Vang Vieng to Bangkok and onto Bali

December 7, 2010


We spent 4 days in the peaceful riverside village of Vang Vieng with stunning views of limestone mountains, the slow-flowing Nam Song river meandering through the town, and lush forests filling the landscape. On our second day, we decided to go tubing down the Nam Song, one of the area’s biggest attractions. We hired our tubes from the market up the street, jumped into a VERY SMALL tuk tuk, and went on the 4km ride to the start.

At the starting point we were greeted with a free shot (just a little one Sal, come on buddy) of homemade Lao whiskey, KAW! In addition, you immediately see all of the make-shift bars that you will soon be passing, or visiting if you choose to take the ropes the kids (teenage bar workers) throw out to you. I (Adam) thought this was funny, because if you remember, I am not…petite and most Asian people…are therefore, I was more nervous of ripping them off the deck where they stood then having them try to pull me into their bar.

[The Bars]
The make-shift bars aren’t just bars; they include CRAZY rope swings, zip-lines, and slides. Most bars are up and off of the water with sketchy steps and NO railings to stop one from falling into the rocks below. This may sound exaggerated, but I am telling you it is not. Of course it doesn’t have to be a scary thing, and it is safe if one is aware of what they are doing and doesn’t make poor choices.

We decided to start our tubing adventure around 11:30 am in order to avoid (yes avoid) all the drunks that tube later in the day. The water was a little chilly initially, but became very refreshing and pleasant after a few minutes. Our first stop, about 500 feet from where we started (LOL) we stopped to enjoy a nice cold Beer Lao to help cool us off before continuing (at this point I (Adam) dumped my tube and lost my SECOND pair of glasses).

Our next stop was the Slingshot bar, the last stop before you continue the 3.5 remaining kilometers down river. While enjoying a “bucket”, a small plastic bucket (imagine a child’s beach bucket for making sand castles) filled with gin and tonic for two, we kept hearing what sounded like a small child periodically yelling and whistling. The bar owner told us they were talking birds and that we could check them out if we wanted to. Intrigued, we climbed up the hill from the docks and found these two amazing birds. One of them would say “sabbidee” (‘hello’ in Laotian) and “Good morning”, the voice was identical to a human, no robot sounding crap, but a human voice; it would also cough like a human, it was incredible! The other bird would ‘yell’ every time it heard a whistle, needless to say, we were fascinated.

The next day, we decided to hike out to a scenic overlook called Pha Poak. Pha Poak is a small hill/mountain (depending how you look at it) that has an amazing overlook of Vang Vieng. To reach the top, you climb a series of sketchy bamboo ladders before scaling sharp rocks to the top. It was steep, scary and completely exhilarating once I (Cathy) was finished. I am not a fan of heights and was really happy to have reached the top (and bottom) with the support of Adam, who decided to cross a steep and scary chasm at the top to get some amazing photos and video. [Adam here; Cath was AWESOME! The whole way up she told me she couldn’t go any further, but she ventured on like a champ, I was really proud of her, as it was not for the faint of heart; it was indeed very steep and very technical.]

We left Vang Vieng by yet another bus and headed to the country’s capital of Vientiane. Once arriving, we were surprised at how much this felt like a bustling city compared to the other places we visited in Laos. After a brief thought, we decided to catch the local bus to Nong Kai, the border of Thailand, and then an overnight train to Bangkok.

We arrived in Bangkok the next morning (surprisingly somewhat rested from the sleeping bunks) at around 7:00 am and immediately headed to the backpacker’s district of Khao San Road. Once there, we were disappointed with the selection of sub-par hotel rooms and guesthouses so we went online and booked a nice 4-star hotel in Bangkok’s Silom district, a business district filled with shopping malls and high rises. We enjoyed two nights of luxury that included a rooftop pool, air conditioning, hot shower and a clean bathroom with toiletries… life was good. Our next big adventure: Bali.

Arrival into Bali on December 4

We arrived into Bali around noon and immediately grabbed a taxi and headed north to the small town of Ubud. Ubud (Ah-bewd) is a charming town filled with chilled out restaurants, cafes and spas, as well as ancient temples and of course Balinese culture. A day in Ubud could include anything from Balinese dance lessons, yoga, cooking courses, visiting ancient temples, and walks around the beautiful rice paddy fields, to a relaxing day at the spa or wandering through the many art galleries that line the streets. Or, you may find yourself retracing Elizabeth Gilbert’s steps when she visited the town before writing her best-selling novel/movie, Eat, Pray, Love, which we did not do.

We found a nice, quiet guesthouse called Gusti’s Garden located a little off the beaten path in Ubud. Our bungalow overlooks a beautiful terraced garden, a pool, a small river and rice paddy fields in the background. It’s a peaceful location with the sound running water and the smell of beautiful frangipani flowers.

More to come….

Many hugs, kisses and KAWs to you all!

Love,

Cathy and Adam