Quinn And Allison’s Tour Of Kong Lor Cave

Posted on February 1, 2012 by

Bike riding was on the agenda for the morning. We rode a few kilometers in the wrong direction before turning around. I had a bicycle accident where I ended up flipping over the handlebars. I was okay except for splitting open my chin. It bled rather profusely and we bandaged it up. I decided that I didn’t want to ride anymore, so the driver came and picked Karel and I up. He took us to the restaurant while Quinn, Tom, and our guide rode the rest of the way. Once the guys arrived, I took a look at my chin and we decided that I needed stitches.
Noy (our guide) talked to the locals at the restaurant and they arranged to have the nurse come out to the clinic. The driver and guide took Quinn and I to the clinic after we finished eating lunch. The nurse gave me two stitches (though I thought it could have used three or four). Thankfully, they had a local anesthetic, so it wasn’t too painful to get them. The cost for the stitches, anesthetic, and bandages was around 4.50 USD.
After the visit to the clinic, we traveled through the Konglor Cave on longtail boats. The boats are powered by lawn mowers with a propeller strapped to them. Halfway through the cave we got out of the boats and walked through the section of the cave with the stalactite and stalagmite formations. The cave is 7 km long and filled with water. Because it was the dry season, there were  a few spots where we had to get out of the boat and walk. Riding through cave in the dark on a boat was awesome!
On the other side of the cave we had a short walk to the village of Ban Natan where we would stay for the night. After meeting the family that we were staying with, we walked to the other side of the river and walked through the tobacco fields. Tobacco is ironically sort of a pretty plant. Noy cooked dinner for us with the vegetables and fish he had bought at the market earlier in the day. We had baguettes, sticky rice, sautéed fish and onions, and sautéed vegetables. It was delicious! After dinner, the host family offered us lao lao (rice whiskey). I thought it was pretty good and saw how it could go down easy, though Quinn begs to differ. There was a wedding in the village that night and the families of the bride and groom so kindly invited us. It was quite the party. Upon arrival, we were ushered up into the house and invited to try undistilled lao lao. It’s kept in a clay jar and we used bamboo straws to drink from the jar. We also got to enjoy beerlao. They brought out dinner for us, despite our protests that we had just eaten. We all had a few bites of sticky rice, laap, and roasted chicken. We gave our well-wishes to the bride and groom. I tied kip to white embroidery thread and waved the thread over his arm–3 times toward myself (out with the bad) and 3 times toward him (in with the good), and then tied the string to his arm. After staying for about 30 minutes, we headed back to our guest house. We crawled into the sleeping bags under the mosquito nets and tried to sleep. None of us had much luck as the party continued into the wee hours of the night. I breathed a sigh of relief when the music and karaoke stopped, only to hear the roosters crow minutes later…
We arose relatively early and enjoyed a breakfast of baguettes, scrambled eggs, spicy papaya, and watermelon. After breakfast we participated in a Baci ceremony. The ceremony was really neat and meaningful. The heads of the household blessed us with well wishes through bracelets (the same kind that we had tied on the bride and groom), roasted chicken, sticky rice, and lao lao. You’re supposed to leave the bracelets on for at least 3 days or until they fall off.
After saying our goodbyes, we loaded into the back of a mechanical water buffalo. Essentially, it’s a wooden cart pulled by a small tractor. It looks a lot like a plow with wheels on the front. Once at the river we put on life jackets and head lamps. Quinn and I kayaked together in the same type of tripe kayak that we had used in Vang Vieng. We made it all the way to the other side of the cave before completely capsizing. After packing up the gear and drying off, we loaded up into the minivan and headed for Thakek.

Story By Quinn And Allison

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Cycling Tours From Hanoi Vietnam To Luang Prabang Laos

