Mount Doom

13/10/11

Today was to be the best day so far of my travels, and one of the best experiences of my life.

I and one other of the group had booked up yesterday to take part in a full day of trekking and kayaking. As we were dropped off at our starting place we discovered that it was only us two and a guide that would be doing this particular activity, others were booked in to do different stuff. The first half of the day would involve trekking through the surrounding mountains up to a waterfall before stopping off to have a BBQ dinner. But to start our trek we first had to cross one of the scariest bridges in the world. It spanned across the Mekong River and was simply a narrow wire bridge with bamboo as decking, not too bad until you actually had to cross it. Baring in mind that people are shorter out here I soon discovered that the guide wire across the side of the bridge was at knee level for me forcing me to have to adopt a crouching position, a slight hindrance. As I started crossing behind an elderly local women who was heading to harvest the rice paddies the next problem became apparent, this bridge wasn’t level. The further I moved out the more the bridge began to lean to the right hand side, resulting in the elderly woman upfront to start shouting out probably to tell me to stop rocking the bridge! As a result I slowed down to let her cross without me making the trip any harder for her but the leaning problem was only getting worst, it was now leaning at more than a 45 degree angle. To compensate I shifted my weight more to the left hand side but this didn’t approve things. To make matters even worst over half way through the bamboo decking starting to disappear literally as giant gaps appeared in front of me. What remain of the bamboo had either fallen off or was simply broken with only the bamboo on the leaning right hand side in a reasonably sound condition. Never less I eventually made it to the other side surprised that I hadn’t fallen into the river, not the sort of start I expected!

Next we made our way through the rice paddies to the foot of the mountains before beginning our first ascent up rocks which had fallen down during a landslide at some point, halfway we stopped off to look into a cave which we might try and make our way through later, although no one had been able to go through it yet due to the water level inside. At the top we got our first view across the valley below and saw where the waterfall we were heading to was located but to get there we had to descend to ground level again before climbing up a mountain on the other side of a farm full of cattle and water buffalo. After another ascent we finally find the river that was the result of the waterfall and so switching to my sandals we started to wade our way upstream to find our target. Eventually we arrived at the base of the waterfall were after a quick dip we had a BBQ lunch with the sound of rushing water around us. Out in the mountains you quickly realise how much larger things in nature are, leafs on plants are huge and bugs and insects are bigger than the ones you normally see.

After lunch it was time to make our return back down to the river to board our kayak. To get there faster the guide suggested we took a look at a cave system that went under the mountain, apparently done to water levels inside no one had been able to pass through it that year but he suggested we had a look anyway. Unprepared for this no one had thought to bring a flash light with them so on the way our guide pick up some dry bamboo to which we could fashion some torch to provide light. Stepping down we eventually found the entrance to the cave, all around us you could hear the roar of flowing water and the few rays of light that entered shine off the water vapour in the air. At this point looking into the pitch blackness I thought this was a silly thing to do, but our guide never less soon had the bamboo lit and with him ready to lead the way we grab our makeshift torches and adventured into the darkness. The whole situation felt like it had come straight from an Indiana Jones movie, with us up to our knees in water crouching low with the only light coming from the burning bamboo, to me it felt like proper exploring. Eventually after about 15 minutes and with our bamboo nearly exhausted, we finally saw sunlight pouring through our exit to the cave. Once out high-fives were handed out all round, the only bad thing that had happen was take I found I had picked up an unwelcome guest in the form of a leech which was fasten to my foot!

We now had a long trek to pick up our kayaks from further down the river but this was to be a pleasant stroll through the rice paddies where workers were getting ready to harvest their crop. Throughout this section we walked along the base of the mountains and were able to just enjoy Laos’s stunning scenery. But the atmosphere soon c hanged as we neared the river again as modern pop tunes filled the air; we had come to the start point of the notorious tubing here in Vangvieng. Most travellers flock to this part to take part in the tubing, which basically involves you hiring out a rubber ring which you use to flow down the river while all along bars on the riverbank try to pull you in buy drinks and party. After the beautiful sights we had seen that day, it was a shame to see people getting drunk and listening to loud music whilst out in the adjoining fields local people were busy at work harvesting their crops in full sight of it. Anyway for us our kayak session was to be a non-stop ride down the river back to the town taking just over an hour. For me it had been one of the best experiences in my life, a struggle at sometimes but never less a rewarding one. And to round off a prefect day that evening a lighting storm passed over the town before making its way over the mountains. In the pitch darkness every lighting strike laminated the shape of the mountains, an engrossing sight to watch.