To the Limestone Caves of Vang Vieng

River view
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Exploring the countryside around Vientiane

Wednesday 31 October 2007

The extensive caves are in an area of ‘karst formation’; highly eroded limestone hills.

Sleep came very easily last night. That mattress was just perfect….. and now its time to enjoy another day with my Laotian ‘family’.

Wooden boats along river
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Later:

A full day excursion was booked in for today. A people mover was hired, with driver, for USD100. The family’s own people mover took the rest of the group. It’s good to see how well this family is getting on together considering the fact that, even though they are related, most of the Australian group had not met the Laotian group before this trip. And as for me - I am getting to know most of both groups for the very first time! Working out who is who is all just too much for an outsider to take in within a day or two…and trying to remember all their names - well, that’s another problem. But I’m slowly coming to terms with it all. A day out like this, experiencing the countryside together should help us all to get to know each other a little better despite the language differences.

Views of countryside
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It was a 100 km drive due north from Vientiane to Vang Vieng, an area in the mountains noted for its limestone caves. We travelled through typical tropical Asian countryside with its lush green vegetation. It is just at the end of the wet season. The rice paddies are currently being harvested by villagers who wear their typical flat conical woven straw hats. I always marvel at these people who spend the whole day, day after day, bent double, reaping the rewards of having spent their time some months before -bent double, day after day, planting the tiny rice plants.

Steps up to the first cave
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One more modern concession that is made is the use of mechanical threshing machines. These contraptions are towed into the field where they easily do the work of many people in a couple of hours.

As we travelled further away from the capital city, the housing was more traditional – wooden houses, often built on stilts. However, where it is possible, that means where there is more money, houses are now more commonly built from concrete and bricks.

It was approximately a three-hour drive to the caves which are in an area of ‘karst formation’; highly eroded limestone hills. The cave system is quite extensive and to get to the entrance requires a breath sapping climb of over 100 steep steps. And, after sweating out that climb, we were met by large locked gates! However, because there were so many of us, the ‘authorities’ decided it was worthwhile to open for our benefit - and for their income too, of course.

'Tractor' transport crossing the bridge that was too wide for our car.
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Inside the caves were vast chambers with the usual formations. Many of the shapes had been given names – formations depicting elephants and every other imaginable ‘thing’. I have to say that even after extensive explanation and pointing, quite unimaginable shapes still seemed to have been given names… something common to all caves! One just nods in agreement, but I continue to marvel at how anyone’s imagination could dream up such stories in the first place! Still, it was a good cave.

Village people crossing the ford - it was too deep for our car.
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There was a second cave, and a lagoon, a few kilometres away, so we headed for them. To get to them we had to cross a narrow wooden humped bridge - and this bridge prevented us from reaching our goal. Our vehicles were just too wide… only by a centimetre or two, but of course that was enough. There was a ford at the same location - we could try that. But this was a tad too deep for our vehicles. So that was that! No more caves for us this time.

Nearby the stream were a few shops/stalls ... and some local kids who eagerly accepted bottles of drink bought for them by some of our party. Naturally, this brought many more kids out of the woodwork when they saw their friends getting drinks. These extras were offered packets of crisps etc. Some good video footage resulted as the kids were all smiles and eager to see themselves on the camera’s screen.

fruit seller in a market
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We had a three-hour drive ahead of us to return to Vientiane and it is fair to mention at this point the ability of our driver. He was excellent. He anticipated well, drove at a speed that suited circumstances and so on. We all felt very safe in his capable hands but three hours cooped up was just too much.

So we made a stop at Market 52; it just happens to be 52 kms from Vientiane. A vast area, mostly covered, this market sells absolutely anything that you could possibly need. Clothing and shoes; CD’s and DVD’s - all pirate copies, of course, and all for as little as 50 cents each; mats, watches and plastic bowls - if it could be made out of plastic you could buy it. And there were mountains of enamel goods. A large area was devoted to fresh fruit and vegetables, some of which looked quite foreign to me. One pod-like fruit that looked a bit like a tamarind was so astringent that it sucked the inside of our cheeks together – perhaps, I felt, never to be parted again. We were offered a little salt mixed with some red chili powder to go with the second bite. Surprisingly, that made a lot of difference but still not enough to make the fruit enjoyable to our taste. I noticed a meat and fish area in the distance but time prevented us from observing those delights. Before we left there, a soccer ball was bought for the kids. (It’s been kicked around ever since.)

Back on board our transport, we headed for home. Our vehicle had a DVD player and drop-down screen, so some music videos and a movie helped pass the time, especially for the kids, and especially since it had started to rain and that made for some slow driving. Trucks, buses, mopeds, people and animals all competed for road space. As it grew dark it also became apparent that many vehicles had no lights at all. And if they did, the headlight (often only one) usually pointed at a crazy angle which reflected off our windscreen. And which light was it anyway - the left or the right? Some vehicles actually had two lights that worked - one often dimmer than the other. Did two lights indicate one vehicle or two motorbikes travelling side by side? We got caught behind one particular bus that took up most of the road ( and it must have been close to 50 cm out of alignment). The only ‘light’ on its back was the reflected number plate of a motorbike on its roof. Just as well we had a good, observant driver.

By the time we made it back to town, we decided to eat at a local café instead of trying to make dinner when we got home. A big bowl of noodle soup with tasty dumplings and another roti - just like last night’s offering - was sufficient to fill us all up since we had been fed a very good lunch at the cave.

As I write, it’s still raining and looks like continuing through the night. As the average monthly rainfall for this time of the year is only a few millimetres, it’s a little unusual but it does settle the dust and it does give all the plants a watering. Now, my coffee is finished and it’s time to once more fall into bed, tired out after a very enjoyable, though long, day.