Tubing Tubing TUBING!

Days 58 - 64 (27/05/08 - 02/06/08): Vang Vieng, Laos

I ended up spending a lot more time in Vang Vieng than I originally had planned for, a total of 13 nights in the end. It is the kind of place that can do that to you. I met quite a few other travellers who were also staying for a lot longer than they originally thought. The simple truth of the matter is that Vang Vieng is just a very fun place. I have been to lots of places that I have really enjoyed for one reason or another; I loved the history at Kanchanburi, the relaxed vibe of the Perhentians, and of course the unforgettable adventure of the Gibbon Experience. But Vang Vieng is just pure unadulterated good old fashioned fun.

Most of the time in Vang Vieng was spent tubing, with the odd day of rest and relaxation thrown into the mix. In the end I went tubing a total of seven times, and each time was a blast! I realise you must think that it would get boring after a while, but each day was always as fun, if not more fun, than the last. Part of the reason is that there always new people doing it, each day new people arrive and bring their energy and enthusiasm to the party. And of course there are the giant rope swings, which never get old. To show just how high the big one really is, I have attached a video of myself doing it. You will notice there is quite a drop after letting go before you hit the water! Another reason that I really enjoyed Vang Vieng and the tubing was the great company. When we first arrived in VV, there were 9 of us from the Gibbon Crew together, which made for a lot of fun. Joe and Justin left after a day, and a few days later Gemma and Johnny left, to much sadness. The rest of us stuck together, and were later joined by Simone. Louise had 2 of her friends come out on holiday from the UK, and so we were one big happy family, having meals together, tubing together during the day and dancing away the night. We still met a lot of other people, particularly when you run into the same old people each day out on the river.

There isn't really much more to say about what happens during a day tubing that I didn't mention in my last post, although each day always has its own little unique moments. One of the days it rained a fair bit, and the resulting mudfight at one of the river bars drew in everyone, willingly or not! Unfortunately a lot of the funny stories are only funny if you were there, and so repeating them here would be pointless. Each morning we would gather for breakfast and recollect the stories of the night before, giggling and laughing about what had happened.

On one of the relax days, I got on the back of Charlie's scooter and we drove out of town to a collection of caves and a small swimming hole. The journey involved driving through some old muddy rice paddies, some of the time I would have to get off and push the scooter as it got stuck in the mud. It was a lot of fun. The caves were not particularly impressive, mostly pretty small. One cave was very long and thin, I had to breath in to fit through. At the end was a deep swimming hole. One of us held the torch, while the other gingerly floated in it. It was actually quite scary going for a swim in almost complete darkness, with unknown things lurking in the water below you...

On another relax day the others rented scooters, while I rented a mountain bike and we went 7km out of town to another series of caves and a small swimming hole. The road was pretty mud and quite rough in places, which can be very hard on a scooter. However, it posed no problems for a mountain bike, and as such I rolled in before any of the scooters did. The swimming hole was quite nice and relaxed, with a small rope swing and jumping platform. There were also some caves around, but it started raining pretty heavily, and we decided to not bother with the caves. The ride back was great fun, and I got very muddy indeed.

Crazy days and nights in Vang Vieng

Days 53 - 57 (22/05/08 - 26/05/08): Vang Vieng, Laos

I am going to write up all these days at once, because they have all been pretty similar. I have now spent 5 days in Vang Vieng, 3 days tubing and 2 days recovering. The first day we obviously all went tubing as it was our first day, on the second day Lucy had arrived, and so obviously the polite thing to do was accompany her, even if our bodies weren't as keen. Then there was a much needed day of recovery in which I did nothing except go on the internet and read my book in hammock. Lou's friends then arrived from England, and so obviously we had to go again. It was like walking willingly to an execution, knowing the trauma and carnage you are going to be putting your body through, and yet doing it with a smile on your face.

So what is this 'tubing' thing then? Well let me explain a typical day tubing in Vang Vieng. You'll wake up mid-morning, and go out for breakfast. This for me is most likely going to be a filled baguette (as Laos is an old French colony, they bake good bread, unlike Thai bread, which is horrible. There are numerous street carts that will make a custom baguette sandwich for you, it is exactly the same as Subway, only with slightly less choices and its only 10 000 kip, or $1.50NZ). At about midday we will congregate around our guesthouse, dressed in nothing but togs and some money in a waterproof bag. At this point Garth and I will start dealing out a whiskey shot to everyone. We then ritually play 'Eye of the Tiger' to get ourselves in the right mood for tubing. We go down the street and sign in at the tubing place, pay our 40 000 kip, and climb into a tuk-tuk, on whose roof a number of large truck inner tires are strapped. A five minute dive up the road, and you are ready to go....

Grabbing a tube you jump into the river, and proceed to float for a whole 30 meters before stopping at the first bar. Well, its more of a bamboo platform built onto the side of the river that is selling booze, giving out free shots of local whiskey, playing pumping music and packed with people. All of which is fun, until you look up and see the biggest rope swing you can possible imagine. A very high platform is built off the side of a tree, and from an even higher pole is a steel cable with a swing handle (You can just see the platform in the upper left of the group photo). A local Lao guy pulls the recovery cord and you hold onto the handle, realise just how high up you are, and jump anyway. Generally you swing once, wait till the highest point of the swing and then let go, about 5 or 6 meters up in the air. At this point you come crashing down into the (very deep) water, hoping that you land upright, and not on your back or stomach. Occasionally that does happen and a collective 'ooohhh' will issue from the crowd. Or a big wave of applause for someone who tries something particularly gutsy, such as a flip. The whole thing is exhilarating, and while it is very scary, once you have done your first one for the day, the rest are easy.

