Vang Vieng

I had class on Monday at 8:00. After class I was sitting in the office with the Lao teachers. Suddenly, Mr. Si told us that there will be no class starting when this class is finished. (Like 11:30) We had two class periods on Monday morning, and then the rest of the week off for the 450 Year Celebration. I don't know if they like to keep the foreigners in the dark or what. I think everyone kinda knew that we wouldn't have class... but things kept changing. Anyway, since we didn't have class we decided to head to Vang Vieng. Julia and I rode a bus 3 1/2 hours north. Kenton, Linda, and Steph drove their motorbikes. Our rules say we must be experienced drivers, or have lived in the country for 6 months before we can drive outside of the city; so Julia and I had to ride the bus. We left Thursday morning and returned Friday evening. 

These pictures are kinda out of order, but it's not doing what I want. When we got there, we found our nice hotel! And then we went tubing down the river. We left at 2:30ish, so it was a little chilly when the sun was hidden behind the mountains.

 After tubing, we took hot showers and watched the sunset. Then we ate some dinner and got massages.

 Julia, Steph and Linda enjoying our bungalow.

 Friday morning we went to a cave. We didn't know exactly where we were going, so Kenton asked these cute kids if we were headed to Phuket Cave. They said yes! When they saw his camera around his neck, they asked him to take their photographs! They were loving the attention.

 Two little boys who also wanted their photos taken.

 I cannot believe how awesome it is that I get to live in the most beautiful country with the most beautiful, friendly people! These are some mountains near VV. This is a recently harvested rice field.

 Some cool flowers we saw on our way walking to the cave.

 The cave that we toured was not the one Kenton had in mind. After driving a while and following some signs, we came upon some man's house. He said he could take us to a cave. We put on the head lights he had given us and followed him through beautiful trees and rice fields to the cave. Steph is precariously crossing one of many bamboo bridges.

 The walk to the cave was so so gorgeous! With mountains and trees, rice fields and flowers and rivers!

Kenton, Linda, Julia, and Steph in the cave.

 Many Hmong people live near Vang Vieng. As we were returning from the cave, we saw a little Hmong couple with their son collecting ginger in the forest. Kenton and Linda spoke a little Lao with them, but this boy only spoke Hmong. He was so cute and loved Kenton taking his picture. He had some cucumbers he was using as ears to be silly.

 The couple and their son headed to their home.

 I got to sit behind Steph on her motorbike and enjoy the scenery as we drove to the cave.

 We all got head lamps to wear in the cave. It would have been very scary if ours hadn't worked! Our guide was pretty trusty and helpful, but it was definitely not one of the most visited caves.

 This may be the same picture as earlier, but it takes forever to load. So you can just be reminded again of how thankful I am to be living in Laos! :)

Following our guide through the trees.

 Climbing a ladder in the cave.

Saved

Friday afternoon, we got on the bus to go back to Vientiane. We were so happy to have seats! Because of the festival, many people were also headed to Viantiane. We thought we were full, but we kept stopping to pick up more people. They took out little stools for people to sit on in the aisle. After the stools were full, they squished three people on a bench. (Which isn't so horrible since they're all skinny Lao people.) After the seats were full, they let more people on to stand between the aisles and by the doors. This picture was taken before we stopped letting more people on. Actually, I don't think we turned anyone away from getting on. We just had to get a little comfier with our neighbors.

Vang Vieng was a fun trip! And we made it back in time for more stuff for the festival. I'll write more about that soon!