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(Kev)
Vang Vieng is a backpackers' paradise. The town is surrounded with mountains and a river runs right through the heart of it. Hot sun, cool water, and plenty of good cold refreshment along the way. There is stop points every couple minutes along the river, which all call out Beer Lao, Beer Lao...we were probably the only three people on the river who weren't drinkin...but it was a lot of fun talking to the people who were. The best part about the stops though was the swings, some of which offered a rush of a ride. The zip line was perfect for wipe outs, hang on tell you hit the end...and wammi, you become a rag doll in the air.
Vang Vieng served all types of food and all the shops seemed to being showing Friends non stop...I found a place showing Family Guy though and opted for that instead. We enjoyed floating down the river so much we did the exact same thing the next day...
Catch ya later
~Kev
(Dustin)
Man, Vang Vieng is a REALLY cool place, everyone goes to the river every day and floats a little at
a time and plays on the swings and just meet new people as they float by each other on tubes in the sun. We met a really cool Swedish guy that took time off school like us and we talked for quite a while before having to tube on so we could catch a bus. The VIEW is amazing though with cliffs on one side and trees right down to the water everywhere else. We actually spent two days on the river but there are tons of caves around that should be pretty neat as well. We also met a really cool guy that we crossed the border from Myanmar to Thailand with and that was pretty shocking because he was just sitting around right where we came off the river with the tubes and a month later at that.
One thing that was really weird though is that all the restaurants have the same menu really. Actually when we ate at an Indian restaurant in Vieng Vieng it had the EXACT same menu and prices as the other in Vientiane and soon after we found out that pretty much every place has the same menu. I've never seen
Broadway
The dance lessons paid off didn't they. so many baguettes in my life though, they come with every meal. French toast....made of baguette bread, sandwich.....baguette....etc.
Those swings are pretty amazing though, every couple hundred meters there is either a zip line or a swing, but the best one is the 3rd one down the river (huge swing). That thing is pretty massive, you can probably see it in the pictures. There are tons of platforms on the rocks right by the swing and people eat and dive into the water close by. They also have a guy with a long pole who will pull you and your tube in to the "docking area" after yelling "Beer Lao!!!!" a lot in attempts to entice you in to relax for a while.
Kev was the first on the zip line at the first site and none of us realized there was a knot in the line so you wouldn't slam into the end or go out into the rocks but when it hit it he almost did a backflip and had a crazy wipeout because he didn't let go. It was pretty cool after that though because then all the rest of us started hitting it intentionally
because it makes backflips really easy. Also Daryl did the whole strap the watertight camera to yourself routine and took some pictures and video of his turns on the swing and zip line.
Down the river a little ways, lots of kids will crowd around you and be your guide down to the town itself even though well......the river goes right there and it would be hard to miss but you could help some kids out and get a guide for a little money. People were generally pretty relaxed and not to worried about being hustled by little kids on the river so people were pretty good to them. There is a picture of Daryl with a couple of them chilling with them on his tube.
Its been a little weird travelling all over southeast Asia then getting to Laos and meeting loads of Canadians, we saw a couple here and there in other countries but there were lots in Laos. Vang Vieng is the place to chill though, maybe thats why they all made their way there in the first place. If you're ever in the area, go float down the river......you won't regret it.....unless you forget
sunscreen.
Cheers,
Dustin
(Daryl)
I really liked this place, and Dust and Kev have described it quite well, so keep that part short. First thing I'll mention, is that I was one of those who DID remember the sunscreen, yet still got cooked going down the river. White Irish skin doesn't do well in the sun for 6 hours at a time. Nonetheless, it was a great experience. Loved the rope swings and the photo ops they presented. The waterproof case for my Canon camera proved to be a good investment. People set up elaborate ziplines and swings just in hopes we'd buy beer from them. I can still hear that guy in my head shouting "Beerlao beerlao!"
One of the highlights of this city was watching Kev and Dust chase after a large cockroach that came into our guesthouse room. (I wasn't chasing, 'cause I was taping the event) This sucker was fast! Kev was faster though, and he managed to kill the wild thing with his bare hands , proving that vegetarians can, in fact, hunt when they need to.
After two days of tubing at Vang Vieng, we got a long, late-night bus
ride to Luang Prabang 6 hours north. The busride was dark, windy, and uneventful, but it was interesting having an escort on the bus armed to the hilt, since there was slight danger of druglord rebels in the area. When we got to Luang Prabang, we crashed at the first guesthouse we could find that would let us in, and we set out to explore the Kuang Xi waterfall the next morning. That was downright gorgeous. The falls had many pools to go swimming in along the hike to the top. The water was light blue, it was just awesome. When we got to the top, I realized we left our stuff at the bottom, and my gut said it wasn't safe there, so I scurried back down, just in time to see a teenage local picking up our stuff, wearing my backpack. I was able to nab it from him and hike back up, but man, what a scare that was with my iPod and moneybelt in that pack.
The next morning, we took a slowboat up the Mekong River to what was supposed to be Hongsa, but they didn't annonce the stops, so we ended up in
Zip Line Time!
If only the photo could show Kev's massive wipeout at the end. Pak Beng, a small town with 2 guesthouses and a massage place, which Kev and I took full advantage of. It's funny how some stuff can be misinterpreted. The Lonely Planet Guide said the slowboat would take 1/2 day. We thought that meant 4-6 hours. It was literally though, 1/2 of a 24 hour day, which meant 12 hours on a wooden bench seat in a noisy boat with chainsmokers blowing their junk in our faces the whole way there.
The following morning, we elected to take a speedboat to the Thai Border. They resemble a big surfboard with a huge motor strapped to the back, the book calls them very dangerous, but MAN, are they FUN and FAST. What would have taken us another boring 12 hours, took us only a fun 3. We crossed the border, and started our journey south to Bangkok.
With Freedom,
Daryl
"I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within. " ~Lillian Smith
I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people
or hate them than to travel with them. ~Mark Twain (FYI: After traveling with Kev and Dust, I still like them.)
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Michelle
non-member comment
Ok, Ya got me...
I wanna go!!! lol this has to be my favorite blog of them all. Wow, where do I start??? Can there be a better vacation spot? Tubing, zip line, waterfalls? Leaves me almost speechless! By the way, those wipe outs and backflips were AWESOME!!! :p But I think my fav. new place in the world is the Kuang Xi waterfall. Thats going on my "To See" list. Hope you guys keep having a blast. Till next time...