Our first full day here started in an atypical fashion for us – Doug running errands to get Jessie Gatorade (which one store miraculously had in Vang Vieng) and then dining solo on the hotel breakfast buffet 🙁 

All of us staying in different accommodations, our Siem-Reap-van-transfer-turned-Vang-Vieng crew started the day by meeting at the Luang Prabang Bakery. This cozy open air bakery and cafe would serve as the perfect meeting place for us to start our next few days – a “Central Perk” for our time in Vang Vieng (shoutout Friends fans).

After catching up on the time since we left Andrea, Santi, and Felix in the 4,000 Islands, we were ready to embark on our day exploring Vang Vieng on foot. Among other things, Vang Vieng is known for its seven natural blue lagoons dotted around the area. Our plan was to start the day by visiting “Blue Lagoon 1” (the naming conventions are as straightforward as they get) and the famous cave nearby. We started by walking across the Nam Song river away from town, and it wasn’t long before we were on the main road surrounded by local fields and limestone cliffs. It quickly became clear why people love exploring this beautiful area so much.

As we walked down the main road, Santi became increasingly eager to find a more off-the-beaten-path hiking trail to the lagoon. We spotted what looked like a dotted line trail on Google Maps leading through the fields, so we veered off the road towards the fields to try to find the “trailhead” to this new route. After talking to some local farmers outside one of the houses, we made our way onto the fields in the direction they pointed and started loosely following what seemed to be small footpaths through the dry cracked dirt. 

It was surreal to be walking alone in the quiet fields surrounded by cliffs. However, the patchwork of paths we were following soon ran into a series of dead-ends. We finally found a back-road to follow through some beautiful rubber tree farms until we were back on the main road again.

Not a kilometer passed down the main road when we spotted a sign for a viewpoint hike called Pha Ngern (Silver Cliff) – it wasn’t part of our original plan, but we were up for a hike and decided “why not?” The hike actually ended up leading to two viewpoints – one roughly halfway up the mountain and the second towards the top. Both involved hikes up steep and rocky paths that left us incredibly sweaty from the hot and humid weather. The view at the first did not disappoint – it was a relatively clear day and we could see the valley covered in plots of farmland interrupted by imposing limestone cliffs and hills. A makeshift Laotian flag fixed to a bamboo pole and an empty dunebuggy car fixed to the cliff marked the viewpoint and made for excellent photo opportunities. We rehydrated and enjoyed the views from a shady spot before continuing on to the second viewpoint towards the top of the mountain. Those who stick it out for the second leg of the hike are rewarded with a much more peaceful and secluded second viewpoint, marked by a simple wooden platform with a roof. The views from higher up were also surprisingly even more striking than the first viewpoint despite a similar vantage point.

By the time we hiked back down to the base it was mid-afternoon. We were still a 5km walk up the main road to Blue Lagoon 1, but were determined to do it and cool off in the natural blue waters. Not long after setting off on foot again, a white pickup truck pulled over to the side of the road in front of us. We weren’t hitchhiking, but were met at the driver side window by an older Laotian man working on a tallboy Beerlao. He didn’t speak much English, but seemed open to dropping us off at Lagoon 1 – against our better judgement (though the drive was short and he did seem about his wits despite the drinking and driving) we hopped in. We arrived at Blue Lagoon 1 ahead of schedule and were in the water in no time. It was more crowded than expected and there was some construction going on around the lagoon, but we were enjoying the cool natural waters too much to care. 

After a day of hiking and swimming, there was only one thing left to do – enjoy a refreshing Beerlao (or two) and watch the hot air balloons (a very popular activity in Vang Vieng) lift off against the sunset. We hitched a ride back to the downtown area in a shared flatbed taxi. Andrea, Santi, and Felix had already been in Vang Vieng for a day and night and knew of a good spot, The Green Restaurant, to have drinks and watch the sunset. We grabbed a table on the patio along the Nam Song River, ordered our beers and some food to go with them, and admired the views. Our food and the sunset came and went, but we stayed a while longer chatting about everything from American tipping culture to the two tiered union system in Austria (side note: all private employees automatically pay into one union in Austria giving them access to a variety of independent resources they might need throughout their life and career – pretty cool). 

A great first day in Vang Vieng all things considered (read: a sick and bed-ridden Jessie).