Vang Vieng is a popular stop on the tourist trail between Luang Prabang and the capital city, Vientiane. Its relaxed atmosphere is perfect for floating down the river, caving, hiking, and other great activities. Over the years, it has gained a reputation for being a chill, laid-back, backpacker hangout.. sadly it now also has a reputation for having very high tourist fatalities and countless injuries. In 2011 alone, Vang Vieng's tourist death toll was 27.
This picturesque town is nestled among the tranquil farms, villages, and karsts in the centre of Laos, so we were very surprised to find tourist advisories in such a quiet paradise filled with temples and culture. Was it because of the bombies/land mines? poor safety regulations on adventure activities? dangerous wildlife? monsters??
As it turns out, the fatalities are due to monsters, but the monsters are the tourists themselves. Most young tourists don't come to Vang Vieng to experience the peaceful culture and temples - they come to party and get wasted. The exploding popularity of river tubing, along with countless makeshift bars that sprung up along the banks, make for a deadly combination resulting in many badly behaved tourists. Numerous partiers repeatedly float down the river getting so drunk and high that they decide it's a good idea to mindlessly jump or swing from ropes, head-first into shallow depths of the river banks. Many fail to notice the sharp rocks just below the river surface and basically jump to their deaths. If you are not careful, you might even tube over sharp rocks causing cuts/scrapes, or if the current is strong enough, the tube could catch a rock and flip you head-first into the river. The saddest part is that the tourists aren't just hurting themselves - this mindless wild behaviour has negative social impacts on the modest, conservative villagers in the area. The locals now believe that the serene river that once breathed life into their villages, is now cursed with bad karma.
We were hesitant to come here until we were told that the government finally shut down all of the bars along the river in summer 2012. We guessed that the city itself would continue to have a loud party nightlife, but when we arrived we almost wondered if we were in the right place - the vibe was way quieter and calmer than expected. We hardy noticed any partying or drunk people anywhere. As we strolled the main streets, we mainly noticed the results of fast growth and lack of urban planning. The town itself is fairly ordinary and not particularly charming, but, we absolutely appreciated the peacefulness and surrounding nature - the karats along the river are just are breathtaking. We lucked out with a perfect view of the sunset from the window of our room.
Despite the temperature being a little cold here, we decided to check out what the tubing hype was all about. Seeing the location of the banks and rope swings still lingering from past, we could definitely just imagine drunken partiers being tempted to jump to their death… the water is fairly opaque so it's difficult to see the rocks below or notice the changes in depth along the river… we also learned that even when completely sober, tubes are not the easiest things to navigate when approaching the shallow rapids.
The fact that the bars have now been shut down (and it was chilly that day) made for a very tranquil and enjoyable 2-hour float down the river. We really enjoyed it.
We also rented a motorbike and set out to explore the countryside. We stopped at another popular attraction near Vang Vieng where there's a blue lagoon and cave that lie at the foot of a big karst. We checked out the nearby cave, took a quick swing into the lagoon, chilled out under a hut along the banks… it was a great day :)
Until now, we had assumed that the reason Vang Vieng and the river felt so deserted while we were there, was because the tourists stopped coming here after the crack-down on partying. It turns out the partiers just moved the party elsewhere.. the blue lagoon appears to be their newest popular hang out.
