Up Up and Away…

Chilling in Vang Vieng

I wake to silence, then I hear a single motorbike rev it’s engine and as if on cue, the street fills with the sounds of engines, voices and people setting up the morning market.

After our busy day yesterday, today is a relax and chill day. From breakfast we head across the street to Pull Mind Cafe where I take in the spectacular view while working on the blog. John goes online to submit the eTravel arrival app required for our entrance to the Philippines in a few days.

I order a coconut water which is served in a half shell, with the coconut meat on top. It looks like ice cream on top. I don’t know how they do it, but I’m impressed.

The atmosphere is so wonderful that we order a second set of drinks…this time I order a lychee soda.

John is sore today from all his hiking and both of our knees are a bit tender from yesterday’s activities.

Touring the Wats and Main Street of Vang Vieng

We next make a tour to the town’s Wats (temples); Wat That, Wat Kang, Wat Sii Sou Mang, and Wat Simixay Yaram. John makes a dog friend at Wat That. The monks are chanting and there seems to be a service going on at Wat Si Sou Mang.

Walking back from the last Wat, we pass the Nana Backpackers Hostel where the six tourists had stayed who were killed from drinks laced with methanol. The hostel is closed and there is a big red sign on the gates saying “Close Nana Backpackers Hostel, Restaurant & Bar. Until problem is resolved and new orders.”

We have only been drinking bottled alcoholic beverages. They cannot be tampered with.

It is now really hot out.The only thing I have energy for is to go for a pedicure. John heads to a nearby bakery.

The pedicure is not very good and takes under 30 minutes but at least my toenails are painted.

John and I spend the hottest afternoon hours in our room.

Balloons at Sunset

Every vacation I try to do one activity that scares me a bit. I am afraid of heights.

At 4:15pm a driver arrives to take John and I to our sunset air balloon ride. There are eight of us in the tuk tuk truck. Besides us Canadians, there are three from the U.K., a Serbian, Dane and German.

We watch them start to fill our balloon with a powerful fan and then switch to the gas flame to make it rise. As you can see from the picture, the balloon is huge.

It is a bit of a challenge climbing into the basket. The basket is organized into five compartments; two people in each corner compartment and the operator in the middle.

You can really feel the heat when the gas flame fires into the balloon. We float up so gently into the sky. It is so peaceful and serene. The world below is beautiful especially the depth of the mountains. Click here for a short video.

I can see the Pull Mind Cafe from the air. The sunset into the mountains is truly magical, it bathes everything in gold.

Too soon we start to float lower to land, miles away from where we went up. As we get closer to the ground, we are told to crouch down and hold the handles. We land gently.

A group of Chinese tourists are waiting at the landing point. A few of our group get out of the basket and the new tourists get in. We take turns this way until our group is out and the new group is in. The balloon then rises, heading off again. Our ride was 30-40 minutes.

What an amazing experience.