After my full-on first two days of rugged adventuring in Vang Vieng, I decided and determined firmly that on the third day, I was to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I mostly did this, and with the help of the rain that poured down on my bungalow's tin roof all night and all morning, I remained in bed for hours after sleeping late, and read my book (during this time in Vang Vieng, I finished 'The Girl in the Picture' an amazing biography about a Vietnamese woman who was a victim of the Vietnam war, and also read the entire autobiography of a Cambodian woman called 'First They Killed my Father.' Both are recommended reading for any and all.)
I ate three meals in the first 4 hours of the day, and didn't leave my guesthouse until the late afternoon. Once in town, I only did some blogging, arranged some travel plans, and got a Lao style massage once again. That evening I had a quiet dinner having excellent conversation of a spiritual nature with a lovely woman from Spain who I had met earlier, and headed to bed around 9pm with a cup of peppermint tea.
The next day, I felt quite recovered, and decided to 'finish' the Vang Vieng loop on a mountain bike. This day was quite lovely, and the ride took about 4-5 hours, including all stops and photo opportunities. I made far fewers stops and detours on this ride, and mostly just took the ride at a slow and easy pace, and at one point helped a little Lao boy get his chain unstuck from his gears, (he gave me the best smile and thumbs-up EVER when I got the chain out and put it back in line) and at another point tried (but failed) to help a little girl unwarp her back bicycle wheel. I also ran into the Belgian and Dutch couple who stayed in the bungalow next to me, who were taking cover from the rain halfway around this loop in a small open-air hut with some locals, where we all talked and ate Lychee Fruit together for 15 minutes or so.
A funny story about this Vang Vieng loop that I succeeded in completing that day was that I was going in the opposite direction as I thought the entire time, which, did not change the terrain or mileage, but definitely served to confuse me when looking at the map to see where I was, or following landmarks. I also had told the Begian and Dutch couple they were going the wrong way, as well as a pack of 8 english and australians on motorbikes. In all cases, it likely did not effect anyone's success in reaching their destinations, but, it certainly did cause some confusion, and the my Belgian neighbor called me out on it hours later back at the guesthouse. We were all quite amused, and I realized that I indeed had NOT 'for once' known where I was going. :)
The next day I was leaving on a bus for the 4,000 Islands, a supposed 10-hour bus ride to the southern tip of Laos. That evening I shared a meal with my spanish friend once again. The next morning I rented a motorbike to make one final trip out to the Organic farm, where I said my goodbye to the goats, the pigs (where the largest fattest pig I have ever seen lives and eats and sleeps), had another tasty organic meal, and found that I had just enough time for one more Lao massage (50,000kip with oil, $6US). I realized I was going to be late for my bus pickup if I didn't figure out some transportation from the massage down to my guesthouse, and then back again to the road where I was to be picked up, so I negotiated with the woman to take me over the bridge and back if I paid for the bridge fee, as well as paying her a bit, and she agreed.
The massage was great, she took me over the bridge and back again with my large backpack in tow, and dropped me off on the corner at the top of the hill at the road again. One minute later, a minivan came to pick me up, and I was off again, leaving Vang Vieng after 5 beautiful and lovely days.
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