Here's the best way to describe this tiny little town in the Northern part of Laos, completely surrounded in mountains:
"Each time a young Australian woman strolls down the street in a bikini, a bearded American smokes a joint on a guesthouse terrace, or a group of Koreans tumbles drunkenly out of a restaurant..."
That lovely description is what Poppa Dukes read about the town I would be visiting.
Now, I will say I was completely aware of the reputation of the town, and the holding pattern it has on people. However, I was aware that there were actual other things to do then just tube. But, with tubing being the biggest attraction (and a favorite summer hobby of mine) I was of course going to participate.
I was warned I would stay longer than I planned, that I might even see someone drown.
I planned on 2 nights - arriving in the evening, tubing the night day, then leaving the day after. VV had a different plan...and it started in Vientiane (Laos' Capitol).
While in Vientiane, I made friends (who, me??) and they were both heading to VV the following day - but on different buses.
I took the afternoon bus, and ended up riding with the German, Fabian. Once there, we found a guesthouse, and went to grab some food.
On the way back from dinner - we were stopped by fliers. "FREE BUCKETS AT SMILE BAR FROM 10-11pm" Hmm, ok. Let's go have a bucket, and see what the bar is like, and then I was going to call it a night, and Fabs would keep partying on. I wanted to save my party for the river the next day.
So, we continued on to Smile Bar - and got stopped again by Fliers "FREE BUCKETS FROM 9-10 AT BUCKET BAR". Well, since it was a few minutes past 9, and the Smile Bar was still further away, we turned and headed to Buckets for our free bucket. Since it was early, there wasn't too much going on. Not too many people (except a few stragglers straight off the river). We got our buckets and grabbed a seat to watch the crowd come in. Then we were invited to a card game...and joined. The woman in charge of the game was Jessie - and she's Canadian, living in VV. During the game, she decided I was fun (because come on, we ALL know that is quite a true statement) and planned to take me under her wing. In reality - she was trying to recruit me to work in VV. Anyways, after our bucket (we only had the 1) she gave us a tour of the rest of the bar area so we could see the area. Guess where she took us? SMILE BAR! There she introduced us to the bartenders/owners and we proceeded to grab our free buckets there, and I was then being recruited for THIS bar by an English Broad named Lara.. Of course, we would only be staying at Smile Bar for 1 bucket - and while I was busy working on mine, we found Steve! Steve from Canada that took the morning bus from Vientiane! He already had gotten a free shirt from Smile and it was too small - so he gifted it over to me. Well, this was turning into a fun time!
But Jessie wasn't done with us yet...we had to see Jaidee's bar (it's also in Lonely Planet). There's a big drug history of Jaidee's bar - but that's not while we were going. We were going because her boyfriend was working the bar. Another bucket? Ok, ok. So we had some dancing fun, and Jessie kept trying to recuit me. But she doesn't even work in the bar! She said "Come to the river tomorrow and I'll show you where I work". Whelp, since the river was the plan anyways - I was in!
The next morning, I met with my Vientiane crew - Fab, Steve, and Steve's girl. We grabbed our tubes, and hopped on the truck.
NOTE: There are 2 tubing places open in town, and each is open on the opposite day of the other. With every tube you pay for ($6usd) a dollar goes towards the WHOLE town. So the whole town is helped out - with working on tube registration, tuk tuking, and the ferry to the other side of the river.
Ok - we were at the river! We handed out tubes over to the Laos men, and they ferried us on over to the other side of the river...aka, the first bar. Now, this is where I learned people can get so drunk they drown, or get some other injury, or lose a tube (me), or anything else.
When you walk in, you are given a shot of the local Laos whiskey. Then you're on your way in to play in the bar and make friends. Then you can either walk to the next bar, or grab a tube and tube a few feet over.
Of course, we tubed! I was getting my $6 worth!! So after making friends and experiencing Q-Bar, we grabbed our tubes, and tubed about 2 minutes to the next bar. Oh, NO! How do we get out!??!?! Oh, silly me...The Laos men on the dock of the bar throw ropes with water bottles tied to them, and we catch them and they reel them in (and it's hard work, they let me try to reel people in the 2nd round of tubing I did). So we settled into the next bar (Star Bar) with our welcome shot, and then we saw Jessie! Of course, she was playing cards. I still am not sure WHAT exactly she does on the river, besides occasional go behind the bar to hand out free shots. Oh, and head up the card games and drunk Jenga.
