Vang Vieng - The pleasure of nothing

Location: Luang Prabang
Country: Laos

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From Hanoi got a one-hour flight to Vientiane, which is the capital of Laos.
Hanoi and Vientiane could not have been more different. Hanoi is a crazy city with motorbikes everywhere and loads of people and you cann’t even walk on the pavement without fear of being ran over, everything was so manic.
Vientiane on the other hand looks like some small town stuck somewhere in the 50’s, it is really quiet with hardly any vehicles around. When you see that this is the capital of Laos, you understand what sort of country you have come to – very backwards, very laid back, very calm.
I did one day of touring round Vientiane with a tuk-tuk. It consisted mainly of seeing temples, but it was nice.


The next day I got a three-hour bus from Vientiane to Vang Vieng. Vang Vieng is a backpacker’s paradise. It has everything a backpacker could want or need: Cheap rooms, great scenery, good food, chill out places by the river, films and shows on the restaurant TVs all day. Also active things for those who want (not me), such as trekking, bikes, kayaking etc.


My first day there, I actually was talked in to an active day by this really nice American couple that I met, what a mistake.
It started off with me having to go on an inner-tube (haven’t done that since junior school) in freezing cold water in to some cave and having to crawl round inside there.

This for me was a bad start; little did I know that it would be considered the best part of the day by the time I was done.
The next part was kayaking. I was fully aware in advance that this really was not for me, but I thought it would be a short thing and will be over with quick enough, but no. I think we were rowing for like 2 hours.
Well, the first part of the trip it could be said that I wasn’t exactly rowing. Very skillfully, I managed to arrange that I be on the same kayak as the guide, which meant that 1) I let him do all the work and 2) We didn’t tip over in to the water. I think he was getting quite annoyed with me for not helping, but I guess I kinda ignored him. I did try to row a bit at the beginning, but it’s really hard.
For some reason, after the break he did not want to be on the boat with me anymore, most offending.
He put me with one of the other tourists and then I was forced to at least pretend to row, my arms were killing me by the end of it. Never ever kayaking again.

Though the activities of the day were far from my liking, the day was pleasant enough, as we had a nice little group.

I made a decision that the rest of my time in Vang Vieng, I will be doing absolutely nothing, and I sure did stick to that decision.
I spent more than a week there, and when I paid for my room in the end, I was quite shocked by the amount of nights; I have no idea where the time went.
My day went something like this: Get up at about 12:00, go to one of the restaurants where they screen “Friends” 24X7, spend 3-4 over breakfast there, spend some time reading and get organized for the evening activities – finding the restaurant showing the best film to have supper in and after that, just hanging out.
It was brilliant. I had the best time.

About the restaurants, there were three next to each other that all screened “Friends” 24X7, I am not exaggerating, they showed nothing else. It was really funny standing between them and hearing 3 different episodes going on at once.
If I never see another re-run of that show again, it will be fine with me. When I hear the title song, I now get the same reaction as the guy in “A Clockwork Orange” when he hears Beethoven’s 9th.

After more than a week of mind numbing activity in Vang Vieng, I decided that I had better move on, or it may never happen.
Got a 6-hour bus today from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, it was a beautifully scenic ride.

The Lao people are the least annoying Asian people I have encountered so far. They don’t harass you, it’s so nice, you walk along the streets without getting some remarks every 2 minutes. There are also no beggars around (I think Laos is quite a poor country, so I do wonder were all the poor and the beggars are, maybe the government takes “care” of them….). It is such a pleasure.
Saying that I like them would be pushing it a bit, but they seem to be the best of a bad bunch.