Posted on February 1, 2012 by

Hi Everyone. Here’s a trip update about our latest leg of our journey; Bicycling all the way from Ha Noi, Vietnam, to Luang Prabang, Laos. It was about 800 km long. Yes, kilometers. Since we are in Asia, everything is in the metric system, and we are becoming very adept at measuring distances in k’s and temperature in degrees Celcius. You will be happy to know, that we still love bikes, and are having the time of our lives riding them!!
After navigating a very polluted, dusty, heavily overloaded major freeway out of Ha Noi for half a day we started to ascend into the foothills. Then we further ascended into the mountains. And boy were we shocked, at how big the mountains here are!! Mountains in this region aren’t rolling and don’t have easy grades, they are straight up for 30 kms and then straight down for 30 kms. This means it takes half a day to climb not very far, then half an hour to descend the same distance.
It took 3 days to get to the border of Laos. A very smooth border crossing despite what we had been told awaited us early in the morning. Both sides, Vietnam and Laos, were very friendly and efficient. It took about an hour to get across, although we had to walk our bikes. No riding across borders allowed I suppose.
Once in Laos, we were unprepared and shocked by the cold weather. We had a 7 day stretch without seeing the sun. We biked in the clouds every day and were so cold at night. We also didn’t shower because out here in rural Laos there’s no hot water in the showers, and we couldn’t bring ourselves to be out of clothes for very long!!
Day in day out, cold weather. But this did not shake our spirits. Perseverence and a little pushing of the other person in times of need helped get us on through the cold. We were rewarded after the week on a long uphill slug through  the clouds when we actually climbed higher then the clouds to find the sun. And it was absolutely amazing. Looking out at the surrounding mountain peaks, they stuck out of the clouds like islands in the ocean.
Some mornings we hit the local outdoor market for sticky rice and fried delicious things to fuel our fire. Every day we eat noodle soup at some point. And we love it!!
We did some cultural activities in Sam Neua and Phonesavanh. From Sam Neua, we checked out the caves in Vieng Xai that housed the leaders of the Laos Communist Liberation Front during the “Secret War”. For those of you, like both of us, who have never heard of this, it occured in the 60′s and 70′s after the signing of the Geneva Accord in Vietnam where USA pledged to no longer drop bombs on Indochina,The CIA secretly dropped more bombs on Laos then any country in the world has ever experienced.  It was shocking to learn, and we’ve had many good converstaions with people from all over the world about this topic. UXO’s or unexploded ordnance which are bombs that are left over (unexploded as you probably gathered) still plague the people of Lao on a daily basis.  Most of these bombs are cluster bombs which are about the size and shape of tennis balls and are still scattered throughout the country side.  There are about 100,000 injuries every year, 30% of which among children, with most leading to the loss of limbs and death.  Organizations such as MAG (Mines Advisory Group) are working with villages to clear bombs which therefore opens more safe land to farming and are also working to educate children in creative ways about the importance of staying away from and reporting the UXO’s.
The caves were blasted with dynamite to open them up, and built up to accommodate the residents. There are a series of over 20 caves of varying sizes and functions including meeting places, hospitals, residences, and army barracks. It was a full functioning city and the capitol of the communists during this era. The tour was extraordinary complete with guide and audio book and headphones. Very informative.
Another few days biking and we arrived in Phonesavanh for another day off and some more culture. The Plain of Jars is a collection of different sites in this region that contain stone jars of multiple sizes and shapes. There is no explanation of why exactly they are there or who made them, but I can sense a Masters Thesis for anyone whose curiosity is sparked by this really cool site.
We met an awesome German man named Giovanni who we rode bikes with for a couple days and shared stories over a delicious dinner at a point point restaurant. He was a great addition to the team and we were sad to part ways.
After another couple days on the road, and some tough climbing we arrived in the tourist town of Luang Prabang to treat ourselves to some western amenities like hot coffee and bagels. There are many temples and stuppas in this town and we hung out and recovered from one amazing route of bike touring!!
Two weeks on the bikes with a couple layover days for some cultural activities and we are truly feeling the essence of bike touring. This being my first major bike tour and Laurels second, and both of our first international bike tour, we are learning so much. Learning about ourselves, us together, the world, the universe!!  Gaining knowledge daily from those around us and the experiences that we share together.

