.....So I came to sing a song to tell you, I just want you to understand, what I did, my heart ordered me to do it.

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Hello, Vang Vieng. I've never been there, but I've seen it in pictures online, in reviews, on Facebook, and on Instagram. Suddenly, my heart told me to go, and I decided to make it happen. For this trip, I had three friends who were also excited because it was our first time traveling abroad and planning our own trip. We looked at your reviews on Pantip and chose to travel during Father's Day weekend, December 4-7, for 3 days and 2 nights. Once we agreed on the dates, we started booking accommodation. We booked Champalaos Bungalow for the first night and Champalaos Villa for the second night, which are close to each other. Actually, we were planning to stay in Vientiane on the second night, but we were afraid that we wouldn't have enough time to see everything in Vang Vieng, so we booked two nights in Vang Vieng. Then we booked a bus for the way there and a plane for the way back so that my friend could get back to Chonburi on time.

For this trip, we chose to take the NCA First Class bus. Let me tell you, it was really good. The seats were spacious and comfortable. I've never taken a bus to the Northeast before, only to the South. The ticket price was 665 baht. We departed at 10:00 PM and were supposed to arrive at 5:30 AM, according to the ticket. However, we actually arrived in Udon Thani at 8:45 AM. Oh my god! I missed the 8:30 AM bus to Vang Vieng, which was the only one available. Initially, we planned to walk to Central Udon Thani to catch a van to Nong Khai. But since there were four of us, we decided to take a taxi to the border instead. The taxi driver charged us 700 baht, but we later found out that the van only cost 50 baht per person. I could have cried.

We have arrived at the Thai border. There are a lot of people because it is a long weekend. There are Thais, foreigners, and Koreans. I think we will finish writing and pay only 5 baht to cross the border.

Then we took a bus that was waiting for us across the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge for another 20 baht.

Upon arriving at the Laotian border, we proceeded to the Laotian immigration checkpoint. The process took quite a while at this checkpoint.

We exchanged 3,000 Thai baht and got more than 700,000 kip. We are rich!

We then took a skylab car from the checkpoint into Vientiane. We sat in the car and watched the red dust on the side of the road for almost an hour on our way to Vang Vieng. The skylab car fare was 100 baht per person.

The skylab car took us to the bus station to Vang Vieng around 11.30 am. We bought tickets for 300 baht and the bus left around 2 pm. We had some time to kill so we found something to eat. We ended up at this restaurant, which was not far from the bus station.

The food I ordered is.....fried rice. Why come all the way to Laos to eat this?

It's time to get on the bus to Vang Vieng! The journey takes about 4 hours, so we'll probably arrive close to dusk.

The road to Vang Vieng was quite bumpy, my brain almost fell out because I was shaking all the way. I had a good laugh with my friends.

After driving for a while, the driver pulled over to the side of the road to allow passengers to stretch their legs and use the restroom.

This is our first meal in Laos, a 40 baht sandwich.

We have arrived at Vang Vieng, the Guilin of Laos, approximately 160 kilometers from the capital Vientiane. Vang Vieng is a city full of nature, mountains, and the Song River. I'm so excited!

Let's find accommodation first. Tonight we'll be staying at Champalaow Bungalow, which we booked through ibooking for 985 baht per night, which works out to only 246 baht per person.

We're here!

After checking in, walk across the bridge to the bungalow.

This is our shelter.

After finishing packing rice and other things, we went out to find something to eat. In the end, we ended up at this restaurant.

Grilled fish with salt, a Lao specialty.

There are many roti and sandwich shops here.

Let's try it. Why are you just standing there watching? 55 And then I ordered it. I don't know if it's delicious or not, but I want you to try it yourself. Roti from Lao people is not like the roti sold by our uncles. How does it taste? Wait for your friends to try it and see. After we were full, we went to book a one-day tour for tomorrow. The tour costs 360 baht per person, ending with kayaking. Because we didn't have enough time, we agreed to go to Tham Luang next. So we had to skip the Blue Lagoon. Because if we go to the Blue Lagoon, the tour will cost 600 baht. Let's say goodnight with this picture.

The next morning, I woke up early to watch the sunrise, but I couldn't see it. The weather was too good.

Looking from the other side of our accommodation, can you see our bungalow? Beautiful, isn't it?

Capturing the beauty and serene atmosphere before heading out for a morning stroll through the Vang Vieng market.

Let's make merit by offering food to monks for good luck.

Take a morning walk to the market in Vang Vieng

The people of Vang Vieng live a simple life, selling local produce, wild food, and vegetables that they forage themselves.

This shop is a best-seller.

We're kicking off the day with some delicious khao phek sen. The taste is great, and the flavors are spot on.

