She Wears the Pants, He Looks at Plants: Merry Christmas Laos

Side of the road. An organic farm.

The road from Luang Prabang was windy to say the least. We had a van full of new buddies and we were all in the mood for some adventure. The past couple of days in a boutiquy town like Luang Prabang had us itching to get our blood moving a bit. We had become 9 and were able to rent a private ride in a van that took us about 6 hours to get south. Along the way we saw stuff like this:

Karst Country

We also stopped three or four times on twisty mountain roads to let construction go and allow for lost vehicles with to be brought up the road.

Roadside attractions

Our new friends meant that our sizeable group had some interesting characters hailing from mostly the states but also a pair of Canadian twins. We had three from Arizona including a Robert Redford "Jeremiah Johnson" look-alike and his Kristen Stuart clone girlfriend. We also had a very cool couple from DC that are very avid climbers and even had been traveling with shoes and harnesses. We all decided that some serious climbing was in order for a destination known for its limestone walls.

The gang is all here

VangVieng was previously a huge party town because of the river running through that makes its slow and leisurely way around some incredible scenery back to town. A course that is best run via inner tube. It used to be that along the way there were myriad bars and rest stops for drugs, ziplines, and music. As it goes the Laos government put a stop to this extracurricular activity after a number of young Aussies died while under the influence. Now you can still rent tubes and float but you bring your own beer. This had the possibility of ruining the small town and its tourist based economy but from what we saw it could only have improved the place. I think we all agreed that the tune this town now plays, while much more subdued, is many times more attractive that the party that the Lonely Planet promised. We found a hostel that charged $1.80/bed in a 16 bed dorm room that much resembled an orphanage.

Little orphan Kelly.

Stephen with the hostel owner and a borrowed Santa suit. Size: Asian.

The room was brand new and we even got to unwrap the plastic from our pillows. It is very seldom that you can feel so clean in a dorm room. We also had the addition of a well lit Christmas tree brought up by the owners to add to the festive feeling. The rooftop of this place proved a comfortable hang out with a killer view.

View from the roof.

You always explore your new home when arriving in any new town and the most important thing is where will we find good food. The coolest little Lao lady name Pohn had a half outdoor restaurant/shop half a block away that we tried night one and never left. She seemed to be open at our behest and made all her food with the utmost care and love. It took a long time to get anything but once something left her kitchen you could count on it.

Our little hole in the wall.

And its view.

Day one had us taking 'push bikes' to a swimming hole/cave that was well worth the visit. With a beautiful blue lagoon and tree to jump off of we passed some good hours here on two separate occasions.

Leap of faith.

Buddha in the cave. Good timing.

We found a good shop that rented all the climbing gear we would need and took a day to have one of the better experiences of my life. This spot was so special words can barely describe how I felt. We crossed a river by local taxi boat, hiked through the jungle without knowing our ultimate destination and by happenstance came across a cave that needed exploring. As we entered we found ourselves speechless as we also found ourselves stoked to find this place. Three solid limestone walls. Tons of climbs to attempt and finally some good people to practice lead climbing and learn proper wall technique. I pretty much only boulder at home and there's this world at my fingertips that I had never fully bought in to. Whether it was my fear of heights, lack of equipment, or lack of know how, I just hadn't ever really gotten in to bigger walls. Well that all has changed now cause Kelly and I are hooked.

This is just looking up from the ground in the Secret Canyon. Two climbers back to back plus part of the third wall at the top of the page as well. Closed in by awesomeness.

Shane and Jessica.

We ended up going back three separate days.

Celebrating our Christmas haul!

Of course we also had Christmas day and this meant a gift exchange. We had a $2.50 limit but in Laos that's plenty. We wrapped our gifts in pink TP and placed them under the tree. Everyone ended up with something cool. We took our good spirits to the river later that day and rented inner tubes to float the river.

TOOOOBING!

This town was known for its hard partying but also its very relaxing bar/restaurants as well. Many of them feature lounge seating all facing towards a common wall adorned with plasma tv's. Sports you say? News you think? Laotian soaps you query? "NO" says I. Friends, South Park, Simpsons, and Family Guy, all day long, every day.