Viang Vieng

M We left Luang Probang bright and early on the VIP bus. It was nice, had a bathroom, AC and we got free water, little cake snacks, and a free lunch. I was very happy we took the bus as the roads were incredibly winding and if we were in one of the mini vans that we saw pass us I am sure I would have been sick as I was already pretty close. Thank goodness for Gravol.

After walking around a bit we found a nice guest house for $20.
Viang Vieng is an interesting little town. It is full of backpackers like no other town I have ever been to. As we walked down the street we saw hoards of tourists lounging in restaurants watching Friends, it was unbelievable. We thought they were dumb as they could watch Friends reruns at home, but then we passed the resturaunt playing Family Guy and Jes could not resist, next thing we knew we were one of the dumb tourists watching T.V. and enjoying cheap drinks. All the signs in town were in English and I honestly think the number of tourists equalled the number of residents. Oh we both got a neck and shoulder massage that first night.

The next day we left for a trek with a recommended travel agent. The discription said "caving, easy hiking, and kayaking". So we were surprised to find a few people show up in flip flops, but even more surprised to find the tour didn't provide us with flashlights, and we were to visit 3 or 4 caves! Our guide was named Olah, and he had 2 assistants who could not speak English, but they were friendly. The first cave was not very deep, and had lights inside with a huge budda image. There was also a bomb casing turned into a bell, which was a remnant from the Vietnam war. Olah described about the number of UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) which is still left in the eastern part of Laos, and how during the war the Laos people had to hide in caves sometimes for weeks as their country was carpet-bombed by the Americans. Apparently the Vietnamese armies were using Laos as a hiding place and when this was discovered they immediately became a target.

In the second cave our fellow trekkers who did not bring their own fashlights, and we only had one, were given small candles to hold. It was a neat experience, and Jes enjoyed holding the candles although he admitted he would have rather had a flashlight. Then only 12 minutes into the cave one girl in our group smacked her head on a low part of the cave. We felt really bad for her, after a bit of a cry she decided to continue on. A few of us were rather upset that there was only 3 or 4 flashlights for the 10 people in our group. One other girl got upset as we were barley moving, claiming this was not "real caving", so she left the cave. Our guide argued with her that we have to go at a pace that acommodates everyone in the group and that she should have went on a private tour, but Jes later voiced his thoughts that the main issue was the lack of lights and that candles meant we had to walk very slowly, and the company should have enough flashlights for every person on the trek.

After a lunch break we were all offered "proper head lamps", which must have been borrowed from another hiking outfit nearby. They consisted of a huge heavy battery in a plastic case, that was swung around our shoulder to carry, then wires, that did not look safe, leading up to the lamps which we put on our heads. The caving was neat although I have no idea how the people in flip flops did it as there were some pretty scary parts. One spot there was a hole in the ground, and a drop of about 10 feet, so to discourage people from falling in, the locals had put barbed wire around it. No kidding. So if you didn't see the hole or the wire, not only would you fall down the hole, but you'd get cut to bits by the barbed wire, great system.

The fourth and last cave was the most scary though as we had to take our super safe head lamps with us as we sat on rubber tubes and went through a cave that was full of water. It was very scary for me as I get claustraphobic and some parts were pretty low. Jes totally loved it, although he took my wind-up flashlight and got it wet, which pretty much killed it. I was very relieved to be out and seeing the sun again.

The kayaking in the afternoon was much easier than either of our previous kayaking experiences. The water was very shallow again, and we frequently scraped the bottom of our kayak on rocks on the river bed, but we managed not to tip once. As we went along we saw the famed tubers floating along, one guy grabbed our kayak and so we gave him a short ride, but let him know we weren't happy about the added drag. More on the tubing later though. The mountains and lush forests on either side of us were once again mind blowing, and beautiful.

That evening we went out for dinner, and then afterward, again we visited the Family Guy restaurant for a coffee and fruit shake. Our guesthouse was a bit of a walk from the main part of town, but the shower was great, and the bed was definately a king sized one, the biggest we had slept on ever. Getting out of it every morning was a challenge.


