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Roaminallover-Here, There and Everywhere
The journey from Vientiane to Vang Vieng took us further north and into an area surrounded by limestone karsts, mountains cloaked in green trees and shrubs. The journey proved to be quite bumpy in places as the road fluctuated between well made and unmade, although distracted by the scenery most people managed survive the journey in one piece. Arriving in the town we discovered it to be two long streets running parallel with the main highway. Infamous some years ago as a haunt of backpackers who turned the town into one of partying, drinking, and general rowdiness authorities have since clamped down, and the place has sobered up significantly.
The river which runs through the town provides opportunities for tubing, or kayaking, and the surrounding landscape a surplus of caves and waterfalls.
When we arrived in the town we were able to reunite with Sandy and Rey who we had met on the Laos border, so we started to make plans for how to spend our time in the town. As the water level in the river was low we decided to abandon the idea of tubing. The thought of scraping bum cheeks over the rocks on the river bed didn't seem so appealing. Instead we opted to hire scooters to take ourselves around the surrounding countryside. We were joined by two young German travellers Nico and Lena who we had met on the journey to Vang Vieng. They soon bonded with Sandy and Rey, so our happy foursome became a happy sixsome.
All suitably kitted out with our very fetching bike helmets we headed out of the town towards the Blue Lagoon. Driving past fields of rice, and water buffalo , small wooden huts and small holdings we eventually arrived. The lagoon was indeed blue, as a result of the Calcium Carbonate in the water from the limestone mountains. The pool was full of fish of various sizes, as well as a gaggle of Japanese women sporting life jackets as they doggy paddled and giggled their way across the water. On the other side of the bridge the more adventurous swung into the water from ropes, or jumped from the trees high branches into the water. We opted to join the Japanese women. Unaware we were planning to visit the lagoon during our rural foray neither John nor I had equipped ourselves with swim togs so we had to go in fully clothed. Fortunately the sun was hot and we were able to dry off quite easily before the journey home. Could have been an embarrassing experience if I'd been wearing one of my white shirts instead of my patterned top though.
The day at the lagoon included a trip inside the cave. Naively expecting the entrance to be on ground level, (I don't know why), it came as a shock to find ourselves scaling the rocky path to the entrance. Unlike many public caves which have concrete pathways inside, complete with rope cordon, and lighting, this one was untouched. Apart from a few arrows scratched into the rocks it was down to us to determine the way. Nico, Lena, Rey and Sandy were keen to explore and John and I did our best to keep up, although despite support from the others we conceded defeat as the going got tougher and we felt we were holding them up. Returning to the surface, and relieved to see daylight again we wrote a short note for the others to let them know we had returned to the bottom of the hill and started our descent. It was lovely to be in the company of such lovely young people, who seemed oblivious to any age difference and included us in their activities.
We rounded the day off with a ride out to see the sunset over a local lake. We passed a group of children bathing in the river. It was lovely to see all the local people socialising, cooking, and relaxing outside their homes. We had to slow down a number of times to navigate groups of cows, dogs or chickens who were meandering along the road. As darkness fell the ash from the small fires filled the air and combined with dust from the local stone and cement works. We all agreed that we'd had a great day.
The river which runs through the town provides opportunities for tubing, or kayaking, and the surrounding landscape a surplus of caves and waterfalls.
When we arrived in the town we were able to reunite with Sandy and Rey who we had met on the Laos border, so we started to make plans for how to spend our time in the town. As the water level in the river was low we decided to abandon the idea of tubing. The thought of scraping bum cheeks over the rocks on the river bed didn't seem so appealing. Instead we opted to hire scooters to take ourselves around the surrounding countryside. We were joined by two young German travellers Nico and Lena who we had met on the journey to Vang Vieng. They soon bonded with Sandy and Rey, so our happy foursome became a happy sixsome.
All suitably kitted out with our very fetching bike helmets we headed out of the town towards the Blue Lagoon. Driving past fields of rice, and water buffalo , small wooden huts and small holdings we eventually arrived. The lagoon was indeed blue, as a result of the Calcium Carbonate in the water from the limestone mountains. The pool was full of fish of various sizes, as well as a gaggle of Japanese women sporting life jackets as they doggy paddled and giggled their way across the water. On the other side of the bridge the more adventurous swung into the water from ropes, or jumped from the trees high branches into the water. We opted to join the Japanese women. Unaware we were planning to visit the lagoon during our rural foray neither John nor I had equipped ourselves with swim togs so we had to go in fully clothed. Fortunately the sun was hot and we were able to dry off quite easily before the journey home. Could have been an embarrassing experience if I'd been wearing one of my white shirts instead of my patterned top though.
The day at the lagoon included a trip inside the cave. Naively expecting the entrance to be on ground level, (I don't know why), it came as a shock to find ourselves scaling the rocky path to the entrance. Unlike many public caves which have concrete pathways inside, complete with rope cordon, and lighting, this one was untouched. Apart from a few arrows scratched into the rocks it was down to us to determine the way. Nico, Lena, Rey and Sandy were keen to explore and John and I did our best to keep up, although despite support from the others we conceded defeat as the going got tougher and we felt we were holding them up. Returning to the surface, and relieved to see daylight again we wrote a short note for the others to let them know we had returned to the bottom of the hill and started our descent. It was lovely to be in the company of such lovely young people, who seemed oblivious to any age difference and included us in their activities.
We rounded the day off with a ride out to see the sunset over a local lake. We passed a group of children bathing in the river. It was lovely to see all the local people socialising, cooking, and relaxing outside their homes. We had to slow down a number of times to navigate groups of cows, dogs or chickens who were meandering along the road. As darkness fell the ash from the small fires filled the air and combined with dust from the local stone and cement works. We all agreed that we'd had a great day.
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