Everyone Grab A Tube

Trip Start Nov 01, 2009
1
6
20
Trip End Jul 01, 2010


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Where I stayed
Tony Hotel
(Vang Vieng hotels)

Flag of Lao Peoples Dem Rep  ,
Saturday, November 14, 2009

The way down from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng was as pituresque as it was bumpy. With rolling mountains covered in trees it made for gorgeous views as we travelled, but unfortunately tunnels have not yet made it as far as Laos, meaning it was a very undirect route and quite unsettling on the stomach. When we reached the bus stop in Vang Vieng six hours later, it felt like the arse-end of nowhere, and with the squelching heat bearing down on us we were unsure that we had taken the right bus... There wasn't a fellow tuber in sight. However, when the next mini bus rocked up we were reassured by the rest of our crew jumping out that we had indeed made it to the right place. Finding a place to sleep 16 tired travellers was a challenge (breaking up the crew was out of the question), but a passer-by invited us to follow him, promising beds and warm showers for all. The walk seemed to last a fair while and in the heat it was not the most pleasant of journeys, but Team A remained in high spirits and we marched on to find 'Tony's', a large and rather disshevelled hotel with more than enough rooms that would house us all 'Team A' do dinner
'Team A' do dinner
 . So we took a couple hours out to shower and settle in before heading out for a meal in the evening - another challenge finding a restaurant with a big enough table! The food arrived randomly over the space of an hour, but in this time we happily chatted to people we knew less than others which made it a worthwhile wait. After our meal we wondered down the street in search of some entertainment and were drawn to what looked like the only nightlife in the entire town, the 'Q Bar'! The Western tunes were blasting out into the night and the place turned into a complete sweat box, with drinks flowing and war-painted blokes going crazy eveywhere. But with the knowledge that the following day of tubing was without a doubt going to be a messy one, we called it a night at around midnight in preparation for our next upcoming shenanigans.

To anyone who is thinking of going to Laos to do tubing, don't think about it, DO IT! We honestly had the best day ever! Ken and I decided that, as we only had one day in Vang Vieng, we really wanted to make the most of it. So, instead of waiting patiently for our friends to wake up peacefully, we did the rounds banging on doors and shouting at them to get their arses out of bed so we could get started. Eventually, after breakfast, we grabbed a tuk tuk to the river which is where our day of fun began! Hiring a tube (a rubber ring) cost 100,000 kip (about 8 pounds 50) with the guarantee that if we returned them before 6pm (unlikely) we would receive over half of it back A pink bucket
A pink bucket
 . We didn't really know what to expect from the experience of tubing, but found out it goes something like this: arrive at bar 1, receive a free shot, swing from the massively high tree swing into the river (really scary!), drink more, jump into your tube and float for approximately 7 seconds until you reach bar 2, receive a free shot, play drinking games and win buckets of samsong (whiskey and red bull), get covered in war paint (unescapable), dance, drink more, swing more, jump into tube and float for another few seconds to bar 3, dance more, drink more, swing more... and from here it becomes a bit blurry. But that's the general idea! If you were to stay on your tube and float all the way down the river without stopping the journey takes between 1 and 2 hours. We definitely didn't make it back before 6pm. Bothered. The whole day was amazing, and wouldn't have been half as much fun without the gang there enjoying it with us. (The sun, river and mountains helped too...)

It actually turned out to be a wise decision staying in Vang Vieng for just a day, firstly because we couldn't have coped with another day of tubing, and secondly because it would never have beaten today anyway! We had already booked our bus from Vang Vieng to Bangkok for 1pm the following day, and when this time came we said our sad farewells to Team A after retrieving everyone's facebook details. The bus stopped off at Vientiane first, then Nong Khai (the 'Friendship Bridge' on the Loas/Thailand border) where our visas were very annoyingly shortened from our original date by a few days, meaning that we can now only stay in Thailand until November 29th rather than December 1st fun nights
fun nights
 . Might have to look at extending... We arrived in Bangkok at about 5:30am after a FREEZING COLD (over air-conditioned) journey, and had to wait for our flight to Phuket for hours, as it wasn't until 11:50am. But we've discovered now that a lot of travelling comes with a lot of waiting.

On reflection we are so pleased we decided to visit Loas, and our only regret is that we couldn't have stayed longer. But we're really looking forward to out next destination in the south of Thailand: Phuket! Time for some relaxing on the beach... :)

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