So, after spending several days floating down the river, I decided I was ready for a bit more activity, and signed up for a trekking/caving/kayaking expedition. So, I got up bright and early (which in Vang Vieng means "before noon"), slathered on the sunscreen (something I would repeat about 6 times that day), and headed off on the day's adventure.
The first thing we did was take a 20 minute scenic hike (passing rice paddies with tree-covered mountains in the background - gorgeous), to the caving site. The first cave was the "Elephant Cave", which was just a big cavern with a large Buddha statue in it, along with a natural rock formation which gave the cave its name. Cool, but nothing amazing. However, the second cave, the "Water Cave" was quite the experience. As you may have already deduced, it was filled with water (you're so smart!). So, to explore it, we strapped on headlamps, hopped onto innertubes, and paddled deep into the cave. Pretty awesome! My only complaint is that while the most efficient way to paddle involves facing backwards, this does make it harder to see where you're going, and led to an unfortunate incident involving me and a stalactite. Ouch.
After the cave we had a delicious lunch consisting of fried rice and shish kebabs. Having built up our strength with the meal, we were now ready for kayaking! We spent the next 2 hours paddling down the river, trying not to roast in the midday sun (thus the bazillion applications of sunscreen I mentioned earlier). At one point I would actually specifically zigag along the river, trying to catch every possible patch of shade. Our long paddle was punctuated by several splash fights and a few capsizes (I almost flipped once, but didn't - whoo!). Good times.
And then, suddenly, the peaceful silence was interrupted by thumping music - we had come across the section of the river used by the tubers! Guess there's no escaping tubing in Vang Vieng. We stopped for a couple beers, some free french fries, and of course some rides on the rope swing.
Definitely a good day. And the whole thing was only 90,000 Kip, which is a little over $11. Have I mentioned that Southeast Asia is amazing!?! Alrighty, on to the pictures:
rice paddy on the way to the caves
rock formation inside "Elephant Cave" - for the life of me I can't figure out how it got that name. . .
wait, THAT'S the entrance to the cave? You really expect me to go in there?
chillin' inside the water cave
it's kayaking time!
kayaking down the river
look at me! I'm kayaking!
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