The second day in Vang Vien (Laos) we take a walk to explore the city. It’s very similar to Pai in Thailand. There are a lot of travellers and the most local people live from tourism. You can get here like everything. From alcohol to laughing baloons, weed, space mushrooms and even opium. The bar owners have some connections with the local police so the chance for problems is very low. But don’t yell that you have a good trip. Because it’s still illegal. So if you want to take some drugs do it at the bar and watch your surroundings. We didn’t take any, because there is always a chance for being lockt up in jail. But there are more ways to enjoy Vang Vieng.
During our exploration we find a bamboo bridge to the other side of the river. Ofcourse we go over it. Beneath you see a lot of people kayaking and on the coast many western and asian tourists enjoy the alcohol. We go pass them, because we want to see some farms. Walking on a sandy path we spot a sign. It says something about a cave. We follow it. After one kilometer walking we see a mountain with a flag on top of it. It looks promising and we smell some adventure. Than we stand before it. A man is sitting on a chair and charges us 10000 KIP for permission to enter the mountain. We pay him and look at some high ladders that are attached to the rocks. ‘Let’s do it’.
Climbing on the ladders we go up. We climb our way and find a cave. After jumping from one rock to another one we walk the darkness inside. It’s very big and it’s not wise to enter it without a torch or other light. There are a lot of holes where you don’t get out if you get captured by it. After some investigation we see the light again. You can still go up. Walking and Climbing we get through the rocks higher and higher. My friend is in front of me. Arriving on the top of one rock I almost get a heart attack. I took the wrong way up. Im now on a different place. If I didn’t watch out I could fall literally from the mountain. My legs are shaking and the adrenaline rushs through my body. I take some big breath and go back. Im on the path again and hear my friend calling me.
After some climbing I see the flag and my friend. The view is just beautifull but also horrific at once. You see the mountains, woods and farms. There are also some balloons in the sky that are hanging in the air. One guy takes my attention. He is jumping and going crazy on the highest point of the mountain. One wrong step and he would be faster down than we. Everyone is calling him to stop. He smiles and stops. We also climb on the highest rock. But do it slowly and safely. Because we don’t know if the bars in heaven are open. We hear a man calling us from beneath. It’s almost dark so we need to go down. I hide a Jordanian coin under the stone with some graffiti. Maybe someone will find it. Tired and sweaty from the climb we enjoy some Beerlao in a local bar.
