Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
In a word Vang Vieng was epic!! Though we both need new livers...
The bus ride from Luang Prabang (advised 5 hours though naturally was 8!) turned out to be incredibly scenic and interesting. We passed through many small villages along the way, and the scenery was stunning with oddly shaped rock formations/mountains...During this journey it became most obvious that Laos is an incredibly poor country yet the people remain very happy indeed. We had been advised that the trip would be somewhat suicidal (as others had done it previously and had been literally screaming at the bus driver due to speed/ passing other vehicles on blind corners/ foggy conditions/ steep drop-offs from the road given that we are driving through high altitude...you get my gist!) though we felt very safe with our driver haha (despite being 14 people packed into a mini van with all our luggage almost falling off the roof!).
On arrival in Vang Vieng we headed straight to the Babylon Guest House (this had been one of the only reservations we had made for this entire trip) which turned out to be great (free pool/ internet/ dvds) although the owner nick was the most abnoxious, rude person we had ever come across (he tended to kick people out left right and centre and he was always racist/sexist and drunk) so we tried hard to avoid him during the 8 nights of our stay. In addition he insisted on us paying more than what we had booked for online, otherwise we had to get out (yes that rude). Given that the town was virtually booked out for new years we negotiated a price (he came down a little whereas we came up alot, furthermore he tried to tell us that the currency exchange was 25% higher than what it really was - so yes we paid for that extra as well haha). Nonetheless despite Nick we had an awesome awesome time, so here goes...
Having done a fair amount of research on this town and the tubing experience it offers (youtube!) as well as word of mouth from so many other travellers we still weren't quite prepared for how awesome the town would be. Ingo and Andy had already been here for 3 days when we arrived so they took us under their wing. They were going to leave the next day but then decided to stay with us for new years and another entire week!! So we had a crew again!! That evening as we ate our first meal, tuk tuks would pile into town crammed with people covered in paint, fluoros, mud and pens as well as being very rowdy. And on the roof of these tuk tuks would be tubes (car tyres) virtually falling off....these people were returning from a day of tubing and were clearly loving it...
For those of you who don't know, tubing is where you hire a tube for a day and basically float down a very scenic river and along the way there are bars where kids throw you a line and pull you in along with a free shot of 'Lao Lao' whisky (this stuff was nasty!). Having a tube is not mandatory as you can easily swim from bar to bar as well which is what we did once (though our feet were cut up on the rocks). At each bar there is either a massive rope swing or slide or zip line/flying fox or massive mud pools...and each of them tends to get more and more extreme as you float down. All bars have music pounding and they generally also have bomb fires, volley ball nets etc. The accident rate is high and it is even higher when you add alcohol into the mix!! one thing is for sure and that's none of the rickity constructions would pass any safety regulation back home....but that is what makes it all so much fun!! And yes if you're asking Nicky went on the massive swing (which most people chicken out of) whereas Aza didn't (although he did a couple of impressive high-speed back flips on the zip line when you hit the stopper...)!
Back in town the streets are lined with 'friends' bars (or 'family guy' or 'simpsons''...) where people tend to spend time recovering from hangovers/ tubing/ injuries (many!): basically the bars consist of loungers where episodes of 'friends' are on endless repeat over and over....initially we didn't want to be sucked in and turn into one of the zombies (as all of these places have special 'happy' menus on the side as well) but when we needed time to rest these places were very inviting and it was so easy to think "just one more episode and then I'll leave...".
The surrounding countryside was absolutely beautiful as well - it was full of amazing caves most of which had turquoise blue lagoons which we so incredibly peaceful and relaxing to swim in. On days when we weren't tubing we would hire motor bikes and would head out exploring. Some caves were massive and the most incredible we had ever seen. However most of them required a steep climb which wasn't easy in sandles!! Furthermore torches are mandatory (we only had 1 between 4 of us) and we were so lucky not to have fallen into holes or slip on the slippery surfaces...furthermore we could have easily become lost! Most caves hire out guides and we assumed we wouldn't need one...Some caves were so crazily dangerous that we pulled out very early on into the exploration...But it all added to the beauty of the place. There was also heaps of rock climbing, cayaking and other outdoor activities to be enjoyed....!
And the nightlife didn't disappoint either...the place was teaming with bars which each tried to out-do eachother both in music volume and drink specials. Out on the river there is a small island where the highest concentration of bars are located. They all have bombfires, hammocks and dancing platforms...for example bars aptly named "rock bar" (playing rock music) "bucket bar" (only selling buckets) the "aussie bar" (playing only aussie music) " the "smile bar" (where everyone ended up at the end of the night and where we counted down the new years!)....etc. Naturally the cheapest buckets could be found at the "Bucket bar" for the equivalent of $2NZ!! Each bucket would contain close to half a bottle of local Lao Lao whisky as well as asian red bull (M 150 - this stuff is dangerous) and a small amount of mixer. On new years eve these were half price...and we got a free T-shirt. By the end of the week Aza and I had 7 Tshirts between us...
Actually we spent so much time at the bucket bar that the staff desparately tried to offer Aza and I work....spending the day on the river tubing writing "bucket bar" on peoples arms in exchange for free accommodation, free food, free drinks, free motor bike rentals, and they even tried to bribe us with free weed (and probably 'girls' for Aza if we hadn't been a couple)! At the time we eagerly agreed though upon waking up the next morning we figured we couldn't manage tubing EVERYDAY (and we wanted to head out to the caves) and so we let the offer pass...Despite that everytime we turned up they kept offering us free drinks and beer bongs (our beer bong abilities were probably what made them offer us the job in the first place, as beer sales tended to go up 400% every time we got the beer bong out)!! Furthermore we didn't accept the offer as we didn't quite trust the staff 100% (word of mouth on the island) nor did we want to get involved in the drug scene...Despite that everyone thought we were crazy in turning the offer down! Maybe yes, though perhaps if were had been staying in Vang Vieng a lot longer it could be cool to find work at a more reputable bar...
SO other than drinking (most days/nights) tubing (2 and a half days) caving (2 days) counting our new numerous bruises and recovering (1 and a half days) we spent the rest of our time getting amazing massages (approx NZ$6 for 45mins) playing pool and watching dvds. Oh and the food in the town was amazing too - there were stands everywhere selling fruit shakes, pancakes, baguettes, and the most amazing fried chicken. Some places even had real cheese (a real novelty here haha)!!
SO yes, this place is a serious party town that is spred through the traveller's word of mouth...Apparently it is constantly changing (we met people who had been tubing last year and all of the river bars are new with the old ones gone and the swings now even more crazy). Some people say you either love the place of hate it. Evidently we loved it (though our bodies hated it!) and although we didn't want to leave (we stayed 2 nights longer than planned) it is probably a good thing that we did...so we had arrived on friday the 26th December 08 and we left the following saturday the 3rd January 09...HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!
And apologies for the delay in writing this...!
- comments