Day 33 - 35: Vang Vieng

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Woke up nice and early ready for pick-up, even had time for a sandwich and a chance to check the internet. The pick-up was a little late as usual, late enough that I went to check with the travel place we hadn't been forgotten. It did arrive eventually and ferried us to a bus station where there were mini-buses packed and ready to leave. We jumped in an empty one and were soon joined by a large group of friends and a Spanish couple. We set out shortly after and let me tell you this was one hell of a white knuckle ride. Never have I had to grip the seat in front with my legs and hands so much just to stop myself being thrown around. Literally was thrown from my seat several times. On the other hand the scenery again was fantastic...we drove up into the mountains and the views were incredible. Didn't get a chance to get any photos as the driver wasn't hanging about. We made it to Vang Vieng on time....no surprise really, if we had been late after that drive they would seriously need to look twice at their schedules.

We were dropped a long walk from the centre so decided to get a tuk-tuk. The centre of Vang Vieng really isn't that big....just a few streets. It's all very Westernised.....with pizza places, Irish bars etc. Two restaurants were showing Friends 24/7 and another Family Guy. Funny watching people nursing hangovers just glued to the TV. We had a little walk around and saw a few rooms before finding a place for the night. Once we were settled we explored a bit more, had a drink in the Aussie bar, sussed out how to rent a tube for the booze cruise down the river and ate in a restaurant. Heidi insisted we got pancakes from a street vendor....which were really nice, we even made plans to meet some of the group we'd shared a mini-bus with in the Sunset bar by the river. Plus you get a free bucket here if you bring the map back they give you at the bus stop!!

So we set out in the evening for dinner, choices were rather limited and we ended up in a grubby riverside restaurant, food was ok, service was bad and that's saying something out here haha. So we hurried down our food and headed to sunset bar, we got our free bucket which i think included something along the lines of laos whiskey, coke, lime and Laos version of Red Bull....NASTY!! We sat in a little hut waiting for the others to show, and sipped our bucket and people watched. Suddenly a guy falls of a chair, probably too much weed which is actually advertised on the menu!! He stumbles to the shack next to us and falls blissfully asleep in the hammock. Turns out our new friends don't show, so we headed off home for the evening. We got home and Bon got electrocuted trying to turn on a lamp (240v...OUCH!!) - new home search in the morning is top of the list!

Checked in to a nice guesthouse overlooking the river and the large mountains....beautiful views. There were a few bars nearby but they seemed far enough away not to be a problem. Slow start to the day as tubing didn't really get going until about 12pm. Watched a couple of episodes of Family Guy over brekkie and tried to set out with full stomachs for our liquid lunch. After speaking to people about tubing most had advised to just get a tube between us....so that's what we did. Everybody seemed to be getting one each, something we thought they may soon regret. Paid the money, quite a large deposit as far as Laos goes. Jumped in a tuk tuk and started chatting to some of the other tubers. All first timers like us....all a bit apprehensive like us. Some couples...some singles....seemed a good mix. After a short drive we dropped by the river and 3 bars....and a chorus of "free shots, free shots". We were unsure what to do here...everyone scattered in different directions, some for the first bar, some in the water. We thought there would be loads of bars so jumped in the water with am English couple from the tuk tuk (Jason and Ellie). Didn't get far though and we were pulled in to the first bar along the river. The scenes are very surreal.....rope swings....tubes....loud music.....lots of Westerners....mountains.....buckets!! It was great fun.....the questions on everyones lips seemed to be...."how much further is it?" or "how many more bars?" (the tubes had to be back by 6pm or you lost some of the deposit. Thing is nobody had the answers or they weren't saying! So not unusually you didn't really know what was going on....you just kind of go with the flow. We spent the whole afternoon with J and E which was nice, even met our Canadian friend Adam!! At about 5:30pm we thought it was time to head back so we started paddling for home. By the way, one tube was a mistake....it's much nicer to have a tube of your own and not a pain at all. Getting one tube was a mistake, cemented by the fact that when I tried to join Heidi on the tube I flipped her backwards in to the river, where she narrowly avoided cracking her head on the rocks...WHOOPS!! 20 minutes later....we realised just how far from home we were!!! DISASTER!!! We offered taxi boats but insisted we'd make it back....10 minutes later and deposit all but lost....we had given up. Happy but miserable....we were getting desperate the sun had disappeared and it was just the 4 of us on a large stretch of river. Not to mention that it was very shallow about 4cm....not the best floating conditions!! Out of blue a guy arrived on the bank....and said "tuk tuk?" SAVED AT LAST....SALVATION!! Made it back...about 7pm....a great day, would have loved to do it again.

A quiet night of reflection, apart from the noise from the nearby bars that weren't quiet at all it turns out. Anyway the next day....we had decided to go caving and visit a blue lagoon style pool. We also at some point decided to walk??? A decision that although tough as hell (about 7km)....was a rewarding experience. There really is nothing like the Laos countryside. We arrived at the lagoon to meet only two other people....hot and bothered we decided to hit the caves first and swim later. Steep climb to the caves...just what we hadn't needed. I found the caves a total blast.....Heidi not as much. There were some generally scary moments.....steep drops, slippery surfaces etc. We hired a guide after the advice of an American girl....who was great. You can go a long way in and without him we wouldn't have gone far at all and probably wouldn't have made it back out. We'd earned a swim in the lagoon at the end of it....and it was well worth the wait. crystal clear water....and truly unbelievable blue....with pretty big fish. Nobody else had made it here yet so we had it all to ourselves....for 20 minutes anyway. People started to come then quite frequently which detracted slightly...so we had some lunch and set off home. Another truly great day.....Vang Vieng truly surpassed all my expectations. Although there wasn't much more we could have done here...I would have liked to stay. Anyway with lots else to see....we booked tickets to the capital Vientienne tomorrow.

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