Head to Nam Ngum Lake with your guide and board a long-tail boat for a scenic cruise around various islets. Along the way stop at Ban Keun, a town famous for its salt extraction plants, visit Vang Xang, and enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. Your local guide and driver picks you up at your central Vientiane hotel to begin your excursion to Nam Ngum Lake, approximately 56 miles (90 km) north of Vientiane. After departing Vientiane on Highway 10, get a chance to stop and observe traditional salt extraction at the village of Ban Keun and see sticky rice wine distillation at Ban Pak Khanhung. Once you reach Nam Ngum Lake, take a long-tail boat trip on the massive artificial lake with many small islands. Feel the wind in your hair as you cruise around the reservoir, formed when the Nam Ngum River was dammed for hydroelectricity, to admire the panoramic views and get the opportunity to swim in the clear waters before lunch at a renowned local restaurant. Then along the drive back to Vientiane along Route 13, visit the archaeological site of Vang Xang and a market often frequented by Hmong people. If time permits, make a brief stop the Lao Casino before you arrive in Vientiane in the late afternoon.