The rest of the afternoon is then spent this way, drifting down the river in a tube, stopping at pubs and going on giant rope swings. The first pub still has the biggest one, but some of the smaller swings (which are still incredibly big, just not as big as the first one) at other pubs allow you to go two at a time, which is great fun. There are also some ziplines, although after going on the Gibbon Experience, the ziplines were pretty tame in comparison. I prefer just to climb up the zipline tower and jump straight off it.

Ultimately the idea is to make it back to Vang Vieng, although because all the pubs are in the first half, it takes about an hour to float from the last pub back. And most times it gets dark while you are still at a pub and we just catch a boat back. I did manage to make it back all the way the second time I went tubing. Back in Vang Vieng, those people who are still able to will go down to the riverfront bars and continue to party the night away around the bonfires. Now while this may all sound a bit cheesy, it is in fact an incredibly incredibly fun time. Everyone is very social, with everyone talking to everyone, dancing around bonfires, having mudfights and jumping into the river together to float down to the next pub. I personally think the swings are my favourite, and sometimes just spend the whole time at a stop doing continuous laps of the swing. As some of you might know, I am not particularly keen on heights, but with the Gibbon Experience and climbing to the tops of all these platforms and the big swings, I am getting a lot better.

Unfortunately, tubing really takes it out of you. Without stating the obvious, your liver is working overtime from a whole afternoon of drinking. Your arms and chest muscles will really hurt from all the paddling and hanging onto the rope swings. Your shins and feet will be bashed, bruised and cut from constantly climbing out of the river over the rocks (I wear my sandals for this reason). You get surnburnt (most sunblock is stripped off from the high speed impacts with the water), and whichever part of your body hits the water first will most likely be sore, generally thighs and arse for me. Although people who back or belly flop can bruise their whole body. One girl's entire stomach was purple the next day after belly-flopping. And yet it is great fun, and you are rearing to go the next time.

Some people bring dry-bags with other possessions in, normally cameras, and so I've managed to grab a few photos of tubing from others, including some great ones Johnny took of me on the big swing, it really looks like I am flying, and will give you some idea of the height of the swings. (My camera is too big and expensive to risk or be practical). So there you have it, a day of tubing down the NamSong river in Vang Vieng Laos. I have now done it three times, and doubtless will do it a few more times before I move on again.

To Vang Vieng in a bouncy minibus

Day 52 (21/05/08): Vang Vieng, Laos

We had organised a minibus ride to the next destination of Vang Vieng, party capital of Laos. There were six of us Gibboners booked for the minivan, myself, Garth, Charlie & Lou, and Gemma & Johnny. Joe and Justin were going down the same day in a different minivan with their friends. Lucy would be following us the day after. Initially there was some confusion, as the minibus driver (who spoke no english) wouldn't go and pick up Lou and Charlie from their guesthouse, and we had one shared ticket for all six of us. And then he made Gemma go in another minivan, even though there was space in ours. In the end it turned out that he was only taking us to the minibus station, not to Vang Vieng itself. We all re-grouped at the station, and then climbed aboard our proper minibus for the 5 hour ride. If there is one word to describe the journey, it would be 'bumpy'. I was on the back seat as the minibus wound its way around and up and down the steep Laos mountainsides, bouncing all the way. I was trying reading my book for some parts of it, but it proved too hard to hold the page steady enough to read. The scenery was absolutely fantastic though. Laos, especially its mountainous north, is a truly beautiful place.

We made a few short stops for food, but in the mid afternoon we rolled into the Vang Vieng minibus station, and shared a tuk-tuk down to the riverside, where the 6 of us all checked into the same guesthouse. We are all planning to stay here for a little while, and so haggled for a better price, and I got my own room. There is a very nice little bamboo gazebo with a few hammocks in it that overlooks the river, and it has quickly become a favourite spot to relax or have a few quiet afternoon beers. Both Lou & Charlie and Gemma & Johnny had been to Vang Vieng before, only leaving to go on the Gibbon Experience. In fact Gemma & Johnny weren't supposed to be coming back, except that it is such a fun place and with people they knew going to it, they couldn't resist to come back for a few short days.

It was blisteringly hot (what a surprise!), and so we headed down to one of the riverfront bars and had a quick swim in the river. Although you tend to 'float' more than 'swim'. The current is very fast and the river shallow, so you just jump in and float down a couple hundred meters, then walk back. The scenery is, as always, amazing. Across the river are some truly huge sheer mountains, whose faces are so steep in parts that no vegetation can grow. We all sat back, gazed at the scenery, enjoyed a cold beer and listened to the two couples who had been here before talk about tubing down the river, the activity Vang Vieng is famous for. I have heard a lot of stories about tubing down the river, and everyone says that it is an absolute blast of fun. Garth and I were very much looking forward to it, after hearing the stories of the giant rope swings, ziplines and riverside pubs. Bring it on!

The evening was spent at the same bar, now geared up for its nightly patrons with several large bonfires and pumping music. It was very much a deja-vu night, as I ran into several other people I had met previously, including some people from the Perhentian Islands almost 6 weeks before!