Vang Vieng
Floating down the Nam Song River in Vang Vieng, Laos
Upon arriving at Vang Vieng, our second stop in Laos, we could tell that this place is a much smaller backpacker town compared to Luang Prabang.
The main thing to do here is to go tubing down the Nam Song river and bar hop along the way. This activity became popular decades ago when young and inebriated travelers would traverse down the river on floating tubes. Fast forward a few years and the river party scene got out of hand and several deaths occurred, leading the Australian government to step in. The Laos government was then obliged to clean up the tubing scene and only allow certain bars on the river to be open at one time.
Our tubing experience was far from a wild party; it was actually super relaxing. I was worried we’d be surrounded by younger and drunker people, but the only people tubing with us were three Israeli guys that seemed to be in their early to mid-twenties.
It is the dry season in Laos, meaning the river is pretty shallow at the moment and the current is tame. This meant we had to paddle our arms a bit and stand up and walk along a few shallow patches to avoid the trip lasting five hours or more. It didn’t necessarily feel dangerous to us in the dry season, but there were a lot of rocks to avoid getting scraped on. However, I could see how this place could become a death trap for a bunch of drunken young people with little safety measures taken, a stronger current, rocks below the surface, rope swings, wild bars, and other illicit substances involved.
Granted the tour was like $5 each, so we weren’t expecting much, but I’m pretty sure our guide was tipsy the whole time so we didn’t receive much guidance from him. Nevertheless, we had a nice day in the great outdoors floating amongst amazing scenery and sipping some beers.
Our systems didn’t seem to agree with the Laos cuisine very well, so we ended the day with burgers at Gary’s Irish bar watching Liverpool play.
The following day we went to Blue Lagoon 3, which is about 45 minutes outside of the main town via motorbike. We didn’t go on a tour or anything, which nine times out of ten, we prefer. This was an interesting journey riding amongst the Laos countryside and small villages. On the road there, we noticed others had rented a four-wheeled dune buggy-type thing. Since the vast majority of the drive was unpaved, if I did it again I’d probably rent one of those.
The paved roads ended pretty soon after getting out of the city.
Upon arriving at Blue Lagoon 3, we were pleasantly surprised by the green surroundings and turquoise waters that were in front of us after traveling through miles of dry and dusty land. We promptly found a shaded bungalow, stripped down to our swimsuits, and went to the zip lines (it seemed like the best way to bite the bullet and enter the refreshingly cool waters).
A great way to spend a Sunday
After a bit of swimming, we ate some lunch and napped while soaking up the beautiful afternoon. It was like clockwork that around 2 pm the seemingly hungover backpacker crowd started showing up. We were entertained for a while by a bunch of English guys doing flips and stunts off the swings/zip lines. When we got ready to head back to our hotel, we gave them our bungalow, which they graciously accepted.
Still not ready for more Southeast Asian cuisine yet, we ate dinner at a place in town called Bamboo Garden Bistro, which had a great menu full of western/European food. I got pesto pasta and Anthony had a beef steak. I swear we’re going to get back to eating at the local haunts, just still craving some western food since having a bad belly for a few days again.
I really enjoyed our adventures in Vang Vieng, but I won’t lie, both of us were ready to move on. Two days were plenty to see what we wanted to see. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still worth the trip if you are visiting Laos, but unless you’re really into nightlife, you’ll run out of things to do quite quickly.
I also think that at this point in our travels, Anthony and I are ready for a bit more stability and less moving around. We miss the ease of traveling in Thailand too! We recently booked a place for 5 weeks in Koh Lanta, so we’re excited to be in one place for a while and get some work done. We also have a kitchen, so are ready to cook some of our own meals again. We’re also going to join a gym and co-working space near our rental apartment. It’ll be a slice of normalcy for a bit, which I think we both need!