Laos- Vientiane to lazy river tubing in Vang Vieng
Trip Start
Mar 01, 2008
1
17
24
Trip End
Sep 2008
Vang Vieng,
Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Monday, August 11, 2008
Lao air
. In the morning we took a bus to Vang Vieng, and though the drive was mainly scenic of trees and mountains, we drove through many small villages with shacks made out of bamboo for housing. I had never really seen people living in such small quarters, living so basic. I've seen it in magazines, or TV, but seeing first hand people living with nothing made me appreciate the life in America I come from, especially when I feel 'poor'. Finally after hours on a bus, we arrived in Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is a little touristy town in Laos, known for it's lazy river tubing- renting a tube for the day, being dropped off at the Mekong river by a mini truck, and within a few feet of the drop off point the partying begins. There are makeshift open outdoor bars built along the river by locals, who pull tubers in by throwing out a long rope with a bamboo stick attached and roping them in, throwing the tubes to a dry spot and giving tubers a ladder or steps of sorts to get to the bar. Loud music playing, rope swings hang from the air, free shots are doled out to newcomers, and drinks are super cheap. After spending some time at one bar, you only need to float for a few more seconds before deciding which bar you want to be roped into next. This was truly a really fun, amazing experience. I really don't know if there is anywhere else in the world that you can float down a river and go bar hopping simultaneously, while being surrounded by majestic mountains. The majority of the bars exist only near the beginning of the river route, though so the hour spent actually floating down the river after the bars is an interesting experience when you're tipsy and it's starting to get dark and cold...
Ray vientiane
. Regrettably we don't have photos of the river bar experience, as we didn't want to ruin the camera getting it wet, but we do have photos of the town which show the ambience of the area. All of the restaurants are open air 'TV bars'- raised platforms with the pillow seating playing 'Friends' or 'Family Guy'. Usually our choice of where to eat breakfast or dinner had more to do with what was playing on TV, versus what was on the menu. There were only a few main blocks, but was a cozy fun town. There is huge influx of a college crowd here ( I wonder why), so there were quite a few bars, also known as 'bucket bars' along the river- that would give you something like a child's sandbucket filled with alcohol for around $2-3 US, along with bonfires and huts with hammocks that would stay open pretty late. The town also has a lot of caves, though we didn't visit any. Vang Vieng is worth checking out for a few days for fun and scenery while in Southeast Asia. Next entry we go to Vietnam! 
