Backpacking Zombies in Vang Vieng

View from the dreaded "VIP" bus.
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We took the nightmare V.I.P. bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng. If there is ever a time you don't want to take a doubledecker bus, this ride is the time. The roads were SO windy - we were constantly gripping on to anything we could get our hands on to not fall out of the seats. And, I gotta tell ya, those Lao people have some pretty weak stomachs. There were Lao women getting sick on all sides of us, absolutely everywhere. 6 hours of this, in between dodging other trucks, cattle, small children, and guys with AK-47's, you could say we were happy to arrive in Vang Vieng.

Fueling up the scooter. Movie Qoute : " I get 70 miles to the gallon on this hog" and why not two : I said, "Do you love me?" and she said, "No, but that's a really nice ski mask."
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We checked into a little bungalow at Xayoh Guesthouse right on the Nam Song River. The backdrop of Vang Vieng is like nothing we have ever seen. There are these monstrous green limestone cliffs just jutting out of the ground. In the United States, they would be some sort of monument, but they don't even have a name for them here. It just marks the spot for this backpacker's haven. The only problem is that between the months of March and April, they are burning the forests and the rice paddies to clear the ground to plant produce, so it kills the photographs of these stunning rock structures. We would be looking at this incredible background, then pull out the camera and click away and, looking at the pictures you could hardly see the cliffs because of the smoky haze. A little frustrating.

"hey, it's Laos, anything could happen." Promising.

On the way to the river, where all you need is a tube, cash and time.
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We rented our first motorbike, since we felt so safe in such a small town. We saw the whole town in less than an hour, but it was fun to use the motorbike until the sun set. Seeing the sights. Although, there are some very bizarre sights to see. The town of Vang Vieng has turned into a backpacker's vegging out point. Everywhere you go there is a little restaurant with cushions (kind of like little beds) where Westerners are laying down completely zoned out eating french fries and burgers in front of blaring televisions (that play "Friends" non-stop). It is the weirdest thing I have ever seen. This isn't just one place. Pretty much all of the restaurants have resorted to this. And all the menus at all the restaurants are exactly the "same same" with the "same same" pictures. Internet cafes and T.V. restaurants are what people are opting for in this town of incredible sights. It's a little embarassing that this is the impression that Lao people get of Western culture.

Turns out we are nothing but 105 & 106, but at least we hung out with 1 & 2.
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Our second day, we did the tourist thing - tubing down the Nam Song River. I was so happy to not be sick and able to get into the sun! Tubing is huge here. You rent a tube, a bunch of people get loaded into a tuk-tuk and driven far up the river, where you're let off and tube back into town. During the rainy season, the river is much stronger and the tubing can get pretty dangerous, but our tubing experience was not too intimidating. We had to paddle the entire time, there was barely any current and the water level was very low. Lao people have become slaves to backpacking Westerners needs (once again) and set up bars along the river, where they pull you in by bamboo sticks and feed you Lao Lao (Lao rice whiskey) and Beer Lao and then send you off on really high rope swings and zip lines. Safe, of course.

Lunch on the river.
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Doing our first rope swing, the two Lao guys at the top of the swing started laughing at Kevin. "Will this thing hold me?" he asked. They just kept laughing and shrugged. I turn and ask the two Aussies behind me, "Will it hold him?" "Hey, it's Laos, anything could happen," they answered. Promising. He went - and the the whole thing didn't come crashing down, although he did hit bottom.

We were all numbers out there on those tubes and Kevin and I managed to find #1 and #2 (the first people out there). #1 was a very drunk Scotsman named Grant who was plotting Kevin's fall from the rope-swing tower so he could whisk me away (he was convinced a was Swedish and that we might have a future) and #2 was a really nice English guy named John who seemed to know a little about everything! We learned more from John about the English language than I learned as an English major in college! Well, not quite... but he knew a lot. After about 4 hours and 10 too many ladies screaming "Beer Lao Beer Lao" from the riverbanks, we got off a half an hour early from the river (with many other tubers) and got a tuk-tuk back to town. I don't know how you make it back to town before dark, unless you wake up as early as Grant and John did - and they called it a day at the same time we did! The river was pretty low and there were so many rocks jutting out of the river, my coxis couldn't take it anymore! It was very relaxing though and the scenery floating down the river was unreal. Kevin and I kept looking at each other as we're lounging on our tubes, floating down the Nam Song, and asking, "Where are we right now?" Ahhhhh.... Laos.

Their was debate with the locals of whether or not I would pull the structure down. And as I jumped off all I heard was an Australian saying "hay it's Laos, anything could happen".
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Note: Vang Vieng's stunning backdrop has been taken over by these crazy Westerners who eat their Western food watching their Western t.v. all day. Bottom line is that Vang Vieng is a great party place, but if you're looking for a lot of culture, it's definitely diminishing. Go tubing or rent bikes to check out the surrounding areas if you're here. The sights are incredible. Two nights here and now it's time for us to move on to the capital, Vientiane.