Vang Vieng, Laos

Vang Vieng is a fantastic place for outdoor enthusiasts. It's a small town situated in between beautiful limestone mountains and intersected by the incredibly clean Nam Song river. The river is used by locals for water and bathing and by tourists for kayaking and the famous tubing. There are numerous caves scattered throughout the surrounding area to explore as well. The town is a bit of a party scene due to the draw of tubing and day drinking on the river but there is plenty of quiet, serene nature if that's not your scene. 

We arrived in town about 12:30 PM and checked in at Pan's place. This is a well reviewed hostel that's great for solo travelers or for people looking to mingle and party. The staff is incredibly helpful and they have everything you need. However, a night there we moved across the street to Kamphone hotel as they had $10 rooms with AC. 

After settling in we rented bikes across the street (20,000 kip each) and headed north out of town in search of caves. We reached the caves near Elephant cave, found a required guide (50,000 kip) and marched toward the water cave. This would prove to be one of the highlights of all of our SE Asia trip. We locked up our valuables at a nearby restaurant, grabbed tubes and headlamps and got in the water. After biking almost an hour, this cold water felt like perfection. We pulled on ropes to guide us through the cool shallow cave. Luckily, we had the whole cave to ourselves and it was such a refreshing, eerie and thrilling experience. At one point we turned off our headlamps and were guided by the whistling of our guide. 

We then explored two dry caves on our own which was once again trilling. There were massive ballroom like areas that blew us away. It was so quiet and peaceful to walk through with no sound other than the shuffling of our feet and drops of fallen water. If you are ever in Vang Vieng, put down the beer, get out of the tube and check these caves out. 

The next day we figured we had to try tubing. The way it works is you rent a tube and get in a tuk tuk that takes you upriver. You get in the water and float with the current until you come to a bar where they throw you a line and reel you in. We read that the party has become significantly less crazy since the government cracked down on it some six months ago. There were too many bars, drunk swimmers and deaths. There used to be zip lines and slides used to re-enter the shallow waters but no longer. Now there are only 5 bars open daily and each day they rotate which bars are open. 

We were reeled into the first bar by a cowboy hat wearing local who called Alex sexy. He then called me sexy and himself sexy. In hindsight, that may be the only English word he knew. This bar was all about beer pong and flip cup. The next stop had a basketball hoop, boxing over water, ping pong, bocce and mud volleyball. This was much more my scene. The third bar was nothing special and the last we had to skip to return our tubes by 6 pm so we'd get our full deposit back. All in all, I wish we had taken the tubes the 3 hour ride down the river rather than stopping off at bars at all. Either way it was an experience worth having.

The next day we rented bikes again and tried making it to the blue lagoon. We rode down bumpy dirt roads around cows and stopped at Lusi cave. This was another large cavernous cave with high ceilings and steep drops. We walked until there it was roped off with a danger sign and turned around and exited.

We continued our journey and stopped at yet another cave that had a sign by the road claiming a beautiful swimming hole. It was super hot and we needed to cool off. Plus the roads were terrible and another 5km to the blue lagoon seemed unnecessary. This cave required a guide once again who led us in. We right away left everything behind including our shoes and shirts in anticipation of the swim. It was, however, a 5 minute walk on slick clay to the pool. At one point a 3-4 foot snake slithered slowly past Alex's feet. I kind of freaked out but neither Alex nor the guide saw it. He didn't believe me. We got to the end where there was a ladder leading down into a muddy bathtub about 3 feet wide and 10 feet long. I was pretty freaked out after seeing that snake but Alex jumped right in. She coaxed me in, we dunked and got out. The end farther from the entrance was kinda deep. It was really cool water and an even cooler experience. It revived us from our heat stroke. On the way back out, I stopped and looked where I saw the snake escape to earlier and sure enough it was just sitting there coiled and looking at me. I pointed it out to the guide and he seemed surprised. He told us it wasn't poisonous. Satisfied, we found daylight and rode home. 

The following morning we boarded a minivan for a 3.5 hour ride to Vientiane.

Next stop Vientiane!

Hoi An, Vietnam

Rolling into Hoi An on the back of a motorcycle was a pretty cool introduction to an amazingly beautiful old city. This little city is full of life, lanterns, expert tailors, cheap fresh beer, delicious food and photo ops. What it's refreshingly not full of is sky rises. The tallest building I saw was 3 stories. The low rise old buildings with peeling yellow paint promotes a timeless feel and a relaxing atmosphere. I could have definitely spent more time here. 

I settled into the Hideout Hostel which was in a great location across an old narrow bridge from the old city. The view from the point was great. I sat and watched the old ladies set out their fishing nets and the ferries roll up and down the river.

One of my roommates was an Australian named Jeremy who had also recently finished teaching in Korea. We hit it off and spent most of time together. He showed me the famous bahn mi restaurant, Bahn Mi Phuong, where Anthony Bourdain ate while filming an episode of No Reservations. Instant friendship. We ate here at least twice a day from there on out. Amazing Bahn Mi options and Cao Lao, a pork and doughy noodle dish. Tip: if you go, walk in and sit down and be vocal with someone about your order. Your food will come quickly. Don't wait outside for take out. It takes forever. I waited for 40 minutes in a line of 8 people my last day trying to get a quick bite for my bus.