Another activity here is a hot air balloon ride over Vang Vieng for about $95. If there are any errors, I apologize.

After that, we walked back to the car and went to the bathroom at our accommodation before going on the tour. The tour guide told us to be there around 8:50 am.

Oh, I'm so happy! The weather is so refreshing.

It's time for us to walk to the tour meeting point, which will take us past this hotel. This hotel appears to be the largest in Vang Vieng.

Today's tour route is surrounded by mountains on both sides.

The fog is so thick, it's truly beautiful.

It's so beautiful that we can't help ourselves. Just two pictures with such a cool place.

Our handsome guide today.

The first place our guide took us to was Tham Chang Cave, located in the northern part of Vang Vieng. It's a small cave, but what makes it stand out is the stalagmite that resembles an elephant.

Wat Tham Chang

Elephant-shaped stalactite

After that, we continued walking through the fields.

The second activity of today's tour has arrived.

The cave is a cave that requires the use of a lifebuoy and rope to enter, with a guide shining a light to lead the way. Inside, it is a high tunnel like other caves, so it is airy and easy to breathe.

After exiting the cave, we were all hungry. It was time for lunch. The guide had prepared it for us. Doesn't it look delicious?

Soaked after finishing lunch, we walked back to the car to go to the third activity, which was kayaking.

We have arrived at the kayaking activity.

We usually paddle a boat because our house is by the river. But we have never paddled a kayak before, so we were a little scared. So we asked the guide to go with us.

The total paddling distance is 8 kilometers, but you will paddle 4 kilometers and stop at a bar for a break, then continue paddling for another 4 kilometers to Vang Vieng.

The whole way while kayaking was so beautiful. Mountains surrounded us the whole way. It was truly beautiful. We were so happy.

Throughout our paddle, the guide kept the conversation lively, and we chatted the whole way. I'm a curious person, so I asked a lot of questions about everything.

Playing water with other boats is so much fun.

We have reached the water bar.

Haha, I'm at it again! I must seem like a real drunkard.

After a short break, we continued our journey to Tham Luang Cave, where we enjoyed a meal by the Mae Song River before sunset.

At this point, we won't be describing it, we think the atmosphere in the pictures will speak louder than words.

After leaving the paddle boat, we continued walking to Tham Chang Kan.

It takes about 500 meters to walk from the boat parking to Tham Chang Cave.

You haven't truly arrived at Tham Luang Cave if you haven't taken a picture with this orange bridge. What are you waiting for?

I'm hungry and tired from rowing the boat and walking to the cave.

Khao Niao Krok Lao

Looks delicious, doesn't it? When you're hungry, everything looks delicious.

The way up to Tham Luang Cave is too steep. I'm too tired to climb it. I can only stand and watch and take pictures.

We have arrived at our restaurant for dinner today.

The atmosphere is very good.

Our gang, yeah!

Evening atmosphere at the Song River, Vang Vieng

This is the reason why I come to sit and eat at this restaurant, to soak up the evening atmosphere by the Song River.

After we were full, we checked in to our second night's accommodation at Champalav Villa. There were four of us, so we got the second floor to ourselves. It had two bathrooms, two small beds, and one large bed. The two rooms were connected by a door, and there was a hammock to relax in.

And after a day of activities, we're going to bed. We'll be heading back tomorrow, so we need to get some rest.

On the third morning, this morning at Champasak Villa, it's time to go back. I don't want to go back yet.

Before we left, we went for another walk to capture the atmosphere of places we hadn't been to before. This is Banana Bungalow, another beautiful place with a superb atmosphere nestled in the mountains.

How about some morning yoga?

I'm back to take a shower and pack my things to get ready to go back to the car.

We booked a car back to Champasak Lao Bungalow, so we had to wait for the car here.

A car will pick us up at our accommodation and take us to Vang Vieng Transport. We will take the bus to Nong Khai. The bus fare is 360 baht.

Vang Vieng, a peaceful town, the charm of the beautiful mountains makes us almost reluctant to return.

Upon reaching the Thai side, we hired a car to take us to Udon Thani Airport. However, with time to spare, we asked the driver to take us to buy souvenirs at Tha Sadet Market. Tha Sadet Market, Tha Sadet Pier Market, or Indochina Market are all names used to refer to the large market along the Mekong River in Nong Khai Municipality.

Along the Mekong River

Drag and drop this image.

This trip was so much fun, exciting and hilarious. For anyone interested in visiting Vang Vieng, I can tell you it's truly beautiful. We spent less than 5,000 baht on this trip. Most importantly, Vang Vieng is a city where you can travel alone without any worries.

......Thank you to all my fellow travelers, thank you for the friendship of the people we met, thank you for the natural beauty of Vang Vieng, which is so beautiful. I will definitely go again next time.