Vang Vieng, Laos [Post #6, Day 19]

I am sitting at the Pha Ngern (Silver Cliff Mountain) viewpoint in Vang Vieng, Laos. The dark limestone mountains are very unique and stunning here, they rise very sharply with jagged peaks. It was a steep climb to get up here! I am enjoying some nice solitude here at the viewpoint, and am having some dried jack fruit and cashew nuts as a snack.

I was planning to take the sleeper bus from Luang Prabang, Laos to Hanoi, Vietnam tomorrow (February 10th) but my E-Visa hasn’t been approved yet since the Vietnam Immigration Department is closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Which means I get to spend some more time exploring Laos, so I took the train from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng yesterday. The train was very efficient and smooth cutting in and out of mountains through tunnel after tunnel. My options were to take a ~5-hour van ride or a 1-hour train ride and the cost was about the same for both, that was an easy decision! The van ride from my hostel (Downtown Hostel) to the train station plus my train ticket cost me 300,000 Laotian Kip (LAK) which is about $14 USD.

I had a lot of fun renting a scooter for a day in Luang Prabang (on February 7th) and visiting Kuang Si Waterfall. I felt a lot more freedom to explore with the scooter, it’s a good way to get off the beaten track.