had a pretty sumptuous breakfast at Joma's, in the heart of Vientiane. as i sipped the fantastic coffee while waiting for my transport to pick me up... i was wondering what sort of excitement can Vang Vieng bring me, heck, leave alone bring these "farangs" to this little town 3 hours away from the City... Lonely Planet was a great help in giving me a view, or maybe a thought about this small town, but nevertheless, nothing can deceive what the eye sees.
its going to be a 3 hour bus ride, or longer, depending on "situations"... yes that is scary. first stop... after almost an hour through the trip... TOILET BREAK... no no... not like R&Rs back in Malaysia, what you see is 5ft high grass and yes... please go ahead and take a leak. ladies, bring along an umbrella... and a friend of course. everybody was astounded... but being farangs... who cares! first sign of the bus with a problem... my view was that their brakes were heating up really fast, affecting the gears and clutch... solved in 30 minutes... long break... back on the road.
half an hour later... a long traffic jam. there was a queue.. a very long queue of cars, trucks and vans. we were stuck, not knowing what was going on at the far end. after reading stories of buses being robbed on this highway and so forth... everything i held was close to me. the traffic moved, and stopped, moved and stopped. until to a point that we can see a bridge... yes, we were crossing a bridge and seems that the actual bridge used for vehicles from the City actually collapsed! hell yea! and that was why we had to use the other bridge, and traffic was slow cause they would allow a certain number of cars to go through before the other direction comes. conclusion, it was a very narrow bridge.
after going through crazy Lao driving, whereby we nearly hit another car which was 2 inches from the bus and another incident where the opposite vehicle was 5 inches from the bus... the bus broke down again. 4 hours into the journey... the problem that i suspected came happening again. it was another wasted 30 minutes. finally, we entered the province of Vang Vieng... seeing the signboard brings a smile to my sorrow face. it was the country side, mountains towering us, river flowing gently and kids doing somersaults into the river... i was feeling the vibe already... UNTIL... we dragged to a stop. it was there and then that i even thought of hitchhiking to the town. but i kept myself from it and waited for almost an hour before the mechanics and the driver settled it. remember when i said there was 3 Lao fellas in the bus... and yes, i know why now... they are mechanics!!... call them the bust attendants too, as they do check tickets.
6 MF-ing Hours!!!
Lonely Planet said 4-5 hours!!! and what can the eye not deceive... it was true, Lao buses look VIP but they forgot to have a VIP engine in it! my suggestion is, get a minivan to Vang Vieng, it would cost maybe a dollar or two more, but the journey would be much faster... especially if you are on a tight schedule, like me...
SABAI-DEE VANG VIENG!!!
grabbed my backpack and headed straight out to the main road. see, VV is so small, there are 2 main roads... you are assumed lost if you see too many trees around you on a very very straight road... thats the highway.
Good morning Vang Vieng!
with no reservations on hand, i walked towards the GuestHouse i wanted to stay in... Bansuan Riverview Bungalows. i saw the sign and started to walk faster as there was another lady in front of me walking the same direction. being kiasu, i overtook her and she halt me back. her first words were, "hi, your first time in Vang Vieng?"... as i screeched to a stop, smoke hollowing from my slippers, i said ÿes". then we were approached by a local, telling us that the bungalows inside is fully booked and his GH has one room left. as we stared at each other, the lady and me, we came to a conclusion that we could share the room for the first night. at the back of my head was that i could save half the price of the room... with a stranger! it was a quick decision as i was dead tired from the bus ride, frustrated and hungry. we stayed at Le Jardins de Organique and the room was 60,000 kip, about 7 dollars. view was pretty awesome, overlooking the mountains of VV. it has 1 double bed and 1 single bed as well. simple room, nothing much to offer but it was good enough.
my new friend in VV is Ing, a Thai lady. surprisingly, she was also in the bus, sitting just behind me. we quickly headed for a meal, at 5pm. she was traveling alone as her friend that she came with, flew back to Thailand because of an emergency. 2 solo travelers in a new place. we started exploring VV... a cowboy town that sells loads of VV t-shirts, singlets, everything you need when you are at the river. internet cafes are located everywhere and restaurants were galore, serving all sorts of food, Lao, Aussie, etc. the sun was setting and we found ourselves in this island, just a bridge across from the mainland of the town. this little island is a home to 3 bars and a GH. and the view of the sunset was simply out of this world. it was amazing... in Discovery Channel's words, This World Is... Awesome! i just couldnt help my fingers snapping on the shutter of my camera as i enjoyed the scenic view of the sunset, setting over the mountains. this little flick certainly brought smiles to our faces after the horrid bus ride we had. as VV started to get dark, it started to rain as well, and we were on our way out of the island and back into town. and we landed ourselves on a restaurant for dinner of course. if you were to read about VV from forums, reviews and books, you are sure to come across these phrase, "kicking back watching reruns of FRIENDS". and YES! its effing true! the tables and chairs are built into a bench like with pillows all around you. and of course, FRIENDS were playing. i also did noticed that now they are playing reruns of The Family Guy. improvising! a cold shower and the bed never felt so comfortable. and this, is my first day in Vang Vieng.