Now - this bar I had been told most people don't make it past. "Most people don't get past the second bar!" Well, of course, I took that as a challenge. I was making it to Bar III. Yes, the name was BAR 3. Simple. So after some dancing, and meeting our friends from the 1st bar - we tubed it on over to Bar 3. YAY, I MADE IT!!!! So of course, we had our welcome shot...and grabbed some food, then danced around this bar. Fabs decided to participate in the jumping off their deck since this was where the river was the deepest. NO JUMPING FOR ME! Luckily, I didn't see any injuries :)
Then Fabs dipped out to the next bar, so I was tubing and dancing with my beer pong partner - Amine (also Canadian). We stopped at some other bars - but were pretty empty. At the last bar - my tube went missing!!! By this time it was pretty dark, and I had already lost 2 pairs of sunglasses in the river. So we headed to the mainland to grab our tuk tuk home....and that's where I lost my shoes. Ugh. I am surprised I still had my head screwed on by this point - I lose everything!!!
So I headed back to the room, and ran into Fabs so him and I grabbed some food and wandered over to Bucket Bar to meet with Jessie. And once again, we were stopped by "free bucket fliers" for Smile, and then again by Bucket Bar. Although this time we were stopped - they already knew us! "April, Fabian - you guys coming to our bar right??" Ok, guys and gals - we'll be there!!But before we could go in, I had some business to take care of...
...A fella named Murray had a necklace I had been eying. I had seen the necklace on a friend from Surat before I got to VV - so I was on the look-out. It's made with can tops. Ok, it sounds pretty stupid - but it's really cool. And only the workers have them. So, of course, I wanted one. And my dimples were ready to be put to effect! I had garnered Murray's necklace the night before - so when I met him outside of Bucket Bar I had to "complete the necklace" Each top had 4 tops attached to it, but his had one link that only had 3. So, I had to complete that so it could really be mine. Complete it you say? Yes, with a shotgun. All the tops are from shotgunning beers - since they lived there, they had plenty of time to complete a million of them! So, while he was dressed up like a tree, and another bar worker was dressed as a bumblebee - we shotgunned. My necklace is complete!
Ok - time to get into the bar, and meet up with our river friends. We hung out with that crew for a while, then we all moved back over to Smile Bar - best dancing area...and that's where it happened. I got proposed to.
Another Canadian (yes, ANOTHER) that I had met on the river decided to tell me how I was the coolest person he's ever met. While, I believe this was totally true, I was still skeptical about this local. I ended up chatting with him for a while, then he casually threw in the proposal. Ok, sure we can get married. IF YOU HAVE A RING! Well, way to be MacGyver! The bartenders "performed the ceremony" and Lara was my maid of honor. So, when it was ring time (the "ceremony" last all of "do you have a ring?" "Ok - you're married!!") they pulled out a phone charger that had been tied off to a ring. And then we were labeled newlyweds. Whew - good thing I didn't have to sing any certificates!!!! So the rest of the night the Canadian - Ladic - told everyone how I was his wife. Well, good thing I had already made enough friends on the river that not too many of them believed it! But it was still was a fun way to "get married".
The next day, Fabian had decided to rent a scooter so we could see the caves and lagoons around the outskirts of town. And I am sooo happy we did. They were BEAUTIFUL! We made it a whole day, and even caught the sunset on the way home. Then we got to meet up with Steve for dinner - and I told him I'd go have ONE beer with him at Bucket so I could say goodbye to Jessie as this was to be my last night...but again, VV had other ideas.
Once there - we ran back into the same crew - and I told them all it was last night. But, it was for all my river friends too! So we mingled at Buckets, then went to go dance for a little at Smile. Of course, I ran into "the wedding party" and told them how I was leaving.....
....and then the next morning when I met Steve and Fabian for breakfast, Fabian was going scootering again, and Steve was going tubing again. So I figured since I lost my tube the first time - I would try it again and NOT lose it. So we headed to the tubes, and hopped on the tuk tuk, and did it all over again. But this time, we knew what we were doing! I spent less time at each bar - still made new friends, but when it started to rain, I went straight to the docks of the bars, and danced in the rain! I can't decide which was more fun - tubing in the sun or dancing in the rain! Of course, whenever I got to a new bar I was greeted with "April!!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE LEAVING TODAY!!!" Yeah, well....VV!! They of course were all happy I was still there.
But - I finally DID get my bus - the NEXT DAY!
Oh Vang Vieng....you are one of the craziest places I never knew existed. You are full of fun, but I am happy to put you behind me!
Good thing I had saved my "party time" of these countries to that place...now I can relax and mellow out for the rest of my trip.
Long Live VV,
Apes :)
Sidenote about the town:Every bar/restaurant ONLY played Friends or Family Guy. And, since it was low season, not all of the bars were open, so everyone from the river became like a little family when we were around the town (as in, the town is TINY - and everyone you meet, you meet on the river).
