Travel from Vientiane to Vang Vien was fairly uneventful.......once I got started. I arrived at the bus station and was approached by a man who asked where I was going. I said Vang Vien and he offered to take me to a "VIP bus." Luckily, I had read that the VIP bus was the preferred way to travel or I would have blown him off and bought a ticket on the local bus which would have taken MUCH longer. Once I agreed, he promptly put me on the back of a tuck-tuck and dropped me at a travel agent who set me up with a VIP ticket.
The bus was full of backpackers from Europe. Australia, and New Zealand and there was a Japanese guy I talked to who was traveling for months with only a back-pack the size most people carry their books in. Amazing!
When, I got off the bus in Vang Vien, I was struck by a blazing heat along with an amazing level of humidity. I went the wrong direction while looking for my hotel and when I turned to go back the above scene greeted me. I thought, "Oh my God. This is it! I've stumbled upon Shangri La!"
The palm trees, the river, the foot bridges, the mountains in the background and the HEAT created a magical atmosphere. I knew I had arrived somewhere particularly special.
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