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!

Amazing waterfalls

Day 51 (20/05/08): Luang Prabang, Laos

Luang Prabang is a very pretty town, full of history and culture, and more temples than you can shake a big Buddhist stick at. One of the things the town is famous for is the Kuang Si waterfalls, and so after a breakfast with Garth, Gemma & Johnny, the four of us grabbed a tuk-tuk for the hour journey out the waterfalls. Its only 29km to the waterfall, but it is very steep, and as such the underpowered tuk-tuks take an hour to get there.

Before getting to the waterfalls, you walk through a short forest path, in which you go past the Bear Conservation project. Here are a number of Asiatic black bears that have been rescued from poachers. The bears were all playing in their enclosures, and climbing trees, and were pretty cool to see. There is also a rescued tiger, however it wasn't out for viewing that day. Walking a bit further we came to the waterfalls themselves. The waterfalls are incredibly beautiful. It is actually a series of small waterfalls that cascade over multiple levels down the side the hill into beautiful aquamarine pools. We followed them up, marvelling as each pool seemed more beautiful and picturesque than the previous one. After a short while we got to the main fall, which was pretty high and very pretty. Here we met Lucy and Lou & Charlie, three other Gibboners who had taken the bus instead of the slow boat.

You are allowed to swim in the pools at the bottom of the hill, and so after working up some sweat walking to the top of the waterfall, we were all eager for a swim. There is a small waterfall here, about 3m high which you can jump off, as well as a tree of similar height overhanging the pool. We all had a great time jumping off the waterfall and tree into the beautiful water. At one stage a large contingent of young orange clad monks appeared and walked to the top of the waterfall. Some started rolling up their robes, and we were all hoping they would jump, but alas a senior monk came along and disavowed them of the idea.

The tuk-tuk ride back was considerably quicker, an advantage of going downhill. Later in the evening I met Lou and Charlie, and we climbed over 200 steps up the large hill in the middle of Luang Prabang to watch the sunset. Unfortunately the clouds were in the way, but it was still a fantastic view watching over the town as all the lights came on for the night, and as is typical for Laos, there were fantastic mountains and cliffs in the background. Luang Prabang has a large number of Buddhist temples, which at night are lit up by spotlights, and so standing on top of a giant hill in the center of the town, you could see all the illuminated Buddhist Stupas dotted around the place.

Lou and Charlie hadn't made it to the bowling alley the previous night, and were quite keen to go, and so for the second night in a row I found myself at the bowling alley after dinner. Garth joined us, and the four of us had a couple good games. I was really bad in the first game, coming dead last and scoring a paltry 35. But then I got my eye in, and easily won the second game with a score of 115. Overall another fun night with the 'Gibbon Crew'.

Two days on a slow boat

Days 49-50 (18/05/08 - 19/05/08): Huay Xai to Pakbeng to Luang Prabang

There were six of us 'Gibboners' catching the slow boat to Luang Prabang; myself, Joe and Justin from my treehouse, Gemma and Johnny (an English couple) and Garth, the Canadian. We got to the boat really early in order to grab good seats, and we quickly camped ourselves out near the front of the boat, each with our own seat. The boat is just a long wooden boat with open sides and a roof, with rows of wooden benches down it. The boat ride was actually quite good fun, the seats were simple wooden benches, but on some advice we had each bought a small cushion. We spent the time reading, listening to music, chatting, playing cards or a great little game called 'Pass the Pigs'. In the afternoon we even cracked open a few beers and relaxed as we watched the Laos countryside drift by. The boat goes down the famous Mekong river, and as such it was my first time on the river that I would be spending a lot of time on in the future, as I follow it down through Laos, Cambodia and then into Vietnam. It was also the first time in my trip that I was heading South. I have spent the last six weeks travelling North from Singapore, through Malaysia right into the North of Thailand, and now I am heading south again, and will be for the next few weeks.

The boat stops at a small town called Pakbeng, whose sole purpose is to house the tourists coming down on the boat. As such there is a large crowd of guesthouse touts waiting to ambush you as you come off the boat. We all checked in to a relatively cheap guesthouse, had an average curry for dinner, and spent the evening drinking a few beers and playing Pass the Pigs. Until 10:30pm, when the generators for the town stop and it loses all electricity.

