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Published: April 11th 2007
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On the Big Swing
Taking the swing in Vang Vieng The next day, we said our good byes to the two Danish boys who were heading to Hanoi. The rest of us got on the bus to Vang Vieng a town five hours south. I was not planning on having much of a cultural experience here. I had been there before and knew the place was popular for renting tubes, to lazily carry you down the river. The town consists of about four small streets in a square and the river on the far side of town. There is a strange phenomenon in which several of the bars along the main road show reruns of the sitcom Friends or the Simpsons.
We had been told to stay at a guesthouse across the river. So we got off the bus and trudged across the bridge. A man was waiting for us to collect 4000 kip each to cross the bridge by foot. We walked past and acted like we didn’t understand. We found our guesthouse situated in a village area. The layout of the place was beautiful, many flowers and plants, a mushroom shaped sauna and the bungalos encompassing the garden. The owner was an older Englishman named Joe who has
River Bars
Bars along the riverbank. lived there for seven years. There were kids running around playing and dogs doing the same. The place was great, the only problem being that it was a bit far from the town. In order to avoid the toll bridge, you had to walk along the river to the free bridge (or makeshift bamboo bridge) the journey taking about 20 minutes.
We ate in town and met up with a couple guys who were on our boat from Huay Xin. It’s normal to meet up with people you’ve met before at another time in a different town. We decided to find the Smile Bar on the island, but it was dry season now and the places on the river that had bonfires when I was in Vang Vieng in February closed early during the dry season. So, we hung out at another place that had hammocks and played CCR. We headed back in the dark, crossing the rickety bridges and trying to find the path back to the guesthouse.
The following morning, I sat outside my bungalow and watched the hundreds of butterflies that circled the garden. I don’t think I’d seen so many at one time. Matt, Katie,
Flying High
Spinning moves, yet to be dublicated Mumtaj and I decided to take the sawgtaew to the place along the river where they have the swings. The thing people “do” in Vang Vieng is to rent tubes and float down the river to the various bars on the banks. The bar guys pull you in with a bamboo rod and the bars are equipt with loud music, BeerLao and giant swings. It’s fun to watch people wipe out on the swings, the platform being about two stories from the ground. Guys try to out do each other’s back flips and summersaults. I gave it a go a couple times, climbing up the ladder to the platform. The guy at the top passes you the bar which has bicycle handles for grips and you put your feet on a board that keeps your toes from slipping until you are ready to go. I had butterflies every time, but once I jumped I was flying high. I developed (by accident) a spinning technique that seemed to impress some of the onlookers at the bar.
At 4:00 we left the river and went into town to get some grub before heading back to the guesthouse. They had the sauna fired
Guesthouse on the River
A good view of the garden, bungalos and mushroom shaped sauna. up and I went in for a while. I was hoping to do three intervals of ten minutes, like I used to do at the gym. Joe had built the sauna house out of river rock and cement with a pipe leading in from a large pot of water which cooked on a wood fire outside. I stayed in ten the first time and five after that. It was very hot. They were also planning a BBQ that night with fish and pork. I crashed out for a while and joined the after party.
The next day, Katie, Matt and I got tubes and went down the river. We stopped at a few places along the way, but mostly we just enjoyed the warm sun and conversation with other floaters. We didn’t get to the end because we were starving and the water was getting shallow. After two hours of floating at glacial speed you get the idea. We ate and joined our friends back at the guesthouse.
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gabe hopeless
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Maylyn its the best
hey you should have told them that the best guest house is called Maylyn and the food might well be the best too no need to pay for the bridge ..eat at Maylyn joe is ok too even if he grumbles