which raise the question how most of these folks can afford such a car.  Almost all cars are being paid in cold hard cash and these cars aren’t cheap to begin with.  For example, if a car cost about $50,000.00 in the U.S., one will expect to paid almost double that price and in cash.  A friend had told me that some of those nice numbers plate cost as much as half of the price of the car itself.  Always makes me wonder what kind of businesses are these folks running to afford such items.  Also, the price of gas in Vientiane is really expensive comparing to the U.S..  I did some converting and their price of gas is almost $5.30 per gallon.  It is understandable because the gas is being driven in from Thailand or Vietnam.

Here are the pictures of all the nice luxury cars I captured during my visit.

this nice Lexus 570 SUV was illegal park on a sidewalk..

just park anywhere even is a sidewalk.. totally lao style.. hahah

one of the most popular SUV in Laos..

Toyota Vigo is one of the most popular truck in Laos..

speedy range rover.. almost didn't captured it.

i wonder if this rice rocket ever top over 70 mph(110 kmh).. since the roads are so bad around the city and no super highway

Z 350

convertible bmw.. i wonder how many time this owner took the tops down and drive around town.. nice hot sunny day with all the dust.. hahaha

nice benz sedan.. this one easily will cost close to $100,000

i'm kindda shock to see this late model of camero in VTE... good luck finding parts in Laos. lol

This last picture is priceless..  I didn’t think that any Sarm Lor (3 wheels) is still around.  We were waiting for the traffic light and I spotted him speeding off.  I’m glad that I was quick enough to captured this photo.

sarm lor(3 wheels).... what a hard way to earn a living.. i dare lance armstrong to give it a try around VTE. hahahha

Happy Belated Lao New Year 2010

First of all, I like to say “Soke Dee Pee Mai” which simply meant “Happy New Year”.  I have so many stories to tell and I don’t even know where to begin.  As many of you might know that this is not my first trip back to visit Laos.  Out of all my trips back to Laos, I never feel this sad about leaving the country.  I miss my grandparents, relatives and friends.  Five weeks flew by so quick and I wasn’t ready to come back.  I wanted to extend my vacation for 2 more weeks.  Although I’ve been back for almost a week and I still haven’t yet adjust it back to the U.S. time zone.  It is driving me crazy cause I am up all night and sleeping all day.

Here are some of pictures.

another sign about new year sponsors by Tigo and Namkhong Beer

view from 3rd floor of my guesthouse.. even is early in the morning, people are making their runs from temple to temple.

last day of the festival.. they didn't stop til 9pm.

this guy took his whole klan out.. hahhahah

even though she is getting splash with water from left and right... yet, she still manage to pose hahahha

i tried to count to see how many people were on this golf cart.. after 12 i lost count. lol