With a free day given to us to spend in Vang Vieng, I decided it would be cool to kayak since I've never done it before. There was a package deal that also included exploring a cave for about $30. I went with one of my travel mates and the 2 of us got picked up by a truck. The road to the beginning of the trek was a little bumpy...I ended up hitting my head a few times on the roof of the cabin...this should have been a warning sign of things to come.
I should mention I don't have a clue how to swim. Our guide assured us that it wasn't going to be a problem since the Sam Song river is not that deep. I ended up putting on a life vest anyway just in case. We boarded a two man kayak and began our trip down the river. It was pretty calm so I wasn't worried anything happening. I brought my camera and placed it inside a waterproof bag so I could still take pictures and not worry about getting it wet. A few minutes into the trip, we start hitting a few rough waters but nothing too bad.
About 20 minutes into our adventure, we hit some rapids that were a little stronger than I was expecting. I had Morgan take pictures of me as I was in the front of the kayak stroking away with the paddle. Neither one of us realized we were getting too close to the river bank. Before we knew it, we were rapidly trying to avoid some low hanging stems and leaves. I leaned to the left a bit to in an effort the avoid being hit in the face. That's when it happened...apparently I leaned to much and tipped the kayak over. Morgan and I went overboard. The first thought that crossed my mind was how stupid of me to put so much weight on the left side of the kayak. My second thought was I hoped the guide was correct and the river wouldn't be too deep where I could drown. Fortunately, the river was maybe 4 or 5 feet deep. I was able to get back onto my feet even though the current was trying to push me down the river. Morgan was alright as well, she just struggled a bit to hold her ground. I checked myself and I still had my sunglasses as well as my wallet in a plastic bag around my neck. Morgan placed my camera around her neck just moments before we both went over. Had she not done that, I probably would have kissed my camera goodbye. The guide came over and helped us get back onto the kayak and we continued moving. We were both soaken wet and joked about the situation. I'm glad neither one of us got hurt.
About another 30 minutes or so went by before we reached the pathway for the cave. I expected it to be a typical cave like I seen dozens of times in the states. I figured it would just be a huge opening somewhere with some cool formations. Boy was I in for a surprise. We trekked through some bush before we met the entrance to the cave. There was a stream of water flowing into the cave. At first I didn't think it was a big deal. Then I saw the guide walk deeper and deeper into the cave. At the same time, the water level went from just barely covering our feet to reaching right below our shoulders. I could barely keep my head above water as we went in deeper. I started to worry a bit that I would not being able to continue. I had to walk barefooted since trying to grip the ground with sandles was the same as walking on a wooden floor with your sock on. The cave kept getting darker and darker as well. The guide offered us a couple of candles each to use. I would think a flashlight would have been better but what do I know. We finally reached a point where we climbed out of the water and onto somewhat solid dry mud. The cave was completely untouched and there was clearly no regard for safety. At any moment, anyone could easily slip and down the side of one of the many edges of the cave. There were many rocks we had to climb over, holes we had to avoid, and ceilings we had to duck under. At one point, we had to climb down into another section of this enormous place. It seemed like it was never ending. The ground was made up of mud and we needed to be careful since one false step and you were pretty much done for if you fell off. Well of course I slipped.
I slid down a few feet before I was able to get some grip off the soft mud. The flip flops I brought with me were definitely not the right foot gear for the cave. I wish they would have explained this beforehand so I could have bought the appropriate footware. We approched a section of the cave where we only had about 3 feet of clearing space between the celing and the ground. Around this time, my candle went out as it had been dripping hot wax on my fingers. It was either hold onto the candle and endure the burning or have no light and not know how to get out. We continued down the mouth of this place until I finally see a gleam of light at a distance. There was a ladder made of rotten tree trunks and nails. It didn't look safe at all to climb up but hey, I made it this far so what more did I have to lose? As the guide started to go up, the first trunk broke off and he almost fell. All that was left was some rusted nails. The second step was about 4 feet off the ground. I had to cling onto the side of the ladder, using the rock wall to hoist myself up. We finally made it out the cave! Was this the end? Of course not.
As we made our way back to the kayak, we had to hike through the jungle. Some of the grass came up all the way to our waists. There were tons of bugs all over the place. Some really beautiful ones and some that you would only imagine in your nightmares. We came to a crossing that left me thinking I was Indiana Jones throughout this whole thing. It was basically a tree trunk that was placed over a stream. The crossing was about 15 feet across and we were about 10 feet above the ground. The only thing we had to balance ourselves was a thin pole that ran across as well. It wasn't very secure as I could tell when I grabbed onto it. At one point I thought the thing was going to fall off as I crossed. Definitely not safe, definitely not secure, but this is Laos, this is how things are done here. We finally made it back to our kayak and continued for about another 30 minutes before we reached our destination. The whole trip was about 8km down the river.
I have to say this has been one of the most adventurous days of my life. Did I enjoy it? Of course! Would I do it again? Hell no!
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