Beautiful and notorious Vang Vieng. This tiny town on the Nam Song river, wedged between luscious green mountains, has become an unlikely hedonists' destination. The town is halfway between Luang Prabang and Vientiane, and at some point in the nineties, the stopover developed a cache of its own. The reputation is that of a spaced-out bubble where tourists drink "happy" shakes and sit and watch Friends or Family Guy every day. Upon arrival in town, the first thing you notice are all the cafes showing endless reruns of the show. To me, the vibe was immediately off-putting. But outside the center of town, the wondrous views were indeed worth the trip. Here is the river, near sunset.
I took an eco-tour that involved visiting a couple caves, including one that we floated through on inner tubes. Another shot of the river.
Nice walk through a Laos farming community.
Bike ride into the countryside. This place is a great eco-tour destination, as nature surrounds the town.
I was on the fence about the "tubing experience", but after meeting a couple traveling buddies, I went for it. Tubing in the Nam Song is basically a bar crawl, where you get dropped off up-river and then lazily float down at stop at the many bars along the way. I expected much more of a hippie/burn-out feel, but when we arrived it was pure Aussie spring break. My companions were an Australian college student and a couple from Donegal, Ireland (coincidentally where my grandmother's family comes from). So we spend way too much time at the first couple bars, and didn't get very far down the river. But it was tons of fun.
I took an eco-tour that involved visiting a couple caves, including one that we floated through on inner tubes. Another shot of the river.
Nice walk through a Laos farming community.
Bike ride into the countryside. This place is a great eco-tour destination, as nature surrounds the town.
I was on the fence about the "tubing experience", but after meeting a couple traveling buddies, I went for it. Tubing in the Nam Song is basically a bar crawl, where you get dropped off up-river and then lazily float down at stop at the many bars along the way. I expected much more of a hippie/burn-out feel, but when we arrived it was pure Aussie spring break. My companions were an Australian college student and a couple from Donegal, Ireland (coincidentally where my grandmother's family comes from). So we spend way too much time at the first couple bars, and didn't get very far down the river. But it was tons of fun.
No comments:
Post a Comment