Thursday 13 March 2014

Winding down..... After three days out on the motorbike it's time to collect my thoughts and reflect on my time in Laos which is nearly at an end. I don’t envisage anything exciting happening today, but you never know. It's a pretty standard sandwich and coffee for breakfast and I retire back to my room to catch up with the news. In the afternoon I could go for a swim in the river or in the pool in the resort opposite. I could also go out with a bang and hire a kayak or take a trip upstream with a long-tailed boat but as I wander up into the town these options seem remote, and instead I find one of those pillow-filled restaurants which is practically deserted. I guess the young adventurers have found somewhere else to congregate. In a sense I can't blame them for using these bars as the food and drink is cheap, but it won't be long before I get an idea of where they've gone.
One last Fling..... Just when I thought I'd head back and start working on my conclusion to this tour the spirit of this place grabs hold of me. The last thing I thought of doing now stares me in the face. If you ask somebody who's heard of Vang Vieng what it's famous for you will probably get the answer 'tubing'. I guess when I read about this activity there was always a 'health warning'. It can be dangerous and fatalities among foreigners are not uncommon. However, while tubing is available all year round there is a vast difference between the dry, cool and monsoon seasons as regards river conditions. As I stop and consider this option it's clear that the river right now could hardly be more placid. In fact as I focus on this option my only concern is time. Have I left it too late? It's already gone 3 pm. A couple of young travelers from Germany don't think so, and I dive in head first. The routine is quite simple. You pay for the use of the tube and transport up river. There is a standard charge plus a premium if less than four travel. You will also pay a refundable deposit. The distance upriver is around 6 km and doesn't take long. However, I'm surprised to learn that the return trip can take up to 3 hours in the dry season; a mere 1 hour when the river is in flood. It's not long before I'm on the river.
Initially I'm quite relaxed and lying in a tube on a slow moving river presents little challenge but as time wares on and progress painfully slow I start to worry about the time. For a reason I can't explain my companions on the journey overtake me and pull away. They don't seem to by making any special effort just following the current same as me but when they disappear into the distance things don't seem quite right. I'm now all alone for a while but restaurants and bars soon appear, and they are well-supported by the younger travelers. There are no concerns on the river itself, but I get a taste of what it might be like in flood over a few faster stretches with rapids. I don't have a watch, but the passage takes an eternity. The shop will close at 6pm and there will be an overcharge if I'm late. I sense that I'm quite close to Vang Vieng but when I see that there is still 2 km to go I'm sure it's not going to work out. I've tried everything to get this piece of rubber moving faster, but I'm moving slower than walking pace. It's a bit disappointing, but I have to haul the tube out of the river and find another way back. Of course, there is a feeling of failure that I did not complete the course, but it was only time that defeated me. I find a songtheaw to take me back which adds a lot to the overall bill but more confusing is that the two Germans who left the same time as me arrived ages ago. Don't ask me, but this is one of life's mysteries but at the end of the day I can now call myself a 'tuber that was slow to propagate'. On the way back I order a roti (pancake) but there won't be time now to post my conclusions. Tomorrow I have to be ready at 8.30 am for my transport back to Thailand. At my destination in Udon Thani, I plan to stay 2 nights before I return to Bangkok.
Next Page.