Next stop: Vang Vieng

Today, we're heading further north to Vang Vieng, which is about 150 km from Vientiane, but the journey takes three hours because we have to go through the mountains. Before we got picked up, we had to make a quick stop at the bank. According to Lonely Planet, there are no ATMs in any towns other than the capital, but that’s not entirely true—we later found one in Vang Vieng. At an ATM, you can withdraw a maximum of 700,000 kip, which is roughly 400 kr. You can definitely withdraw multiple times, but it costs a bank fee each time. So, we prefer to take money out directly from the bank, which only charges 3% of the amount. However, we’ve had some trouble with them not being able to read our VISA cards. That’s why we’re hesitant to rely on banks further into the country, as we don’t want to suddenly find ourselves without cash. Now, I’m the proud owner of 3,000,000 kip. Honny withdrew dollars, which can be exchanged everywhere. We also don’t want to leave Laos with too many kip left over. Vang Vieng has a mixed reputation. It’s a small town with absolutely stunning nature, perfect for trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, and more. Unfortunately, it’s also a place known for drugs, so you should never order anything on the menu that has "happy" in the name. Happy pizza or happy drinks will ensure you get very happy in the wrong way. We met a couple of American girls who weren’t aware of this. They had no idea what they were taking and just ended up feeling really strange and scared about what was happening to them. The town is surrounded by the most beautiful rock formations, especially known for its limestone caves. We think it’s a really charming little town. You can also watch DVD movies at several restaurants in town. We’ve bought quite a few DVDs here, including a documentary about S21, the prison from Phnom Penh, where some of the seven surviving prisoners confront a few of the guards. The guards see themselves as victims of the Khmer Rouge, even though they were the ones committing the violence. The former prisoners understandably have a hard time grasping this. It’s a tough dilemma. But at no point do the former guards say “sorry” for their actions... Vang Vieng also has a vibrant bar scene, which we decided to check out. Honny even participated in a pool tournament but unfortunately didn’t win. There were also some girls from Canada in the tournament, and we ended up chatting and partying with them for the rest of the night. A drink costs 10,000 kip (about 5.50 kr).