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Published: October 31st 2005
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A Room With a View
View over the Karsts (limestone covered mountains) On the Drive down to Vang Vieng there was a inkling of apprehension. Although there hasn't been any attacks on transport in recent years the sight of young lads on motorbikes carrying rifles was a little disconcerting. The driver appeared to have one eye on the road an one eye on the ridges (and no - he wasn't cross eyed), another source of concern.
After six-ish hours on the non air-con bus (though it was sold as air-con) we arrived in Vang Vieng. We took the easy option and stayed in a guest house that was offered as we arrived. It was a small site on the side of the river a little way out of town - but in hindsight a bit far out. The huts were in a lovely position with a beautiful view of the 'karsts' - limestone covered hills with a unique shape resulting from erosion (see pic).
The town is one of the most unusual we've come across so far. Nowhere have we seen a town so set up for the young 'unconventional' traveller. Nearly all of the town is composed of restaurants/bars, and virtually all of these offer special pizzas, teas, and shakes with the option of selecting and watching a DVD film, or back-to-back episodes of friends.
The 'speciality' foods mentioned have the added ingredients of either marajuana, mushrooms or opium, yet despite this appearance of 'anything goes' still has the spectre of authority - as our next little story may demonstrate:
While there we met up with a group of people which we'd travelled down on the slow boat with. When we caught up with them they were already in 'high' spirits after tubing down the river - via the numerous bars - and selectively trying the local cuisine.
Later on in the evening a party was organised on a local little island which had a bonfire and bar. Now - keeping in mind the 'liberality' of the town - a couple of the group had purchased small bags of 'herb' and were were sociably enjoying. A little later we were joined by a guy who had been approached by a local and bought an even bigger bag of dried sativa - considerably bigger. This new addition made both Gill and I a little nervous - especially as we were 'bracketed' by these guys.
After a short while we decided to walk the mile home and call it a night. Many goodbyes were said (as our friends were leaving early the next morning) and email addresses swapped. The walk home was long but uneventful. The next day we bumped into some friends not at the party but who knew the group and had seen a couple of them them early that morning, shortly after being released from jail - after paying $500 for the return of their passports!
We've spoken by email to the parties involved and it seems 20 minutes after we left the group it was joined by some locals perporting to be the local constabulary and demanding that three people join them at their place for a more private, less joyous party, with a bar - well bars, to keep them occupied.
Even though we were innocent of any indescretions it was obvious that that wasn't a concern of these locals and that I would surely have had to join them (having the longest hair in the group)!!
For our gut feeling of the previous night we are truly grateful, and have since pledged to listen and respect these inner voices if they decide to speak again with words of caution!!
A last brief word on the subject of tubing - tis fun. Vang Vieng is infamous for this pastime and rightly so. Firstly, after you've paid your money, you get your tube (tractor tyre inner tube) and are driven a couple of kilometers up the river - then you're off. But as you travel down you find yourself being 'scooped' out of the water by locals. At these points you buy beer, have a break or play on their toys - either swings over and into the water or death slides - similar to the swings but with more speed and applause.
The whole thing is a lot of fun and highly recommended, although deaths have occurred in past years but we believe due more to 'operator error and intoxication' rather than inherent risk.
Afer a few days more we gathered our kit and arranged a bus down to Vientienne to have a look at the capital of this characterful little country.
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