puts a smile on my face everytime
the FRIENDS lounge
VV is so small that you are for sure to bump into the same people that were with you in the horrid bus ride. the Irish dude and his other half was still around, the Frenchies i met was still hanging out together and the German guy is still seeking for his adventure. got up early the next day and the morning view of the mountains are just amazing. mist hanging around the mountains, it was scenic! breakfast... done. we also decided to move to the actual GH i wanted to stay in, Bansuan Riverview Bungalows and here i am, in a new home. talking about being a nomad. check out the Tour agency and we confirmed our tour of Vang Vieng, a half day tour of the jungles and mountains; hiking, trekking, caving & kayaking. the tour costs me 120,000 kip (15 dollars more or less). up on the truck, it took us out of the town and through the village and villagers. we were going to the starting point of our tour. first task... kayaking for about 15 minutes. it was a good slow start. then we parked our kayaks at a villager's stop.
awesome lodging!
view from the room
the room
it was simply amazing, having to see the locals there trying to calm their guard dogs after we invaded their land. the sight of the jungles were just in my face. its now or never... we started hiking. Noi, our tour guide, was simply funny and can really entertain himself. hes one helluva joker. we hike and trek to a point where we stopped and Noi suggested we go to the waterfall first, then do the caving at the end. Yes Sir! the hike was tiring, adventurous and out of this world. to a point, i was actually kinda put off or simply scared as two other villagers started to appear from the jungles. Noi said that they just came back from their daily catchings. they hunt for crabs and frogs close to the waterfall. and yes, i could smell the salt water crabs as they walked pass us. the trekking continues... and now, i found myself at the peak, not the highest peak of course, but the peak of the hill we were trekking all this while. the waterfall can be seen and it was amazingly high! the waterfall starts from the peak of the mountain! it was incredible. the lush green covered mountains were just an eye candy! and there you go again... another 2 villagers came walking pass us. same catches... this is how Laos can be, so natural and localized. at some point, you might just feel like one of them... as we continue the journey closer to the waterfall... we went downwards from the hill we were on top and found ourselves on flat ground. it was a land filled with buffaloes and cows. the local villagers here rare these grass-munching, stomach-filling animals and they are for sale. a fully grown cow would cost around 1 million kip or more. now, we are lucky as there was no sign that says, "Trespassers would be shot!". as we strolled pass the dang filled grass (which explains the extreme lush greenery), we were in another jungle now. we have been hiking and trekking for almost an hour now. as we crossed rivers and streams, it started to rain. it was my first time doing this in the rain. drenched with rain and sweat, we continued our journey; just had to be a little more careful hiking as the paths are extremely slippery and muddy.
Noi told us that the management allowed him to take us on a Full Day Tour, instead of the Half Day Tour Ing and me decided on. now, this is worth the money! haha. the mini-waterfall is drawing close... the sounds of the waters crashing on the rocks on a nearby stream lifted my spirits to continue hiking. and there we were, climbing through the rocks in the river. with moss all over the rocks, it was tiring and difficult to climb upstream. after all the hard work, there it was, the mini waterfall we came for. it was awesome... the water was cold, cooling breeze, water crashing into the stream... it was well worth the adventure. all i can do was just stare at the falls, and started snapping my shutters again. Noi was swimming in the shallow waters but i found a rock just nice for me to relax... it was my personal little haven...
the dang filled area
mountain peak number one
the mini waterfall we climbed towards
after enjoying being in my little haven, we started to climb downstream to where we entered from. we were on our way hiking back to the jungles and this time to the cave. going back the same way we came from, we found ourselves back at the dang-filled open land. from there, the cave that we were going is pretty near. and there it was, NamTham Cave. getting into the cave was difficult; steep wooden wood as our ladder and we are in it. as the lights went out, we were deep in the cave. the atmosphere was cold, the water was cold, i was freezing. at one point, we were walking through waters until my chin! thats about 5 feet deep of water. pushing myself through the waters whilst holding on to my flashlight, the only thing that i could feel on my feet were stones and rocks, slippery ones too. the cave was not that big, maybe about 500 meters and sunlight can be seen. and there it was, my real caving adventure; i was a virgin. out in the open, i know that the tour is about to end. and we were back on our feet trekking through the thick and long grass. as Noi paved the path... i was exhausted. and we are back at our kayaks. from here on... it would be kayaking for about 20 kilometers back to the town dock.
