To Never, Never Land

The time had finally come. We bid adieu to my mother and made our way to the airport. She shall return to the states and Shelb and I shall venture out to Laos. Through our travels we have met many that claimed Laos is a must (a Full Moon Party everyday), and if their word isn't enough my Ojisan (grandpa in Japanese) says it is gorgeous and that there is nothing like it (our trip plans were a little different from the sight seeing trip my grandparents participated in...or at least I presume).


Barely able to contain our excitement we scamper out of the plane and enter the visa line. We strike up a conversation with a couple of British girls and eagerly talk about what we "think" we are getting ourselves into. Our facts are sparse and limited, we know that we have just entered a scene from Avatar and that we will be spending the next couple of days floating down a "lazy river" in what sounds like an adult raging waters...we don't have much past those details but do you really need more? As we made our way to the bus stop we are intercepted by an Aussie. He asks if we want to split a cab to Vang Vieng...lets see a 5 hour bus ride with no AC or a 2.5 hour cab ride with AC...we opt for the cab and invite our British friends to join us. After about 10 minutes in the van we realize we've yet to introduce ourselves...our Aussie friend is Nathan, he is from Sydney and the two girls, Carlota and Frankie, are from London. We chat for awhile getting to know each other then all slowly drift into our own musings.

We arrive in Vang Vieng around noon and set out to find lodging, we had all read up on travel blogs and decided to seek out the Traveler's Lodge. To our dismay, it was full! No worries, we headed next door and were all able to get a room ($21 for 3 days...a private room, AC, a tv and wifi...gotta love Asia).  After settling in Shelb and I threw on our suits and set out for a spot to grab lunch. We found a cozy little restaurant with beds and a constant stream of Friends (every restaurant played Friends or Family Guy) for the rest of the time in Vang Vieng we referred to it as Friends. You would be surprised how long you can sit in a restaurant and watch episodes of Friends, the classic humor translates to every language. Shelb and I were five episodes deep when we finally realized we needed to get out of there and get to the river!

We rolled out of bed and casually tuk tuked to the river.

The only way to properly describe the sites and sounds that filled out senses: beautiful mayhem. The river is lined with lean to, waterfront, bars. In order to get from one bar to another you must grab a tube and float down the river. After jumping in the tube the fast current drifts you in the direction of the next bar, you must then relay on the locals to throw out a buoy and guide you towards the bar. Everyone begins to migrate down river between noon and 2 pm, around 4:30 you grab a tube and float to bar 2, and then everyone casually drifts down to bar 3 (most of the time people end at bar 3). Upon entering each bar you are greeted by a nice British bloke (usually a guy on his gap year that visited Asia and just couldn't leave the bar...) who gives you a bracelet and whatever free treat the bar deems acceptable for its patrons. Bar 1 is generally a shot (actually...its every bar), bar 2 is spray paint, bar 3 is a jump off their high dive, bar 4 is chili fries, bar 5 is a rope swing...and the others evade me at the moment.

Day 1 (rookie mistakes): Shelb and I made the trek to the river by ourselves. Our new friends decided to take the day off and rest after our day of traveling. A bit of advice to future travelers...less is more in Laos. No shoes, no shirt, and you are in service. On the river all you need is a swim suit, shades, a waterproof satchel (conveniently sold at all stores in Laos, also you can pick up your Van Vieng merchandise like epic bro tanks, 80's style work out shorts and waterproof cameras) and $$$. Also, renting a tube is not vital (if you are a girl...). Because Shelb and I had foolishly gone to the river fully clothed AND with a bag we weren't able to tube...lame. No matter...you are also able to do the hop by foot.

Day 2: The second day we met up with our friends around noon, got some lunch and headed down to the river. We had met a couple friends at the bars the day before and of course our British friends had friends traveling for the summer (Asia to the rest of the world is like Vegas for us...you always know someone there?). We grabbed a bucket, conjoined groups and sat on the docks enjoying the scenery, good company and pulsing bass. Each bar has a bucket bar, a DJ, games and the best part...everyone is in their 20s. But, first things first, Bar 1 is the perfect place to meet people, lots of foreign bros to compete with in volleyball, pong or jenga, a few rounds later and everyone is looking pretty chummy. Now you have your tube to float to the next bar! On the river we met the most interesting people kids on gap year, kids traveling, business men...the works. And the best part about the company, everyone is friendly, there for a good time and most importantly...we're one of the few Americans. Ha...Europe is FLOODED with American tourists so you're literally just another obnoxious tourist. In Asia, everyone is European, therefor if you are an American you are awesome, even more so if you are from California. Its like telling a person from the Midwest you are from Southern California...their faces light up like a kid on Christmas Day (#SorryImFromCali).

As the sun was going down, so was the party. We hopped in "our" tubes and floated down the river towards town. The day before we had tuk tuked home but were informed we could just float the 3-4 kilometers back to the town! We got out of the river and and promised to meet up with our friends after our siesta. A couple hours later we woke, went to Friends, and headed out for a night on the town. We met up with Carlota and Frankie and made our way to Bucket Bar. This trendy place is located on the water with and is comprised of flimsy bamboo frames and palm frawn roofs. The DJ booth overlooks the dance floor in a Gilligan's Island style tree house. The atmosphere is mellow when we first entered and continues on that way until the locals bring out the fire limbo. As always, it is highly unsafe but completely entertaining.

Day 3 (essentially the same timeline as day 2): Alas, it is our final day in Laos and we had to make the most of it (we decided to buy a waterproof camera to keep track of our memories...). Shelb and I had to fly out at 9 the next morning so we made our way to the bus stop to check the times...hmmm these aren't really compatible with our tubing schedule...guess we'll have to take another cab. How about you pick us up at....2:30 am? It seemed easier to stay the night in Vang Vieng then try to find a hotel near the airport...also, we would get to play a little longer. After arranging our travels we made our way to the river. And obviously, we didn't rent tubes...so much easier not to! We had another brilliant day on the river, met some more friends (I got proposed to again by a couple British men...its amazing what people will do for a green card?), danced our hearts out to fresh techno beats and of course (the most loathsome noise in the world) Call Me Maybe, ate some more chili fries, and fully embraced the glory of our youth. It was simply perfection. And then the sun began to set...then there was a minor miscommunication (mostly on my part)...and instead of taking a tuk tuk home we might have swam...the 4 km back to town! Completely idiotic idea...lets just say, I have never been more happy about my decision to join the VHS swim team.