Day 141 Cave Tubing and Kayaking

We heard from our Thai friends that you can also go tubing in a cave. Of course, we wanted to try it out. So we booked a day tour that included tubing in the cave and a kayaking tour on the famous infamous river.

Squeezed together with the other participants of the excursion, we drove out of Vang Vieng to the tubing cave for about 30 minutes. The Chinese equipped with life jackets and the "westerners" without, each received a ring on which they could sit. Then we pulled ourselves into the cave on a rope. It was pretty cool. At the end of the cave, we could let ourselves be carried out by the flow of the river.

Then it was time for lunch and once again the different travelers told their adventures and experiences. It turned out that I talked the most and everyone wanted to hear more about my journey. It was cool to tell my stories again and to see the impressed and eagerly listening faces.

After lunch, we visited a small temple that contains the Elephant Cave. We had seen pictures of it, a rock that looks like an elephant. Based on my and the other people's expectations, we had imagined the rock to be larger. But it was only a small stone and the shape of the elephant was only visible from a certain angle.

After this little disappointment, we went back to the river for the kayaking tour. We paddled downstream towards Vang Vieng.

The past was still clearly visible on the banks. Many signs pointed to the different bars. Most of the buildings, however, were run-down as they were no longer in use.

However, here and there a bar had reopened and tried to attract passing or drifting tourists with loud music. In the end, our tour stopped at one of these bars and we took a little break. A look at the drink menu confused me a bit. The drinks and especially the alcohol were very expensive compared to other places. Anything but inviting. At least for me, with a long-term traveler's budget. But maybe the government sets these prices to prevent escapades like in the past.

Back in Vang Vieng, there was still the possibility to visit the Blue Lagoon, but since we had already seen it, we said goodbye to the group and went back to our hostel.

Since it was our last evening in Vang Vieng, we met up with two French guys we had met on today's tour and went out with them for a bit.