vang vieng

laos and cambodia

2025-03-29

I arrive from Luang Prabang and take a minibus to the hostel. We rent a scooty nearby.

afternoon

Lunch is fried rice and a pork dish at a cafe with a nice view of the hills.

1600

We head to Tham Chang Cave. The place is huge, and I walk about half a kilometer inside. At first I am scared, but the white cave is beautiful and I settle into it.

A man at the security booth offers us a ride, which turns out to be a lot of fun. I also take a dip into the water from around 28 m.

evening

It is still too bright for sunset, so we talk about doing a viewpoint but never actually make it there.

1900

We head to the night market. I have a slice of pizza, beer, and fried rice, and buy some Laotian coffee while wandering around.

2100

Back at the hostel, we book paragliding for the next day, chill by the pool with drinks, and doze off around 2300.

2025-03-31

0600

I wake up to the sight of hot air balloons taking off over Vang Vieng.

morning

Our tuk-tuk picks us up for paragliding. I expect to puke but end up loving it. The flight lasts around 15-20 minutes and gives me huge views across the whole valley.

0800

I get back to the hostel for breakfast: bread, fruit, and a nice spread.

0930

We head to Blue Lagoon 3, stopping for coconut water on the way.

The lagoon is huge and about 4 m deep. Once I get over the hesitation, I jump in properly. We zip-line, cliff-dive, paddle, and explore around.

afternoon

We try to find the nearby cave entrance and fail, but meet Vinny, who is collecting trash to keep the area clean. We join him for a while and end up exploring the area better because of him.

late afternoon

We decide on one more flight, then spring rolls, and later make our way to Blue Lagoon 1 to relax.

#draft