Source from Jameson and Laurel

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Death Of Australian Backpacker Whilst Tubing In Vang Vieng Laos

Posted on January 11, 2012 by

THE backpacker craze of tubing down the Nam Song River in Laos has claimed the life of a manfrom Sydney Australia, who died after leaping from a platform into the river.
Lee Hudswell, 26, hit his head when he jumped from a tower beside the riverbank onto an inflatable inner tube yesterday.
The Cronulla man was taken to hospital in Vang Vieng, about four hours north of the capital Vientiane, but later died from his injuries.
A doctor at the hospital, who asked not to be named, said Mr Hudswell arrived about 5pm yesterday after a tubing accident but died at 6pm.
Brad Haigh, of New Zealand, who saw the accident, said Mr Hudswell jumped from a tower and landed badly in the river about 4pm.
”People put him on his side and tried to resuscitate him. But nobody knew what was happening. He jumped into the river, which is what everyone does, but there was no first aid on the river and no one knew what to do,” he said. ”He was taken to hospital in a tuk-tuk. It was shocking.
”Last year, 22 people died here in the river … It’s all good fun, drinking and dancing by the river, but when you add the free whisky, tubing and slides, it’s really dangerous.”
There is no suggestion Mr Hudswell was drinking before he leapt into the river.
Another Australian tourist, who had been on the river the previous day, said the river was very low because it was not the rainy season. He described trapezes and platforms made from bamboo and metal rigged from the trees on the sides of the river. There was no obvious regulation or safety precautions.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the death. A spokeswoman said consular officials in Vientiane were liaising with local authorities and the department was helping Mr Hudswell’s family.

Story by Alicia Wood and Jonathan Swan of Sydney Morning Herald

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The Worst Bus Ride Ever!

Posted on March 31, 2011 by

The most legendary adventure partner on earth is named Chad . He and I took 6 weeks to backpack through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. On the topic of hangovers, Chad reminded me of an adventure during this trip that makes simple Changovers seem like a Sunday afternoon in the park by comparison. It all started in Luang Prabang, Laos a “mystical” mist filled mountain town just off the Mekong River. After a few days of enjoying this beautiful, slow-paced paradise, we decided to take a mini-bus through the mountains to a town that everyone who visits Laos must see, called Vang Vieng. Here’s the tale….
We woke up a bit late, still tipsy from the night before, with the guesthouse owner banging on the door because our mini-bus came early. Couldn’t manage to get our things together in time so the bus left to pick up some other travelers and came back for us. Not a great start to a long ride as everyone clearly disliked us because we delayed the bus. Luckily this bus only drove us to a bus station where we got onto a new mini-bus that wasn’t full of passengers glaring at us with hateful eyes. Another bonus was we saw a group of three cute British chicks at a waterfall the day before, but never got a chance to chat with them. Fate placed them on this bus with us which made us very happy (partially as we were still a bit boozy…). Despite having great convo with the British chicks, my body began to take a wicked turn to Hangover Land. Although I had been previously warned by a friend to “ABSOLUTELY NEVER BE HUNGOVER FOR THE BUS RIDE FROM LUANG PRABANG TO VANG VIENG”, it happened anyway. All I can say is that it was honestly the best advice ever given to me, as what came next was too awful to even put in words. I was in the very back of the extremely hot, cramped little mini-bus for 5 hours on the most windy, bumpy roads you could possibly imagine. Being violently shaken, I literally had to hold back from throwing up while pressing my face against the glass trying to get my mouth as close to the tiny back window vent as possible, desperately trying to suck in fresh air. Impossible to sleep as my face was being smashed into the window every 10 seconds by a new bump and the mini-bus going top speed on the sketchiest road ever, brief chats with the hot British chicks were the only thing that kept me alive.
Just when I thought the world couldn’t get any worse we noticed a MASSIVE plume of smoke coming from the valley which we were entering. As we drove closer we could see that it was a huge forest fire and as this was the only road, our options were to drive through the fire or return 5 hours (which we probably didn’t have the gas for anyway). Starting to get closer to the fire we could see it was burning on both sides of the road getting dangerously close to engulfing the entire road. A local farmer came up and exchanged some Laotian words with our driver and kept shaking his head. The driver decided to slowly approach to see if the road was on fire yet. Thick smoke began surrounding the mini-bus, and pieces of ash started raining down upon us. The driver slowly moved forward to the point where flames were right near the mini-bus then decided to STOP!? All the passengers started to get very nervous and yelling at the zero English speaking driver to just speed through the smoke as the flames were nearing our vehicle!! He continued to sit as flames got closer and closer and I literally felt like I was in a movie for the most horrible experience on earth.
So hungover that I could barely speak, my thoughts were consumed with thinking the end of Alex and Chad was rapidly approaching. Eventually he stepped on it and accelerated through the smoke. Waiting for the explosion I eventually opened my eyes to see that we’d come out the other side of the fire, still hungover but alive nonetheless. We finally arrived in Vang Vieng, grabbed a guesthouse with the hot British chicks and celebrated being alive. The madness that is Vang Vieng, Laos I will save for another story, but to sum it up there’s a river that you float a tube down with an epic mountain backdrop, dotted with bamboo bars offering free Lao Lao shots, crazy rope swings and zip lines.

