#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Laos Forum >  >  Vang Vieng revisited

## beerlaodrinker

A couple of months ago we decided to go for a weekender in vang vieng to see what had changed and to visit the wifes uncle , The result was , not much had changed except there are now less banana pancakers around

Entering VV the first thing you see is the old war era airstrip, now used for racing gocarts





VANG VIENG
was until a couple of years back known as the party mecca of the south east asian backpacker trail, with thousand of backpackers flocking there for unlimited drinking, dancing, drugs and floating down the nam song river in an inner tube. and probably a bit of shagging to

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## beerlaodrinker

One thing i noticed was there are now a lot more mainstream tourists than there are backpackers a  far different demographic than a couple of years back, new hotels are springing up to cater for these tourists and the flashpacker

we stayed at the silver naga

 hotel , newly constructed and right on the river with spectacular views of the limestone karst

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## beerlaodrinker

It still takes about 3 hours to reach vang vieng from vientiane and the road is ok but not great,

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## beerlaodrinker

The lao governments rapid decision to close all the bars and waterslides along the namsong surprised everybody in a country not known for doing anything rapidly, Ive "done" the tubing thing a few times and got the teeshirt and stubby cooler to prove it, but personnally i think it was all getting a bit out of control vang vieng seems a much pleasanter place to stroll around and nowadays the only drunken farang you will see is likely to be me

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## beerlaodrinker

Tubing still seems to be done but at a more sedate pace than before, kayaking seems to be popular

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## beerlaodrinker

But fuk the kayaking
The wifes uncle has some little motorised boats and as im related to him he let me hire one for 100 000 kip instead of the usual 20 000 ,

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## ltnt

Looks nice, but I think we both liked the old V.V. better? :Smile:

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## beerlaodrinker

> Looks nice, but I think we both liked the old V.V. better?


Yes, and no, i doubt it was the locals decision to close all the bars and curtail the partying, fact is people were drowning and getting fuckd up, i suspect some ngo,s and embassys put a bit of pressure on to clean it up after having to deal with the dead , its still a fantastic place and theres still heaps to do, not really necessary to do it pissed and stoned out of your head, The uncle has set up a small resort about 3 klicks out of town and bang on the river, he is doing well catering to a mostly Lao customer base, if by some chance farangs start turning up to his place in droves  he has had some practice in overcharging them by being related to me

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## beerlaodrinker

The downtown area still seems to be awash with young backpackers and you can still get a bong and a waffle but it doesnt resemble anymore the description given to it once as  "if teenagers ruled the world" a sort of a cross between "apocalypse now" crossed with a saturday night on khao san road


The kids having a stroll on the way to the caves

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## fishlocker

Allways a pleasure to view your threads BLD. A baloon ride over those peaks is on my bucket list. Did bil really charge you ten dollars eight above the usual? Does seem cheap though even at ten bucks. Was this an all day rate with fuel as well? Include a driver ect. Im sure other teak door members wonder if we will get that discount if we look him up someday.  Safe travels to you and yours.

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## Bettyboo

Good thread. This looks very nice:



Towliiii?

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## 9999

> The lao governments rapid decision to close all the bars and waterslides along the namsong surprised everybody in a country not known for doing anything rapidly


Something like 14 Aussies died in a year, so I heard.

I was there 4 years ago, just on a visa run hopped on the bus there instead of the capital to kill some time, ended up staying 4 nights. We got a room with a similar view that you posted, nice little guesthouse for 400 THB. Watching all the drunk kids was fun. I did a thread on this trip too https://teakdoor.com/laos-forum/74565-r-and-r-in-vv.html it was interesting just going over it after seeing this post.

Looks like it might be worth another visit... hopefully you can still get weed and opium on tap.

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## thaimeme

Lovely picky thread per usual, BLD!

Thanks...

 :Smile:

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## katie23

Thanks for the pics, BLD.  Looking forward to more.

Btw, was that your "fave" shirt again? (post #6) Cheers!  :Very Happy:

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## Dillinger

Nice one bld.  Great views

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## charleyboy

Greened for the greenary!

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## beerlaodrinker

> Allways a pleasure to view your threads BLD. A baloon ride over those peaks is on my bucket list. Did bil really charge you ten dollars eight above the usual? Does seem cheap though even at ten bucks. Was this an all day rate with fuel as well? Include a driver ect. Im sure other teak door members wonder if we will get that discount if we look him up someday.  Safe travels to you and yours.


Fishlocker, the brother in laws a good guy I was just taking the piss (forgot the sarcasm smiley) seriously though my Lao outlaws Are an absolute delight. If you go to VV tell em BLD sent ya, they won't fuk you over,

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## Luigi

Looks spectacular. 

Never went North of Vientiane.

I'm thinking of taking my motorbike over and doing a two week tour of the country within the next year or two. Looks great.

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## beerlaodrinker

> Thanks for the pics, BLD.  Looking forward to more.
> 
> Btw, was that your "fave" shirt again? (post #6) Cheers!


