Vang Vieng (Vang Vieng)

Member Name: sun-is-shining

Product:	Vang Vieng
Date:	26/05/09 (6 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nature, Party and good TV :-)

Disadvantages: Not the best place to be/stay alone

Vang Vieng - the Ibiza of Laos.
You hear a lot about it from fellow travellers; loud, expensive, no curfew, only drinking and tubing. My expectations were not so high after the 5 hour Minibus ride (100000 kip) when we reached a rather quiet town - but this town has one of the most stunning views I've ever seen. Vang Vieng is surrounded by high limestone mountains, a crystal clear river and lots of rice paddies. And soon you'll discover that there's a lot more to do apart from tubing: caving, rock climbing, kayaking or - our favorite evening choice - having a Pizza in one of the many "Friends" restaurants.
Yes, you heard right, from morning till evening Monica, Chandler and Joey on TV - well, if this is not heaven?!
The next day was exercise pure, first a long walk to the Borkeo Cave (just follow the white flags through the rice paddies) and then some walking that felt more like rock climbing. The 4 caves are more or less only holes in the wall but the climb up there was great!
The climb to the second cave, the Phadeng Goldjar Cave, was a bit more challenging but it was definitely worth it. You can rent torches at the entrance (be prepared to pay everywhere 10000 kip cave-fee). In rainy season it must be really muddy in the caves and you see the hands imprint of many, many visitors on the walls. You can see mine of course too :-)
The third day was booked for the "Blue Lagoon Cave" but somehow we missed it and went instead to the Lusi Cave, not so famous but this cave is a real adventure. You have to hire a giude and then climb up over bamboo ladders to a really massive cave. It's really amazing, pitch black of course and a guide that says all the time "Watch out, big hole" or "really slippery" gives you a real Indiana Jones feeling.
After crawling trough a narrow tunnel you reach a inside lagoon. Sadly you cannot swim there but the sight, the sounds and just everything is so overwhelmingly beautiful!

If you asked yourself what this mysterious tubing is, well, you pay a lot of money to do down a river in a big rubber tube. So what's the big deal about it? Well, of course the many bars that lining both sides of the river. You can have your first Mojito before your feet are even wet! And even when you are already in your tube it takes 30 seconds till the guys from the first bar throw lines towards you and help you in. A sundeck with loud music, lots of people dancing and drinking and of course the 10m high swing.
And so it goes on for the next km or so till you reach the last bar and the question is 'stop here and take a TukTuk home or tube down all the way'. The ride is beautiful but it gets quite cold after 4pm and paddling for 1 hour due to the weak current is really exhausting.
Well, it took us 7 hours from renting the tube to reaching Vang Vieng again but it was great and you should definitely not miss the tubing!

Summary: great for a few days