It was a bumpy 5-6 hour journey from Luang Prabang by bus but the scenery on the way down was stunning. It's full of twists and turns, highs and lows and numerous villages dotted along the whole length of the road, a truly fascinating and eye opening journey.

 
Many of the houses are traditional wooden built with thatch roofs and are really unique to this area, the last time I saw anything even similar was the Rong Houses in Vietnam although here it was a far smaller scale (unfortunately I only have video of the area, no pictures) . As it is morning time, many villages have their markets up and running and at one stop the butcher section is battling off the dust from the road which is normal here, all sorts of dirt and stour is kicked up onto 'fresh’ produce ingraining it with unique flavors. It’s not only butcher’s but fruit and veg stalls, clothes stalls, everything is out here on the roadside so it’s more convenient for the motorbikes which just pull up for service without having to get off their bikes (I like that idea and have used it several times myself).

 
As there’s only four tourists on our bus (me included), it ends up getting piled high with flowers from one of the markets and as many people as the driver can pick up along the way which makes it far more fun. The four of us actually get on really well and we meet up a few times in Van Vieng once we arrive, and although not my usual form of transport it was a discounted price for the journey so was the cheapest and most comfortable I could find.

 
I love the scenery and the kirst mountains which seem to describe this area well, huge stacks of rock shoot up into the air vertically straight from the ground and is quite something . The bus drops us in the town and we head off to find somewhere to stay, once again I am lucky with a big double ensuite room with a balcony looking out to the stunning views so I am delighted, I’m needing the comfort at the minute while I get better instead of my usual bumming around.

 
I am disappointed that I can’t take part in the tubing, kayaking or caving but my shoulder just isn’t up for stress yet, and I can’t even paddle never mind swim down the river so it’s a no go I’m afraid. The tubing was one thing I thought would be good fun when I got here although it has been well tamed town over the past few years as there have been a number of tourists killed in accidents, I would suggest all of which were caused by over-consuming drink etc. on the river. I spend a few days wandering around the local area but I’m getting itchy feet, I want to be in the water!

 
I settle myself though and meet a few people I catch up with every day, one of the guys is in the same position as me with a sling around his collar bone which is funny (and how we met) and most of the others are from Gary’s Irish pub which I ventured out to on my Saturday night here with a big crowd I had met and it turned out to be a real fun night, and we kept returning and meeting up, ha ha creatures of habit on our few days.

 
All in all my favorite thing about this area was the scenery and the journey in which was spectacular, and has been a real highlight of Laos so far.