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Laos:Stay Another Day

Posted on March 17, 2011 by

There is something terribly right going on in Laos.  Engulfed in a Green revolution, sustainable tourism is racing through the recently paved roads from the provincial cities to the remote edges of this pristine country.  From organic farm cooperatives to ethnic fashion shows, the idea is pulsing and putting money back where it belongs – with the people.

At the heart of the revolution is Stay Another Day, a Luang Prabong based initiative that produces a veritable Lonely Planet of the country’s sustainable organizations.  They ask travelers to buy local/fairtrade products, get off the beaten-path, volunteer or make a donation (however small), learn a few basic words in Lao, respect the local culture, keep smiling, and stay another day.  Not too much to ask.

Laos is a poor country, but don’t mistake poor for unsafe.  The two words are not so easily intertwined.  Cloaked in a Buddhist ideology, this predominantly rural republic could hardly exude more chill.  The typical streets are awash with smiling faces and welcoming “Sabaidee.”  Long hours of back-breaking work and the scars of colonialism are lost on the friendliest faces of Southeast Asia.

Sustainable tourism is an incredible boon for Laos as it has little in the way of industry.  Yet, how this took root is a miracle.  The idea remains foreign in tourist-heavy Thailand whose music, entertainment and culture float over the Mekong, much to the Laos government’s dismay.

In Laos, sustainable tourism takes on many faces.  Green Discovery lays its claim as Laos’ pioneer in adventure travel and ecotourism.  Opening their doors in 2000, they were indeed one of the first in this recent movement and are committed to ensuring that local people, “not only benefit financially from tourism but also are true business partners by helping to develop programs and activities.”  Each trip includes a graph explaining where the money goes, making the entire process refreshingly transparent.

Vang Vieng is Laos’  backpacker-heavy town and arguably the world capital of river tubing.  On the outskirts of this party-crazy town, Vang Vieng Organic Farm offers travelers a chance to participate in the operation of the farm.  They provide accommodation not only for helpers in the field but volunteer English teachers for the local schools.  Profits from The Farm are used to “provide training and employment, support and education to the local villagers through various projects with the mission to preserve ecological diversity and provide people with accessible and sustainable technologies to earn a living.”

Yet, it is back in Luang Prabang where the sustainable initiatives truly come to life to coalesce the countrywide effort.  With the improved roads and transportation services, Luang Prabang is no longer an isolated oasis in northwestern Laos.  That’s not to say that the roads are peaceful (cavernous potholes, wild turns, open cliffsides), but they’re there – mostly.  The historic center of majestic Luang Prabang sits at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers.  The great city, growing with sophistication, stretches from river to river across the Royal Palace (abandoned with the revolution) and a sprinkling of 16th century temples.  Dignified monks, cloaked in tangerine, far outnumber tourists fighting for space under shared yellow umbrellas, while the bald-topped next generation, training at the city’s dazzling temples, spill out onto the streets at daybreak to gather their alms from the kneeling public.

Luang Prabang is a nerdy tourist’s intellectual paradise.  Oozing old-world charm, the dreamy backstreets and riverfront pathways overflow with art, architecture, religion, and history.  Across the dirt-green river and beyond the latticed riverside gardens, Luang Prabang is surrounded by a handful of craftsmen’s villages.  Woodworkers, potters, papermakers, knitters, and dyers prepare their works for the evening market, making Luang Prabong the premier place in Southeast Asia for authentic, genuinely handmade textiles and goods.

This is the auspicious outcome of a rigorous UNESCO campaign to promote the production of traditional arts and crafts as a means of creating incomes and fostering citywide tourism.  This year marks the 15th anniversary of Luang Prabang’s status as a World Heritage City, a joyous title that is not lost on the people.

