vang vieng backpacking

Virtually half way between Vientiane and Luang Prabang is the backpacker/tourist town Vang Vieng. This place is made for backpackers. Tubing, drinking and an outdoor bar which everyone goes to... what more could you want! Maybe endless re-runs of Friends...

Getting to/from Vang Vieng

It will take you 4-6 hours from either Luang Prabang or Vientiane. I took a mini van from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng which was organised by Spicylaos Hostel (120,000 kip). They run daily trips if demand allows. Plus it’s a great way to start off with friends that you’ll spend most of your time with.

If possible, try to get a mini van. The roads in Laos are winding and generally not the smoothest. A mini van can accelerate up the hills and maintain speed around corners far better than a normal bus. Hence a quicker trip. My bus from Vang Vieng to Vientiane was so old it wasn’t funny. Because of the potholes and bumps in the road, the suspension was as high as it could be. Ok for the bumps but not for the many winding turns. Each turn the bus would tilt away from the corner... not too pleasant at all.

Buses can be organised from Vang Vieng to many places including Vientiane, Bangkok and Siem Reap.  My bus from Vang Vieng to Bangkok (thankfully a change of bus in Vientianne) cost 950 baht (about 237,000 kip). It left at 1pm and arrived in Bangkok (Khao San rd) at 4.30am. The scheduled arrival time was 6am. Who would have thought a Thai bus would arrive early?!

Tubing!!!

Its why all backpackers and travellers come to Vang Vieng (besides not wanting to sit through a 10 hour bus trip from Luang Prabang to Vientiane or vice versa). 

Tubing in Vang Vieng is terrific fun. Think of it as a mix of an water adventure park and bar. The name is a bit deceiving because you hardly end up tubing. The first bar along the Nam Song river is 150 metres from your drop off point. Most people end up at the bar with the huge slide which is probably about 700-800 metres from your original drop off point. Not much actual time in the tube at all.

The best part is meeting heaps (and I mean heaps) of people and sharing a Beer Laos or bucket with them. Beer Laos costs 12,000 kip with buckets varying slightly between bars and of course what you have in it.

Make sure you try the giant swings, zip lines, mud pit and slide. You wouldn’t have gone tubing in Vang Vieng if you haven’t tried each of them! With the zip line, make sure you don’t let go early and go to the end...

After tubing?

Head to Smile Bar! Once you drop off your tube by 6pm to get your deposit back, kick back for a couple of hours with some food at one of the many TV restaurant/bars. Then head to Smile bar and get back to drinking buckets. Huge bon fires and a resident Irish DJ who plays the same songs each night.  Just don’t fall into the fire. Have fun dancing and drinking with all the friends you’ve met on the river...

Due to the curfew, the music shuts off around midnight. People then usually head to Jaydee bar which has a fire but of course no music... Keep on drinking and talking before getting ready for another day of tubing...

Logistics of tubing

I did tubing 3 days in a row, then took a day off (it really takes it out of you) and then for a 4th time. First three times only made it to the bar with the slide. The 4th time we made sure we floated all the way to the end.

Tubing in Vang Vieng cost 115,000 kip (which includes 60,000 deposit that you get back at the end of the day). This includes the tuk tuk ride to the drop off point some 4km away from town. In order to receive your deposit back, you need to return your tube by 6pm. Most people only make it to the bar with the huge slide and that is where you can take a tuk tuk back to town (10,000 kip per person).
We did tubing in January which is dry season. It took us about 2.5 hours to tube back to town from the slide bar. That involved about 1km of paddling with thongs (or flip flops, yes I’m Australian).  It was good to say I’ve done tubing right back to town. And also find out that there really was nothing worthwhile after the slide bar.

We started our tubing days about 12 noon (actual time of hiring the tube). Its a good time to start if you're not going to tube right to the end. During dry season, the sun starts to go behind the hills by about 3pm and it does become cold. Hence why we didn't tube to the end on the first 3 days (either that or we just wanted to party and drink).

Possible to swim instead of tube?

During dry season, I certainly think it is possible to swim instead of tube. As long as you are confident about your swimming ability after a few drinks, there shouldn’t be any problem.  The river is able to be walked at most places. The deep spots are occasional and really only where the drop off points are for the swings. You won’t be far from a point where you can hold onto or stand.

I decided not to swim as I enjoyed the lazy feeling of lying in my tube. Good chance to relieve your legs and bask in the sun. And I didn’t have to worry about my swimming ability. I’m not the most confident swimmer but can swim to save myself if need be. My problem is my technique which means I’m very inefficient in the water.

Endless re runs – Friends, Family Guy, Simpsons

Vang Vieng is also famous on the backpacker trail for Friends bars/restaurants. Here, you can sit on cushions, eating food and staring at endless re runs of Friends. It really is addictive. You always stay for one more episode... A couple of places show endless reruns of Family Guy whilst another that jafatravel.com saw was showing the Simpsons. For variety, there is also a place showing movies.

Food

Generally the food at the TV bars aren’t the best. Actually, the food in Vang Vieng isn’t the best at all. It certainly caters for the tourists and backpackers. In my opinion, the Organic Farm Restaurant on the main road (which is associated with the Organic Farm and Mojito bar 3km north of Vang Vieng where tubing begins) has the best food in Vang Vieng. It is a bit more pricy but you know that profits help the projects which the Organic Farm runs.

Accommodation

Unfortunately there aren’t any hostels in Vang Vieng. Jafatravel.com stayed at Pan’s Place which is run by Pan (obviously) and her Kiwi husband Neil. Neil provides great info about the area. Pan’s Place has a nice homely feel to it.

Cost is 60,000 kip for a chalet which sleeps 2 with a shared bathroom. Many of the other rooms have private bathrooms and sleep either 1, 2 or 3.

The movie room at Pan’s Place is good to chill out in after tubing and on your lazy days.

Caves

I regretted not going to the caves. Try to make sure you leave a day to head to the caves. Heard from many people it is well worth it.

Getting around Vang Vieng

Simply walk. It’s a small town so walking around is no trouble at all. You can also hire a motorbike to ride around and get out of town.

Time of year to go

Jafatravel.com travelled to Vang Vieng in January. This is dry season in Lao. It’s warm during the day (ie shorts and t-shirt weather 25-26 degrees Celsius) and cold in the evenings. Thankfully the bars have fires for when the sun goes down and later in the afternoon. You can tell people who aren’t prepared for the cold if you see them wearing Laos or Beer Laos hoodies. Or “In the Tubing Vang Vieng” hoodies.

Money in Vang Vieng

There is one ATM in Vang Vieng. Next to it is a money changer. Just like the rest of Laos, it’s best to use kip for everyday transactions. Only some vendors accept US dollars or Thai Baht. And if they do accept the foreign currency, the exchange rate back to kip may be quite poor compared to a money changer. Your guesthouse may exchange money for you. Well at least Pan’s Place did.

jafatravel.com visited Vang Vieng in January 2009.

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© Jafa Travel Pty Ltd 2008