Ive got 2 shirts that I reserve for my threads Katie.(( point taken BLD needs a new wardrobe). A couple of those pics were actually taken about 2 years ago when my wife had some Lao relatives visiting from the states, they were part of the flotsam and jetsam after d war , I I will post up some pics later of my wife's Aunty who hadn't been back to Lao in over 30 years and brought her daughter (an absolute hottie)who was born in refugee camp in nongkhai but grew up in Dallas Texas,  more about those interesting relatives later.

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## beerlaodrinker

> Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker
> 
> The lao governments rapid decision to close all the bars and waterslides along the namsong surprised everybody in a country not known for doing anything rapidly
> 
> 
> Something like 14 Aussies died in a year, so I heard.
> 
> I was there 4 years ago, just on a visa run hopped on the bus there instead of the capital to kill some time, ended up staying 4 nights. We got a room with a similar view that you posted, nice little guesthouse for 400 THB. Watching all the drunk kids was fun. I did a thread on this trip too https://teakdoor.com/laos-forum/74565-r-and-r-in-vv.html it was interesting just going over it after seeing this post.
> 
> Looks like it might be worth another visit... hopefully you can still get weed and opium on tap.


 you certainly can, I,ll show you the result later. :Smile:

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## ltnt

> he has had some practice in overcharging them by being related to me


 :rofl:  Just mention BLD...for a discount.

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## beerlaodrinker

Vang vieng is surrounded by limestone caves but we only managed this one called jang cave


its a liesurely 20 minute walk past rice paddies and over the nam song river, 15000 kip entrance fee, the walk to the cave is a sight seeing opportunity itself



snacks and drinks are available along the way


a very blue freshwater pool is near the cave as well , freezing cold but quite refreshing after the walk up to the cave

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## beerlaodrinker

The cave itself was nothing special but worth the walk for the views over vang vieng



The kids were a bit freaked out in there and couldnt wait to get out

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## beerlaodrinker

After that it was back to the uncles gaff for Lunch 




The uncles quite the gardener and grows all his own fruit on the property


Tried to sell me this underage goat, must be  TD member

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## Latindancer

> her daughter (an absolute hottie)


Pics please !!

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## SiLeakHunt

any more pics from inside the cave ?

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## ltnt

Goats?  What kind?  Don't let Bettyboo know...

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## slimboyfat

Lovely stuff!

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## the dogcatcher

Cool thread.
I love VV. Was there on a new year.
Try the dogcatcher does laos again thread for more pics.

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## beerlaodrinker

To be continued, internets shitty today

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## beerlaodrinker

More of the uncles resort


He has placed the tables in the river so punters can eat, drink and swim in the cool clear river, Looked like he was doing a roaring trade on weekends


The kids are catered for to

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## beerlaodrinker

Pay 10 000 kip and you can take your car or motorbike over the suspension bridge and 5 or 6 kms done a dusty road brings you to a nice little swimming hole called Blue Lagoon


But they dont want you having a bong or 2

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## beerlaodrinker

$70 gets you a balloon flight over the valley, must be some amazing views from up there 



Theres some decent views from on the ground as well

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## beerlaodrinker

In the interests of self preservation i passed on the balloon trip,  Fuk that!



There are way safer modes of transportation i reckon


Im of downtown to see what the backpackers and tourists are up to, still a few bars but it looked pretty quiet


The mandatory nasty shitter photo

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## beerlaodrinker

The goat again

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## reddog

Nice little lot of photos bld,will look into the ballon ride when i am next in town.

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## beerlaodrinker

> Nice little lot of photos bld,will look into the ballon ride when i am next in town.


You are a braver man than me.

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## katie23

Nice pics, BLD.  I like your beer-cycle or beer-scooter or whachamacallit.  :Very Happy: 
Was that the hottie cousin from Texas, the one with the goat?

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## Luigi

Right then, fuck it. I'm moving to Laos.

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## cdnski12

Vang Vieng was very wild when I was there in 2010. I was amazed there were not more killed. Thousands were injured over the years. The Airport was Air America's main CIA Air Base for all of Laos.

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## beerlaodrinker

If you like indian food then Nazims the place to head for. Makes a good change as most restaurants seem to have exactly the same menu, Lao food or banana pancakes.



Then head of to sakura bar to wash your curry down


or grab a bit of fruit for the kids

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## beerlaodrinker

Just a short trip this time, time to pack up and head back to the "big smoke"



If the car shits itself we have the beercycle to go get help

Not a hell of a lot to see on the road back to vientiane, 




We passed what looked like a nasty accident 


No surprises there though, i never drive feeling under the weather or at night here, just to many random idiots on the road, There was 6 filipinos coming back from the xayabouri hydro project killed on this stretch of road about 3 days ago.

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## beerlaodrinker

Arriving back in vientiane the first thing i see is this dog taking its owner for a spin on the scooter

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## Bettyboo

> The goat again


Very  nice indeed. I'd be well up for that...

