Laos (Vang Vieng and Vientiane) June 29 - July 1, 2012

It was the first BIG family trip outside Thai border for us! Laos (Vang Vieng and Vientian) was our destination. 

July 29
We hired a big van and driver.  Leaving the house late afternoon, we arrived Nong Khai province around 9 pm.  Sean, Luke and I stayed with Pu, my good college friend, while my brothers' family and sister stayed in a hotel.  It was nice to catch up with Pu again.

June 30
In the morning Pu took all of us to have breakfast at a popular restaurant in Nong Khai.  Then we left there, drove across the Thai-Loas bridge and met our Laotian guide at the immigration.  She helped us with passports/visas and we were ready to go!
It was a long drive from Thai-Loas border to our first stop for lunch.  The kids had fun playing games and watching movies in the van.




After eating, we stopped to take family pictures at a dam.  Then we went to Tum Jung cave in Vang Vieng.  We walked across the orange bridge and enjoyed the nice view around us before climbing up to the cave for 147 steps.  The steps seemed steep.  At first I didn't want to go up but I was glad I did.   It was beautiful inside.  This is such a great exercise too!










The next stop was the riverside, Vang Vieng.  I really loved this place!  It was so beautiful where you can enjoy mountain and river.  When we got there, it was about to rain.  We decided to go ahead and ride the boat.  I loved every minute of the boat trip.  I enjoyed the beauty of the nature along the riverside.  We got soaked in the rain but it was really fun.  We had a blast!

  










After the boat ride, we went to the hotel, took a shower and had a great dinner!  What a great long day!

July 1
The next morning, we got up and had breakfast.  Then I walked around the hotel and enjoyed the weather and the mountain.  This was really nice!!! 




We left Vang Vieng late morning to Vientiane (Viang Chan), the capital and largest city of Laos.  We visited Patuxai Gate and Pha That Luang, the national symbol of Laos.  We stopped by gift shops, bought some souvenirs and went back to Nong Khai to have dinner with Pu and her family.  We headed back and arrived home around mid night.







Vang Vieng is really beautiful.  I fell in love with this place. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time but I did have a great time with my family (brothers, sister, sister in laws and nephews) and got to see Pu, my friend.  I hope we can come back to Vang Vieng again!!




Other trips:
- Canada (Calgary, Banff, Jasper and Yoho)
- Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Monica and Venice Beach
- Transit Tour in Hong Kong
- Salzburg, Vienna and Prague
- Southern Laos
- Japan (Tokyo-Hakone-Kawagoe)
- Washington State
- Universal Studios, FL
- NOLA and Bahamas
- Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and Antalop Canyon
- Paris, France
- Montserrat and Barcelona, Spain
- Dubai
- Laos (Vang Vieng and Vientien)
- Disney World, FL
- Skiing Red River, NM
- Niagara Falls, Toronto, San Francisco and Los Angeles
- Western Caribbean Cruise (Jamaica, Cayman Island and mexico)
- Camping Guadalupe River, TX


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