Vang Vieng

Since Sunday we have been in Vang Vieng, which is a small town about 150 km north of the Laotian capital Vientiane. It is particularly popular with younger vacationers, who flock here to paddle, drift down the river with large tires called 'tubes', climb, zip line, and drink lots of Beerlao. The town is located on the Nam Song River and is surrounded by picturesque karst mountains.

That's why we are staying here for a total of 5 days and being active.

Yesterday we went on a bike tour and climbed one of the karst mountains.

We enjoyed kayaking. It was not particularly strenuous or demanding.

The cave tour, on the other hand, was an interesting experience that we wouldn't repeat. We were pulled into the cave on tubes along a rope. Our butts were in the water, quite uncomfortable.

We had headlamps as the only light. After about 10 minutes, we got out of the tubes and walked through the dark limestone cave soaked and wearing flip-flops. Luckily, we had a guide, but there were some narrow passages where we had to squeeze through.

After that, we got back in the kayak and the highlight was swimming in the so-called Blue Lagoon number 1, which, like many of the other attractions here, is crowded with Chinese tourists.

Tonight, the hotel is organizing a bonfire and BBQ, which means tomorrow will be a lazy day.