come on and close your eyes and sleep till noon

Bangkok Local Time
Thursday, 28 Mar 2024
02:14:21 PM

1 USD = Baht

Weather Forecast

Weather Forecast

 

 

Vang Vieng

Saturday, 25 April 2009 : Filed under: Laos E-Mail This Article

Vang Vieng

Bungalows, bridge, and Mountains – Vang Vieng, Laos

EXIF Information

  • ExposureProgram: Aperture Priority
  • ExposureTime: 1/100 sec
  • FNumber: f/13
  • Flash: No Flash
  • FocalLength: 18 mm
  • ISOSpeedRatings: 100
  • Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT

9 Comments »

Comment by dadman — April 25, 2009 @ 9:39 pm

Pretty awesome looking mountains! In fact the whole scene is gorgeous. Is this somewhere you stayed or just passed by?

Comment by Clara — April 25, 2009 @ 11:16 pm

This is RURAL! I wonder if these are people’s permanent homes. Surely they’re not vacation bungalows. I can’t imagine people in that area having vacation places, and if they did, the places wouldn’t be like this. Or maybe they’re for tourists. I like the red bungalows set against the green grassy areas and mountains. And what interesting shaped mountains.

Comment by Gunder — April 25, 2009 @ 11:55 pm

Very picturesque place

Comment by josh — April 26, 2009 @ 2:36 am

This is actually the *least* rural place for a hundred kilometers in any direction. What you see in the photo is strictly tourist bungalows. The photos is taken from the balcony of the guesthouse we stayed in.

Vang Vieng has got to be the weirdest place I have ever been. We drove from Vientiane in the back of a pickup truck taxi for four hours on windy mountain roads through villages of shacks and small dwellings. Then in the middle of nowhere you come to Vang Vieng, which is a small town but basically exists solely as a Disneyland for backpackers. An entire town set up of shacks and bungalows, restaurants and guest houses, existing soley on tourist dollars of young falang (white tourists) looking for cheap fun.

The main attraction in Vang Vieng is tubing down the Nam Song river which runs through town (you can see it running on either side of the island in the photo above). Tubing down a river might sound serene, but what actually happens is every 20 meters young Lao children jump in the water and drag your tube to a makeshift bar where you are greeted with free whiskey and then given the opportunity to buy food and drinks, or if you choose, trust your life to a giant swing into the water, a zipline, or a giant slide.

Needless to say, Vang Vieng is probably also the most dangerous place in the world. Not because of any type of threat from the locals, but simply because there are all sorts of ways to hurt yourself, and no ambulances or hospitals. If getting any serious injury, you are strongly urged to fly to Bangkok for treatment.

For instance, the bridge shown in the photo above leads from the mainland to this little island of bungalows and some restaurants/bars. The bridge would have been condemned in any country besides Laos. I felt in danger just walking across it by myself at midday. But every night from our balcony we watched as maybe 20 people and 3 motorbikes simultaneously crossed in opposite directions (most under the influence of various intoxicants, some bouncing off the rails). It’s amazing that we didn’t see anyone hurt, or even the thing collapse.

On our tubing adventure, somehow I ended up slicing my big toe up real good. I’m not exactly sure how. I just looked down and it was bleeding. The next day I hobbled around looking for any sort of bandages, but could find none. There are no actual “stores” in Vang Vieng, only people selling a few of the same supplies out of the front of their homes. There was a small medical center (like 8 feet wide), but it was closed for the week for holiday. I had to make due with a few small band aids we had and some tape I bought at one of the stores. I was basically confined to our room and the few restaurants within hobbling distance for a couple of days. Luckily everything seems to have grown back together without infection and I can walk again.

I’m sure this post will make my mother very happy :) .

Comment by Peg — April 26, 2009 @ 3:50 am

:-) Yes, indeed! Nothing in the world quite like taking some risks and looking back on them later with satisfaction and good memories. (If one is still alive. ;-) ) XOXOX

Comment by Peg — April 26, 2009 @ 3:53 am

Again, THANKS for all the detail–love it! And helps me get my mind around the Laos “Disneyland.” I thought Dad was kidding when he suggested the photo looked non-rural; it looked very sticks-ish/boon-docks-ish to me. Shows how much I know about Laos! (Or much of anything over there, for that matter.)

Comment by Clara — April 26, 2009 @ 5:54 am

I enjoyed your comments, too. What a great description! I’m wondering what is your next stop? I think I heard you depart Ho Chi Minh City on the 28th to return to the U.S. Since right now it’s already the 26th in Laos, that doesn’t give you much time to see Vietnam. Of course, I might not be right about the dates.

Comment by dadman — April 26, 2009 @ 6:15 am

Just this morning I met a 20something woman in Wixom who is native Lao. She lived there in Vientiane til she was about 6. She showed us a scar on her head from being at a house on stilts (reminds me of the above) where she fell through a hole the deck – doing something on a dare.

Comment by josh — April 26, 2009 @ 8:45 pm

How interesting you met someone just now from Laos. All the people we met there were very friendly and happy people. The children liked to wave at us. Falling through a hole on the deck sounds like something that would happen. I’m surprised I didn’t fall through any of the holes on the bridge.

Clara, the blog is about a week or so behind my travels. Sadly I do leave tomorrow :( .

Leave a comment