Tubing in Vang Vieng over ?

[KevyChase]

Heard it's close and some say it's open what's going on?

P.s It wouldn't be a bad thing to stop the tubing IMO

[beerlaodrinker]

It was fukin big fun kevy, but yes, its closed i was up there a few weeks ago, the wifes uncle has a gaff on the river, we used his little boats to chug down past where the tubers usually finish, no bars , no swings and didnt see a single banana pancake eating soap dodging kunt on the river , town was full of em though all watching reruns of friends on the telly , that hasnt changed, done the tube thing a few times and its a good day out provided you dont drown, what i did notice was there were also a lot of mature tourists around and a few new hotels had gone up to cater to them, i was gobsmacked while having a coffee on the verandah in the morning when a hot air balloon full of tourists went past,
looks like thats how you get high in vang vieng now, i agree its not a bad thing banning it, it was turning the locals into arseholes as well

[kingwilly]

Maybe, maybe not. It's traditional Laos Culture, aint it?
I reckon it will stay open as long as it makes folks money.

[trabant]

this from Australian news last week

less money for the children - make me laugh.

__________________________________________________ ____

Party's over for backpacker mecca
January 15, 2013



Once the party mecca of South-East Asia for backpackers, Vang Vieng has cleaned up its act - but tourists are staying away, writes David Whitley.

The Oh La La bar is certainly trying. The sign outside is offering free shots all night and a free cocktail for all ladies who arrive between 6pm and 9pm. But it's 9pm, and there are just eight customers – all male, and seemingly more interested in a quiet game of pool than hell-raising.

Vang Vieng in Laos, until recently the backpacker party capital of South-East Asia, has changed following a government clampdown in late August. Whether that's for the better or the worse depends on your perspective.

And the reality on the ground doesn't necessarily reflect the speculative rumours than filter down the backpacker grapevine.

The party scene in Vang Vieng appeared surprisingly quickly. In 2006, it was still essentially a riverside village with dirt roads, a spectacular limestone karst backdrop and a small adventure tourism industry.

Suddenly, a different scene started to come in. It was nominally based around tubing – floating down the Nam Song river in tractor tyre inner tubes. Along the 4km tubing route, riverside bars sprang up as ports of call. Tubers made a day of it, fuelled by free shots of the firewater-esque lao-lao whisky, super-potent cocktails and openly-sold drugs.

To a backdrop of pounding music, the often blind drunk tubers would throw themselves into the river off the platforms, flying foxes and slides that the bars had constructed to lure people in. Unfortunately, intoxicated bravado lead to injuries – from sprained ankles to fractured skulls – and fatalities.

Quite how many died depends on who you ask. Common consensus is that at least 20 died in 2011, while seven – including two Australians - had died in 2012 before the government crackdown.

A boat trip up the Nam Song shows how thoroughly the Lao authorities blitzed Vang Vieng. The riverside bars along the tubing course have not just been closed – most of them have been dismantled.

The slides, giant swings and zipline plunges of the 'Water Fun Park' have also been torn apart, leaving only a concrete platform as evidence.

***
Misinformation is part of the problem. Guesthouse owner Chris Perkins says: “Potential guests are telling me that they have heard the tubing has stopped. I have to tell them that the tubing hasn't stopped – it's just the opportunity to kill yourself while doing it that has gone.”

The tubing is a co-operative scheme and the profits filter back to the local community rather than lining corporate pockets. A drop in the number of people tubing has an adverse effect on the community as a whole. Touy Sisouat at the tubing centre says that numbers are down significantly. “Last November, we would have maybe 800 people every day. This November, it is about 130 people.

“There is no drink on the river. It is bad for business – and there is less money for the children.”

full article

[KevyChase]

It was fukin big fun kevy, but yes, its closed i was up there a few weeks ago, the wifes uncle has a gaff on the river, we used his little boats to chug down past where the tubers usually finish, no bars , no swings and didnt see a single banana pancake eating soap dodging kunt on the river , town was full of em though all watching reruns of friends on the telly , that hasnt changed, done the tube thing a few times and its a good day out provided you dont drown, what i did notice was there were also a lot of mature tourists around and a few new hotels had gone up to cater to them, i was gobsmacked while having a coffee on the verandah in the morning when a hot air balloon full of tourists went past,
looks like thats how you get high in vang vieng now, i agree its not a bad thing banning it, it was turning the locals into arseholes as well

Have you met the french guy who lived there for the last 3 years or so ? I was supposed to stay one day but I got high a lot and stayed 6 days instead good times !

[beerlaodrinker]

nah, havent met him, the last time was just for the day and one night, so still easy enough to get a smoke and a pancake or a bong and a waffle then ?

[KevyChase]

And.. Me and a Australian dude I've met at the border got most of our money stolen on the top of the mini-bus ! Fuckin pirates They thought by not taking all of the money inside our wallets we wouldn't notice it .... They didn't found my weed tho...

[KevyChase]

nah, havent met him, the last time was just for the day and one night, so still easy enough to get a smoke and a pancake or a bong and a waffle then ?

I was there on May or June 2012 and there was that restaurant that give you a free joint for every purchase of 30k Kip worth of food. That's the ultimate vicious circle

[beerlaodrinker]

^ Dude why you keep your wallet on the roof of the minibus eh, never mind at least you can still get
a Shmoke and a pancake? You know, flapjack and a shigarette? No, alright. Cigar and a waffle? No? Pipe and a crepe? Bong and a blintz? No? Then there is no pleasing you.

[supernovadw]

So the tubing hasn't stopped but the bars are closed so henceforth the tubing isn't as popular as it once was. Am I reading this right? Or has the tubing stopped completley?

I've been three times and it is a good laugh! However many people do take it too far and I'm not surprised that the bars have been shut down! I mean after all it really is a recipe for disaster isn't it!