We spent most of our time walking around the old city taking pictures, sipping coffee by the river, and drinking 4,000 VND draft beer. My second day we rented bikes and explored the city. Also, no trip to Hoi An is complete without seeing what the fuss is about with all the tailors. I had just got a suit made at my guy in Bangkok so I had no need for a suit. With all the fake North Face around it reminded me I've wanted a nice winter coat. So I started asking around to find the place. I ended up at Kimmys as it was recommended by two Brits in my room and had phenomenal reviews on trip advisor. After seeing another place that didn't seem to make many winter coats, Kimmys was the place. They had lots of fabrics, colors and expertise. They told me they could do a two layer thick 100% wool with an inner liner to make it warm enough for down to -10 Celsius (14 Fahrenheit). I had a specific idea in mind and they helped me develop it every step of the way. Diep was the lady's name who was my tailor and she even let me see their warehouse and factory where I saw a guy named Hong sew the inner liner into the jacket. It came out great and I couldn't be happier. We will have to wait and see if it can hold up to an NYC winter.

On the third day we rented a motorbike to share. Jeremy hopped on the back and we zipped up the coast to Danang where we saw the Marble Mountain, the beach, and the lady Buddha. Marble mountain hosted a massive temple grounds on the top full of intricate carvings and many caves with passages leading to massive Buddhas in alcoves. I was surprised at the scope and detail of the place and was very impressed. It's definitely worth a look. We continued to the beach where we could see the Lady Buddha calling out to us from the distance. She is apparently there to guard the city. We heard her call and continued the 15-20 minute ride to her. She is absolutely an absolutely stunning and massive, marble carved, 67 meter high structure. The view of Danang and the bay from up there was crazy as well. Afterwards, we downed a quick iced coffee at a very local spot and headed back before the sun set. We had to battle some serious traffic as there was a massive fireworks show in Danang that night to celebrate the 40th anniversary of America's departure and the reunification of Vietnam. 

That night I picked up my jacket (or shipped it home rather) and we grabbed one last beer by the river and yet another street bahn mi. The next morning I checked out and got ready for an epic 18 hour bus ride to Hanoi to meet back up with Alex.

Next stop, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Kampot, Cambodia

Kampot, Cambodia

This guy was not happy with my camerawork

The prison at Kampot, Cambodia

I had heard great things about the relaxing and quaint river village of Kamopt. I left my beach paradise a couple of days early to see what it was all about. I booked a mini van at 3:00 PM for $6. Two hours later, I arrived in downtown Kampot. I took a tuk tuk to Naga House where I had a reservation for two nights in a $3 dorm room. This place was pretty awesome. It was right on the river and they had a big, beautiful deck reaching out over the water. 

The deck at my hostel, Naga House, in Kampot, Cambodia

I settled in, grabbed a happy hour beer and quickly met some cool people. I ended up hanging out with two British guys, Gavin and Thomas. We drank by the river and shared travel information. I ordered my first fish Amok, a traditional Cambodian food. It was delicious. There were chunks of boneless, crispy fish in a curry-like sauce with a side of rice. 

Amok at a place downtown Kampot

The following day, I rented a motorbike with Gavin and Thomas and we biked to Bokor National Park. The park itself was "eh" but the ride up was so much fun. It was winding and full of twists and turns. It was maybe 25-30 minutes to the top and fun all the way. There were great views halfway up, but once we got up higher than that we entered the clouds. 

Riding into the clouds

I'm pretty sure this was the old casino. How haunted does this look?

On the decent down Bokor National park we could see the ocean through the haze.

This ride was actually perfect practice for my 3rd time on a motorbike. These speedsters really made learn how to approach turns to try and keep pace with them. After making it down I was much more confident on a bike. Turns out Tom cornered a little too hard racing down and got a flat. We had to wait at a gas station for someone to come and take it and Tom hopped on Gavin's bike. The guy fixed it quickly and for cheap and we returned to Naga House.

The driveway to my hostel on the river, Naga House. 

I had thought about riding to Kep, the nearby city on the coast, but I figured I just had a lot of time at beaches and hanging by the river was cool with me. There were also some caves in Kampot that I didn't make it to. Kampot was really relaxed, slow paced and scenic. I was sucked into the scene and just took it easy.

Kampot, Cambodia

Walking Bridge 

That night we rode into town and I had fish Amok again for dinner. There was a party that night in our guest house but I was too exhausted from the sun and heat and ended up crashing at 10 PM as it was kicking off. The next morning I awoke to two naked people sleeping in the bed below me. When I say naked, I mean not even sheets. Interesting. I must have missed a great party. 

That morning I said bye to the English gentleman who were headed to Sihanoukville and I headed out for a couple more hours with my motorbike. I explored the city, and had some food. 

I then went back to Naga House to return the bike and get ready for my 3 PM minibus to Phnom Penh so I could take an 11 PM night bus to Siem Reap. 

Next stop Siem Reap.