Vang Vieng, Laos

Vang Vieng is an hour or so south of Luang Prabang by train. It is popular for outdoor excursions and thrill adventures. The train station was by far the nicest building we visited in Laos, and the high speed train was incredibly nice.

I was a bit confused why the train was so much nicer compared to the town and airport, but then I saw the Bank of China on the head rests and did some internet exploring. We were on the China-Laos railway, a ~$6b project, of which the Bank of China and the Chinese government contributed to the majority of funding.

Back to rugged transport in the back of a truck to our hotel (first non-hostel accommodation) in Vang Vieng.

There might have been more holes than sidewalk:

Our first day we rented dune buggies to explore the local nature spots:

We hiked to a viewpoint – while the hike was less than a mile, it took quite a while as it was incredibly steep.

The view was worth it!

Dodging lots of animals in the roads:

We visited blue lagoons – natural swimming spots:

We saw many hot air balloons as we headed back into town:

We had an early rise the next morning as it was our turn to ride in the hot air balloons!

We flew up in a relatively small balloon – six guests plus the pilot. Amazing flight and we were lucky to have good weather (despite some clouds). We climbed just below 4,000 ft: