Chill out in Vang Vieng (Day 12 – Day 14)

On my way to Vientiane, I made a stop in Vang Vieng for few days. The only reason why I wanted to make this stop is because it was personally recommended by one of my favorite travel blogger; Nicolekiss.

“…fit vang vieng into ur route, u have to do the tubing, it’s fun. ”, that is what she said to me.

So here I am, doing the tubing on the second day…

After paying 55,000 kips + 60,000 kips deposit, numbers are written on our hand so that we can get back our deposit later. Dry bag is available for rental as well.

Tuk tuk would drive us up river to the starting point.

The starting point

Tubing alone would not be as fun if you do not try this. There are plenty of makeshift swings, diving platforms, slide and what not put up by the riverside bar owners to attract tourists to stop by at their bars. It was a sinful mini water theme park indeed.

See the video to see how fun it was.

Slowly drift down the river under the sun with icy cold Beerlao in one hand, clumsily maneuver the tube with the other hand and Green Day blasting in the background makes a perfect place to chill out with friends.

Jumping into the river Jesus style from a diving platform.

Chill out in one of the bar

Stopping at another bar.

Enjoying another cold beer with my tubing mate, Danny.

Big water slide.

Enjoying another round of Beerlao in a hut on top of the river.

By 5pm, most part of the river was in the shadow of nearby limestone hill. Even though I was not under the hot sun anymore, the water actually become colder.

I was tempted to stop at this last bar but I had to skip it because it was getting late. Anyone who return the tube after 6pm has to pay extra 20,000 kips.

Came across a group local taking bath in the river.

Finally reached the end point. By the time I was there, I was feeling tipsy from all the beers I had. Even though the guide says it takes only 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete the journey, I took more than 5 hours and 30 minutes. Yes, I was late and I had to pay the extra 20,000 kips.

Here are some images of the town…

The beautiful Vang Vieng town.

The sunset view.

The town.

There are more Caucasians than locals in Vang Vieng.

One thing that I cannot understand in Vang Vieng is why every cafe is playing Friends sitcom. When I asked some of the travelers, none of them are craving for it. To escape from “Friends” infested cafe, I had my meal from roadside stalls such as…

Banana pancake. Almost similar to our roti canai.

Pork porridge

If you love this post, then you might love these:

1. White water rafting in Sungai Sedim
2. Luang Prabang, the UNESCO World Heritage City (Day 10 – Day 12)
3. My 2 weeks backpacking adventure across Indochina
4. Vientiane, Asia’s French city (Day 14 – Day 16)
5. Exploring India 2009 – Varanasi (Benares)