Vang Vieng

We took a VIP bus (ha ha...) to Vang Vieng which is next to the Nam Song river and surrounded by dramatic limestone cliffs. This is the view from our patio. Our hotel was beautiful..however, the "third worldness" still exists..we had some sewage work going on (smelly), power outages and a bathtub that never drained. Vang Vieng is a double edged sword...beautiful landscapes with outdoor activities...but you also have to factor in the backpacker party scene. Half the restaurants play Friends or Family Guy reruns for the stoned or hungover kids to lay around and watch. The town definitely caters to partying.

Don Khang (aka the Island) which you get to by crossing the most rickety little wooden bridges you've ever seen. The island is covered with bars...Sunset Bar, Lucky Bar, Bucket Bar....We were happy to be staying down river...the music was LOUD.

A photo of one of the rickety bridges taken from the other rickety bridge at sunset.....

Tubing. Almost mandatory in Vang Vieng. You rent an inflated tractor tire tube and eventually float the river for 3.5km back to town. What gets in your way is the multiple bars with free shots, cold beer, buckets of alcohol (literally), and all kinds of "happy" shakes.

The long poles are connected to swings and zip lines...all free as long as you buy a drink. As you float along the locals throw water bottles attached to ropes at you...if you want to go to their bar you drag yourself in. The bars also try and out-do each other with music, it is incredibly loud.

The last bar had the slide...note the big white slide in the center of the picture. Note how it doesn't get all that close to the water. If you took it wrong you ended up with welts all over your back. Luckily Dean and I did some studying. Perfect landings! We timed it right and made it all the way back to town (not at all common for people not to make the 6pm deadline!)

The next day we decided to check out the caves. You could take a tour..but we decided to do it the Lonely Planet way...and go it alone. Our ride above...Dean's ability to ride motorbikes comes into play again!

First stop...the Organic Mulberry Farm. This farm makes mulberry tea/wine/shakes/pancakes.. Yum! They also make their own goat cheese.

We used a basic map to get out to the caves...traveling down bumpy dirt roads to a "toll bridge" that consisted of a few wooden planks strung across a fast river. On the other side we met "Dean" (although I would guess it is spelled differently!) He became our shadow until we realized that he wanted to be our "guide". Fine by us....the trail through the rice paddies were not exactly clearly marked. Here I am trying desperately to keep up with the spry teenager.

As we approached the caves we came to a shelter in which two old men were sitting. They were surrounded by butterflies! We were soon crawling with them. They provided us with flashlights (much better than the tiny maglights we travel with!) We went through three different caves....the first was around 3km long! Lucky for us our non-english speaking guide was able to say a few terms such as "watch head" and "slippery". It was not easy to walk through.

The second cave was a climb up into the jungle. It was filled with incredible stalactites.

The last cave has a river running through it. You get outfitted with a headlamp that is powered by a 12 volt motorcycle battery that you wear hanging around your neck. (Dean loved it) Then you pull yourself along a fixed rope for about 500 meters. It was fun AND refreshing! Next up..Luang Prubang...and a long bus ride to get there!