Vang Vieng

From Vientianne I took an afternoon bus to Vang Vieng, which is a bit of a backpacker mecca, where many eat the lotus and end up staying for weeks or even months. But me? I did it all in a day! So many other things to do...



Vian Vieng is surrounded by limestone peaks and caves, but its idiosyncratic attraction is "tubing". Who knows how it got started, but the idea is you get a tuk-tuk a few kms up the river, where you are given a large inflated inner-tube in which to sit, and you then proceed to float down the river in it, past many bars that have sprung up, serving the ubiquitous beer lao, lao lao (lao whisky) and many other things. The bars also have entertainments to entice you in, including rope swings and flying foxes over the river.

In the morning I went a short trip which had a trekking and caves itinerary, including one cave in which you entered on a tube as it was full of water, this cave was great and you could go deep into the mountain on your innertube.



Here's me in a cave with my head lamp (which bled acid on my t-shirt and ruined it, oh well).



Here's me on a flying fox over the river, see the lazy tubers floating by?

Next day, surprisingly hangover free I got on an 8 hour bus to Phonsavan.