Dec. 29th - Vang Vieng - Blue Lagoon #2 and #3 - Kim and Glory - Cycling beyond

December 29, 2023

Dec. 29th - Vang Vieng - Blue Lagoon #2 and #3

So many little things to check out here. Today's excursion was riding my bike out to Lagoon #3 and hit Lagon #2 on the way back. There are a lot of lagoons here apparently. I really, really enjoyed the ride out there except for the one two mile section of bumpy gravel. I was a little worried the whole ride would be like that, but eventually, pavement returned. Glad I didn't turn around!

Umm, I already startled the baby water buffalso and it ran to mom. Should I be scared?

I goofed off before leaving this morning so didn't arrive at lagoon #3 until 11:30 am. It was an 11 mile ride to get there. I had read reviews that the sun goes behind the mountains by 11:00am. Ooops, missed the sun on the water and the warmth. Oh well. Still had fun. Went for a swim then ordered some rice and a fried egg. (It's a common dish here.) Had fun watching people go on a short zip line and rope swing and then fall into the water. Sometimes, the landings were hilarious, and everyone there had a good laugh. Even though I was alone, I didn't feel alone.

Lagoon #3. See the person on the zip line?

My new coin purse. Just to be clear, I am at table #9, not 69! 🤣 (It's an ongoing Bryan Adams joke.)

Then I decided to go check out this cave. Then I felt very alone and wished I had my adventure buddy from back home with me (Debbie).

A bit of a scramble to the cave entrance. Me, "Don't touch the plants." Also me, "I hope there aren't any snakes!"

Looking down at the ladders to get to the dave. I went down those two, and a little further, but my handlebar bag was making things difficult. The next part was narrow and sketchy so I opted out. Indiana Jones I was not today!

After my failed cave expedition, on the way out I saw the two ladies from Egypt that I had shared a tuk tuk with swimming. We chatted for a minute and they wanted to know if I wanted a ride back in their tuk tuk. No, this time I'm not sick and it's a pleasant ride. Plus, I'm stopping at Lagoon #2. So are they. Maybe I'll see them there. Time to start pedaling.

Arrived at Lagoon #2 and was so confused. I thought this was the one that had cave tubing where you pull yourself through a cave by a rope. Nope. Not it. Still had fun though.

Ran into my seat mate from the slow boat trip to Luang Prabang. We took turns videoing each other as this lagoon has some fun little attractions like a wobbly suspension bridge across the water, a very high jump, and a zip line. Let's just say my suspension bridge stunt didn't go well and I quickly quickly vetoed that idea and returned to solid ground. I did do the high jump though. At least 20 feet up in the air. Ya, my neck was sore for the next couple of days. It's funny though. I looked down and got scared. My friend yelled he was ready and I yelled back, "Wait, I'm scared." Then I thought to myself, there's no point in delaying the inevitable. I like this kind of stuff and new I was going to do. jump. So, as Nike would say, "Just do it" and away I went.

Don't they always say, "Don't look down." Oops!

Just in case you need proof I jumped....

I wasted so much time videoing my friend, which I was happy to do, but eventually realized I was taking away from me just swimming and enjoying the place. Oh well. Nice to talk to someone. Anyways, once I realized I wasn't swimming again, decided it was time to head back and once again really enjoyed the remainder of the ride.

You can rent dune buggies to get around and there were quite a few on the road

Not sure what crop this is, but the workers were shuffling it around with their bare feet. How sanitary is this exactly?!

Came back to my lodging with my adorable little friend meowing away.

See that intent look. He's focused on the image in my phone screen of a cat (him)

Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 375 miles (604 km)

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Andrea BrownI haven’t been to Vang Vieng in 21 years, back then there was only one blue lagoon and the road was dirt. It was a lot of fun and very beautiful.
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11 months ago

Kim JohnsonTo Andrea BrownI think things have changed a little. I've really enjoyed my time here even though lots of down time just chilling. I've liked that there's so many things to do and I didn't even experience them all.
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11 months ago