About the city: Vang Vieng is a small resort town about 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of Vientiane. The first half of the drive is relatively flat and smooth, but the terrain soon turns mountainous, and the road winds its way back and forth and up and down for the remainder of the trip. Shortly after emerging from the mountains, we arrive at the town of Vang Vieng, situated on the Nam Song (Song River). Due to the mountainous terrain, the drive takes 2-3 hours.
Once in Vang Vieng, there is plenty to do. The main attractions are the many caves and caverns in the limestone mountains surrounding town. There is also rock climbing, trekking, backpacking, biking, rafting, tubing and kayaking available. There are many guest houses and hotels in town, as well as a big selection of restaurants and bars.
Vansana Hotel: This is the view from our hotel in the morning. We arrived on Saturday in time for lunch. Vansana is a new hotel just being completed. It has a swimming pool and restaurant, exercise room and meeting rooms on the premises. Mom is good friends with the owner / operator of the hotel and we had our rooms comped.
In this picture, if you look real close, you can spot the opening to a cave just below the lowest portion of the cloud cover. This is the third cave we visited. A reverse shot can be seen below.
Tham Chang: This is the most updated of the caves in the area. It is the only one with concrete steps leading up to the opening of the cave, as well as paved pathways and lighting throughout the cave itself. Once inside, the cave leads to a second opening where you can see over the many rice fields and Nam Song below. At the bottom of the steps, there is a pool of mineral water fed by a spring from the mountain that you can cool off it. It is easily accessible by car.
Tractor Ride: The remainder of the caves we visited are located on the opposite side of Nam Song. You can rent a bicycle or motorbike and drive across the bridge, but cars cannot go across yet. Peep and I decided to walk across the bridge and hire a local to drive us there with his tractor. We sat on a wagon attached to the back of the tractor. They can change the wheels on the tractor to paddle wheels and use them to turn over the rice fields.
The road to the caves was, in places, muddy, and we had to cross a few rivers, one with a bridge big enough for the tractor, the other with only a foot bridge.
Tham Phu Kham: The second cave we visited was less developed than the first. It was a tough climb just to get to the mouth of the cave. The first picture shows Peep coming back down the path. Once we reached the mouth of the cave, we continued down into the cave a short distance until it opened into a large cavern. A golden, reclining Buddha sits on an alter at one end of the cavern. On the other end of the cavern, the cave continues deep into the mountain. Peep decided to stay near the Buddha altar, while I ventured on into the cave. A flashlight is definitely needed to continue into the cave. The last picture shows one section of the cave. The water droplets hanging in the air can clearly be seen.
At the bottom of the trail, there is a lagoon with a rope swing that can be used to cool off after the long trek. There is also a stand selling snacks and drinks, as well as a picnic area.
Tham Paluesy: This was the third cave we visited. We passed it up on our way to Tham Phu Kham and decided to stop on our way back to the bridge. To get to this cave, we needed to first walk by rice patties. You can see Peep standing on one of the dams separating the rice patties. To her right is one of the irrigation canals that feeds water to the rice patties.
The trail to the cave was not as difficult as the trek up to Phu Kham, but still a good climb. At the entrance, we got a good view back across the river to the town of Vang Vieng. If you look at the picture closely, Vansana Hotel is the most visible, white building just to the left of the center of the photograph.
This was the only cave we visited with a guide. Here, she and Peep are washing the mud off their legs in a small stream we had to cross on the way back from the cave.
She told us her mother wants her to study English in the city, but the lessons are $20 U.S. for one 2-month term, so "only the rich can afford to learn English." Some offer lessons cheaper, but usually just teach a few sessions and then stop coming or just show up drunk and sleep the whole time, so it is a big rip off.