Vang Vieng

Another day another bus journey. This time we were picked up from our guesthouse and soon found ourselves with two other Aussies being driven to the bus station. We were deposited beside a similar bus we arrived in but this one was empty. Thanking our lucky stars we picked the best seats and waited for the locals or other tourists to arrive. But instead at the designated time of departure we were told that bus was cancelled and we had to catch the ‪11am‬ yellow bus which was a crap heap.

Tim calmly told the conductor that the only reason this bus was cancelled was because it wasn’t full and that was not acceptable nor fair and we wanted our money back. So a minute later we were put on the bus and the driver drove out of the station. Thinking that was far far too easy we were not counting our chickens yet, which was all well and good as our driver was going about 20kms an hour constantly on his phone. 5 mins later we pull over and he disappears. Soon a mini bus pulls up full of tourists and we are told to get in. Luckily there were 4 spare seats and the mini bus was a luxury one with plush seats and aircon. We took that as a win over the ‪11am‬ yellow bus they wanted us to catch and within 4 hours were at Vang Vieng.

Vang Vieng was once known as a seedy backpacker haven where gap year students came to float down the river on tubes stopping at riverside pubs along to get drunk and high. Unfortunately this lead to a multitude of drownings and the government shut down all the unlicensed venues and since then the place has been trying to reinvent itself as a quiet riverside adventure tourism hub. Upon arrival the town still looked as if it was a backpacker haven with its ramshackle buildings and cheap sandwich sellers lining the streets. We had decided on a bit of luxury for this stay and had booked a place a little out of town with a pool. It was beautiful with views of rice paddies and mountains from our balcony.

Although we had the rest of the day to explore I was not feeling so great so we sat back and enjoyed the pool and went out for a pizza at night.

The next day I was feeling a little better so we decided on hiring a scooter and driving to a few of the sights. The first one being a waterfall about 6 kms out of town. The whole 6kms was down a dirt potholed road so I think it took us about half an hour to get there. But the drive was worth it as the waterfall was beautiful as was the walk through the thick jungle. This waterfall is not on the tour circuit so there were only a handful of people and we managed to get a little swimming hole all to ourselves. We kind of felt a little bit like we were in the Blue Lagoon, minus the nudity.

We drove home and went for a drive around the town and were trying to get a photo of the river and the mountains and found ourselves outside a cave entrance. So we paid our fee and went inside. The cave was far bigger than we thought it was going to be and the stagalites very impressive.

By this stage we were starving so stopped off at one of the many sandwich sellers on the street and took it home as the clouds were thundering in. We literally walked under cover and it started to rain. For once it was great timing.

We headed back into town for dinner and were actually really surprised as to how quiet it was. We walked around trying to find a busy restaurant and found a Korean BBQ place full. So we decided it give it a go and it was delicious!

After Luang Prabang we were a little disappointed with Vang Vieng. It could have been that because it was off season the place wasn’t at its best but we just felt it was a bit blah. It is caught between the hedonistic scene of the past and its relaxed paradise future. The scenery is very beautiful but the town needs a lot of work.S