Vang Vieng: motorbike ride and discovery of the caves

Since we weren't staying long (we were leaving the next afternoon) we wanted to make the effort to get up early. On the agenda, rent a moped and go out into the surrounding area, if I actually got up at 7am it was just to take a few photos with the morning light, tiredness would ultimately nail us to bed for a few more hours...

In the end, we got up quite late... Time to have lunch straight away rather than breakfast... We went to a different restaurant than the day before, in the end all the restaurants on this street (the one just to the left of the entrance to Popular View when leaving) are equal, they offer similar menus and a beautiful view of the rocky peaks opposite.

Taken directly upon waking up at 7:00 a.m. sharp.

The hot air balloons are in the air.

Motorcycle rental

Once we were full, we went back to the hotel to get a motorbike from them since they have them for rent. Normally, the price is between 30.000 and 40.000 kip (between €2 and €30)
The tank being empty we had to find a gas station. We will find it by asking the owner of the hotel. Once the tank was full we were calm for our walk of the day.

A few hours later it is bath time for the buffaloes, it is 11am and it was also time for us to get up…

We crossed the small wooden bridge at the foot of our hotel and headed towards the mountains, towards the caves since there are apparently plenty of them in the area. And indeed, less than 1km after our departure we already came across a sign indicating one (several in fact) and often it also indicates a stream allowing you to relax in the famous inner tubes (tubing) but in this season (it was February) everything was dry…

Looking for a gas station.

Crossing (tricky) the small wooden bridge just below our hotel that you can see in the background behind my head (with the unfinished floor)

Head to the first cave, at random

Not having a pre-established program, we followed this first sign and landed on a small parking lot, paying 10.000 kip (less than €1). The climb is on a slightly chaotic route, although not really difficult. From there, there was a not unpleasant view of Vang Vieng.

The caves, 2 in number, are particularly narrow. It is strongly recommended to have a flashlight, they usually offer them for rent in the car parks.

At the first sign indicating something we rushed headlong.

The entrance to a cave, yes yes it's tiny inside, yes there, the hole at the bottom which looks like a head with a cone on it!

It's a steep climb, the path is barely visible.

If you are not claustrophobic, like adventure and adrenaline, this is for you! Given the narrowness and the ambient darkness, we will not really sink far. It is a rather scary experience (I had in mind the images of the film "The Descent").

We won't come across many tourists. The few people we will come across will be a few local kids. A group of 3 of them in particular, asking for money, or at least biscuits, quite quickly. We'll give them the rest of our bottle of water, because that's all we had to offer them. That will be enough to brighten up their day!

A break at Sabaidee Garden

Having run out of water, we stop at the Sabaidee garden, which is also a mini snack bar and guesthouse. The owner is a nice gentleman, in his sixties, educated, he is Thai and has lived abroad for a few years, including in France (and therefore speaks rather decent French!) When we see him there in the sticks in the depths of Laos, we really wonder what his journey was like to end up there.

While chatting, he tells us to be wary of "fake caves", signs indicate a cave (notably using the name of the most famous in the area, the famous Phu Kham) and take you to an area where there will be nothing special (small holes in the wall without much interest, a bit like our first stop in short...) but where you will obviously need to pay (like our parking...).

Back to the main path.

Beautiful scenery of Vang Vieng.

Phu Kham Cave and Blue Lagoon

For the rest of the day, we headed to the main cave in the area, Tham Phu Kham Cave and its turquoise lagoon (blue lagoon in English). The opportunity to meet more people, many young people come here to rest [often from the previous night's binge] and swim. The cave itself is splendid, a huge gaping hole in the rock face, a Buddha inside... and idiots... for that I liked Vang Vieng less, for your information Vang Vieng was like this:

Exclusive Investigation – Opium Parties and Adventures P02 by OriginalGreenThumb

Young people who come here to let off steam, and in this cave we will be treated to a group of annoying Australians and by annoying I mean stoned (alcohol or other I don't care), so yelling at the top of their lungs... no I'm not an old fart, I know how to have fun when necessary but in public, during the day, I know how to behave respectfully, there respect was level 0...

Arriving at the blue lagoon.

And here is the famous lagoon, which is indeed turquoise blue.

Now we have to climb, we'll rent a small lamp for 10,000 kiats just to see something inside because mine died in the meantime...

To see the scale of the place, look for the group of young people at the bottom of the photo (towards the middle)!

A Buddha sits in the middle of this imposing cave.

Watch your step, at this point there is a hole just big enough for one person and above all very deep, as the sign kindly indicates, be careful not to fall in!

A few months after our arrival, the government finally put an end to this ambient laxity in the region by razing a whole bunch of bars lined up along the streams, the reason? There were still 1 to 2 deaths per month! With the mixture of alcohol, the river and the Tarzan rope games there were accidents and repeated drownings, not to mention that it was a real open platform to try all forms of drugs, some literally remaining addicted to the place since they became dependent on the resources available there.

Tubing still exists but in a softer form, for relaxing on the water. The few remaining bars are controlled and activities like kayaking, climbing and other healthier forms of tourism are growing, which is much healthier because the region is beautiful and frankly did not need "that" to attract tourists.

Since the attendance has experienced a significant drop for a while, many restaurants have had to close. Today, Europeans are replaced by Japanese, Chinese and Koreans. This tends to completely change the form of tourism because this clientele is not particularly fond of backpacking type travel, I imagine that it must be building quite a bit in the region.

It was time to move, the sun was already setting, another day was ending.

Back out into the open air and downstairs.

When we finished this visit it was already sunset. We took advantage of the last rays of light to visit a nearby village before heading towards Vang Vieng. After a good shower we looked for a restaurant indicated in the guide but in vain… No problem, we’ll have a sandwich in the street! And that ends this (unique) day in Vang Vieng, the next day we were already leaving for Vientiane!

If you have been there recently or plan to go there, I am interested in your testimonies! And I will end with a nice little photo gallery!