July 17th, 2012
Vang Vieng is so much different….
…..than anywhere else we have been in SE Asia. We have been very purposeful in avoiding the “over the top, debaucherous, drunken, touristy” locations….but somehow we ended up here in Vang Vieng. The BIG thing to do here is rent an inner tube, get in a tuk tuk, and have them drive you a few km up the road where they drop you off at the river’s edge and you float back to town. All the while stopping at the loud, rowdy bars along the way for beer and buckets of whiskey. They throw you a ring, or a pop bottle on a string and tow you in wherever you want. It is insane…it is primarily Europeans (British) and Australians, but that does not matter as it truly is insanity at its ripest. They have rope swings, high dives and slides at all these bars where the patrons can fling themselves into the river (that is not very deep right now–maybe 3 feet)
It is incredibly dangerous and there is a death here almost every 2 weeks from these activities. Now those deaths do not take into account the injuries….if you sit in a bakery in town and watch the young folks go by you will see many many bandaged ankles, knees and arms. The medical care here in Laos is atrocious! And tourists that have over indulged and/or taken too many drugs or have been hurt are often deemed hopeless and are not treated. If you get hurt in Laos, you need to get to Thailand by any means necessary…ASAP!
Anyway…we decided it would be silly to come here and not tube….so we went right on down and got out tubes today….OK everybody…calm down! I know what you are thinking! Our intention was to get our tubes and JUST float down the river….no bar hopping…that is exactly what we did and it was awesome!! The scenery here is absolutely stunning…nothing like it. Since we were in the water…no camera….but here are our numbered hands for proof!
Bruce, Jackie and Stephanie went too so we had a tonne of fun….it was probably 1.5 hours of floating : )))
So how about some funny signs to round things out for the day??
Yeah….this tuber is never getting his camera back!
And this is why this town has the reputation is has….this offer or something equally as crazy exists in every bar (and the are plenty)
July 17th, 2012
Gramps Says :
We are on our way to the airport with your precious cargo. House will be very empty now. 🙁