Slowing down in Vang Vieng

Unlike Vientienne, Vang Vieng is a place to return to. The locals and the landscape charm you instantly, and the easy going vibes are contagious. Being a very laid back town, it makes for an ideal place to stop and rest. And we have so far, for 9 days!

The small town seems to be set up with drug use in mind. Pretty much all the cafes/restaurants/bars/convenience stores, as well as selling really cheap alcohol (long neck beers for $1 and the same sized bottle of Lao whiskey for 80c) openly sell pot, opium, and mushrooms. A popular drink is the big bucket of fun ($2.50), which combines a third to a half bottle of whiskey with a bottle of red bull and a bottle of cola. The drugs are unashamedly on the menu, and the décor allows for lying down and TV viewing. It’s strange to walk down the one main street in town and, on either side of you, see people positioned horizontally transfixed by an episode of Friends or a Hollywood movie. Its surprising to find such overt drug use in such a beautiful place – you’d expect that somewhere else that was really dull, wouldn’t you?

With the friendly people, natural beauty and fun activities, Vang Vieng doesn’t need to offer the drugs. There are caves to be explored, clear water lagoons to swim in, and most everyone who visits goes tubing down the Nam Song at least once! We went tubing twice. “Tubing” is where you get in a tuk-tuk that takes you and your tractor tyre tube a few kms up the river and drops you off. You get on the tyre and float down the river, stopping periodically at bars that are set up along the way (where the bar owner comes to the bank to pull you in using a long bamboo pole), so as to try out the flying foxes and giant swings!

We stayed at a wonderful place run by a Laotian/NZ couple, Neil and Pan. They were superb hosts and while we stayed, Neil’s sons Seth and Eli, Eli’s girlfriend Kat and their friend, Jacyn opened up a bar/restaurant – Jeska’s – out the back of the guesthouse.

SEE PHOTOS AT http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q164/erinfearn/SE%20Asia/Vang%20Vieng/?start=all

It has proven hard to leave Vang Vieng, but we plan to tomorrow... we think.