There were a couple things we wanted to do and see in Vang Vieng. Namely, the Water Cave and Blue Lagoon. We scoped out a package tour deal, one where we thought was good value for the price, and booked through our lodging ( Vang Vieng Freedom Hostel. ) Their shop is literally across the street, so at 9am we went there. We were off soon in the tuk-tuk, driving through the bumpy roads until we reached our first stop. I had forgotten this was part of the tour, honestly, but we saw the elephant cave. Named because of a rock that looks like, well... an elephant, this cave is tiny and not necessarily worth checking out in my opinion. Shrugging it off, we walked 15min down a dirt path to the water cave. Now, I thought, who the heck tubes through a cave? Seems kind of random, huh? After plopping our hienies down in the inner tube (in the freezing cold water), we flicked on our headlamps, grabbed a hold of the rope, and entered the depths of the cave. Wow! That was actually super cool. The cave was huge! You could look around and see the impressive rocks and everything. There were quite a bit of tours entering and exiting around the same time, so it was a little cramped- not really a big deal though. After that, we climbed in the back of the tuk-tuk and hit the road. We made a pit stop where we ate some chicken and rice down by the river. Decent food, amazing scenery, great vibes. We then split up into different groups. Since we signed up for the kayaking, that's what we did. There must've been like 30 people doing the same thing. It was crazy packed. Before taking off, a guide gave us a safety brief that was honestly monotonous and way too long. But i can see the necessity for first-time kayakers. Either way, it was a bit too much talking for us. When we set off, we were immediately told to slow down. We couldn't go faster than the guides, who couldn't go too far ahead of the group of kayakers (who were barely moving.) I don't understand why you'd sign up for a kayak tour and not kayak, and just sit there and do nothing. We wanted to move, break a sweat, explore; our efforts were shut down. We just gave up paddling, drifting with the current. Right when we started, we were done, parking the kayaks on the shore and being shuffled into the tuk-tuk again and off to the blue lagoon. When we arrived to the Blue Lagoon #2, it was almost comical. A small area of water (that certainly is blue) , with a tree to jump off of and a rope swing. The pictures we saw made this place look big and grandiose when in reality it was super small. Only a couple people were swimming and tons of other people were sitting around watching, which was a very strange environment. I jumped off the tree, dried off, and sat at the cafe across from the lagoon for an hour waiting for the tour to finish. Our driver said 4:30pm, and we got to the tuk-tuk at 4:00pm. Everyone was already crammed inside and waiting for us, which was fine because we were ready to leave early as well. Now, this whole city is built around tourism. Several companies offer similar tours and group packages, so there's a lot to organize in terms of transportation , payments, making sure people are at appropriate places at the right time, etc. I give TCK a thumbs up for great orchestration of events and tour bundles. Not a huge fan of tours, or tour agencies, but these guys nailed it. We saw everything we wanted to see, for around $15 USD. A whole day exploring Vang Vieng, now, you can't beat that. If you're looking for a tour agency in Vang Vieng, give these guys a holler!…