Uber-trendy Hive Bar, hipster-happy L’etranger Books and Tea, and fair-trade haven Kopnoi form a fortress of ideas at the triangular intersection of Phousi and Phommathay roads.  Founded by Québecois Isabel Dréan and her partner Simon Côté, the pair arrived in Laos in 2001 and opened L’Etranger, Books and Tea, the town’s first licensed bookshop.   They aimed to promote Lao goods on the world market and over time opened up Kopnoi as well as the popular Hive Bar (home of the Ethnik Fashion Show).  Kopnoi Export Promotion Center’s second floor gallery houses the Stay Another Day Multimedia Exhibition, full of history, ethnography and ideas on responsible travel.  The fairtrade showroom below offers free daily tea tastings with organic brews from the Vang Vieng farm that can be purchased across the street at L’etranger.  It’s one big hippy, happy circle of do-goodery.

If not checking out the free 7:00 o’clock flick at L’etranger, next door at Hive, Luang Prabang (and presumably all of Laos’) only fashion show is the perfect combination of education and entertainment.  With twenty ethnicities represented by twenty models in almost one-hundred costumes, this is no small-scale production.

Laos is a thinly stitched quilt of ethnic minorities.  In fact, thirty-percent of the country’s population is non-Lao-speaking, non-Buddhist “hill tribes” with little or no connection to traditional Lao culture.  Government education ensured a limited knowledge of foreign lands, so much of the culture, including elaborate ethnic attire, remains visible in the twenty-first century.

The fashion show takes place on Hive’s moody, red-lit backyard stage.  As the smiley, giggling girls parade around to trance music in their patterned ethnic garb, a projector details information about the tribes and their traditional clothes.  When you start to wish your high-school teacher taught history lessons like this, the aftershow of local breakdancing boys brings a jolting change from the historic to the global.

Yet, even with its increasingly global allure, Luang Prabang remains blanketed in ancient rituals.  Each dusk’s almsgiving brings the methodically devout out to the street and onto their knees.  Tourists are given pamphlets to encourage respectful viewing, but a few paparazzi continue stalking the sleepy monks.

After decades of isolation, Laos has opened up its arms, however slightly, to the international arena.  It is a crossroads state between Thailand and Vietnam and a close partner with neighboring China (although this is a double-edged sword).  There are green initiatives all across the nation from the northern mountains of Luang Namtha to 4,000 islands in the south.  Many organizations have offices in Vientiane and Paske, though Luang Prabong remains the heart and soul.

Much of the money generated by these organizations is funneled out of the cities and onto the dirt roads and buffalo paths that crisscross this developing land.  Beyond the city limits, Laos poverty is truly face-smacking.  Yet, the country is moving in the right direction, improving the quality of life with education and building schools to teach the next generation.

Luang Prabong based Big Brother Mouse is racing to build a library of Lao language books so that every kid can have a chance to read in those schools, while international aid organizations like UNESCO have found profitable ways to preserve traditional crafts.  Non-governmental organizations such as Stay Another day (and its affiliates) promote responsible tourism so that visitors find an authentic experience and ensure their money goes where it belongs.  Green Discovery monitors that the lands they trek remain unlogged by the Chinese, while environmentalists teach locals alternatives to slash-and-burn farming.  With so much positive energy circulating around this small, land-locked country, it’s hard not to fall in love with Laos.

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Banged Up Abroad:Vang Vieng Laos

