Monday 10 March 2014

Natural feeling..... After yesterday, some recreation is in order. I commit to staying in Vang Vieng now until Friday bringing my stay in Laos to 17 days. That easily exceeds the last trip to Laos in October 2011, but the intensity of touring is lower. In this tourist orientated town, activity is confined to what nature has to offer. Today I get a taste of that as I pick up a motorbike. That gives me the freedom to roam around the city and beyond to a few sites listed in my guide map. The scale of charges for renting a motorbike here is unusual in that there is a day rate and a 24-hour rate. This may because some tourists wish to travel to surrounding villages and stay overnight, but who would normally use a motorbike at night? The result is I only have to pay $5. With the $10 I'm paying for the room it's small change.
Orientation..... Vang Vieng lies on the east bank of the River Song. Towering limestone cliffs dominate the western horizon just a few kilometres away. Despite reading my guides it's quite confusing identifying the various features that dominate the area. Maps supplied by motorbike rental companies are not to scale and hard to read. Nevertheless I'll attempt to make things clearer by visiting each site in turn. All the caves seem to be to the west of the River Song so to reach them requires a river crossing at some point. During the dry season more options are available but generally all the bridges are planked, supported in various ways.
Xang (or Chang) Cave..... My first stop is at Xang Cave, reached from the south end of town; right-turn at the sign to Jam Mee Guesthouse. This cave is typically reached by a steep staircase, well lit and ideal for a self-guided tour. The area below the cave is ideal for just taking it easy. There is a fee for crossing the bridge and a typical entry fee of 10,000 kip. It's a start, but I have to return to Vieng Thara for batteries for my camera. I don't know what I'm in for today so I prepare myself with a flask of cold water and a sandwich before I head out of town. Needing some fuel for the tank, I find myself at the airstrip. I don't need to go around it. It's not in use and I cut straight across to the main road, the pump clearly visible. I'm off to my next destination, but it's not a cave.
Kaeng Nyui..... This is a waterfall signposted from the highway northbound just a short way from the petrol station and is easily missed. The 6 km dirt-track is worse than anything I came across on the Plain of Jars. It seems more like 60 km but inevitably near the end of the track in a thatched shelter is a ticket collector. I little further on, larger shelters provide refreshments. These can be consumed on bamboo platforms covered in matting directly above rock pool at the base of the falls. There's little demand as there is little water running down now well into the dry season. I head off to the waterfall. It's a moderate climb of 15 minutes not helped by humidity and flying insects.
As I reach the falls it's clear that the water cascading down the vertical limestone face is a mere trickle compared to photographs I've seen. Nevertheless, it's a nice place to spend awhile and have lunch admiring the various butterfly species that come to the rock pool for minerals. I head back absorbing the noises from the forest canopy. Speaking of canopies there is an adventure tour based here. This involves a trek up to the viewpoint near the summit. As some point you will cross a ravine on a rope ladder but the decent is via zip wires connected to platforms. Looks quite interesting, but I'm rather inclined to use this day just to sample my surroundings and think of heading back, but there is one more site to visit before I call it a day and book an afternoon's rest.
Tham Lohm (cave)..... I head back on this bone-shaking journey to the main road and continue out of the town for a few kilometres past the market. Here there is a left turn to Tham Lohm. As expected there is a river crossing, but I'm required to park up and pay a fee. Here a footbridge crosses the river and high above clinging to the mountain face is Tham Lohm. The impressive stairway to heaven is not for me today as I watch the tubes and kayaks pass under the footbridge heading for Vang Vieng. However, I will rest on the opposite bank and take a beer. That will do for today as I head back to Vang Vieng. I can pick the motorbike up again tomorrow. For dinner, I switch back to rice for a change. I can't live on filled rolls every day.
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