[monumentum]

Photos of 10-May-2012 (Road to Vang Vieng)

Public bus to Vang Vieng from Vientiane & the scenic route along the way.

(Above) The first views of Vang Vieng, a dirt path where no obvious bus station exists, but where the bus would drop you off nonetheless. When leaving Vang Vieng, this is apparently where to flag down a public bus as well. But obviously going through this trouble would save the pocket a great deal. Laotian private buses are predominantly meant for the affluent & not penny-pinching backpackers.

It's somehow true that Sigmas give awesome colors. Sometimes I think, too 'awesome' than I'm actually comfortable with, especially the blues. Even on auto white balance, the blues somehow appear overly saturated & an overhaul in Photoshop might or might not have fixed it, but I really did not want to tamper with the original. So, this is what Vang Vieng is supposed to look like at dusk. The rate at which hotels are springing up along this river might mean that in the near future, one has to part dearly with his cash to stay at one of these riverside hotels to catch this view. That's the future of the 'pristine' Southeast Asia for you.

How important are fruit shakes in the Laotian blistering daytime temperatures! They usually cost 5,000-8,000kips, but flavors differ greatly, from REAL fruit blends to fancy concoctions of artificial flavorings. All there is is Lady Luck who'd determine which you come across while you're craving a sweet, ice cool relief. 

Writing this short bit for this post wasn't particularly rejuvenating, judging by the amount of school work still ahead. Yet, it warrants certain excitement to think of a similar respite in the near future. Also, if all there is to life is respite, how droning it might actually be.