Posted on March 17, 2011 by

Hello everyone, this is an entry about our 5 days in Vang Vieng. Here is some background about Vang Vieng. It is the place that many younger travelers go to get have fun. It is kinda like the Laos version of the Americans spring break. The main activity is to rent a tube and then a Tuk Tuk takes you about 8km down the river and drops you off. You are then supposed to tube down the river and stop at anyone (or several) of the bars to drink and then get back on your tube and continue on to the next bar. All the bars have slides, diving boards and swings which you jump into the water at quite high levels. Not the safest day but we heard it was really fun.
We arrived in Vang Vieng at about 7pm, checked into our hotel and went for supper. We were watching all the people (who were returning from tubing) and I think I said to Ashley, “I am not feeling this place. Everybody is walking around with just swim suits on and they are all covered in marker Bar with slide and rope swing
What a bunch of idiots!” Fast forward exactly 24 hours and it was Ashley, me and our 2 new Irish friends…walking around, all covered in marker in just our swim shorts at 7pm.
We got to the river around 1pm, had a drink and floated to the next bar. We arrived at our second destination and there were 2 beer pong tables. Well, I started to like this place. (Mother, don’t worry, the river was quite shallow and slow moving.) We played the 2 Irish guys (David& Massy) and they schooled us. No big deal, onto the next bar. This continued on for awhile. So much fun. I stayed semi sober because of my Maroon badge and narcolepsy but the Irish guys…they went hard.
This went on until about 5:30pm when we realized that we weren’t going to make the end before dark so Ashley somehow convinced a bar owner to drive us back in his boat so we could get in before dark and get our tube deposit back. It worked and we made it back safely.
That night we went out for supper and then to a bar until about 2:30am. It was really fun and we were proud because we had managed to outlast the Irish boys.The next day was spent recovering.
The second day of tubing, we just decided to swim between bars…this is very common in Vang Vieng as you save on the cost of the tubes which are just a hassle anyway because everyone steals each others Gord’s smashed up face.
The day started the same, one bar…swim to the next…and so on. When we got to our last bar, we decided to share a bucket. A bucket is literally a kids sand pail filled with whatever you want. We chose the Mojito bucket. This must have made us brave because we decided to go onto this swing type thing that flings from a 25 foot podium and into the water. We were scared but we did it and it was really fun. We swam back to the shore finished our bucket and off to the tuk tuk.
On our way there, you had to cross this ditch by climbing up about 4 steps, walk along this plank and then down 4 steps. I remember walking across the plank and then pow, I was on my face in the ditch. I must have slipped off and apparently I landed on my face! I don’t really remember it because I was slightly concussed. From how I felt the next day, I would venture to guess that the center of my face took 70% the impact and my left thumb took the other 30%. Thankfully I was travelling with a nurse and she knew what to do and I am going to make a full recovery. I was actually pretty lucky because I didn’t break any teeth…I would have had to get my father out of retirement to help out his 32 year old, unemployed son.(My parents are gleeming with pride!)
Needless to say, that was our last tubing day. Day four was spent recovering and Polysporne-ing my face.
Today we left Vang Vieng and took a mini bus (minivan) to Luang Prabang. it was 170kms and took us 6.5 hours. No bad bus stories just crazy roads through the mountains. Our bus driver never got passed once. Great views but motion sickness, Hello!

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Vang Vieng Hotels:You Would Never Want To Leave

Posted on March 17, 2011 by

Vang Vieng is a tiny little town in Laos snuggled up against the Nam Song river bang in the centre of strikingly gorgeous limestone karst landscape.

The tourists do not come here for any ancient historical monuments of for the culuture, rather they come for one thing and one thing alone – to lose themselves in mother nature and boy! She has gone out of way to show off her beauty in Vang Vieng.

The entire area in and around Vang Vieng is honeycombed with caverns and unexplored tunnels against the backdrop of spectacular limestone cliffs. It makes you feel like you’re one of the Hardy Boys. There are numerous caves and cliffs around, which are supposedly haunted by spirits, making them all the more exciting and adventurous. They also are probably the caves and cliffs which make for the best rock-climbing in the area.

Thanks to the Nam Song gurgling and twisting its way through the tiny town, there are plenty of kayakers around waiting to get a turn. You can choose to trek, hike, climb or raft in this beautiful little city.

The downside – There are increasing complaints that Vang Vieng has lost its very soul and essence of being Vang Vieng. The traditional local market has moved to a more modern location to the North. Instead of the traditional hospitality, you will now find multi storey guesthouses. However, this is more of a personal opinion sort of thing. While some prefer traditional settings, others like the luxuries and amenities of a modern hotel. It’s entirely up to you. Today Ill list a few of the Vang Vieng hotels that I think manage to just about strike a balance between traditional and modern.

If you are looking for luxury, then I would suggest you stay at the Villa Nam Song Vang Vieng. The Villa Nam Song is right on the banks of the Nam Song River and offers the most glorious views of the Limestone Mountains. It brings along with it the charm of riverside residence. All rooms have air conditioning and very clean private bathrooms. The architecture and furnishings are of the colonial era. If you’re hungry stroll down to the La Verandah Riverside Restaurant. If offers the best French and Asian cuisine. The Terrace Bar is an ideal place for you to watch red sun dip into the river. This is one of the few Vang Vieng hotels that promise you a walking distance to all of the town’s highlights. Room rates are inclusive of daily American style breakfast, local taxes and service charge and vary according to season. Usually the most basic room cost about USD 60 per night and can do up to USD 100.

