LAOS: Vang Vieng

LAOS:
Vang Vieng:
We pulled into town, our mouths agape at the limestone karsts, unloaded our bags from the roof, and left in search of lodging. I’d chosen a hotel from my book (Vang Vieng Orchid Guesthouse), got there, and was thrilled with the location (outside of the center of the town, on the Nam Song river) and the views (karsts and river and Don Khang Island), although it was a splurge at $8 (I talked him down from $10, as it was a double room and I was a single person). I was on the third floor with a balcony and even had hot water! My next-door neighbors and I (we’d walked over together) had a quick, jump-up-and-down-and-clap-our-hands-with-glee giggle session over our good fortune, then retreated to our rooms.

The reason for wanting to be outside of the center of town is that Vang Vieng is all about backpackers hanging out and that specific culture, and the entire town caters to them. The restaurants and bars all have TVs playing day and night, either “Friends” or “The Simpsons” or a Hollywood movie—always loudly. There is more western(ish) food than Asian, classic and pop rock, convenience stores with chips, soda and beer, pool tables, and backpackers wandering around (often drunk, sometimes high) in cool-hippie attire. Not exactly authentic Lao culture. I can see where if you’d been traveling for a long time and needed a few days of English and chilling out, it might be okay, but otherwise it was pretty horrifying, and embarrassing that the town has been overrun (although probably with the natives’ blessing, since tourism provides jobs and income) by a not very pretty example of western culture. And I went knowing all this, because the place is renowned for it natural beauty and activities away from the town center.

Happily, I was based outside of that and could easily avoid it, as the guesthouse was very quiet. I got faint wafts of music from the bars on the island, but it was more along the lines of Lao-pop. I enjoyed my balcony until the sun had set, then went out for some dinner (curry chicken and sticky rice), a quick email check (there are, of course, tons of internet shops) and a little browsing—but I got out of there and back to my balcony quickly!

On Monday, I had a stretch and a cup of coffee (a hot water thermos in the lobby!) on the balcony, then went on a run to Vang Vieng resort and Thom Chang cave. I’d expected to be able to swim there, so I didn’t bring my camera, but the area where I think that was supposed to happen was unlit and possibly totally closed off, alas. I ran back and then went out for a late breakfast at the Organic Farm Café (mulberry shake and a big pancake served with lime and honey—delicious!). They had a great menu, unlike the identical xeroxed menus at all the other places, and I knew I’d return.

Across the street, I rented a mountain bike and then rode over a big bamboo bridge and on dusty and muddy roads through villages and green countryside and karsts and mist to Thom Phukham cave (about 7k from the bridge). It was an overcast day, but not as hot as it could have been, and the scenery was breathtaking. The climb up to the cave’s entrance was exactly that—a CLIMB. Not a hike. It was extremely steep and somewhat treacherous, but there was always something to hold on to and there were other people around, so up I went. At the mouth of the cave, we could tell that it was enormous, but it wasn’t lit and my little flashlight wasn’t going to get me very far. Plus it was VERY slippery…so I explored the entrance area, which included a distant view of a Buddhist shrine.

The climb down was slow-going, and was all about sitting between steps for security. I was head-to-toe grime at the bottom (nice of them to have a swimmin’ hole for us to clean off in!), but unscathed. I saw an English girl go up in flip-flops, which broke, and descend barefoot. Hiking in grossly inadequate footwear isn’t just for Koreans anymore…

Back on the bike, I rode hard through drizzle that felt like it might become serious rain, and got muddy all over again. But really, why bother to shower when you’re just going to go tubing down the Nam Song? Yes, I met up with people (UK/Australia) I’d met by the caves, and we signed up with the tubing folks (while I was waiting for the gang to get there, the manager asked for my help editing his release form and asked some other English questions: could I explain the difference between ‘city,’ ‘town,’ ‘district’ and ‘urban’?) and got transported a few kilometers up the river. The rain passed on, and we had good weather for the trip, which included stops at different bamboo bars (yes, bars—they toss lines or hold out bamboo poles to help you stop) that had some kind of water swing or trapeze or dive, plenty of booze and food and modern rock.

The ride in the tube was spectacular, and the bars were fun, although I would have been happy to only stop at one. I took one jump off a trapezey thing, which was exhilarating, but didn’t do the repeated trips that some others did. I had a delicious papaya salad and a big BeerLao at the second stop, and at the third one I joined up with a different group that was leaving, as I thought getting to the end before dark might be wise—and I got there just as dusk was turning to darkness. I was actually expecting that we’d end at the bridge I could see from my balcony and therefore didn’t realize it when we were at the end, which wasn’t there after all. Basically, if anyone doesn’t clue in (and there aren’t obvious indicators except for one little sign that’s easily missed) or is unable to reach the shore, a bunch of Lao guys scream and yell and run in and grab you and pull you in. And then you walk your tube back to the ‘store.’

So, even though I was mostly rinsed off, I was still stinky and enjoyed a nice, long, hot shower, then rode the bike to the shop to return it and have dinner back across the street at the Organic place (harvest curry chicken stew and mulberry tea! Woohoo!). Two people I’d met tubing came in as I was finishing, having had the exact same idea, as they’d seen the curry on the menu earlier, too.

On the way home, I decided to sample the Vang Vieng scene and watched half an episode of “Friends” on cushy cushions with ice cream. Very odd to do that halfway across the world. Weird that some people do that for days on end. Why travel? I went back to my beloved balcony and debated whether I really wanted to meet up with the tubers at one of the bars on the island across the bridge. I didn’t really feel like it, but I did want to walk over and explore, so I went. I must have beat them there, because I couldn’t find them, but that was perfect. I walked around, returned home for more balcony and guidebook time until I was sleepy. For some reason I had crazy dreams and I wondered whether someone had put ‘happy’ stuff in my ice cream (there are some ‘happy’ restaurants for those looking to add to the BeerLao experience).

On Tuesday I got up and had coffee and oatmeal (I’d packed them just in case—yippee!) on the balcony, packed up and had a long stretch before being picked up at 8:30 for the trip to Luang Prabang. Ultimately, we didn’t really pull out of the depot until 9:30, and then did a few loops around for no apparent reason before getting on the main road. The “5-hour” trip took seven hours…ah, Laos. It was another amazing and beautiful, swirly and sometimes bumpy ride on scary roads through the mountains, in a slightly more comfortable minivan (advertised as faster than the ‘bus’) than the last one. These vehicles take a SERIOUS beating out here. Villages clung to the sides of daunting cliffs, farmers worked along impossibly steep descents, and we marveled at how different this life was from any we’d ever know.