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Our adventure in Vang Vieng truly began on Day 2 of our Laos trip! Discover how we kicked off our 2026 journey with thrilling ziplining, kayaking, and a refreshing dip in Blue Lagoon 1. Get ready for some serious fun!
Laos Independent Travel: Day 2
Finally, our much-anticipated first day in Vang Vieng, a place famous for its activities!!!
To book our activities, we headed to HALLYS Coffee super early in the morning.
When it comes to booking activities,
you can haggle over prices and book with one of the countless tour agencies scattered around Vang Vieng's streets,
but "HALLYS COFFEE," run by a Korean owner, seemed the most organized and popular.
Right next to our accommodation was that famous HALLYS COFFEE!!
Is it the same Hollys Coffee (HOLLYS COFFEE) we're familiar with? Not sure, haha!
What's with just one letter difference in the spelling?!
Anyway, we went inside, and
the owner spoke so smoothly and persuasively~
Plus, they were incredibly kind, which really built our trust.
Since we only had today and tomorrow morning in Vang Vieng,
they informed us tubing wouldn't be possible.
We booked three activities: Zip-lining + Kayaking + Blue Lagoon 1
for 200,000 Kip per person (~$20).
We also booked a mini-van to Luang Prabang, departing at 3 PM the next day.
For reference, they mentioned that 3 PM was the last departure for vans heading to Luang Prabang,
and since we were planning to visit Secret Lagoon by buggy car the next morning, we opted for the last van!
The fare was 90,000 Kip per person (~$9).
It would have been quite exhausting if we'd left right away,
but luckily, we had some time before departure (Departure time: 9 AM),
so we headed back to our accommodation for breakfast,
and took some time to explore the neighborhood.
Oh! And since we hadn't brought any aqua shoes,
we bought a pair each to wear.
Aqua shoes, a waterproof bag, and a rash guard are absolute must-haves!!
There isn't a whole lot going on in the neighborhood,
but while wandering around and exploring... we stumbled upon a fantastic sandwich spot!
Following the advice of the HALLYS Coffee owner,
we sought out Auntie Pot, Auntie Khan, and Auntie Et, and among them,
we went straight to Auntie Pot, who was the most enthusiastic in calling out to customers! Go, go!
A menu board with Korean written on it! LOLOL
With 'Banana Egg' and... 'Wha's important now?'
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
Did they actually know what they were writing?
It's both adorable and hilarious! LOLOLOL
We ordered sandwich menu item #1: 'Beef, Bacon, Ham, Cheese, Egg, Vegetable, Garlic'.
Whoa... not only is the name super long... but the size is genuinely huge!
It's a good thing we only ordered one!!
Ta-da!
Cut in half, you can see just how generous the filling is!
While waiting for our tuk-tuk to the activities + while riding in the tuk-tuk,
we heartily munched away! LOL, super, super delicious!!
We also ordered pineapple + apple juice and Lao coffee, and they were absolutely amazing!
No photo, unfortunately. ㅠㅠ
The Lao coffee, especially! So incredibly tasty!
It had that sweet, market-style coffee flavor that totally hit the spot!
The van for our activities arrived right in front of our accommodation.
The tuk-tuk driver
wrote down the activities we were going to do on my hand, lol.
Z (Ziplining)
K (Kayaking)
B (Blue Lagoon 1)
I worried, 'What if it washes off while we're playing in the water?'
But there was no need to worry at all.
It only came off after scrubbing it with a Korean bath towel back at the accommodation, haha! ^_^ㅋ
We rode the tuk-tuk for quite a while again, along an unpaved road,
and they dropped us off at some mountain, lol.
From there, we took another truck up to where we could go ziplining.
Over mountains and through water~~ haha!
The zipline that starts all the way up there!
Here, we geared up and put on our equipment,
and even had a pretty decent explanation and practice session for the zipline outside.
Oh, and by the way,
they even lent us waterproof bags, which we used with great ease!
I'd tried ziplining once back home,
but this was my first time doing it abroad.
When I first took off, I was seriously SO nervous, LOLOLOL!
Why was I so scared?!
It's just taking the first step that's scary; once you're actually dangling and moving,
it's not scary at all! Super fun!!
It was just a shame the distance was so short. ㅠ
Oh, and the final zipline course...
...was a vertical drop.... lol...
I gave up on that one, haha!
People who actually did it said it wasn't as high as they thought
and wasn't scary, but
to me, it looked like falling from the top of a skyscraper.
LOLOLOL!
Even though I had travel insurance,
I absolutely don't do anything too risky! ^_^ㅋ
Phew, I made it back alive this time too!