If you’re looking for a mid range hotel, I suggest you try staying at Ban Sabai bungalows. There are plenty of Vang Vieng hotels to choose from in the mid range group but none as great as this tiny boutique resort located along the Nam Song river. Your stay is bound to be great when you have the most amazing and comfortable bungalows to go back to. The bungalows itself have been created in a delicate fusion of contemporary style and Lao traditional architecture. The rustic bungalows are placed on stilts and offer great views of the sun set. If you’d like to indulge your taste buds just stroll down to the Xayoh Riverside Café. The food served is predominantly Asia though European specialities are also available. Rates vary from USD 30 for the most basic rooms to USD 60 for the deluxe rooms. Please note rates may vary according to season.

If you’re a budget traveller, then Sisavang Guesthouse is the ideal place for you. The rooms all have a view of the gorgeous mountains and you get a complete supply of tea, coffee and water. There’s no restaurant within the guesthouse but you can simply stroll down the street and you’ll find plenty of tiny restaurants. Rates begin from USD 5 and may vary according to season.

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Luang Prabang To Vang Vieng To Vientiane

Posted on March 17, 2011 by

This post is going to have to be short and to the point, as I have to order some food and visit the travel man before getting on a bus, because tonight we are going to Vietnam! We’re taking a sleeper bus (should be interesting) that leaves at 6:30 tonight and gets into Hanoi at the same time tomorrow.

I promise to write a much longer post when I get the chance. But here is a quick recap from my last entry:

-Luang Prabang, Laos. Unbelievable. I felt like we were going back in time, in this slow, lazy town on the Mekong. We spent about four days there, and the highlight was going to Elephant Village, this conservation organization that rescues female elephants that were abused in the logging industry. The Village works with the elephants and helps domesticate them while ensuring their health and physical activity. We did a two day elephant adventure program at the Village, where we rode elephants bareback through a river and washed them in the water. It was such a special experience…I didn’t think I would ever have been as comfortable riding on the head of an elephant, my knees wedged between her wiggling ears (which means she was happy). I felt so in my element, so at ease washing her in the water, being totally submerged and wet as she filled her trunk and sprayed water everywhere. It was unbelievable and was an experience I’ll never forget.

-Vang Vieng, aka the home of extreme tubing, Laos edition. Picture a river lined with bars, where you tube down, totally drunk, and hold your hand out for ropes that the Lao people throw to you to reel you in to the bars. We had two full days of tubing before I had to stop because my liver physically hurt. So many dance parties, mud wrestling, and floating down a river in the unchartered, mountainous country of Laos. It was incredible.

-Kong Loh Cave. We took a six hour bus ride down into the southern part of Laos for what was an unbelivable special experience, being in a part of the country that was totally untouched by tourism. We were literally the only white people in the village; every time we walked by the local people, we would get a chorus of hellos….kids would run up to us, touch us, take pictures. We went into this massive cave that went for what felt like a good mile and a half, full of huge stalactites and stalagmites. We sat in a longboat, immersed in total darkness–the only light came from our headlamps. It was actually like a descent into Hades, and being the dork that I am, I half imagined scenes from the Inferno happening above me. It was so creepy and so, so cool. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.

-Vientiene. It’s a crap town, really, and we’ve been here for one too many days. But we are leaving tonight, and I couldn’t be more excited. So much more to write, but I have to go order a bread bowl so I can get moving. I’ll write more when I have the chance, I promise.

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Tubing In Vang Vieng Laos: Saying Goodbye To Sense And Safety

Posted on March 10, 2011 by

As any young, avid traveller who has explored the wonders of South-East Asia may tell you, tubing down the river in Vang Vieng is a must. The river, in the heart of Laos, is often the only draw for backpackers to this impoverished, developing country. The profits acquired from this dangerous recreation help in large part at keeping Laos’ economy afloat.

While the idea of waking up around 10 a.m., standing in a line-up of dozens of travelers, paying an inflated price to rent a beat-up inner-tube, and drifting down a dirty river while drinking buckets of cheap alcohol may seem ridiculous to some, to the average backpacker on the hunt for adventure, it’s the perfect start to the day.

