Day 23
We are up and seated in a cafe eating the best fruit and muesli we've found so far whilst trying to make a decision on what to do... The suns beating down so staying out and falling asleep where we're sat sounds good to me but it would be a waist.. We are only in Vang Vieng for one full day so want to make the most of it.
Almost directly opposite our hotel is a place renting out push bikes and mopeds. It's been a talking point for a while about how we are going to travel Vietnam. We can't decide on one or two motorbikes.... Shirees never done a bike test, or even had lessons, but has ridden one of my bikes around a little so is interested in giving it a try... Also the bike day on the 250 reminded her that on the back of a bike your just sat there doing nothing but head butting the person in front of you every time the bike slows down..... It's for this reason that we decide to rent a moped... Its 10000 kip more than a push bike and comes in at a total of £3 for the day plus fuel...
Vang Vieng is surrounded by water and mountains.... And many caves. We get a map with the bike and head off to the first of our chosen cave destinations.... Tham Chang Cave. There are two caves at Tham Chang.. The first on ground level which has a slow flowing stream come out of it and the other at the top of many steps... The good people of Laos so incredible skill at managing to extract money from tourists... There's tickets for everything so after having our pockets emptied at many points along the way with more hidden charges than you could think of we enter the cave at the top of the steps.... This is a large cave system that goes back a long way... It's neither high or wide, but goes in for quite some distance.... Thankfully this cave is light and it's covered in stalagmites and stalactites and looks incredible... There huge and the light shows them at there best... There is a concrete pathway within the cave and man made bridges over more trickery areas plus a look out area where the cave finds another hole in the mountainside high up.... There is a robe wearing Buddha here with smelling candles... Once we've looked around enough we return to the water cave.... The water is crystal clear and surprisingly warm... I change and climb down a bamboo larder into the water... The only way into the cave is in the water.... The water at the cave entrance is 6 foot deep at most and the cave is around 6 foot wide and peaks at maybe 4 foot above water level.. The water looks clear when outside the cave but as you enter it appears blue.... And becomes very deep.... It's maybe 30 foot deep and using the flash from the waterproof camera you can clearly see the bottom.. The cave reportedly goes back into the mountain for 80 meters but 8 was enough for me... Using a little sun to dry off we are back in the bike... This time with Shiree in control... She does really well and we venture out of town... We travel for around three miles on a main road which is in good condition and reasonably quiet. We turn around at a tiny petrol station and head back into Vang Vieng for some lunch... The bikes pretty crummy and is a semi automatic..... Its horrible to ride and has a really snatchy gear change whilst continually making strange clonks and grating noises but shiree does really well and we arrive at a road side restaurant in one piece.
After eating we head off to the second cave of the day.... It's call
Poukham Cave & Blue Lagoon and its 8km away.... It involves finding a bridge made from wood that is the only way over the river, it involve a charge for its use, but like all ticket charges in Laos its tiny. We head out of Vang Vieng then follow mud and stone roads through remote villages whilst trying to make sense of the map and road signs... After maybe 40 mins we arrive.. Stopping at a small building under a large sign selling all inclusive tickets... " Everything Included " cave and lagoon so we pay up, paying extra of coarse because we have arrived by motorbike and take a look around.... The place is beautiful... There is an area to the left where the lagoon is, situated next to a wooden bridge, crossing the bridge you notice rope swings and bamboo ladders up some trees that overhang the lagoon and once off the bridge you notice to your right a grass area with open bamboo shacks lining the river side with soft furnishings, many of which have been moved from the shade of the shack roofs out onto the grass where people just lounge around sunbathing or play volley ball on the small pitch. This whole place has a very tranquil and relaxed vibe and is all set at the foot of a tree lined mountain side with some makeshift steps cut through the undergrowth leading up maybe 150 meters to the cave mouth... At the base is another little hut selling the use of a head torch with a sign that reads.... "These caves are large and dark.... Don't get lost..."
We pay up and start the climb, head torch in hand and soon work up a sweat, but it was worth it just for the view... The cave is massive.... The biggest we have been in so far... At least 200 meters around... It's not particularly pretty like this mornings, but it is big.... There are spray painted arrows on the wall leading into a dark corner... A Buddha sits in a platform in the middle of this cave.. I thin tunnel of Sunlight beams in from the now high entrance we climbed through illuminating the Buddha along with airborne dust particular that twinkle in the light... We follow the arrows deeper into the darkness across slippers wet ricks and climb through a tall narrow hole in the cave wall... This takes us into another huge underground cave that could be twice as big as the first... Its pitch black so we head tourchs in place we carefully explore before climbing back down to the lagoon....
Here we take a dip in the water and cool off.. People swing from the ropes wings and crash into the water... We sit on a seat that's suspended from a branch above, but it's under the water level and people watch... A girl attempts a rope swing aided jump into the water but under the pressure of an audience flaps and looses her grip on the rope, falling very unladylike into the water.... She admits defeat and swims to the side and climbs out of the river... Looking for cover amongst familiar people, but her embarrassment was far from over... On the top step of the slippery bamboo ladder she looses her footing and falls awkwardly back down the ladder, getting her legs tangled in the steps on her hasty decent... This prevented her from actually falling back into the water, but will of produced some healthy looking bruises the following day....
We sit on the river bank watching people jump in from the tallest branch accessible from the tree ladders... It's probably 30 high and will no doubt look more like 50 ft high once your stood above the water and it becomes your turn to jump... It's hear that we hear a familiar voice... Its Alan & Julia... The people we meet during our slow boat trip.... They have also hired a bike today and are also planning to buy a bike and travel Vietnam on it.
We sit and talk for a while and they show us a place just outside the car park entrance where they will be staying for the next two weeks... Its a kind of home stay where you live with local people and work with them during the day.... Apparently they'll be doing fencing work...
We leave together and loosely arrange to meet this evening in a bar on the Main Street in Vang Vieng. It's not long before a sunset photo stop means we have been left behind... We get back along the bumpy dirty roads fine... Shirees doing really well but when we come to a small rise onto the wooden bridge back across the river we are going a little to slow and due to our bikes awful gearbox we stop on the approach ramp... There has been a bike follow us for a while so when we stop I indicate to the people behind to go ahead whilst we sort ourselves out... It's two English girls on a much more modern bike... They go to overtake us but the wooden floor in not level anywhere on the bridge... They quickly loose control, side swiping our bike and falling off spectacularly in front of us.... The only thing the poor girl has left hold of on the bike is the throttle, which is wide open.... It's really very funny... There both absolutely fine.... A very slow motion fall off into very smooth wood... But by now we are not the only audience... I jump off and help the rider lift the bike and she's off... Minus her mate who has decided to walk the bridge... We are crying with laughter inside as we pass them at the far end of the bridge but have to keep a straight face.....
After a freshen up and with the bike returned we head back out to meet up with Alan & Julia again... The bar we've arranged to meet in is terrible and pretty druggy.... The one bar girl is from Crystal Palace and is more stoned than anyone in the whole bar... We end up leaving after a few drinks without paying a bean.... We would of paid quite happily, but if you can find no staff how long do you wait..
By this time we are pretty drunk and Alan has heard the after the pubs close the bowling alley on the edge if town becomes the place to be... We jump in a pick-up tuk tuk and head south to the bowling... When we arrive we are met only by staff who switch the lights on as we enter... It's deserted, but we don't care.... Ordering four small bottles if local whiskey we set about the bowling.... I think Shiree and I win both games but I really can't remember..... My main intent was to get them more drunk than us and I think I succeeded.