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12<br />
Vang Vieng &<br />
Surrounding Area<br />
When you arrive in Vang Vieng, a<br />
visually unappealing town, you’ll be faced<br />
with a choice: fight or flight. Resist the<br />
urge to flee. Fight through the central<br />
backpacker ghetto, with its guesthouse<br />
restaurants blasting Friends DVDs on a<br />
constant, mind-numbing loop, and make<br />
your way to the Nam Song River and the<br />
breathtaking karst peaks beyond. <strong>The</strong> surrounding<br />
natural beauty more than makes<br />
up for the appearance <strong>of</strong> the town itself—<br />
less than a mile across the fast-moving<br />
waters rises a complex <strong>of</strong> karst limestone<br />
mountains rippling into the distance to a<br />
great height, their summits <strong>of</strong>ten wreathed<br />
in trails <strong>of</strong> cloud. A few days spent exploring<br />
caves, kayaking, trekking, or just sitting<br />
at a riverside bar and enjoying a<br />
cocktail while admiring the scenery (a<br />
personal favorite) is highly recommended.<br />
Vang Vieng also lies at the start <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong><br />
Asia’s great mountain journeys—the spectacular<br />
drive to Luang Prabang.<br />
Beautiful as it is, the development <strong>of</strong><br />
Vang Vieng is a serious cause for concern<br />
and is held up across Southeast Asia as a<br />
cautionary tale. It was popular on the hippie<br />
trail before the Communist takeover in<br />
1975. After 1990, the stunning attractions<br />
<strong>of</strong> the area, not surprisingly, immediately<br />
drew tourists back. Vang Vieng became<br />
known as a mecca for those whose main<br />
aim was to take drugs and do little else.<br />
Sadly the problems have multiplied and<br />
Vang Vieng today is hauntingly beautiful<br />
but tragically blighted. <strong>The</strong>re is little that<br />
is Lao about Vang Vieng town. Many are<br />
here simply to party on a circuit that<br />
stretches from Sydney to Koh Phan Gan<br />
in Thailand to Goa in India. It is rather<br />
like the worst kind <strong>of</strong> spring break on<br />
Daytona Beach, except that the theme is<br />
tie-dye laced with narcotics. It is <strong>of</strong>ten true<br />
that budget tourists have a relatively low<br />
environmental footprint. <strong>The</strong>ir cultural<br />
footprint, however, can be devastating.<br />
1 VANG VIENG ESSENTIALS<br />
ORIENTATION<br />
Vang Vieng is tiny. It lies along the Nam Song from north to south parallel to Rte. 13.<br />
<strong>The</strong> center <strong>of</strong> town is around the junction on the main street. Turning left (if heading<br />
north) you take the road that directly lines the river. <strong>The</strong>re is a small right turn<strong>of</strong>f there<br />
leading to a cluster <strong>of</strong> cheaper restaurants and guesthouses. If you turn left you arrive at<br />
a series <strong>of</strong> more tranquil hotels and resorts.<br />
Spanning the Nam Song are a number <strong>of</strong> narrow wooden bridges. <strong>The</strong> opposite banks<br />
<strong>of</strong> the river are being developed fast and there are already quite a number <strong>of</strong> restaurants<br />
and hotels. In Vang Vieng there are no road or street names. This is no problem, since<br />
the town really only has two streets.
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