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Published: April 28th 2012
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Long before getting to Vang Vieng, I was hearing stories about Vang Vieng. I had heard stories about other places too, but the Vang Vieng stories were unique as they revolved around the (in)famous tubing pub crawl. I was excited to experience it, although I never planned to go all out as I'm a firm believer that drunkennes and water are a recipe for disaster, especially if you are as accident prone as I am. So when I arrived in Vang Vieng and learned that there was so much more to do that tubing I was pleasantly surprised. While the tubing was fun, and I will never forget it, I think that the other experiences that I had while in Vang Vieng are what made the town so memorable.
Everything in Vang Vieng is about the outdoors. What makes it unique, is that while there are many backpackers and tourists in the small town, everyone is so focused on the tubing that often you get to be the only people at an epically beautiful sight. This is what we experienced when my friends and I decided to take a long hike out into the mountains to see a
waterfall. We expected to cross paths with other hikers, and never considered the possiblity that we would be alone at the waterfall. Not only were we alone, but we did not cross paths with one other group of people the entire time we were hiking. The hike was brutal - over and down two entire mountains to get to the waterfall. I don't think I have been more tired (and in more pain) in my entire life. But when we saw the waterfall, all of the exhaustion melted away (until we started the return trip). It was so beautiful. And it was all ours.
We spent a couple hours there, having lunch and swimming at the base of the falls. It was our own private oasis, and that fact made it all the better. I still cannot believe that we came across nobody else that had hiked out to see the waterfall. It was such an amazing experience and it's sad that it seems so few people take the time to do it.
A similar experience occured when we went caving. Again, we did not cross a single other group while exploring several caves
with the final being by tube (of course, it is Laos after all). It was definitely an Indiana Jones moment, only surpassed by the shortcut we took on our return hike from the waterfall when we cut through a cave to bypass the second mountain (why couldn't we do that on the way there), and used burning bamboo sticks to light our way. I'm officially ready to try my hand at tomb-raiding after Vang Vieng.
So all in all, Vang Vieng left me sore - both from all the physical activity and the mild hangover I had after tubing and post-tubing revelry. It was a great time, and I will be joining other backpackers in telling people about how they must go to Vang Vieng long before they get there - I'm just going to have a few extra things to add about what they should do there.
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Broken Bridge???
Forgive me- but... If I forgot to tell you- STAY OFF THEM!!!! love from your mother