Originally posted 2013-04-09. This is part 3 of 3 of the Laos Trilogy. Read part I about Tubing in Van Vieng and part II about Shrooming in Van Vieng to get into the groove quickly.
Recovery
Once you need a break from being a degenerate it is time to explore nature. Van Vieng is full of natural beauty but the highlights are the Blue Lagoon and the cave right next to it.
To get to the Blue Lagoon, rent some bicycles or something motor powered if you feel like it. Beware of high prices and insurance scams so shop around until you know what the average is. You can get a nice brand new mountain bike for the same as a rusted broken fixed gear bike (not the cool one) so your due diligence will pay off. Also take photos of the vehicle once you have rented it so you can settle any dispute if someone claims you have broken a spoke or similar.
Getting to the Blue Lagoon can be easy to hard depending on how hard you have been partying. Assuming you still have some grey matter left it is a matter of making a few left and right turns and following a path. When you leave Van Vieng and cross over the Mekong on a bridge, expect to pay a fee. After that, head on though the village and ask for directions.
WARNING: There is a FAKE Blue Lagoon as you make your way through the countryside towards the real deal. There will be a side road going in from the right with a sign. 500 meters in you will find a suspended cable blocking the road together with an unscrupulous mouth breathing farmer/scammer expecting to extort money from you. DO NOT PAY HIM. Turn around, go back to the main road and make a right turn and keep going, you are only about 500 meters away from the real deal.
The Blue Lagoon is a beautiful pond of crystal clear blue water and a few swings. You can’t go to Laos without finding swings and tubing, although people are kindly asked to leave their tubes at home while visiting the Blue Lagoon.
Keep climbing up the hill after the lagoon and a giant cave full of stalagmites and stalactites will await you. This cave is completely unattended to so it is another potential death trap if you are careless. I met many people who walked into the cave for several hours and it would suck to get lost in there.
Escaping from Van Vieng
As should be evident by now, Van Vieng is a dangerous place. You can kill yourself in more ways than previously thought conceivable including death by tubing, death by throwing-yourself-down-the-stairs-while-shrooming, falling off a motorcycle, being hit by a reckless driver, getting lost in the cave and the list goes on. But with all this danger also comes a sense of freedom; Van Vieng feels like the last wild place on earth were young people full of daring love and adventure go to have a cool experience. Or maybe I’m just getting old.
Anyways, I got slightly tired of Van Vieng after three days and decided to head up north to Luang Prabang which is another marvel of Laos that I will write about next. More to come!