Today Janus and I hiked Big Pha Ngern Trail in Vang Vieng. The trail was 4 miles long with steep elevation. We had some unforgettable views!

Hiking Big Pha Ngern Trail

I was really excited to hike this trail since it has a stunning viewpoint and has terrain that I’ve never seen before. It was a rocky trail with much overhead shade. Regardless of the shade, I was sweating bullets.

We climbed a lot of steep stairs with rope “handrails,” which was exciting. I especially liked climbing up the ladder on the trail. It gave me a real sense of adventure.

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

Here is one example of the rope “handrails” we used today.

It took us an hour and a half to reach the top and an hour to go down. I had to take a lot of breaks since the trail was very steep. When we reached the top, the view was dazzling.

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

Panorama of the mountains of Vang Vieng (on my right)

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

Panorama of the mountains of Vang Vieng (on my left)

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

So proud of myself for making it to the top!

Exhaustion Sets in

After we made it down the mountain, we all met up for dinner. I had Margherita pizza since I am trying not to burn out on Lao food (even though it’s delicious). I will be in Laos for 11 months total, after all.

Courtesy of Guerra, C. (2023)

We stopped at this viewpoint after dinner and took a group photo. In order: Max, Hannah, me, Janus, and Christina P.

I was hot and tired after being outside in the heat for most of the day. I’m sure that I will sleep well tonight.

Night Market

We went to the Night Market tonight just to see how it was. We all bought matching Beer Lao t-shirts. (I don’t drink beer since I don’t like carbonation, but I was all for matching group t-shirts.) Max and Janus got shirts with short sleeves. Hannah, Christina P., and I got muscle shirts to wear to Zumba and the gym. I got mine in burnt orange! (Hook ‘em horns!)

I definitely had my daily serving of adventure today! (And I will be very sore tomorrow.)