Down the tubes in Vang Vieng
Trip Start
Nov 04, 2007
1
15
62
Trip End
May 03, 2008
Vang Vieng,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Well hello there from the Hat Rin of Laos - or so our guide book would have us believe. I wouldn't go quite that far, although it does have a lot in common with that horrid little party town on the tip of Ko Pha Ngan. Like Hat Rin, it is full of very drunk white people. Like Hat Rin it is full of guest houses selling western food, buckets of cocktails and with videos of Friends on perpetually.
However, we have so far managed to stay here for two nights, and will be staying another couple before we move on so clearly it is not entirely the same (we managed about 3 hours in Hat Rin a couple of years back). To a great part because it is set in the most amazing scenery we've probably clapped eyes on so far in our trip.
View from our guesthouse's roof-terrace
Positioning ourselves next door to the place that seemed to do the best vegetarian breakfasts (and other meals for that matter), we are staying on the main road - but at the quiet end. Our guest house has a little bar and restaurant downstairs with a free pool table and nice cushions to relax on. It has a TV that shows films, but not Friends so that's ok. It also has a lovely roof terrace to watch the sun set over the mountains. Our first instinct was to find somewhere to stay in the quietest place possible - maybe a bit out of town, by the river. But we thought that for once, we'd stop denying this is a tourist-town and just go with it!
So, in that spirit, yesterday we went tubing. It is what you have to do if you come to Vang Vieng, apparently. Tubing, for the uninitiated, is where you hire a large rubber ring (well, insidey bit of a tractor tyre), and get yourself dropped off up river. You then get in and float down stream until you find the town. However, this being Vang Vieng, you don't 'just' float downstream. It is basically one big party by rubber ring. Locals have set up makeshift bamboo bars along the river, some booming out techno, reggea or dance music, some with big elastic jumping thingies (for you to throw yourself into the river after a few beers. They clearly know how to get their own back on the drunkards that take over their town)
From our roof-terrace at sunset
. As you float near to one of these bars the cry goes up 'BEERLAO LAOLAO' and a pole is chucked in your direction for you to grab and be hauled in. It is quite possibly the wierdest thing I've ever come across. Often children were hauling drunk westerners out of the river, furnishing them with a beer, a shot of Lao Lao (whisky) and maybe some pot and then helping them stagger back in and float off - twirling round the occasional rapidy bit or padding manically to avoid being beached (the river is pretty shallow in the most part). So, being 26 and not 16 what did I do? Got a migraine half way through (after only half a beer!), at least an hour from where we could get out and wrote off the rest of the evening. Oops.
Today we hired bikes and went off exploring. Vang Vieng is surrounded by limestone scenery and karsts with amazing caves and lagoons and so forth. Not that I exactly like caves - them being dark, small and full of spiders (that'll be all three of my phobias at once then, joy) but determined to appreciate the scenery we gave it a go. We managed to find some mountain bikes, which is just as well as once we had gone over the little bridge over the river the roads were completely unmade and even with decent bikes we were bumped around so much I could barely focus (and OWW!)
And with Roz at sunset!
. However the scenery was beautiful. And we headed for the biggest (and apparently bestest) cave that came complete with amazing blue lagoon full of pretty fish. This biggest and bestest cave was actually still pretty terrifying though. Not because it was small but because it was so big we got lost! You climb up and up and up the mountain, entering the cave at a point where it quickly turns into a really impressive cathedral-proportioned cavern. Scramble across this and the 'real' cave starts at the back - really a series of pretty large caves and passageways. 45 minutes in, we lose all other tourists and realise that we have no idea how to get back out. Cue half an hour of me trying hard not to have a total panic attack, praying I don't dislocate my knee scrambling over slimy rocks and desperately trying not to think of Gollum (or, as Hugh helpfully pointed out, that Doctor Who episode with the Devil). I must also say that although we'd hired a head-lamp for Hugh, I had the little torch that lives in my handbag. Which mostly didn't show anything further away than my feet.
Anyhow, we did get out fine, and managed to get some pretty amazing photos. We hadn't realised that we could swim in the lagoon so unfortunatey hadn't brought our swimming things (which in any case, were stil damp from tubing) but the lagoon looked fantastic too
Hugh on a bicycle ....
.Evenings here we haven't *exactly* been taking part in the wild night life. We have watched half a movie, tried a few different restaurants, found nice coconut macaroons and hot chocolate and generally pottered around laughing at the stupid drunk people (one australian girl sitting in the middle of the road crying 'I had a THONG BLOWOUT' was particularly amusing). Tomorrow we shall engage in some more pottering and we're planning to head up to Luang Prabang on Tuesday.
Where we're staying:
Babylon Guest House - 85,000 kip for a massive room with two double beds, en-suite hot shower and a great view of the mountains from two windows.
Where's good for veggies:
The Organic Farm Cafe is practically next door to Babylon. It does great mulberry pancakes and a vegetarian set breakfast. The main restaurant is out with the farm at the point most people are dropped off for tubing (about 3-4kms upstream). Slightly different menu here - I had a wonderful goats cheese baguette for lunch (they make their own cheese). The farm and restaurants are run by a charity helping educate local children.