We arrived at the boat early the next day again, and so ensured that we had good seats at the front of the boat (the back of the boat is very noisy from the big engine). The second day was very similiar to the first, with the exception that it rained a fair bit, so canvas covers were pulled over the side of the boat to stop the rain coming in. Once again we entertained ourselves with games and cards, and had a few beers.

We arrived in Luang Prabang, where Joe and Justin were meeting a bunch of friends. They were waiting at the jetty for us, and we followed them to their guesthouse and all booked in together. I continued to share a room with Garth, like we had been doing for the past few days. Luang Prabang is quite famous, the entire town is a Unesco World Heritage site, and it is home to a large number of temples and a lot of monks. In fact if you walk outside a temple just before dark, you will see a large number of orange clad monks leaving. It is even weirder to pass by an internet cafe and see all the young monks checking their email and texting on their cellphones. Nevertheless, the town, like most of Laos, is very conservative and most restaurants and bars will shut at the curfew of 11pm. There are only two places in town that stay open after this, the disco and the bowling alley. And so on our first night in Luang Prabang, we all found ourselves going to the bowling alley after our dinner. The bowling alley was apparently the place to be, and very shortly the entire place was packed, almost entirely with backpackers, a lot of whom I recognised from the boat trip. I didn't actually end up bowling, I just drank some beers and chatted to other people.

At the end of the night, a large group of us were all going back to the same guesthouse, and so we all got on the same tuk-tuk, all 17 of us (bear in mind this was a 'truck' style tuk-tuk, with two benches in the back of a small converted van). Nevertheless, there were 9 in the back, 3 on the roof, 3 standing on the duckboard at the back, and 2 in the front. It was a lot of fun, and since the tuk-tuk only had a 1400cc engine, we were going so slow that it was pretty safe.

Gibbon Experience 3

Day 48 (17/05/08): Gibbon Experience, Bokeo Park & Huay Xai, Laos

We all woke early with the morning sun, and Max our guide zipped in, ready to take us 'Gibbon Hunting' again. The girls didn't want to come, so it was just us guys. We were ready in our harnesses, and under Max's instruction, sitting very quietly in our treehouse, waiting. And then we heard it, the distant sound of a single gibbon singing in the morning. With that we all sprang into action. Ignoring the standard rules of one person at a time, Max threw us all down the zipline as fast as we could each clip on. Down on the jungle floor we followed the sound, which had now grown in cacophany as several gibbons joined in. We turned off the main path, and climbed and slid our way down a steep hill, towards the source of the amazing howling, whooping and shrieking of the gibbons. Whenever they paused in their singing, we would freeze and not make any noise. When the singing resumed we would continue down, trying to make as little noise as possible. We probably got to within 50m of the gibbons, whne they decided to move on. I managed to see just a few fleeting glimpses of gibbon silhouette against the morning light, and then they were gone. However, it was worth it just for the singing. The gibbons are incredibly loud when they sing, and have a big vocal range. All the more impressive was how the group of them all sang together, one gibbon would start off with some low notes, before all the others would slowly join in, building to a brilliant crescendo of gibbon voices. It is incredibly eery, hiding in the fog of the early morning jungle, listening to this other-worldy song.

We clambered back up the hill, pulling ourselves up on the trees and vines, not worrying about making noise now. Being as 'zip-addicted'as we were, we went for a few more quick zips. There was a heavy mist this morning, and it was a great fun zipping through the mist above the treetops. Although as we found out, the first person down the zipline gets completely soaked, as all the condensed water on the zipline sprays into you. At about 9am all others came over for breakfast, and the 13 of us enjoyed our last meal together in the treehouse. It was then with much sadness that we all packed our bags and had the last zip out of our treehouse. A short walk back to the base camp to drop off our harnesses, and an easy hour walk back to the main village. After all the walking over the past few days, this last walk was easy for everyone. There was only one four wheel drive to take us back, and so instead of all cramming in, Garth (the Canadian in the group), and I jumped on the roof and enjoyed the ride back getting a great view and dodging all the low lying branches.

Back at the main road, and we had lunch at a small shop, before the first of us 'Gibboners' (as we had taken to calling ourselves) had to part ways. There were three going North, while the rest of us were going back to Huay Xai. At least we could all fit in the jeep now, and we spent most of the trip already reminiscing about how much fun we had just had, and how it was one of the most amazing experiences we had ever done. Back in Huay Xai, and most of us checked into the same guesthouse. We all went out and had dinner together, and then had a good party on the upstairs balcony of our guesthouse.

