Vang Vieng!
Trip Start
Aug 07, 2008
1
37
79
Trip End
Ongoing
Vang Vieng,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Sunday, October 26, 2008
What can I say about Vang Vieng? We went there expecting it to be a total party city and it could be and actually is one, but we got to experience it in a way different than what we expected. We arrived there in the afternoon, found a place to stay, walked around the town (which was very small) and decided to do the infamous tubing the next day. Like I mentioned, we didn't expect much before we got there and we were very pleasantly surprised. First off, the scenery is stunning to say the least....probably one of the best we've seen so far. Everything is so green, untouched, lush and just simply amazing. *on a side note: Laos has got to be one of my favorite countries so far. One reason is for the scenery, another the culture and the people, another how they really try and preserve their culture and landscapes despite tourism starting to pick up here, and lastly they really try to help out the local people in terms of different trades to survive without having to go out and beg. This country is full of different organizations that enable the people here. They can't and don't come in and try to teach them the western ways, but teach them trades and skills that will help them in their country. It is so refreshing to see something like that when all we've seen are parents sending their kids out to beg for money and food, which could lead to a whole other can of worms so I will stop here.*
So back to Vang Vieng: Day 1 we just walked around town to a slew of cafes playing reruns of Friends, The Family Guy and other movies. We kept saying to eachother...where are we?!?! It is such a bizarre little city. Everything is SO laid back...you can't even tell that most of the cafes had people in them since everyone is just laying down watching reruns of Friends! We took part in the laying down and watching reruns of Friends, had dinner and called it a night.
Day 2 We actually did what most of the backpackers come here to do....Tubing. Let me see if I could explain what its like....You get dropped off at the Organic Farm (great Mulberry Pancakes and another cool Charity in Laos) have a drink to support the education of the kids and begin floating down the river. Down the river are about 10-12 different bars with different "activities" that you can stop off at. The first bar had a swing...about 50 feet off the ground where you go and release whenever you want into the river. People were doing flips, but we weren't that daring. The swings, ziplines and slides along the way were all actually A LOT of fun. We were basically in a lawless land...most of the swings were atleast 30-40 feet above the water, there were no safety elements put in place, no rules, regulations..nada. Just do whatever you want, however you want. It lead to a pretty fun day of jumping off swings, doing the ziplines and watching people land flat on their belly or butts! Since there are no rules....and a lot of people have a little too much to drink, it leads to a lot of accidents. All around town, you see people bandaged up, on crutches, in slings, etc. We had a lot of fun just doing the activities and meeting a lot of cool people, once again. We went to Vang Vieng not really looking forward to the tubing but ended up thoroughly enjoying it! While floating down the river you get to see one of the most amazing landscapes as well! Byoung kept saying that if we had this kind of scenery back home that they would automatically turn it into a national park! Well said husband! =)
Day 3 We kept it pretty chill by renting bicyles and just roaming around the countryside. We ended up going to a cave and lagoon about 15k south of the city, which is not THAT far, but the roads were extremely bumpy, muddy and rocky! Let's just say that I had a very sore bum after that day. We were pretty tired after a day of tubing and then riding bikes so relaxing at a cafe watching Zohan was the perfect way to end it!
Day 4 Of course we had to rent motorbikes to really see more of the town. So that is exactly what we did. We headed north this time to some more caves but got a little side tracked when we had to help some locals get their car out of the river. It ended up being a really nice and relaxing day of seeing more of the outskirts of town.
Day 5...we initially planned on kayaking down to Vientiene but the company came to our guesthouse and cancelled at the last minute. We were actually pretty bummed, but there was nothing really we could do. So we hopped onto a rickety old bus and headed down to the capital.
All in all...we ended up enjoying Vang Vieng for what it was. Great activities, good movies and fantastic scenery!
Comments
hi
glad you guys are having fun! 50 feet is scary! must have been like bungee jumping.
hehe.. Eunice's 5 days worth of entries is equivalent to Byoung's 1 day.