bus ride to Vientenne

The bus ride from Lauang Prabang to Vientiane was, shall we say, long and arduous. It took about ten hours to got nearly two hundred miles on one of the very few paved roads in all of Lao, up and down some of the steepest terrain that I have ever seen, weaving through some of the most stunning karst mountain formations on earth.
As the road wound its way up and down the mountains and along ridge lines, with steep drop offs on the side almost everywhere you are treated to fantastic jungle covered peaks rising up everywhere, and at only ten bucks it is worth the price.
Pictures.
1. In the early part of the trip we are above the cloud line for most of the time.
2. Heading up the long climb.
3. Pretty typical sight on the Lao plateu
4. There were not a lot of these little villages along the route but there were some clusters of little thatched huts scattered up and down the hills, clinging to the sides of the mountains, looking like the first strong breeze would blow them off.
5. Everywhere you go in Lao you can get a fruit shake for about 5000 Kip, or fifty cents, the main ingredients are pineapple, mango, coconut, and banana.