Our second course: Kayaking!
It was fun, but the course was longer than I expected,
so I got incredibly tired, haha.
We kept drifting into corners and turning sideways, LOLOLOLOL!
Even climbing onto rocks, LOLOLOLOL!
But we managed to arrive safely somehow, haha.
Those heading to Blue Lagoon got off the tuk-tuk at a certain point,
where they were put onto a tuk-tuk.
But some people going on a different course weren't allowed to get off,
and were told to keep going, LOLOLOLOLOL!
They were screaming that they wanted to stop,
and it was absolutely hilarious, LOLOLOLOLOL!
Blue Lagoon saved us....!!!!!
Finally, we reached the last leg of our activities: Blue Lagoon 1!
Vang Vieng's Blue Lagoon, the place young travelers most want to visit!
It felt more like a valley in Gangwon Province than I expected,
but still, seeing it with my own eyes was simply amazing! :0
When you think of Blue Lagoon, you think of diving!
I thought I'd be able to jump in from anywhere once I got there!!!
But I'm such a chicken.
Even I just dipped my toes in the water, complained it was freezing, and got right back out!
Oh, man......
It was almost embarrassing how diligently everyone else climbed up
and then naturally, they just dived right in.
I bravely climbed up, declaring I'd jump from this lower section,
only to take a "proof shot" and then come right back down the stairs ^_^
Safety first!
After that unexpectedly chilly and surprisingly energy-sapping activity finally ended,
back at our accommodation, after changing into some fresh clothes,
we headed out to book a buggy car for the next day.
When I checked at Hollys, they quoted 450,000 Kip, which felt a bit pricey.
So, I popped over to 'Nolza Tour' next door, and
they offered 4 hours for 400,000 Kip, so I booked it!
50,000 Kip might only be about ~$5... lol
but hey, they said it was a 1300cc buggy car~~~
The Korean staff member at Nolza Tour who assisted us was incredibly kind,
making the booking a really pleasant experience.
When I asked them for dinner recommendations,
they even pulled out a map and thoroughly explained our options.
Following Nolza Tour's recommendation,
we went to Thamada Kitchen, a famous spot for Jokbal-bap (pork hock rice).
A really clean exterior for the restaurant!
Since it's run by a Korean owner,
everyone entering would greet them with "Annyeonghaseyo~" ㅋㅋ
We ordered Thai-style Jokbal-bap,
fried rice, spring rolls, stir-fried morning glory, and some Beerlao.
Everything was presented cleanly and looked quite appetizing.
The taste? Honestly, it was pretty average, lol.
It's the kind of food that, if it were sold in Korea, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to eat?
It wasn't bad, but it wasn't exceptionally tasty either.
The fried rice, though... it tasted exactly like that pre-mixed fried rice seasoning you'd use at home, you know, Bokkeumbap Rice!!
That's exactly what it tasted like. My taste buds don't lie!!!
Still, if you're traveling and find yourself getting tired of strong spices, it's definitely worth a try.
Tummies full, it was time to check out the night market.
I'd heard people say that Luang Prabang has the biggest night market, so
Vang Vieng's wasn't really worth seeing,
but maybe because I didn't have high expectations,
it wasn't as small as I thought, and there were actually quite a few interesting things to browse!
This photo I snapped while walking by really captures the vibe — I love it!
That Lao coconut bread I saw on 'Youth Over Flowers'!!
I decided to buy some from what looked like the cleanest stall, and
Oh boy~
It had an unpleasant coconut aroma, almost off-putting?
And tasted a bit stale, almost old.
Well, I guess I'll have to give it another shot next time!
You can book these activities at Hall's Coffee (HALLYS COFFEE), a tour agency run by a Korean owner on the streets of Vang Vieng. We booked the three activities – ziplining, kayaking, and Blue Lagoon 1 – for 200,000 LAK per person (approximately ~$20).
The last mini-van to Luang Prabang departs at 3 PM. The fare is 90,000 LAK per person (approximately ~$9), and we booked it at Hall's Coffee.
Yes, there is a section where you drop vertically on the last zipline course. The author gave up on that course, but those who experienced it mentioned it's not as high or scary as one might think.
Yes, Hall's Coffee quoted 450,000 LAK for a buggy car, but Nolja Tour offered it for 400,000 LAK for 4 hours, which was cheaper. The author booked a 1300cc buggy car at Nolja Tour.
At Thammada Kitchen, we ordered Thai-style pork hock rice, fried rice, spring rolls, stir-fried morning glory, and Lao beer. The taste was decent; it's not something you'd specifically seek out in Korea, but it's good when you're tired of spices.
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