Vang Vieng - not only tubing :)

Day 65 - 22/1/2016
On the way from Luang Prabang to Nong Khiaw

Vang Vieng is set amids beautiful nature along Nam Song river and with the backdrop of limestone karsts as far as one can see.

Rice fields surrounded by limestone karsts

Popular with young tourists and well known as “the party spot” in Laos. In the past it was possible to buy drugs openly from the bars and most of them had them listed on their menu.

Fortunately the government has realised potential dangers of this form of tourism and cracked down on most of the bears, bringing little bit of order to this sleepy town.

Main tourist trap is to hire inflated tyre tube, get a lift 3 kms north of the town and slowly drift with the current downstream. Stopping in few bars on your way, paying double prices and get smashed as much as possible... If I was 16 it would be no brainer, but at double age of that pretty boring way how to waste a day, Tati was right about it from the beginning !

We did something completely different though. First day we just walked across the river and originally looking for the blue lagoon cave ( another most touristic trap of Vang Vieng), we got a bit lost and discovered dried river canyon which we followed for good hour and half one way and were rewarded by absolutely deserted nature.

Tati climbing river bed

Butterflies of all colours, sizes and shapes were our guides for the most of the journey and some steeper sections where full of huge limestone rocks, which we had to climb over.

Perfect solar panel 

We’ve reached dead end when the rocks were replaced by cliffs and river stream became just a narrow canyon between them where you’d need to climb with proper equipment.

Here the path got a bit hairy

During whole journey we met one other couple who told us about the end, before we reached it and one Spanish rasta in age who gave up the journey half way through.

Upon return to main dirt road we continued further direction to Blue lagoon cave but never made it all the way there. Yellow sign advertising different cave with option of swimming in the pool  on the entrance won the fight.

Brave girl crossing not stable bamboo bridge on the way to the cave

We still had to pay 15 000 Kip (together) to enter, but it was worth it. Empty little pool was waiting for us.. Hardly for swimming but very refreshing in hot afternoon !

Refreshing coolness

After short dip we entered the cave and went deeper into the mountain for some 500m. The surface was incredibly slippery mud which made it quite an adventure :)

Tati in stone wonderland

Tired from half day walking up and down we decided to not go further west, but slowly head back, get a beer and put our feet up :)

We stopped in a small restaurant on the way promising views of bats leaving the cave in the cliff after sunset. Their fruit shake had hardly any fruit inside of it and was way far too expensive ...

Beer is safer choice, except not serving it cold. there is no other way of screwing it up :)

Half an hour after dusk the bats started leaving their habitats, tiny in size, massive in crowds.

Pretty impressive flying river. Occasionally one could spot a hawk hunting and scoring unlucky bat.

Second day we rented a motorbike - for as little as 30 000 Kip (3.5 euros) you get tiny Chinese manual scooter, good enough for local flat potholed roads.

RaT on the road again !

Just a minute after I paid for the rental the heaven started to come down in heavy downpour.

Mud riding experience is coming !!

Slippery when whet :)

40 minutes later it stopped raining and while the roads where still wet we took of.

We headed north on N13 to explore Nam Borkeo Phaboua Cave and local surrounding.

Rain can create beautiful atmosphere

Some 10kms norh of Vang Vieng left turn leads to a dirt road which was now filled with many pools and covered in mud.

After crossing suspension bridge the road turned into tiny path walk with river on one side and veg fields on the other side.

Unwanted swim was just a skid away :) Tati was really enjoying this part looking forward to ending in the stream :)

After 2 kms we’ve reached entrance to the cave, parked the bike, got our head tourches on and went in !

Tunnel like cave with ceiling some 5-10 m high in places goes pretty deep and in wet season has to be full of water. There was supposed to be a pool inside, but due to the lack of rain in past wet season, there was no water left ...

Mud and stone

Some sections were pretty narrow and in one place we had to crawl under a little stone bridge. Hot and humid air made us sweat like in tropical rain forest.

Tati in perfect caving outfit 

Alone in the dark

We didn’t head back the same way we came, but followed little path for next few kms until we reached another tourist trap, cave with stream where hundreds of mainly Korean tourists where dragging themselves along the rope into the cave to flow down on the tube.

We turned around and left that to Koreans.

Following the road N13 more north for some 20 kms more we got into a valley where limestone karsts were jagging straight up to 2000 m height.

Little paradise around Nam Song river

After purchasing sweet mandarines on the road in the middle of nowhere we made U-turn and retraced our path back to Vang Vieng.

You can't have enough of this scenery

Quick baguette followed by Laos coffee and we ventured to the other side of the river to see roads deeper in the valleys behind blue lagoon.

Lonely karst between rice fields

Almost deserted dirt road with occasional villagers passing by and kids riding red bicycles amongst rice fields and beautiful cliffs in the backdrop.

Last sunset in Vang Vieng will stay carved into our memory for long time :)

Goodbye Suria !

Next morning we got up early and set out for a journey to Phonsavanh.

Road was surprisingly better than between Vientiane and Vang Vieng. Amazingly steep peaks are surrounding first 60 km section till the junction where N13 continues to Luang Prabang and different road leads east direction to Phonsavanh, Xam Neua and Vietnam.

On the way to Phonsavan

Breathtaking views

We saw some trucks in a pickle :) obviously slippery road is not best friend of overloaded truck driver.

Unlucky driver #1

Unlucky driver #2

We’ve reached Phonsavan around 3 pm.