Gibbon Experience 2

Day 47 (16/05/08): Gibbon Experience, Bokeo Park, Laos

I woke up at a very early hour to the sound of Owen zipping out of our treehouse. Our guide would be coming around at 6am to take us on a walk to try and find gibbons, but in the meantime we still had half an hour, and so the rest of us guys threw on our harnesses and did the quick loop to Treehouse 2 and back again. It was brilliant zipping in the early hours of the morning, the air was crisp and dew covered all the ziplines. We got back just in time for our guide, Max, who then took us on a walk in the jungle. The best time to spot gibbons is in the early hours of the morning, when they sing. Gibbons literally do sing duets, the males and females each having different parts. Because the jungle is so dense, and the gibbons are so high up, it is impossible to spot them during the day, so the only way is to listen for their singing in the early morning. Alas, even though we walked very quietly through an area that Max said there are normally gibbons, we didn't spot or even hear any. It may have been because of all the noise we made in the night, oh well.

Another few zips on our own, then back to our treehouse for breakfast, consisting of steamed rice and vegetables. Being our full day in the jungle, we now had the choice of two treks we could do. One would take us down some ziplines to Treehouse 5, the newest and biggest treehouse overlooking a great valley, and then an 1.5 hour walk back. The other option was to walk for several hours to the waterfall, go on the really big ziplines there, and then walk back for several hours, overall a long day. The people in the other two treehouses decided on the easy walk, but we were all quite keen to go down to the waterfall, so shortly after breakfast, we stocked up on water (the tap water in the tree house was safe to drink), and we set off. The walk was actually quite easy, it was downhill for most of the way, and the Laos scenery is fantastic. Along the way Max also pointed out some of the more interesting plants and insects, and we even ate the stalk of one of the edible plants. It tasted like bland celery.

The Gibbon Experience has two different areas of operation, the 'classic' and the 'waterfall'. We were doing the classic, and staying in that area. But now we were getting the best of both, by walking all the way to the waterfall area. Personally I think the 'classic' area is a nicer place to stay, and the ziplines are more accesible, allowing for a lot of zipping. Howerver the ziplines at the waterfall area are huge. And when I say huge, I really mean huge! They were all at least 300m long, with the longest one touching 400m. The highest one went from one big hill/mountain, all the way over the valley and the river, to the hill on the other side. It is supposedly 1000 feet high, or just over 300m. You literally felt like you were flying. We did about 7 different zips in this area, they follow a big long circuit that takes about an hour to do, including all the walking between ziplines.

We came to the waterfall itself, and all the guys jumped in for a swim in the large swimming pond. There was a bamboo raft there that had seen better days, but it didn't stop us from all trying to sit on it and keep it upright. 'Bamboo submarine' is probably a better term for it, and much hilarity ensued as the raft lost all stability with 5 guys on it. Lunch was more sticky rice and vegetables, at one of the little village camps where the food is cooked for the 'waterfall' area. We then had the walk back, the first hour or so was flat, and then we got to the big hill that had taken us 40 minutes to walk down. We all split up at this point, everyone going their own pace. Joe and I soon were at the front, and decided it would be a lot easier if we just power walked and ran our way up the hill. This way we did the whole thing in less than half an hour. Joe and I got back to our treehouse, and had enough time to have a shower and a few hot chocolates before the others started arriving. Treehouse 2 and 3 came over as well, and the whole group sat and chatted while our Treehouse had our dinner. The others had to leave before dark, and having no whiskey for the night, we spent a quiet night chatting and listening to the jungle sounds.

Gibbon Experience

Day 46 (15/05/08): Gibbon Experience, Bokeo Park, Laos

The previous night ended up being quite a good one. Walking out of my guesthouse, and the first person I walked into was Sian, who I had spent ten hours with on a third class train, and later met in Koh Phangan and Khaosan road. Yet another example of traveling being a very small world. She was with an English and Dutch guy, and so we went out for a great meal and finished the night having a few drinks on the roof of their guesthouse.