"Each time a young Australian woman strolls down the street in a bikini, a bearded American smokes a joint on a guesthouse terrace, or a group of Koreans tumbles drunkenly out of a restaurant..."
That lovely description is what Poppa Dukes read about the town I would be visiting.
Now, I will say I was completely aware of the reputation of the town, and the holding pattern it has on people. However, I was aware that there were actual other things to do then just tube. But, with tubing being the biggest attraction (and a favorite summer hobby of mine) I was of course going to participate.
I was warned I would stay longer than I planned, that I might even see someone drown.
I planned on 2 nights - arriving in the evening, tubing the night day, then leaving the day after. VV had a different plan...and it started in Vientiane (Laos' Capitol).
While in Vientiane, I made friends (who, me??) and they were both heading to VV the following day - but on different buses.
I took the afternoon bus, and ended up riding with the German, Fabian. Once there, we found a guesthouse, and went to grab some food.
On the way back from dinner - we were stopped by fliers. "FREE BUCKETS AT SMILE BAR FROM 10-11pm" Hmm, ok. Let's go have a bucket, and see what the bar is like, and then I was going to call it a night, and Fabs would keep partying on. I wanted to save my party for the river the next day.
So, we continued on to Smile Bar - and got stopped again by Fliers "FREE BUCKETS FROM 9-10 AT BUCKET BAR". Well, since it was a few minutes past 9, and the Smile Bar was still further away, we turned and headed to Buckets for our free bucket. Since it was early, there wasn't too much going on. Not too many people (except a few stragglers straight off the river). We got our buckets and grabbed a seat to watch the crowd come in. Then we were invited to a card game...and joined. The woman in charge of the game was Jessie - and she's Canadian, living in VV. During the game, she decided I was fun (because come on, we ALL know that is quite a true statement) and planned to take me under her wing. In reality - she was trying to recruit me to work in VV. Anyways, after our bucket (we only had the 1) she gave us a tour of the rest of the bar area so we could see the area. Guess where she took us? SMILE BAR! There she introduced us to the bartenders/owners and we proceeded to grab our free buckets there, and I was then being recruited for THIS bar by an English Broad named Lara.. Of course, we would only be staying at Smile Bar for 1 bucket - and while I was busy working on mine, we found Steve! Steve from Canada that took the morning bus from Vientiane! He already had gotten a free shirt from Smile and it was too small - so he gifted it over to me. Well, this was turning into a fun time!
But Jessie wasn't done with us yet...we had to see Jaidee's bar (it's also in Lonely Planet). There's a big drug history of Jaidee's bar - but that's not while we were going. We were going because her boyfriend was working the bar. Another bucket? Ok, ok. So we had some dancing fun, and Jessie kept trying to recuit me. But she doesn't even work in the bar! She said "Come to the river tomorrow and I'll show you where I work". Whelp, since the river was the plan anyways - I was in!
The next morning, I met with my Vientiane crew - Fab, Steve, and Steve's girl. We grabbed our tubes, and hopped on the truck.
NOTE: There are 2 tubing places open in town, and each is open on the opposite day of the other. With every tube you pay for ($6usd) a dollar goes towards the WHOLE town. So the whole town is helped out - with working on tube registration, tuk tuking, and the ferry to the other side of the river.
Ok - we were at the river! We handed out tubes over to the Laos men, and they ferried us on over to the other side of the river...aka, the first bar. Now, this is where I learned people can get so drunk they drown, or get some other injury, or lose a tube (me), or anything else.
When you walk in, you are given a shot of the local Laos whiskey. Then you're on your way in to play in the bar and make friends. Then you can either walk to the next bar, or grab a tube and tube a few feet over.
Of course, we tubed! I was getting my $6 worth!! So after making friends and experiencing Q-Bar, we grabbed our tubes, and tubed about 2 minutes to the next bar. Oh, NO! How do we get out!??!?! Oh, silly me...The Laos men on the dock of the bar throw ropes with water bottles tied to them, and we catch them and they reel them in (and it's hard work, they let me try to reel people in the 2nd round of tubing I did). So we settled into the next bar (Star Bar) with our welcome shot, and then we saw Jessie! Of course, she was playing cards. I still am not sure WHAT exactly she does on the river, besides occasional go behind the bar to hand out free shots. Oh, and head up the card games and drunk Jenga.
