Laos is a stunning country inhabited by amazing people. With its breathtaking scenery and colonial history a stay in Laos is an essential addition to any South East Asia travel itinerary. The sleepy capital of Vientiane and the World heritage site of Luang Prabang are both well worth a visit but what will leave the most lasting impression is sure to be the backpacker debauchery that takes place in Vang Vieng.
About 6-8 hours from Luang Prabang and around 3-4 hours from Vientiane, Vang Vieng once was a mere midway point for backpackers travelling between the two popular towns. Today Vang Vieng is a legendary backpacker destination on its own. Surrounded by gorgeous limestone karst mountains Vang Vieng gained its fame as the town to go to for tubing on the Nam Song River. Vang Vieng today is mainly a backpacker town. The main street is littered with guest houses, bars, restaurants, internet cafes and tourist agencies. So how should you spend a day in Vang Vieng you ask?
Several bars and several buckets later you are likely to find yourself at one of the bars featuring a mud wrestling pit or perhaps you’ll meet Mr. Lao Lao who is always happy to pour Lao whiskey directly down your throat. All in all a day in Vang Vieng means a wonderful time for most!
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| This slide is very fast and painful |
That being said, keep in mind that tubing in Vang Vieng and the activities associated with it can be very dangerous (several people die every year, and nearly everyone leaves with an injury). Be Careful and do not get too drunk! In addition, it gets dark pretty early due to the steep surrounding mountains; make sure to get a tuk tuk at the first metal bridge if you don’t plan on tubing the entire way back to town (the bars get pretty sparse along the way).
Have Fun!
14 comments:
Fuck!! This makes me so fucking sick!!!!!!!!
I visited VV in 1993 when there were NO tourists there (well, me and one other guy). What a beautiful and pristine place it was!! Now it has been fucking RUINED by drunk asshole "backpackers"!!!
Fucking LOSERS, all of you!!!! Can't you just stay home and be assholes, instead of ruining what used to be beautiful places??
Ya, it's probably all your fault. The locals saw all the money you were throwing around back in '93 and decided to devise a way to attract more tourists.
That, and when you went home and told all your friends about how beautiful and pristine it was, word was bound to spread...
Too bad you ruined it for everyone.
I was born in Vang Vieng and now I am living in the USA. I still have a family who is living in Vang Vieng. And I haven't been back home for a while. Can someone please tell me how did the 'backpackers' ruining the town (Vang Vieng)? Were there a lot of "bacpackers" interms of a head counts how many people normally visit the place each year?
The backpackers arn't necessarily ruining the town, however I'm sure there have been some major changes. The backpackers bring in a great deal of money to the local businesses and as such much of the town now caters to tourism.
The main arguement for it 'ruining' the town is that many of the backpackers get too drunk and do stupid things.
I am not sure how many people visit Vang Vieng per year but when I was there(Nov 2009), there were hundreds of backpackers.
Thank you lA.
I understand what it means now. As far a I'm concern people can do stupid things sometimes as long as it doesn't bother other people or putting themselves and others in harms way.
And if the backpackers bring in a great deal of money to the local business I think that's a good thing. I think this will give some of the local people a chance to make some money and hopefully improve their quality of lives. It will give an economic opportunities to some of the people to get out of the poverty.
At the same time, I hope people still can keep the town healthy in terms of the environment and morale of the local people.
Which country are you from anyway? Are you planning to go back and visit Vang Vieng again anytime in the near future?
I'm from Canada. I'm going back to South-east Asia next year so there is a pretty good chance I will visit Vang Vieng again.
What is it about Vang Vieng besides its beautiful surroundings that attract the "backpackers"?
Is it also because it's cheap to vacation there? I was reading a blog from one of the backpackers the other day, he conplained that it was a ripped off to pay a tour guy for just $10. I personaly think he odd to stay home instead of traveling or vacationing.
Lots of young travellers go to South East Asia because it is very cheap compared to their home countries. I assume Vang Vieng was originally popular for the scenery but has now become renowned for the tubing.
Thank you. That's what I thought too. Well I guess people usually look for a "bbd" most of the time. "Bigger Better Deal" from the Dum and Dummer movie.
I guess almost everyting is cheap in South East Asia that is including the human labor besides intangible items. That's why a lot of companies move a lot of jobs to China easpecially here from the U.S. It's kind of sad here that a lot of people had lost their jobs mainly in the manufacturing sectors. At the same time many people in Asia are very happy that they have lots of jobs oppotunities.
what he means by ruined is not that people get drunk and do stupid things, it's that people who go are looking for products and services that have very little to do with laos as a country and thus encourage it down a path to garbage. tubing, getting fucked on booze and acting like you're some sort of high-school, come-frat-dude on vacation in costa del sol, or ibiza, or cancun, or cabo, or bangkok, or (the list goes on) does not enrich the experience for those looking to tap into what makes laos interesting, different and special, rather it sinks the quality of experience to the lowest common denominator, encourages an economy dependent on promoting humiliating, cheap thrills. how many places in the world have to turn into a fucking orgy driven by self-destructive, excessive prepubescent cunts with board-shorts and tattoos chosen out of catalogs?
I got your point. I really liked what you said in this blog. I wish you were on my speech and debate team.
However, people are different. There always will be some people that act crazy while they are vacationing especial the youn tourists.
I don't want to sound like I'm old by the way. I'm thirty years old. Not that it matters anyways. It's not about me. Let's move on.
Yes it would be nice if everyone can act properly and not getting too crazy. It would be favor to someone like you and those people who are looking to tap into what make Laos interesting, different and special.
The bad part is, and it's reality that we can't control how other people behave or act.
You said, " rather it sinks the quality of experice to the lowest common denominator, encourages an economy dependent on promoting humiliating, cheap thrills."
I don't think that's a fair accesment because I myself was borned in Vang Vieng and I know people who live there do not condone such an idea or a behavior that you have just mentioned.
To be honest, despite the bad behaviors on some of the young tourists that vacationing there, people in town are still better off than when there was no tourists.
Generation after generation, some people have live in poverty. Most of people just do farming, fishing and hunting for a living. Even if they want to send their children to college, they can't affort to do so because they simply don't have enough income to do so. Now some people can because they have the economic opportunies. And now even the inferstructer in town also has improved. All and all I think there is more good than harm and this is not just my personal opinion, I actually been there and have talked to friends and families plus other people in Vang Vieng myself back in 2006.
Hello everyone,
I haven't hear anything or any comments from anyone likely. Do people still go to Vang Vieng or what? Does anybody know what the mood is like now in Vang Vieng? The party is over or what? Or is it because a lot of people are broke and can't afford to travel now a day ?
Pleased that you liked my article , have a good time in Vang Vieng!
i was there in april. still the same old shit going on.
with such beautiful scenery, vang vieng could have being developed into a better tourist attraction more fitting of the serene image that laos project.
instead, they let it degenerate into one of the most disgusting place on earth.
disappointing.
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