“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.”
– AA Milne
To Vang Vieng, we go! We traveled from Thakhek to Vang Vieng via sleeper bus as the journey takes about 7 hours. While I would love to share with you the company name and details, I was never given this information. We arranged our bus tickets through Wang Wang motor after we returned our motorbike from the Thakhek loop. We paid him 110,00 Kip 13$ then the man jotted it down in his notebook and told us to be back at the shop at midnight. We arrived to the shop at 11:30pm and it was closed but there were a handful of other foreigners seemingly awaiting the bus as well so we felt assured and sat and waited. And waited. And waited. Only at 1am did the shop owner finally arrive, appearing to be mid slumber too. He then told half of us to get into his SUV to take us to the bus. We jumped in the car then 5-7 minutes later we arrived to a dark street where there were multiple dried meat stands set up. Then told us to wait and not move until he came back with the rest of the group. Literally had no idea what was going on. He arrived several minutes later then escorted us to a bus on the side of the street down the road. With no tickets and seat assignments we were nervous we would be separated, sleeping in a double bed with strangers instead of eachother (though if strangers, they supposedly always put same sex together). Luckily a woman that worked on the bus brought us to a vacant bed.
It was my first time on a sleeper bus. You have a pillow, blanket, and curtain for your window. It was quite comfy actually even though I’m really tall I managed to fit by placing my feet in the storage compartment at the end of the bed. I was pretty tired at this point but before I knew it we were in Vientiane, Laos.
From here we took a bumpy tuk tuk ride to a different bus station and grabbed a mini van bus to head three hours both to Vang Vieng. By 1pm we had finally arrived. The bus dropped us right in the center of the town, so it was perfect and only a 5 minute walk to our guesthouse.
Vang Vieng is located along the Nam Song river in Northern Laos. For years on end prior to 2012, it held the reputation of the wild party town for westerners. Known for the infamous party tubbing down the river with buckets of alcohol in tow and bars along the way to replenish. That mixed with drunken adrift in your tube and swings and slides to play on along the river led to multiple deaths. Not to mention the plethora of drugs available at bars (mostly psychedelics served in edibles, shakes, teas.. you name it). As Laos has always been very conservative and communist this little town in the mountains of northern Laos was an anomaly. In 2012 the government put their foot down and shut down the party scene closing the bars and swings along the river and wiping out the drug filled bars throughout the town with hopes to rebuild its name.
Today I see Vang Vieng as the gem it should be, utilizing its natural beauty as the appeal instead. This beautiful town is situated along the Nam Song river with rice fields and lush limestone mountains all around.
There are so many activities to choose from. Rock climbing the caves, kayaking in the river, hiking and tubbing is still offered. As we had just arrived our first day from over 12 hours on bus we decided to take a sleepy ride tubbing down the river. It was only a group of about 5 of us since it was later in the afternoon. As we are in peak dry season the water seemed a bit shallow and at times it felt like we weren’t really moving. It was definitely relaxing with no sound other than the sway of the trees along the river. With only a remainder of two small bars along the river the other guys in our group bought us some beers to add to the chill float. It was the perfect time to have our first BeerLaos!
By the end of the 2 hour float we hung out at the end of the route and had the /chance to swim around and play with river puppies!
Vang Vieng is an easy little town to walk around. Tons of tour agencies selling aventure activities, restaurants and shops.
Spread around the town were tons of sand which/pancake/juice carts. Super cheap huge sandwiches on fresh baguettes! Throughout my time in VV we frequented these carts for cheese sandwiches, grilled onion and egg sandwich, and banana Nutella pancake.
There’s a really fun walking street that comes alive each night. There’s a handful of food vendors but mostly caters to clothing and artesanal goods.
Early morning we ventured out to rent motorbikes to explore the other side of the river where there were tons of caves and watering holes. Blue lagoon is the most popular attraction with turquoise water and a mountainous backdrop with rope swings to jump in. When we went it was midday so it was pretty crowded!
The most fun was just riding around on motorbikes soaking up the amazing scenery.
Hot air balloon rides are pretty popular in the area as well. I was able to catch sight of balloons in flight at sunrise a few mornings too! My absolute favorite way to wake up!
I loved the overall vibe of Vang Vieng. I’m glad it’s recovered from it’s bad reputation and built a new name for itself centered around its beauty.
Recommendations:
Accommodation
- Chaleun Guesthouse
Located centrally in the town in the back of a local restaurant. No frills but 9$ for a double room with ensuite with hot water too!
Food
- Chaleun Guesthouse
Cheap food options both western and Laotian, cheap fresh juices and super chill cushioned tables to linger on.
- Vegie Tables & Vegan
Small, family run vegan restaurant. Not the cheapest by Laotian standards but worth the extra bucks for a mushroom tofu steak and tofu burger. So many yum options!
- Luang Prabang Bakery
Popular bakery that offers ridiculously large baked goods, cookies and cakes. There’s tons of ball shaped goodies that are similar to brownies I would say. A bit pricey but worth paying for the massive size of everything!
Recreation
- Silver Naga – Yoga Vang Vieng.
Hotel along the river that offers yoga twice daily once in the morning and one in the evening. Three times a week they offer outdoor yoga in the middle of the rice field overlooking the limestone mountains. It’s absolutely breathtaking and serene. Paying 10$ for the class also gets you a full day access to their infinity pool along the river!
- Motorbike Rentals
Tons of shops available around town so it’s pretty competitive. We managed two automatic bikes for 50,000kip 6$ each
- Tubbing
Three hour tubbing down the river includes transport to and from the river and dry bag usage for 60,000 kip 7$ each
