3 Days in Vang Vieng, Laos

As part of my journeys through Southeast Asia, I visited the country of Laos. My first stop was Vang Vieng, a small town surrounded by beautiful limestone mountains.

Day 1 – Soaring Through the Skies

To get to Vang Vieng, I took a train from the city of Luang Prabang, which was quick and convenient. Upon arrival I shared a taxi with some other travelers to Vang Vieng Chill House, my hostel for the next few days. After checking in and getting organized, I debated between a hot air balloon ride or paramotoring. These are two very popular activities in Vang Vieng, but they are relatively expensive and I didn’t want to pay for both. Eventually I opted for the hot air balloon ride with some people from my hostel.

We went to the hot air balloon office around 4:30 PM, then got picked up in a tuk-tuk and taken to the balloon field. When we arrived we had to wait for them to blow up the balloons, but before too long we were off. This should have been obvious, but I didn’t realize how boiling hot the balloon would be. This was made even worse in the heat and humidity; I think I would opt to do this activity somewhere cooler instead. The views of the town and the surrounding areas were at least beautiful!

Our hot air balloon

Gorgeous overhead views of Vang Vieng

Enjoying our balloon ride despite the heat

We had a 30-minute ride in the balloon, and eventually we landed in another field and were driven back into town. After that adventure, we had dinner at Happy Mango Thai. My pad thai was just okay, but my friend’s beef massaman curry was amazing. We spent the rest of the evening hanging out at the hostel and reminiscing about the day’s adventure.

Day 2 – A Very Hard Hike

I had a relaxing morning at the hostel, and then I went with another traveler to get massages at Utopia Massage. I opted for a relaxation massage which was $10 USD for an hour and a half. The massage was amazing, and the spa was clean and professional. They also gave us tea at the end which was a nice touch.

We headed back to the hostel afterwards and tried to decide what to do with the rest of the day. It had been raining heavily, but by 4 PM the rain had finally stopped. There were more storms in the forecast for the next few days, so we decided to take advantage of the weather and visit the popular Nam Xay Viewpoint (the one with the motorcycle that’s posted all over Instagram). We hired a tuk-tuk to drive us the 30 minutes to the viewpoint.

The trail was understandably wet when we arrived, and we struggled through the mud and the 380 meter (1,200 feet) upward climb. Thankfully there were ropes to hold onto along the way. There were also thousands of mosquitos swarming throughout the forest. Thankfully I had brought mosquito repellent; we had minimal bites compared to most other hikers (and even we got bit after applying repellent 3 more times on the hike!). I highly, highly recommend bringing bug spray if you choose to complete this trek.

A very muddy, steep climb

After a few breaks we made it to the top, dripping in sweat and covered in mud. We did at least make it without slipping which was an accomplishment. The views were absolutely beautiful! I was so glad I took advantage of the sunny afternoon. We headed back down the trail before it got dark (which took about 40 minutes), then attempted to rinse off our shoes and headed back to the hostel. We had dinner at Golden Bamboo where I had a really good falafel plate, and then I had an early night in preparation for the next day.

Nam Xay Viewpoint

The famous Nam Xay motorbike picture

Day 3 – Learning to Drive a Motorbike

I woke up around 8:30 the next morning since I had made plans to rent motorbikes with the girls in my room. I’d been wanting to learn how to drive one for awhile and was excited I finally had the chance to learn in a place with minimal traffic. When I first got on my bike I was absolutely terrified, and it took me awhile to figure out how to balance while accelerating.

My first time driving a motorbike!

After a few tries I got the hang of things, so we filled up the bikes with fuel and headed to the Blue Lagoon 4. The lagoon was pretty and peaceful, and it had lots of inner tubes, a zipline, and a swing. We stayed at the lagoon for awhile and then headed to the Tham Nam Water Cave. I felt very claustrophobic and opted to sit and wait for the others outside instead of taking an inner tube into the cave. They returned after a short while, and then we headed back into town, stopping at a shop in the nick of time to wait out a heavy rainstorm on the way.

Blue Lagoon 4

Eventually the rain cleared, and we made it back to our hostel in the town’s center. I was so proud of myself for successfully driving a motorbike, and so grateful for my friends for teaching me how. We all went to dinner at Peeping Som’s, where one of the girls (who is from Singapore) taught us how to eat hot pot properly. I then had a final evening with my new friends before we all went our separate ways the next morning. I really enjoyed my time in Vang Vieng and would recommend the town to anyone looking for a beautiful, relaxing spot in Southeast Asia.