J We started our day, after sleeping in, by renting bicycles. I choose one that I figured would support my weight, and it did, but being Laos quality and poorly maintained I broke the pedal arm after an hour. The owner apologized profusely and gave me another bike, I was just pleased they didn't try to make me pay for a new nut (which I later found).

We decided to bike out of town and find the local organic farm. It was quite the bike ride, we were gone about 3/4 of an hour before finally getting there. As we went down the road a school field trip went by us, about 30-40 kids on various bikes came down the street, many riding beside each other and talking, and many riding two children per bicycle. It was actually uncommon to see a bike go by without a rear seat affixed to the guard above the rear tire.

When we finally got to the organic farm, we were hot. We had a mullberry shake, and learned a little bit about what the farm did. There were opportunities to volunteer but it was early afternoon and everything was fully booked up. We cooled down with water and drinks under a nearby tree before heading back to town. We were dissapointed finding out the tube-run started right beside the organic farm, so we would be returning later in the day, bathing-suits and all.

Back in town we decided we should just return the bikes, as our butts were sore and we planned on being on the river until late, so we did. Then we went back to the guesthouse to change and put on sun-screen. The tuk-tuk took us for 4 dollars a head, which included our rubber tube, to the drop off location. We grabbed a drink to go, and headed down the water. We floated along very slowly, using our flip-flops as paddles. lol

On either side of the river bars had been set up, some were merely shacks with a cooler full of drinks, others had complete sound systems and running water. One of the more popular spots had a rope swing over the river, and even a volley-ball court. We decided the busy place wasn't our style and decided upon a small place across from the biggest bar so we could watch the insanity and people using the rope swing.


We ordered fresh fish and I got talking to the owner, who was a white guy from Holland. He was engaged to a Laos woman and had rented the space by the river for 3 years. He built the house and platform himself as he was a carpenter by trade. I asked him many questions about living in Laos, and enjoyed his company as his wife cooked us dinner. After eating and saying goodbye we realized it was 5 o'clock, and we had to have our tube back by 6 pm or pay a late fee. Our host informed us we were only 1/3 of the way down the river and so we better hurry, so off we went, paddling away with the flip-flops and holding onto eachs others tubes.

We had made considerable distance but really had no idea of how much longer the river ride was, and it was 10 minutes until six. We noticed a bunch of other tubers getting out and inquired if they had a tuk-tuk we could hitch a ride with, they said there was a tuk-tuk waiting but how many people it would take was unknown. We paddled to the rivers edge and got out, as we walked up a short embankment we saw the one tuk-tuk parked, already full with tubers like ourselves. There was also a lineup forming behind the tuk-tuk, of people asking if there was another coming shortly. The driver was on his cell-phone so we assumed there would be another. Minutes went by, and it was now 6pm. The tuk-tuk driver was still on the phone when we left the area, we decided that if we followed the road we would get to the main highway, and simply catch a ride with the next vehicle heading into town, and perhaps save ourselves the penalty fee. We were not alone in this idea as one of the girls who had been waiting in line was about 15 meters in front of us. After a good 5 or 6 minute walk we finally saw the highway ahead of us, strangely enough as we approached the tuk-tuk we had left behind never did pass us, which was comical as the passengers already in the back were getting audibly frustrated as the 6pm deadline loomed.

We grabbed a tuk-tuk almost immediately, once loaded into the back and heading into town the girl who had been ahead of us informed us that she had not brought any money along, apparently her boyfriend (who was nowhere in sight) had been paying for everything. I did not know whether to believe this at face value or not, but we had negotiated a price for ourselves and were not about to offer to pay for her when the tuk-tuk dropped us off, mostly because it seemed she was attempting to get us to pay from the start. We payed our driver and started waking toward the inner-tube rental guys, we heard the girl explaining to the driver he would have to wait as she went to her hotel for money, not a big deal as everything in town is a 2-3 minute walk. Amazingly, despite it being 6:15 we were not charged and simply greeted with a smile from the rental guys. So we headed home to change out of our swimsuits.

That evening was spent releaxing, eating out and once again catching a bit of family guy at one of the many couch potatoe restaurants. The next day we were heading toward Vientaine, our last stop in Laos.