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## beerlaodrinker

So would I, That goat gives me the horn :Smile:

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## Dillinger

Great stuff bld :Smile:

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## Phuketrichard

Having been there when it was full on and 
after the backpackers left
prefer the new VV :Smile: 

Nice pics and that hotel looks very nice

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## Phuketrichard

> The Airport was Air America's main CIA Air Base for all of Laos.


not exactly true
the airport is at Long Cheng, ( south east of VV) at one time the most secret place on earth and the busiest airport in SE Asia.

Guys from GT-Riders are now going there

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## nevets

Very nice pics and your family look very happy , thanks for posting BLD.

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## Scottish Gary

Went to VV 3 years ago and it was absolutely horrendous.  As someone who has a pathological hatred of backpackers it was always going to be a nightmare for me but its good to see the scum have now left.  No doubt off to rape daddy's credit card and treat the locals like cockroaches in some other location

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## terry57

^

Urm, 

Backpackers forge the way mate.

The rest follow, it's the way it works.

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## beerlaodrinker

Can't knock em really, the nasty backpacker. Was one myself yonks ago, prefer the flash packing these days, it's all good however one chooses to do it. Beats the shit out of being stuck in front of the telly watching neighbours eh.

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## terry57

^

I will be Backpacking scum next week Lao.

Thing is,  I'll have a car and be stopping in nice hotels.

Still have my Backpack along for the ride though.

I'll send you a PM from Pratchup Kiri kan.   :Smile:

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## Scottish Gary

> ^
> 
> Urm, 
> 
> Backpackers forge the way mate.
> 
> The rest follow, it's the way it works.


 Maybe that was the way in the 1970s but it's certainly not the case now. These days where do backpackers go that is new and exciting?   They just follow each other around like sheep on a well worn trail

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## ltnt

> I'll send you a PM from Pratchup Kiri kan.


Wrong direction for Lao Terry.  Nice place if you go to ao manao...btw, what happened to your trip pic.'s from last month?  I fully expected you to come driving up for a visit?

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## Exit Strategy

> where do backpackers go that is new and exciting?   They just follow each other around like sheep


Too true. They get social security from euroland, drink beer on the night  train and make a mess, harass proper and good locals and me. In the old times, backpackers were good people, caring for environment and such, now they are just scum. ฝรั่งขี้นก

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## KEVIN2008

Stayed at the Silver Naga June/July 2014.    Rachel, ( owner ) was telling us over a coffee that they purchased the land directly across the river from the hotel so as to prevent future development blocking the spectacular views.  ( Rachel, Australian, married to Lao )

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## Exit Strategy

> Stayed at the Silver Naga June/July 2014.    Rachel, ( owner ) was telling us over a coffee that they purchased the land directly across the river from the hotel so as to prevent future development blocking the spectacular views.  ( Rachel, Australian, married to Lao )


Sounds a bit expensive... they can't buy all land opposite, now I am not familiar with Silver Naga. Great thing is that freedom exists in Laos and I wish best of luck to Rachel.

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## Phuketrichard

> ^
> 
> I will be Backpacking scum next week Lao.
> 
> Thing is,  I'll have a car and be stopping in nice hotels.
> 
> Still have my Backpack along for the ride though.
> 
> I'll send you a PM from Pratchup Kiri kan.


Outside of Vientiane and Luang Prabang  ( there were a few new looking resorts under construction outside Vang Vieng thou , sure there open by now) not many nice hotels but plenty of decent ones under $25

Love to see ur map that includes Kiri Kan between Bangkok/pattaya and Laos

When i was last in Myanmar (last nov) i'd say 75% or more of the tourists had backpacks, the rest had nice luggage with wheels

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## dirk diggler

I had an ace time in Laos until I came down with dengue. managed 2 days getting fucked up on the river. First day we didn't get the tubes back until 9pm, 6 pm on the dot 2nd day. Free whiskey and bananas in every bar. Plenty weed and opium kicking about but I didn't touch any.

I feel truly gutted for people travelling through there now and not getting the chance to do it.

Out of curiosity, what is the name given to travelers who do so with an offshore kit bag?

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## Scottish Gary

Floating down a river on a inner tube surrounded by excitable teenagers sounds hellish.  I would much rather stay dry and just go to the bars.   Then again being the oldest guy in town by about 25 years would make me want to give the whole place a body swerve.

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## justme2017

Vang Vieng is good fun. Stunning scenery and still a fairly good value. Last time I was there, there were loads of Korean tourists. Evidently it was featured on some Korean television show for celebrity travel or something. 

No problems with the Koreans for me, they travel in large groups, all dress the same but other than looking goofy they are pretty harmless.

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## fishlocker

Shit man I relived that thread and damn I can say I've been there and almost done that............fishes.

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## Dasher

Looks like a less developed version of Kanchanaburi

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## fishlocker

Wanting to fly

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## fishlocker

Heads will roll.

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## marcusb

^ ^^ nice pics Fish..... wrong thread, they're 140km or so south of Vang Vieng.   :Smile:

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## Jordon

Improved roads and good kayaking. I want to go.

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