Do you want a happy shake?

I'm not quite sure what "medicinal" ingredients there are in a happy shake, but I've been told to avoid them. Vang Vieng is known as a druggie kind of place.

Well, back to where we left off . . . we boarded a bus for Vang Vieng which turned out to be air conditioned (a la windows open) and VIP (meaning we are very important people). We arrived too early and got put on a less express bus. We were barely out of town when the bus overheated and I think we drove the rest of the way with the engine compartment open. We went through crazy terrain, and tight switch backs, sometimes inches from plummeting off the cliff into the dark abyss below. We had a break halfway through and the driver fell asleep within minutes of turning off the bus and snored for a solid half an hour. I think he was kicking back the Red Bull later. I eventually fell asleep as we drove, and Gregg acted as a pillow for the Lao woman beside him.

At 2:45 AM, we awoke to a guy shouting "VANG VIENG" and we stumbled out into the darkness. Literal darkness. We could not make out a town anywhere. We walked for 30 minutes trying to find the town. We donned our headlamps and still could not find it. We did find a guesthouse and woke up the guy at the front desk to give us a room.

The next morning, I went out to find town. I went outside the door and had my first glimpse of the beauty of Vang Vieng. Limestone cliffs form a dramatic backdrop behind the river. The mountains rise to jagged little tops with trees seemingly growing out of the rock. I was so happy to find Vang Vieng. I got Gregg and we checked into the Nana Guesthouse where Lao coffee, tea and bananas are free. We can see the cliffs from our room.

Vang Vieng has changed in the last few years as more and more tourists discover it. Several restaurants blare the tv show "Friends". I can hear about three episodes playing at once. It's a little bit of overkill. They have pillows for you to get comfortable. Some restaurants let you pick movies. Gregg and I watched "Envy". I feel sorry for all the other people at the restaurant who had to watch it with us.

One of the featured activities here is to tube down the Nam Song river into town. A few dollars and you are driven out a few kilometers with a tube and let loose on the river. It was amazing to see all the cliffs so close up. Little stands line the banks declaring "Jumping Beer". Buy beer and you can make use of their zipline, jumping platform, swing or rope swing. We didn't buy any Beer Lao, but did make use of some jumping facilities. The rope swing wasn't too nice on Gregg's shoulder. Fishermen labored with goggles and spears and nets. Children swam and sang songs. The occasional vendor would strum his guitar and make up songs about Beer Lao. It was incredibly relaxing. But eventually it got incredibly old. The water is low since it's the dry season. The rainy season is around the corner, but for now the river is slow and I kept hitting my butt on the rocks. We kept having to paddle with our arms. As town came into sight, we picked up the tubes and finished on a land route. It took us four hours. In prime season, it only takes 30 minutes to an hour.

Today, we went on a trip called the "Vang Vieng Experience" through the Wildside organization. They pioneered the eco-tourism movement in Laos and we wanted to support them in their attempts at low impact tourism. We joined an Australian guy with a huge grey mustache and a non-descript Welshman for a day of kayaking, and caving. One of our guides was on his inaugural trip. He usually works in the office. We were driven about 7-10 kilometers out of town and then began kayaking in inflatable sea kayaks. It was definitely faster than tubing. Gregg was initially irritated at my ineptitude in steering, but ate his words later when I made him do it. We soon were in stride. Our first stop was a cave. We hiked about ten minutes and then wandered through a series of caverns, encountering locals on their way through. It was pretty cool. We went in one way and out another. We then went to a waterfall that wasn't there and had to backtrack. Back at the river, we jumped off a platform. I took the baby level and Gregg went straight for the top, but we both had trouble with water in our ears the rest of the day. We chowed down and hopped back in the canoes. The next stop was an organic farm - and the entry point for the tubers. The organic farm cafe served us tea made from mulberry leaves and then we saw the women working on preparing the tea leaves. Next we stopped at Tham None - the sleeping cave - which Gregg and I had stopped at the day before, but hadn't wandered much inside. Crazy stagatites hung from the ceilings like the thing at the back of your throat. We had to wade through a cold puddle up to our knees to make it to the back caverns. In one large cavern, the guide had us turn off our lights and he told us why it's called the sleeping cave. When the country was at war, about 20-30 people slept there every night. I can't imagine living in a dark dank cave. We ate some fire fruit, took some pictures and paddled back to town.

Before coming here, I knew a little of the history of the region - basically the horrors that happened in Vietnam and Cambodia. I didn't know about Laos. In the seventies, the US carpet bombed it. About 30% of the bombs didn't explode and in some regions of the country, it's dangerous to walk off the trail. They are cleaning up the country, but it's a slow process.

Thanks to everyone for the comments. We read all of them. Someday I'll read your blogs and post comments too.