Caves and Kayaks

---

After one of the worst nights sleep I'd had in a proper bed on my trip I woke up feeling really rough. Without being too explicit, I had eaten something in the last twenty-four hours that had massively disagreed with me and made me violently ill throughout the night. Clearly a day of drunken debauchery was not on the cards today in my dehydrated state and I wanted to do something with my one whole day in Vang Vieng. I asked the guesthouse owner if I was too late to book onto the kayaking and tubbing day that was advertised outside. Luckily, after a quick phone call, he said that I'd be picked up at about 9am. I went and bought a waterproof camera and a waterproof money pouch before going back and trying to eat the bowl of sweet porridge that I was presented with. It actually went down better than I expected and my stomach was glad to be able to hold something down.  I gently sipped my bottle of water and patiently waited for the van to arrive.

I was picked up with four others who were doing the same day trip and we were driven north out of Vang Vieng towards the imposing limestone hills we had passed the day before. We pulled off the main road and followed a dirt track for about a mile. The van arrived at a small village the other side of the river and we were told that we would be trekking to the water caves from here. After a short walk through the dusty barren padi fields we arrived at a few small shacks on the edge of the river. The sun was already beating down and I was enjoying the heat - it made my body feel a lot better. We sat for about an hour as other groups climbed into their tubes and ventured into the caves. At last it was our turn. The headlamps were handed out and we clambered into the rubber tubes to follow our guide into the water caves. Hand over hand along the rope fixed to the walls of the cave we went. I looked back over my shoulder to see the light at the entrance disappear behind the three Germans in our group and plunge us into pitch black. I managed to take a few photos of the roof of the caves as all five spotlights shone in the same general area but other than that it was more feeling our way through the caves than seeing. Eventually running out of rope, our guide told us to float with the current. I followed without hesitation as the small rocks we passed over in the tubes made the two girls in the group shriek.

Once we reached the end of the two kilometre cave we retraced our path back to the riverside for a spot of lunch. After our chicken and rice to refuel our guide showed us a small cave containing a golden Buddha effigy. I sat this one out, as I had seen enough Buddhas in the last two weeks to last me at least a year. The group trekked back to the van to head to the kayaks. It was a five minute ride back down stream to get to where the river was deep enough to paddle. It was dry season and apparently the water was lower than usual. I was lucky enough to get a single kayak so I could go at my own pace and take a few shots as we took the nine-and-a-half kilometre journey back down stream to Vang Vieng. It had been ages since I had kayaked and I relished every minute of it down the winding river and the shallow rapids. We saw people bathing at the riverside, goats and cows taking a leisurely drink and the odd fisherman trying to trawl the shallow waters with handmade nets for their dinner. We eventually began to hear music and as we turned a bend saw the main bar area of the river. It was packed with at least a couple of hundred half naked party goers, jumping into the deeper parts of the river with beer in hand. This would have been me had I not felt rough during the night and I was sad not to be able to stop and have a can ok cola with the guys once I'd spotted them at bar two. We meandered a little further down stream before stopping at a funny little reggae bar. Once moored up on the bank of the river I hopped out and ordered a cola from the bar. I sat on my own in the sun cursing whichever meal had done this to me as I soaked up the last of the afternoon sunshine. We finished our paddle downstream and I walked back along the road to the guesthouse.

After a shower and I shave I had started to feel a little better and was ready for some more food. I made it as far as the first restaurant which was showing the latest season of 'Family Guy'. After ordering two fruit shakes I removed my shoes and settled myself at one of the raised tables areas on top of some cushions. My stomach wasn't feeling as brave as I first thought it might so this would do me for the time being. I began to feel better as I lay on the piled cushions amongst the hungover partygoers sipping my drinks through a straw and laughing at the back to back episodes they were screening. It seemed like a great idea that someone had developed.  To open a bar serving both western and domestic food, with drinks, whilst sitting your customers in front of western shows that appealed to everyone from eighteen upwards was genius. It's just a shame that they hadn't got the rights to the idea before almost every bar in town had copied them!

Before too long Nick and Lisa appeared behind me and told me what a amazing time they'd had - thanks for rubbing it in. They did tell me everyone was gutted that I hadn't been up to it but convinced me to join them all for a can of cola. I walked up to the Ohlala bar we'd had Sunday roast at yesterday and grabbed a can of cola before hearing about all the drunken antics from the day. It sounded a lot like a missive pool party where everyone tries to outdo each other on the rope swing and some come off worse than others. Although I'd seen some great views along the Mekong today, I'd missed spending my last day with the gang.

---