Vang Vieng

limestone cliffs over Vang Vieng

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...I have had so many adventures and have so much to write about, including 2 countries and one festival! But it will all be coming every couple of days now that I am back in Ayutthaya and have reliable internet connection!
We'll start where I left off...in Laos. After Hanoi we took a 30 hour bus ride to Vientiane, Laos. I am not going to write about Vientiane because I did not really like it that much and didn't really see or do anything that spectacular. So I'll go to my next destination, which was beautiful Vang Vieng, Laos

climbing "lambstone" cliffs

Vang Vieng wasn’t even going to be a stop on our trip, but I’m glad we made it. It’s known as a party town, and still has that vibe, though it has really mellowed out since its main attraction, tubing and bar hopping down the river, basically been shut down since so many people died on the river. Even though the backpacking party vibe still exists in the tiny town, it is absolutely gorgeous and has other activities. We were only in Vang Vieng one full day, but I was totally fine with it since I made the most of my stay.

I decided to go rock climbing on the lime stone cliffs (lambstone to the locals who have a hard time saying lime) that surround the area in the morning. Though I turned out to be terrible, I really enjoyed it and will definitely do it again. I was the only one out of the 5 people in my group that did the half day, but there is no way I could have done the whole day since my body got so exhausted. On my way out of the rock climbing area, which was surrounded by tall lime stone cliffs and a river that had to be crossed by a small, rickety boat that the driver only used bamboo to paddle, I stepped onto a bank and was suddenly surrounded by orange and white butterflies that had been resting there. It was very magical, with the butterflies flying all around me and the limestone cliffs just beyond, I couldn’t help but realize how very special Laos is. 

butterflies

After rock climbing, Kate and I headed to town to do what the town is famous for: tubing down the river. Vang Vieng has long been a stop on the Laos backpacker trail because of its beautiful scenery and huge party scene, which involves tubing down the river and stopping off at bars along the way and getting absolutely trashed. A few months ago almost all of the bars were closed down because so many people were dying or getting injured. Kate and I didn't go to party, but to enjoy the scenery and the beautiful, hot day (no, really! we didn't go to one bar). It's really easy to rent a tube in town, and then the rental place will drive you about 4 km upriver, and then you float back down.

tubing down the Vang Vieng River

About 5 minutes into our float we saw what had once been two opposing banks filled with bars. The steps up to the bars were steep and uneven, and I can’t even imagine attempting to stop at one of these and get out sober, let alone drunk. Lao people had replaced the bars, staring down at us skeptically as we floated down the river.

We enjoyed floating down the river peacefully, except when we had to try to get of the way of kayakers or children who splashed us as wel passed, or try not to get scratched by the rapids that were just a bit too shallow (I didn't get scratched, but I did get stuck).

Overall, Vang Vieng is a nice, lazy stop to make in Laos with incredible scenery.