5 feet high water filled cave!
it was a tiring kayak ride, exciting at the same time. then, we found ourselves at the heart of VV's main attraction... the Swingers! bars and restaurants can be found at both sides of the river. this is also the main starting point for tubing, the farangs fave past time. Noi told us to docked at Smile Bar, on the left side of the river, downstream. we had lunch there as we watched the farangs swinging off themselves into the river. Smile Bar provides food, drinks, a volleyball court, mud-volleyball, mud-tog o'war pit and the ultimate swinging action. after watching a bunch of farangs play volleyball, tug o'war and swinging, they started to leave when one of their buddies dislocated his shoulder at the mud-volleyball court. after having much rest, Noi was ready for the swinging, and so am i! hah! in VV, this is much more fun than tubing, personally. and there i go... 1st attempt, ahhhhhhhhhhh.... wooooooooooooohhhhhhhh... weeeeeeee... thunderous SPLASH!!! as Noi threw a inflated inner tube for me to hold on as he pull me back to the dock, my face was plastered with a huge smile. it was FUNNN!!! and FANTASTIC!!! one might feel like being in a circus as those professionals swing around on the trapeze. 2nd attempt, i was swinging so high that i might actually get back up at the platform... and after going back and forth twice, i let my hand off the trapeze and left my heart at the handle. at my 3rd and final attempt, then only i did see the sign that states, "Swing 3 times then let go". i was doing it twice!! ok, this time, i followed the instruction and the splash wasnt that great. oh well, i guess i am hardcore! haha! seriously, swinging on the trapeze is a tiring job. after landing in the river, you still have to get your ass back at the dock. it was tiring and we were done. Noi did it twice, i did it thrice but Ing didnt do any... i guess it is understandable.
bracing myself...
holy-mother-of-godddd.....!!!
Smile Bar's Mud-Pit
by the way, swinging is FREE! you just have to buy a drink at the bar and go on... its all yours. whilst tubing down the Nam Song River, the bar guys would normally shout out calling you to come to the bar and try our their swings... if acknowledged... they will throw a rope with a bottle attached at the tip at you. hold on to it and they will pull you in. simple as that. as we make our way back to the town on kayak, bars are aplenty, left and right of the river. some with loud music and some a little mellow. there was this bar with a HUGE slide... simple... just like Sunway Lagoon in Malaysia, go down the slide and find yourself maybe 10-15 feet in the air before you plunge into the river. now that is heart-stopping. too bad i was too tired to actually try it. half-way kayaking, Noi screamed at us, asking us to go ahead... he needed to take a leak! WTF... hahaha... this guy is funny, as he scrambled out of the kayak to get on land. as we approached the town and the sights and views got familiar, we knew that the Tour had finally come to an end. one word... MEMORABLE! a BIG thank you to VLT Tours and Noi. cheers!
again, Ing and me found ourselves at another restaurant but with the similar ambiance of the typical "lepak"culture in VV. headed to a bar on the little island, one called Rock Bar. it was quiet, surprisingly... and yea, just drinking Beerlao and chatting. called it a night and went back to the GH's garden facing the river to relax and absorb my last night in VV. river was pretty calm, and the mountains were asleep. the village across the river are in darkness, presumably sleeping. it was a peaceful night with stars twinkling above my head. one thing i told myself before i fall into deep sleep.... I Shall Return...!
my VIP bus (once bitten, twice shy?) was due to arrive at 1.30pm. after having breakfast, Ing and me decided to go for a walk, across a bridge that would cost 4000kip to get across and back. this bridge leads to the best caves and mountain views in VV. VV is simply scenic, shutterbugs are most encourage to come to this town. VV has fantastic eco-tourism sites and landscape artists and photographers would consider this as a haven for them. as i walked through mud pools and rocky roads, i get to experience the villager's life and surroundings. paddy fields, dogs humping, wooden bridges, shallow rivers, locals getting on with their errands, children cycling to school... its amazing. a life that i would not have experience back home but the life here is something that i would certainly respect.
"please to pay"
the paddy field
cant get enough of the my lodging
strictly made of bamboo!
sunrise view
checked out of the best GH in VV, in my own account, we headed to the town carrying memorable memories of VV with us. as i parted ways with Ing, she was a great friend; friendly and down to earth. who would have known that i had met a great friend in a foreign country. she was heading to Luang Prabhang, my initial town to visit and i am heading back to the capital. same concept as Vientiane, a minivan pick me up and dropped us at the bus station. as the bus arrived, i jaw dropped in shock... it was that very "King of Bus" i took from VTE to VV. hence, once bitten, twice shy. this time, i was prepared, i brought food and water enough for a 6 hour ride. and there i go... in the problem prone bus...
sorry, no pictures this time as my initial laptop has gone nutty and my pictures are all there. dont worry, will get the pictures up when i get that lappy fixed.
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