What they are obviously trying to do is make the most of Vang Vieng and appeal to the more upmarket tourist which obviously the riverside bars didn't do.

Is it a good thing or not...I'm unsure.

[khmen]

Good. I'm taking my mum on a trip round SE Asia soon, and I'd planned on stopping in VV on the way to Luang Prabang so I'm glad most of the backpacker knobs won't be there. Absolutely ruin what would otherwise be a beautiful place to spend some time.

[dirk diggler]

I think it's sad that the killjoys have crashed the party. I'd be interested to see the tourist vehicle death rate compared to tubing. Tubing put VV on the map and I cant imagine the disappointment for the people turning up only to find out it is finished.

Some of my pics:























After 3 days 'in the tubing' I got fucked by dengue fever and went to Luang Prababg.

[cdnski12]

Hard to believe the Lao Govt closed down the riverside bars. GF & I spent a few days there in 2010. Local scene was really crazy. Took a long tail boat cruise up river. I was amazed at the insanely dangerous high dives off the rope swings. We saw several injured high fliers. Many totally blasted people. Too many injuries and deaths probably. note the old CIA Airport was a big scene in the mid 1960's.

[khmen]

I think it's sad that the killjoys have crashed the party. I'd be interested to see the tourist vehicle death rate compared to tubing. Tubing put VV on the map and I cant imagine the disappointment for the people turning up only to find out it is finished.

What's sad about it? The people who "found" VV were probably utterly gutted when it got put "on the map" and the hordes of muppets descended. I went there a few years back after a friend had visited a few years before and described the "scene". By the time I arrived it was long gone, fucked.

Hard to believe the Lao Govt closed down the riverside bars. GF & I spent a few days there in 2010. Local scene was really crazy.

No, it's not in the least bit surprising that a fairly restrictive Communist government has closed them down. What, you think a few poxy backpackers spending an average of about $10 a day was vital to the Laos economy or summat?

The scene in VV in 2010 was far from wild, it was tame and fucking dull, mainly populated by priveleged gap yaaah wankers who wouldn't know a wild time from a teddy bears picnic. I went there expecting a wild time - and left thinking, "Fuck me, I've had wilder nights on a wet weekend in Blighty!". Good riddance I say, it was hardly Goa in the 90's.

[kingwilly]

Looks like a 'blast'

[SEA Traveler]

looks like fun and a good time. I might have tried it..... years ago when I was a little younger....

[khmen]

^You'd think so wouldnt you, but that photo is from too far back to get a good grip on the type of utter [at][at][at][at] attracted to it:

[dirk diggler]

I think it's sad that the killjoys have crashed the party. I'd be interested to see the tourist vehicle death rate compared to tubing. Tubing put VV on the map and I cant imagine the disappointment for the people turning up only to find out it is finished.

What's sad about it? The people who "found" VV were probably utterly gutted when it got put "on the map" and the hordes of muppets descended. I went there a few years back after a friend had visited a few years before and described the "scene". By the time I arrived it was long gone, fucked.

Hard to believe the Lao Govt closed down the riverside bars. GF & I spent a few days there in 2010. Local scene was really crazy.

No, it's not in the least bit surprising that a fairly restrictive Communist government has closed them down. What, you think a few poxy backpackers spending an average of about $10 a day was vital to the Laos economy or summat?

The scene in VV in 2010 was far from wild, it was tame and fucking dull, mainly populated by priveleged gap yaaah wankers who wouldn't know a wild time from a teddy bears picnic. I went there expecting a wild time - and left thinking, "Fuck me, I've had wilder nights on a wet weekend in Blighty!". Good riddance I say, it was hardly Goa in the 90's.

You contradict yourself, Khmen.

You want a nice quiet place without 'hordes of muppets', yet you went in 2010 and it was 'tame and fucking dull'.

Laos is a beautiful country without a doubt, but without a tubing stop in VV, I just don't feel the need to return, for now.

With the tubing finished, I expect half the town will close down.

[dirk diggler]

^You'd think so wouldnt you, but that photo is from too far back to get a good grip on the type of utter [at][at][at][at] attracted to it:

And now that it's finished, the backpackers will have fuck all to do so they'll be hanging around the town pissed out of their skulls all day instead of out on the river. There goes your peace and quiet.

[khmen]

You contradict yourself, Khmen. You want a nice quiet place without 'hordes of muppets', yet you went in 2010 and it was 'tame and fucking dull'.

No, I either want to be in a lively fun place where I can get off my tits, or I want to be somewhere nice and relaxed with decent scenery. VV in 2010 was neither, it wasn't peaceful and quiet cos it was filled with tossers, and it wasn't wild or fun cos it was filled with tossers plus it's in a restrictive country where the bars shut at 12am.

It was use to neither man nor beast as it was, so it's better to just cut out the half arsed attempt at a party town and allow it to return to relative peace and quiet.

[khmen]

And now that it's finished, the backpackers will have fuck all to do so they'll be hanging around the town pissed out of their skulls all day instead of out on the river. There goes your peace and quiet.

Yeah, but there'll be far less of them and they'll gradually get edged out as local business owners realise the higher end tourists starting to arrive have much more cash and are much less annoying to deal with.

[dirk diggler]

I liked it just the way it was. I'm actually gutted they've done away with it. It was a great experience.

[KevyChase]

I'm going to Laos next month around the 15 th. Planning on going to Vientiane a night or two and then probably to VV (without my wallet on the top of the bus) the scenery is so beautiful there in VV

[kingwilly]

^You'd think so wouldnt you, but that photo is from too far back to get a good grip on the type of utter [at][at][at][at] attracted to it:

Oh, I think I have a fair idea.

[beerlaodrinker]

My avatar begs to differ