The last few days have been unbelievable to say the least. I arrived on Monday and had a good night out having a couple of beers with a few other backpackers. And on Tuesday Lyb, Graeme and I decided to do the obligatory Vang Vieng tourist activity - tubing!!
In case you're unaware of what tubing is it involves a fast flowing river, a huge inflatable tube and lots of places to stop for food and drink along the river. (The river is not quite as fast flowing at the moment due to it being dry season.)
In town we lined up to rented our tubes and then rode a tuk tuk three kilometers up river to the starting point for all Nam Song River tubers. The journey down river and back to town usually starts fairly slowly and this was no acception for us as we decided to stop for drinks before we'd even gotten our feet wet. The first bar was part of the Vang Vieng organic farm chain and here I had a delicious organic mulberry shake. I was however, very keen to get in the water. So after some naggingin the direction of Lyb and Graeme, we were on our way down the river.
Getting on ones tube is never as easy as it looks. You basically sit on the tube, with your bum in the middle and your legs sticking over one side into the water and your head back at the other side. Once you get comfortable and the current picks you up, it's very relaxing.
We floated down river for a while soaking up the sunshine and enjoying the soft flow of the water; but we soon decided to try the next bar which was equip with a flying fox, a large swing and a very loud DJ.
At this point you might be wondering how one would get out of the water (and off the tube) and onto the bar, especially knowing that rivers usually aren't surrounded by sandy beaches and have most of them have a current. Well the riverside bars basically employ people to throw out ropes or point out sticks when they see a tuber coming past and if the tuber wishes to grab hold they will get pulled in and helped onto the bar. Most of the bars are stages over the water constructed out of wood and bamboo with a small bar and usually a tiny DJ hut.
For some reason I missed my first rope and in my brazen attempt to join my friends at our first stop, I fell off my tube and into the river. All I could do was laugh and being a fairly strong swimmer (you wouldn't go tubing if you weren't!) I was able to swim to shore as one of the bar employees very kindly swam after my tube.
The obvious crowd pleaser at this particular bar was the flying fox. Lyb and Graeme were both brave enough to try it but alas, I was not. It just looked too high for me (like a lot of people, I have vertigo) and the way people hit the water...well it didn't really look fun or safe so I decided to sit and watch instead. (As I said the other day when asked why I didn't do it - "I ate a bloody snake heart man, I don't need to swing off no flying fox!")
After an hour or so we jumped back on our tubes and paddled down to the next bar where there was yet another terrifying flying fox and an equally terrifying Canadian bar employee handing out free shots of local whiskey that tasted like drinking a small explosion.
Here we bumped into an Australian couple that Lyb and Graeme had met a few days previous - Matt and Jess. I talked to Jess while Graeme, Matt and Lyb threw them selves at the mercy of the poorly constructed flying fox. (I might be making this sound a little more dramatic that it actually was!) ;)
After a while at this third bar the five of us decided that some food was a good idea, and after hearing a whisper there was a bar with an attached restaurant further down river, we decided to get back on our tubes. We floated down river quite fast at this point and everyone floated off in different directions to avoid the large number of rocks that stuck up out of the water - something that's unavoidable during dry season.
The food at the restaurant was AMAZING (I had yellow noodles with egg, veggies and coriander) and the music was fantastic. The vibe has really started to pick up and we were all glowing with happiness and enthusiasm.
What happened next was peculiar to say the least but it's probably the best fun I've had in a long time. Someone decided it would be a good idea to start an impulsive game of MUD VOLLEY BALL. The fact that there was neither a net or a ball seemed to worry no one and what ensued was a good hour of wallowing around in a big pool of muddy water (perhaps there for that very reason?). It was quite primal and rather odd but it was also a load of fun, especially since by the end of it there was over twenty virtual strangers in the pool throwing mud at each other and laughing like best mates. It was just good old fashioned fun. The kind you remember having as a kid. :)
The next bar we went to was our last for the day and this is where we found the scariest activity of all - THE HELL SLIDE!
This was a concrete slide about three meters long with a sudden rise on the last half meter of it. That last half meter doesn't make any sense because you're basically charging towards the water, feet first and at the very last min you are thrown up and then suddenly DOWN again and into the water. I was told to try and keep my body straight, but when you hit that rise it's impossible - your body is thrown to the side and then off into the water at a rate of knots. Although it was painful and scary for me, it did mean that I was able to experience some of the euphoria that everyone had been telling me you got from going on the flying foxes. Nursing my bruises and laughing with the other guys was all part of the wonderful day.
The evening ended well enough, with Lyb and I floating off down the river and back to town. We tried to make one POWER TUBE by attaching out tubes together - me holding onto Lyb's feet as she paddled with her hands at the front and I kicked in the water with my feet to the back. It wasn't until 45mins into our journey that we realized we were even being overtaken by people walking on the riverbank, so we decided to split up again and race back to town before it got dark and the river got cold.
This day was simply amazing for me. I count it as being one of the most enjoyable days I've had on my travels so far. Vang Vieng is wonderful, although very touristy and full of pubs it's still something you have to experience if you come to Laos...and I recommended tubing to EVERYONE (young and old)...it's fantastic fun. :)
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I've got a lot more to update about NYE and so on, so those entries will come soon. Also, there won't be any photos for a while because I've lost my camera, but I'll be buying a new one shortly.
Tomorrow I'm getting the seven hour bus to Luang Prabang, and there I'll be volunteering at the organic farm for a few days. I can't wait. :)
Hope everyone had a fantastic New Year!!
