The Moab of Laos

Vang Vieng is an outdoor activity haven with a focus on serving the young crowd at affordable prices. With stunning views, cheap beer, and yummy food it was one of my favorite destinations in Laos.

The view from hour hotel room. Vang Vieng is a scenic town by the river.

We signed up for a day tour that involved half a day of tubing in a cave and half a day of kayaking. Our new friend and fellow cyclist Darren decided to join us.

The cave goes on for over half a kilometer while you pull your tube along on a rope. We decided to go as far in to the water source as possible. It felt like exploring a flooded subway tunnel. In the rainy season the cave completely floods.

After the cave we did a bit of kayaking. Small rapids made for some exiting moments.

Along the river we saw local fishermen getting their catch.

Here is Ali taking a break from the river.

In town we would saw oddities like cock baskets. I had seem a bunch of them in the back of trucks but could not figure out what they were for. Turns out it’s a play pen for your cock!

Other oddities in town included the #77 special. Don’t you want some of that?

Next day we headed out to a lagoon and cave for swimming and exploring. Doesn’t this place look like something out of an Indiana Jones movie!

We stopped at the main chamber to take a look. Rosie and Bryan are our new Irish friends that we met back in Luang Prabang.

Bryan would later take me on a tour of the cave. It was pitch black with huge chambers and all sorts of exciting features. Like any good thriller giant, tiger spiders were waiting for us.

We liked kayaking so much that we decided to sign up for a full day of it. Maybe we just needed to balance all our cycling with a bit of upper body workout. 18.5 KM of kayaking sure made me sore.

Our full day tour included lunch. Our guide tried to catch fish for us to eat. I guess the vegan karma was on and the fish got lucky. It still was quite a sight to see the fishing attempt.

Wendy on the shark kayak!

Laos is all about options. How do you want to get across the river? Walk the rickety, bamboo bridge that gets washed away come the rain or get passed around on rusty cables on a wooden basket. Your choice!

As the our wonderful day kayaking ended I saw this hot air ballon. If only I could . . .