After renting your tube, getting a Laotian symbol inked on your hand in permanent marker (to show that you’ve actually paid), and hopping on a tuk-tuk (the local transport), you’re brought to the rivers edge. Upon arrival, each “tuber” is presented with a cloth-band, generally adorned around the arm or head, and the first shots of the day. Usually Lao Lao, local rice-whiskey, the first shot doesn’t always go down so well at 11:30 a.m.

As you walk to the first bar, tube in hand, you realize that other bikini-clad travelers have arrived and started drinking even earlier then you have.

With house music booming from weathered, black stereo speakers and backpackers swinging on trapeze ropes (inching dangerously close to the rocks below), you realize this may not be a typical afternoon.

With a smattering of about 15 bars on either side of the river, the day is spent floating to whichever one is busiest. With the trapeze ropes, giant jumping platforms, Tarzan-like swings, and rusty make-shift slides (one is aptly coined “Slide of Death” by backpackers), tubing down the Vang Vieng is no walk in the park. If these activities don’t sound dangerous enough, tact on six Beer Lao (the local favourite) 8 shots of Lao Lao, plus a few buckets and imagine the scene.

Almost every bar offers something to encourage drunken stupidity. The “arts and crafts” table presents tubers with spray paint, and funny or vulgar cardboard cut-outs. By the end of the day, people are walking around painted every colour under the sun, and with every lewd comment splayed across their back in lime-green paint.

The rivers current is quite strong, and with no actual brakes, it makes stopping at your preferred bar a struggle. You’re often “roped in” by a local, who whips a sand-filled plastic soda bottle attached to a long cable, in the general direction of your head, while hysterically laughing at your thrashing limbs. After he reels you and your friends in, it’s up to you to navigate your way up the steep rocks, or dodgy wooden planks towards the bar.

If you survive the swings and the other “local rides”, and are lucky enough to make it more then half-way down the river before getting too drunk and leaving, you are rewarded with a giant mud-pit. With a volleyball net in place, and dozens of muddied bodies dancing and wrestling, this is the bar you’ve been waiting for.

If you’ve played your cards right, you have kept a close watch on your tube, and can return it to town to receive your deposit back. But for most, your tube has been stolen, the sun has dropped behind the mountains and you’re struggling for breath as you swim down the river to the closest set of stairs. With little to no lighting, and obnoxious amounts of alcohol in your system this is no easy task.

While most travellers describe this experience as “one of the best days of their lives” and wake the next morning to repeat it, several people die in Vang Vieng each year, and even more leave injured. Just remember to stay with friends and don’t get intoxicated to the point of no return. Just like a full moon party in Thailand, this can be one of the most memorable experiences of your travels.

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Flashpacking In Vang Vieng Laos

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

Vientiane is the chillest capital. So chill that everything closes by 10 p.m. We stayed at Sinnakhone Hotel on Rue Francois Ngin. In a city which sleeps so early, there is no shortage of food—the Parisian—like cafes and street stalls which serve the best baguettes, the Scandinavian Bakery, and Hungry Burger, the Lao version of our Burger Machine! We spent a day just walking around the quaint city and exploring various historical and cultural sites such as the Patuxai also called the Victory Gate which is Laos’ Arc de Triumph, Pha That Luang, a golden temple stupa that is the national symbol of Laos, and Wat Sisaket, the oldest surving monastery in Vientiane.

At the very last minute, we decided to do a daytrip to Vang Vieng to see the caves and go tubing. Vang Vieng was picturesque, with the view of the Karst mountains and the Tham Chang caves, which were so peaceful and serene. But wait till you go tubing, where you float on a rubber tube/lifesaver /salbabida down the Nam Song river and stop over bars that line the river! This was where all the hot, young backpackers were hiding! (imagine MTV Spring Break/Girls Gone Wild crowd, but a whole lot more—add in ziplines, slides, mudpits and swings!) It was utter madness as we zipped down the line and jumped right into the river ala Tarzan! After partying, we would simply hop back in our tube and float down the river, where the next bar would literally “fish” us out via a makeshift anchor (string with a plastic bottle) they would throw at us. We simply had to catch the rope to be effortlessly reeled in to yet another bar, where great music, people, and more bucket-size booze…

It starts to rain and the party does not stop. The mists roll in like dragons around the mountains and as raindrops touch our happy faces, we float on to a setting sun. This is the perfect way to end our flashpacker trip—this is how it feels to be forever young

by Marie Yasmin Sanchez and Joyce Anne Wong

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