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Published: December 11th 2006
In the Caves
When we were in the very top of one of the long dark cavesSo we arrived in Vang Vieng at about 5:00pm, and the first thing we could hear is the themes from The Simpsons and Friends. Definetly a place for backpackers. It was really good though. We went to one of the restaurants, watched some of The Simpsons and The Family Guy and ate some pizza! The next morning we went for a short walk, found somewhere comfortable and relaxed for the whole day. They have a lot of good shakes there to relax with. The next day we thought we should do something productive so we rented tubes and went floating down the river. It was pretty crowded but you can stop whenever you hear "beer lao, beer lao!!" and there will be a guy by the side of the river ready to hand you another beer as you float by. There were also a few bars that you could get off at and sit down to have a beer or some food, or if you want you can climb up one of the huge towers they have and zip down into the river. Matt did the biggest zip that they had, I just watched because I wasn't feeling too good that
In the Big Cave
Some of the big rock formations inside the cave...top meets bottom day. The next day we decided to rent a motorbike and go to see the caves they have around the town. We went to one that wasn't open until 1:00pm, which is normal for places to open here. Lao people are very laid back. This guy found us though and took us to some smaller caves around the side of the mountain that we would never have seen if he didn't show us. We only had one flashlight between three of us though, so both me and Matt got a few scrapes from trying to rock climb in the pitch black. After the caves we just drove the boke around for a couple of hours. I got a little lesson in a parking lot, but it was kinda hard to remember the break is by the foot, and if you grip on the handlebar the wrong way you will go forward very fast. We had a few scary moments, one involving a bush, but I kinda got the hang of it. The next day we found a bar by the river which has huts instead of tables and you can just sit in your hut, either with an open top
View of Vang Vieng
This one was taken from the opening of the big cave to sun tan, or with a closed top with hammocks. We sat there all day and relaxed by the river, it was nice to be in a place that is so laid back. There was also a beautiful sunset that you could see through the limestone cliffs that surround the town. After another day of laziness we decided to rent bicycles. We went out about 15 km to a cave with a blue lagoon. We went swimming all day in the lagoon, there were also a lot of fish in the water. They were fun to feed but not fun to think about while you're swimming and something is tugging on your toe. That night we decided that we probably had spent enough time in Vang Vieng. I also think I got a little too much sun and heat biking all day so we wanted to leave. The next morning we got on a bus and took the 4 hour ride to Vientiane, where we are right now. We have to wait here until we can get the 60 day Thai visa. If we don't get that we can only stay in Thailand for 30 days. Theres not a lot
On the bike
I bet you're all glad you weren't driving the streets of Vang Vieng this day, (or in the bushes), hahahaha to do here though. So we will probably just spend a few days walking around by the river. Today we went for a walk to the Thai embassy to apply for our visas. On the way we stopped at probably the best thing to see here. The freedom monument which was made out of cement that the US donated to Lao to build a new airstrip, they took it and built a monument instead. We're wondering where the planes are landing right now!! Well we're off to see if theres anything here in the capital city to offer!!!
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