Paradise Regained (somewhat)

Before arriving in Laos, I wasn't sure where I wanted to go. But I knew where I absolutely did NOT under any circumstances want to go. Vang Vieng. Known for drunken/stoned/tripped out/half naked westerners cavorting in the river and often getting killed while doing it, Vang Vieng sounded like the ninth circle of hell. But when I got to this region of the world, I was reassured again and again by relatively sane travellers, that Vang Vieng had changed, that authorities had banned the riverside bars and ziplines and 24/7 partying, that the area really was incredibly beautiful and well worth a visit. And wouldn't you know it? They were right.

Vang Vieng

Local kids helping a hot air balloon crew

Balloon rides from a Vang Vieng Primary school

Starting the day with a hot air balloon ride was a wonderful way to see the Nam Song river and karst formations. And from thousands of feet up at sunrise, even the town of Vang Vieng itself looked mellow.

Sunrise from a hot air balloon

Flying over the Nam Song river

Landed in a farmer's field

I followed the balloon trip with a morning bike ride 5 miles out of town on a very bumpy road to visit Phu Kham cave and its neighboring Blue Lagoon. You have to climb almost straight up a cliff to get to the cave mouth, which comes complete with a reclining Buddha. I was too chicken to squeeze further back into the no-daylight part of the cave, though plenty of people who came behind me braved it. I was also swimsuit-less, so I could only dip my hands into the lovely looking lagoon. Sadly, I sat on a log full of ants while doing so, and then spent the next ten minutes pulling the biting insects out of my underwear. That's right; I literally had ants in my pants.

Blue Lagoon (do not sit on the log behind that tree)

Reclining Buddha in Phu Kham cave

The path to and from the cave

Fortunately, the remedy for an ant-bitten saddle-sore bum was next on my agenda. I plopped it in an inner tube to drift for two and half miles down the Nam Song river. The riverside bars and ziplines and rave-ups I was afraid of have all gone now, and while there were plenty of people enjoying a BeerLao or three courtesy of some enterprising locals with a cooler, the ride down the river was actually surprisingly peaceful, the calm only broken sporadically by an Aussie bellowing that he was stuck on the rocks or memorably, an Essex accent squawking "Where are my fucking ray-bans?".

Tubing down the Nam Song

Karsts near Vang Vieng

Last mile

The town centre is still full of the predictable western-style resturants, and bars showing episodes of Friends on repeat, but Vang Vieng seemed a shadow of its former hedonistic self. For which I, for one, was profoundly grateful.

Monk on the move

You never know who, or what, you'll be sharing a bridge with

Nam Song river