Now - this bar I had been told most people don't make it past. "Most people don't get past the second bar!" Well, of course, I took that as a challenge. I was making it to Bar III. Yes, the name was BAR 3. Simple. So after some dancing, and meeting our friends from the 1st bar - we tubed it on over to Bar 3. YAY, I MADE IT!!!! So of course, we had our welcome shot...and grabbed some food, then danced around this bar. Fabs decided to participate in the jumping off their deck since this was where the river was the deepest. NO JUMPING FOR ME! Luckily, I didn't see any injuries :)
Then Fabs dipped out to the next bar, so I was tubing and dancing with my beer pong partner - Amine (also Canadian). We stopped at some other bars - but were pretty empty. At the last bar - my tube went missing!!! By this time it was pretty dark, and I had already lost 2 pairs of sunglasses in the river. So we headed to the mainland to grab our tuk tuk home....and that's where I lost my shoes. Ugh. I am surprised I still had my head screwed on by this point - I lose everything!!!
So I headed back to the room, and ran into Fabs so him and I grabbed some food and wandered over to Bucket Bar to meet with Jessie. And once again, we were stopped by "free bucket fliers" for Smile, and then again by Bucket Bar. Although this time we were stopped - they already knew us! "April, Fabian - you guys coming to our bar right??" Ok, guys and gals - we'll be there!!But before we could go in, I had some business to take care of...
...A fella named Murray had a necklace I had been eying. I had seen the necklace on a friend from Surat before I got to VV - so I was on the look-out. It's made with can tops. Ok, it sounds pretty stupid - but it's really cool. And only the workers have them. So, of course, I wanted one. And my dimples were ready to be put to effect! I had garnered Murray's necklace the night before - so when I met him outside of Bucket Bar I had to "complete the necklace" Each top had 4 tops attached to it, but his had one link that only had 3. So, I had to complete that so it could really be mine. Complete it you say? Yes, with a shotgun. All the tops are from shotgunning beers - since they lived there, they had plenty of time to complete a million of them! So, while he was dressed up like a tree, and another bar worker was dressed as a bumblebee - we shotgunned. My necklace is complete!
Ok - time to get into the bar, and meet up with our river friends. We hung out with that crew for a while, then we all moved back over to Smile Bar - best dancing area...and that's where it happened. I got proposed to.
Another Canadian (yes, ANOTHER) that I had met on the river decided to tell me how I was the coolest person he's ever met. While, I believe this was totally true, I was still skeptical about this local. I ended up chatting with him for a while, then he casually threw in the proposal. Ok, sure we can get married. IF YOU HAVE A RING! Well, way to be MacGyver! The bartenders "performed the ceremony" and Lara was my maid of honor. So, when it was ring time (the "ceremony" last all of "do you have a ring?" "Ok - you're married!!") they pulled out a phone charger that had been tied off to a ring. And then we were labeled newlyweds. Whew - good thing I didn't have to sing any certificates!!!! So the rest of the night the Canadian - Ladic - told everyone how I was his wife. Well, good thing I had already made enough friends on the river that not too many of them believed it! But it was still was a fun way to "get married".
The next day, Fabian had decided to rent a scooter so we could see the caves and lagoons around the outskirts of town. And I am sooo happy we did. They were BEAUTIFUL! We made it a whole day, and even caught the sunset on the way home. Then we got to meet up with Steve for dinner - and I told him I'd go have ONE beer with him at Bucket so I could say goodbye to Jessie as this was to be my last night...but again, VV had other ideas.
Once there - we ran back into the same crew - and I told them all it was last night. But, it was for all my river friends too! So we mingled at Buckets, then went to go dance for a little at Smile. Of course, I ran into "the wedding party" and told them how I was leaving.....
....and then the next morning when I met Steve and Fabian for breakfast, Fabian was going scootering again, and Steve was going tubing again. So I figured since I lost my tube the first time - I would try it again and NOT lose it. So we headed to the tubes, and hopped on the tuk tuk, and did it all over again. But this time, we knew what we were doing! I spent less time at each bar - still made new friends, but when it started to rain, I went straight to the docks of the bars, and danced in the rain! I can't decide which was more fun - tubing in the sun or dancing in the rain! Of course, whenever I got to a new bar I was greeted with "April!!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE LEAVING TODAY!!!" Yeah, well....VV!! They of course were all happy I was still there.
But - I finally DID get my bus - the NEXT DAY!
Oh Vang Vieng....you are one of the craziest places I never knew existed. You are full of fun, but I am happy to put you behind me!
Good thing I had saved my "party time" of these countries to that place...now I can relax and mellow out for the rest of my trip.
Long Live VV,
Apes :)
Sidenote about the town:Every bar/restaurant ONLY played Friends or Family Guy. And, since it was low season, not all of the bars were open, so everyone from the river became like a little family when we were around the town (as in, the town is TINY - and everyone you meet, you meet on the river).
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