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| From Train to Nong... |
During our train ride to southern Thailand we were high rollers. Now that the bank accounts are shrinking, our train accommodations riding north were slightly down graded. No private room, no air-con and beds about a foot and a half too short for me. All in all it was fine except for the stewards coming by and warning us all about possible theft. Sleep with one eye open and on your bag, or lock em up!
Waking up the next morning with all out stuff and at the end of the line was sweet. The train stops short of Laos so you have to take a tuk-tuk to the Thai border, get a bus over the Friendship Bridge and then enter though Loa Immigration. During our several mini transports we met an English woman who lives in Laos and publishes "Asia Runner". She is heavy into the endurance sports world and new plenty of folks in So-Cal - The Triathlon Capital.
After entering Laos, it's a half hour tuk-tuk to the town of Vientiane. During the ride we were with another couple from Israel. They were on holiday for a short period of time in between grad school and their new jobs/internships. We ended up seeing them several times more while on our excursion. Seems that everyone traveling in that area has the same itinerary. No new hot spots discovered recently I guess.
The rest of our initial day in Laos included a fantastic Indian food lunch and bowling. Sus and I hit up the Infamous Lao Bowling Center. We bowled, drank, danced and had a blast with a group of locals in the lane next to us.
The following morning we boarded a bus for Vangvieng. They said it was a VIP bus, but it was more like a mini bus on steroids. Leg to leg, shoulder to shoulder we sat with 18 other travelers. It actually made it pretty easy to chat with the person next to you. Close quarters bring people closer together on many levels. Turns out that three hour experience had just made us good friends for the week to come. The next day we all planned to meet up for the one must do in Vangvieng, tubing!
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