Continued from last post....

   We got back to our guesthouse that we splurged on a little bit cause the place seemed friendly, cozy and was recommended by my buddy Lee (that we met while in Chiang Mai). So we decided to stay there. And it was a very nice place. One of the cleanest we've stayed at during our trip but the noise factor was a bit of a problem. At an early 6:30 start the  locals were building a new guesthouse next door and for some reason they loved using grinders. The sound just cut through our room so all I had was was mere 4 or 5 hour sleep. Annie slept through it all (I don't know how).
      That morning we packed up and looked around for another place. One, for peace and quite, the other for cheaper accommodations. We found a decent little place down the road for cheap and were settling in until we got a knock on the door. The young man from the front desk said a friend is here to visit us. We were both very confused. Who could that be? Annie and i didn't even know we were staying at this guesthouse until about a minute ago. So I walked down stairs and to my surprise it was the host from the last guesthouse that we just checked out of. In a very cool and collected voice she said, "you no pay for room when you check out". We did. We paid for the room yesterday in order to get the key. I asked Annie to come down and I think once she saw Annie she remembered that we paid. I think she was more upset than anything that we left that morning. She noticed my displeasure when I awoke early to investigate the construction going on next door. I did feel bad about wanting to go elsewhere but it was in cards before I found out about the construction. The place was just too expensive. Anyway that seemed to be the only Laos local so far on this trip that actually cared about something. The rest of them are so laid back they couldn't give a shit about anything. For example, we ordered lunch at this little cafe and we got curious that 45 minutes went past and we didn't receive anything, except our drinks. I asked the waitress and she just shrugged her shoulders. We paid for our drinks then left (found another place and had another sub-par meal).
     In Thailand, the people are very friendly. Many smile when you pass by and they appreciate that you are there. In Laos, so far, its a bit different. The only time any local acknowledges you is when they want to sell you something. So, the only people we really spoke to there was the Tuk-Tuk drivers and the Street Vendors. Don't get the impression that they are mean, they just seem too laid back to care about anything.
    The search for something delicious to eat continued. With not much success we had lunch and then went out for dinner at this outdoor restaurant on the main strip. Finally. I had this delicious fish steamed in a banana leaf loaded with herbs spices and some chili peppers for a kick. We were finally done with our slump, not just with the food there but with everything that wasn't up to par in this little city. We discovered more around town. Cozy little bars with delicious food, cafes for an amazing breakfast and when you work your way deeper into the peninsula you will find the prettiest resorts I have seen while on this entire trip along with top notch restaurants. The prices were out of our range for the budget we were on but if you were to be traveling for a few weeks and maybe a have an income I would recommend to visit this place in a heartbeat.
     Just as we were really getting into a good groove here it was time to leave. We chartered a mini bus to Vang Vieng and was that a trip. I don't know if you remember me speaking of the bus from Pai and how people were getting sick. Lets just say I'm glad we had a few tough passengers in this van. Bumpy, unpaved roads that twisted and turned up and down the mountain range through small little villages on the roadside. If our driver wasn't careful we would have had quite a verity of roadkill victims splattered all over. We dodged  chickens, pigs, dogs, goats and cows. It was crazy. A horn is essential driving on this road. You need it as a warning signal. Every time the driver would start laying on his horn you knew a small village awaited us around the bend. Livestock and children would cram on the side of the road and waited for us to pass. After driving through the mountains and got to flat land we were amazed at the view we saw. Magnificent Limestone peaks that just shot up to the sky and were covered in greens and all sorts of trees. One of the most romantic sights I have ever seen in my life. The sun actually peaked through the clouds while we were driving through and the rays cut through the sharp peaks creating something that you would usually only see in a painting. Absolutely gorgeous.
     We arrived in Vang Vieng and for that another blog will have to do so stay tuned:)