After yet another 8 hour bus journey across the winding rural landscape of Laos we arrive at our second destination, Vang Vieng. Famously known for its adventure tubing and party scene.
We arrived in the afternoon and got to know our bearings in this small town they call a city. We decided to go tubing tomorrow so we could rest from the days journey.
Our trip tubing starts with a tuk tuk ride up the river to the first bar and cast off point. Here we meet up with a few friends from Laung Probang and the beers begin to flow with beer pong, free whisky shots and a dj blasting out the tunes. Its just gone 13:00 pm...
After a few hours here and many beers later we finally get into our tubes and set off down the river to the next bar. There is about 60 of us taking the trip this afternoon. Our next bar is a short drift down the river as you gaze at the fjord landscape and try your best to fight the rainy season current.
I am chucked a plastic bottle on a piece of string as the locals rein me in on a make shift fishing line. Safe to say I've already lost another set of flip flops at this point! The second bar is busy with more beer pong and a game of boules. We play basket ball and volley ball in the afternoon sun, with the sound of beer "shotguns" and free shots ringing in our ears.
A few hours pass and we're heading to our final bar, back in the tubes we float "gracefully" down the river. For those who dont know; tubing was banned in Laos as too many tourists were injured or died. It started up last year with limited bars, but the dangers were always in the back of my mind especially as the sun had started to set and as we left for our final stop at the end of the town.
The sun sets very quickly in SE Asia so a mad panic was on to get the tubes back and out of the river before dark. We managed this just before it got pitch black. There was a bit of panic as the strong currents tried to sweep you beyond the port and local attempts to fish you out the river. We arrived at around 18:30 pm.
Battered and bruised (literally) we had finished our tubing. Safe to say a bit of a nervy experience but accomplished none the less. I was so tired after the afternoons antics that I crashed after dinner and slept through till morning!
You will be pleased to hear our second day was much more chilled. We rented a motorbike and headed out to the numerous lagoons and caves that surround the town. We found ourselves at the blue lagoon for most of the day. Here we chilled in the natural lagoon pools and explored a cave. The sun was shinning and we met up with a few friends from tubing to compare bruses and stories.
Finally we took the motorbike for a ride around the town and the local villages. We watched the sun set over the mountains as it brought our hectic time in Vang Vieng to an end.
Im finishing this post on a bus to the capital Vientien. We are here for a few days before we head back into Thailand for the beaches and gulf islands.
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