Vang vieng – tubing, rope swing, shooting
In south east Asia there are quite a few places which have cashed into the backpacking scene becoming a den of cheapo drinks, crappy accommodation and late nights. None have done this so randomly as Vang Vieng in Central Laos which, in the middle of nowhere and set against a backdrop of limestone cast formations is a small riverside town which has become the backpacking centre of Laos.
I bumped into this spot on my way to the elephants.
In this crazy little town culture and traditional Laos life are taboo subjects and temporarily suspended for the tourists. There are row after row of cafes full of cushions and travellers sitting back to eat ‘happy’ pizzas and watching endless episodes of Friends and The Simpsons as if when away from home for a couple of months we all need to jack up on American sitcoms before moving to the next tourist trap.
Time stands still in this town and the only thing to scrap these vegetables off of the couches is the craze of ‘Tubing’. For a very small fee you can rent an over inflated tractor inner tube and get dumped on the river a couple of hours drift up stream. Here you float lazily down with your cronies until you hit the first of a bunch of riverside bars and get pulled to shore by the barman with a 20 foot long piece of bamboo. The bar is a simple bamboo with a ton of cushions, a volleyball net and a big bloody rope swing reaching rustically over the river. After a bit of Dutch courage the rope swing seems like a good idea. You climb up to a very unsafe looking platform about 20 feet above the water get passed a trapeze style handle and launch yourself off into the middle of the water ready to let go and plunge into the water when you pluck up the courage. The only problem is that if let go before you get far enough over the river there are a bunch of rocks only a few feet below the water – another reason why beer Lao is both a bad idea in terms of coordination and a good one as it numbs pain!
After a few swings it’s off onto the tube and drift down to the next bar oh, and then some more friend!
What an odd place. I lasted a kayak trip, a couple of arse clenching swings and a few Beer Lao’s before heading off up to the Elephant festival.
I bumped into this spot on my way to the elephants.
In this crazy little town culture and traditional Laos life are taboo subjects and temporarily suspended for the tourists. There are row after row of cafes full of cushions and travellers sitting back to eat ‘happy’ pizzas and watching endless episodes of Friends and The Simpsons as if when away from home for a couple of months we all need to jack up on American sitcoms before moving to the next tourist trap.
Time stands still in this town and the only thing to scrap these vegetables off of the couches is the craze of ‘Tubing’. For a very small fee you can rent an over inflated tractor inner tube and get dumped on the river a couple of hours drift up stream. Here you float lazily down with your cronies until you hit the first of a bunch of riverside bars and get pulled to shore by the barman with a 20 foot long piece of bamboo. The bar is a simple bamboo with a ton of cushions, a volleyball net and a big bloody rope swing reaching rustically over the river. After a bit of Dutch courage the rope swing seems like a good idea. You climb up to a very unsafe looking platform about 20 feet above the water get passed a trapeze style handle and launch yourself off into the middle of the water ready to let go and plunge into the water when you pluck up the courage. The only problem is that if let go before you get far enough over the river there are a bunch of rocks only a few feet below the water – another reason why beer Lao is both a bad idea in terms of coordination and a good one as it numbs pain!
After a few swings it’s off onto the tube and drift down to the next bar oh, and then some more friend!
What an odd place. I lasted a kayak trip, a couple of arse clenching swings and a few Beer Lao’s before heading off up to the Elephant festival.
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