Vang Vieng - Views, Lagoons, Action

After a short plane ride from Hanoi to Vientiane, I took a 50 minute train ride to Vang Vieng. The brand-new train, built by the Chinese is, in all honesty, more modern than anything I have seen in Germany or the UK. Big digital displays, very clean, security like at the airport, 150km/h fast and, most importantly, on time.

After a few days just lounging and exploring town (nothing special), the sun showed up with blue skies and 30 degrees - exactly what l was waiting for. A few friends I made in the hostel and I went to swim in a blue lagoon before doing a short hike to a viewpoint that had a Pegasus and an airplane up there.

The next day, a few people at the hostel and I went tubing down the river with drinks, stopping at a bar to have a little party and restock for the final part of tubing. That was fun.

The following day, it was time to go paragliding with a motor attached at the back. I was strapped into the seat and the 'pilot' took off at 5pm for what was a short but amazing 15 minute flight over Vang Vieng. It felt a bit wobbly up there, which definitely pumped some adrenaline through my veins. This, paired with a beautiful view of the town, a sun that was starting to set and rising hot air balloons was simply an incredible experience.

The day after, we hired a scooter and drove to Blue Lagoon 4. There, we lounged in the sun and floating tubes. We also took advantage of the small zipline and swing with which we jumped into the water. In the afternoon, I went to do a sunset hike by myself to a viewpoint that had a Buggy up there. The views of the surrounding mountains were stunning and I had the entire viewpoint all to myself - the definition of a hidden gem.

On the last day, the two of us rose up early in the morning to do Vang Vieng's most famous hike up, the Nam Xay viewpoint, which has two motorcycles on top of it. Getting up there for sunrise was the right decision. The view might have been one of the most beautiful I have seen in my life. The sun peeking out behind the mountain, the colourful hot air balloons rising in the distance, the fog lingering on the ground - and me on the motorcycle. It was spectacular.

Then it was time to leave Vang Vieng. What I will remember about this place - next to the amazing viewpoints and paramotor - was that I had time to reflect on my travel I had done so far and what is still to come. l felt filled with a sense of adventure, of looking forward to what is next, the taste of freedom and the excitement to hit the open road again to explore more of this beautiful world. It very consciously felt like travelling, like going on that big adventure that i have dreamed about for years. Like happiness.Read more