Motoadventures2up: Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng, known for its crazy party scene by thirty backpackers, was decidedly not on our list of must sees in Laos but after talking to two couples who said it was not to be missed we changed our minds and booked a stop on our way down to Vientiane. One couple said "The Blue Lagoon" was a must see and the other recommended a guest house called Jammees that they stayed at and didn't want to leave. Both couples verified that the bars lining the Nam Song river were gone, washed away in the rainy season last year, and the hoards of drunk tubers doing the drunkin' party thing were gone along with them.
First off, the ride into Vang Vieng was incredibly scenic with dense foliage covered mountains jetting straight upward out of the earth and small villages sitting amongst rice fields lining the not so great but passable road. We found Jammees upon arrival in town and got a large bright room with a view of the mountains and both a single and king size bed for 100 kip ($12) a night including a menu breakfast...this was going to be hard to leave! Apparently the town was much quieter than before with many restaurants and bars empty, only a few party animals looking for a happenin' place.
We booked a tour which included tubing half a km up an unground stream into a cave, lunch, and kayaking for a couple hours on the Nam Song river. The day was too much fun. Of course we had to check out the Blue Lagoon so the next day we rented mountain bikes and rode the 7 km (on a very rocky and bumpy road) to spot in a small creek where the water was aquamarine blue (from minerals) and quite deep. There were ropes rigged up to trees that you could swing off of, out over the water (fun but once or twice was enough for me). The place was a little bit of a disappoint to me, I guess I envisioned something much grander. A pleasant surprise though was the cave that was located above the pools, quite deep and pitch black without a headlamp...we keep saying that there are things to do here, as tourist, that you would never be able to do in Canada because of safety regulations and this is one. Can you imagine wandering around in huge caves with drop-offs, sink holes, and no lights or indicators as to which way was out. I don't think so!
After four nights in Vang Vieng it was time to head south again, destination-Four Thousand Islands near the very end of the Mekong River. Not wanting to take a night bus we decided to breakup the trip stopping in Vientiane, Thakhek (our cheapest room yet, only $6, but believe me you get what you pay for) and Pakse, where we would catch the final bus to the boat out to the islands. And that is where I am writing this entry, unable to sleep I thought I might as well do something constructive with my time. The roosters are crowing so I doubt sleep is an option now...I guess I will try to sleep on the bus today.

A Laos gardener, checking out the grounds of a hotel.

Kids playing in a creek, seen from the bus on the road to Vang Vieng.

On the way out of town on our bike ride to the Blue Lagoon we crossed a bridge, what only 2000 kip each?

In Vientiane we stopped for a drink at a nice restaurant beside the "Thatdam", what a fitting name.

Another beautiful view from the bus .

A tuktuk picked 12 of us up from the bus staion north of town in Pakse. He was loaded to the max. but made a killing, charging each of us 20,000 kip (2.50).