There's an abundance of restaurants in Vang Vieng all with with massive menus - some reaching 400+ options - and comfy cushions for the weary traveller to doze off in. An intriguing manifestation of every person copying everyone else and selling the exact same thing, every bar looks the same and is blaring Friends or Family Guy episodes all day long. And every menu is also pretty well same same too. All 400+ options.
Our first day here was spent acquiring motos then driving around lost before blatting the 13km north to some caves. One had a giant Budha but was a bit lame otherwise. There was an amazing one which you walk in to for a kilometre, on your hands and knees at points until the path is replaced by water. Craig, Morgan and I ventured in to the unknown, swimming through the void for several hundred meters before turning back. We acquired a guide who retrospectively named his price, a staggering $50 USD. We threw a fair price in his direction instead and walked off to the sound of his requests for more. The caves have phenomenal acoustics in places - here is a video of Motts demonstrating.
Walking a few hundred meters down a track we ended up at the tubing caves. Here you sit in a big tube and pull/paddle yourself through the freezing water for quite a distance. It was good fun, but I'd rather see this again in the rainy season when it's a bit more raging. This is not to be confused with tubing-proper which I will get to.
We returned at dusk to the town, and relaxed with some tasty Beer Laos and watched Friends. A typical night here.
We had an early start one morning rising at about 5:40 to view the sunrise in a hot air balloon. We arrive at the launch site as dawn kicks in. Fans blowing and jets roaring the balloon is inflated and ready surprisingly quickly. A last minute precautionary helium balloon was released to verify that we would indeed miss the power pylons next to us. Launching, we needed a hasty ascent to clear the tree line which, after one minor collision, we soon were above. Moments later we were joined by the other balloon which seemed to have considerable pace and was clearly lethargically charging at us. I found the eventual collision terrifying and was extremely relieved when it turned out okay; we didn't plummet to the ground and it was little more than a slow bump. My hands and camera work from this point became a bit shaky. Still, after hitting one more tree we were soon soaring peacefully above Vang Vieng. The town on one side, mist rising from the fields all around, giant mountains scarring the horizon. The sun started peaking over the hill tops and then rise, further illuminating the sights around. Then we descended which caused the sun to set, allowing us to watch the sunrise all over again.
We arrived back in the town in time for breakfast (probably an omelette and baguette with mango shake for me) and managed to locate the only restaurant that wasn't playing any TV shows. After ordering the TVs flickered in to life and we were greeted with our old favourite theme song: "So no one told you life was gonna be this way. Your job's a joke, your broke, your love life's DOA." And so on.
The afternoon was spent tubing. Tubing in Vang Vieng firstly involves a tube: an inner tube from a truck, to be used as a flotation device. Next, catching a tuk-tuk to a point up the river which is lined with bars. And finally drifting from bar to bar by floating down the river. Each bar does their bit to entice the weary floater, from their cranking music to free food and shots. The most common beverage would be the Lao Bucket: Lao Whisky mixed with sodas (red bull, sprite and or cola), a bit potent. People would occasionally be seen floating off down the river content with their bucket.
The main tactic bars employ for custom is the death-defying (slight exaggeration but technically correct) swings, slides and flying foxes. While some seem a bit sketchy - the dodgiest of these were disassembled a couple of months back - some are clearly safe and provide hours of entertainment. On my first trip down with Motts, Craig, and Morgan we spent the majority of our time at one particular bar trying to swing and catch Motts' frisbee. The local bar staff seemed so enthused by this game, to the point where they were joining in and cutting in front of us a bit, that Motts kindly donated his toy. When I returned a few days later with Anna and Tom I was pleased to note the frisbee was still there and I made a few attempts at catching it again.
The bars are all clumped together right at the top, miles from the town. On my first day we decided to float all the way back to town. The intense beauty of a dramatic sunset over the mountains which tower over the river was likely aided by being a couple of Lao Buckets down by the end of the day. The stars were bright and moon was a perfect crescent. The slow meander back took around 90 minutes. A warm shower was greatly enjoyed, least of all because this was the first heated shower taken in nearly a week. I think the journey would be amazing to tackle in the height of summer.
Vang Vieng saw Motts depart in attempt to catch a corner of Vietnam before heading back to the states. And Anna and Tom caught up with us too. Craig and Morgan went ahead to Vientiane while I stayed back a day, foolishly nabbing Tom and Anna's spare bed in their guest house in attempt to get a single sleep that wasn't disturbed by drunken louts. At midnight the neighbour started up with lame, drunken, banal conversations, then relieved us of his sayings by drowning himself out in clubbing music before moving on to some tv shows, all despite our rather blunt demands. Apparently the next night was worse, ending about 6am. Anna, full points here, banged on their wall at about 7:30am to wish them a happy new year. Good lass. Tom ran off in case they came out. No points there.
The last dinner at Peeping Som was noteworthy. A garlicky chicken Kiev with garlicky smashed potatoes. Very tasty. A few rounds of monopoly cards didn't go amiss either.
And that is everything for Vang Vieng.
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