It was then an early start for me. I had to be at the Gibbon Experience early in the morning, and so after checking out, and having a banana pancake for breakfast, myself and twelve other travelers gathered in the small office. We were shown a safety instruction video, and then we all piled into two four wheel drives for the 2 hour journey to Bokeo Park. We all got to know each other very quickly and everyone in the group got on really well. We would be spending the next three days living in close proximity in tree huts, so that was a very good thing. We turned off the main road, drove through a river, and then had a very windy and bumpy trip down a muddy track. In the wet season, this can be too much for a vehicle, and instead you have to do a 5 hour trek. We were lucky, it had been dry and the vehicle managed fine, although the occupants got quite shaken up. At the local village we got out and had a 40 min trek into the jungle to the Gibbon Experience base camp. Here we were given our harnesses and split into three groups, one for each tree hut. There were 13 of us in total, I was in Treehouse 1 with 5 others, Treehouse 2 was the honeymoon suite with just one couple, and Treehouse 3 had the remaining 5.

For those readers who don't know, the Gibbon Experience is part of the Bokeo Conservation Project. Basically, for 2 nights and 3 days, you live in a treehouse and explore the jungle by zipping down giant ziplines. This was you are above the canopy level, and are treated to fantastic views.

Our first zip was quite a short one directly into our treehouse. One by one, we each clipped our harnesses onto the zipline, and tentatively threw ourselves off the launching platform to whizz through the trees and land in our treehouse, which was at least 60m above the ground. The treehouse was very nice. A small communal area with a sink, running water and a gas stove and kettle, a food box filled with snacks and fruit, an upstairs area with a double bed, and then a lower area with two more double beds and a small bathroom with shower. The bathroom itself had a slotted wooden floor, and the shower water just fell down to the ground, as did any other 'things' one would normally dispose of in a bathroom.

Our guide then took us around a few more ziplines, and after that we were allowed to go by ourselves. We immediately set off and spent the whole afternoon zipping around the forest. The main loop we did took us to treehouse 2, using 7 ziplines and taking about 20 mins. The ziplines are all obviously one way, and so a little bit of walking is needed to gain the necessary height to come back down another zipline in the opposite direction. These ziplines were very long and high, the longer 4 all being about 300m long, and getting close to 100m high, as they zipped from one ridge across the valley to another ridge. I will try and use words to describe it, but ultimately it is something that words will never do justice to. Imagine literally flying above a huge tropical rainforest, getting a birds eye view of the giant trees and dense bush, while in the distance is a stunning landscape of the Laos mountains covered in low cloud and further jungle. Above the high pitched whine of the zipline, you can hear the endless multitudes of insects and birds in the jungle below you. The wind rushes past you as you gather speed fly over the jungle, before the incline increases and you slowly come to a stop on the far side. Still buzzing with adrenalin, you quickly disconnect your harness and safety rope from the zipline, and very quickly walk up the hill to zip back across the same valley. It is unlike anything else I have ever done in my life, and it is something I will always remember.

After traveling the same ziplines a few times, we we knew them well enough and started taking videos and photos, which while they are fantastic, once again do not do any justice at all to the actual real event. A very early dinner was brought out to our treehouse by the guides, and we tucked into our meal of rice and vegetables, which is what we would be eating for the remained of our time here. It was still very early, and so we jumped back on the ziplines to visit Treehouse 2, where we stayed and chatted and had tea. All in a tree house 60m above the ground. Very surreal. Down we zipped and trekked down the hill to Treehouse 3, who were a bit secluded in their own little valley, and chatted to them for a while.

It was now getting close to sunset, and so we walked back up the hill, and did our final few zips for the day in the twilight. On one of the zips we could look over to the mountains, and see the sun setting in the distance. A magic moment. We made it back to our treehouse just before dark, which was very lucky as their are strict rules about not zipping at night (it is quite dangerous as you can't see where the zipline ends). The six of us from our Treehouse spent the night chatting, and drinking the bottle of whiskey that a very smart cunning person (such as myself) had brought in. We all got on very well and had a great night. Our Treehouse comprised of myself, two English guys (Joe and Justin), two French girls (Anna and Laurie), and another Kiwi (Owen). Owen and I actually found out that we both did Engineering at Canterbury Uni at the same time, and know a lot of the same people. In fact we probably passed each other in the hallways a hundred times. Another case of the world being very small.

While the French girls in the upstairs bed, and the two English guys worried about all the bugs, spiders and beetles in the forest, myself and Owen, being two Kiwis used to camping and living outdoors, didn't worry a bit, and we all retired to bed after a thoroughly amazing day and a great night.