Our Adventure-packed Week in Vang Vieng
Kayaking, tubing, zip-lining, paramotoring, off-road buggy-ing - you name it, we did it in Vang Vieng: the adventure capital of Laos!
Coming from the picturesque town of Luang Prabang, our first impressions of Vang Vieng were a little skewed. It seemed that every shop was either selling tours or renting scooters out to tourists. This view was soon altered when we checked into our accommodation which was slightly out of town. A French gent came to greet us and showed us to our bungalow. It was built above the family home within the village, and was surrounded by farms and other locals' houses. There was a beautiful charm about the place. The only negative here was that to get to the village, you had to cross the sketchiest working bridge I've ever seen in my life! The planks of wood were barely even planks, and some weren't even attached to the rest of the bridge! It made for a fun little adventure every time we left/returned to our bungalow. I should mention here that it wasn't just a foot-bridge either. Scooters were also riding over the broken lats, often with the riders' legs out to the side to catch them when they inevitably toppled!
We got to know the family and they owned a local restaurant and bar in the village. The children would help out by bringing the glasses, and the youngest was even learning how to open bottles - She must have been around 5 or 6 years old. The Frenchman's wife's sister worked in the restaurant, and all of their combined children went there after school to do homework, watch TV or help out with the customers when needed. It was a proper family atmosphere, and we felt most welcome there.
Back in the town itself, we found a road with a few bars on that had some pool tables, and each one backed onto the most incredible view over the river. From here, you could see the sun going down over the mountains in the distance, and hundreds of hot-air balloons floating around each night. The bars were very laid back - most of the seating was cushions on the floor with low tables to sit by.
Seeing all the hot-air balloons and paramotors going by each night got us thinking about how we wanted to spend our time here. We decided that we'd reluctantly pop to one of the tour shops the next day and see what was on offer. It turns out we went on a bit of a shopping spree, as we booked onto a kayaking and zip line trip, booked a buggy to rent and drive to the Blue Lagoon, and booked ourselves a paramotor for the next sunset!
The kayaking trip was the first activity we did. We didn't have any expectations other than the fact we were getting in a kayak, doing a bit of zip-lining and there was going to be some tubing somewhere along the way. We jumped in the truck with the kayaks preloaded on the roof and off we went. Wow. When we got to the river, we couldn't believe how beautiful it was. We were suddenly immersed in the very scene we'd watched the sun setting over the night before, and were dwarfed by the grand mountains surrounding us.
We got in the kayaks and headed 5 km downstream to reach the adventure area that held the zipline and tubing. We first went for a walk through some caves and then got harnessed up to zip through the forest and over the river. It was great fun! Mind, some of the climbs up to the platform were absolutely knackering! But also worth it for the views we had as we glided over the tree canopies.
Tubing was funny but also a bit lame. We had to sit in the rubber rings and basically just pull ourselves through another cave by a string that was fixed to the wall. The problem with that is, you pull yourself along with your left hand and naturally you're going to spin towards the left! So we spun ourselves through the caves, got wet arses and swiftly left the area. We got back in the kayaks and paddled the last few kilometres down to the town where we got off and enjoyed a nice refreshing beer and a game of pool.
Well, we would have enjoyed a game of pool, had the table not been on a 45 degree angle, so wherever the balls ended up from your shot, they'd all just continue rolling down to one side. It turned out that spirit levels were scarce in the other bars, too, as every pool table we played on seemed to have a similar problem. Or no tips on the cues… or an odd amount of coloured balls compared to striped, etc. You get the point, it was no place for a pro pool player like young Tora.
Feeling full of adventure and youthfulness after our kayaking/zip-lining/tubing adventure, we decided tonight was the night we'd go clubbing HAHAHA! What on earth were we thinking?! So we got into the club, which was absolutely dead, by the way… and got ourselves a “cocktail” - I have no idea what it was, but it tasted like cordial mixed with vodka - a lot of vodka. We sipped away on our drinks and watched as people started to trickle in… The table next to us was particularly fun to watch. A big thing in Southeast Asia is “happy balloons” - they sell them at most clubs, and basically you suck the balloon as if it were a helium balloon, and you're meant to get a bit of a buzz on, and get giggly. The main point being, do it all pretty much at once to feel anything. Not the people on the table next to us. They clung onto that single balloon, which was being shared by six people, for over one hour!! I mean, each to their own and all that, but why would you bother getting one?!
A bunch of English lads came in, tanked up on god knows what (of course) and jumped up on the stage to flex their moves. They wouldn't have looked out of place on an episode of The Inbetweeners, but at least they were having fun. And anyway, it wasn't long before our vodka-cordial drinks loosened us up and we hit the dance floor. God, I can only imagine the plight of my moves. Oh wait, I don't need to imagine, because Tora videoed it and reminded me of my Jagger-like motions the next morning. YOLO!
The next day, we went to the rental shop and picked up our buggy. It was hilarious! The roads were full of potholes and there was absolutely no suspension on the buggy. I'm surprised we didn't get whiplash to be honest! We slid and swerved our way up to the Blue Lagoon, and if I'm being completely honest, it was just a big, cold pond full of young tourists showing off to their mates. We spotted a sign for a cave and headed straight for it… We climbed up some rocks until we were quite high, then looked down into this small gap which was the cave entrance… You had to go down a ladder into what I can only describe as a well-type thing, then enter through the narrow crevice. Absolutely not. Not for me! Health and safety isn't at the top of many priority lists in Southeast Asia at the best of times, so I don't think they'd bat an eyelid at a couple of tourists getting stuck in a cave! I kindly let Tora go ahead and do all the exploring they wanted until their heart was content, but I sat on the side of the “well”, observing as more tourists made the climb, took a look at the entrance and left.
After the longest 20 minutes of my life, Tor finally emerged and all was well again. We went for a quick dip in the lagoon, dragged ourselves around on a raft for a bit, Tor had a go on the zipline swing thing and belly-flopped straight back off it, and we jumped back in our trusty buggy to drive back to the city before sunset.
The final adventure of our time in Vang Vieng was the paramotoring evening at sunset, and what an experience it was! Gliding between the majestic mountains as the sun was setting over them, looking down into the valleys below, and seeing the city vanish into a tiny square set in amongst all the greenery; I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I could see Tora in the distance on their paramotor, and I just felt so very lucky and privileged in that moment. I was beaming for the rest of the night, remembering that experience. It was exhilarating and exciting, but also incredibly peaceful, all at once. I just felt nothing but gratitude for everything aligning to allow us this experience of a lifetime.
Vang Vieng truly lived up to its reputation of being the place to go for adventures.