Vang Vieng

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I traveled from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng by minibus, arriving the afternoon of the 15th. The minibus was the best ride I have thus far - there were only 13 of us on a 25 seat bus and the driver did not stop to pick-up further passengers. I had a double seat to myself!

Vang Vieng has a reputation. Young travelers come to Vang Vieng to enjoy tubing down the Nam Xong (river), stopping at one of the 12 bars along the banks on the route. The shots are free, the drinks cheap and pot available for the asking (even though using drugs is illegal in Loas). They have installed rope swings, slides and dive spots along the river for the drunken 20 somethings to enjoy. Its like a mardi gras festival every day, tubers getting injured and robbed every day, with a couple dying by drowning or hitting rocks underwater every year. I saw them drunkenly stumbling about town in the late afternoon the first day I arrived, one guy scratching his balls inside his trunks and announcing to me that he was "so horny".

I opted to join a guided one day kayak tour on the Nam Ngum (river) between Vang Vieng and Vientiane for the 16th. The cost was reasonable because there were over 10 of us (200,000 kip). I requested a single kayak to make it more fun. We rode a tuk-tuk for 1.5 hours before off loading at the river. The kayaking was great fun - a single sit on top kayak is no where near as stable as the doubles. I managed several rapids successfully but then lost it on a 3 foot drop! I lost my favorite travel hat, the Lowe Alpine one, but managed to hold on to my paddle and kayak. No fun to try to get back on the kayak soaking wet.

The guides served us lunch on a rocky outcrop and pointed out that the water is up to 7 metres higher in the wet season. The rapids we passed through become class 3 to 5. I'm so tempted to return one August to run those rapids again. Nothing like a good dumping to make me want to conquer the rapids one day!

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