Vang Vieng

Hotels In:

• Phonsavan
• Houeixay
• Luang Nam Tha
• Luang Prabang
• Savannakhet
• Vang Vieng
• Vientiane

Vang Vieng is known as a small backpacker town, and makes a great stop-over place for a couple days when making the journey between Luang Prabang and Vientiane. The town itself is not nearly as visually appealing as the area which surrounds it. In the town you can expect to find the typical backpacker gathering spot, and all of the guest houses, restaurants, village style bars, tour agencies, internet cafes and souvenir trinkets. One of the beauties of this backpacker town is in the social network of people who stop through it. Most of the travelers that make their way are making the very common loop leaving from the north of Thailand, and taking the slow boat ride south. Because most of the stop-over places on this journey are rather small, you will see many familiar faces from the places prior, and will almost certainly run into people in Vang Vieng that you have crossed paths with, or seen enough to say hello. In the town itself, there is a small tourist oriented market that sells all of your knock-off music, tee-shirts, DVD and VCD movies. However about seven miles outside of the town center is another market which sells local textiles, household items and food items – some of which may be a shock to see, such as rats, mice, bats, monkeys, squirrels and dogs.

The real attraction of Vang Vieng is in the surrounding area. The most common attraction by far is the inner tube ride which hooks around the small town in a big horse shoe shape. On the upper end, there is a small doc where you can rent a large inner tube and observe the limestone cliffs and caves as you trickle down the river. During the wet season, you may encounter a few places along the way that can raise your adrenaline level a bit, but normally nothing that would cause you to lose your tube. The ride is normally more of a scenic party cruise, on an inner tube. While floating downstream, there are many places to stop and have a drink. Some stops are small family owned bars, and others are enterprising locals with their ice buckets filled with Beerlao, the local beer, who will happily extend a long piece of bamboo for you to grab a hold of so they can pull you in and dock you up for a beverage.

There are a number of tour shops which can point you in the direction of any number of outdoor activities. Activities range from trekking, two-man kayak tours, monkey farms, and a tour of a number of caves where you can swim while wearing a water-proof headlamp. If you find yourself here, it’s also worth taking a half-day excursion and visiting Phu Kham Cave, which is about five miles outside of town. You can either rent a bicycle, a motorcycle, or hire a tuk-tuk if you’re not so confident on two wheels with an engine. The scenery along the way is amazing, and inside the cave there is a large bronze reclining Buddha which makes for a great Kodak moment. If you are traveling during the hot season, there is also a swimming hole that you will walk by on your way to the cave which will most certainly cool you down, possibly to a nice shade of blue.

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Laos Travel Guide Laos flies under the tourist radar, which is half its appeal. Weave through the temple-lined streets of World Heritage-listed Luang Prabang, explore mystical Wat Phu Champasak, and watch the sun set over the magnificent Mekong.